#i really thought i was screwed towards the end the guardians were chasing me

[tinyienzo]

I CLEARED ALL THE SILENT REALMS!! AAAAAAAAAAA

#ru plays skyward sword #the entire time ive been mENTALLY SCREAMING #I did the last one in two tries #i really thought i was screwed towards the end the guardians were chasing me #but then i was able to get the last spirit orb! #and it happened to be close to the exit

[powdermelonkeg]

Missing Links: A New Hyrule

This story has a prequel called Secrets in the Breeze! Go check it out!

My Missing Links

Wind took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the breeze as blew by. It had been awhile since he'd smelled salt in the air.

It was good to be back near the ocean.

One by one, the other heroes came through the portal, which shut behind them with a blue flash. Hyrule looked at Wind curiously. "Do...you recognize this place?"

"Nope!" Wind spun around with a bright smile. "But we’re near the sea! That’s always a good sign!”

“I beg to differ,” Legend muttered, taking note of his surroundings.

It wasn’t much. They stood atop a cliff that overlooked the sea-bordering countryside, with a sparse collection of villages tucked into the nooks of the nation. But what caught the pink-haired hero’s attention most was the network of golden roads that stretched across the land, leading towards a grand tower far inland.

In the shadow of the massive building stood a castle; one the young man immediately recognized, which threw the whole tower into proportion.

It was...big.

“So, here’s the plan.”

The redheaded man slapped a map against a tree, stabbing it through with his hairpin to keep it in place. He snapped his fingers, and the circuits of his prosthetic hand lit up in timeshift blue. “We came in here,” he said, drawing a glowing X over a place in the north of the Forest Realm. “The loser that stole my control slate ran off, and we got lost chasing him. So now we’re down here.” He circled Whittleton Village.

Fox watched the hero explain with wide eyes, fixated on his glowing fingertips.

“The guy could be anywhere,” he continued. “HOWEVER, if he knows how to calibrate it right, he probably has a map updated on the slate. And if he knows what the slate does, which he has to in order to pull a stunt like he did twice in a row, then he’d head for Hyrule Castle.” Taps drew an arrow towards the castle and tower in the distance. “We’ve already lost a day just getting out of Lost Woods. He’s probably way ahead of us if we travel on foot. But if we use one of the minecart guardians people drive around here...” He traced his finger along the minecart tracks that stretched across the land. “We can probably beat him there, as long as we catch one within the next couple hours.”

He spun to face his companion, clicking the drawing rune off. “Any questions?

Fox’s hand shot in the air. “Mr. Link? How does your arm work?”

Taps gave him a flat look. “Timeshift-powered output core.” He gave his prosthetic a solid pat. “Sheikah tech. Not what we were talking about. Any relevant questions?”

“...Well...” Fox rubbed the back of his head. “The...guardian things...they take passengers, right?” He looked at the hero with big eyes. “So, don’t they charge rupees?”

Taps paused. He hadn’t considered that. “...We can stow away.”

“Absolutely not.” The Hytopian put his hands on his hips sternly. “These people have lives to live outside of us. It’s wrong to steal labor from them.”

“They’re not GONNA have lives to live if this timeline gets screwed with by my slate!”

“Then we should get money fast, shouldn’t we?”

Taps’ eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. “I didn’t exactly bring my wallet with me when I got yanked through time and space. You plan on selling your extra clothes for it?”

Fox gasped in horror, hugging his bulky luggage. “Never!”

“Well then. Not that big a problem, is it?”

Fox bit his lip. “...Give me one hour,” he finally said. “If I can’t earn us enough rupees for a trip by then, then we can talk about stowing away.”

Taps rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He held up a metal finger. “You’ve got one hour.”

Legend walked along the strange track, examining the golden triangles beneath his feet as he followed the rails. The power in them tugged at his attention, no matter how hard he tried to look away.

What were they?

“Hey.” An elbow dug into his shoulder. “Hyrule to Link, are you there?”

Legend side-eyed the offender crossly. “No.”

“Well then,” Warriors replied, smirking. “I guess that means I get your share of lunch.”

“You touch my apple pie and you find out exactly what my medallions do.”

“Ouch. Touchy.” He followed Legend’s line of sight down to the ground. “Must be an interesting road.”

Legend nodded, looking back at the tracks. “They’re...powerful,” he said, gesturing to them. “They radiate magic, and they feel...Hylian. Like they’re alive.”

Twilight shuddered. “I certainly hope they’re not,” he said, giving Epona a pat. “The last thing I want to worry about is living roads.”

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

The Chain jumped in unison at the loud sound, attention forcefully torn from the Spirit Tracks at their feet.

Off in the distance, blurred by a shimmer of heat, a steam-powered machine charged down the tracks at breakneck speed. With a frown, Twilight whipped out his Hawkeye mask to get a better look.

It was HUGE; it had to be at least as tall as three horses standing on top of each other. As it rounded the bend and headed towards them, he got a good look at its segments—a house, a tray, and a cannon?

Twilight squinted, adjusting the mask’s scope. “What in Farore’s name...”

“What is it?” Time asked, raising an eyebrow.

“...Some kind of mechanical caravan.” Twilight concluded after a moment of thought, lowering the mask. “And it’s not stopping. We should move.”

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 

“NOW.”

Quickly, the group got off the tracks, giving them a WIDE distance.

As the steam-powered beast approached, it let out a shrill, screeching noise, causing the heroes to clamp their hands over their ears in pain until it finally rolled to a stop with a pressurized hiss.

Time slowly lowered his hands, shaking off an involuntary shiver at the redead-esque noise. “Everyone alright?”

Hyrule groaned, rubbing his ears sorely. “I think I finally feel bad for DIgdogger...”

“We’re fine,” Four answered. “I’m going to have a headache for the next week and a half, though...”

“Tell me about it...what even WAS that?” Wind asked, scrunching up his eyes as he popped the pressure in his ears.

“‘Hoy!”

The seafarer suddenly snapped to attention at the familiar greeting.

“’Hoy!”

Link leaned out of the engine cab and waved to the band of...soldiers.

They had to be soldiers, right? They had swords and armor. Maybe there was a ceremony or something coming up.

One of the group, a young-looking boy in blue, waved back to him. “‘Hoy, stranger!”

“Everything alright?” Link called. “You look kind of...lost.”

The group looked between each other. “We kind of are,” another one said, a heavily-scarred one with a long ponytail. “Can you tell us where we are?”

“Just west of Whittleton. Where are you trying to go?”

“Hyrule Castle town,” the most heavily armored one replied. “Is it far from here?”

Link looked the group over critically. “...Not really. It’s a 20 minute ride by train. Can I ask who you guys are?”

“An orchestra!” The kid that had initially greeted him exclaimed.

“...An orchestra.”

“Yep!” He pulled out his baton. “See, I’m a conductor, and he’s got a harp, and he’s got an ocarina...”

“What are you playing, then?” Link said, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh-”

“Song of the Hero,” the friendly-looking one in the white cape supplied. “It’s a classic.”

“...Right.” Link held back a sigh, feeling like this was going to be trouble. He could just leave them...

...But this was Bulblin territory. He’d feel bad.

He could just tell the guard captain to be on the lookout once he got to Hyrule Castle. That’d keep them in line, right?

“...Do you guys want a lift?”

The train ride was such a change from walking everywhere. Granted, it had been difficult to convince Epona to climb into the passenger car with them, and Legend was sharing a VERY uncomfortable stare with a fluffle of rabbits gathered at his feet. But, for the vast majority of the heroes, it was a chance to rest their legs and watch the scenery fly by.

And it was incredible.

The only comparable thing Wind had seen in his travels was speeding around on Linebeck’s steamboat, and even that required him to be focused on not running into barrels and sandbars.

This, though? It was smooth. The train ran in a straight line, zooming by acres and acres of land without so much as a bump in the wrong direction, with endless ocean through one side of the car and towering mountains through the other. Thinking fast, he pulled out his pictobox and snapped a few shots as he went along.

When the train made its first stop, the screeching sound was notably more bearable through the barriers of the cabin walls. It still made Hyrule wince, but it was a far cry from the veritable scream they’d had to endure before.

As it finally came to a full stop, the engineer that’d picked them up peered into the cabin. “Nobody get up yet, we’re not here. I’m just picking up some more passengers.”

Time raised an eyebrow. “You do this kind of thing often?”

The stranger gave him a deadpan look. “Nope. Never in my life.” Without another word of explanation, he shut the door.

Time stared after him, taken aback.

Had he just....been sassed?

A moment later, the back door of the cabin opened, and two new passengers entered.

“I told you I could pay fare!”

“Yeah, yeah. Still think we could have saved money.”

They sat in the back seat, bickering quietly and, to Legend’s relief, attracting the fluffle away from him. As the train resumed its travel down the road, he found himself listening in to their conversation.

“-plan once we get there?”

“We start looking. Duh.”

“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”

“Look, if someone uses it, we’ll know. It’s not exactly an easy thing to- ...hide.”

Curious at what had made the newcomer trail off, Legend looked back at them over his shoulder.

The redhead—the one who had ended the conversation—was staring at Wild in shock.

The pink-haired one, on the other hand, Legend recognized instantly. His head spun; the Chain had only just gotten the means to time travel themselves, how had the Hytopian guy with the friendship tokens-?!

Feeling Legend’s gaze on him, Fox looked up, unnerved, then froze in shock as he came to the same conclusion Legend did.

I know you. You shouldn’t BE here.

Suddenly, the train heaved, throwing everyone out of their seats. The once-smooth ride came to an abrupt halt as the train derailed, skidding across the raw ground with a terrifying SCREECH before grinding to a halt and tilting precariously. Twilight and Wild both scrambled to grab Epona and brace her as the car finally tipped, landing on its side with a crash.

Silence hung in the air for one brief, panic-laced second.

Then, in an instant, the redheaded stranger shoved his companion out the back door and vaulted over the cabin seats, barreling into Wild and leaping for the front door. As Wild was abruptly yanked out of his daze, he spotted the Sheikah Slate in the thief’s hand before the redhead made his escape.

Fox stared at Taps as he ran outside. “What are you doing?!”

“Shut up, I’m focusing!” Taps said, frantically clicking through the slate. “Where is it, this layout is atrocious-”

“Did you just steal the-”

“He had my control slate!”

“They had SWORDS!”

“So do we!” Taps stopped on a screen, and sighed in relief. “Finally!” With a blue flash, he summoned his Divine Beast, wasting no time in clambering on board. “Come on, get on!”

“But my clothes-”

“HEY!”

The two time travelers looked over as Wild emerged from the train car to shame mankind, eyes blazing with fury as he raced towards them.

Fox squeaked in alarm, quickly leaping onto the Divine Beast and clinging to Taps. “Drive, DRIVE!”

Wild did his best to give chase as the duo sped off, but his mortal Hylian legs couldn’t keep up with the ingenuity of Sheikah technology. Before his very eyes, two complete strangers fled into the distance with his Divine Beast.

Link picked himself up off the ground, clutching his ribs in pain as he raced back towards his toppled train.

He had so many people on board, he had a horse back there. If any of them were hurt—

Without a moment’s thought for himself, he threw the cabin door open. “Is everyone okay?!”

Everyone jolted, reaching for their weapons in panic, when suddenly, there was a yelp of pain from the back seat.

Sky clutched his stung hand as he dropped the Master Sword, staring at the engineer in shock.

“You’re...one of us.”

#i. am not revising this any more. #i'm aware that it's not my best work but this was difficult. #AAAAAAAAAAAA #anyways. enjoy #missing links chapter 1! #for those unaware #taps is the hero from the botw tapestry #fox is the faux hero from triforce heroes #and the engineer...yeah. spirit tracks #loz #zelda #spirit tracks #missing links is FINALLY #FINALLY UP #botw #linked universe #i need to practice more #the chain gets robbed #fanfiction

[cass-chan12]

Obligations and Objections

Fandom: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir  Rated: K+ Genre: Romance/Drama Pairing: Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Cat Noir 

Summary:Thinking about being alone as the New Guardian was all too stressful for Marinette and along with her confusing emotions she feels it would be best to change some rules. (Post Miracle Queen) 

///

It all had felt so heavy to live all of the sudden.

