#flash: ...can we trade villains please- | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

maxwell-grant · 8 months

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If you were making up a gang of super-villains from classic Horror Movie characters (Count Dracula is an obvious 'In' being pretty much a super villain even in his original novel!), may I please ask which characters you would include and what role they would play in the gang?

First thing to establish is that Dracula is not leading the team. And obviously Dracula’s not gonna be a team player in a supporting role, so what we’re gonna do is this: Dracula is the threat that the team was assembled to fight.

Pretty much anytime you see the classic monsters gathered in any fashion, Dracula’s always the leader, and if we wanted to do that, we already have Monster Mash and Castlevania and so forth. I think assembling a Legion of Doom out of the Classic Monsters makes you particularly subject to law of diminishing returns that affect both supervillains and monsters, in that having a bunch of characters who demand to operate solo in narrative wind up greatly diminished when they're all doing the same thing together. So instead of Legion of Doom, I'm making these something more low-key like Secret Six, Thunderbolts and Suicide Squad and etc.

Here, it's all a bunch of classic monsters, but they all have a grudge with him, because everyone’s got beef with Dracula, and Dracula wants them destroyed so he may rule monsters and humans alike unopposed. Dracula is The Flash, and they are the Rogues. They bond together because it's the only way to win. Dracula is several orders of magnitude more evil than them, has countless weird magical abilities to counteract them, and he’s skilled enough in manipulation that he could conceivably trick them into doing his bidding, but he’s got no need for them past whatever unique abilities they have for momentary use, when he’s already got so much else at his disposal, including the ability to call in the universal ending to most monster stories: Call in the cops to shoot them dead.

In itself, this already gives the team a motivation to stay together regardless of what else is in the setting to give them trouble: They need to survive and beat Dracula, and they can’t call on anyone else for help. In fact, if the urge to have Dracula lead the Monster Squad again gets too strong, we could even establish that Dracula is able to create his own monsters, imperfect copies of their archetypes to serve as his enforcers, and thus, our group could have to fight off Frankensteins and mummies and werewolves and clones of themselves on their way to take him down.

Formation for this hypothetical group goes as follows:

The Leader - The Bride of Frankenstein:

Couple of reasons for why she’s leader besides favoritism being, she’s a Frankenstein and thus has to play a major role, but she doesn’t need to be a shambling brute, and if we’re gonna do a ragtag group of people fighting Count Dracula, in any form, it would be quite wrong to not have them led by a headstrong, brilliant woman. Also Elsa Lanchester plays Mary Shelley in the same movie, and Mary Shelley rules so she's qualified to rule this team-up by default.

We could establish her as having had significantly more time to mature and develop into something resembling the book Creature’s intelligence and sense of self, having picked up alchemical expertise from Pretorius’ notes to combine with her survival skills, and as a Frankenstein she could have the kind of superhuman strength and endurance that follows, allowing her to be sort of a jack-of-trades suitable for the leader position. Imposing, stoic, capable, and being a Frankenstein, crushingly lonely in more ways than one and in dire need of guidance.

The Mentor & Magician - Imhotep (The Mummy):

Because there’s no way we can pass on having Boris Karloff on this team. If The Bride is the Mina of our anti-Dracula crew, then Imhotep is our Van Helsing. Functionally similar to Dracula in many ways, but playing on a different side (definitely not on humanity’s side though). He's a prideful, manipulative grumpus from a bygone era with his glory days long behind him, with access to a wide array of magical powers, but not quite as rotten or powerful as his ancient enemy Dracula.

Imhotep has lived a long, long, long life and an exceedingly longer afterlife, constantly raised from death to be bothered by mortals again and again, which has granted him a considerable know-how of navigating strange worlds of magic and terror and history, but remaining out of touch with modern times. The team's magic user, with his main weakness being that he’s fragile and old and rotting and dying. Imhotep’s not quite able to transverse the mortal realm as easily as his rival, and he’s held back by the countless forms of decay that have set within him, which is part of why he’s agreeable enough to work with The Bride and for the two to put this team together.

The Resources & Social Interface - Janet Smith Jekyll (Daughter of Dr Jekyll):

We can't have a classic Universal Gathering without at minimum a Talbot werewolf in the mix and Jekyll & Hyde is as Classic as classic monsters get, so we're going here with Gloria Talbott's character in Daughter of Dr Jekyll, a mysterious orphan who inherits a huge mansion and fortune that used to belong to the infamous Dr Jekyll, and who discovers that she may indeed share his two-faced affliction and proclivity for going out at night on uncontrollable murderous rampages (and yes I am very much ignoring the movie's climax to make this character, shut up)

The movie sort of treats Mr Hyde as a werewolf transformation with quite a lot of vampire in the mix, which suits our purposes just fine because now we get to have a vampire on top of a werewolf in the team. She's got a cool homebase for our team to operate from in Dr Jekyll's mansion, she's super rich which never hurts to have in a team setting, she's the only one that can fully pass for human and also the one who accumulates the biggest body count the longer she stays active, so there's always some tension with her.

She is the monster most suited for operating within modern society, high and low class alike, which makes her an invaluable operative in the battle against Dracula and his game of predatory psychological class warfare, and the one most suited for keeping the team out of trouble. However, it's up to question how much can the team trust her. Even she doesn't quite know how much she can trust herself. Her teammates may not have blood, but a girl's gotta eat and all.

The Reality-Warping Assassin - Cesare:

Cesare is, strange. He’s a sweet young man, but around him hangs the faint echo of dead, ancient eons. He’s unmatched at subterfuge, able to slip through the shadows not just unseen, but unheard in a way that shouldn’t be possible, as he makes absolutely no sound whatsoever, not even when he does things that should make noise, like trip or cry or stab people. On the rare occasions he vocalizes, it's like the words emerge in your head fully formed. Everything he interacts with turns colorless and frayed the way he is.

He’s able to tell the fortunes of most he meets, but only for their deaths, and if he's bothered by his own prophecy of Dracula ending the worlds of monster and man alike, he doesn't show it. The world around him seems to occasionally warp into strange angles and crooked architecture and thick, tangible shadows, and it’s difficult to tell if any of it is even his doing in the first place. He also has an unusually intense grudge of clowns and hamburguers

He seems to sleep most of the time off-duty, and he’s docile as a lamb even while commanded to kill, though he may resist more immoral commands. Though his eyes hang open, he only wakes up very rarely, and when he does, the monsters see the world around him blink out of existence to be replaced with a greyed out mental hospital, where they all look like doctors or regular people in straightjackets, and it only lasts for a few brief, maddening seconds before he falls asleep again.

This can be an advantage to the team as a potential safeguard from threats and space to regroup, provided they don’t lose their selves and can get Cesare to stop playing with the flowers and go back to sleep, and you can imagine it only gets harder every time, convincing him to abandon a peaceful existence to once again be a murderous slave for eternity, and maybe convincing themselves to not join him there.

Better he’s on our side than Dracula’s, The Bride and Imhotep figure.

The Warrior-Healer & Aquatic Specialist: The Gill Man

I already said much of my piece on The Gill Man in terms of their role and personality here and obviously, they gotta be in the team. In terms of their powers & skillset, Gill Man is actually much better suited for this kind of stuff than most of the other Universal monsters. They are strong enough to move boats on their own, stealthy enough to consistently evade his human pursuers (and human civilization for countless years) and tough enough to survive and come back for two sequels.

Another idea to me comes from using The Shape of Water and it’s take on Gill Man, who was believed to be an Amazonian river god, and throughout the movie displays magical healing powers and traits that call into question just what it is exactly. Dracula would certainly find no use for The Gill Man as anything other than muscle for his army of the undead, but for a team that does have at least a handful of living members and may even depend on human assistance, a medic is a invaluable thing to have, as is someone still living and in touch with nature.

The Scientist & Swarm Controller: Doctor Delambre (The Fly)

Picked here to represent the original version of The Fly but can also adapt traits from Seth Brundle and other takes on this idea. We need a resident mad scientist (who's really not a mad scientist, but when you look the part, y'know), a sci-fi guy to represent that other vein of classic horror, somebody who can contrast the resident magicians and alchemists, and also no self-respecting team is complete without a bug guy, so here we have Dr Delambre, who joins the team as an assistant to The Bride and has found a way to hold off the mental decay process and made substantial progress on his matter-transporter devices as well as find ways to live with his newfound biological quirks. He's even found a way to utilize insects with humanoid limbs and intelligence in daily chores and missions, although he resents the idea that he's "controlling" them, mind you.

But with his wife under trial for his botched suicide ruled a murder, and his inability to show up in society and testify in her favor, and all of his former military contacts having cut off all ties with him, he's desperately trying to find a way to reverse the process of his transformation for good to save her and is willing to do whatever it takes. Doctor Delambre even winds up being sort of the team's wild card, because his technology is very potent and just as capable of breaking reality under the wrong hands as Cesare's weirdness, but he is not a "monster" by birth or choice and is merely a guy in a rush to try and revert his condition, and if Dracula comes along with a better promise to save his wife and life, perhaps...

And last but certainly not least,

The Transportation & Muscle - The Rhedosaurus (The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms)

We might have to shrink them down a bit but we absolutely can’t NOT have a giant monster dinosaur on the team, but neither Godzilla nor Kong would have much business palling around with these monsters. The Rhedosaurus, on the other hand, is a perfect fit, seeing as he’s Godzilla’s inspiration and the movie he’s in is credited as being the revival of the giant monster genre as well as the first to introduce the atomic bomb to the mix. The Rhedosaurus here would be sort of composited from the movie version as well as the original story by Ray Bradbury and obviously composited from Godzilla variants and the Toho kaijus who owe their existence to it, a vicious and violent creature defending itself and one that's deeply lonely and desperate and strangely noble as the last of it’s kind, one that has nothing else to help protect it but these strange not-humans it’s formed an unlikely bond with. It has a particularly strong bond with The Gill Man, the only one who’s able to communicate with and steer it properly.

The Rhedosaurus is a global danger on a bigger and more direct scale than the other monsters, not just as a giant powerful dinosaur, but also a creature whose death could unleash a plague powerful enough to wipe out mankind, something the characters wouldn’t discover until late into the story (something Dracula, and maybe even Imhotep, would certainly want to exploit for personal gain). Maybe this radiation seeps over and forces the team to move their location around to stay undetected, maybe it's instrumental to powering whatever plans Dr Delambre and The Bride are cooking up in their lab, maybe it's affecting the environment or reality itself in strange unforeseen ways the way certain Godzilla works like KOTM and Singular Point have done.

It can be the key to saving the world or destroying it in equal measure, and so the fate of the Rhedosaurus is the fate of the future, and it falls up to the team to protect it as much as it will protect them.

So yeah, maybe I took this from a super-villain team and made it something a lot more League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in setup, but this team I imagine is grouped together less by a desire to save the world or serve a higher cause, than a simple matter of survival against a mutual enemy and the world that''s turned against them. They want drastically different things and employ drastically different methods and they each constitute powerful threats, and together, they are as likely to destroy themselves first if not the world with them. But survival is a matter they all have a stake on. Alone, they don’t stand a chance. Together, they may just have a chance and live, if only to finally rest in peace.

#replies tag #universal monsters #monster #horror #frankenstein #the bride of frankenstein #imhotep #the mummy #dr jekyll and mr hyde #cesare #the cabinet of dr. caligari #the gill man #the fly #dracula #hero forge

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slothquisitor · 5 months

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Heroes and Villains

"Astarion thinks he might have found these sorts of discussions compelling, once. In a time before, when it might have mattered. Morality is a luxury only afforded to those with actual choices. For so long, morality was just another obstacle keeping him from grasping whatever meager scraps of comfort were available, so he tried not to trouble himself too much about it." Recommended listening: Villain by Searows. Astarion x Liv, 4.7k.

Also on AO3.

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The Emperor is in her head, and it will not save Jaheira’s friend. She is tired, wounded from the battle, and Jaheira is yelling even as Minsc fights their tadpole connection. It feels as it always does, an invasion, a violation. Images and memories that are not her own flash through her mind.

She hates the way the tadpoles connect them all, taking memories and trading them around without thought or concern. She tries to fight it, but more memories come and she knows that Minsc is seeing her own as well.

She had never considered that the Emperor would say no to this, that the protection offered so readily to Duke Ravengard, to each of her other companions, wouldn’t extend to another. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t feel right . She is missing something, but she’s just not sure what.

“We need all the help we can get, you told me to gather allies. Please, just help him!”

“Don’t be foolish. He is too unpredictable. He will only be a hindrance to us,” the Emperor replies.

Jaheira shakes her head. “The mindflayer pours poison into your ear, I think. Tell it I will tear the prism from your grasp and throw it into the deepest lava pit I can find. Long after our bones are dust and ash, the walls of its prison will still be burning. Now help my friend!”

The Emperor believes Jaheira to be bluffing, but Liv doesn’t care if she is or she isn’t. She doesn’t agree with the Emperor’s assessment. Especially when its only argument is Minsc being too unpredictable, too chaotic. Having to coerce it into doing this leaves a sour taste in her mouth. There’s something familiar about the tone used, something she can’t quite place, but feels like she knows. In the end, it agrees, but the disappointment in her is palpable. As if she is the one in the wrong here. It is not the first time that she’s questioned this alliance of theirs, but it is the first time that she feels how fragile it might be.

But then, Minsc is saved and Jaheira is grateful, and Liv has helped . It is almost enough to banish her worries about the Emperor. But then talking with Minsc reveals the Zhentarim’s plot. They mean to overthrow Nine-Fingers, and Liv could kick herself for not realizing that the Zhentarim haven’t just thrown their lot in with the Absolute for profit, but have perfectly set themselves up for a coup since they’re the Guild’s fighting force. And if Nine-Fingers is in danger…that means Percy is too.

Like so many things, it’s not exactly their problem to solve, but no one questions her when she suggests they hurry to the guild hall. Worry gnaws at her the whole way. What if they are too late? What if Percy is caught in all of this?

When they arrive to the guild hall, it is sheer chaos. Fighting has broken out in every corner, wreathed by darkness it’s hard to tell who is who. But Liv rushes in anyway, determined to find her brother, to keep him safe, to help. She’s not sure exactly why she cares so much. The last time she saw him she had told him she wasn’t sure she even wanted a relationship with him, thought it would be better not to continue with any expectations.

She doesn’t regret saying it, putting that distance between them so that she could have space to figure this thing out, but there’s a part of her that worries that he won’t survive this and then she’ll never know whether they could have found some way to be a family. He knows the dangers she’s throwing herself into every day too, is it possible he has those same worries? It seems far too much to hope.

She and Minsc, Astarion and Jaheira wade into the the fray. She has to be careful as she targets her magic not to catch members of the guild unaware, but as she tosses flame bolts and lines up lightning, she catches the eye of several grateful folks, looking more than a little ragged. Nine-Fingers had said herself that the Guild was no fighting force, and it shows as the Zhentarim cut through their defenses. Nine-Fingers is caught in the fray too, throwing knives at the very force she’d brought in to protect her people.

Liv is breathing hard, racing up the wooden steps tossing magic as carefully as she can. At the top of the stairs, there is a group of Guild members unsuccessfully trying to parry the unwavering assault of a Zhentarim swordsman. Her lightning chains through him to another fighter, armed to the teeth with knives. They both fall, bodies twitching.

Beside her, a figure emerges from the darkness, as if they have stepped directly from the shadows. “What in the hells are you doing here?” Percy asks.

The relief that fills her is a short-lived thing, something she can barely focus on before throwing a shield up and hearing the soft thunk as an arrow plunks harmlessly off it. She’d seen the glimmer of the bolt just in time. “Saving your ass. What does it look like?”

Percy shakes his head in confusion. “How did you even know?”

Liv gestures across the hall towards Minsc. “Turns out the Stone Lord wasn’t really operating on his own free will. The Zhentarim are aligned with the cultists as well.”

Percy throws a knife with deadly accuracy at an enemy, barely looking at her. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.”

“I think the exit is clear, you can make a break for it,” Liv says, tossing a firebolt at an archer aiming for Astarion.

Percy glares at her. “These are my people. My friends. I’m not going anywhere until every last Zhent bastard is dead.” His words are laced with protective fury she didn’t realize he was capable of.

“Yeah, okay,” Liv says unsure how else to respond. “What can we do? You know this space better than me.”

Percy scans the room quickly. “Those archers are a problem.” High on the scaffolding, Zhentarim archers shoot down into the fighting, slowly picking off Guild members completely unchallenged. He turns to her and grins. “How’s your close-combat fighting?”

She’s got spells for that. “Fine enough.”

“Then let’s go.” Percy grabs her hand, and they step directly into the shadows. For a heartstopping moment, there is nothing but darkness around them, and then they emerge, as if out of a doorway, directly behind the archers.

She doesn’t hesitate, and neither does Percy. When the archers are dead, she and Percy return to the lower levels going their separate ways as they make their way across this makeshift battlefield. The tide is turning in the fight, and for that she is grateful.

The buzz of battle always feels somehow eternal, though Liv knows that’s not the case. But finally, the last arrow flies and the battle is done and quiet falls within the guild hall as if everyone is truly wondering if it’s really over. And then the cheers rise up like heat on a summer’s day, slowly at first, but then louder. The folks of the guild aren’t used to open battle like this, to working in synchronization with each other. There’s a comradery in the room that she didn’t notice before, the existence of a shared enemy uniting the disparate groups.

She watches her brother check in on his people, his friends. Watches the concern and the worry in every line of his face, and feels a wave of resentment rise up within her. Who are these people who deserve care and worry and concern from her brother? Is it unforgivably selfish of her to have wanted some of that worry and concern? He hasn’t even spoken to her since the battle ended. But then she was the one who told him that it would be better if they didn’t have expectations of each other. And yet...

“Are you alright?” Astarion asks as he approaches. His gaze roves over her, clearly taking stock of any injuries. He gently steers her out of the way of two guild members carrying another, his hand lightly on her back. “I lost sight of you for a moment.”

“Percy took me up to take care of the archers.”

Astarion frowns. “Strategic of him.” Astarion has been clear about his feelings in regard to her brother, her family, and there’s a part of her that doesn’t exactly disagree. There’s a part of her that wonders if he’s right, that maybe they shouldn’t have come here at all.

“Yeah,” she replies, still watching her brother move between groups, care and concern etched into every line of his face. Was he always capable of kindness?

There is something invariably depressing about this realization, that perhaps if she’d been different, more observant, said the clever thing, asked the right questions, left that house sooner. That she wouldn’t be discovering all this about her brother now. She wants to rush over to him, bombard him with questions. Where was this gentleness when her sister died? When she wept over the burns her mother’s magic left behind?

But it’s not the time. She cannot afford to fall apart now. Cannot afford to fall apart here. Later, perhaps she can be angry or sad or whatever these tangled feelings are, but she cannot do it now. So she tears her gaze away from her brother, sees Nine-Fingers standing across the hall. She is battle-bloodied and stone-faced, surveying the damage.

Her eyes fall on Liv. “Why don’t we have a chat in my office?” The words are filled with a quietly contained rage. It is not a request. She looks to one of her ladies and raises her voice loud enough that it booms in the hall. “Enough gawking. There’s a mess here to clean up.”

There is no hesitation from the members of the guild, from her court. Nine-Fingers stalks up the steps toward her office and everyone jumps to work. Liv, Minsc, Jaheira, and Astarion trail her up the steps and into her dimly lit office. The doors close ominously behind them.

Nine-Fingers stands at her desk, daggers still drawn. She turns to them as they enter, glaring at them all, challenge in her eyes.“The Zhent are down - just you and me now, Stone Lord. So if you mean to take my chair, you’ll get no better chance than this.”

Minsc shifts uncomfortably, but shifts easily into a fighting stance. “Minsc has no interest in your furniture, Nine-Fingers - only in the wicked rump that fills it!”

Nine-Fingers looks towards Liv, face twisted in confusion. “....What?”

“You have been a stone in this city’s boot for too long. And it will be no Stone Lord who reaches ‘twixt Balduran’s sticky toes to dislodge you - it will be Minsc!”

Nine-Fingers sighs and sheaths her knives, clearly deciding that despite Minsc’s threats, the fighting is done. “I haven’t got the slightest idea what he’s trying to say.”

“Proof that he is back to normal, no?” Jaheira interjects.

Liv jumps in to defuse the situation. “He was under the sway of the Absolute, tadpoled same as the rest of us. Everything he did as the Stone Lord wasn’t his choice. He’s protected now and the Stone Lord is no more.”

Nine-Fingers laughs, crossing her arms. “Good. I’d rather you die as Minsc the mad Rashemaar. It’s silly, but d’you know you were something of a hero of mine when I was young?”

Minsc shakes his head. “Even now, your tongue twists the truth. When you were young and ten-fingered still, Minsc and Boo- were stone estatuated in a city square!”

“Aye, I remember the spot - by a garden on the Wide. A soft thicket near the market, with ample pockets to pick. Celestia itself, to a street rat looking for shelter. You might not have been wrestling monsters, but...you kept the wind and rain off. Heroic enough for me,” Nine-Fingers shrugs. Liv can see the strategy here, but she suspects there’s some kernel of truth to the story.

Minsc shakes his head. “Bah! You try to dampen Boo’s eyes. Do not think you will be spared his teeth. Evil is evil…even if it once was…innocent.”

Nine-Fingers lifts up both hands. “Oh, I’m no innocent. But evil? You tell me. With the Fist, the watch, and the council itself licking the Absolute’s boots, who’s the only one left standing to protect Baldur’s Gate?”

Jaheira nods. “She’s right, Minsc. She’s been an ally down through the years. A friend, even.”

“A friend? Jaheira, Boo cannot believe his ears. Has the city fallen so far in our absence? Are there no heroes left?”

Nine-Fingers steps closer, eyes narrowed. “Heroes come and go, but the Guild has always been here, protecting the city. Until the Stone Lord came to break us.”

Liv looks between the guild master and the massive ranger, she’s had enough conflict today. “Minsc, the Guild will fight with us. We just have to let them.”

Minsc nods, but his face twists in sadness. “I am ashamed. Nydeska , unworthy to fight alongside my friends. Boo, what am I to do?”

Nine-Fingers has her opening and she takes it. “I can’t speak for your rodent, but I know something of debts. If you reckon you’ve got one to repay…well, we could always work together. We’ve got bigger enemies than one another. The city’s enemies. And, honest truth? You gave my Guild the wake-up call it needed. We’ve grown complacent, lazy. We never would’ve needed the Zhent if we’d had a fighting force of our own. Swords for the city, for when the Fist and watch fail us.”

Liv watches Minsc struggle with his ideals and accepting a deal with Nine-Fingers that fits within them, but eventually they do come to an accord. After dealing with the Absolute, Minsc will help protect Nine-Fingers, get a fighting force in shape. It means that Minsc will be keeping an eye on the Guild, and Nine-Fingers gets a better fighting force. Everyone wins.

Eventually, Nine-Fingers turns toward her. “With the Stone Lord off my back, I’ll be able to bring my people out of hiding. Cobble together a force, so we’re ready when you call on us.”

“I appreciate that.”

Nine-Fingers nods. “You have my thanks. Though I’m still not actually sure you haven’t made my life that little bit harder. Must run in the family.” The last bit sounds almost approving, but then Nine-Fingers sits down at her desk a little stiffly, the exhaustion clear, her mask slipping just a bit. “Now get the hells out of my office. You’ve brought me enough trouble for one day.”

As they exit, Jaheira steps close. “We shouldn’t linger. I don’t know that many know the Stone Lord’s identity, but I can’t imagine this alliance will go over well if anyone does.”

Liv nods. “Of course…I just…I’d like to talk to my brother before we go.”

Jaheira looks like she wants to argue but thinks better of it. “Of course.”

Percy is easy to find, he’s helping the injured into the tavern area where the Guild’s healers are doing their best to patch everyone up. It’s still surprising, so at odds with the person she thought he was. She’s not really sure what she’s here to say…only that she thinks that something needs saying.

He notices her approach as he finishes half-carrying a half-orc over to a chair. He sets the man down before approaching. “You heading out?” he asks.

Liv crosses her arms just to have something to do with them. “Yeah, but I wanted to check-in? Are you alright?”

Percy runs his hand over his jaw and glances around the room. “This is….uh…this is as close to a home as I’ve got, and Zhent attacked us in it today…so, no.”

That’s fair. It was probably a stupid question. “I’m sorry. We came as soon as we knew-”

He holds up a hand stopping her words. “I don’t doubt it. You didn’t have to, but you did anyway. Thank you.” There’s a heaviness weighing down each word, but there’s no double-talk, it feels genuine.

She wants to be better at this, at knowing what to do now. “I should go. Let you get back to taking care of your people.” She hopes he can’t hear her confusion, the bitterness she can’t quite seem to let go of.

He stares at her for a long moment before shaking his head. “Of course.” But then he steps close, for a moment she thinks he might reach for her. For a moment, she thinks she might want him to, might want the comfort of her older brother, whatever that might look like. Instead, he stops short. “I don’t know what Nine-Fingers promised you, but I’m with you. When you call, I’ll be there.”

It’s more than she ever expected; it’s not quite enough. “Thank you.”

He turns away then, going back to his people, to help them pick up the pieces. She leaves and tells herself it isn’t a retreat. Tells herself that it’s fine that this is something she might never see fixed.

The fire is bright and warm, and Astarion has a new book. He plucked it from a shelf in the Stone Lord’s little sewer hideout. It’s a romance, and a badly written one at that. It’s so bad it’s entertaining. He dog ears the pages with the cheesiest lines, intending to show Liv as soon as she joins him for the evening. She desperately needs a laugh after the day they’ve had, crawling through sewers and getting caught in power plays. And dealing with that brother of hers.

He’s not sure that they made the right call today, sticking their noses in the Guild’s mess with the Zhentarim. Seems like a good way to make enemies they won’t even know they have until it’s too late. But Liv had wanted to rush in anyway to save her brother. He hopes Percy realizes how lucky he is that she gives a shit. That she keeps handing him chances.