The weight Marinette had over the past year as ladybug already made her feel uneasy with responsibility and before she knew it the responsibility multiplied tenfold. She was the new guardian after all.

She had broken down multiple times that day when it all began.

It was only a matter of time when she would crash. She let Adrien go, Chat let her go and Master Fu left altogether. Seeing the older man board the train with no memories and telling her that he would never forget her was all too much for her heart.

Sitting next to the soft sound of a guitar tune was the only thing Marinette could relax to. Luka had really helped her more than he could ever have imagined. For one moment right there and then she felt like she didn’t have to be Paris’ hero or someone’s third party in a romantic setting where she wasn’t supposed to be in from the start, nor did she feel obligated to think of the future where she and Chat will be up against Hawkmoth and Mayura.

Later that evening she stood on her balcony looking over the river, seeing Notre Dame in the distance and let Tikki rest on her shoulder as she usually did.

Marinette breathed in sombrely which Tikki no doubt noticed.

“Do you wanna talk about all that happened?” the little Kwami’s sweet voice asked in the dead silence.

Tikki noticed tears pricking out of her holders eyes “Not really but I should. You are the only one I can talk to about my whole life so I shouldn’t keep it bottled up like before.”

TIkki nudged closer on her shoulder to show her holder that her attention was solely on her.

“I had my doubts about being Ladybug since the beginning and I had come to terms after Stoneheart that I will try my best to protect everyone. Since I was chosen I had this cosy feeling that all my decisions were the right ones but I’ve had plenty of mistakes. I human in the end. But today… I…” a sob broke out of her lips.

“I resent Master for picking me as the new guardian. I know it was coming and the small ugly thought I had was that the time wouldn’t come. Now my biggest fear is here and I don’t feel ready or strong enough to pull it through.”

She felt like her own words were putrid and vile for even letting them come out. How could she feel that way about the man who sacrificed so much for the safe keeping of the Miraculous? He was human as well, she did acknowledge that but this was all too much for her fourteen year old mind and body.

Tikki zipped in front of her face and softly patted the tears away.

“I’m not sure whether or not you will believe me but you are so much capable then you lead on to be Marinette.” she reassured

“And I feel the same as you do, trust me. I want you to enjoy being young and not feel like the whole world is coming to an end. I, though, do want you to know that you are the most amazing holder I’ve ever had. You are kind, creative, and clever and everyone knows and sees it.”

Marinette smiled at her Kwami and raised her palms in front of her for the little creature to land in.

“I just want you to know one thing Marinette.” The Kwami looked at her with some mischief.

Marinette cocked an eyebrow “And what’s that?”

“With every new Guardian, they make or break rules for what you feel is right.”

Oh?

Oh…

///

Anxiety can always have more than one face.

In this case, Marinette’s other form is Adrien Agreste and Kagami Tsurugi.

Although the two weren’t officially dating, it was clear how the two felt about the other. They both shared a lot in common, their parents were most likely on bored for their growing ‘friendship’ and as much as Marinette hated to admit it, they seemed perfect for each other.

She admits she can’t fully let go of her affections of Adrien but she maybe would prioritize her relationship with herself. Maybe in time she can look Luka as more than just a friend? Or even see Chat in a different light?

‘That’s not a smart idea, Marinette.” She scolded herself.

Even if she and Chat did pursue something, it would be dangerous. Hawkmoth already has them on the ropes and if he were to know that she and he were involved, the villain would take advantage of it.

No, Luka was the safer route.

‘So much for thinking about prioritising your relationship with yourself…’ she thought sarcastically to herself.

After school Marinette passed the fencing practice ground and noticed Adrien and Kagami. The Japanese girl certainly was a cool beauty, it was only logical Adrien would have noticed her.

She smiled sadly and kept on walking until she heard a snap noise. Startled, she found half of her hair in her face and looked down to have found her hair band had snapped.

‘Perfect’ she scoffed as she picked it up.

With only one hair band now, she didn’t particularly want one ponytail. A certain blonde ruined the look for her. So she just undid the other and decided to have her hair down.

“You really should wear it down more often.” A familiar voice told her out of the blue.

She jumped at the suddenness and gazed to see if was Adrien who was holding a bottle of water, most likely on a break. He smiled at her in the friendliest way as he had always done.

“Sorry to startle you, just wanted to say hi.”

The pit in her stomach felt unbearable “Hi…” she said trying to make it sound like she was joking.

The blonde was taken back by that “Is everything okay?”

She jumped at his observation “Y-yeah, why you ask?”

“You don’t seem yourself. Is it maybe Luka? Are you guys fighting?”

“Um… no? Why are you specifically bringing him up?” she asked confused.

A small blush bloomed on Adrien’s face “Sorry I didn’t mean to impose on your guys relationship. I couldn’t think of another reason.”

“Our relationship?” Marinette blurted.

Okay now Adrien looked confused “Aren’t you guys? Ya know? Together?”

“What? No!” Marinette screamed.

The blonde blinked at her in confusion.

“Sorry, what I meant to say is that he is a friend. We’re not together.” Marinette coughed.

“Oh…” he said dumbfounded.

The Raven haired girl really felt like she could crawl in a hole at that moment. To think that Adrien thought that she and Luka are dating shocked her. Sure she does have some feelings toward the guitarist but she admits that she’s pushed those feelings down for the sake of her affection for Adrien. But because she had pushed them down so much it felt foreign to imagine them as a couple.

He was a very amazing boy no doubt about it. She could easily fall for him but… there was Adrien… and there was also Chat. Her trusted partner may or may not know that his partnership means the world to her and that she could easily open her heart to him but that would be too dangerous. At least for now.

Her emotions were feeling wild at that moment and the harsh blush on her face made her look overheated right there.

‘Just a friend. Sounds familiar.’ Adrien thought to himself.

Adrien couldn’t lie to himself that Marinette’s confession gave him a bubbly feeling in his chest. It’s strange since that feeling normally occurred when he met Ladybug for the first time or even Kagami. It had been the first time he would be feeling that sensation while with Marinette. He felt a bit sick to be honest with all the emotions coming all together.

And now he wasn’t sure how to respond. He felt that it be weird to tell her to maybe look at Luka differently or give him a chance. It is equally as weird not saying something.

Thankfully for him Kagami called so they could continue practice.

“Sorry, I gotta-” he said quickly.

“Yeah yeah, see ya.” She cut him off.

The blonde couldn’t help but look behind him and see his friend walk away with her raven hair on full display. He also couldn’t understand the thump in his chest when he thoughtlessly hoped to see it again.

///

It was incredibly peaceful that afternoon. The sun was sinking into dusk and Ladybug and Chat finished patrol (with not many words exchanged) and decided to sit on top of the Eiffel tower for a small time out, since most tourists have left by then.

Ladybug felt some tension coming from her partner and she felt on par with him if she had to be honest. All she could think about the last time they fought Miracle Queen and how focused he was, how well he helped her when she felt completely useless. How he finally felt like he cut out of his romantic feelings for her and was a solid rock for her.

He really was a great partner.

And she’s a blind fool, who always chased the shadow of a boy who could never love her back. Meanwhile, here is a boy who really loved her from day one and yet after the last battle, he might have totally given up on her for good.

She doesn’t know how to fully prove it but when he called her Ladybug instead of M’lady, she knew.

They sat and Chat broke the silence “I'm not sure if now is a good time to ask but how are you doing, ya know, being the new Guardian?”

She looked him in the eye and she could see his concern for her. He probably knew how the burden could be taking a toll on her or that she might feel guilt and regret. He was very observant like that.

“To be honest… stressful. As if I was doing any better without the responsibility but now what’s done is done and I can only hope I won’t mess up.” she said truthfully.

“You won’t mess up.” he said a bit sternly.

She huffed “Right, because I haven’t made countless mistakes prior.”

“Or you could not berate yourself like that.” He said annoyed at her.

She felt like another emotional rollercoaster was coming.

“I'm not berating I'm telling the truth. I honestly don’t want all this responsibility knowing I can screw up majorly. Master was much older and wiser than I am and he made mistakes so how will I be different? Plus having two supervillains blindside you does open room for error.” She said bitterly.

“Ladybug… I know what happened wasn’t anyone’s fault so stop blaming yourself. We are just kids in the end. Heck I keep getting hits by Akuma’s a lot and trust me, I feel like the mistake out of the two of us.”

She hated when he did that. He would always make himself look bad so she could feel better and she knew that it would never work.

“Chat Noir. You were undeniably the real hero the other day. I would’ve lost for sure and I'm not going to make it as Guardian without you… so I want to change a rule.”

He felt frozen by her words, she felt like he helped her that much? She wanted to change a rule?

“I think we should know each other’s identities.”

He was screaming inside his body. Was he dreaming? Or was this a sick joke? It felt awfully hard to breath now.

“I- Uh- wha…” he babbled.

She giggled at his expression but used her next sentence in a serious tone “I can’t do it alone. But Chat this would have to mean that if you or I could be compromised, it would be over. That means no hits from Akuma’s. This also means I have to do some research in uncapping some hidden abilities and power reserves so we can last longer in battle. It wont be easy but… I feel we need to get stronger and I can’t see us doing that if we don’t know each other.”

“And you think this is the best decision as Guardian?” he asked hoping his tone didn’t sound desperate.

“I do.” she reaffirmed strongly.

He felt like this was the best dream. But his own feelings felt so jumbled, he wasn’t sure what to do with them at the moment.

“Then let’s do it in an hour… I’ll send you the location on our communicators and when making our way there, make sure you aren’t followed.”

“Roger.” He nodded.

She smiled at him before she zipped away on her yoyo.

His heart melted and felt on cloud nine. Although, he couldn’t help but feel awful that he wasn’t sure if he should stop pursuing Ladybug. He did make sure to try and move on because she already loved someone else… but maybe there was still some hope for him.

#miraculous lady bug #miraculous ladybug #ml s3 spoilers #ml s3 #ml fic #miraculous fanfic #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #Adrienette #ladynoir #obligations and objections

[nixmatize]

Making room for someone new (chapter 4)

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Halfway there! I’m having way too much fun writing this for @marigami-week, so do expect to see more from me even after this week is over...

“Marinette. The akuma can wait a few minutes. We need to talk.”

Marinette could feel what little blood was left in her face quickly draining out. Even though she thought Kagami was very trustworthy, and had even been planning on making her a permanent miraculous holder alongside herself and Chat Noir, she didn’t want her identity revealed to anyone until after Hawkmoth was safely locked behind bars.

And this weekend, she had screwed up so many times – fighting with Tikki, leaving the earrings behind, failing to stop M. Clerc from getting akumatized, almost being caught by the akuma’s powers until Kagami jumped in to protect her – she didn’t know how anyone though she would be a worth guardian. She had made so, so many dumb errors.

“Kagami, I swear I can explain -”

“Marinette. Thank you.”

Her frantic attempts at somehow getting out of admitting to being Ladybug were cut off by the raw sincerity in Kagami’s voice. Kagami’s whole demeanor was soft, with smiling eyes and an upward tilt to her mouth. Marinette found herself breathless in the face of such warmth from someone she had once assumed to be so cold.

“I didn’t have friends before you,” Kagami continued, “not really. The closest I had was Adrien, and we were more pushed together by out families and extracurriculars rather than any choice. When you solved the friendship puzzles with me, when we went to orange juice together, when you continued making the effort to be my friend even though no one was making you and your friends were even trying to convince you that you would be better off without me, you showed me what true friendship was.”

Kagami tilted her face off to one side slightly, one of the few times Marinette had seen her allow herself to be honest with her feelings. Marinette’s felt a warm buzz of feeling rise in her at the sight of Kagami being willing to show vulnerability around her – being trusted with the weaknesses of such a strong person was one of the greatest honors she had ever received.

“And knowing that you’re Ladybug,” Kagami continued, “knowing that you’re the one who trusted me to fight alongside you on our very first day of real friendship-”

She swallowed, and lifted her eyes back to Marinette’s. “Knowing that you put that trust in me is the best gift I’ve ever been given. So thank you, Marinette.”

This time, Kagami was the one to initiate the hug, awkwardly drawing Marinette closer.

When Marinette reciprocated, pulling Kagami even tighter and resting her face against Kagami’s shoulder, Kagami practically melted against her.

Although she was still unsure how to go from here, given her mistakes and the unprecedented fact that someone else knew she was Ladybug, Marinette couldn’t help but be comforted by Kagami’s words. There was no going back to how it had been before, so maybe Marinette needed to focus on how to make the best out of the present moment – and if her mistakes had finally allowed her and Kagami to become close friends, it wouldn’t be too difficult to find that silver lining.

After savoring the embrace for one last moment, Marinette pulled away, hands falling to hold Kagami’s between them. She could feel herself tearing up slightly. “Thank you, Kagami. You didn’t know how much I needed to hear that.”

Although she felt like her words were inadequate in the face of Kagami’s heartfelt admission, it brought a small smile to the other girl’s face. However, it was still clear that Kagami was carrying some other weight, because Marinette watched as the tension seeped back into her shoulders.

“I would… understand,” Kagami began haltingly, “if you did not want to be friends after today, though. I sincerely apologize for intruding on your secret and using your miraculous without your consent.”

“Kagami, no. Of course we’ll still be friends. I would have been taken down from the akuma for sure if you hadn’t swooped in.”

Tikki floated up into the conversation, startling Kagami who had all but forgotten about her presence.

“And you only used the miraculous once I gave permission, and passed the earrings back to the true holder as soon as possible,” Tikki piped in. “That’s a lot more than most people would do, when given the chance to use one of the two most powerful magical artifacts in this part of the world!”

Kagami warmed at the praise.

“Much as I’d love to stay and continue talking,” Marinette said reluctantly, “I really should meet up with Chat to take down that akuma.”

Kagami winced at his name. “He might… not be too happy right now. When he tried to hold me back from chasing after you, I may have slammed him in the chest to daze him for long enough to get away.”

Although some part of Marinette was upset at the thought of her partner hurt in any way, she couldn’t help but breat out into laughter. Chat Noir could be so arrogant and prideful, and the thought of him trying to hold Kagami back from her goal and being taken out in one hit was unfairly funny to her. Kagami was on a different level entirely; her kitty never even stood a chance against a serious, focused fighter.

Reluctantly, Marinette squeezed Kagami’s hands one last time before releasing them. “Tikki, spots on.” The familiar wave of makic bubbled over the surface of her skin, spilling raw strength into every corner of her being. Ladybug opened her eyes to an awestruck Kagami, gaze wide and mouth slightly ajar in wonder. Giddling, Ladybug lifted her hand to Kagami’s jaw and lightly pushed her mouth closed.

Acting entirely on instinct, Ladybug leaned in to press a light kiss to her friend’s cheek. “See you after the battle’s over, Kagami,” she said before jumping off.

As soon as she was a couple buildings away and far out of sight, Ladybug sat against a chimney to give herself a moment to process. Even though she had done nothing improper between friends, her face was a furious red.

Hopefully Kagami didn’t think she was weird! Well, from just generally being around her (and the past day) Kagami was probably aware that she was a Walking Disaster, but that kiss was a bit far even for her. She was usually much more respectful of her more reserved friends’ personal space. This one lapse didn’t mean anything, she was just so happy to have Kagami on her side as a confidante and partner that she got swept up in the moment. Obviously she knew that Kagami didn’t want her intruding into her personal space like that.

(Little did she know that just a few blocks away, Kagami had one hand pressed to a rosy cheek, grinning like a lunatic. For the first time in a long time, Kagami showed absolutely no regard for who may see her broadcasting her emotions so clearly; she stumbled out of the alley and back toward the bakery with palpable glee radiating off of her.)

Ladybug knew that there were so many things she would need to sort out – apologizing for her overstep, deciding what Kagami’s new knowledge would mean for choosing her as a permanent hero, apologizing to Tikki for their earlier argument – but for now, she had a job to do, and she needed to focus.

Flipping her compact open revealed that Chat Noir was north of her location. Hopefully he was at the site of the akuma trying to take it down, so that they could work together and end the battle as soon as possible. She wanted a moment to sit down and sort through her thoughts.

She swung gracefully through the streets in the direction her yo-yo had pinpointed Chat Noir.

When she got there, it wasn’t the controlled battle scene she had hoped for, but rather complete chaos. The akuma itself was smashing up the mayor’s hotel, punching through one window at a time and eviscerating each room as much as possible. His mind-controlled minions fanned out over the area, breaking everything they could reach.

Nearby, a ruffled Chat Noir crouched on a rooftop behind a big sign, looking like he was just trying to make himself small and avoid the akuma’s notice.

Ladybug swung in next to her partner, watching as he turned to her, relief and adoration blooming across his face as he took in the sight of his regular partner. “Bugaboo! You finally came!” He flashed a flirty smile, “The sound of you landing next to me is always mew-sic to my ears,” wiggling his kitty ears for emphasis.

Exasperated, she crouched next to him, looking out to survey the villain for weaknesses or any objects that could be housing the butterfly. “What’s the deal with this villain?” she asked her partner.

To her annoyance, Chat just shrugged.

“Then what have you been doing since he started rampaging?”

Chat’s cat ears twitched back, laying close to his skull. “I got attacked by a fake ladybug akuma when I was coming in to try to fight this guy! And then she disappears to who-knows-where after kidnapping a friend of mine, I’m left alone with The Destructinator 9000!”

Ladybug just huffed. “I could understand being reluctant to fight on your own, Chat, but we’re heroes. You should have tried to stall him or prevent some of his victims. Now that he’s built up such a large group, it’ll be harder to get to his object.”

Chat just shrugged, before slinging an arm of her shoulders. “You and me, Bug, we got this. Let’s go with our usual: I use my devilishly good looks and stunning charisma to distract the akuma, then you sweep in to snatch the butterfly when he least expects it.”

He winks at her, then dashes off the top of the building toward the akuma, shouting for its attention. “Chat-!” she starts, affronted, before realizing that it was a lost cause. The akuma and all of his nearby minions were closing in on Chat, making it harder and harder for him to escape as the crush of enemies cut off his possible escape routed one by one.

Alarmed, Ladybug called for her lucky charm.

“A grappling hook?” she asked, staring down at the object in confusion.

Her eyes scanned the street quickly before the puzzle started to make sense.

At that moment, she turned her head just in time to witness Chat get hit by one of the akuma’s tosses, his eyes going blank and white as he was turned into just another mindless acolyte of the akuma.

She was so fed up with this; he hadn’t even needed to go out into the fray yet, since the akuma hadn’t spotted them, and would be much more usefull helping with her plan than using the cat miraculous to destroy as much of the area as possible.

He was usually a good friend, he knew how to make situations seem lighter, and his heart was in the right place, but sometimes working with Chat Noir was more detrimental to her abilities as a hero than helpful. Once he matured a little bit and learned how to stop flirting and focus on the mission, he could really be a great partner – but for now, he was just reminding her why she wanted to get a third permanent miraculous holder in the first place. Having someone focused and dedicated on their side would make them much more formidable.

Sighing to herself, Ladybug got to work.

First she had to get as many of the brainwashed followers out of the way, which wasn’t too difficult. All of them wanted to chase her down and take her miraculous, but the akuma itself was much slower than its minions, so it wasn’t too difficult to lure then far enough away.

Next was shooting the grappling hook across the street, fairly close to the ground but not too close. Once she wrapped the gun part around a nearby lightpost, she had a solid line set in place.

She stepped out so that the rope was between her and the akuma. Normally she would have a bit more fun with the dramatics – there was definitely a good quip in her somewhere, if she had the brainpower to think of it at the moment – but with her partner under Hawkmoth’s control and only two minutes left on her timer, she wasn’t really in the right headspace for “fun.”

When the akuma ran at her, his foot caught on the wire as planned, and a well-placed loop of yo-yo string around his shoulders pulled to make sure he crashed to the ground as hard as possible.

Just as Ladybug had suspected, the akuma was hiding in one of the bits of shattered pottery. Once most of his armor cracked under the force of his fall, a small black butterfly lifted over the disaster that the street had become. Ladybug shot her yo-yo out quickly to purify the butterfly, zipping as far away from the scene as possible as the reporters started to flood in.

Ladybug released her healing swarm of ladybugs, and then droppedinto an alley a safe enough distance away just as the transformation released back over her.

Marinette stood there to catch her breath for a moment, feeling high-strung after flying solo through such a high-stakes situation.

When she looked back up, her kwami was frowning at her thoughtfully. Somehow Marinette had almost managed to forget their last argument, but as soon as she made eye contact with Tikki, apologies started spilling out of her: “Tikki I am so sorry for fighting with you, obviously you have more experience and I should have listened better, and anyway I shouldn’t have gotten angry enough to actually sever our bond-”

Tikki put one of her little paws up, floating gently in front of her. “No Marinette, you don’t need to apologize.” Her antannae drooped despondently. “I guess I haven’t payed enough attention recently. I hadn’t seen how much these fights drain you, and today – Chat noir dashing off like that… I had  hoped he would be the perfect yin to your yang, but I can see that he still has a lot of growing to do to fit that role.”

“And Kagami makes you happy, Marinette. I don’t want you to let that slip by.”

Marinette found herself nodding along, because she did work well with Kagami, and while Chat was a great friend, she saw herself working better as partners with Kagami right now. She was intense, but that made her great at what she did, because she focused and tried and faught without giving up. She could come off as a little cold, but Marinette had seen enough of her inner kindness to know that she was a great person, if a bit slower to open up than most.

And Kagami was loyal. She never fell for Lila’s lies like the rest of Marinette’s friends, and she had brought the ladybug miraculous back to Marinette without hesitation when she could have taken it to use for herself. Marinette knew what the rush of power felt like when using a miraculous. The fact that Kagami had turned her back on it so readily and without prompting for Marinette’s sake only raised her opinion of the other girl.

And even more than that, Kagami now knew Marinette was the one who could hand out the dragon, but instead of trying to use her new knowledge to wield Longg again, she seemed content to wait and trust Marinette’s judgment.

She was lost in thought for a long moment before her brain processed another possible meaning to Tikki’s words.

“Kagami makes me happy as a friend,” she emphasized to her kwami, face heating hup despite her best efforts.

Tikki just smiled innocently up at her.

“What! I have a crush on Adrien!”

Tikki let out a small giggle that sounded like chiming bells, smiling at her chosen. “I won’t tell you how to feel, Marinette. But your Adrien-wall has been taken down piece by piece, and you talk about Kagami a lot more than would be expected of someone who has hung out with her only infrequently.” Cheeky smile widening, Tikki added, “and that kiss on the cheek seemed a bit more than friendly to me, judging by how much you two were blushing after.”

Sobering slightly, Tikki looked at her chosen with wide blue eyes. “Just think about it, Marinette. Don’t let something good pass you by just because you’re too afraid to act.”

Marinette’s head spun with this new possibility. Though she had never really thought about it consciously before, she could see in retrospect that some part of her was always drawn to Kagami. There were as many pictures of her on Marinette’s wall now as there were from Adrien, and Marinette had been hanging out with Kagami whenever possible for a while now.

She blushed even more furiously, thinking back – right before the friendship game, she had been ranting to Tikki about how unfairly cute Kagami was.

Marinette wouldn’t decide on anything now. If she chose to pursue Kagami, she would never make her feel second-best: Marinette would only go after Kagami once she was sure that she could place the other girl first like she deserved.

Ad that may not be as hard as it once would have, she mused. After all, she had barely thought about Adrien the past couple of days except in passing, while she had thought of Kagami much more than anyone else.

Lost in the daze of her own thoughts, Marinette was startled by the chime of her phone.

K: I am very sorry not to be at the bakery when you get back, but after the attack was so close by, Mother wants me home as soon as possible.

K: I look forward to seeing you soon, though; this weekend was very fun and I would appreciate your company again, if you wanted to hang out again soon

Marinette smiled dopily down at her phone, thinking of the little disgruntled wrinkle that would formed between Kagami’s brows as she wrote those words.

M: No worries! See you soon :) <3

Her face was red after sending the text, but something about it just felt right. The only upside of not seeing Kagami was that it would give her a few days to really think over everything that had happened, and be certain of her own choice.

By the next time she saw Kagami, Marinette promised herself, she would make a decision; whether to stubbornly hold fast to the old crush on Adrien (that had been fading in the face of his oblivious friendliness and inaction with Lila, she now realized) or… to move onto someone that made her really, really happy just to be around for the first time in a while.