He doesn’t know what Liv was thinking today, but there was something about watching her brother after the battle that had shaken her somehow. He’s still trying to decide if she’s going to bring it up or if he’ll need to.

It will have to wait, as Liv has been waylaid by their new companion. Astarion doesn’t mean to be eavesdropping on their conversation, but it’s hard not to. Minsc’s loudness is perhaps only rivaled by Karlach’s. His voice booms out across the room, and whether Astarion wants to or not, he hears every single word.

“I wished to believe the Stone Lord’s evil was the worm alone, a-tainting my thoughts with foul dung. But I see now, the dung was within Minsc all along. So I wonder, if Minsc can be a villain, and Nine-Fingers a hero: must it be so with all creatures? Is there good and evil within us all? Heh. Boo calls this nonsense. Less thinking of bad thoughts, says he, and more breaking of bad bones. But still - I would hear what you have to say on the matter, my friend.”

Astarion thinks he might have found these sorts of discussions compelling, once. In a time before, when it might have mattered. Morality is a luxury only afforded to those with actual choices. For so long, morality was just another obstacle keeping him from grasping whatever meager scraps of comfort were available, so he tried not to trouble himself too much about it.

But now? Now he is free, truly free, and he’s not sure what he believes in. He’s not sure where he fits on the spectrum of hero to villain.

It takes Liv a moment to respond to Minsc, it’s clear that she’s considering her response carefully. “I think we all have the capacity for good and bad. I don’t think that it’s as simple as villains and heroes though, it’s a lot of shades of gray.”

Minsc laughs his booming laugh. “Minsc does not believe there are these ‘shades’ when it comes to evil. Evil is evil!”

“Maybe sometimes. And maybe sometimes we try to do the right thing, and end up hurting people instead.”

“You mean like with Minsc as the Stone Lord? Minsc tried to do a good thing, destroy the cult! Instead, he got tadpoled and puppeted around by the Absolute.”

Liv’s voice doesn’t sound entirely sure. “Kind of like that, yeah.”

Or perhaps she means that it is more like insisting on completing an infernal ritual that would have killed seven thousand people? He hadn’t done it, but he had wanted to, and do wants and desires factor into goodness or is it just actions? He doesn’t want this, these questions he’s not sure what to do with. He’ll go read elsewhere then, farther away in hopes that he doesn’t have to listen in, doesn’t have to question. Doesn’t have to find himself at a loss about who he should be now.

He snaps his book shut, and wanders over to the bed he and Liv have been sharing. The one he thinks of as hers, but not his. His is over in a shared alcove with Gale, and while his things live there, he almost never is. He supposes he could move them, but he likes the idea of still having his own space, a place to retreat to, even if he doesn’t necessarily use it. It feels like an extravagance, and he gets comfortable, opening up the book once more and trying to tune out the voices around.

It isn’t long before Liv joins him, looking tired. He smiles at her. “Sounds like you and Minsc were having quite the lively conversation. Tell me, have you figured out if the rodent is actually conversing with him or is he just mad?”

Liv gives him a hard look. “Be nice. We need all the allies we can get.”

Astarion feigns offense. “I’m always nice.” It earns him a smile.

“There was something…though…I wanted to discuss,” Liv says, words quiet and unsure.

He shifts his legs, making space for her to join him on the bed. “I’m all pointy ears, my love.”

She sits down, hands twisting together in her lap, but she doesn’t speak for a long moment. The silence drags on, but he waits her out. “Did you find it odd that the Emperor didn’t want to extend its protection to Minsc?”

It’s not the question he’s expecting, and not just because there are so many other things that happened today that he expected to be on her mind. They so rarely discuss the inhabitant of the Astral Prism, but he knows she doesn’t trust it. Hasn’t since she discovered that their protection is dependent on Orpheus’s continued captivity, that the dreams they shared and the protector they believed to be helping was really a mindflayer. He knows she feels watched like the Emperor is always listening in. They cannot change it, so they don’t discuss it.

“I hadn’t thought much of it,” Astarion answers truthfully. “But I suppose it does seem odd considering how quick it was to protect Wyll’s father. The rodent conversing aside, Minsc is a hero of the city.”

Liv looks relieved. “Okay, I’m glad I’m not the only one then. I just…I feel like I’m missing something. Something’s not adding up…and then there’s the Duke Stelmane thing…”

She had shown him the book she’d found immediately, about Stelmane’s condition, about a visitor that came to her rooms. They hadn’t talked about it, worried that deep in the Emperor’s old hideout they were being watched. Like many things these days, they don’t have much choice but trusting the Emperor, since their continued existence and people and not mindflayers is due to its intervention.

Astarion reaches over and untangles her hands, holding one gently in what he hopes feels reassuring. “Like you said, we need all the allies we can get. Shades of gray, hmmm?” He hopes she catches his meaning without coming right out and saying it.

She nods in acknowledgment. It is not so simple as heroes and villains. It never was.

“Is it still trying to get you to use the tadpole?” he asks. This conversation still feels precarious, but he wants to know. The Emperor has tried to make inroads with them all, but Liv has always been the sole recipient of its attention since it revealed its true nature. He doesn’t miss the dreams, the mysterious Guardian promising him power.

“Sometimes it reminds me of my mother,” Liv says, words careful. An innocuous enough comment for almost anyone but her. She’ll never touch the tadpole she was given. That was the Emperor’s first mistake: making it about power. Liv is terrified of power and of the way that it corrupts. He disagrees of course, but that’s a discussion between the two of them that never seems to go anywhere.

He pulls her into him, kissing the top of her head. “Don’t worry, we’ve got Minsc and a miniature giant space hamster on our side now. We can’t possibly lose.”

She laughs. “Don’t forget that the Guild too.”

“Criminals and thieves. Who could ask for better company?”

She doesn’t reply and instead leans more fully into him, and he is grateful for the simplicity of it, the comforting reassurance that though they don’t have all the answers, they do have each other.

“Did you mean what you said to Minsc?” he asks.

Liv twists a bit so she can look up at him. “What thing?”

“About everyone having the capacity for good and bad?”

“Yes. I meant it.” Her eyes are searching his, looking for something, but he’s not sure what she might find, he’s not even sure himself why this has become so important to him tonight.

“How are you so sure?”

It’s clearly not the question she’s expecting, her eyebrows raise a bit in surprise. “I…I suppose…” She pauses as she considers. “Because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen good people do bad things; bad people do good things. It’s…complicated, isn’t it? I mean, I try to be a good person-”

“You are.” He’s not sure of much, but of that he is sure.

“But I’m not always sure that I’m making the right decisions every day. Sometimes right and wrong aren’t quite as clear-cut as I’d like them to be. I don’t know…I guess that’s why I’m always giving people more chances than they maybe deserve.”

He considers her answer, it’s thoughtful, if a little rueful. So he offers up a truth of his own. “I’m not sure what I believe. I’m not sure I care, really.” The last part rings false as he says it. He wishes it didn’t. It would be so nice, not to care.

“When I left my family, I was so lost. I had spent so much time fighting against them, being consumed by their actions and thoughts and expectations…I don’t think I really cemented what I believed until I stumbled off that nautiloid and I had the chance to start over.”

The confession surprises him. Oh, she’s told him of her insecurities from those early days, but he hadn’t considered that beneath her unflappable exterior, she might have been just as unsure as he feels now.

“I would never have guessed.”

“I don’t think that’s as comforting now as it would have been to me then. The rest of it will come, Astarion. If it’s important to you.”

“If you say ‘give it time’, I’m leaving,” he says, but he’s not at all serious. He’s just tired of the same refrain, of needing time. He’s never been patient, but the more he discovers he needs to reclaim in his own life, the less he’s willing to wait.

Liv sighs. “How about, ‘if we all die to the elder brain, it doesn’t matter anyway’?” She says it with a smile, a sarcastic lilt to her voice. But he catches an undercurrent of something, a kernel of truth nestled in the joke. He wonders what she’s pushing down, what she’s holding off dealing with.

But he doesn’t call her on it, not tonight. Instead, he cups her face and leans down to kiss her. “And isn’t that the most comforting of sentiments,” he says, smiling against her lips.

But hells, he’s never wished more for her to be wrong.

#astarion #astarion x tav #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate fanfic #astarion x liv #bright lost things #slothquisitorwrites

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cilly-the-writer · 10 months

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SHADOWS OF SORCERY | Part 17 | “Shadow of Thread” | 1,642 words

Suggested music listening for the vibes: Darkside by Neoni because Elora has entered her villain era and she’s using her mind control ability

News of Kaden Brush's near death experience—and his stolen magic core—swept through the school quickly. It was one of the biggest threats a sorcerer could imagine. Having their magic taken from them. The vulnerability was frightening.

Somehow, the Regents Academy of Magic managed to convince the Power Authority to give him a spare magic core—taken from someone undeserving of magic. It was rare for them to redistribute magic.

Usually, they just destroyed it.

A one-time exception was made. Perhaps to maintain the school's reputation and reduce hysteria. It was an immense grace. But Kaden Brush wasn't exactly immensely grateful.

"This is so dumb…" Kaden said under his breath, while he stood in one of the school’s magic practice rooms. He breathed in and out before he waved and a purple light flashed through the air like a child had waved a sparkler.

It wasn't supposed to be so static.

"Why couldn't they at least give me developer magic? Why do I have to start all over?"

Suddenly, a knock came at the door and Kaden stopped in place.

"This room's taken!" Kaden yelled. But that didn't stop the knocker from entering.

Elora Spade stepped into the training room with her firelights, Imogene following beside her.

"We heard you're a caster now." Elora said. "We thought you could use some help training."

Kaden made a face.

"I don't need your help."

"Well, do you think you can help me?" Imogene asked. "I don't really know how to use my casting magic…"

Kaden blinked. What the hell? Is she stupid? I just got my magic. She should know how to use hers.

Imogene refrained from letting her friendly smile crack too much… Some people's thoughts were certainly harder to read than others. Imogene simply moved her hand and demonstrated what she meant—her purple light sparking up in static just like his.

"Fine."

Elora closed the door and then moved in toward Kaden.

"Well, I'm pretty good at casting," Elora set her hands on his shoulder as she began to position his arm for him, despite the reluctance on his face. "The key is just finding the right flow to control it.”

But her touch sparked something in Kaden's eyes and he jumped back. His memories had all come rushing back to him: targeting Elora on the bike path outside of school grounds and being mind controlled after he scared off her firelights.

"You're—!"

"Yes." Elora said, gesturing to control his movement so he couldn't escape. "And you're going to tell me everything you know about the person who sent you."

Kaden tensed at the way his body froze in place. He couldn't move.

"I swear—I don't know who he is—." Kaden said.

"What did he ask you to do?"

"Just—just to get you. He said he wanted rare and exceptional abilities. He had a list of people… but he wanted you the most."

"Who else was on the list?"

"I don't know… but he told me not to bother Charlotte Gallison."

Elora traded uneasy looks with Imogene. Then Elora proceeded to cast her energy magic around Kaden, seizing him in pain. Her firelights even flew back to hide behind Elora.

"Where is he keeping all the magic cores?"

"I don't know!" Kaden cried out in pain. "He showed me the room, but it was like a pocket dimension or something. He only let Devin know how to get in. Not me."

"Where did you meet him before that?"

"He always met me at the edge of campus, by the school nature trail."

"Well, maybe you can lure him out there for me. So I can take care of this once and for all."

"No! Please, he'll kill me!"

Elora fell silent as she released him from her mind control. He dropped to his hands and knees and coughed as he caught his breath.

Imogene sensed his fear and regret while Elora's silence lingered. She glanced over at Elora with a sorry look in her eyes, not wanting to lure him to his potential death. Even if he had tried killing Elora. It just felt too cruel…

Elora exhaled.

"Well then, what about Devin? Where did he go?"

Kaden lowered his brows at her condescending tone.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me anything. All I know is that the extractor guy gave him a new magic core.”

“Hmm.” Elora shifted her weight onto one leg and mulled it over. The magic cores had to be coming from somewhere. “Alright.” She stepped toward Kaden and he sprang backwards.

“Wait—what are you—.”

But she controlled him before he got any further away.

“You’re a loose thread. You’re going to forget this conversation.” She set her hands on the sides of his head and looked coldly into his panicked eyes. “And you won’t do anything to help the extractor anymore.”

Elora let go and fell back, watching as Kaden shut his eyes and instinctively held his head at the surge of numbness and pain. She had messed with his head. The effects were still settling into place. It wasn’t just instant. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes in a dazed state.

“What just happened?”

“Are you okay?” Elora asked. “You just took a hit to the head. You said you could block it.”

Kaden rubbed his head, not remembering anything after Elora had begun to give him pointers.

“Yeah, I guess…”

Imogene’s brows fell as guilt sank in.

“Why don’t you try to hit me instead?” Imogene said. Suddenly forming a very small energy field in front of herself.

Kaden sighed and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He positioned himself to wave an energy blast at her. He had the right spirit in the whisk of his hand, but the blast separated into static energy clouds that thinned and dissipated before they even reached her energy field. He was still thinking like it was developer magic. Like objects to be conjured.

Elora realized exactly what Imogene was doing. They were supposed to leave after she interrogated him, but Imogene didn’t want to leave him defenseless. Elora exhaled.

“Casting magic is fluid. Think of it like water.” Elora did a demonstration and pushed and pulled a blob of purple light around in the air in front of them. Her firelights hovered excitedly in awe as they gleaned a look.

Kaden didn’t say anything. He simply looked down at his hands and tried to form something similar, on a much smaller scale. It came out more fluid this time. But not perfect. He concentrated on it, and the longer he did, the more it deteriorated.

This was going to take a while.

They practiced well into the morning, past noon.

Imogene even invited him to grab a bite to eat with them later on, but he declined. The two girls left from there and headed to the campus library, where they checked into a study room. Elora walked right up to a podium with a purple tinted glass pane covering the top and set her palm over it, a magic seal lighting up across it.

“Articles about magic cases near Region: Redwood Sparrow Rivers.”

In a moment, a newspaper lit up and appeared under the glass. Elora glossed it over and pressed her palm to the glass again. A flashy purple light replaced it with a different newspaper. She kept pressing her hand to the glass to reveal the next one in the library’s records.

“So you do remember Kaden tried to kill me, right?” Elora glanced back at Imogene before she resumed browsing.

“I know…” Imogene said guiltily. “But when I read his thoughts… he didn’t understand why he felt so much… I don’t know… apathy for you before? Don’t get me wrong. His thoughts are very… apathetic. And they threatened to take his magic. So there’s that. But what if they have an emotion influencing ability and they used it on him?”

Elora made a squinting face, deep in thought.

“Maybe. But influencing abilities just change your mood. They don’t make you do things you’d never do. Like kill people.”

“You’re right…” Imogene said. “But…”

Elora sighed.

“But what?”

“He just wanted a materialization ability.” Imogene’s voice got sad.

“That’s literally the most common dreamer magic there is… He could have at least tried to kill me for something cool like teleporting. That’s so stupid.”

Imogene fell silent. She stood behind the room's study table and waved her hand over a single spot, conjuring a glass of orange juice alongside a sandwich on a plate. She raised the glass and before she took a sip, she said:

“Is it?” she raised a brow.

“Oh.”

“Anyway, he thought it would change his family’s life. They’re all realists. They don’t have any dreamer magic.”

“What do you want me to do? Adopt him?”

“No, of course not,” Imogene said. “But do you think you can mind control him one more time?”

Elora raised her brow this time. But before Imogene could elaborate, Elora stopped and stared at the newspaper that came up next. She pressed her hand over the glass and the glass vanished for her to take it.

“Hey… I think these people used to work for Jaelin’s grandfather.”

Elora held the paper out for Imogene to see. It was titled: EMPLOYEES OF CORE MAGIC SYSTEMS SENT POISON CORES.

They took it down to Jaelin's room and knocked at the door, waiting for him to respond. He opened the door, saw who it was, and cut them both off; rattling off a question:

“Hey—are you starting to think that the person who took Kaden's magic might be the same person we’re looking for? Because I am.” Jaelin stepped aside, revealing all the newspaper articles that covered the corkboard now. They were all about missing sorcerers and missing magic cores.

Jaelin had certainly been busy.

Next >>

#wip: SoS #writeblr #so the city naming system has finally made an appearence!#Region: Redwood Sparrow Rivers indicates some of the city's predominant features #so there can be places like Maple Cardinal Hills #etc.

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xoxo-teddybear · 3 years

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You Did This To Us - Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: ANGST, cursing, gore, implied sexual activity, infidelity, alcohol abuse, marijuana use, I’m just here to rip y’all hearts out, MDNI

Summary: It was a horrible battle against raging villains and he watched you, his loving wife of 6 years, get pierced right in front of him. It was traumatizing. Your days in the hospital sent him into depression, causing him to make the worst decisions of his life. Decisions he’s regretted the second he’s made them and decisions he’ll forever regret because of what it cost him.

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

He warned you not to come. No that’s not the right word. He begged you to sit your ass down at home where you would be safe. But of course, you were never that kind of hero. You could never sit on the sidelines and watch others fight a battle you knew you could at least try to help in. So with a heavy heart, he reluctantly allowed you to come. His first regret.

Because as the battle died down and victory was in sight, his world was thrown into chaos once more. The villains were down. The wind was settling. The dust was clearing. Katsuki could see you struggling to stand due to exhaustion but saw your smile nonetheless. He gave a breath of relief as he still saw you and jogged over to you. As he did, you noticed him coming your way and your smile only grew. Until it suddenly dropped, along with his own. Out of nowhere, a sharp, metal staff flew threw the air and pierced you right in the stomach. The sight was nauseating as Katsuki covered his mouth, truly shocked. He watched you in horror as you trembled before falling to the ground.

Katsuki looked behind him to find the attacker and saw some stupid, weak ass, good for nothing villain use the last of his power just to cause you harm. Then the world began to shake. No, that wasn’t it. Katsuki was violently trembling as he looked towards the bastard on the ground. Despite him being knocked out cold, that didn’t stop Dynamight from rushing over to him, grabbing him by the neck and blasting him. No one was around. No one would see. His job was safe. He could do this and have no repercussions whatsoever, so why not?

After the petty villain’s death, Katsuk used every ounce of strength in him to run to your body that had blood trickling down the side of your lips. “Y/N!”

You turned your head the best you could to find your husband sobbing his eyes out as he picked you up into his lap. He cradled your head and gently tapped your face, trying to keep you conscious. “Hey! Hey, you’re gonna be okay, alright?! You’re gonna be okay baby I promise.”

“Suki..I’m tired.” You whispered out in a weak voice. Hearing your words stabbed him through the chest.

“I-..I know baby. I know you’re tired. But- but you can’t go to sleep okay? Don’t go to sleep. You have to stay awake- stay alive! Okay?” He pleaded with you. He called out for a medic once he saw the flashing red and blue lights near the scene and held onto your body. He looked to you and saw your eyes becoming null and dense before firing back up again. You were falling in and out of consciousness. You were a fighter and you were trying to stay alive. It made him choke out a sad laugh. “You’re gonna make it, Teddy Bear, I swear.”

“….if I don’t make it-“

“You will, you idiot, don’t say shit like that!”

“But if I don’t…just- Ah-….just know I love you, Suki.”

Katsuki kissed your forehead before hugging you close. “I know, Y/N. I love you too. More than anyone, and more than you’ll ever fucking know.”

He noticed a small smile reach your lips before the medics came. Katsuki was quick to stand with you in his arms, careful and aware of the metal still pierced within you. He handed you off to the professionals who handled you with extra care. They brought you into the ambulance with Katsuki trying to follow in before being stopped.

“The fuck-“

“Dynamight, we can’t allow you to go in.” One said.

“And why the fuck not?! That’s my wife in there!” Katsuki shouted as he pointed to you.

“I understand, but her condition is severe. We can’t have anyone taking up space as we take care of her on her way to the hospital.” He explained.

“Taking up space?! Do you even know who you’re-“

“Sir, please. Let me do my job, let me save your wife’s life.” With that, Katsuki finally nodded in silence as he allowed the medic’s words to echo in his head. “Can you meet us at the hospital?”

Once again, a silent nod. With that, the medic was off and back to your seemingly lifeless body. Katsuki watched as he lead the team and perfectly directed them. He was sure that until you got to the hospital, you were in good hands. That was one guy he could surprisingly trust. He didn’t know him very well or at all for that matter, but he has Dynamight’s trust. Now Katsuki just had to head home and clean himself up before finding you again. Screw getting checked up. He knew his body. He knew he was damn well fucking fine.

—

As Katsuki opened the door to his house in a rush, he was quick to take a shower just to wash off the dirt and blood. He quickly hopped out and changed into some clothes before looking for his car keys. He found them at his nightstand along with the framed pictures of you and him. One on your wedding night and one celebrating your 3rd anniversary as a married couple. As Katsuki quickly looked through he pictures he smiled with a tear falling down his cheek. He looked around the room and took in all the pictures of you both that decorated your walls and tables.

You both were together since junior high. You were together for 10 years and despite being at the young ages of 23 and 22, he still decided to pop the big questions and propose. You said yes. It was one of the happiest days of his life, next to getting you to be his girlfriend, and meeting you in general. Forget the hero work, he’d trade it all if it meant he got to stay with you. You were always involved when it came to his happiest points in life. And now you were fighting for your life at the hospital. So with that, Bakugou wiped his tears and ran to his car, urgently trying to meet you at the building.

As he pulled up and parked, he pushed passed all the paparazzi and fans that surrounded the entrance due to news of you being there. You can assume how bad it got when everyone took notice of another pro-hero, and that pro being Dynamight no less, showing up. Despite all that, Bakugou forced his way in and made it to the front desk, demanding to know where you were. The poor lady at the desk had to deal with this explosive bomb, only to anger him even more by asking for his ID.

“Are you a fucking idiot?! Look at me! I’m Bakugou fucking Katsuki?! The number one pro fucking hero?!” He screamed at the poor girl.

“I’m- I’m sorry sir! It’s just protocol. H/N is a pro-hero, this is just what has to be done.” She shakily let out. Bakugou grunted before slamming his ID and Hero license onto the table. The lady nodded before handing him a piece of paper that had directions to your room.

Bakugou snatched it and gave her a scowl before running to look for you. Finally making it to one of the highest floors and down the longest hallways, he finally reached your door with 2 doctors already standing out in front of it. Bakugou tried to get through but they stopped him from entering.

“What?! What fucking now?!” He shouted as he stepped back to keep their hands off of him.

“Sir, they’re taking care of your wife just fine, but you have to wait here.” One of the docs demanded. With that, an argument bursted out between the pro and the doctors. The booming voices shook the building until a familiar voice was heard from behind the blonde.

“Dynamight, your wife’s in good care. I made sure my own wife was to be her head doctor.” Bakugou turned around to find the medic that stopped him from going into your ambulance there.

“It’s you.” He spoke aloud. The medic smiled before bowing.

“Daisuke Ena,” the medic said before standing back up straight. “Please trust me when I say your wife will be fine.”

“…and why should I?” Bakugou said after thinking for a minute.

“My wife is the one taking care of her. She is one of the best, if not the best, doctor in the prefecture. That’s not a biased opinion by the way, you can look her up. Daisuke Ami. I ensured it was her who was to see to your wife.” Daisuke said with a calm smile. After looking towards your hospital room, Katsuki turned back to the medic and nodded silently like he did before. But this time, he added a small ‘thank you.’

—

6 hours. Katsuki sat in one of the seats in front of your hospital room for 6 fucking hours only for them to tell him they cannot allow you visitors. You were in an unstable condition and so they sent Katsuki home. The news was heart wrenching. You always ran through Katsuki’s mind 24/7. He couldn’t stop it. But now, these thoughts were no longer happy and innocent, consisting of ‘damn, I miss her,’ and ‘I wonder what my girl’s doing right now.’ Instead they consisted of ‘Is she gonna be okay,’ and ‘she’s gonna come home, right?’ but most of all ‘I can’t lose her.’

Luckily for Katsuki, he became familiar with medical staff, Daisuke Ena, and was lucky enough to get his number. Daisuke gave him updates on Y/N. Usually, they weren’t so great but the hero appreciated the messages. The text didn’t help in uplifting Katsuki’s spirits though. If anything, they made them worse. In the beginning, Katsuki had hope that you would turn out okay.

But then a week passed.

And then another.

And then two more and before he knew it, you had already been in there for a month. This was the longest month of Katsuki’s life. It sucks to say but in the 13 years that you both have been together, he’s hasn’t done much alone outside of hero work. And even then, he would be lucky enough to work with you. It was always you and him together. Dates? Duh. Grocery shopping? Always you and him. Going for a walk? Why not? He loves spending as much time as he could with you. He loves you. But he hadn’t realize how dependent he became on your presence. In a way, you being gone drove him mad. He knew where you were. You were in the hospital. He could drive her there and see you right now!

No he can’t.

Because he would go and you would be stuck in bed, unconscious and hooked to machines, in a room, behind a door that Katsuki can’t get by. Seeing you isn’t the same as holding you. Speaking to you isn’t the same as conversing with you. There’s no reciprocation from your end. Being around your near lifeless body could only do so much. And so after two more weeks without you went by, Katsuki fell into a depression.

And that sucks because a few days after Katsuki’s depression began, it was okay for him to see you. But you hadn’t woken up yet. He didn’t think he would be able to be near you and your practically dead body. The fact that you were alive didn’t stick to him. He can’t see your beautiful E/C eyes, he can’t hear your honey-like voice..there’s no way you’re alive. The back of his mind still had hope. He knew you were stable. He knew you were gonna be okay..hopefully..but, you weren’t waking up. You were basically dead. Dead, dead, dead. And the more he thought about it, the more realistic the idea came to be.