This choice had sneaked up on her, but now that she was really seeing it for the first time, Marinette couldn’t help but smile to herself on the way home.

From her hiding spot, Tikki smiled to herself as well. Even when things didn’t go as planned, these things had a way of working themselves out. Though some part of her was sad for Adrien because Chat was further than ever from wooing his ladybug, most of her was excited to see Marinette just unabashedly happy again after all the drama at school. Tikki needed to remember that Marinette was young and just starting to find herself; learning what (and who) made her happy was more important right now that sticking to Tikki’s own idealized version of reality.

She nibbled on the bits of cookie in Marinette’s pocket, just happy to watch this all play out.

#marigami #kagaminette #kagami tsuguri #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #making room for someone new #ml #mlb #MADwriting

[suncatchr]

36

thank u! hehe

36. “How much do you remember?”

“Wow, Seoll, thank you!”

Rare happiness sparks in Khaon’s eyes when I hand him the journal I found for him. It’s dark and leather-bound, clasped with a stark gold latch. I thought it was pretty. I’m elated to see that it’s put a smile on Khaon’s face.

“It’s so fancy for a food journal, don’t you think?” He turns to Delta, who’s staring over his shoulder at the new book. I wonder if I should have gotten him something, but the journal just stood out to me as something Khaon should have. I’ll get something for Delta tomorrow, I’ll remember.

“You can write about more than food in it,” Delta suggests, reaching around Khaon to draw his finger over the golden latch. “Right? You can like, write about how our day went before we stopped for our meal.”

“Well, I already do that,” Khaon responds. “I don’t wanna- uh…” He stops himself, fiddling with the clasp to let the book fall open. I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t. Khaon does that a lot, actually, lets his sentences fall flat on their faces before he’s done.

“What?” I ask, trying to be helpful. Khaon screws up his face and turns to Delta like he’s looking for help.

“Like, lose track?” Delta supplies. I wish I had what they do, that ability to see the words in each other. They travelled together for a while before the last eclipse. We all run together now, but I can tell there’s something that keeps us on separate levels. I wonder if that’s how we’re supposed to be. You know, since they’re both drawn from the night in a way that I’m not. Or something. I don’t completely understand it, honestly, I didn’t do a lot of reading on our history before I met them. The closest thing I did was look at photos taken and sketches done the last few generations of us. In the museum-academy we visited before we left.

They all had wondrous things to say. About places they went and lives they had. It was cool, I guess, but it was also like reading the journals of long-gone poets. I can write my own poetry, you know? I don’t need their life story to do it. Else I get caught up in what they did and I forget what I really want.

Which brings me back to Delta and Khaon. Am I really willing to let the idea of them being the moon and stars keep me distant from them? No, right? That can’t be the way it’s supposed to be. I’ll grow to understand them, I know I will. So I try not to feel too locked out when they pick up the edges of each other’s trailing sentences. Right now, all I need is for the sentence to be completed.

“Yeah,” Khaon says. “Without context, the food stuff isn’t the same. It’s about…”

“Memories?” I supply. It’d be nice, I think, if it’s all about sentiment. And finally keeping track of the places he’s been in a way that draws fondness.

“Yeah, like the people we met and the stuff we did.” Khaon shuts the journal and locks it back. “I have to finish my old one. But I like it a lot, C, thanks.”

He likes it. Warmth makes my head fuzzy. “I’m glad!”

Delta smiles over at Khaon and then up at me. So Khaon really likes it, if Delta can see it too. Oh, I’m happier than I thought I’d be.

“What’re you grinning at? C'mon, flag down the waiter, wouldn’t you? I need coffee.”

“K, it’s nine-thirty,” Delta chastises. “You shouldn’t-”

“D, you’re not my mom.”

Delta leans off of him to wave at a young man walking towards us. “But I care about your heart and your sleep. Tell him, Seoll.”

“I was gonna get one too,” I admit before I think about Delta’s reaction. He narrows his eyes at me, and then shoots a criticising glance at Khaon when he snickers. “Sorry, I just wanna stay up with you guys.”

“There will be no staying up. I’m going to bed when we find a hotel, and so should both of you.”

Khaon’s expression flattens when he returns Delta’s glare. “D-”

“It’s okay, Khaon. Just relax on the caffeine, will you?”

Well, this is unfamiliar territory. Delta’s words are coming from a context that I haven’t got. “Wait, what’s wrong?”

“Khaon has trouble sleeping at night,” Delta says quietly, like it’s a secret. Khaon does tend to be secretive. I can see why he would want to hush about this, I guess. Around other people, though. Not me. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask. Khaon doesn’t answer. He glances instead past Delta to the waiter that just arrived. 

“I want a red-eye, please,” he mutters.

“No, he doesn’t,” Delta snaps, laying a hand over Khaon’s and pushing him away from the waiter. “You wouldn’t even serve those so late, would you?”

The waiter looks a bit confused. “We still serve espresso drinks,” he says plainly. Delta makes a frustrated noise in the back of his throat and the waiter blinks as though he realises he’s made a mistake.

“Although-”

“Forget it,” Delta mutters. The waiter nods. Delta grips Khaon’s hand too tightly. “I’ll take a hot chocolate, please.”

“Can I just have some water?” I ask quietly. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of Delta’s sudden wrath. The waiter nods and thankfully walks away. “K, why didn’t you tell me-?”

“It’s not a big deal, Seoll, it’s just another stupid trick the gods are playing on me. If I can’t sleep at night, what choice do I have but to Chase the moon?”

“But you don’t do that,” I remind him. “So why-?”

“To try to force me, I bet. Leave it alone, it’s not like you can talk it out of me.”

“But why the coffee if you want to sleep?” I try to ignore how his face contorts with discomfort. He’s not making sense, doesn’t he see?

“Haven’t you ever stayed up a little too late before? I at least want the energy to do something if I’m gonna be stuck by myself until five in the morning, you kn- I don’t know.”

I didn’t know all of this! “K, I’m-”

“I’d like to stop talking about it. It’s really not a big deal, only D thinks it is.”

Delta’s cheeks go flushed. “You need to sleep!”

“Well, take that up with the gods, then. All they do is pick on me, I’m used to it.” He shrugs. “Did you guys want to see the market square before we go home?”

“No, we’ll go tomorrow.” Delta is still holding Khaon’s hand and Khaon doesn’t let go. I don’t think they’re fighting anymore, but I don’t want to reignite it so I’m going to leave Khaon alone about this for now. I guess. “If we wait too long, all the hotel rooms will be gone.”

“That’s not true. It’s never true.”

“I’m scared you’ll keep saying that and then one day it will be.”

“Well, then you can tell me I was wrong.”

I laugh a little so they remember I’m still here. Then I add, “Regardless, it’s late. These small towns sleep at night.”

“Okay, tomorrow, then.”

We get our drinks after a minute, and Delta makes a point of turning up his nose at the scent of Khaon’s coffee. Khaon ignores him, though he winces when he tastes it. I don’t understand what’s going on here. I stir the ice cubes around in my water and wish I could have held my awkwardness off for long enough to get something hot.

After Delta explains the function of our badges (for the millionth time in our lives) to the waiter, we pick up our stuff and head out. It’s cold outside, colder than Khaon is comfortable with. He shoves his hands into his pockets with a wordless complaint.

“Can’t believe you guys would have wanted to go to the square in this!” he whines. Delta blinks.

“You were the one who asked,” he says.

I shush them. For best friends they certainly do argue a lot. Besides, I need to concentrate. My falcon is flying somewhere above this place, and I have to call him back before we find a place to stay. I’m never afraid that he won’t return, but sometimes I hesitate to let him free because I’m not sure when I’ll stumble into an area where people hunt birds of prey. I mean, who knows, right? 

“Are you calling that damn bird?” Khaon asks just as I slide my bag off my shoulder to pull out my sleeve.

“I don’t know, maybe,” I answer playfully, pulling the leather sleeve over my coat. It’s tight but it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as raptor talons in my arm. “Why? Do you not like him?” I’m teasing, I know Khaon doesn’t like birds.

“I just don’t get why you don’t let it free.”

“He’s domesticated.” I pick up my stuff and start walking again. Waiting here for Bennu will take too long, and I know poor Khaon’s about to freeze to death. “How cruel of you, Khaon.”

“You can’t domesticate a bird of prey!”

“He’s Seoll’s pet, Khaon, we’ve been over this a million times,” Delta cuts in insistently. He shoots me an apologetic look, as though I’m not totally used to Khaon’s relentless complaining. 

“Well, then, I’m going to adopt a sewer rat from a New York subway and name it Iah. It’ll be my lunar guardian and you’re both gonna have to put up with it sleeping in our bed and giving you rabies.”

“Bennu doesn’t have rabies,” Delta sighs.

I like that Khaon assumes we’ll all keep travelling together after this eclipse. 

“What’re you smiling at?” Khaon huffs, “I’m dead serious.”

“I know. But my bird will eat your rat.”

For a hot second, he actually looks upset.

We find a quiet local hotel off the side of the highway, after twenty minutes of walking and Khaon’s increasingly high-pitched remarks about frostbite. As soon as we open the door to our room I spot my falcon, perched on the balcony rail outside the glass back door.

“There you are! You took your sweet time tonight.” I rush to open the door for him and he swoops inside, settling himself onto my arm like he’s offended at how long I took to let him in. “Sorry, your highness. Are you cold?”

He shuffles his feet and looks away from me. I hope he’s not mad.

Khaon drops his bag. “I’m gonna go wash up. Seoll, you’d better go next, wash the bird flu off of you.”

“Ha, ha. If he had the bird flu I’d have caught it already.”

“That’s not reassuring.” He walks into the bathroom and shuts the door.

Delta trails up behind me, lays his head on my shoulder. “You know he’s only playing, right?”

“Of course I do. You think Khaon’s misery has the power to hurt my feelings? Or his?” I ask, gesturing to the bird.

Delta snickers, reaches with a finger to stroke some of Bennu’s feathers. Normally I don’t let anyone touch him, for the safety of their fingers, but he seems to understand Delta and Khaon’s presence by now.

“I don’t know, he seems to have that effect on other people.”

“I feel like I know him too well for that.”

“Hm,” Delta says, leaning back. He looks at me like he’s not sure he believes me, but before I can ask the look fades away and he goes to seat himself on the bed. I don’t see any issue with what I said, so I decide not to ask lest Delta bring one up. Instead, I set myself to setting up Bennu’s temporary roost, jessing and hooding him so he’ll rest for the night. I make sure to set it all up on the dresser away from the window, since Khaon likes to sleep by the window.

He comes out of the bathroom a little while later, after Delta and I have already lain down. We’ve been watching TV this whole time, even though I don’t think Delta’s very entertained. He glances up when the bathroom door opens, and then immediately sighs and rolls over to sleep. I guess he was waiting on Khaon, but that was about as far as he could get. I hand Khaon the remote when he sits down. He accepts it wordlessly and changes the channel. Feeling a little off-put, I follow Delta’s lead and just close my eyes.

Snow flickers past my face.

I shoot a glance to my side, but whoever I had expected to be there isn’t there. I’m standing on the edge of a valley, fat snowflakes hardly visible where they fall relentlessly against the white ground. Without meaning to or feeling it I creep forward, walking along the valley’s edge. I don’t call for anyone, though I think about it. I think about it constantly, actually.

There’s a patch of ice under the snow; I’m on my knees before I even realise that I’ve slipped. It’s cold under my hands, bitingly so, and I worry I might freeze out here. I’m not wearing my jacket, I notice- gods, my mother’s going to kill me! I’m not to play outside in anything less than three layers all over. Khaon and Delta won’t tell her, will they? I don’t even know why I’ve come out without my coat, it wouldn’t be fair if I were to get punished for it. 

The cry of a falcon makes me jerk my head up to the sky. There’s no sight of Bennu anywhere, but there’s a person standing in the snow when I look back ahead. They weren’t there before. I get to my feet and try to back away from the ravine’s slippery edge, but it seems to follow me back, the dip just touching the toes of my boots each time I move.

“Wh-what do I do?” I call to the figure. Apprehension is rising cold in my belly as I keep trying to run back. Eventually my rushed stumbling makes me lose my balance, and I stay where I’ve fallen in the snow this time. The edge freezes.

“Move forward!” The figure gestures to me. “Walk along the edge.”

But I’m scared! I nearly fell so many times, he just watched the ground recede with every step I took, didn’t he? 

“I brought your coat!” He raises what seems to be another figure, until I realise it’s legless. It really is my coat! I can’t get in trouble with my mom now! Carefully standing myself up at the edge, I start forward again. “Come get it, I’m not far.”

I try to run.

“No! Take your time!”

Right. I don’t want to slip. Frustration prickles in my fingertips, but that might also be the cold. It’s my own fault for coming out here coatless. The figure gestures me to him again and then extends a hand to me. He isn’t wearing a coat either. I keep my steady pace until I’m close enough to reach out for his hand. He pulls me to him and drapes my coat over my shoulders, warming me from head to toe. Thank the gods for this thing. I try to thank the figure, too, but I can’t open my mouth. He smiles at me, and there’s something familiar about him, in a fuzzy sort of way. I don’t quite understand his features. 

“Good work,” he says. “You can go back now.”

Back? Back where?

I jolt awake, opening my eyes to darkness and sitting up to try to make sense of where the hell I am. The bed rocks underneath me, that’s right. I’m in a hotel bed with Khaon and Delta. Delta didn’t notice me waking, he’s still curled into his pillow with no trouble on his face. Thank goodness, I wouldn’t want to scare him awake.

“Seoll? What’s the matter?”

Khaon is here too, that’s right, it’s all coming back to me. I sigh my relief. He blinks curiously. 

“Weird dream,” I report. “Aren’t you tired yet?”

“Dream?” he asks urgently. Oh, is he trying to deflect again? Delta wouldn’t let him. “What kind of dream?”

“Maybe we should take a walk, see if that helps you feel tired.”

He huffs. “What kind of dream, Seoll? Answer me.”

Is it that important? “I don’t know, just a dream. Nothing bad happened, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“What do you remember of it?" 

"What’s with the interrogation, K? It was snowy and cold and then someone gave me a jacket.”

“Who?" 

"I don’t know!” He’s really starting to freak me out. “Why?”

“Seoll, we don’t dream!” he drops his voice to a noisy whisper, like he’s worried about Delta hearing.

“What do you mean? I just had one.”

“No, you didn’t.” He growls with frustration, shaking his head and turning away from me. “Do you see now what kinds of stupid tricks they play on us?”

“What are you on about? It was just a dream!”

“Were you in danger?”

“I was cold..?”

“Was there something you had to find?”

“My jacket.”

“They’re pushing you to something. There’s something else they need you to do for them, you-”

“Khaon, what are you talking about?” I hop out of the bed because I’m scared to disturb Delta. “I think you need to rest, you’re freaking out.” This happens to people who don’t sleep, I know, they become agitated and frustrated and both of those things describe Khaon perfectly right now.

Khaon gets up, too, meets me at the foot of the bed and braces his hands against my shoulders. “Seoll, you- I read a lot of stuff while we were staying in Greece. People like us don’t have dreams. If you didn’t see the afterlife, you saw something that the gods were showing you, do you understand me?”

The more he insists upon it, the more I’m convinced that not only my dream but his insomnia are a lot more normal than he thinks they are. “Why should they care about me getting cold? They don’t care about anything else about us.”

“You thinking that is probably why they sent that dream,” he whispers. 

“Sent-?”

“You should have paid more attention to the artifacts the last few Chasers left behind,” he mutters crossly. “You might be in danger, Seoll, the gods don’t like it when we don’t listen, that’s why I don’t sleep!”

“Khaon, I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.”

“Would you please just listen to me?” A whine threads his words all of a sudden, a desperate one quite unlike his normal complaining. “Seoll, you’re our Sun. You-" 

He lets go of me. 

I’m trying to hear him out. "I what?”

“Seoll, if you ever have another dream, tell me. They’re giving you puzzle pieces, you have to make up for whatever they’re mad about.”

“How do you know they’re mad?”

“Other Chasers say that’s the only reason they ever heard from the gods.”

“We’re not other Chasers.”

He groans. “We’re all the same. That’s why we exist, Seoll, to live the same life again and again.” He backs away from me. He turns suddenly to face the window as though something had startled him. It’s dawn, the sky is paling. 

“Khaon?”

“I feel stupid now.”

My heart sinks. “I didn’t mean to make you-”

“Shh. Just…”

“If I hurt your feelings I’m sorry.”

“This isn’t about me, C, it’s about you.”

“But I don’t understand what’s wrong!”

“Oh, Seoll, of course you don’t.” He shakes his head. I feel bad. “Don’t tell Delta about this, okay?”

“Wh-Delta?” Does everyone know something that I don’t? 

“Yeah, he’ll worry. Just… just keep me updated on any other ‘dreams’ you might have.”

“Okay, K, I will.”

He’s silent.

I’m so confused, but I’m relieved that this seems to be… over? I think. My worry is all for Khaon, I don’t know what he thinks is going on with me but he’s really scared of it. I put my hand on his shoulder and try to offer a few comforting strokes. He doesn’t seem to notice me.

“I’m gonna clean up for the day,” I mutter, backing off.

“Okay,” he grunts, going back over to his side of the bed. Before I close the bathroom door behind me, I spot him grabbing his new journal off the bedside and drawing his knees up to write on. He reaches a hand over Delta’s shoulder, but he hesitates. Slowly he picks up a pen instead. Biting down on my rising worry, I close the door.

#long post #genuinely don't know how readmores work anymore but they don't appear for me so sorry if im just bombarding yall ;;; #my writing #my ocs #the sun hunter #the lunar skeptic #the lost stars #this is my first finished thing about them and let me just say i love them

[khaosgaming22]

Backstory Part 1- Recording

Alright i think im ready, Chase start recording, copy and paste when finished onto memory unit 14. Heh 14... oh right im live! Hi! So if you’re seeing this, im dead, in the ground, ripped apart, fed to a Hive god. Ugh I don’t want to go out like that! Anyway, before I start rambling, because I tend to do that, trust me that’s going to happen throughout this, im gone...or ive stepped to far into the shadow of quote unquote “the darkness” whatever that is.

In other words im a Dredgen, now if there are any greenhorns out there who don’t know what that is...ask Ikora. Im not a teacher, and... oh stop- okay fine. Since my ghost is looking at me like that ill explain. Ties into my story anyway...

*Ahem*, a Dredgen is basically a guardian who has turned to the darkness and is an enemy of the Vanguard...and i guess Shin Malphur.

Now that that’s out of the way, we can move on to my story and the reason ive become Dredgen if i have...

I think it begins with a name, Aleina. Love of my life before i started glowing and shooting high powered weapons everywhere. We were in the owl sector of the city and she wanted to show me something, she dragged me into a ship and flew to an area of earth i don’t even know where. But we got there and it was the most beautiful thing id ever seen. To be fair id spent most of my life in the city and its not that pretty but I digress... She told me Malcom had showed her this place when they were on a joyride, she called it Sacramento. Still not sure what it means but whenever i think of her it goes through my mind. Also the reason I remember this was because of what happened next...

We were sitting on the beach and watching the sun go down, waves dying down slowly and coming to a rest at our feet. She was leaning on me and about to fall asleep when I said “Im glad that Im not a guardian, even if i was immortal, if you weren’t...I would have to live without you forever...”

This is the part where karma bit me in the a**. Just as I said this she took her head off me and said, “Ken, You’re...glowing???” From that point on, my life was forever changed. I was the one thing I never wanted to be, a Guardian, immortal servant of the light.

We went home to the tower after and told Malco- Oh right! Ha Ha! Im an idiot! Who’s Malcom? That’s probably what you’re wondering. Let me back up a sec, Malcom Rayez was Aleina’s adopted father. He was also the person id soon look up to when I became a Guardian, but before that happened I hated the light. I hated being immortal, I hated being a guardian and having a destiny that was already predetermined...that didn’t include Aleina...

Now that I was a guardian I figured I had to make the best of it, I learned about the 3 types of Guardians from books and Malcom, and decided to follow in his footsteps and be a hunter. I went on a few small missions with him at first, nothing big like a vanguard strike, more close to patrols. Gathering info or holding a line, that kind of stuff.

Anyway, I went with him for a long while, back and forth from the tower to the city and back to space trying as hard as I could to still be with Aleina when I could. But no matter how many patrols and enemies of the light I took out, I still hated being a guardian, I referred to myself as a slave to the light once, Malcom didn’t like that.

Even worse, the further I went with the thought of hating the light and being stripped of my life with Aleina, the more I pushed her away...

Years went by and eventually she became sick, this was around the time I started to do more interesting missions with Malcom, I wanted to be there for her but I couldn’t. Again the light had pushed me even further away from her, I couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when it got bad...

I mentioned earlier how if you were seeing this there was two reasons; 1 I’d suffered my final death, or 2 I’d become a Dredgen. This next part will finally explain all that. Back to what i was saying, I had reached the end of my rope, my leash to the light, I needed to find a way out.

Malcom was, at the time researching Luna, he had told me of a place on the moon he had seen, a massive Hive fortress. He said he could sense the darkness seeping out of the cracks, turning his warm light cold as ice. Told me how a fireteam of six guardians went to quell the source of this evil and died for good.

I figured, no one really knew what the darkness was, we just knew it was the opposite of the light. Something about doing this rubbed Chase the wrong way and I told him to leave me alone, so he did. Then I did the most dangerous, stupid, craziest thing I have ever done...

I jumped into the damn H-E-double hockey-sticks mouth. Without my ghost.

I visited the city hospital one more time before I left, she was knocked out cold, I kissed her one last time, pulled my cloak over my head and walked out. I asked Amanda for a favor, told her if anyone asked where I went tell them I went to Venus. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I knew Malcom would come after me if he knew where I was.

I arrived on Luna pretty quickly and landed my ship a little further from the landing zone just in case. I had read about another guardian, a titan? Maybe he was a hunter? Not important, a guardian who went to Luna and came back a changed man, a worse one at that. I think his name was Rezyl...

I transmatted my sparrow and jumped on, seeing a few Fallen Dregs but nothing I couldn’t handle, just lackeys. Soon I came to a pit, almost crashed my sparrow but braked in time, lucky. I looked into the pit, had to be at least a mile deep, no way down. No stairs, no transmat pad, no cliffs and smooth all around. Like it wasnt a formation, but made.

Fortunately for guardians we can survive long drops, but even this would take some inginuety. I grabbed my knife, turned around so my back was facing the pit, my front the Earth on the horizon, and jumped into the chasm.

I flip myself around, plunge my knife into the rocky side of the pit and start sliding down. I get about halfway down until I realize the pits bottom was solid shut. I quickly jump off the side of the wall, holster my blade and take the rocket launcher off my back. I aim the missle at the bottom and pull the trigger, the projectile races down to the bottom and blasts a hole in the hard stone. I put my launcher back and ready my hand cannon.

I make it through the hole in the bottom and its pitch black, I send some solar light to my knife and use it to see. I hear them before I see them, Thrall, tons of them, they’re drawn to my light and the chittering is getting louder. I load my hand cannon and charge toward them. The bullets that exit the chamber echo in the cavern until they find their mark.

Eventually the wave of Thrall are strewn across the cave floor and im walking over the dead hive trying not to trip over them. I keep treking through the cave and eventually get to a large room with some light. I see three Wizards trying to summon something, I decide I don’t want to know what it is and take out my sniper. I land shots on the first and second but it didn’t seem to do much and the third is summoning Acolytes to chase after me. I switch back to my hand cannon and start firing. I jump up on a ledge and take out the first Wizard as it lets out a screech that makes me pull my cloak up over my head. When the screeching ends I focus on the Wizard sending Acolytes trying to shoot at me and screwing up my aim. I load my last rocket into my launcher and aim for the head scoring a direct hit.

I move down from my ledge and throw a grenade at the group of enemies eliminating two of three problems. Then I move onto the last Wizard trying to take out my sniper but he throws a cloud of poisonous gas and I have to stop to dodge it. Then I summon my Golden Gun, I put 3 rounds into his head and he goes down. Im about to move on until I hear a rumble. I turn around to see the biggest Hive Knight i had ever seen in books or on missions, standing in the middle of the summoning circle and it looked...dark....