So he didn’t visit you anymore..something else he’ll come to regret, and because he didn’t visit, he grew mad. Throwing away his life and succumbing to the tempting taste of alcohol. Any he could get. From the cheapest beers in cans to the finest liquors sold from top shelf. In the beginning, it was..controlled, but then he showed up to hero work completely wasted. Kirishima saved his job and forced Katsuki to take a break until he becomes stable again. This only gave Katsuki free time to do whatever the hell he wanted. And what did he want to do? He wanted to become lost.

Lost in alcohol, lost in weed, lost in everything. Lost because he doesn’t have you. Everyday he would spend it drinking and smoking, constantly being cross faded and surprising all his friends when he remained alive after all the substance abuse. Wake up, drink, get ready, drink, sit in the living room, smoke, cry over you, smoke and drink, eat and drink, go to sleep after a smoke sesh, cry over you once more. Eventually, Katsuki had cried so much, the only thing keeping him together was the fact that he had all these pictures of the two of you. Pictures of your smiles, you giving him a kiss, your dates, your accomplishments..he has all these pictures..but none of them would ever be as good as the real you.

Seeing his friend going down this road, Kirishima couldn’t help but try to do everything he could to fix his friend. No matter how many times Katsuki pushed him away, the red head kept going back. And none of his attempts to help his friend worked. Until…

—

“What now, Shitty Hair?” Bakugou groaned as he opened his door and squinted at the bright day light. He doesn’t remember that last time he’s seen the sun.

“I know you’ve been in a slump-“

“Slump? That’s what you call this? I lost the love of my life, Kirishima. This isn’t a fucking slump.” Bakugou said a little louder this time.

“She’s not gone, Bakugou.” Kirishima said trying to reassure his friend.

“But she’s not here either,” the blonde said as he chewed on his lip. “…look, whatever it is you want from me, I can’t give you. Not until Y/N is back at home, here, with me, safe and alive.”

“I know you feel that way man, but you can’t keep living like this. It’s not good for you. You at least need to get out of your house.” Kirishima said with his hand on the door as Bakugou tried to shut it. The blonde narrowed his eyes at his best friend before Kirishima spoke up again. “We can go wherever you wanna go and do whatever you wanna do, you just gotta get out of this house. Please.”

As Katsuki thought about it, he took a deep sigh before speaking. “Tonight at Hiro’s?”

“Dude, you wanna go to a bar-“

“It’s a club. Better than a bar, better drinks.” Bakugou corrected.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna hit the gym or maybe go to an actual restaurant or something?” Kirishima said, trying to steer his friend clear of alcohol.

“If you want me out of my house, then we go where I wanna go. No exceptions.” Bakugou said with a stern voice. Kirishima thought about it and sighed before giving in.

“Fine. But first, you gotta clean yourself up.” The red head said. The blonde nodded before going to shut his door, only to be interrupted by his friend once again. “With a little help from your best buds.”

As Kiri pushed the door open even more, Kaminari and Sero showed their faces that held kind smiles that only made Katsuki seethe. “No fucking way. This isn’t some girl’s trip and we aren’t doing makeovers.”

“Nobody said anything about a makeover, we’re just gonna help clean ya’ up Kacchan!” Denki smiled.

“I’m a grown man, I don’t need help cleaning up.” Bakugou said with a growl.

“Tell that to your stubble, messy hair, eye bags, and stench.” Sero began. “Seriously man, you smell like liquor and weed. You’re lucky you got that caramel thing going on to save you…barely.”

Before he knew it, his friends had pushed him into his house and quickly directed him to the bathroom. They did a full treatment. Forced him into the shower and made him soak in a tub of scented soaps and bath additions as they cleaned his house. Once they were done they had picked out a clean outfit for him before working on his face. They shaved his stubble, cleaned up his cut, put some eye cream on his bags, gave him some breath spray and changed out a few of his piercings. The full treatment. And when they showed Bakugou the new old him, he couldn’t deny he felt a little better. At least, before they stepped into his room again and he saw a few pictures of you. That’s when the slump in his shoulder returned.

Seeing this, his friends were quick to take him out of the house and head to Hiro’s. Walking in, they sat at the bar, ordered some food and a few drinks, and did whatever they could to keep Bakugou’s mind off of you. And for most of the night, it worked! Bakugou was laughing again, smiling, being his old self. But that’s when Denki decided to risk it.

“We doing shots or what?” The electric blonde asked. Kirishima gave him a look as he spoke.

“Uh, let’s go light on the liquor tonight. We don’t need shots to have a good time, right?” Kirishima said. Bakugou looked at him and chuckled.

“It’s nice of you to look out for me, Shitty hair, but I got this. Trust me.” Bakugou said with a small smile.

“I don’t know, man.” Kirishima said with a pout.

“Don’t be a pussy, Kirishima.” Kaminari smirked. That’s when all of Kiri’s friends, even Bakugou, began to egg him on. Of course, he gave in. Why not? What’s the worst that could happen? Bakugou gets drunk? He’s already been drunk before, nothing too crazy could happen, right?

Wrong. Shots were being downed and the 4 friends were losing themselves. The music was blasting, the lights were blinding, and the friends were…everywhere! Kirishima was probably puking his guts out in the bathroom, Sero and Kaminari were drunk on the dance floor, leaving Bakugou drunk at the bar by himself. Bad idea. The poor blonde was looking at his phone going through pictures of you and him together. He already missed you like crazy when he was sober, now that he’s drunk, that missing has hit full throttle. And then he caught the eye of a snake.

She walked up to the pro-hero with full confidence as she took a seat next to him. “Dynamight.”

Bakugou looked up from his phone with a scowl and blush from the alcohol. “Do I fucking know you?”

“No but-“

“Then get lost.” He said and downed another sip of his whiskey. The woman smirked at his crude behavior.

“Feisty. I like that about you, you know. Always playing hard to get.” She said with a seductive tone.

“I’m not playing hard to get, I’m playing impossible to get because I’m married,” he said and showed his wedding ring. “Happily.”

“You don’t seem too happy right now mister hero. My name’s Leiko..and if you want..I could help take away your troubles.” She offered with a smile as she leaned forward, making sure to expose a little more cleavage than necessary.

“My wife is better than just some quick fuck, so no thanks.” Bakugou said, still not taking his eyes off her, trying to scare her away with a glare that unfortunately she only smirked at.

“Who said I was trying to fuck? Why don’t you talk to me? Vent. Rant. It won’t get your mind off of your wife but it will help clear your head.” She said.

“And why the hell do you think I’m having issues with my wife?!” He asked with a tense voice.

“I walked over here and you were staring down at pictures of her on your phone. Miss H/N is beautiful. You’re a very lucky man.” Leiko said, playing the role of a snake perfectly.

“…I am..” Bakugou agreed before swallowing a gulp. “I’m Uh…I’m not having issues with her or anything. And we’re not fighting either. She’s just..been in the hospital recovering from a battle..I just miss her…”

He didn’t know whether it was the alcohol or if Leiko was just that good at pretending to be nice or both, but for whatever reason she made it easy to clear his mind. She listened well, never putting any input in. She let him speak freely and only spoke up when he looked at her in expectance to. In the moment..she was being a good friend. She allowed him to vent all he wanted about you, about how much he missed you and loves you. And by the end of the night, Katsuki could feel his chest feel a little lighter.

They didn’t sleep together but Leiko left an impression on his drunk self for sure. Maybe even him as a person. He’d remember her as ‘that one nice lady from the club.’ But that was until a few days later when she reached out to him on social media. Leiko was a perfect snake. Knowing exactly what she wanted and exactly how to get it. They spoke for some time online, casual conversations. Most times, it was Leiko asking about you and if you were okay. This went on for some time until their conversations changed. Leiko casually threw in a little flirt every now and then, Katsuki saw and held no reply for it, but didn’t stop her from doing so. Leiko seemed like a good friend. A good way to air out his emotions and issues. So despite her pushy and flirtatious nature, he kept her around. Solely as a friend.

Soon enough, Leiko offered to meet in person once more. At the same club they first met in. ‘Why not?’ Katsuki thought. He had nothing else to do. And so he went. Then he went again. And again. And again. The two became ‘friends’ and Katsuki even brought her back into your shared home where they shared even more drinks. Eventually, the use of marijuana came into play and now the two were cross faded. At least one of them was. Leiko was smart and sneaky. She took less drinks, didn’t inhale the smoke, and basically remained sober. She was in complete control, unlike the blonde hero who sat on the couch beside her. He was now upset and hurt as he thought about you.

“I-..I just miss her so damn much..it fucking hurts at this point.” He said with a whimper in his voice. Being so vulnerable, Leiko took her chance and slid in.

“Well..there’s always one way to take your mind off of harsh things like this.” She softly said with a hand in his lap. She leaned in and Bakugou made no move to stop her and allowed her to continue. She pressed his lips against his and despite it not being reciprocated the first time, she still pushed with it. Katsuki didn’t enjoy it all that much or at all. It was different, it was new, it wasn’t you. It didn’t feel like home. Her lips weren’t soft, they weren’t as plump, they didn’t have the same sweet and addicting taste you did but in a way..Katsuki felt it was what he needed. Her kiss wasn’t like yours. In fact, it was the complete opposite and he hated it. But it didn’t resemble you. When Leiko kissed him, it didn’t remind him of you, and that’s what he thought he needed. So despite not liking the kiss, when she pulled away, he pulled her back. Eventually the kiss grew more intense until it was brought to the bedroom where their night continued in a more sinful manner.

That morning, Katsuki made Leiko leave, angered at what she tricked him into and ashamed of his betrayal. How could he do that to you?! His love of over a decade! When Leiko was gone, Katsuki allowed himself to break down his walls and cry. He cried so hard that morning, more than he’s ever cried before. That morning made him realize his third regret.

Leiko and Katsuki never spoke again..until some days later when Katsuki allowed himself to become extremely drunk once more. He fell into his obsessive thoughts of you and felt the pain come again. Wanting to erase the hurt, he reached out to Leiko and asked her to come over and distract him again. He needed to feel something that wasn’t you. And so Leiko happily went over that night. And a few more nights because Katsuki felt the pain again for a few more nights. As Leiko kept going, she noticed the house loss more and more touches of you. Katsuki flipped his pictures of you in his bedroom so that they wouldn’t see his nights of betrayal and he moved his clothes out of your shared closet so he wouldn’t be reminded and hit with your addicting scent that lingered on your clothes. Leiko smiled, feeling like a victor as Katsuki slept beside her in your bed on your side. The two would have quite a surprise in the morning.

—

Katsuki was awake and was still feeling the shame. He didn’t like sleeping around with Leiko but he liked the way it distracted him from his painful thoughts of you. Every morning after a night spent with her was the same. The two would wake up, she would put on one of his shirts despite his protests and get ready in his bathroom as he sat in the living room downstairs. But this morning had a little surprise twist.

As Katsuki sat in the living room with his head down, the doorbell rung. Growling in annoyance at one of his friends’ presence, he reluctantly went to open the door with a sour mood. “WHAT?!”

“Umm, excuse me. Who the fuck do you think you are talking to your wife like that?” You asked with attitude. As Katsuki adjusted his eyes to the light and his ears caught the sound of his favorite song, his eyes widened and his smile rose.

“Y-Y/N?” He asked in complete shock. He saw you alive, healthy, smiling, looking naturally beautiful right in front of him.

“Missed me, Suki?” You asked with a giggle. Bakugou pushed the door open to pull you in for the tightest hug as he lifted you off the ground.

“YOU’RE BACK!” He cried out. He held you tight and shut the door with his foot as he dropped onto the couch with you on top of him. He held you close to him as he cried into your neck. “You’re really back! Fuck- I missed you so much Y/N! I fucking love you- I’ve been a mess without you..shit!”

His tears were everlasting as they fell from his ruby eyes that you missed so much. You smiled as you wiped them away with your thumbs and the soft touch he’s craved and missed so much. You pecked his nose to calm him down as you allowed your hands to get lost in his blonde hair. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m here, Suki. I’m back.”

Katsuki still held tears in his eyes and was shaking in happiness as you remained oh so close, giving him the warmth he needed after so many months. “Tell me you love me, Y/N.”

“I love you Bakugou Katsuki.” You happily said. Your husband teared up once more, so happy he was able to hear those words from you again, before pulling you in for a passionate kiss. A kiss that brought him back to life. He took in your scent and the way you tasted illegally sweet. He let his hands roam your body in a loving way until they found way into your soft H/C locks, trying to bring your head closer to his despite your lips already being in contact. You pulled away with him chasing after your lips, needing to push him back a little to allow yourself to breath. “Relax Suki.”

He scoffed at that. “Relax? I just got you back, you’re not calling the shots today princess, that’s all me.”

You both have a little laugh as you tucked in to cuddle for a small time. He missed this. This is what he needed. This is what he’s been dying for. To have you back in his arms, alive, healthy, and present. He needed this for so long and now that he has it, he feels whole again. After spending some cuddle minutes on the couch, you rose up in need for a glass of water. As you tried to walk away, Katsuki tugged on your arm to try and bring you back to him, only to have you calm him down. “I’m just getting some water, Suki.”

He reluctantly let you go, allowing himself to smile like an idiot, glad to be around you again. As you searched for a glass in the cabin, that’s when Bakugou detected the sound of someone turning the shower off. And that’s when his eyes popped. His betrayal to you. The multiple times he betrayed your love and literal proof of it standing in his shared home with you. That’s when he began to silently panic. You were gonna find out. You were gonna find out he had been acting like a sleeze behind your back and you were gonna be pissed. Heartbroken. Downright furious and you had every right to be, but Katsuki wouldn’t allow it. He knew once you found out, you would leave again. But you can’t leave! He just got you back! You’re not allowed to leave when you finally came back to him. He’s finally happy again because you’re back! You can’t leave now!

“Hey, Baby, don’t you wanna see your friends?” Katsuki asked as he walked over to you. You had finished your glass and placed it down on the island when your husband came over asking an absurd question.

“Suki, they were all there when I left the hospital. They were the ones who bought me these new clothes. Aren’t they cute?” You asked with the smile he loved oh so much.

“Uh- yeah, yeah they look amazing on you Teddy Bear. Umm..if they were all with you, why didn’t they tell me you were coming back home?” He asked as you wrapped your arms around his neck and his went right to home on your waist.

“I wanted to surprise you!” You giggled. “How’d I do?”

“Really fucking good, you little dumbass. But why don’t we get some fresh air? Yeah?” He said as he tried pulling you to the door.

“What why? I was just out there.” You said as you stopped in your tracks. “Besides, I heard you didn’t visit me much in the hospital ya’ big meanie. I wanna spend as much time with you as I can.”

“I was gone because I couldn’t stand to see you like that, baby.” He said with a whimper.

“Yeah I figured. Which is why I’m not too mad, but you still gotta make it up to me with cuddles, so let’s go!” You said and tried pulling him in the direction of your bedroom but he planted his feet into the ground.

“We can still spend time together outside the house, Teddy Bear,” Katsuki said enthusiastically, trying to keep you away from the room that for sure reeked of sex and held scattered clothes of his own and another woman’s.

“But I want to spend time at home with you,” you pouted. Bakugou felt his heart melt at the cute face you pulled and brought you closer to him.

“I know, I wanna spend time with you too but I’ve been in the house for so long, I think I need to get out of here.” The blonde said while being aware and on the lookout for Leiko.

“Well I’ve been out of the house for so long and I know I need to be in it. Besides, as your previously injured wife, what I say goes.” You said with sass and a smile. Katsuki laughed, loving your little attitude but still worried of what you may find out.

“Baby please, can we just go?” He begged as he held your soft hands in his.

“Why are you so adamant on leaving, Suki?” You asked

“That’s because he doesn’t want you to find out about me.”

Your body jumped at the sound of a new voice and you looked at Katsuki’s face, noticing it scrunching in fear, before you turned around to find another woman wearing nothing but Katsuki’s shirt. The same shirt you’ve worn a thousand times over. You could feel your heart clenching in pain but you stood your ground no less.

“Who are you?” You asked as you dropped your hands from your husband’s. You heard his little whine at the loss of your touch as he reached out to hold into your arm but you gently pushed him off.

“Y/N-“

“Oh come on, H/N. Don’t be in denial. I bet you already have an exact idea on who I am.” Leiko said with a smirk as she looked at you. You turned to your husband with raised brows and a face of anger as you glared at him. You looked back at her and bit your lip before smiling.

“Were you in it for the long haul?” You asked Leiko, wondering if she really wanted Katsuki or if she was just getting pleasure out of this.

“Definitely not. I just came for a quick fuck every now and then. Wanted to get a feel of what it was like getting dicked down by a big shot pro-hero.” She said casually.

“Did you know he was married?” You asked.

“Yeah but he didn’t seem to care so neither did I.” She said. This made your blood boil a bit and you wanted to cry so damn bad, but you refused to allow your whore of a husband and this stranger to see you break. You huffed before smiling again.

“You can take your leave now.” You kindly said. Leiko looked at you in confusion.

“You’re not mad?” She asked. Katsuki had the same thought running through his mind as his heart raced at this conversation happening right here right now.

“Oh I’m furious. But am I really supposed to be mad at some stranger who’s content with being a home wrecker? ‘Cuz I feel like most of my anger should be directed to the man-whore behind me.” You said, never looking Katsuki’s way.

“Y/N, please-“

“I’m not speaking to you yet.” You said calmly, still not looking at him. You didn’t have to turn around to know there were tears in your husband’s eyes. Leiko smiled before standing a little taller.

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave,” she said and took off the big shirt and throwing it onto the couch, leaving herself in her underwear. “Am I expected to be back for another visit?”

“You can come back as many times as Katsuki asks. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a single man again.” You said with a laugh.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Katsuki asked with a break in his voice. Leiko laughed too before nodding and walking back to the bedroom and gathering her things. You walked silently to sit on the couch with Katsuki following you. “Y/N, what the fuck do you mean I’m single. I’m still your husband!”

You remained silent as you looked at him with a sarcastic smile. You said nothing as you waited for Leiko to return. “Say something!”

Finally, Leiko walked down the stairs, fully dressed, and looked to you before taking her leave. You smiled at her before speaking. “So..I don’t want him anymore. Do you?”

“No I’m good. Anybody’s good for a fuck but I don’t date cheaters.” Leiko said with her hand on the knob.

“I’m not a fucking cheater!” Katsuki shouted at her as he had tears dripping down his face. She gave him a dry laugh before opening the door.

“Take a look around Bakugou. You’re not a cheater?” She asked before walking out and shutting the door, leaving the two of you in the broken home. Silence passed and all that could be heard was Katsuki’s shaky breath. You then stood up, gaining his attention, and tried walking to your bedroom before Katsuki stopped you by holding onto your arm. Tight.

“Where the fuck are you going, Y/N?” He asked as he cried angrily. You tried to shake him off of you to no avail.

“I’m leaving you fucking idiot. If you haven’t noticed, you cheated. You were disloyal. You allowed some stranger into our home, into our bed, just to get your dick wet.” You said with an angry but calm tone.

“She wasn’t a stranger.” Bakugou said trying to defend himself. You laughed and stepped to face him.

“Oh really? Tell me one damn thing you know about her.” You asked. As Katsuki thought about it..he really didn’t know anything about her. Fuck- he didn’t even know her family name. All he knew was that her name was Leiko. They were speaking for a month and in that entire month, Katsuki only ever talked about himself. She never gave up any information about herself. All she wanted to do was get to know Katsuki and get in his pants. She really was a stranger and he just tossed away his entire relationship for some whore. His silence gave you your answer. “That’s what I thought.”

You tried walking away again before he ran to stand in front of you. “Y/N! Please! Just listen, okay? I was depressed because you were gone!”

“And that’s your excuse for cheating on me?!” You shouted.

“No! But- but it hurt me to even think about you in that hospital bed! I couldn’t even face you without feeling like I was dying! And then that fucking snake came and she distracted me and kept my thoughts away from you. She kept the pain away. I know that that’s not excuse for what I did but please try to understand why I did it!” He begged as he cried.

“I will never understand! Because I could never do what you did! If you were in the hospital, close to death, I would’ve been by your side every second of every day! Yes I would’ve felt all the pain and depression you did but I wouldn’t want to distract myself from it! Because at least then I would be thinking about you, and worrying about you, and caring about you, and loving you because you’re my husband Katsuki! I wouldn’t ever want to not think about you!” You shouted in anger and hurt as you allowed a few tears to fall. This urged Katsuki to cup your face in his hands and wipe away your tears.

“I’m so sorry, baby. Please, can we just move pass this? Please.” He said softly as he pressed his forehead to your own before you shoved him off.

“Get away from me!” You shouted, breaking his heart as he stumbled back. “After everything we’ve been through, you go and do this to me?! AFTER EVERYTHING?!”

“IM SORRY! PLEASE! I CAN’T TAKE BACK WHAT I DID BUT YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE ME!” He shouted back.

“WHO THE FUCK SAYS I HAVE TO FORGIVE YOU, BAKUGOU?!” You said, emphasizing the use of his family name. The name that you also held.

“Don’t call me that, baby, please.” He whimpered.

“DON’T FUCKING CALL ME THAT BAKUGOU! WE’RE DONE!” You shouted and walked away to your room with him following you. He kept spewing apologies up until you opened the bedroom door. It was a horrible mess and the stench of sex filled the air. You covered your mouth and nose as tears pricked your eyes before walking in to open your closet, disappointed as you noticed all the pictures of you two were flipped to be hidden. When you opened the doors, you didn’t find your clothes. “Where the fuck is my stuff, Bakugou.”

“I’m not telling you because you’re not leaving me, Y/N!” He said as he tried to hug you from behind before you pushed him off again.

“I’m not staying here! Tell me where my stuff is so I can leave!” You demanded.

“Like hell I will! We haven’t even had a full talk about this! You can’t just leave!” He said. You watched as tears fell down his face which only made you even more angry. He was crying? He did this! This is all his fault! How can he be the one upset?! “Y/N please, I’ll get on my fucking knees and beg you to stay if it’s what it takes but you can’t go! We’ve been together for 13 years! 13! Even before UA-“

“And you threw all that away when you decided to sleep with someone else.” You said calmly. You walked out of the room in search for your clothes as he followed and continued to speak with sobs breaking apart his sentences.

“Y/N please! I- I can fix this! You don’t have to go! You can stay and we can be happy, just like we’ve always been! Just like we were a few minutes ago before that bitch walked in and ruined everything!” He cried making you turn around in a snap.

“She didn’t ruin anything Katsuki. When you allowed her to come into your life and into our home, that’s when you fucked up. You did this to us. You ruined everything.” You said before continuing your search.

“T-Tell me what you want Y/N! I’ll make it happen! I’ll do anything- I’ll give you the fucking world! As long as you stay!” He begged. You approached the guest room in silence and Bakugou grew frantic as he blocked you from going in. “Please- don’t.”

“All my stuff is in there, isn’t it?” You asked, already knowing the answer and only having it confirmed when he remained silent. “Get out of my way.”

Bakugou shook his head as he kept the door block as you tried to pry your way through. Growing frustrated, you used a small amount of your quirk to blast him through the door, having him groan in pain as he hit the floor and watched you find your clothes in the guest room closet. You began packing your things and Bakugou was quick to stand and take everything you put in your bag out. “Stop it!”

“No! You’re staying with me! You’re not leaving me Y/N- I won’t lose you again!” He said as he tossed your bag across the room. You watched it go and stood in disbelief at his childish antics.

“Heh, you know what? Whatever, keep all the clothes. Maybe you’ll gift it to the next girl you decide to bring back here.” You said with attitude.

“I’m not bringing anybody else through those doors! I ONLY WANT YOU Y/N!” He shouted.

“Doubtful. Keep it, burn it, regift it, I don’t care. With my salary I can buy myself a new wardrobe and a new apartment. Far. Away. From you.” You said and walked out of the room. As you tried to exit the house, Katsuki pulled you back into his arms as you struggled in his grip with your face smushed against his chest.

“Please! Please tell me what you want! I’ll do anything! I’ll buy you anything! We’ll do whatever you want- Y/N I’ll even quit my job! Just please don’t go! Please forgive me!” He cried before you harshly pushed him off to reveal your sobbing face.

“I WANT TO LEAVE! BECAUSE I DONT WANT THIS ANYMORE KATSUKI!” You shouted before wiping your eyes and bringing your voice down. “I wanted my husband there with me at the hospital! I wanted him to be the first face that I saw when I woke up! But you couldn’t even give me that! Instead, you were in our home in our bed with some random person you found wherever having sex with her despite the fact that you’re a married man! …I was in a fucking hospital fighting for my life and my husband was too busy cheating on me, trying not to think about me…..I want to leave Katsuki.”

“….I can’t let you do that Y/N…I’m sorry. But I can’t do this without you.” He cried as you listed all his shortcomings. “I’ll give you whatever-“

“I don’t want material things!” You shouted in exhaustion. “I wanted your loyalty and love!”

“And you have that!”

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if I did!” You said. “I’m leaving, Katsuki. And not you or anybody else in this fucking world is going to stop me. If you try and trap me here I will break down these walls myself and get out. If you force me to stay I will do whatever it takes to get away from you. I’m not staying with you. So we’re done. And we’re getting a divorce, whether you like it or not.”

As you walked to the door you could hear his heart breaking cries as you opened the exit. “Y/N please. I don’t want this, I waited months for you to come home to me…I need you.”

“When are you gonna realize Katsuki? This is your fault. You did this to us.”

And with that, you shut the door on the house, the home, the relationship, and him. And it was all his fault.

A/N: Y’all ima be writing a part 2 for this so stay tuned

Tag list: @sxcker4you @aomi04 @tessabrown101 @ebiharachan @is-this-ash @iris-shihabi @sxturn-stars @isolight @lanantoine @whatdidshesayyy @kiranogareru

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fics-by-caroline · 3 years

Text

Bloodlust

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Magical!Reader

Summary: You and Loki are part of the Avengers, but the pair of you have different ideas of what justice entails than the rest of the group; i.e., more horror, more drama, an eye for an eye. And man, do you two ever look sexy covered in blood.

Category: Smut (18+ only, please!)

Warnings: Smut (blood kink, oral sex -- f receiving), rough sex, porn with some plot), language, graphic descriptions of violence, gore, smoking, alcohol consumption, mention of human trafficking.

A/N: This is my first time writing smut, so please be nice 🥺

Taking a drag from a cigar in the corner of the dimly-lit speakeasy, your target looked you up and down. Even without tapping into his thoughts, you could tell that he liked what he saw; how the black dress you wore hugged your figure, how you had crossed your legs in a way that allowed him to catch the red bottoms of your heels, red that was reflected in your lipstick and nails. You turned to make eye contact with him, and were immediately hit with hearing him imagine you on your knees sucking him off in one of his fancy cars and afterwards kicking you out onto the street.

Typical, You thought with disgust, finishing your martini. You could feel his eyes on you, burning into your back. Feeling him get up and walk towards you, you shot a knowing look at Loki across the bar.

“Can I buy you a drink?” The man’s voice was dripping in disgusting salaciousness. He sat beside you, reeking of the over-application of cologne, whiskey, and cigar smoke.

You shot him a demure smile. “A dirty martini, drier than the Sahara.”

The man waved down the bartender before leaning closer to you. “Michael Ashbourne.”

You suppressed an eye roll, taking instead to lighting a cigarette. “I know who you are, Mr. Ashbourne.”

“And what is it that you know of me?” Ashbourne stroked your hair with a drunken finger.

Uncrossing your legs, you turned to face him. “That you are one of the worst Midgardian men alive today. You cheat people out of their winnings in various casinos around the world, making yourself and your friends — no doubt the ones who surrounded you in that corner over there — some of the richest men in the world, while managing to operate under the radars of your enemy governments. You sell weapons and drugs because you always want even more money on top of the billions you already have, not caring about the damage you cause. You drink the most expensive liquors, sleep with all the women you please, and leave people eating the dust in your wake. But what brings you to the epitome of disgusting actions is your engagement in the trafficking of girls, once again, for even more money.” Even though you kept your voice low, you made sure to lace every word with biting poison.

Ashbourne pulled back in shock, unmoving and speechless.

You smirked at his silence. “Your cunningness is almost impressive, especially for a human. You manage to remain one step ahead of the mewling mortals who are left to crawl in your fading footprints. Bravo. Unfortunately for you, however, I am not one of them.” You waved a finger, from which a small ribbon of white magic followed.

“Who the hell are you?” Ashbourne hissed.

“A hero in the eyes of the people you have crossed, and the villain in yours.”

Ashbourne scoffed condescendingly. Stupid bitch, you heard him think. “Speaking in mysterious riddles just makes you look stupid, missy. I don’t know how you know what you know, but it’s a bit too much for my liking.” He raised a hand, beckoning over the large men who had accompanied him.

You sighed, unimpressed. Before they could so much as reach for their belt, you pulled the pistol from your garter stockings and fired silenced shots in between their eyes, before holding a dagger against Ashbourne’s throat. The speakeasy froze in horrified silence.

With a small chuckle at the sudden shock and fear in Ashbourne’s muddy eyes, you called to Loki. “Darling, are there others?”

“No darling, not here … but we can’t have witnesses, can we?” Loki sauntered up to you, kissing you on the head. He looked around at the few bystanders in the bar, terror keeping their feet rooted in place.

“Loki, is that really necessary —”

You were cut off by Loki launching towards the horrified bystanders like a cat pouncing on prey, his daggers slicing through their necks gliding ease. He finished off by throwing a knife into the bartender’s skull, silencing his terrorized mind that shrieked in your own so annoyingly. Loki looked back at you with an amused glint in his eyes, blood on every surface of the speakeasy, including Loki’s own body. Gesturing around him, he noted dryly, “They were dead in seconds, no suffering.”

You rolled your eyes before turning your attention back to Ashbourne, who sat with eyes wide and mouth agape. You smirked and applied a bit more pressure to the blade in your hand, drawing small beads of blood. You snuffed out your cigarette and stood up, toying with his bowtie as your heel dug into his foot. You could taste the fear that drenched his mind. “What’s this?” You cooed. “Feeling scared?”

“Ah, you’re so right, my love,” Loki smiled, looking around the room at the bloody mess he created. “Not using magic is so much more fun. I missed getting my hands dirty.”

You chuckled lowly. You couldn’t help but stare at him hungrily; there was something in the way the blood splatter stood out against his pale skin that awoke an arousal in you. Shaking your head, you turned back to the man under your knife and cocked an eyebrow. “How do you think I should do this? Stabbing is too classic, going for the neck is too neat.”

“Unzip him, dear,” Loki hummed. He shot a bolt of green magic towards the man, binding him in glowing ropes that wrapped around his pitiful body. Noticing your dry look, he shrugged. “I want a proper view of your handiwork, and I can’t have that if I’m holding him.”

“Fair enough,” You said. After a moment’s thought, you waved your hands, making Ashbourne’s shirt disappear in a white flash of your own magic.

“Wait, wait, stop. What do you want? Money? I have money. What do you want?” Ashbourne pleaded.

“I want ...” you said coldly, “to hear you scream.”

You stepped forward and sunk your dagger into his lower abdomen, slicing upwards smoothy, careful as to not sever any major blood vessels. Ashbourne screamed in agony — music to both yours and Loki’s ears. You grinned at the blood that spurted out to meet you, and tossed the dagger onto the surface of the bar. You looked at the open mess in front of you and sunk your hand into the open cavity, making Ashbourne wail.

Loki smacked Ashbourne’s face with a deadly glare. “Stay awake, you.”

You reached farther into Ashbourne’s gut, quickly finding the pulsating aorta. You looked up at Ashbourne’s paling face, cheek now sporting a bloody handprint from where Loki had slapped him, and pulled on the artery, which snapped and spurted hot blood all over you. Loki released his magic binds, leaving the body of the man to collapse like a rag doll onto the floor, very much dead.

You could hear your own heartbeat pounding in your ears as you discarded the shred of aorta in your hands onto the lifeless body. You turned to look at Loki, who was smiling back at you with a familiar, blazing fire behind his eyes. He reached over and picked up your discarded dagger from the tabletop. He looked it over once, then swiped his tongue up one side of the blade. You groaned in arousal at the sight.

“The taste of justice, my dear,” He said, licking his lips.

He turned his fiery gaze back on you, holding the knife out for your taking. Without breaking eye contact, you licked up the other side, the metallic taste of Ashbourne’s blood spreading through your mouth only adding to the wet ache between your legs.

“Fucking hell,” Loki breathed, the large bulge in his dress trousers clearly evident.

You took the dagger, swiping away the rest of the blood that stained it on your finger and licked it clean. A deep rumble escaped from Loki’s lips before he smashed his lips onto yours, your tongues trading the tastes of blood and saliva. With a sharp tug, Loki tore your dress down and pinched your nipples between his bloodied fingers as he backed you up onto the bar. While normally, he would take his time with you, tease you at a torturously slow pace, make you plead and squirm beneath him, he now was fuelled purely by an animalistic flame, his lips and teeth marking your lips, jaw, neck, shoulders, collarbones. You broke apart only for you to render the pair of you naked by way of a flick of the wrist and a flash of white light. You stared at each other, both of you breathless and admiring how the blood that drenched your clothing had stained your bodies in a beautiful pattern of death.

“I love you so much,” You whispered.

“I love you too,” Loki said, brushing his thumb over your bottom lip lightly.

In a flash, the momentary gentleness was gone as Loki pushed two fingers inside of you and curled them. You shouted out in pleasure, then gasped when you felt Loki’s tongue on your clit.

“Fuck, Loki!” You hissed, throwing your head back and grinding deeper onto Loki’s fingers and tongue.

The most audacious and obscene sounds filled the speakeasy as Loki twisted his fingers inside your cunt and attacked you with his mouth. You moaned unabashedly and Loki in return groaned against your body. His nips against your clit were anything but gentle, his fingers fucking your cunt so deeply, so gloriously, that your entire body sparked with invisible electricity.

“You’re going to cum for me,” Loki growled, “you’re going to cum for me and make me drink it as you do.”

You nodded into the air, gasping, panting, writhing under him. You clenched around his head, locking Loki into place, and came on his face, rolling and thrusting your hips against his mouth. Loki held your hips and drank your release until your orgasm finally finished washing over you.

Before you could begin to catch your breath, Loki seized your neck in one large hand and pushed himself inside of you in one fluid motion, causing the both of you to moan loudly. He started moving his hips immediately at a quick and relentless pace, splitting you apart in pleasure. You reached up to wrap your arms and legs around him desperately. As he hit that sweet spot that no other could, you brought your nails down his back, no doubt drawing blood. All thoughts had disappeared from your minds, pure animalistic pleasure and arousal clearing everything else out. Your combined energy made the lights spark and flicker, furniture going flying as your grip on your magic became weaker. Loki slammed into you, your walls tight around him, his pelvis grinding in such a way that he moved against your clit. You were only barely registering how you clung onto him for dear life, the most indecent noises pouring from both of your mouths, bodies slick in blood and sweat sliding against one another. Your connection into each other’s minds let you both know that the other was just as close to their climax without speaking. Expletives punctuated your shared groans and screams, Loki’s grip on your body so tight that bruises were sure to follow, your teeth and nails marking his skin.

“Loki, I — fuck — Loki!” You cried as you felt your body begin to tremble uncontrollably.

“I know, I — ah! I know —!” Loki groaned, biting your neck.

You exploded again with a scream and you slammed your hand onto the table, releasing a huge pulse of magic that levelled the room around you. Green explosions set off around you as Loki lost control and spilled into you with a stammering thrust and deep groan. Even though your eyes were both closed, you could see each other in your minds, totally blissful and exhausted, chests heaving. Loki’s lips found yours in a loving kiss.

“We should ... we should clean up here before the others come by,” You said, still out of breath.

Loki nodded wordlessly. He pulled out of you, causing you to whimper. We waved his hand, and the speakeasy righted itself in a glow of green light. Tables and chairs fixed themselves, light fixtures hung back up on the ceilings, blood and bodies disappeared, until the only remnant of your activities was the gore that still covered your naked bodies. You stood up and cricked your neck before cleaning yourself and Loki up, and dressing the pair of you in the dress and tuxedo you two were wearing.

“What will we say to the others when they ask about the sudden disappearance of everyone here?” You asked slowly.

“Don’t worry, love,” Loki grinned, “we can tell them the truth. We’re both too valuable for them to kick us out of the group.”

You laughed and took Loki’s outstretched arm, walking out into the cool night.

#loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x f!reader #loki x female reader #loki fanfic #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #mcu loki #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #loki smut #loki oneshot #smut #mcu #mcu fanfiction #smut fanfiction #smut fic

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aquafaith · 3 years

Text

My lengthy, angry ACOSF rant review.

Spoilers, TW for mental, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.

I loved ACOTAR. I still love ACOTAR. I always will love ACOTAR. But every book afterwards made me give up more and more. ACOMAF romanticized an abusive relationship and assassinated characters for the author's convenience. ACOWAR was a bunch of boring and inconsequential death scares. ACOFAS was all-round dreadful. And each book kept shitting on and pushing away Lucien for no reason.

I'd like to preface this by saying I hated Nesta too. I hated the way she treated Feyre in ACOTAR especially, and I wasn't even too excited for this book because I wasn't that keen on Nesta as a character.

Nesta's POV and her backstory changed my perspective. It does not excuse her actions. All Nesta stans can hold these characters accountable for what they do - trauma is a reason, not an excuse. I, and many others, sided with Nesta because of the way she's treated by everyone else in this book. Also, if you're going to hate Nesta for not teaching Feyre how to read and letting her hunt at fourteen, (which I did, and are very valid things to hate), AT LEAST hold Elain accountable too.

This book. This fucking book.

Shall we start with the intervention? Feyre on her little power trip thinks that her boyfriend that hates Nesta and Nesta hates back, Nesta's ex-best friend, and her possible mate who she never talks to should be at this stupid fucking intervention??? Excuse me???

Remember in ACOMAF when Feyre wouldn't shut up about how rich Rhysand is? Feyre literally has four or five houses and is always talking about how much jewelry and lingerie she can afford because Rhysand is so rich??? Well, Nesta has a few shots. So you know what Feyre does? Humiliates Nesta at this "intervention", TEARS DOWN HER HOME, and forces her to go to the Illyrian training camp.

That was the god awful premise for this book.

Did you think Elain wasn't there because she was against the "intervention"? Nope! She was packing Nesta's belongings without permission.

Remember in ACOMAF when it's made a big fucking deal that locking up a traumatised woman is extremely damaging? Well, when Nesta decides she doesn't want to be in Illyria, Feyre locks her in the House of Wind. Nesta can't fly, so her only way of leaving is down the TEN THOUSAND STEPS, that Feyre KNOWS Nesta isn't capable of climbing.

Feyre's pregnant. In ACOFAS she randomly decided that she wanted a baby to remember Rhysand by if he dies. Which doesn't make any sense because they made that stupid fucking death pact in ACOWAR. It's just SJM superimposing her pregnancy onto her early 20's protagonist. Ignoring the fact that Feyre isn't ready for a baby and Rhysand CERTAINLY isn't, and with a war just ended and another looming and so much trauma and a DEATH PACT are all such horrible circumstances to bring a child into, Feyre is already pregnant. Remember when SJM made a big deal about Fae babies being so hard to conceive, and Feyre said in ACOFAS they wouldn't have to worry for a long time because it can take years to conceive your first Fae child? Well it's been no more than 3 or 4 months and Feyre's already pregnant. Yep.

Also the birth will kill her. Because of course it will. Rhysand KNEW this, and still agreed to try for a baby.

There's no solution. Abortions don't exist for some stupid reason, and a C section would apparently kill Feyre?

(Wasn't this book supposed to be about Nessian?)

In ACOWAR, Cassian was on the battlefield with his entrails around his knees. Someone had to literally hold his guts in for him, and he's fine, but you're telling me a C section would kill Feyre?

Don't worry, this is just setting up the AWFUL ending to this book.

ACOSF amounts to Nesta being gaslit into believing her abusers are right. Her friends and family slut shame her and shame her for her lifestyle constantly. Cassian says it took him decades to work through some of his trauma, and he tried to drink and fuck it away too, but suddenly when Nesta does so it's heinous? Nesta's barely twenty five and she's expected to cope better than these ancient immortals.

Hell, didn't SJM write ACOMAF? Nobody expected Feyre to pick herself up so quickly. The IC (excluding Rhysand) respected her boundaries for the most part and understood when it was grief, trauma, and turmoil that made her angry, sad, want to be left alone, etc. But that's all forgotten here.

Amren also compares Nesta to the people in, and says she belongs in, The Court of Nightmares. You know, the murderers, abusers and rapists? This innocent woman who had a few shots and a bit of sex is on par with them, apparently!

The sex scenes.

SJM is scared to say vagina so she says sex.

She says seed to mean semen.

Apparently the word cunt turns SJM on. I just found Cassian saying that kinda cringe because I'm Bri'ish so the word cunt really isn't a big deal.

Back to the baby killing Feyre, because this is definitely what we all wanted from this book as indicated by the change in covers and format and title... Rhysand decides not to tell Feyre. He tells her friends and family, and tells them not to tell her.

SJM loves sweeping Rhysand's abuse from the first book under the rug and claiming it's always about Feyre's choice... where is that here, MAAS? WHERE IS IT?

Anyway, when Nesta rightfully decides to tell Feyre (although it is kind of out of spite), Rhysand threatens to kill Nesta.

And I believed him. With the way he treats his """mAtE tHaT hE lOvEs sO mUcH""" and all the people he's mindlessly killed before, do you really think he wouldn't kill the person who gave Feyre an inch of autonomy?

So what does Cassian do? His lover who he cares deeply about and suspects is his mate has received a death threat from tHe mOsT pOwErFuL hIgH lORd iN hIsToRy.

Cassian simply gets Nesta out of the court.

EXCUSE ME?

He doesn't breathe ONE word to Rhysand about this. This Illyrian WARRIOR who fought with his GUTS HANGING OUT didn't dare step up to the hIGh lOrD who he considers his brother and sparrs and fights with all the time?

Cassian literally does nothing.

Was it not Rhysand himself who said Mated males are dangerous? Can kill anyone who looks at their mate? Can be dangerous simply leaving the house? Rhys and Feyre both pull the Mate card to justify their bad actions on the other's behalf... and Cassian just tried to get Nesta out of the court?

Also, this High King bullshit.

I swear to fucking god, if SJM DARES to make this abusive, power-tripping, mOsT pOwErFuL hIgH lOrD eVEr, husband-insert of hers hIgH kInG, I will fight her in the street.

My beloved Lucien is in this book. Only for him to be used and shat on.

I really liked it when he calmed Cassian down with just a look though. Yes please fox man.

Helion is also in this book. Nothing to do with Lucien.

Eris is also in this book. ERIS. Lucien's eldest brother. The same one who abused him for years, but according to SJM he's slightly better, because at least he didn't agree to kill Lucien's lover. He betrayed his daddy that one time, therefore Eris is good. Y'know, the same Eris who abused Mor? Left her laying on the Autumn Court border with a nail in her womb? Well SJM is going back on her own canon to redeem yet ANOTHER abusive male, while continuing to demonize Tamlin for things he only happened to do when SJM decided the villain from the first book was sexy.

Nesta and Cassian are Mates.

Remember when Mates were supposed to be a rare and sacred thing? Now SJM dishes them out like Oprah.

I don't want these characters to be mates. I want to see them slowly fall in love. But SJM is incapable of writing that so she forces them together with the mAtInG bOnD. That's literally the only basis for most of these relationships, Feysand especially.

The only relationship where the bond would make sense is between Helion and The Lady of Autumn. Who still isn't named. But I will die on the hill that they're mates, I can feel it between them.

I wanted someone to die in this book. I predicted that it would either be Helion or Tarquin, but Tarquin isn't even in this one.

And the ending.

SJM can't write a decent climax, so she kills both Feyre and Rhysand for the second time. Yep.

The baby is being born which stupidly kills Feyre, and thankfully takes Rhysand with them.

Nesta decides to save them. Bad choice. But she decides to save them! Because she's so powerful and she ATE THE CONTENTS OF THE CAULDRON and she's CONNECTED TO THE MOTHER.

Do you know what happens.

Nesta loses her powers.

NESTA.

LOSES.

HER.

POWERS.

The powers we've hardly seen, the powers that were briefly mentioned and used ONCE in ACOWAR, then we saw like two flashes of in this book? They're GONE now. GONE SO NESTA CAN SAVE HER ABUSIVE SISTER AND ABUSIVE HUSBAND WHO ABUSES THEM BOTH.

Nesta is just an Amren now. They both fought for their powers, and had to give them up to save people who didn't deserve it. Now they're anticlimactically trapped in powerless bodies.

Also, and I can't BELIEVE I didn't originally include this - do you know what else Nesta TRADED HER POWERS FOR?

Illyrian anatomy so she can carry Cassian's baby one day.

EXCUSE ME?

I am so fucking SICK TO DEATH of the narrative that every woman needs a man and children to be happy. SJM clearly loves this because she's literally only keeping Amren and Nesta alive now to be sex objects to their partners and nothing else seeing as their POWERS WERE RIPPED AWAY FROM THEM, and now NESTA TRADED THOSE POWERS TO HAVE A BABY SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW SHE WANTS? Nesta does NOT strike me as a motherly type. She's the wine aunt, she and Cassian are the couple that go on holiday a lot and and babysit their nieces and nephews, but nope. Nesta HAS to have children.

The Feysand baby is called Nyx. That's just so underwhelming, you go from these huge, multiple syllable names like Amarantha and Morrigan and Lucien to Nyx? I get it's supposed to be unique but it's not even meaningful. It's just more shit-flavoured icing on the hAHa nIgHt uWu cake. I prefer Renesmée.

Nesta is wrong somehow. She says she's sorry as she's saving them. FOR WHAT? For being a little rude to Feyre as all sisters are? And rightfully hating your sister's abuser?

Oh yeah, remember in ACOWAR when Nesta took care of a comatose, starving Elain for months? Elain is randomly okay now because she takes care of her mental health the stereotypical way of baking cakes, and not drinking and fucking, which she shames Netsa for.

Remember the slut shaming, demeaning comments that the whole iNnEr cIrClE made about Nesta? They all expect apologies from her. For some reason.

Nesta has done nothing wrong. She coped with her trauma and minded her business in her own ways, and she's expected to apologise to the people who control and emotionally abuse her.

Nothing that any of these characters did to Nesta is right. Nesta wasn't okay at the end, this wasn't Nesta's healing story. This is Nesta being shamed and degraded until she submits.

Oh I can't believe I forgot to write this in my first draft of this review, do you know how Nesta "overcomes" her grief about her Father's death and her conflicting feelings about him and his life and her guilt? When she visits his grave for the first time, she takes Nyx.

NYX.

She holds NYX up to the grave and talks about how it's his grandson.

GO AWAY YOU STUPID DEMON BABY THIS IS NOT YOUR BOOK.

Speaking of, it's revealed that Nesta was abused by her mother and grandmother in this book? Something we were all looking forward to is seeing more of the Archeron's mother seeing as Feyre was so young when she died, but... nope. She gets a few vague mentions, and this newly revealed abuse is entirely glossed over. Nesta was also actively groomed by an older man at 14. But SJM glosses over this because of course she does.

Finally, the bonus chapters.

My edition came with a bonus chapter from Feyre's POV. It was pointless and I hated it.

There's another bonus chapter from Azriel's POV. Once I'd finished this book, he was one of the few characters I still harboured a shred of respect for.

Then I read his bonus chapter.

This exists to purely objectify Elain.

Whether you ship Elain with Azriel, or Lucien, or neither, this chapter is disgusting. He thinks about her coming on his tounge, and other things simply just to please him.

He then dares to suggest that "the Cauldron picked wrong" in choosing Lucien as Elain's mate?

No Azriel, SJM picked RIGHT in not giving each Archeron sister a bAt bOy.

Rhysand does the only right thing he's ever done by telling Azriel to stay away from Elain, but then he has to ruin it by clarifying that it's only so they can manipulate and use Lucien more.

Oh, and Azriel wants to kill Lucien.

Need I remind you that Lucien respects Azriel? Lucien is another victim of the Night Court's needless, baseless torment, and Azriel is no exception.

Lucien stays well out of Elain's way because she makes it clear that she's not interested in a mate, but Azriel wants to kill him simply for being her mate.

Lucien has done nothing. And I mean literally NOTHING to warrant any of this treatment. From the bAt bOyS, from Feyre, from his family, from SJM, from the deluded part of this fandom that think he's done wrong. NOTHING.

All I liked about this book was the Lucien scenes (which is a given), ((although I hated the way everyone talks about him behind his back)), Nesta's relationship with the house, Emerie and Gwyn, the evidence that Gwynriel is endgame and subsequently Elucien, and the book love. Everything else was horrible. Oh, and Nesta hates Rhysand. I love that for her, because everyone else bows at his feet.

Oh yeah, when Nesta DARES suggest that Rhysand is an "arrogant, preening asshole" which I think is a compliment, Cassian can't take Rhys' cock out of his mouth for one second, and has to get mad at her for having an opinion. Don't even get me started on Azriel in that scene.

If each book after ACOTAR made me slowly give up, this book made me give up altogether. I cannot go on to support this victim-blaming, abuse-forgiving, misogynistic series. I've given up on SJM, and the only characters I care about anyone are Lucien, Nesta, Helion, and Tarquin. I'll continue to read this series to see if SJM redeems herself, but I'll be downloading them for free. I'm not giving this piece of shit any more of my money.

I hope we don't get the Lucien book. I don't want her to slaughter my fox in the way she slaughtered LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE.

Thanks for listening.

Edit: I put the review on Goodreads!

#anti acotar #anti acomaf #anti acowar #anti acofas #anti acosf #anti sjm #anti feysand #anti rhysand

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teawaffles · 3 years

Text

Forbidden Games: Chapter 4

Alan led the way as the two men proceeded down the corridor to another room. While he walked alone in front, the pair noticed the footsteps of several people following them from behind.

They seemed to be travelling to the back of the building, and apart from the people who were currently moving, there was no sign of life. Apparently, ‘normal’ participants could only play in that large hall from before.

“It’s gotten quite chilly, hasn’t it? As I recall, Mr Holmes, you’re not fond of the cold. Are you alright?” William murmured, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Sherlock himself wasn’t particularly sensitive to the cold, but he kept his expression static as he pondered the intention behind that statement.

In the next moment, William twitched the corner of his mouth upwards in a gesture that only Sherlock would understand. Recognising this, Sherlock understood everything, and promptly played along.

“That’s right. It does seem chilly. ——Liam, could you lend me your coat?”

“No problem, here you go.”

“Thanks.”

William held out the coat he had been carrying under his arm. Sherlock took it and immediately put it on. Then, he straightened the coat as he carefully checked how it felt on him.

“If you’re feeling cold, may I suggest we have a warm drink in one of these rooms before proceeding?”

Alan posed the question with a seemingly concerned tone. It appeared that he had taken William’s words at face value.

“No worries. Anyway, I’m also excited to see what kind of game you have for us. It’s almost like the shivers before a battle.”

At Sherlock’s words, Alan nodded happily.

“Is that the case? As the one introducing you to it, I’m pleased to hear that.”

At last, they reached their destination. Alan quietly opened the door and bid the duo enter. The two men shared a look, and went in silently.

The room was dimly lit, and roughly a quarter the size of the hall they were previously in. In the centre was a finely crafted round table, and surrounding it was a group of gentlemen standing in silence, staring at the new entrants.

It was an ominous sight, as if it were a secret ritual. The men’s expressions were unanimously mild, but there was also a keen sense of malice hidden underneath. Even so, having witnessed countless bloody battles and come out standing, William and Sherlock remained unperturbed amidst the disquieting atmosphere.

Sherlock looked at a corner of the room, and flashed a big grin.

“Yo, fancy meeting you here.”