...You still here?

#destiny #destiny oc #destiny hunter #this is a long one #so is part 2

[yuqibabe]

- A Touch of Silver - (BTS)

Angel/Demon AU

Genre: Fluff, Smut, Angst and possible Gore.

Pairing: Taehyung and Jungkook. 

Summary:

“Heaven was surprisingly very similar to life on Earth, only here in Heaven did sin cease to exist. Or so Jungkook thought.”

Warnings: Angst.

Chapter One - Empty Words.

Three years.

It had been three years since Taehyung had vanished.

However, he wasn’t the only one. The week prior to his disappearance was filled with strange occurrences. Angels all over the place were vanishing, not a single trace left behind to give any leads as to where they went. They were gone, just like that, as if they had never existed in the first place.

Jungkook had spent the first year searching for his lover endlessly, helping as much as The Guardians would allow him. Every single time he thought he was even a little bit closer to finding Taehyung, he was always met with another dead end. Every lead, every new piece of information, anything that was remotely linked to Taehyung’s whereabouts, was cut short and erased. It frustrated Jungkook so much, he was confused, and most of all, hurt. Why did Taehyung leave him?

It was a question that haunted the angel, kept him up at night and sent him into a spiral of seemingly inescapable sorrow. He spent those very nights letting his tears wash over his red cheeks, stinging his swollen eyes. Jungkook confined himself to his room, locking the door and letting his miserable thoughts devour his mind until he passed out of exhaustion due to his endless sobs.

But that was two years ago.

“Jungkook are you even listening to me?” 

Snapping out of his daze, Jungkook lifted his eyes to land on the face of his best friend. Out of all his features, the most striking one was the thick, plump lips, that were currently pulled slightly downwards at the corners in a frown.

“Uh, I- yea sorry Jimin” Jungkook apologized half-heartedly. Jimin eyed Jungkook up and down, his dark brown eyes swirling with concern. “Everything alright?” He asked softly. 

This is where Jungkook lies. He’s been through this exact scenario with Jimin countless times before. 

The angel would get lost in the questions and the doubt that clouded his mind, that he’d forget that he was in the middle of a conversation, forget that he was wasn’t alone, physically. This usually happened around Jimin. Since the smaller angel had stuck around Jungkook ever since the night, wanting to make sure he was okay. Which Jungkook never was. Jimin would pull the angel away and into a private space, stare seriously into Jungkook’s miserable, tired eyes and say: “Now tell me what’s really going on?” To which the younger would respond by breaking down, holding onto Jimin weakly as incoherent words tumbled from his lips between choked sobs. Jimin was there for him when he felt like no one was. But that was two years ago. Jungkook was okay now, right? Wrong.

“Yea, I’m fine” Jungkook replied with a few nods. Turning his head away to stare blankly out the cafe window. His fingers gently drumming on the mug tucked between his soft palms.

Jimin let out a long sigh, his eyes flickering between Jungkook and his own mug before he spoke.

“You can stay at mine tonight if you want?” He offered, shuffling in his seat. 

“Huh?” 

“I said, you can stay at mine if you’d like.” 

Jimin wasn’t an idiot. He knew what day it was. It wasn’t an anniversary, you celebrated anniversaries, not something like today.

Jungkook pursed his lips and nodded, muttering thanks.

The pair had left the cafe on Jungkook’s request. Jimin followed blindly for almost half an hour, letting Jungkook gently tug him onwards. He soon realised where the younger had taken them after he had passed through the golden bars of the tall gate.

“The Garden of Eden.” 

Jungkook crouched down by a clear river that meandered gently through the meadow forests. His wings fluttered slightly as he dipped his fingertips into the cold water, letting the running water glide through his fingers. Jimin walked slowly over to where Jungkook was, taking in his surroundings, for he had only been here a few times.

The Garden of Eden was a sacred, serene, and most of all untouched area of land. It had remained that way after Heaven had reclaimed it as their own from the Humans. The reason was that the Humans had abused what was given to them as a gift, a paradise where they could live in peace and prosper. 

Jungkook shook his hand, letting water droplets splatter from his fingertips. He wrapped his arms around his legs and tucked his chin into the gap, as his bottom rested weightlessly on the grass and flowers. His pearl coloured wings were relaxed and hung loosely from between his shoulder blades. 

Jimin stood next to him, brown eyes catching glimpses of deer that pranced soundlessly through the trees on the other side of the river.

“We used to come here a lot.” The younger murmured softly. His voice barely audible amongst the sounds of birds chirping happily to each other. 

“You and-”

“Yea.” 

The pair remained in a comfortable silence.

Jimin squinted slightly as the rays of light filtering through the trees caught his eyes. He crouched down and sat next to Jungkook. His larger wings settling behind him, gingerly touching the feathers of the younger’s.

Out of the blue, Jungkook started laughing softly to himself. Jimin raised a brow in question and stared at Jungkook. “He used to chase around the deer trying to catch one for me. He never actually got one, but it was funny watching him run around for hours and hours. And we used to roll down the hills and once we reached the bottom, we’d just lie on the grass next to each other staring up at the sky. It was those moments where I’d felt so much happiness. This was our place and it was just us then.” Jungkook’s laughter died down and his cheeks reddened with oncoming tears, but none came. “But now it’s just me...”

Jimin didn’t hesitate to gently pull Jungkook into his embrace, gently curling one of his wings around him. The latter stayed silent, but slid his arms around Jimin’s small waist and held him tightly, burying his face into his chest. They didn’t need to exchange words, just being in each other’s company like this was enough to momentarily soothe Jungkook’s internal loneliness.

“Do you want to go back to my place?” The older spoke softly after a few minutes.

Jungkook nodded his head in Jimin’s chest but made no move to get up, he just held onto him. The angel patted his arm gently, urging to get him up. Jimin struggled to remove Jungkook’s arms that enveloped his torso but managed to break free eventually. He pulled the younger up and jokingly grunted, “ugh… you weigh a tonne.”

Jungkook pushed Jimin lightly and shook his head, “not as much as you”

“Whatever, Tiny Wings” The shorter smirked, glad he managed to lighten the mood, even if it was temporarily.

Jungkook spent the rest of their walk back to Jimin’s house defending the size of his wings, flapping them softly.

It didn’t take long for Jungkook to slip back into his depressive state after they entered Jimin’s house. The angel had led Jungkook to his room and left some pyjamas on the bed for him to change into, whilst he cooked up something to eat.

Jungkook hesitantly got changed, lethargically tugging off his clothes and pulling on the soft fabric of the pyjamas. He remained in the bedroom, sitting cross-legged on the grey bed sheets and drawing soothing patterns onto the skin of his palm with his thumb.

He raised his head as he heard Jimin shuffling into the room, opening the door with his back as his hands were occupied with two bowls of something that smelt delicious. Jungkook’s hunger ignited at the strong savoury scent and his brown eyes grew wide as he eagerly reached for one of the dishes.

“I hope you like it!” Jimin smiled softly as he sat down in front of Jungkook, hungrily eating up the food.

“It’s delicious” The younger mumbled before gulping down another mouthful.

The pair finished their dinner, not long after Jimin had brought it in, and set their bowls on the bedside table. The smaller angel coughed, trying to get Jungkook’s attention. The latter looked up to Jimin’s questioning eyes and slightly tilted head as if he were analysing him like some sort of scientist, with Jungkook being his experiment.

Jungkook equally returned the stare. “What?”

Jimin’s expression softened, “do you want to talk about it?”

Any other day and the younger would have been okay, but hearing those words from Jimin caused the memories to resurface and plague his mind. Jungkook didn’t even remember much from that night, just bits and pieces. It was like trying to remember a dream, things never quite making sense because he couldn’t conjure up everything that had happened. Words, sentences, touches, everything that was exchanged that night was jumbled, some parts missing. The only thing he solidly remembered was the promise, those few words had him stuck in that very same spiral of inescapable sorrow. They buzzed around his head, never once for a second did he forget them.

“You’ll come back... right?”

“Yea, yea, of course. I promise.”

Jungkook’s bottom lip trembled at the memory as if it only happened yesterday. “Why did he leave me?” He choked out the words, no longer fighting the tears he had been holding off for those many hours he had spent with Jimin.

“I-I don’t know Jungkook…” Jimin admitted. Jungkook cried harder, sobs wracking his body and his little wings bobbing up and down weakly with every cry.

“It’s my f-fault isn’t it? I d-did something...wrong. H-he was right to leave me... I-” He was cut off by Jimin pulling him towards his chest and holding him close, hands rubbing circles into his back as he cooed gentle words into his ear. Jungkook clung to the angel, his fingers gingerly fiddling with the feathers of his larger wings. It comforted Jungkook to touch other angel's wings, they were incredibly soft, fragile and sensitive, it made him feel less vulnerable, especially in a state like this.

“I-I’m such a screw-up” His sobs were muffled by Jimin’s shirt. The older shushed him softly, gently pushing him away and cupping Jungkook’s tear stained cheeks, wiping away the drops with the pads of his thumbs. The younger looked at Jimin through his bleary eyes.

“You are not a screw-up Jungkook, okay?” Jimin caressed his cheek. Jungkook nodded weakly, sniffling, but the outflow of tears still continued.

“He’s not coming back, is he? He l-lied to me.”

“Shh...It’s okay” The smaller brushed the strands of Jungkook’s fringe that hung in front of his eyes away with tender fingers. Jungkook shuffled closer to Jimin until he was straddling his lap, cuddling into his warm chest once again. Jimin accepted him and wrapped his arms around Jungkook, gently scratching the back of his head in an attempt to calm him, fingers running through his soft hair soothingly.

Jimin rocked their bodies side to side as Jungkook continued to whimper into his chest, saying muffled words about how he was ‘worthless’, to which Jimin would reassure him and tell him otherwise.

“You’re more than that Jungkook, you’re amazing, you’re perfect. He was a fool to leave you” Jungkook lifted his head to look at Jimin with a desolate expression. Eyebrows angled upwards and his red nose twitching with every sniffle.

“R-really?”

“Yes, really,” Jimin assured softly with a nod, stroking his hair comfortingly. “I think you’re the most considerate, generous and loving angel out there. You don’t deserve to feel like this at all, but you are going to get through this and you’ll always have me. You know that Jungkook because I’ve told you hundreds of times before, and I’ll keep reminding you if I have to.”

Jungkook smiled weakly at Jimin, his eyes flitting down to the angel’s plump lips. It was only for a split second, almost unnoticeable, but he knew Jimin saw it. Especially since the older now had his eyes lowered to Jungkook’s own lips, slowly leaning towards them. He lifted his gaze, as his mouth grazed gingerly over Jungkook’s, asking for permission with his dark brown eyes, staring into the younger’s still teary eyes.

“J-Jimin…” Jungkook breathed out, feeling so light-headed from his crying and now the lack of space between their lips as they met shyly.

The angel’s eyes closed as Jimin’s mouth pressed gingerly against his. The warmth that spread through his body as they slowly moved against each other in little touches. His heart racing as they parted from the kiss that seemed to last for only milliseconds.

“Is this okay?” Jimin whispered softly, cupping his face with his small hand. Jungkook nodded, timidly capturing Jimin’s lips once more.

The older pushed Jungkook backwards so he was lying on top of him, not letting their warm bodies separate as well as their mouths. They were best friends, yet they were kissing, sharing so much with each other as if they were lovers.

This wasn’t the first time they had done this. The first time it had happened, it was an impulse on Jimin’s side, leaning forward and stealing a gentle kiss from Jungkook’s trembling lips as he cried. Surprisingly, it calmed the younger down, soothed his frantic thoughts until it was only them. He liked it, he really did, but it was never him. The dull ache in his chest would pound on no matter what Jimin did.

Jungkook continued to cry, tears pooling in his eyes and streaming down his rosy, stinging cheeks. Pulling the older closer with his arms wrapped around his neck, hands now running through his wings.

“Shh… Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay” Jimin caressed his cheek, wiping away the salty tears and whispering those sweet nothings in between their static lips touching slowly.

Jimin pulled away from Jungkook, looking sympathetically into his brown eyes that were contaminated with grief. “You still love him don’t you?” He murmured softly.