Standing there was the noble’s son whom Sherlock had been tasked to find. Just like the other gentlemen, he was dressed sharply. Yet he lacked a trace of the dignity befitting a noble, instead glancing around his surroundings in sheer terror.

Having observed the young man’s appearance, William murmured a question to Sherlock.

“Is he the young man you were searching for?”

“Yep. It looks like he’s alive for now, but judging from his behaviour, it’s not hard to imagine how he was treated by these guys.”

After deducing the situation, they heard the click of a lock behind them.

Turning around, they saw Alan standing with his back to the door, a smile plastered on his face.

“As expected, you’re quick on the uptake. I sincerely admire your excellent deductive abilities.”

Sherlock snorted at his feigned courtesy.

“What’re you talking about? You’re the one who brought us here.”

“I thought it’d be pointless to keep this place a secret once you’d sniffed it out. Anyway, I reckoned I’d make sure to give him a proper welcome too.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Still, what reason could you possibly have for locking up some noble brat? Are all these guys your accomplices too?”

Alan made a show of being astonished.

“We don’t do such perverse things as locking people up. All we pursue is the pure delight of a game, and the comrades gathered here today share in this goal. It is only when pleasure is kept secret that it ascends to a higher realm.”

“——So just like what you did to us earlier, you invited this man here, coerced him into playing some ‘thrilling game’ which he lost, then locked him in this room until he pays off his debt. Is that right?”

“…………”

William’s harsh words stripped away the veneer of Alan’s so-called lofty pleasures, revealing them to be but deceitful tricks. The man raised no retort, and Sherlock clicked his tongue.

“So, are you holding this noble’s son hostage for ransom? Or are you thinking of threatening him so that he’ll make arrangements for you when he inherits his estate? In any case, deceiving and threatening kids makes you no different from a stingy crook.”

Having been bluntly maligned, Alan finally shook his head in sadness.

“It’s utterly regrettable to be misunderstood in such a way. This man consented to play the game of his own free will. However, because he refused to pay up despite his defeat, I’ve had to keep persuading him ardently like this.”

“Persuasion…… so you say,” William retorted.

Having taught students of the same age, he did not hide his displeasure.

Then Sherlock pressed on, openly revealing his irritation.

“Well? Our goal here’s to bring him home safely, but as for you, you’re not going to let things go that easily, are you?”

Alan held out both arms, as if to express his admiration.

“Both of you have been a big help advancing the conversation so smoothly. But there’s no need to be afraid. We have no intention of committing barbaric acts. As I conveyed from the start, all I want to do is play a game with you, with all my heart and soul.”

“Damn you, if this was really just a game then there’d be no need to bet.”

“Doesn’t the risk of defeat just add to the excitement?”

“……Only your ability to make sophisms is first-class, huh.”

They seemed to be getting nowhere trading arguments with this man. Sherlock sighed, as if rendered speechless.

Taking over from the exhausted detective, William spoke up.

“In that case, would you release this man if we win your game?”

Alan nodded in enthusiasm.

“Precisely, since our motto is that all’s fair and square when it comes to games.”

However, Sherlock nudged William with his elbow.

“Liam, you don’t have to go out of your way to play along with them. If you leave it to me, I’ll beat these wimps to a pulp in seconds.”

Hearing Sherlock’s statement, Alan took a step back.

“Ooh, how frightening. In that case……”

He raised his hand. Taking that as a signal, one of Alan’s accomplices brandished a knife and held it to the young noble’s throat. Unable to even make a sound, the young man went white with shock.

“We have no choice but to respond appropriately.”

Alan’s friendly smile had morphed into a brutal one. Having seen the gentleman reveal his true nature, William finally looked at him with disgust.

“In other words, no matter how much we struggle to avoid it, we’ll be drawn into a game…… and although it wouldn’t be outright impossible, it would be difficult to call it ‘fair and square’.”

“This is all simply because we love games,” Alan said brazenly, with no regard for the hostility directed at him.

At that instant, the pair decided to crush this man.

“——Excellent.”

Sherlock spoke up. Even though it wasn’t said particularly loudly, his statement rang out across the room.

William continued in an exceedingly polite tone.

“The extent to which you wish to play games, that I have understood completely. Therefore, regardless of the outcome, I hope you will not regret your decision.”

“……Ooh.”

The pressure exerted by the pair’s fighting spirit had started to make Alan’s entire body tense up.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re in the mood now. By the way, what would you both like to wager on this match?”

At his question, the pair looked at each other.

“We demand that this man be set free. As for the price of our defeat…… Well, I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Anything I want?” Alan doubted.

Immediately, William chimed in.

“Then it would be the same for me. In the event that we lose, be it money, my position as a noble, or the fruits of my academic research, please feel free to lay claim to any of them.”

Alan’s eye twitched at their careless manner of speaking.

“……I don’t suppose you both take me for a fool?” he uttered, in a deeply uncomfortable tone.

“That would be outrageous. It’s simply because I have conviction.”

“When Liam and I team up, no one can stand up to us.”

They were outnumbered in the enemy’s hideout. On top of that, the enemy had taken a hostage.

But even though it would seem to anyone that they were at a disadvantage, the duo’s voices were filled with confidence. Any listener would soon realise that it was not an act of bravado. The two of them had complete trust that their intellectual capacity and force of will far exceeded that of these petty villains.

“…………”

Having been struck head-on by William and Sherlock’s unshakeable conviction, an intense, hot hatred welled up in the pit of Alan’s stomach.

——In the past, Alan had been an influential noble with a vast plot of land in the vicinity of Durham. However, he had fallen into economic ruin with the Industrial Revolution and the current of the times. Simply put, he had begun to walk the path of his downfall.

He’d blindly believed his days of prosperity would continue for all eternity. Watching them fade away, Alan had sunk into the depths of despair, and desperately sought a way to assuage this sense of defeat.

To that end, he became absorbed in games. Whenever he and his opponent had agreed upon the rules and engaged in an earnest match, with him coming out the victor, Alan found that those indescribable highs were finally able to satisfy him.

Having grown aware of his appetite, upon finding out that there was a club established with the purpose of playing ‘games’, Alan immediately sought out his old friends in the nobility to gain admission. He then gathered like-minded people from within the club. Among the club members, he then would pick a target, covertly invite them to a game, and use brute force to achieve victory after victory.

Day after day they would rob nobles of their rights, with demands for payment which were unmistakably threats. His accomplices appeared to be satisfied by the profits, but Alan was different. He wanted to look down upon his opponent and use any means necessary to make them surrender.

Therefore, even now, as he held a noble’s son as a hostage, Alan refused to negotiate. He only desired to win the game. No matter what absurd sequence of events was taking place.

However, these young men were different. Even in the midst of danger, they were calm and composed, with no expectation at all that they would be defeated.

Faced with a type of person he had never met up till now, Alan not only remembered what it felt like to be irritated, but also chuckled inwardly to himself: it would surely be a pleasant experience to tear them down.

Once again, he put on a boastful smirk.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll be the one to decide the price of your defeat.”

“Fine by me. Well then, what game shall we play?”

#moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #yuumori #english translation #forbidden games

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carouselofrats · 3 years

Text

All for the Best (No It Isn’t)

“Oh, how I pity you, Roman.” He chuckled, turning his back to the Side and feeling his own eyes begin to water as he lost control. The Lord of the Lies was only so good. It felt physically painful to walk out the door as he heard Roman break out into sobs behind him.

You’ll never get to hold him in your arms.

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

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32061952

Pairing: Roceit

Word Count: 2017

CW: Janus has a panic attack but he gets comforted don’t worry :)

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

Janus wasn’t sure exactly when he’d fallen in love with Roman. All he knew was that at some point, over all of the theatre scenarios and courtroom flirting, he’d fallen head over heels in love with the wonderfully dramatic prince. It was terrifying, to suddenly care so much for another. Because of this, it was both a comforting and depressing fact that he could never act on his feelings. For one, Virgil would kill him. He was already suspicious and hateful enough of the snake, he didn’t even want to consider the backlash that would come if he tried to romance Virgil’s best friend. I used to be his best friend .

There were times, of course, where he did wish for more. When the light of the imagination’s stage caught Roman’s face at the perfect angle while they traded lines; When they accidentally brushed hands or shoulders while talking over one of Roman’s scripts and he had to force himself not to linger; When Roman had had a nightmare and chosen to come to his room for comfort.

He finally reached the other facet’s door and knocked politely, as he’d become delightfully accustomed to doing over the past few months. There was a shuffling on the other side before a visibly nervous Roman opened the door.

“Hey Jan! Come on in, sit wherever you’d like!” Okay, now he was nervous. Something was off, very off.

Janus sat down on the corner of Roman’s bed, glancing around the familiar brightness of his love’s friend’s room. Roman gently sat next to him, causing the deceitful Side’s gaze to snap to him. Roman sighed.

“I asked you here today to tell you something important.” Janus’ heart clenched. Please don’t be what I hope think it is.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while. We’ve had a rocky friendship, what with all of the stuff Thomas’s gone through, but I'm so happy that we got to the point we’re at now. You’ve become so incredibly important to me, Jan. It’s incredible how passionate you are about your role--and that’s coming from the literal embodiment of passion--and how much you care, even though you don’t like everybody to know it.” Roman chuckled a bit, Janus giving an exhale of amusement as well as the fear in his heart grew.

“I guess what im trying to say…” Please, god, yes no. “...is that I’m in love with you, Janus.” No. No, no, no.

Roman’s nervous yet earnest gaze travelled up from his lap, where it had drifted earlier, to Janus, searching for his reaction. Janus had short-circuited, his entire body frozen.

No no no, this wasn’t supposed to happen. How could he possibly love you? You can’t say you feel the same, no matter how much you want to, you know that. You’ve already hurt him before, if you tell him it’ll happen again and then you’ll really lose him and he’ll never look at you with his beautiful eyes or smile at you with his beautiful smile ever again. He can’t really love you. Just let him lose his infatuation. It can’t be real love. It might hurt him now but it will be way better than what you would inevitably end up doing to him.

No one could ever love you.

Janus forced his face into a smirk and his voice into something stable. He allowed the mask of the villain to slip over his face. You’ve always been the villain.

“Oh, Roman. You really have fallen, haven’t you?” he crooned. Hurt confusion slowly seeped into Romans face. He desperately pushed down the flash of guilt he felt.

“What are you talking about, Jan?” Roman spoke, his voice quiet and hurt.

“Did you really think that I could ever love you?” Janus hurt laughed. Roman’s eyes began to water, tears slowly falling down his cheeks. Janus stood up, forcing his hand not to shake as he patted Roman’s shoulder for the last time.

As soon as Roman’s door was safely shut behind him, Janus sank out to his room, collapsing on the bed as sobs overtook him. It’s better this way, he tried to tell himself, he can get over it quicker and you’ll save him the heartbreak. It’s fine. Everything is fine. His heart, which felt like it was physically burning, said otherwise. Janus could barely bring himself to move, weakly shoving his shoes off and wrapping himself in his blankets as he sat there, sobbing. At some point his hat had fallen off. He didn’t care. He lost track of time, trying to tell himself that it was all for the best, you’ll get over it, though he knew he wouldn’t.

Suddenly, Janus heard his door burst open. He was filled with the urge to make himself presentable or even look up but he only succeeded in reducing his sobbing into a gasping panic.

“Why the fuck would you do that to Roman you- Dec- Janus? What the-” the intruder spoke. Janus’ panic only increased and he couldn’t breathe he couldn’t breathe help

Of course, it had to be Virgil. Now he knows and he’s seen you vulnerable. You fuck everything up, don’t you? Can’t go one day without hurting somebody else you stupid, ugly snake.

“Oh shit.” He felt the bed dip.

“Can I touch you?” Janus breathed rapidly, flinching when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, okay, just calm down, Jay. Breathe in for four.” Janus tried, gasping, only succeeding after multiple attempts.

“You’re doing great. Now hold your breath for seven.” He did the same again.

“Okay, now out for eight.”

The process repeated until Janus could breathe somewhat normally again. He finally lifted his head up from his knees, feeling pitiful, to look at Virgil. After a few seconds of silence, the anxious trait spoke.

“What- What happened?” Silence.

“Did… did you reject Roman even though you like him back, Janus?”

His sniffling quickly turned to sobbing again as he threw himself into Virgil’s arms, the Side swiftly hugging him back once he got over the shock. Janus’ other arms came out too, gripping the other like a lifeline.

“I had to- he doesn’t- he doesn’t want me. I’ll h-hurt him. Just like in the courtroom. O-or when I c-called him the evil twin. Like- like I did with you,” his voice shrank to a whisper.

“It- it just hurts so bad. Make it go away, make it go away.” He gripped Virgil’s hoodie tightly, sobbing harshly once again. He felt Virgil’s chest rumbling but he heard no words. Suddenly, Virgil started to get up, detaching Janus’ hands from his hoodie. He curled back in on himself.

He’s probably gone to tell the others how pathetic you are.

A few minutes passed, Janus only calming himself slightly. He heard a few sets of footsteps enter his doorway. They’ve come to laugh at you. The bed abruptly dipped beside him and a new set of arms wrapped around him. He opened his eyes and saw a white and gold sleeve. He froze.

“Roman?” He spoke in a small voice.

“Shh, it’s okay, darling. You’re ok.” Roman spoke, rubbing circles into Janus’ back. His voice was thick with emotion, he’d obviously been crying and Janus’ heart crushed with guilt at the notion, more tears and gasps leaving him. He began rambling apologies, all six of his arms wrapping around Roman like they had Virgil.

“I’m so sorry- I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Roman shushed the snake as he spoke, holding him tighter. “I never thought you’d feel the same way so I just b-bottled it up and then when you t-told me I didn’t know what to- to do and I’m so sorry”

Roman suddenly stilled. “So you really do? Love me back?”

Janus had run out of tears, left occasionally gasping for air. He leaned back and sat up, looking Roman in the eye and nodding before sheepishly looking away. Roman put his hands on Janus’ shoulders, causing the Side to stare back at him.

“Why did you lie about it, my love?” he spoke, his eyes full of earnest concern and love.

“I- you don’t want me. I-I’ll hurt you again. I always hurt them. And then they leave. I c-can’t-” but Virgil, who had been awkwardly watching the emotional exchange from the doorway, spoke up.

“We both hurt each other, Jay. It wasn’t all your fault.”

“Oh.” Janus leaned back against Roman as his thoughts swirled rapidly in his head. “Does this mean… that I can love you? I promise I’ll never try to hurt you and-”

Roman cut off Janus’ rambling with a kiss. Oh. Oh. Maybe Roman really did love him after all.

“Okay! Um, everything seems under control here so I’m gonna go,” Virgil hastily exited, closing the door behind him.

They pulled away from each other, both smiling. Janus wiped some of the leftover tears from his eyes, frowning at the wet marks on his gloves.

“I guess I’ve really ruined my reputation in front of you, huh?” Janus gave a light chuckle.

“Your big, tough reputation was ruined for me the moment you showed me your Scooby-Doo collection, you big nerd.” Roman teased affectionately.

“Like your Disney movie collection is any better!” Janus quipped back, Roman batting at his arm in retaliation.

“At least I have a variety to pick from!”

“At least my room isn’t a shrine to a billion dollar corporation.”

“My room only has 101 Disney posters! That’s not that many!”

“Maybe in your opinion.”

“Well, at least I don’t walk around in Hufflepuff-colored garb everyday!”

“I’m severely wounded, you take that back right now Roman Romano Sanders.”

“I refuse!”

“I can feel the dishonor of your insult burning me. I’m dying.”

“Stop being so dramatic!”

“I can see the light now.”

“Okay, fine! I'll take it back!”

“Nope, too late. I’m already in the afterlife. No, wait, I’m in Hell. It burns! It burns so much! But…”

“But what?”

“Nothing can ever burn me more than your insult! The shame! The shame…”

“Will you stop it if I finally agree to let you show me Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated?”

“Suddenly I’m alive! They sent me back.”

“Mhm.”

“They said that all of you were just so lost without me. Especially you, my dear Braveheart.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that, can I?”

Roman pulled Janus in for another kiss, both of them sighing contentedly. In that moment, everything was perfect. Neither could wait for the many more perfect moments sure to come.

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #ts sides #ts janus #janus sanders #ts roman #roman sanders #ts virgil #virgil sanders #roceit #fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction

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10kiaoi · 4 years

Photo

Tactical gear appreciation post lol.

CW: canon typical violence, issues related to death. Notes: Very much unbetaed and written with increasing desperation. Please go easy on me?

----

The first time Bond sees the boy, it’s in the busy shopping streets of Bangkok.

It’s midday and sweltering but the Pratunam district is buzzing with activity.

Bond idles along the street side vendors, ambling through the makeshift tents and racks. The crowd is thick enough that he brushes shoulders with others every few steps or so. He keeps half an eye on the lovely trinkets - little wooden carvings of various local fauna. The other half is firmly fixed on a man rumoured to be delving into the international arms trade.

He inspects a figurine of an elephant, tuning out the shopkeeper’s enthusiastic pitch in broken english.

A scream pierces the air- a high pitched shriek that sends the crowd careening backwards. As Bond is shoved backwards by the masses, he spots a man toppled over on the ground, motionless. Around him, there are yells in Thai, in English, in various other languages of the disturbed tourists.

He quickly scans the panicked crowd but catches nothing more than a flash of deep brunette melting away into the throngs.

It’s an unexpected sudden end to his current mission.

----

Berlin is a mess.

The woman Bond is tasked with assessing is KGB- turncoat and now looking for a new master. Bond strides into a small chain cafe on a quiet street. The cafe isn’t too busy- the few customers present are already seated and distracted. Anya Pavlova is seated in the far corner up against the wall, engaged in her book and a cup of coffee.

Bond heads to the counter, places his order. It arrives in short order and he chooses a seat by the window. The occasional autumn breeze is refreshing in the stuffy cafe, after sunny, tropical Bangkok.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pavlova slips into the washroom.

Bond tucks into his meal.

She slips back out after a brief pause, prim and proper, returns to her softback.

No one else gets up. Bond slides into the washroom. The note is exactly where Bond expects it to be. He glances quickly at the series of numbers- a phone number, tucks it into a secure little pocket in the lining of his jacket. He flushes the toilet, washes his hands and steps back out.

Pavlova waits for him to sit back down at his table before putting away her possessions into the little handbag at her side.

The waitress comes over smiling, a tray with a single cup. Bond frowns, ready to reject the clearly mistaken order. “With compliments, it’s already paid for!” the waitress chirps. Bond pauses, then graciously thanks the waitress as she transfers the cup to his table. He resolutely does not turn to look at Pavlova who is making for the door.

It’s a lovely rich black, no cream or sugar.

The napkin is folded neatly under the cup.

Bond looks down to check his phone. Pavlova steps out from under the shelter of the awning. The cashier’s cheerful “come again!” switches to a screech of horror, followed by several others both in and outside of the cafe.

Bond whips up with his heart pounding, only training preventing him from dropping his phone on the way. There’s a telltale metallic glint from a far off high rise, no more than a shimmer off what most would assume is reflective glass. It lasts no longer than a flash.

Pavlova is dead before she hits the ground.

----

M is understandably spitting mad.

One doesn’t come by an enemy agent offering their services everyday and Pavlova could have been a terrific addition to MI6’s arsenal of covert long term operatives what with already being in the KGB and all.

The morbid hilarity of the entire situation - Bond hasn’t done anything to influence such an outcome. A textbook execution practically.

And yet it has gone all tits up.

A fuming M marches him down to Q Branch with carte blanche to use all resources to find the leak. “Something we should have done since Bangkok!” M rages in a rare moment of self reproach as Bond bears her fury with silence.

A forensics team is sent to the building the sniper is suspected to have worked from. They find nothing. Q Branch fares no better, the few low res security cameras of little help when it turns out they have all gone down simultaneously around the time of the incident.

He’s grilled on what he remembers. Every tiny detail dragged out to be examined on all fronts to determine if he has missed anything.

There’s little else they can do with no other leads.

----

In Mexico City, Bond destroys an entire warehouse’s worth of hard drugs before it ever reaches his country’s shores.

The explosion is magnificent- a great blooming flameball and a sound blast that blows out every window in a one kilometer radius.

It’s almost makes up for being whacked hard enough atop the head that he blacks out instantly.

----

Miguel Garcia is a terrible host.

Bond watches as the man drops the unfortunate minion into a pit of crocs. The screams still ring in his ears when Garcia starts in on him. His earwig is long gone. For once, he misses having Q Branch in his ear.

Standard villain interrogation routine- a couple of hits here and there, a good deal of verbal threats, a few electrocutions to top it off. Nothing a double oh hasn’t been trained to take.

Bond laughs and screams through the entire facade, a savage grin splitting his face apart. He shoves the desperate need to know that someone is coming into a tiny box and pushes it into a dusty corner of his mind where a stone mansion lies.

Garcia is coming apart at the seams and for good reason. Between the two of them, Bond would garner Garcia’s in deeper shit and he gleefully tells Garcia so.

The lacerations with a dull knife are worth the brief terror turned rage across Garcia’s face.

----

Bond is thrown into a dark room and left to rot without food or water.

His body is a mass of bruises and pain - there isn’t a part of him that feels like he could sleep forever. The relative silence is a much cherished balm against the earlier violence. He’s just drifting off into a light doze- all the better for maintaining his energy reserves when the single shot echoes around the facility.

It’s loud and forbidding.

Bond jerks awake, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

There’s yelling and panic, a desperate attempt to mount some kind of defence but a great deal more bellows that cut off in the middle.

Bond’s heart pounds painfully in his chest. He staggers up, ignoring the painful pull at all his wounds.

Somewhere in the distance, there’s a bang of a grenade.

Outside his prison, there’s a crack. The door swings open. Bond squints at the sudden brightness. A familiar silhouette appears in the light of the doorway.

“Heard you needed backup, brother!”

Bond could just kiss him.

--------

What the hospital staff doesn’t know won't hurt them.

Bond makes it a point to share a drink with Felix whenever he’s in town. Langley isn’t too far from DC and it’s been a while since they have had the opportunity to catch up.

Well, that and the man rescued him from the clutches of Garcia. Bond owes Felix more than a round of drinks.

Bond steadily ignores the disapproving looks Felix aims at his shots. More than for the company, it’s an informal exchange of information- information locked behind red tape and bureaucracy in other circumstances. It’s efficient and lays bare the minute details Bond has to work to hunt down otherwise.

Felix tells him about an operation in Alaska of all places. Bond tells him about Bangkok. They both down a stiff drink.

Felix pauses, a momentary lapse that blares like an alarm to Bond’s trained eye.

Bond narrows his eyes. “What is it?”

Felix grimaces. Something like suspicion and dread creeps over Bond.

“About that, we found the warehouse because of a tipoff. Garcia was already dead when we got there.”

----

Felix doesn’t quite let him in to the CIA secure archives but it’s a pretty close thing.

He leaves Bond waiting in one of the meeting rooms, blinds drawn. When he returns, it’s with a thin folder. There’s also a ziplock with tiny metal pieces no bigger than pennies. Bond turns a skeptical gaze at Felix.

Felix waves the reports like a carrot on a stick. “All our agents’ reports of suspected encounters we have had with our man. Maybe you’ll see something our profilers haven’t.”

Bond’s gaze at the file turns covetous. Felix smirks.

The cases weren’t unlike his own experiences- clean kills, in and out before anyone is aware enough to act. Security cameras were as good as useless with how the feed has clearly been tampered with. Nothing he hasn’t already deduced from his own encounters. It’s entirely frustrating and Bond feels the prickle under his skin, a clawing need to know.

“Paranoid, that one,” Felix declares, settling into an empty chair. Bond snorts.

“He knows he’s being hunted,” Bond corrects.

“No one’s actually seen him, you’d be the first,” Felix admits, leaning backwards.

No traces left behind, no witnesses. Professional to the extreme.

Bond hisses in displeasure.

----

Felix insists on sending him to the airport despite his protests. Dulles International Airport comes into sight like a hulking grey beast, ugly and utilitarian.

“Take care, brother,” Felix wishes over their hug, leaving with several commiserating pats to Bond’s back, carefully avoiding the still healing areas.

A call comes over the speakers as Bond heads through the express security lane: boarding for flight SQ2522 has begun. There’s a flash of brunette curls in the distance- Bond’s heart lurches, mind flashing back to Bangkok. But no, it’s a lady, petite but tall.

For one irrational moment he thinks that it’s Vesper. Brilliant, gorgeous, traitorous Vesper with her wit and charm and lovely red lips.

But the woman moves out of sight towards her gate and the moment’s over and Bond is drawn back into the monochrome present.

----

It’s a random thought- one driven more by instinct from years in the field rather than any rational explanation.

He boards his plane- a direct flight back to London. It is after the stewardess has come round offering champagne that Bond pulls the memory of the little slip of paper Pavlova left behind for him in that Berlin cafe.

Pressing send feels akin to stirring a hornet’s nest.

----

“Thank you for the coffee. It was most delightful. See you soon.”

----

There isn’t much in Pavlova’s handbag- her phone, a softcover likely plucked from a discount bin, a half used tube of lipstick, a writing pad and a fountain pen.

It is the pen Bond focuses his attention on.

Q Branch excels in the technical fields. They’ve done their bit and gone through the cell. As expected of someone like Pavlova. The phone is clean - clearly a burner phone. It is a dead end.

Bond’s expertise is in people and their sentiments.

The fountain pen’s barrel glints, polished despite the corners where the gold has gone dull with age. The nib is uneven, as though grounded down by constant pressure on one side. There’s a ring around the feed and the section, perhaps originally gold like the decorative edgings and on the clip but the gold’s almost completely faded. Bond twists the ring.

A blade springs out from under the nib.

----

Taipei is unfinished business.

The cheap street food is an utter delight. Jiufen is beyond crowded on a weekend and going through the long narrow streets is a slow shuffle sandwiched between local hikers and curious tourists. Bond finds himself with a stick of some grilled meat in one hand,

Several meters ahead, a man walks on oblivious, arms laden down by souvenirs.

There’s a flash of brunette in the corner of Bond’s eye. His snack falls to the ground, abandoned as he slices through the crowd. Outraged yells go up behind him but his concentration has locked onto the scene before him.

It is deja vu.

He barrels through the horde, grasps the slender wrist in an iron grip.

He’s pinned by a wide eyed stare, brilliant green eyes shocked and surprised behind glasses.

Then the blade in the pen is abruptly twisted towards him.

The crowd topples backwards, shrill screaming accompanying the wave of people attempting to flee the altercation. It’s utter pandemonium.

Bond leaps backwards to dodge the blade, but the assailant follows, a dogged determination in his eyes. They grapple in the narrow stone street, amidst the fleeing crowd. The boy shoves him into a display counter of traditional snacks. He lashes out with a kick to the sternum, sending the boy into the corner of a wall and knocking the breath out of him.

They clamber to their feet and circle each other, bruised and all the more vicious for it.

The boy hisses under his breath, like a cat with its tail stepped on. Bond answers with a snarl of his own, blood dripping from the laceration on his cheek.

The streets have emptied by now, the target having slipped away in the commotion.

There’s a momentary flash of indecision, of uncertainty. Inexplicably, the boy turns and darts down an adjourning alleyway.

Bond curses, bolts after the flash of military green parka around the tight corners. He leaps five steps at a time down a steep stairway carved into the street, charging past the backs of residential houses.

He skids to a halt in the middle of a crossroad, utterly alone. There’s a familiar looking pen on the ground, its owner nowhere to be found. In the distance, there are sirens.

Bond sends a fist into the ground, knuckles white beneath the bruises.

----

Wang Guo Pei is a pale faced man, still green from the attempt on his life.

He is also the younger brother of the man killed in Bangkok, whose death has and still is sending ripples across the networks. The interrogation room is bleak and bare. The cold lights enhance the man’s sickly look, hallowed by fear and anxiety over the threat of death even through the filter of the camera.

The Underworld really doesn’t care if one is just a foot soldier, not when one is relation and have access to the inner workings of the organization. MI6 has no such qualms either.

Bond has lost track of how many lesser devils MI6 has had to make a deal with to nail bigger fish.

He watches as the interrogation is repeated, fiddling with his own souvenir. Unlike Pavlova’s, this model sports a two barrel converter on top of the hidden blade. One is filled with regular ink. The other… Bond replaces the cap firmly, slips it back into an inner pocket.

He doesn’t put much stock in working with an entire team with how often they just slow him down instead of being helpful. But M’s made up her mind and the powers that be agree. He’s on his way towards the waiting ops team and Wang three hours later.

----

“Now pay attention, 007, this is a bulletproof suit-”

“Yes, thank you Major, I know what a bulletproof suit does.”

“Not this one, you don’t, now pay attention! I don’t want to have to repeat myself. Now see this here, this little bag, it’s been engineered to be filled with blood- ”

“Isn’t that just a water balloon?”

----

Hours later, Bond lands in Changi Airport, Singapore with new orders and new purpose.

----

Q slips into the office tower easily, waiting for the last few stragglers making their way out to pass by before continuing on his way to the lifts. The night patrol is swiftly dealt with, a quick prick of a gel coated dart with fast acting amnesiac properties.

The ride up is silent, no cheery elevator music to soften the adrenaline. He uses the time to check on his systems briefly. A flick on his phone brings up the app that mirrors the processes his laptop is carrying out while tucked away safely in his hotel suite. It’s a particular test of his abilities, this city, with all its zealousness in adhering to security measures. His laptop has been running nonstop since the moment he stepped foot on this island.

The security cameras remain silent in their judgement. His finger twitches, feeling the weight of his missing pen acutely.

The accomplishment of successful missions has long since worn off. The thrill of travel, of seeing the world and all it offers has dulled with the gravity of the situation he finds himself in. Pavlova’s death is still a fresh wound, the condolences offered by the organization doing nothing to stem the loss and grief that accompanies losing the only maternal figure he has in his life.

Last one, and then you’re out.

The rifle is cold and heavy in his arms.

A robotic female voice announces the level they’ve arrived at and Q steps out.

Wang is immediately visible in the building across the road, in his office.

Q runs a last check of the cameras. They come back clear so he drops to a knee, setting up his equipment. The thick glass of the skyscraper is easily dealt with, a perfect circle being cut out and lifted away to reveal a small hole through which the rifle can be fired through.

It takes no more than a few seconds.

Wang goes down in his office, blood painting the walls.

Q starts packing up.

----

Several muffled shots are followed by a heavy thump.

The man stepping out of the shadows with his Walther primed and ready in his hand is a familiar face. Q can’t tear his eyes away, entranced when the MI6 agent unceremoniously drops the body to the ground.

Q’s stomach drops, visibly blanching.

He recognizes the corpse’s issue of equipment- he’s helped design some of it in fact.

He knows for a fact, that particular section never comes alone.

“Seems like you’ve pissed off your employer,” the man he fought in Taiwan drawls.

Q’s hand goes for his rifle, only to flinch away when the man fires a warning shot. Q freezes. The man motions with his Walter. Q obeys, sliding the rifle away out of reach. He’s mentally flashing through all his equipment, looking for a way to buy time and find an exit, recalling all the areas where he landed hits just days ago.

“Bond,” the man pauses significantly, “James Bond. 007.”

Q blinks. Then slowly, “Am I supposed to curse your name as you kill me then?”

Bond stares, confusion then exasperation. “Oh for Christ’s sake, the one time I try to be civil,” Bond grumbles mutinously.

Q has to hastily stifle a laugh at Bond’s disgruntlement. There’s a moment of acknowledgement of the ludicrousness, yet it somehow lightens the atmosphere between him and and his would be executioner. It’s jarring, how that one line manages to bring a little humour back to his life. It’s simply another indicator of how much the state of things has deteriorated around him without him noticing.

It’s almost regretful it isn’t likely to last.

Q tenses as Bond’s hand creeps to one of his pockets.

It’s cruel irony, if Bond does indeed intend to use that object as an instrument of Q’s death.

Q turns distraught eyes upon the agent- a double oh, if he’s to be believed.

“I gave her that,” Q whispers, eyes locked onto Pavlova’s pen in Bond’s fingers.

“She gave it to me,” Bond states.

Q’s face falls.

“Is what I was ordered to tell you,” Bond continues, voice dropping to a murmur, “But I think you’ve been lied to enough, wouldn’t you say.”

The full force of grief knocks the breath from his chest once again.

Q watches with detached fascination as Bond winces, reaching up to remove the earpiece and drop it in a pocket.

Bond turns back to him in all seriousness, and the dread rises again.

“I couldn’t do this for someone else,” Bond murmurs, catching him around the waist. And oh, how Q can see the same loss and anguish in the other as if they are kindred spirits. “Someone important to me,” Bond chokes out, “but you have a choice now. You wanted out, this is your chance.”

How Q wants to believe him.

He leans in, breathes two words into Bond’s ear.

Bond breaks out in a small, relieved grin.

----

Bond cups Q’s face, pressing their foreheads together in reassurance.

Q takes a steadying breath. His death is now fully in MI6’s- in James’ hands.

“Now darling, do be a good boy and put this on for me,” James whispers conspiratorially.

#00q #quartermaster #james bond #007 #art by op #fanfics #not sure if i'd be able to crank out anything next week #this is prolly the last art for this year??#and decade #just wants to art tactical gear #ends up ficcing 3k words #if you don't count the deleted versions #i did not expect to spend an entire day just for this 3k of words #WHEEZE #hms 00q

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

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Justice League Indispensable: JLA #222: Beasts II: Death Games

January, 1984

I’ve noticed over two-hundred and twenty plus posts that villains love being tall and dangling heroes from their fingers.

That tactile sensation... It must feel amazing. And a little squirmy.

Not much else to say about the cover. Except that Hawkman’s legs seem to not exist.

Anyway.

Last time on Justice League: the Justice League have been dealing with a lot of weird animal/people hybrids. Has Dr. Moreau finally been adapted into DC? Probably not. But Flash, Elongated Man, and Hawkman all get badly injured in separate locations by these Ani-Men. And Firestorm catches a catgirl named Reena robbing the Empire State Building. She asks him for sanctuary so he takes her to the JL Satellite to spill the beans on the Ani-Men.

This time: Superman is in the hilarious position of interrogating catgirl Reena who has forgotten how chairs work.

Just sitting on the table. Probably getting hair everywhere.

Firestorm tells Superman to chill out with the hardnosed animated Justice League approach (I mean, he doesn’t, but animated Superman also needed to chill out, amirite?) because Reena volunteered to help.

Reena says she has no choice but to trust the League and that she’s lived in DAILY TERROR for the past few months.

She asks if any of them have heard of Repli-Tech?

Dang, shame Batman is off having recently formed the Outsiders because I bet he knows all the companies. All of them.

Ooooorrrr Aquaman does?

Aquaman: “Repli-Tech Industries... They were one of the first of the genetics companies to go public on the stock exchange, weren’t they? I remember they made quite a splash a year ago... But I haven’t heard anything about them since.”

Oh, Aquaman, you punster, you.

So Reena lays down some exposition about how Repli-Tech was a hilariously mismanaged company, where the executives forced a rapid capital expansion beyond its market niche and how a recession just bankrupt the overextended company.

But despite the dismay and panic of the other execs, hilariously mustached CEO Rex Rogan had a daring plan to save the company!

Rex Rogan: “Dr. Lovecraft and his genetic discoveries were the basis for our initial success, developing new forms of medicine -- new fertilizers -- even new fuels! He’s come up with a way out for all of us, involving a new, experimental form of DNA manipulation. It could kill us -- but the alternative is disgrace, financial ruin, and imprisonment.”

Oh, sure. Of course. Why not trust a guy called DR. LOVECRAFT.

But due to faith in Rex Rogan, CEO, or just fear of prison, the whole board all agrees to this wild plan.

And the wild plan?

Dr. Lovecraft uses SCIENCE to put them all in cocoons where they are transformed into furries.

Rex Rogan Maximus Rex: “We are reborn -- we are above the beasts, and above mankind! We will do more than merely survive -- we will conquer -- we will rule!”

Then with company guards also enhanced by Dr. Lovecraft, Rex has them steal a whole bunch of shit which is used to protect Repli-Tech from bankruptcy.

Huh.

Uh. I don’t really get how becoming furries was an essential part of this plan.

If the plan was just to steal a bunch of shit to make up for poor financial management. But live your best lives, Repli-Tech board of directors.

Anyway, having super hunky animal powers is handy when the superheroes inevitably become involved which oops look its happening. It happened last issue and this issue so good thing they had turned themselves into furries.

(Do the Repli-Tech board of directors not have to make any public appearances? They’re a publicly traded company, apparently.)

Also, Maximus Rex buys a warehouse to turn into an arena for some death games where humans fight beast-men for the amusement of the rich and powerful like politicians and corporate executives.

Not really sure how this specifically saves the company but I think that’s more of a personal project for Maximus Rex, lion hunk.

The blood sport did make Reena start thinking that maybe Rex was the asshole.

‘Uh no shit’ chimes in Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman who determine now is a good time to interject that Reena is just as much of a monster for sitting idly by as people were killed in blood sport.

Firestorm, Superman, and Zatanna counter ‘hey lets hear the rest of the story, mkay?’

Reena grew unable to stomach all the death and as luck would have it Rowl, one of the Repli-Tech guards recently transformed into an animal hunk also found the whole situation gross.

He helped Reena escape but wound up captured himself.

He did manage to high kick a scorpion man though. So that’s something.

Anyway, Rowl getting caught is why Reena was breaking into the Repli-Tech office in the Empire State Building. She wanted to find evidence!

Hawkgirl: “I don’t believe it. Not a word. She’s obviously a plant -- she said herself, she was Rogan’s mistress, that she always did everything he told her. Why should we believe she’d turn against him?”

Firestorm: “Look at her, Hawkgirl -- me, I believe her.”

Aquaman: “We can’t ignore what she’s told us, Shayera.”

Even Superman goes yeah lets believe the catgirl. And I’m sorta wondering about all the male Justice League members believing the catgirl while two out of three of the woman leaguers are like uhn uh I don’t trust that darn cat.

But we shortly see that Reena was telling the truth about Rowl, if nothing else.

Guards at the Arena snooze gas Rowl to drag him from his cell into the Arena.

A Guard: “Y’know, I used to be friends with this guy, when he was still human. Rex gives him a chance to be something special, and he goes and blows it helping some damn cat.”

Rowl comes to in the center of the Arena with the crowd roaring for his blood.

He tries to talk to the crowd, win their sympathy by saying he used to be human like them but they’re rich dicks who want to see someone horribly murdered for their amusement.

Trying to talk to them was a non-starter. And Maximus Rex even mocks him for trying.

Maximus Rex: “Human you may have been -- but you were never like them. Smell the air: it’s so thick you can taste it -- the oily sweat of a blood-hungry mob! They want a death, Rowl... They want your death!”

Maximus Rex asks the crowd what Rowl deserves and they chant DEATH and KILL HIM so Maximus Rex jumps down to the Arena floor to see to it personally.

He’s kinda like Roman Emperor Commodus from the historically adjacent movie film Gladiator who liked to gladiate instead of just watching Gladiator gladiate.

And unlike movie Commodus, Maximus Rex is no slouch.

Right off the bat, he blocks Rowl’s ultimate technique, a jump kick.

Poor Rowl is doomed.

And he doesn’t even know it yet. He manages to hit Maximus Rex once and thinks he’s winning.

Rowl: “You’re just as you were in the boardroom -- you’ve no stomach for a real battle! We used to laugh about you, Rogan, down in the ranks! All of us -- we called you a gutless wonder!”

Maximus Rex retorts by disembowling Rowl.

Maximus Rex: “So, Rowl... Which of us has no stomach now?”

Savage af.

Then he knocks Rowl down and RIPS OFF HIS HEAD TO SHOW TO THE CROWD??

Geez! This is a gory story! I mean, we don’t see anything really except for some dark blue blood but geez!

A lion man just ripped off a jump-kicking wolfman’s head in a gladiatorial arena for the ultra rich!

You’re bonkers, superhero comic books!

RIP Rowl, Justice League #222 (1984) - Justice League #222 (1984).

Back at the Justicey part of the plot, 22,300 miles above the Earth, the League receives an emergency message from Dr. Hamid of Cairo Hospital.

Or he says he’s Dr. Hamid of Cairo Hospital.

He looks like Tony Stark, that Ironman guy from Marvel.

Anyway, he got the JL’s top secret broadcast code from a device on Hawkman’s uniform.

Yeah. Hawkman. Remember how he was attacked by a giant scorpion last issue? Well, he’s in the hospital with an acute case of too much scorpion venom in him. And Dr. Toby Stark fears he may not last the night.

Hawkgirl is understandably upset and wants to rush to his side as fast as possible. And since the League has cool teleport booths, that’s... still not that fast because the booths only go to other booths and Cairo Hospital doesn’t have a booth.

She also asks Wonder Woman to go with her.

Superman wonders if Hawkgirl is maybe too emotionally torn up to go see her scorpion’d hawkguy.

Zatanna: “I won’t stop her, Superman. Will you?”

WHILE GIVING AN EXPRESSION THATS LIKE ‘please do not drag me into drama.’

Reena tries to commiserate with Hawkgirl but Shayera is having none of that.

Hawkgirl: “Your people did this. If Katar dies -- you killed him!”

Oof.

Zatanna tries to contextualize Hawkgirl’s outburst by explaining that Hawkman and Hawkgirl are just super close but Reena says she understands because she and Rex were that close.

And that despite everything she still loves him and it makes her feel like shit.

Oof.

Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl arrive at Cairo Hospital and Dr. Hamid tells them that Hawkman isn’t the only one who got scorpion’d.

Dr. Hall and his students were attacked by giant scorpion man to rob some archaeological relics they found. Several of the students are in the hospital after being stung and two have already died.

As for Dr. Hall, why he’s just plum gone missing. (Because he’s Hawkman)

From his hospital bed, Hawkman weakly (because of getting scorpion’d) apologizes for the argument they had before he left for Cairo and Hawkgirl claims she doesn’t even remember the fight. Because nothing makes you put aside hurt feelings like possible death by scorpion.

Dr. Hamid tells Wonder Woman that Hawkman is very likely to die unless they can get some giant scorpion man venom to develop into an anti-toxin.

And while they walk by, a random janitor mopping the floor reports the presence of the Justice League members to his ring.

HMMM.

I think that I suspect that this humble janitor is in fact actually a plant for the Rex Squad.

Yup.

Yuuuup.

That janitor was up to no good.

With two Hawks down with sleep gas, its left to the Rex Squad unit leader to handle Wonder Woman.

ITS A HECKIN RHINO MAN!

Of course, a hero as strong as Wonder Woman isn’t going down to a single rhino punch.

It takes a second whole punch to knock her out.

Womp womp.

Rhino Man: “Gas her and shove her in the ‘copter with the others, Mac. The boss wants ‘em all for a little TV show he’s planning. Way I hear, it’s gonna be a ratings smash!”

Rhino puns.

About an hour later, the Justice League subteam nicknamed Sit On Their Thumbs is still in the satellite wondering why Wonder Woman hasn’t called to tell them how Hawkman is doing.

But gosh darn it, if they don’t hear from her in two more minutes in time for the regular hourly check-in, then they’ll just have to do something maybe!

But they get a signal from Hawkgirl’s code and Aquaman main screen turns on... to reveal a big sneering lion man who is not Hawkgirl at all.

Reena: “oh god... he’s found me.”

Maximus Rex, full incoming ham: “Yes, Reena, I’ve found you. When this is done, you’ll suffer the fate of all who betray me. But first, tell your new friends who they face! I am MAXIMUS REX, LEADER OF THE NEW ORDER!”

Firestorm: “Y’know... Somehow, I’d already guessed that.”

Snrrk.

But Maximus Rex warns them not to mock his lionness and has the camera swung over to reveal that he has Wonder Woman and the Hawks as his hostages.

Hawkman is definitely going to die (from being scorpion’d) but Maximus Rex is Magnanimous Rex and instead of immediately killing them, he’s going to turn them into furries too.

Maximus Rex: “I think the Amazon would make a very proper pig, don’t you?”

Man, this guy must have loved the “This Little Piggy” episode of Justice League Unlimited.

Buuuut he won’t turn them into furries and make them fight in his Arena if the Justice League do him some small favors.

First thing, turn Reena over to him.

Second thing, “I want your full cooperation with my plans.”

When Superman tells him ‘obviously no’ Maximus gets mad.

Oh, Maximus the Mad. That’s a catchy name for him.

Maximus Rex: “In the hours to come, you will regret this decision, Justice Leaguers. My new order is the future. You cannot turn the tide of destiny. It will sweep over you... Draw you under... Drown you in the sea of history! Ours will be a struggle to the death -- your death! HA HA HA HA”

He is.

Frothing a little.

And as the mad lion lad continues just belly laughing on this collect call, Superman shakes his fist determinedly.

Superman: “Enjoy it while you have it, Maximus. We’re bringing you down.”

I mean, sure, half of the League is captured or in the hospital already from tangling with these Ani-Men but the League is probably due for an upswing, right?

Or maybe they’ll all get captured and I’ll get to see what the Justice League’s fursonas are.

My guess for Superman is the noble capybara, friend to all.

Follow @justice-league-indispensible or @essential-avengers which is my real liveblog. I’m sorry, this has all been a lie. A jape. A delightful jest. An April Fool. Like and reblog maybe. The more notes this gets the more I go oh no look at what kind of response Justice League gets and I’ve backed the Avengers horse, the April Fool turns out to be me! That’ll show me.

#Justice League of America #Justice League Indispensable #Superman #Wonder Woman #Aquaman #Hawkman #Hawkgirl #Firestorm #Zatanna #Reena the catgirl #Maximus Rex and the Ani Men #indispensable dc liveblogging

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rosesgonerogue · 4 years

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Let the Sunshine In - Prologue

It’s here! This is the prologue of the Jasonette fic I’ve been promising to celebrate my 100+ followers. I’m going to apologize in advance, this particular section is kind of angsty. I recently watched Under the Red Hood, and I’m in the middle of Violet Evergarden and I HAVE EMOTIONS.

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

Ladybug collapsed in an empty alleyway, her entire body screaming from the latest akuma attack. She desperately wanted to cry, but she couldn’t give Hawkmoth any reason to try to akumatize her. Besides, in this state, she might just agree to his demands.

She still had a few minutes before she transformed back, and in desperation, she flipped open her yo-yo. “I know the Justice League told me to stop ‘prank calling,’ but… I just need to feel like someone cares about this city. Please find me one person who is willing to help.”

Jason should have been at school, but after getting in a fight he’d made the executive decision that he was taking the rest of the day off. He knew Alfred was planning on cleaning the mansion that day, so he found himself loitering around the Batcave when a call came in.

He was already in costume for… training, so Jason just had to slap on his Robin mask before answering. “Hello?”

On the screen was the most beautiful girl that Jason had ever seen. She looked around his age, wearing a red-spotted suit and a matching domino mask. However, her mask didn’t obscure the clearest blue eyes that Jason had ever seen. They were entrancing, but also a bit broken, like him. She had seen too much, done too much.

“Hello?” she said in heavily accented English. “Who is this?”

“You’re calling a super-secure super computer, sweetcheeks. I believe that’s my line,” Robin said with an impish grin.

He immediately regretted his statement when the girl looked close to crying. “I-I’m Ladybug, one of Paris’s heroes.”

“But Paris doesn’t have--”

“Obviously we do have heroes,” the girl--Ladybug--snapped. “I’m not just a child pretending like the Justice League accused me of. Our heroes are real, and our villain is very real. Hawkmoth is getting better and more dangerous as time goes by. I don’t know how much more our city can handle.”

Jason straightened, somehow already sold on this girl’s story. “Do you have any photographs or footage of any of the events? I can talk to Batman about it--or at the very least irritate him until he listens.”

Ladybug’s eyes widened, a glimmer of hope lighting up her face. “Batman? That means you’re--”

She was cut off by a beeping noise that made her curse softly under her breath. “I have to go, but I’ll call again. Thank you for listening, Robin.”

“I’ll do what research I can, Ladybug. We’ll help you out,” Jason promised earnestly.

Marinette smiled, the first genuine smile she’d had for days, possibly longer. Probably since she had become the Guardian of the Miracle Box. “You really don’t know how much I needed someone to care, Robin. Thank you. Bug out.”

From then on, Ladybug fought with the knowledge and hope that people could and did care about her city. She called Robin on and off to plan how to convince the League that the situation in Paris was very real. He was brilliant, although it was obvious that everyone could see it except Robin himself. They even got to the point that Marinette would call them friends. There were a lot of things she couldn’t tell him and he couldn’t tell her, but they learned to ease one another’s burdens in whatever ways they could. Robin made her feel like Marinette could handle being the Guardian, and Ladybug made Jason feel like he was more than a street kid who couldn’t fill Dick Grayson’s shoes.

Things seemed to be looking up for Marinette on all accounts--schoolwork seemed easier, she had just the perfect number of commissions, and Lila had at least temporarily directed her attention elsewhere.

They had set aside a time to plan every week, but one week Jason didn’t answer right away. Marinette didn’t think anything of it at first, he was probably busy. But when she tried again, it wasn't Robin that answered, but Batman.

“How did you get this channel?” he demanded in a voice gruffer than Marinette thought was possible for a human being to produce. “Who are you?”

“L-Ladybug. I’m Ladybug, sir, and I was calling for Robin.”

At these words, the man’s face distorted into the embodiment of distrust and rage. “You think this is funny? Because I will--”

“What’s wrong?” Marinette asked, dread curdling in her stomach. “Did something happen to Robin?”

She couldn’t see his eyes from behind the cowl, but Marinette knew Batman was glaring at her, the singularly most terrifying moment of her life. “Robin is dead, because that’s what happens when children try to play hero. Leave that kind of thing to the adults, little girl, unless you want to end up the same way.”

Robin is dead.

Those three words pounded through Marinette’s head like an inescapable drumbeat. At some point the yo-yo had fallen out of her hand, and Batman had hung up with the strict instructions never to call again.

The world felt fuzzy, not quite real to Marinette. In an unexpected moment of clarity, though, Marinette realized: strong emotions were coming. She knew she wouldn’t be able to deny Hawkmoth, not with the fresh grief coursing through her. Right now, even if it was just a short time, she needed to be able to feel.

Marinette swung herself through Paris’s streets faster than ever before, launching herself at her balcony with desperation. Her transformation timed out just as she landed, making it easier to slip on Kaalki’s glasses.

She had transformed with Kaalki once or twice before, and for some reason this kwami always made her feel a bit antsy. The second that the transformation settled, Marinette opened up a portal to the first place in her mind that was both out of Hawkmoth’s range, and secluded enough that she wouldn’t have to worry about being seen or heard.

It was too much, losing Master Fu and then Robin. They had been the only things keeping Marinette sane and grounded, and she couldn’t talk about them with anyone else. That combined with the pressure of being Ladybug made Marinette feel like she was going to explode. So she screamed, she screamed until her voice broke, dissolving into pathetic sobbing as she collapsed in on herself on the forest floor.

One by one, the kwamis emerged and surrounded her, concerned.

Tikki was the first to speak. “Are you alright, Marinette?”

“How did he die?”

The kwamis traded uneasy glances. “What?”

“Robin. Can you tell me how he died?” Marinette asked, clutching her knees to her chest. “I just… I need to know.”

“Marinette, I don’t think--”

“She deserves to know,” Wayzz said, interrupting Tikki. “Marinette is no child. SHe’s already had Master Fu taken from her, but she can’t grieve with anyone. She can’t even speak to anyone about it but us. She needs this closure, even if it’s heavy to bear.”

Tikki reluctantly agreed. “This would be easier if Plagg were here, but we can probably show you an approximation of what happened to the boy.”