The younger nodded slowly, a new wave of sorrow hit him, piercing right into his chest. His pain and sorrow grew and the sickly feeling of not knowing churned his stomach. He clutched onto Jimin and pulled him down to lie next to him, holding onto the angel’s torso weakly as his wings drooped and hung lowly.

“I still feel like he’s here… L-like he’s going to come back, but h-he never does” Jungkook whimpered. The older ran his fingers through Jungkook’s hair in repetitive strokes, pressing warm kisses onto his scalp and listening to the younger ramble incoherent cries to him.

“I miss Taehyung”

“...I know Jungkook, I know”

The angel curled his wing underneath Jungkook’s body, cradling him comfortingly with his soft feathers. They stayed like that for hours until Jungkook’s cries had slowed to a stop and his breathing had regulated in slow exhales of slumber.

Jimin pressed a lingering kiss to Jungkook’s pouting lips and pulled his body closer as he closed his eyes, basking in the comfort of Jungkook’s limbs that had woven around his narrow body. His small wing that had rested over his chest along with his arm that wrapped around him. He soon fell asleep, letting the darkness wash over his tired mind.

ignore tags - 

#jungkook #taehyung #bts #BTS jungkook #BTS v #demon/angel #fluff #taekook #vkook #Smut #slow burn #eventual smut #soft #angst #angel jungkook #fallen angel #BTS jimin #BTS suga #bts rm #BTS jin #bts jhope #bottom jungkook #top taehyung

[scramblingminds]

Okay @syrabylene I took your idea and RAN with it! I hope you like this half as much as I enjoyed writing it! Because I loved every second lol. Also, that you call me QueenieBee is the cutest thing ever and I love you! 

@cynthianicolexoxo @vbabe14 

Warnings: Fluff, god the fluff will choke ya almost lol. Rated T. 

Guardian of Mankind

"We've been in worse scrapes than this!" Paul ripped his blade from the closest walker's head as he and Daryl dodged through the approaching herd.

Daryl grunted as he cut and sliced with the smaller man. When they had found the abandoned factory thought it was at least worth a try to see if there was anything salvageable inside. So far all they had found was the place crawling with the dead. When a path cleared Daryl grabbed Paul's hand, practically dragging him across the room to a door that neither of them knew where it led.  

Paul slammed the door behind them, the room was almost pitch black but empty as Paul locked it. The windows were covered with grime so thick it was stopping the sun from pouring in. Paul squeezed Daryl's hand as they caught their breath, Daryl lifting their clasped hands to lay a kiss to the back of Paul's knuckles before letting go. Daryl walked toward the door on the opposite side of what seemed to be a break area but froze when the floor gave an ominous creak every few seats.

They stared at each other before looking down at the rotting floor boards, Paul looked up to see a crack in the roof which probably let water in every time it rained. The wooden floor had taken years of water damage and now Daryl stood in the middle of it, feeling how it trembled under his boots.  

Daryl looked up at Paul, the man still leaning back against the thankfully solid door, he swallowed shakily, "Have we though?"  

It took a moment for it to click in Paul's mind that Daryl was following up his previous statement. Paul chuckled nervously as Daryl tested shifting his weight but stopped when a crack sounded under him, "Yeah. I just can't think of any right this second, babe."  

"Great, Paul, just grea-" Daryl gasped as another crack sounded under him then he was dropping, "FUCK!"

"Daryl!" Paul shouted as the floor collapsed under Daryl, breaking under his weight and he was gone the next second. Paul made it two steps toward the hole in the floor before he was tumbling into the dark with a splintering crash.  

-----------------------------------------------------

Paul groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, his head was pounding and knees killing him. Luckily the drop hadn't been far, barely ten feet and he had managed to roll through most of the impacted. He blinked but it was pitch black around him. He could only figure he was in the basement of the factory but as he walked forward toward where Daryl would have fell he found a wall.  

He took a few deep breathes, panicking wouldn't solve anything right then. He didn't have a flashlight or even a lighter but he knew for sure Daryl did. He just had to hope Daryl hadn't been hurt or knocked out in his own fall. He knew there was a chance they weren't alone down there but he couldn't even hear anything shifting around in the dark.  

"Daryl?" He whispered, walking down the length of the wall, trying to get some bearing of the room he was in.  

No answer so Paul repeated himself just a bit louder, "Daryl?"

Paul found a corner and started following the adjoined wall, after a few more silent moments his hands hit a hinge. A bit of pawing ended in him finding the door handle and he turned it. It was just as dark on the other side of the door and he swallowed. He didn't like being at a disadvantage of any kind but he was moving blind down there.  

Paul froze when he heard a distant shuffling. All he could tell was it was someone with shoes on, moving on the tile floor. His hand rested on his knife, he didn't dare to breathe until, "Paul?"

Daryl's voice was a low husk that had Paul almost laughing he was so relieved. Paul whispered, "Over here, Daryl."  

"Stay put," Daryl called out and the sound of his boots got closer, "I'm coming to ya."  

Paul sighed leaning against the wall at his right. He was more than ready for them to find a way the hell out of there. Paul listened to Daryl's footsteps when he heard something else, a faint tapping noise. Paul listened closely, the scratching tap getting louder before stopping abruptly. It got eerily silent, even the sound of Daryl's steps was gone.  

It was more like a feeling, like whatever was making that sound was right at his back. The hair on his neck stood on end, a shiver cutting up his spine. Paul had no idea what could make that sound but he knew it had to be just right there.  

"There ya are," A lighter flicked just feet from Paul's face making the smaller man jump, Daryl's own dusty face coming into view, he stared at Paul for a moment before asking, "What's the matter, Paul?"

The glow of the lighter didn't give off much more light than to cover their faces. Paul could feel how the blood had drained from his as he whispered, "There's something behind me, isn't there?"

Daryl froze for just a second before he slowly leaned to the side, extending the lighter over his shoulder. Daryl's face went slack as he said, "Well damn, yer right."

Paul whirled around and almost collapsed as he found just on the edge of the lighters glow sat a damn dog. It's head slowly tilting from side to side, tail starting to thump on the floor as Paul covered his mouth to muffle his laughs. It was filthy, a few scars on its wide head but eyes so dark and friendly, as the large dog stared up at them.  

Paul extended his hand to the dog, it was clearly a mastiff of some kind, "How did you even get down here?"  

The dog sniffed his hand before turning and taking off running down the hallway. Paul looked over at Daryl who shrugged before they chased behind him, following the sound of its claws tapping on the tile. After a few turns the halls got lighter and after one last twist they found the dog panting in an open doorway that lead to a sun filled stairwell. They followed it as it went up the stairs leading to an open door that let out behind the factory.  

"I'll be damned." Daryl watched the dog sit next to Paul.  

"It must have wandered in and figured it liked the place until we showed up." Paul pet the dogs head, sitting its head reached past his hip.  

"We should get going." They couldn't see any threats but they still had to get around the building and back in their car.  

"Okay, c'mon." Paul nudged the dog and it followed.

"Really, baby?" Daryl watched as the dog followed behind Paul as they hurried around the building, finding no walkers around their car, "Ya wanna take the dog with us?"

"Of course, I do, afterall..." Paul bent down to look at the dog's undercarriage, "She helped us out back there."  

"How the hell we gonna feed her?" Daryl watched as Paul crossed his arms and the dog thudded down next to him.  

"She was obviously taking care of herself just fine without someone feeding her," Paul nodded at her frame, she was a bit underweight but clearly not starving, "C'mon babe, you love dogs and after she came in like our guardian angel I can't just leave her."  

Daryl sighed throwing his hands up before moving around to get behind the wheel, "Fine, but yer scooping the poop."  

Paul pumped his fist before opening the back door for her, she jumped in and Paul climbed in behind her. Daryl rolled his eyes as Paul sat next to the large dog, nearly getting knocked over as she butted into his scratching hands. Paul wouldn't be surprised if she almost weighed as much as him but she was one big puppy dog.

By the time they reached Hilltop Paul had deemed her Alexa and her whipping tail was pure agreement to the moniker. She had to be a few years old already when they got her, someone had trained her very well given how well she listened. Paul was exhausted after bathing her but he found she had the most amazing tan brindle coat, he had honestly just thought she was black.

She was a great guard dog, she very rarely barked but when she did they knew it was for good reason. The kids loved her, she was very patient as they tugged at her squishy face and climbed all over her. Once at full weight she was over a hundred pounds, she had a diet of mostly any game Daryl couldn't store for the humans and he might sometimes bring her a few squirrels just for her.  

Alexa followed Paul everywhere within the colony. Whether he was on watch or in Maggie's office, there she was. Daryl often teased that she thought Paul was hers and not Daryl's boyfriend, acting like he didn't like her around. Alexa would equally snub him by dodging his pets in favor of latching onto Paul, making the ninja laugh and Daryl glare. Paul thought on some days that the two really did hate each other.  

However, over the next seven years they got with Alexa, Paul often found Daryl sleeping on the couch with the large dog stretching her heavy body over his as they napped together. Her head would snap up at the sound of the door opening, alert and ready before realizing it was just Paul and she would huff before settling back down on Daryl's chest. Daryl's hand would usually come up to rest on her broad head, sleepy rubbing her ears. Paul always smiled on those occasions, so glad that screwed up run ended up giving them their loyal guardian.  

#desus #darus #daryl x jesus #daryl dixon #paul rovia #twd #prompt fill #fanfic #fluff #so much fluff #fluff hehe get it

[lilcutieana]

PANACEA / One  (M)

Word count: 3k

Pairing : Taehyung x reader

Genre: Fluff , (angst in later chapters)

Rating: 13+

A/N: Its my first ever attempt at fanfic. I hope you like it as much as I loved writing it. Dedicated to my friends who encouraged me to write <3

@barbika1508 @madamef-er @breakers191 @kpop-scribbles & @jiangsspace

moodboard credits : @peaches-of-1

Summary : Kim Taehyung, an adorable seven year old , loved by many with big dreams and a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts has a chance encounter with the angel of death herself. 

Chapter one  Chapter two    Chapter three    Chapter Four

Chapter Five    Chapter Six    Chapter Seven   Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine    Chapter Ten   Chapter Eleven

Is it really just a chance encounter? 

Rain.Storm.Thunder.Death. You see one, and think of the others. They are but the reflection of one another. Some people embrace death as their only salvation, some are terrified of the unknown that comes with death while some are ignorant and blissfully living each day as if death isn’t inevitable.

Me? I’m neither of those. How I wish I had a definite end to this cycle. Collecting souls is a tedious task. Specifically more so in the past century, since humans keep changing their faith and thus making it hard to track them down. But the list given, is never wrong. It’s made before birth and determines a person’s death down to the T. However, the only change being who would get to collect. That task is determined by higher-ups I’d rather not mention.

Mostly, the souls are collected by grim reapers, there isn’t one but many of them all over the world. Conversely, for certain, very special cases, us angels are sent. My name hasn’t been summoned or spoken of in centuries, yet here we are. The world as I last saw, has changed so much. Humans, not as much it seems. How can they? Where their very core is the same, only the ideals have changed, not the sins or the temptations.

Names. They have such values and meanings to them. Humans seem to disregard that and unknowingly cause more harm than good. In the two days I’ve been here, I’ve seen more idiocy than bravery. Some amuse me while others make me wish to never return again for as long as I can. Not that it’s my choice, oh no. I’m to bring the soul of a child unborn who is to die tonight and shall be one of many angels who serve the guardian angels in time of need.

I’m early tonight, there’s still an hour left before the dreadful accident. For the living, all I have to do, is let go of my human appearance. My true self is powerful enough to evoke strong emotions from a human, transfix their very being onto me and then the soul willingly leaves the body and fuses with mine. But, this child is unborn and I shall have to wait for it to die before I can fuse the soul. As a soul, it shall recognize me for who I am and I cannot force its soul to come with me, it has to be absolutely of its own will. That, right there, is the trickiest part for which I am being involved for the very first time in two decades. Not that others are incapable, but I’m the only female angel and children are most likely to follow females, than males.

So here I wait. Right at the terrace of the building across the railroads. Leather pants, purple tank top and jean jacket clad. I don’t have need for any weapons or accessories, they would just weigh me down. The moon is bright tonight, makes it easier for me to see through it all without much effort. I’d rather not use my celestial powers among sentient beings for they don’t deserve that disturbance.