The kwamis present circled around her, a soft magic glow spreading across all of them. A series of images flashed through her mind, each worse than the last: the glint of a raised crowbar, a pale face with a maniacal grin, blood spattered across grimy floorboards… The worst of all, however, was the image of Robin’s face as the bomb counted down to zero, the hopelessness that came from knowing that no one would come to save him.

Logically there had been no way for Marinette to know that any of this was happening, but she knew she would never be able to forgive herself. One of her only allies in the entire world had died scared and alone, and there was no excuse for that.

She allowed herself to cry for a while longer, the torrent of emotions too much. But alas, negative emotions, and often emotions in general were a luxury that Marinette Dupain-Cheng could not afford. When her tears ran out, Marinette simply straightened up, fed Kaalki a sugar cube, and went back to Paris.

From that day on, Marinette never spoke of Master Fu or Robin again, even to the kwami. She locked them deep in her heart where they could stay until Hawkmoth had been dealt with. As both Marinette and Ladybug, she devoted herself to ensuring that no one would ever feel as alone and afraid as Robin had.

Ladybug was stronger, better at her job than before while Marinette was kinder, more helpful, and more generous than ever. To some it seemed like it was the same as always, but those that really knew her had noticed: her smile was never the same. It was… damaged, somehow, something like seeing the outline of the sun through a veil of clouds.

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

This fic is NOT going to be like this most of the time, I swear. I have a good friend that I swap story ideas with named Kit, and we have a lot of fluffy nonsense ahead, with the occaisional splashes of angst. This is actually going to take place a few years in the future, when Marinette is starting college. Just as an FYI, I write fanfiction because it’s fun, but also because it gives me a medium to get feedback and improve my writing. Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any questions or suggestions. This is a side blog, so just know that when I reply in the comments, it’s under the username rogueptoridactyl. Just let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, and hopefully you guys like it!

Taglist: @slytherinsheashire @cravethosecrazysquares @krispydefendorpolice @thesunanditsangel @sonif50 @kris-pines04 @persephonebutkore @tbehartoo @corabeth11 @caffeinetheory @drarryismylife101 @bluerosette23 @weird-pale-blonde-person @mystery-5-5 @heaven428 @thethirdwheelfriend @thetinymoonflower @interobanginyourmom @chocolate1721 @akana-sama @skyel0ve @katiegardneriscoolerthanyou

#maribat #jasonette #jason x marinette

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eternallyyoungjustice · 3 years

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Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, not gonna lie, didn’t really edit this one much. It’s super duper short, sticks pretty close to the episode, and it’s just been a week. So I apologize for any spelling errors or awkward phrasing. But otherwise, I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for your continued support of my shameless guilty pleasure.

Santa Prisca July 22 21:10

The tunnel remained dark and cold for a few minutes, the only sounds being the ragged breaths of six young heroes and the shuffle of feet against stone. All members collectively could hear their own heartbeat in their ears, and felt the adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Finally, a loud crack broke the silence and an eerie red glow emitted from the glowstick that Aqualad held and promptly tossed to the ground. Every member of the team stood there; Kid Flash and Zephyr showing the most wear, as the non-humans held good composure and Robin stood silently, staring at the barricade of rock and debris that separated the team from the way they came.

After a moment, however, Robin finally broke the silence.

“How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?”

“You do have the most experience, but perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared.” Aqualad spoke. “Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan.”

Robin whirled around, snarled and poison-tongued. “Oh, so I’m supposed to hold everyone’s hands?!” The boy let out a growl of frustration and glared down at the ground. But then, after a moment, the tension in his shoulders released and his form slumped slightly. “Oh, who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You’re the only one who can.”

“Please! I can run circles-” Kid Flash’s outburst was cut off by Robin’s now much calmer tone. “Wally, come on. You know he’s the one.” The young boy’s eyes lifted to meet his elder’s. “We all do.”

“Hello, Megan! It’s so obvious!” M’gann chirped.

“Could’a told you.” Superboy shrugged.

Kaldur’s eyes met Lina’s knowing gaze. “You know you have my vote.”

Everyone turned to Wally, who stood awkwardly for a moment before sighing in resignation. “Okay!”

“Then I accept the burden,” Kaldur nodded, stepping towards Robin and placing a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, “until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team, maybe not now, but soon.” Robin nodded, his normal smile returning to his face.

Kaldur turned back to speak to the team as a whole. “Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island.”

“Funny,” Robin smirked, “I had the same thought.”

As the group began to dash down the tunnel’s length, they began to compare notes.

“Robin and I discovered data about the new shipments on a computer in the warehouse.” Kid Flash spoke up. “It looks like Kobra has combined Venom and the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus, making Venom three times as strong and permanent.”

“So obviously Kobra attacked Bane’s Satna Prisca to have an unlimited supply of the Venom formula, making it able to create the new superformula.” Robin explained. “Which explains how normal supply chains have been cut off if--it’s for a whole new product. But it doesn’t explain how Kobra got his hands on Dr. Desmond’s formula.”

“We discovered that the supplier arriving today was the villain, Sportsmaster.” Aqualad nodded.

Robin pulled up his holo-computer. “Okay, so that must mean Sportsmaster is the supplier and buyer...but it still doesn’t track. He’s a gun for hire, he doesn’t have the power to acquire the blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work.”

“And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster with venom. That took some major nerdage.” Kid Flash chimed in.

“I believe the expression is…” As the team arrived at the mouth of the entrance, they were met with the sight of Bane standing there, finishing pumping himself with his normal venom serum which connected from a tube from his arm to the base of his skull, and seemed to enhance his muscle to an inhuman amount. With a sigh of relief, the masked villain dropped the vial formerly containing venom and gazed down at the team of young heroes with a crazed look in his eyes. “‘tip of the iceberg’.”

“Halt, ninos.” Bane growled and revealed a handheld trigger in his grasp. “I’m feeling...explosive.” Simultaneous beeping alerted the team to gaze up, revealing a large number of charged explosives around the mouth of the tunnel.

“You betrayed us, why?” Aqualad spoke, in a tone that-to anyone that knew him-sounded very fake. Bane, however, didn’t seem to notice the falseness. While Bane was distracted, the Atlantean reached out via the telepathic link. “Kid, you’ll need a running start.”

“I want my factory back!” Bane began to monologue. “So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies for me, or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more...blowing the tunnel with you inside, should have the same effects.”

Caught in his own monologue, Bane didn’t see the dark blue that flew by him.

“With what?” Kid Flash suddenly asked, now suddenly behind the hulking man and holding the hand-held trigger that had just been in Bane’s grasp. “This trigger thingy?”

Bane let out a loud growl and pulled back to land a strong punch to the speedster, but promptly found himself being lifted off his feet by an invisible force. Being slowly turned around, Bane saw a smiling Miss Martain standing under him, lifting him telekinetically with a raised hand.

“Finally,” Superboy smirked as he stepped forward, and cracked his knuckles. “Drop him.”

Santa Prisca July 22 21:31

Back outside the warehouse, at its helipad, we watched patiently until Sportsmaster and Kobra bid goodbye to one another. Sportsmaster was a tall, hulking man that was essentially all muscle, who wore a signature goalie mask over his face, but otherwise had no notable physical traits. Kobra, on the other hand, has an almost just as tall figure with an equally as strong build, although his muscles were not nearly as hulking as his compatriots’ and hid his figure under a dark crimson cloak. His pale skin was almost anemic and seemed to glow under the light of the moon, but somehow didn’t make him look sickly. Overall, the aura around him made Zephyr’s spine tingle uncomfortably.

“This Kobra man…” Zephyr whispered from her spot in the shadows next to Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. “I do not like his vibe.”

Robin snickered quietly. “Have you liked any villains’ ‘vibe’ before?”

The young girl thought for a moment. “Poison Ivy.” She whispered, thinking deeply. “She is, uh, qu'est-ce que...fine as hell, tres tres bonne. Robin, why are most of your famous villains so good-looking, hm? Seems very unfair.”

This made both Robin and Kid Flash snort with laughter to the point where they had to muffle themselves.

“Do you want to trade cities Zeph’?” Robin asked, eyebrows cocked in amusement.

The young women paled, recalling the patrol she and Aqualad had done the other night. “Fair enough! No thank you!”

This made Robin chuckle a little more.

Sportsmaster began to make his way towards the helicopter, causing Aqualad to give Kid Flash his signal, and the young ginger ran off at lightning speed, knocking down cultists and pulling gunfire in his wake.

“Protect the shipment!” A cult member exclaimed. Just in time for Superboy to jump and land in front of Mammoth, who stood next to Kobra.

“Go again?” The clone yelled at the hulking beast, causing it to roar and attack. However, it was promptly forced off-course by a sudden continuous force of water, controlled by Aqualad, sending him right into nearby trees. “Sorry, not the plan.”

As Mammoth roared fiercely and began to fight back against being sprayed, Zephyr flew over him, moving her arms and collecting as many of the coldest Winds she could find. The girl reached high up into the atmosphere to find the ones to complete her task and sent them crashing down onto the blast of water and onto Mammoth, freezing the water around him until slowly but eventually, he was encased in thick, frigid, ice.

At being controlled so forcefully, the Winds carrying Zephyr faltered and the girl landed on the ground in a crouching stance. “I am going to be honest with you,” She called to her new team leader as she dodged a cultist’s fire. “I did not know if that would work!” She managed to grab hold of the cultist’s gun and bashed him in the head with it, before chucking it at another cultist’s head, successfully rendering both unconscious.

“Be thankful it did then!” Aqualad yelled back as he fought his own share of cultists.

Not a moment later, the helicopter filled with products began to take off with Sportsmaster inside. Zephyr turned and prepared her Winds to go after it, just in case, but was relieved when it exploded into flames mid-air, causing it to plummet down towards the factory. Off in the distance, the figure of Sportsmaster leaping out and deploying a parachute could be seen.

As the burning helicopter dropped into the factory, it only took a moment before a deep, rumbling ‘boom’ seemed to shake the island as a whole, and flames erected from the giant metal structures. As the fire began to swallow up the entirety of the warehouses, the cultists-those who remained conscious enough to stand-began to flee from the helipad and into the forest, causing the team to turn its attention to Kobra, who stood (no longer wearing his cloak) over Robin, with a single foot pinning the boy to the ground. The cult leader seemed to scan the six teenagers carefully as if weighing his chances of success, but ultimately began to move away, removing his foot from Robin’s chest and slinking away into the shadows of the trees with a low, grumbling “another time then…”

Robin stood, and immediately darted into where Kobra had disappeared, but alas, he was gone without a trace. Slowly walking back to his team, Robin gazed up at the sizzling remains of the factory and watched the flames like at the metal for a moment, before looking back down at his comrades.

“We picked the right guy to lead.” Robin nodded with a smile at Aqualad. “...automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!” Robin walked away, laughing, and Kaldur’s face seemed to immediately drain of any blood as fear entered his eyes.

“Don’t worry Aqualad.” M’gann piped up, floating close to her leader. “We won’t let Batman chew you out too much! Besides, I was technically the one who made the helicopter explode.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it too much.” Wally smiled. “We’re a team now, which means we’re all gonna be killed by Bats equally!” This earned him looks from all the remaining members.

“Your bedside manner definitely could use some improvements, my friend.” Lina shook her head, but she quickly offered a supportive smile to her best friend-now leader.

Mount Justice July 23 10:01

“A simple recon mission! Observe and report!” Batman growled loudly, his tone so uniquely terrifying that it could possibly strike fear into every living creature on the planet. Or at least that’s what it felt like. “You will each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. But until then…”

The main open room of the cave seemed to ring with anticipated breath as the co-leader of the Justice League paused.

“Good job.”

This shocked every member of the team with surprise, causing them to all whirl their heads to look at Batman with bewildered looks.

“No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose who leads determines character.” Batman turned and began walking away. “You’re all dismissed.”

“Did…” Wally spoke, a small smile itching at his lips. “Did we just get verbally patted on the back by the Batman? For blowing up a factory?”

“I...I think we did!” Robin chuckled, running a stunned hand through his spiky black hair.

“We just finished our first actual mission together, right?” M’gann perked up. “I believe that’s cause for celebration! What do you guys think?” All the members of the team looked to one another, and then looked to Kaldur.

“Well...leader gives the orders.” Robin smirked.

Kaldur smiled and nodded. “Celebration is well-deserved, I think.”

The team all cheered, or in Superboy’s case silently smiled, and began making their way towards the exit to the cave.

“I’m thinking...pizza, Chinese food, snacks and a movie marathon...with possibly dessert provided by the lovely M’gann?” Wally asked, shooting finger guns at the martian herself.

“You...want me to make dessert? After my batch of cookies went so wrong?” M’gann asked, seemingly delighted and flattered.

“I will give you some help in the kitchen M’gann, don’t worry,” Lina said, locking her arm with the younger girl’s. “We’re going to need two sets of hands in the kitchen if we need to feed Kid Mouth and everyone else anyway.”

“Oh, this is going to be sweet!!” Wally exclaimed.

As the gang began to loudly plan their big party, Lina leaned away from the conversation slightly, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her jean jacket. Unlocking the device, she quickly found her and Roy’s texting conversation. Smiling to herself, she quickly types out her message.

Call me when you get home from patrol tonight! You’re going to want to hear about our first mission! Guess who our new leader is…. :D -L

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thewheezingwyvern · 4 years

Text

Takeout and Cuddles

A/N: This is the prize for @ramen-leader who won 3rd place in my little 500 follower giveaway/appreciation event! Fluff about for a Kirishima x Gender neutral!Reader x Bakugou poly relationship! Domestic fluff abound! Hope you enjoy it, love! (Ps. please don’t mind the title. Titles are the bane of my existence and I had no other ideas)

Rating: Everyone! It’s fluffy! (with some curse words because Bakugou)

Word count: 741

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It always felt redundant to say “The League of Villains was at it again!”. Anytime you came home from a rough mission they were almost always responsible. But this time wasn’t any different and it was really starting to get old.

"Think we'll ever get a whole week where the League doesn't start causing problems?" you wondered aloud, snuggled up against Kirishima, hair still damp from your shower.

"I wouldn't count on it, but it’d be nice.” he toyed idly with your hair, “I mean, even villains have to take a vacation or something, right?”

“Well they are long over due to take one. At the very least then I can let all of these bruises heal!”

Your complaint was suddenly rewarded with the heavy plop of a thick blanket being dumped on top of yours and Kirishima’s head. An indignant squawk emerged from you, your arms flailing to pull yourself free.

“Then don’t get your ass beat next time.” Scoffed Katsuki’s familiar voice.

By the time you had managed to dig your head out from beneath the blanket, the thirst of your triad had plopped down on the couch on the other side of you. His hair was wet, fresh from the shower, the familiar smell of his body wash rising to meet your nose. A strong arm looped around your waist but not before he took the time to glare at both you and Kirishima.

“You two dumbasses used up most of the hot water!”

Kirishima laughed sheepishly, “Sorry Katsuki but we needed to shower first.”

“You ALWAYS use up the hot water if we don’t go before you!” you told him sourly, “What Kiri won’t say is that your shower was fine, you just had a normal one. You know, one that doesn’t drain ALL of the hot water heater?”

Bakugou scoffed and grumbled for you to shut up under his breath but squeezed your waist tighter. Being wedged between them filled you with a pleasant warmth, one that left you feeling dreadfully sleepy. A yawn pulled past your lips to prove it. Kiri adjusted so he snuggled in closer, his arm still draped around your shoulders, fingers tracing gentle patterns on your skin.

“I ordered us some take out.” The red-head informed you and Bakugou, “I, heh, didn’t think any of us would have enough energy to cook.”

“Damn right.” the blonde on your right grunted, “...Thanks.”

Kirishima gave a wide and toothy grin before reaching over and cupping his hand behind Bakugou’s head. He pulled him in gently and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth before leaning back. The blonde glared but said nothing, his cheeks dusted with a gentle tinge of pink. You couldn’t help but smile. For all of his bluster, he could be surprisingly gentle. A quiet laugh escaped you before you pressed your own sweet kiss to his lips.

“Dumbasses…” he muttered under his breath, turning his gaze away so neither of you could look him in the eye.

“We love you too, Katsuki.” Kiri smiled back before pressing a kiss to your own temple.

“Anyways,” He turned his red eyes on you, “You planning on getting your ass beat like that again?”

You flashed him a smirk, “Ass beat? Nope, you’re mistaken! I got this beat up looking from carrying you two.”

“Haaa?! The fuck did you say?”

“You heard me.”

Kiri nudged you playfully, “Hey now, you know that I wasn’t so unmanly that I had to be carried.”

“Shut up. I carried all of you, dumbasses!”

“Uh huh.”

The red-head groaned, letting his head loll back onto the couch, “How do you two still have this much energy?”

“Energy? I’m exhausted!”

“You sure don’t seem it!” he paused thoughtfully, “But I guess I’d be worried if you didn’t have the energy to sass Katsuki.”

“Brat…”

You melted further into their embrace but made a point to stick out your tongue at the explosion user for his grumbled comment. He might complain but you knew that he liked it when you responded to him with snark. And Kirishima always seemed to get a kick out of hearing the two of you bicker.

Bakugou tossed the blanket over your head and further sandwiched you between the two of them, “Just shut up and watch tv or something...you both need rest.”

The two of them could be a real handful but you wouldn’t trade in your two boyfriends for anything.

#BNHA #BNHA fanfiction #bakugou x reader x kirishima #fluff #Kirishima #Bakugou

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royalprinceroman · 4 years

Text

Finding My Place [Part 1]

Heya there everyone! Today is a super special day! Today is @availe‘s birthday! Maxi is one of my very best friends, one of the most important people to me in the world so I told her to pick two pairings and I would write a fic about them. I wasn’t sure what the topic would be so I just kinda let the words flow!

This is a bullet fic because writing a whole fic is hard right now with my current state in life so I apologize.

This fic includes (in its entirety not just this part): human AU, Anxceitmus (QPR Remus/Virgil and QPR Deceit/Virgil, Demus is romantic in the ship), Logince, swearing, violence mention, angst, depression, suicidal mentions, fainting, general not taking care of yourself moods, drugs, alcohol, and.... all sides are shown in a positive light, if that matters. It’s an AU anyway.

Devyn = Deceit (That’s also important LOL)

With all that said, please enjoy!

---

Devyn knows a lot of things. He considers himself an expert in some fields but still a jack of all trades in certain situations. However, there is one thing he feels he lacks. No matter how much he thinks about it, researches it, and records the process and its results, the outcome is always the same.

"Remus, you can't just hang up those creepy curtains on the front window!" Virgil calls up the stairs. The man in question cackles and Virgil growls back. "Don't expect your villain laugh to get you out of everything. I already got an earful from the lady next door about it disturbing her kids."

"Ahhh they'll get used to it." Remus says as he walks down the stairs to meet Virgil at the bottom. He stays on the second to the last step, making himself nearly a head taller than Virgil. Without warning, Remus wraps his arms around Virgil's neck and squeezes as a big smile appears on his face. "Oh golly gee, I just love you Virgil."

The black haired boy couldn't prevent the smirk that appears on his face as he leans back and kisses Remus on the cheek. "Mhmhm… love to be a pain in my neck is more accurate."

Both of them laugh before turning to see Devyn standing in the doorway to the kitchen across from the stairs, staring at them intently.

"Do we have something on our face?" Virgil questions before Remus jumps down and runs to Devyn, almost slapping him with his arms instead of wrapping him in a hug.

"No…" Devyn assures. He leans his head against Remus. The smallest boy fits perfectly under Devyn's arm and Virgil walks over slowly, Devyn reaching and grabbing Virgil's right hand. He brings it to his lips, kissing it gently.

"I want a kiss!" Remus pouts.Devyn obliges, kissing him on his forehead. Remus feels his cheeks burning red as he hides his face in his partner's chest.

"Is something the matter?" Virgil questions.

"No." Devyn says quickly as a blink of panic passes Virgil's eyes. "I just still have yet to fully understand what I've done in this world to deserve this with both of you." His voice trails off at the end as his gaze fell along the house surrounding them.

Boxes scattered everywhere, some half empty as they unpacked to live in this new beautiful home. One picture was on the mantle above the fireplace: a shot of all three of them in suits: Devyn in yellow, Virgil in a deep purple, and Remus in a forest green, framed in a brown oak frame. Their wedding day only a month prior.

"Dee…" Remus says softly as he hugs Devyn tightly.

Devyn feels himself remembering. He tells the two he wants to take a break while they unpack upstairs. The two agree after giving him more hugs. Devyn sits on the couch in the living room.

xxx

Devyn had just been released from prison two years prior.

He had been wrongfully charged with murder and had his life turned upside down for over ten years.

Upon release, he met Remus at a local gay bar. He hadn't intended on falling in love with the strange man but it just sort of happened.

Devyn quickly learned Remus was already in a relationship.

Devastated by this, Devyn cut off all contact with Remus and stopped going to that specific bar all together.

Drinking his sorrows away at a bar closer to his home, Devyn accepts that his life as a 32 year old gay man meant that he was probably doomed to be alone forever.

Music started playing and he realizes it was live, playing in the next room over.

He peeked in to see a huge crowd surrounding a stage. Neon purple lights lit up the band. A lead singer with a guitar, a bass player, a drummer, and a… violinist? Wait, what?

The music was beautiful and the singing amazing, but Devyn couldn't tear his eyes away from the violinist.

Such perfect strokes and form, the melody tore right at Devyn's heart.

The song finished with a dramatic solo from the violinist and Devyn applauded along with the crowd.

He listened to the voices around him closely, trying to figure out who they were.

"My gosh they're all so amazing! Virgil knocked it out tonight! How does he play the violin so well??"

"Gotta give props to Roman too! He goes through those low notes to high so easily. Is he even human with that range?"

"Nah nah did you listen to that drum solo? My boy Logan is the most talented by far. The technical details in his playing is just… so damn good."

"But Patton's bass solo was good too! He's come a long way in the short time he's been playing."

"Flight of the Hearts is just an amazing band. They're gonna take the world by storm, I just know it!"

Devyn stared at the band and they signed and took photos with fans at the foot of the stage. He wanted to hear more.

He noticed a merch table just next to them and wondered over. Two self published CDs were on the table “Dreamer” and “Cyclone” and one of just Virgil's violin creations called "Calming Yourself".

Devyn never purchased anything faster in his life.

A bell went off above his head once he purchased it all.

"Major sale! All CDs plus a shirt!" A voice shouted.

Devyn felt himself wish he wasn't where he was.

Until---

The whole band came over behind the table.

"Hey thanks for your support!"

Devyn recognizes him as the lead singer (Roman?) He was built like a jock, a football player to be specific, but had very soft eyes and a gentle smile.

"Dearheart, there's no reason to yell at him. He looks utterly confused. I told you that bell wasn't the best idea…"

The drummer… Logan right? He was smaller than Roman by over a foot at least. Glasses sat on the bridge of his nose (was he wearing those on stage?) and he pushed them up. He had an air of a person who would win on Jeopardy by a mile. Logan had his arm around Roman's waist, pulling him gently back.

"Thanks for purchasing all of our work! We really appreciate it!"

Another glasses wearer? Oh it's Patton, the bassist. Right, right. He seemed the most genuine and down to earth, at least in this instance. He gestured to take the CDs back.

"Come on everyone let's sign them!" Patton called out to his bandmates.

Roman and Logan returned, holding hands and Roman kissing their entangled fingers.

Devyn wanted what they had, desperately. He felt an emptiness in his heart.

Without realizing it, Devyn had Virgil standing in front of him closer than he would've liked.

"Can I help you?" Devyn demanded.

Virgil squinted his eyes and frowned. "What's your name?"

Accusatory voice, mean look… the glare peeking through his long bangs and was that heavy eyeshadow?

"We just wanna sign your stuff! Right… Virgil?"

Patton clearly fell the same unease emanating off of Virgil as Devyn did. The more he stared back at Virgil, the more angry Devyn became.

"My name is Devyn. What about it?" Harsh tone, spat in anger.

"I knew it. I recognized that scar on your face. How fucking dare you?!" Virgil leaped over the table. "How dare you break my Remus's heart, you bastard?!"

The crowd began chanting. "Fight, fight, fight!" and before he realized it, Devyn was about to punch Virgil before both of them were pulled back. Patton had pulled back Virgil and Devyn realized Roman had grabbed him under his arms with his own.

Security had quickly corralled everyone out of the tiny room, leaving only Devyn with the band.

Logan stood between the two warring ones.

"What are you talking about?" Devyn demanded, shaking off Roman, nodding to agree he wouldn't fight.

"Remus has been so upset since you cut him off. He loved you, you dickhead!" Virgil was basically foaming at the mouth. His eyes were red and filled with tears. "Why? What possessed you to do that to him?"

Devyn's memory flashed to the last image of Remus he remembered. Smiling brightly at him as he left the bar that night over a month before. Devyn had blocked and deleted his number. Basically ghosted him.

But…

Remus had been in a relationship, right? Devyn didn't want to force his way in and hurt someone else.

Devyn looked up to see Patton comforting Virgil in his arms, shhhing him like a small child.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He glanced over.

Roman.

He had a sad look in his eyes.

"Allow me to explain, Devyn. I'll start from the beginning. I am Roman, lead singer of "Flight of the Hearts". This is my partner, Logan, our drummer. The one holding our dearest violinist, Virgil, is the wonderful Patton. He is also Virgil's older brother. Virgil's partner is Remus… the man who works at The Half Side of the Full on Center Street. He's also my twin."

Devyn blinked and realized in that moment that Roman was the spitting image of Remus, only taller and a bit more buff. He was also missing Remus's adorable mustache but that was beside the point.

"I left Remus because he told me about you." Devyn started, glancing at Virgil. "Never mention you by name of course. Just that he had the most amazing boyfriend in the world and I decided I didn't want to break my own heart. So I left him and his perfect life alone. Because who needs a fucked up person like me in his life?!"

Devyn realized he was shouting but he didn't care. He also ignored the tears rolling down his face. His scar around his left eye burning from the salt in his tears. Devyn knew in that moment he'd always be a fuck up somehow.

"Remus was so important to me. I love him more than anything. Because… he allowed me to forget and move on. I was no longer trapped in my lying, deceitful past. I was able to actually be me."

Devyn turned and shoved past Roman only to stop short of the exit, blocked by a familiar face.

"Remus…" it barely left Devyn's mouth.

"I never got to tell you." Remus said. "I was going to tell you I loved you the next day. And I wanted you to meet my boyfriend because we're both poly and you had mentioned in passing you were too. I didn't press it because well… I wasn't sure how much you enjoyed how I am."

Devyn had never seen Remus so calm. It was weird and he didn't like it. He liked his Remus bouncing off the walls, talking about his latest findings on the side of the road; alive or dead. He liked Remus when he tried to make fake blood to put on the windows for Halloween and it ended up being actual animal blood because that's how obsessed Remus was with what he did.

This calm demeanor didn't suit the wacky man at all.

"Like them…? Remus… I adore you. You were so true to yourself in ways I couldn't predict. I love that even though you were pushed away by society for who you are… you didn't let that change you. You refused to live a lie. Something I had done all my life."

Remus crossed the gap between them and in one full motion, pulled Devyn down like a princess, holding him gently in his arms.

"Let me do what I've been holding back for so long." Remus begged.

Devyn nodded and they kissed. It was soft at first, tickling Devyn's upper lip with Remus's rough mustache, before Devyn felt it deepen even further. He didn't want it to stop…

"Geez, brother! Get a room!" Roman blurted which caused the two to pull away.

Devyn licked his lips and Remus did as well, promising more later.

Remus allowed Devyn to stand as they walked back over to the rest of the group. Virgil reintroduced himself and apologized as did Devyn. Remus explained that Virgil is his QPP as Virgil is asexual and quoiromantic. Both were fine having other partners. Devyn joked about the fact that maybe he would fall for Virgil too if Virgil played him the violin more. The group laughed even though Devyn was dead serious.

As it turned out, the band, including Remus, lived together in a rented house just down the street. It wasn't glamorous or anything but enough to keep all of them out of the rain and comfortable.

As they walked in, Virgil asked Devyn about his living conditions and he dodged the question by bringing up food.

Remus grabbed Devyn's hand and squeezed, asking again.

Devyn admitted to living in a Motel 6. It was all he could afford after being released from jail. His factory job was paying him well now but he had to consider uber fees to get to and from work. The off three days working four was nice too but he had to be careful. He had no savings to fall back on.

Remus jumped up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"My past is not something I am proud of." Devyn admitted. "But… it is something I should explain before we get too far into things."

To Be Continued….

#sanders sides #ts fanfiction #ts fanfic #romantic anxceitmus #romantic demus #logince #deceit sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #anxceitmus #demus

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miraculous-rewrite · 3 years

Text

Miraculous Rewrite- The Scorpion Part 2 (A Feast Overhaul)

I mean that’s ONE way to establish a new villain

We open again on a flashback, this time to the final struggle between Fu and Tsering Wan, Fu, a scrappy fourteen year old with the turtle around his wrist, and Wan barely older than him with the scorpion hanging from his neck.

The two of them are struggling in the snow, Fu screaming that he doesn’t want to fight, he’s tired of fighting. Wan shouting back that if he didn’t want to fight he never would have denied the Order’s teachings, not to give him that sanctimonious crap and etc etc. They struggle for a bit longer, Wan seems to have the upper hand, pulling the scorpion’s dagger-spear from its sheath and moving to Stab Fu, shouting that the Order will live on. But before the final blow was struck, Fu throws up Shelter, just for a moment, just as Wan sneers at him for being a coward, the bubble dissolves and Fu rams his shield into Wan’s face. The struggle is turned quickly, Fu gets a rather nasty gash on his side before holding his shield in the air, Wan finally pinned beneath him.

“Yield.”

“I’ll never yield to a traitor.”

Fu’s shield comes slamming down

We cut to Tsering Wan, his scorpion mask possessed a deep gash on the side, as though the mask itself never healed from the blow, but Wan, now an old man, has only a thin scar where the wound once was.

“The boy who called himself the Guardian of the Miracle Box was a traitor.” Wan states firmly. “A fool of a child known as Wang Fu. His reliance on the Miracle Box to extend his life is the only thing that's kept him alive for close to two hundred years. The only thing that's kept me alive was my bond with Misso and my oath of vengeance.”

We zoom out a little, and sure enough, standing before Wan is Le Paon as she was before.

“Misso? Your Kwami? I’ll admit I'm not familiar with the scorpion as it was.”

“You wouldn’t be. The traitor only kept one Miracle Box, but that does not mean there are not others that still exist.”

“And other members of this Order to keep them?”

“That is not something for you to concern yourself over.”

Paon thinks for a moment. “I see.”

“Now you must tell me your goals. What use do the butterfly and the peacock have with the power of the Miraculous?”

“We wish to revive a mutual loved one. That’s all that really needs to be said I feel.”

“And you’re aware of the drawbacks?”

“If it trades a life for a life, maybe you might want to keep this Wang Fu alive, then we’d all get what we want at once.” Paon smirks, and Wan returns it.

“It seems as though my presence has shaken Fu up quite a bit. Perhaps it may be best to prove that fear is legitimate.”

“Perhaps.” Paon removes a fan spoke and offers it to Wan, who shakes his head.

“I have no use for a Projection.”

“Perhaps a simpler upgrade then.” A flash of dark purple in the orange of the setting sun flickers at the corner of the screen, and Wan hums as the butterfly drifts closer.

“I suppose the extra power of a Champion will aid this.” He hummed, before offering the butterfly his knife, extending it into its Spear form as it hits.

“We thank you for your assistance Scorpion. In return you have the power of fright. To strike cacophonous fear into the hearts of all. Together, You, Paon, and I will take down the traitorous Guardian and take the Miraculous’ back to where they truly belong!”

“Does he always talk this much?”

“Literally every time.”

“How inconsiderate.”

“.....Can we please focus?”

The transformation wraps around Wan, and his aged back straightens, he looks years younger, muscles more filled out and his outfit has turned from dark brown to black as pitch.

“Shall you be meeting us, Hawkmoth? Or do you always have your partners do your dirty work for you?”

“He always-”

“I WILL BE THERE.”

We now cut back to the Eiffel tower, Fu has finished explaining his story for the second time, Nino staring pensively at the shield in his hands.

“At this junction, with Tsering Wan about in the world again, he is going to be targeting the only one of us that he knows the identity of, myself. He is not the same man as he once was, to attack and toy with Ladybug, it was not the way of the Tsering Wan I knew throughout my adolescence. Therefore, the safest option would then be to keep as many Miraculous away from him as possible, should he defeat me and take the Miracle Box for himself, we’ve taken steps to ensure the most powerful Miraculous will remain out of his clutches.

“In this regard it is possible that we may have to search for a wielder for the rabbit.” Fu looks distant for a moment. “The lot of you, I’d like you to keep your eyes open. Ladybug and Chat Noir of course have final say, but from here on out The Order of Miraculous will listen to each other. And we will all act as one to make this world a better one than we were given.”

“How precious, a little summer camp for superheroes!” a dark feminine voice coos.

A flurry of black butterflies blanket the area, most going up to shield their faces in response. But we focus on Fu, opening the umbrella to shield himself from the assault; then, in the middle of the flurry there’s a scream, then another, a pained grunt, a yelp.

Ladybug grunts and opens her yoyo to mass heal the butterflies, but just as she starts capturing them, A dark blur cuts through the butterflies and drives a wicked looking blade into her arm. Ladybug yelps and nearly drops her yoyo, moving on instinct she kicks out, switching her yoyo into her other arm she grabs into the darkness to try and grab the blur, but it's already gone. She keeps spinning her yoyo, and sure enough the butterfly blanket begins to thin. But as she releases the cloud of purified butterflies it turns out, that the New Order, was alone.

Ladybug pressed her hand to her sluggishly bleeding arm, and sure enough, taking in their surroundings, others had injuries. Kim was nursing a head injury that had started to bleed from his scalp, Bellflower was being helped back up to her feet by Chloe, an equally bloody cut in her leg, and despite the bruise rapidly forming on his cheek, Chat rushed over to her, worry clear on his face.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, nothing a Miraculous Ladybug can’t fi-”

“Carapace?! Carapace!” Both turn, and Chat considerably pales when, just behind either of them, Rena’s struggling to lift Carapace, clearly unconscious, with a wide gash in his side (the same place Fu was struck all those years ago)

Chat darts over to Carapace and Rena, crouching on the other side of him.

“Hey! Hey ‘Pace? Bro? Brother can you hear me?” Carapace thinly groans.

And Miraculous Ladybug runs throughout the tower.

All present wounds are quickly stitched up, but that didn’t mean anybody was any less shaken. Rena clutches Caapace’s arm tight and Chat throws his arm around his shoulders, even as Carapace protests that he’s fine. Ladybug is pale as a ghost even as she checks to make sure everyone is alright.

“Bell?”

“I’m okay- How’s your arm?”

“I’ll be fine. King Monkey?”

“I uh… Roi Singe is fine. And I’m okay.”

One by one She goes through everybody, stopping for an extra moment at Vipereon, clearly upset. “You guys shouldn’t have had to go through this, I’m sorry.”

Vipereon furrows his brow and takes Ladybug’s hand in his own. “It’s gonna be dangerous from here on, isn’t it? More so than before. I’ll… I’m not going to back out, but…” he looks pensive.

“It wasn’t what you thought you were signing up for?”

“I’m sure things have spiralled way out from what you thought this would be too.”

“I think it might be necessary for everyone here to re-examine their priorities a bit.” Vipereon settled on.

“That might be smart.”

Settling a nod between the two Ladybug finally arrives at Fu.

“I’m sorry Master, I allowed myself to be distracted, and let Tsering Wan get the drop on us. None of us even had the wherewithal to fight back before he was gone and the fault in that is mine.”

“No Ladybug, the fault is mine. I should have started preparing the lot of you for the inevitable far sooner, whether Tsering Wan returned or not, it was foolish of me to have assumed that no Miraculous’ survived the fall of the order, despite the Butterfly and Peacock already being proof of such.”

“Well if we know anything, we know Tsering Wan is working with Hawkmoth.” Chat piped up. “Those weren’t exactly scorpions blocking our sights, they were butterflies.”

“So what do we do now?” Chloe pipes up. “We don’t exactly know where the forces of darkness congregate for their shady nonsense.”

“Jungle Queen has a point-” Chloe squeaks in protest at the name that Alya hands out. “Tsering Wan isn’t going to give up now that he’s in Paris, If the Scorpion really is the Miraculous of Revenge, he’s gonna keep coming until either he’s dead or we’re dead.” one could practically see the flinch ripple through the crowd. “None of us are safe to go home tonight.”

“What would be our next step then?” Pegasus chimes in “I calculate a 70% chance of failure if our next step is to simply wait until we’re ambushed again. Knowing Hawkmoth it will be just at the wrong time, and from there, assuming Tsering Wan has learned from this encounter he will likely go after Ladybug first to take Miraculous Cure off the table, from there he may mistake Carapace as The Guardian again before realizing the truth, and after that Chat would likely be hyperfocused on ensuring Ladybug’s safe-”

“We get it Peg, we’re screwed if we wait around.” Roi Singe finally stops him, placing his entire hand over Pegasus’ face. “Please stop talking, it’s BAD mojo.”

“Thanks Roi.” Ladybug huffs after a beat. “Master? What do you think?”

Fu pauses for a moment. “We must be clever, though we have numbers on them. If Hawkmoth has bestowed his Akuma onto Tsering Wan, we might be evenly matched on power. He’s had over a century with the Scorpion, he’s likely unlocked his full potential.”

“Full potential?” Ryuuko wonders aloud “If more wizened warriors can unlock greater strengths, why were we all chosen in our adolescence? Was Hawkmoth truly assumed to be that little of a threat?”

Fu’s expression tightens for a moment. “We all must begin somewhere, Ryuuko. As children you have less responsibilities, school and homework and friends, while it may be a struggle to keep your lives afloat at times, here’s little to no worries about your double life impacting your livelihood. An adult may have to worry about losing their job or taking care of their children while they’re off fighting. While objectively, a more experienced warrior is stronger, this is a war that will end one day. And I would like the lot of you to still have homes to return to when that day comes.”

“And we’re more creative.” Ladybug chimes in. “It's easier for us to utilize Miraculous’ in more versatile ways because we can still think outside the box without being told to. He might have power on us, but we’ve got creativity on him!”

“Maybe that’s what it’ll take?” Chat finally parts from Carapace and stands up, a moment of realization passing over him. “Maybe we take a page from Hawkmoth’s book and draw their attention to where we want it! Cause a ruckus until they come out to play!”

We next arrive at the Louvre. In various little shadows and alcoves eyes peer into the twilight.

In one shadow in specific a pair of green and yellow eyes peer into the open area surrounding the Louvre. A whispered ‘Amplify’ as a light brown magic zips over Rena. She takes a breath, and blows on her flute.

“Mirage.”

The illusion passes over the louvre, turning it from a glowing museum of art, into a snowy mountainous cliffside. The snow is cold to the touch, and turns the surrounding area into a small blizzard.

“Second Chance” another voice whispers.

And soon enough, a young man steps into the blizzard, no older than fourteen, green and black robes stark against the white landscape. He looks over his green brim hat, and it's revealed to be Fu as he was during that final confrontation, eyes narrowed and face determined.

“You want your revenge Wan?! Well here I am! The traitor! The child who asked too many questions! Remember what I did to you? I remember! If you want to pay me back, I’m waiting for you!”

Another cloud of black butterflies fight against the blizzard, unable to swarm the young Fu, but cloud Tsering Wan from view.

“Is this some sort of joke? Wang Fu, your illusionist is hardly anything special.”

“Then face me yourself Tsering Wan! Or has your time in an antiquated Order turned you to a coward? Always hiding behind the shadows, or the powers of others! Face me yourself and we’ll see whose ideals won out in the end!”

There was a moment of pause, but Tsering Wan stepped out of the haze of butterflies. He makes eye contact with Little Fu, eyes glowing a blood red, and Little Fu stiffens, eyes widen and when Tsering Wan takes a step forward, Little Fu takes a step back. The shadows whisper among each other before a voice calls out.

“Please don’t do this Master!”

Suddenly Ladybug and Chat Noir run into the scene, the two of them in outfits lined with fur along the sides, assumed to be their ‘tundra’ potion forms. (calling back to Syren)

“Master! You can’t fight him again, you barely survived last time!” Ladybug calls out

“We’ll fight for you!” Chat insists.

Little Fu opens his mouth, but isn’t able to speak, Tsering Wan takes another step forward, still locked eyes with him, and Little Fu drops to the ground, his whole body trembling.

“Hawkmoth really is a gifted butterfly user.” Scorpion humms. “I knew the turtle was always weak to the butterfly, but this is truly satisfying, to see you crumble in fear before me. You destroyed everything I loved a long time ago, Fu. Now Watch as I do the same to you.”

He whirled around and sprinted for Ladybug and Chat Noir, spear hefted high he rushes for Ladybug, and Chat extends his staff to intercept the Spear. The two clash for a moment, but Scorpion overpowers Chat and throws him aside, he makes a wide swipe for Ladybug, who is barely able to block with her yoyo string.

“We meet again lucky lady.” He locks eyes with Ladybug, who gulps audibly. “I didn’t need this power to inspire fear in you, now did I?”

“I dunno, you tell me. NOW!”

“CACOPHONY!” Jungle Queen’s voice roars over the wind, and with it comes an awful din of sound. Scorpion stumbled a bit, giving Ladybug an opening to kick at his side. He pulls away, but as he whirls to go at Chat’s still prone form, a portal opens at his side, not very large, not big enough for a whole person.

“SWARM! Bind him!” -but it doesn’t need to be.

The thousands of glowing bees zip through the portal and swarm around Scorpion’s hands and legs. Just as they’re about to get him to the ground he's able to touch a hand to his medallion “VENGEANCE-!” A small stuffed banana lobs through the air just as he finishes his word, and bounces off of Scorpion’s head, the black energy had started before he was hit, so Swarm falls away from him, but no black swarm takes its place, replaced instead with a small cloud of cotton candy.

“You petulant little-! Hawkmoth! Paon! Where are you two cowards?!”

The sound of scuffling finally is heard over the din of the wind and roar. And sure enough the butterflies disperse enough to see Hawkmoth going cane to sword with Ryuuko, the two surprisingly evenly matched, while Paon is swiping her fan at Carapace’s Shelter.

“Ah, clever man, Fu. Sending your children to fight for you again.” He chuckles, spinning his spear, and just as Ladybug lunges for an opening he rams the spear into her gut. Ladybug screams, and Chat, still dazed on the ground, whimpers thinly as Ladybug is sent down beside him.

Bellflower, Pegasus, Jungle Queen, and Roi Singe were upon Scorpion then, but he batted them away with ease (perhaps Too much Ease) he smirks at the still Prone Little Fu, and darts for him, becoming a black blur in the snow for a moment.

“You will pay for what you’ve done!” Scorpion screams, spear raised high, Fu’s eyes widen, still unable to move-or so Scorpion thought.

When Scorpion's spear goes down it clangs against a metal disk with a ringing noise. Scorpion raises a brow, and sure enough Little Fu was holding a chakram in his hand, Little Fu blinks, and his eyes turn green, the illusion melts away to reveal Fenrir, and while their weapons are connected a small voice, like the chirp of a cicada calls out a quip.

“Really! You’d think someone as suspicious as you would know a trap when he saw one!” Scorpion tries to pull his hand back, but Fenrir holds firm, reaching up with his free hand to grab the shaft of the spear, and racing along his arm is a small army of grey blurs. A hundred Multimice.

The Multimice go full Gulliver’s travels on Scorpion, and by the smug looks on the remaining Miraculous wielder’s faces, this was the plan. Soon enough the remaining wielders split off and go rushing for Hawkmoth and Paon, leaving Scorpion to the mercy of Multimouse and Fenrir.

“Why were the two of you not present the last time our paths crossed? Too cowardly to face your teammates?” Scorpion tries to rile them up as he fights Fenrir at the same time as trying to throw the Multimice off of him.

“Hear that, Fenrir? He was so blinded by a Turtle he didn’t see us in the elevator behind the Guardian!” One of the Multimice chirps out, and Fenrir literally barks out a laugh.

“Ruff time for him!”

Now, finally the fight is turning in team Miraculous’ favor. But just as the fight seems to be almost over, Scorpion finally Shouts “ENOUGH” His roar somehow making it over the fighting, a dark shockwave of power coming with it. The Akuma magic ripping through the air and wrapping around the heroes. Some are more affected than others, Ryuuko stiffens, Roi Singe laughs nervously, Bellflower shudders. Others seem to be merely incapacitated, Jungle Queen drops to her knees, arms claped tightly around her middle, Carapace covers his head and curls in on himself a bit, Pegasus clasps his hands around his ears.

Multimouse re-fuses out of instinct, but grits her teeth, she takes a breath, and undoes the jump rope from her waist.

“Don’t let him get to you! It’s his Akuma power!” She calls out, but just as she does so, Paon looks at her fan spoke, thoughtful.

There’s one single moment of Hawkmoth, still locked cane sword with sword against Ryuuko, where he sees the train of thought in his cohort’s mind, and he shouts “DON’T YOU DARE!”

“Too late!” She braces herself and plunges the spoke into her forearm.

The blue magic sparks forth, ripping from Paon’s arm comes a huge bird, monstrous in appearance with a wicked pointed beak and blue and purple feathers. It plucks Hawkmoth by the scruff of his collar off the ground, and Paon climbs onto its back. As it's about to take off Scorpion makes a break for the thing and is picked up by its talons. As the three begin their retreat Scorpion turns to the small crowd of children and points into the throng.

“I know where you are now Fu! This isn’t over! I’ll find you! If it takes another two hundred years I’ll make you pay!” His shout turns into a small chuckle. “Have fun taking your two best fighters to the hospital!”

And like that the snowy illusion fades, and with it, the fake Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“We have to go after them!” Ryuuko makes a step forward, “Retreating like that is the coward’s way out-!” The others seem prepared to follow suit, but Viperion’s hand comes down on Ryuuko’s shoulder.

“Let them go.”

“WHAT?!” Jungle Queen Shrieks at him “Why in the everloving HELL would we let the bad guys get away?!”

“Because if we follow them someone dies!” Viperion shouts back. “That took like Twenty tries to get out of without anyone dying!”

“Twenty..?” Carapace huffs, seemingly counting on his fingers. “Wait, was that rock that threw Paon off for a second you?”

“If I got too involved Scorpion would come after me, and if I went down we’d be out of chances.” Viperion huffed. “Let me tell you, bleeding out, not fun. Glad it only happened to a fake Ladybug.”

“Speaking of which-” Fenrir starts, but Rena beats him to the punch to rush Multimouse and envelop her into a hug.

“God, first Carapace now you!? Girl, you’re gonna give me a heart attack!”

“Let me just say though, this?” Roi Singe gestures at Multimouse and Fenrir, “Makes like so many things make more sense.”

“It is fortunate however that we were able to keep your secondary Miraculous usage from our enemies.” Pegasus Chimes in “There’s a 90% chance that you’ve both introduced these Miraculous into the fight as to assist in keeping your identities a secret, therefore it would be considerably more dangerous if they found out that Fenrir and Multimouse were in fact also Chat Noir and-”

“WE GET IT!” Jungle Queen finally cuts him off.

Bellflower reappears, now with Fu in tow, arm linked in her own.

“You feeling okay, Master?��

“I’ve certainly been better, Bellflower.” He chuckles weakly. “Tsering Wan was right though, My identity is compromised, as is my continued possession of the Miracle Box… of A Miracle Box. It seems as though I must have to...make myself scarce, as the youth say.” He huffed and removed the Watch, transforming back in front of the team. “Ladybug, keep a close eye on Hopps, Chat Noir, keep in mind those you trust. The Time Miraculous has even more potential for misuse than the Fate Miraculous.” He hands her the watch and closes Multimouse’s hand around it. “Your instincts have brought in such wonderful heroes so far, I trust you. But for now, I must return home. Tsering Wan, Hawkmoth, Paon, they know me now, so i must make sure they cannot find me.”

“Good luck, Order of Miraculous. That’s all I can wish you until the time is right.”

And Fu turned, and walked away.

One by one the others parted, some citing their timers starting to wear down, some simply leaving to go to bed, until the classic Team Miraculous remains.

“Should I give him back Shorr or….?”

“He’d probably ask that you keep it, like he said, less miraculous with him the less power Tsering Wan will get if he finds him.” Bellflower responds. “Come on, let's get home before Dad sends out the search parties.”

“Babe, this isn’t the way back to my place.”

“Nino you got stabbed in the side today and apparently if Viperon didn’t interfere you might have been killed by the crazy peacock lady, you’re staying the night with me.”

“Bro! Brother! Adrien! Don’t let her do thissss”

Adrien, however, is silent, staring down at the floor, and Nino spares him one look before Marinette nods, and Nino allows Alya to drag him away. Marinette waves to the two, before approaching Adrien, a hand on his shoulder.

“Hawkmoth was worried about Paon. He shouted at her not to do what she was going to do.” He says softly, lifting his head to look at Marinette. “He sounded… worried. They’re partners, sure, but why would he be worried about her like that?”

“She...remember that first time we saw the peacock? Nathalie when she was Akumaized was… what did she call herself, Mayura? She seemed weak, like wearing it for too long was hurting her. I thought at first that that was because akumas shouldn’t have Miraculouses too, but Tsering Wan wasn’t lagging at all despite having a Miraculous and being an Akuma….Is there maybe something wrong with the Peacock?”

“If that’s true then…” Adrien swallows hard. “Then I really hope we’re wrong.” He doesn’t say what they’re wrong about, if the understanding on Marinette’s face means anything, he doesn’t need to.

“... call your dad, tell him you’re staying the night at my house. You need some hot chocolate I think.” Marinette puts an arm around Adrien’s shoulders and leads him off into the night.

Finally we cut to Gabriel, though we can only see from his mouth to his shoulders, there’s a bruise forming on his cheek.

“I see, If you must stay the night with anyone, I suppose Miss Dupain-Cheng is acceptable. You will return home first thing in the morning for the Saturday photo op. Don’t be late.” There’s a pause, maybe a bit too long. “I Love you too. Goodnight Adrien.”

“He is a father and yet he continues to make such dangerous choices?”

“I know, right? At least I'm just an Aunt.”

“You’re one to talk of Dangerous choices Nathalie.” Gabriel turns and sure enough despite the suits protecting most of them, Miraculous Ladybug was conspicuously un-cast, leaving the lot of them with bumps, bruises and scrapes. Nathalie in particular was half lying on the couch, an ice bag on her head.

“Oh? Not yelling? Making yourself look nice and respectable for our new friend hm?”

“I’m not the one who insists on putting herself in reckless borderline mortal peril every time her caring brother tries to get her to take care of herself!”

“Brother-in-law.”

“WHATEVER!” Gabriel shouts. “You’re talking semantics, but it amounts to the same thing! You’re family, Nathalie!”

“And so is Emilie, so as you can see, I don’t fucking care.”Nathalie leans her head further back on the couch rest.

“I see the two of you have quite the history.” Tsering Wan mutters before taking a long drink of tea. “I’d hate to intercede on your… dialogue, but I do have to report back.” He smiles at the two of them. “It may take some time, but they won’t have numbers on their side for long.” The scorpion tail glints in the light, reflected off of Tsering Wan’s old eyes. “The Order will be very pleased to hear what I’ve found out about our wayward rebel.”

#Miraculous Rewrite #Miraculous Ladybug #rewrite #Mod Vega #Mod Aimee #The scorpion #feast rewrite

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