As high and mighty I speak, I’m actually itching to get out of my human illusion, not only is it restricting my appearance and powers, its making me delirious too. Should not have come two days early to inspect on the human world. Well, it is most certainly too late to regret that now.

A young boy seems to cross the railroads now. Its past ten at night, little boys should be at home. Why is he loitering around? More importantly, why’s nobody around to watch over him? It is none of my business anyway. I drag my stare away and focus on the scattered clouds above. They don’t form any particular shape but I still try to imagine myself soaring around them like old times, when I was freer, happier and naïve. Just like the young lad.

And my traitorous brain just had to focus on him. There is something about that child, I just can’t bring myself to decide whether to ignore it or to find it out for myself. It’s not like I have better things to do. He does seem old enough not to recognize the presence of all things unnatural. Even though, my senses are dulled and I cannot tell if he has the vision, I feel it’s better to keep myself as less involved as possible. I only need to confirm.

No.Wait. what do I get out of confirming if he has the vision or not? It doesn’t affect me in anyway. If he decides to stay until the accident, he will only have witnessed a horrible accident and if he has vision, he will have seen me coaxing a soul to leave with me to another dimension. But if I make him leave, he won’t notice anything and remain blissfully unaware.

Ten minutes to go before the accident. The train bell sounds from a distance, the roads blocked. The card appears right in front of me, floating like a feather. It ought not to be visible to humans, with some exceptions to the gifted of the curse of vision. Some call it a gift, but those born with it, see it as a curse, not that it can be blamed. Who wouldn’t? Seeing things that are not meant to be is not just disturbing but terrifying in its own. The words appear describing my exact job for the day. It has been appearing every now and then for this past week just so I couldn’t make the excuse of not having seen it. ? Yes, I’m guilty of doing just that. Quite the human trait I picked up. I was, after all, a human once. Even after drinking from the river of oblivion, Lethe, I still have my human traits, if not for the forgotten memories instilled in me, they are there, but I’m forced to not try to remember what is once forgotton.

                                    Attempted murder

                                    Fuse the unborn

                                    Bind the innocent

                                                 That was really helpful. No, thank you, really. I glared at the sky to whoever was watching over me.

I know exactly who to save. I really must see if this boy is the one I need to save, if at all. He turns abruptly now, and trips over a pebble and down he goes. I jump down without a second thought and whiz past the railroads straight to him. But I realize a little too late I should have taken the human approach. Not only was there a danger to be seen, but also I let some of my restrained powers out which would attract other souls to me and that, is a sight not so pretty.

I extend my right arm to him and he takes my hand without a doubt and lifts himself up into a sitting position. Letting go of his tiny hand in mine, I sit right beside him and look him over for any bruises, trying my best not to touch him. The less contact I have with him, the better. He looks fine enough, so I try to read him a little.

“You’re pretty” he says with an excited smile. So he must not have the vision. I raise my eyebrow at his choice of words. Well if I had to choose a human appearance, why would I choose an unflattering one? Ignoring his compliment, since it wasn’t the true me anyway, I asked something that has been on my mind for a while.

“Why didn’t you run away?” I ask intrigued. It isn’t everyday a child catches my attention. They’re a nuisance anyway. Not that he could outrun me, but I wasn’t even chasing him. He was going to be a bother to my case. I couldn’t complete the soul fusion without turning into my true form and I did not wish for him to witness something as terrifying and grotesque as that.

“Because I fell.” He says with a smile. Well he isn’t wrong.  But I didn’t mean just then. I meant for a while now. I looked him over closely. He had a chubby face, chocolate curly mop of hair sat on his forehead, or it could be black, it was too dark to tell. His eyes shimmering in the moonlight above, but his pupils were too dark. Either almost black, or truly black. A straight nose and a confused smile. Oh. Right. I zoned out. And that’s when it hit me, he wasn’t aware of my presence at all. At least not until I picked him up.

“Aren’t you scared? I’m a strange lady who stays out at night” I jested, trying to read him better. I didn’t dare mistake his identity. He took my hand and sat up straighter facing me.

“I’m out at night too. It feels good to stare at the stars. Not noisy at all. And you’re pretty, you won’t hurt me” he held onto my fingers so tight. That’s when it occurred to me that I was still a human and he could see me clear as day. Of course. His heart was steady enough to show he was speaking the truth too.

“This is no safe place, go back home while you have the chance. I’m not as good as you think I am.” I glared at him playfully. He was, after all, still a child. Also, he needed to leave for me to complete the task. I couldn’t let his presence deter me.

But it was too late, the train arrived and a woman was pushed through. As the train was on high speed, she went almost flying, hovering in the air for barely seconds and then crashed to the level crossing. I scrambled and held the boy’s eyes closed and covered his ears.

You had ONE JOB Y/N. Internally screaming at myself for interfering at my own work, I saw her body convulsing and slowly loose conciousness.The boy was struggling in my grasp to see what was happening. I saw someone rushing towards her and I knew I must have screwed up bad. Yet I had to watch and wait for the child’s soul to appear. Taking a deep breath I let go of the child beside me and made him look into my eyes. Hope this works.

“I’m Y/N, I know you’re scared. But it’s going to be okay. Those people are going to help that lady. She will be fine. So please, just stay behind here and wait for me. I’ll be back. Don’t follow me please. Promise?” I asked with a steady voice and looked straight at his panicking eyes. He closed them for a moment and stared straight ahead at me, more determined now.

“I’m not a child, I’m stronger, you know? I’ll stay right here, call me when you need help.” He nodded his head once with renewed determination and I was proud, well that takes care of one part of things. “Close your eyes and count till thirty. I’ll be back in a bit” I waited for him to close his eyes and let myself be invisible and took my real form.

It isn’t painful, but exhilarating. I let my wings unfurl from how they were bound to my torso and gave them a dainty shake. That felt good. Letting the other changes happen gradually, I opened my eyes and walked towards the woman who was supported by the head by another woman and a few men were discussing things and taking. I hope they called the paramedics, if there was going to be a miscarriage, I’d rather not the woman die along with it. Well, it’s not like I had any claim over the woman’s soul. I looked back at the boy and he was staring straight at me. Well that’s odd, I was only supposed to be visible to those who had death close to them or have already died. I waved at him and he continued staring at me blankly. Well that solves it, must be staring randomly. Whirling around, I waited for the soul to leave the body. I could have helped the woman but I wasn’t supposed to interfere with human dealings. That would disrupt the whole balance of nature and inevitable grant me a punishment.

I checked my watch, it was past 11:20 now. Seven minutes too long. The assignments given were always accurate. Down to every detail. Did I misread perhaps? I summoned my assignment once again and it appeared floating right above my head. Cursing my short stature, I jumped rather ungracefully and almost twisted my ankle in the process. Uncurling it of its intricate butterfly folding, I did earlier on it to pass my time, I read it again, but it was blurring right in front of my very eyes. Strange.

I blinked a few times and it was re-written again. This never happens. I think… I just screwed up majorly. The words appeared again and what I read made goose bumps run across my skin. I turned around and saw the woman profusely bleeding and losing her life, but somehow, her heart was still strong. Soon an ambulance with paramedics arrived. I guess my job here was indeed cancelled. No souls to collect. I just wasted two days on Earth without gaining anything of worth. Uriel was going to have a field day having my head on a platter and serving it to the council to comment and dissect me with wrath and hurtful comments on past mistakes. This was my final chance to prove myself being capable to return to Earth and I just blew that up in smokes.

Sighing, I turned to see the boy, well he seemed to keep his promise of not moving from his spot but suddenly he seems to awaken from his dazed state and starts to look around. I fold the parchment in my hands and will them to disappear again. Never has it happened that a death got rescheduled. Looking up, I decide to return to my human form since I need to keep my promise too. I can’t make my visit to Earth completely a fluke. He then takes a deep breath, oh no, he mustn’t call for me, not when I’m not a human.

“Y/N!!! Come Back!! “

And just like that, our eyes find each other right across the street. His eyes seem to grow twice its size. Just like magnets connecting I feel a chill go down my spine and see him shudder from a distance too. I can sense his curiosity, fear and most of all, the admiring gaze of his. It’s like I could taste it in the air. No, it wasn’t the air, I could feel it in my veins, his emotions, and his very presence was pulling me in, drowning me. I hadn’t noticed when I had started walking towards him, as if pulled by a force unseen, captivated, and I didn’t want to let go.

“You’re---- “He abruptly stopped and looked behind me. Oh.

I tucked my wings back in. He looked at me again with furrowed brows this time. Imploring me with his eyes to let him see them. We were closer now, the blaring of the ambulance just white noise, all that mattered was this boy in front of me, who could see me now. I don’t understand how, or why it happened. Maybe my name spoken with such certainty, bound me to him or maybe it was something else. I would have to bring it to the counsel to get a better understanding. But from what my instincts told me, I’d rather not leave him alone. I had to make sure he was safe and okay.

“Told you, I’m not what you assume me to be. But I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just look scary”. I looked down and chuckled dryly. Really, what was I expecting? He’s human, my cover is blown. This night couldn’t have gone any worse. “Go along, I’ll walk you back to your home.”

When I heard no replay or movement from him, I looked up to see him crying silently. /That was a sight I wish to never witness again. No, I wish to never let happen again. I felt like a dagger was piercing and twisting around my chest. It was me who made him cry. It’s all my fault. Humans always cry around me, for the loss of souls. But somehow, this time, it’s different and it hurts. He’s crying for me. Nobody did that. I know, for I can feel his emotions and mixed together with mine, they hurt twice as bad. I fall to my knees, the pain too much to bear.

“You know, we angels can’t be hurt, we don’t age, and we never die, but you---- found my only weakness. We have fragile hearts. “

“I’m Kim Taehyung. You never asked my name. Why? I don’t wanna go home yet, I like watching stars from here.They’re pretty. And you are too. I didn’t want to hurt you, I promise.” And he hugged me tightly to him. Me, who was trembling on the floor. Me, who was breaking inside. Taehyung, a beautiful name indeed. It should have been who was comforting him. But, I felt all my worries, my hatred, my doubts fading away, melting on his embrace. I felt forgiven, accepted and cared for. Is this why we were forbidden from interacting with humans unless necessary?

I didn’t want to think anymore and just--- be. For once, I wanted to forget it all. He let go of me all too soon and I wiped his tears away. With a blindingly bright smile, devoid of two teeth he held my hand and helped me stand up again.

“Let’s go home?”

With a huge sigh and kicking at a stray pebble, he bobbed his head and clutched my hand tight,

“okay”

#kim taehyung #bts fanfics #bts imagines #taehyung fluff

[storesfromtheunderground-blog]

Hope and the 3 hopeless dates. Chapter one-Gabriels Promise

Hope Winchester was pissed. She had been sitting in the impala  while her brothers were off chasing the trickster who had taken Cas from them. She had begged to tag along so she could be face to face with the man who had torn their little family apart. Dean had given her a dark look after she asked to go for the 10th time, his eyes cutting her her voice off mid sentence.

"oh dean for the lov-"

No Hope..you can NOT go, we have no idea what we are dealing with and the last thing we need is you getting hurt or worse taken like Cas!" Hope knew Sam and him meant well but she was always being left in the car to stare out the window and at 19 she was just tired of being left on the sidelines.

Hope pouted a little but then gave in after they stared each other down in the cool autumn air.

"Fine Dean..whatever...just....just be safe please? and bring Cas back...I really miss him ya know.." Dean embraced her in a tight hug and Sam squeezed her right shoulder. They all missed their angel more than anything.

Dean finally let go and gave her one last look.  " I mean it Hope...stay put for Cas..you know how he gets when you get even the tiniest scratch."

"You mean how you act?" She smirked up at her big protective brother who sometimes was more dad than brother. He gave her a soft smirk of his own and reached out to ruffle her hair .

"ya kid...me too ." he pointed his finger at her and they both waited for her to get in the impala and even checked to make sure she had locked the doors. Hope watched as they poured salt around the car, her blue eyes suddenly wet with tears. She hated when they left her, she worried for their safety always. Sam tapped the window to let her know they were done and then turned his back to follow Dean.

That had been more than two hours ago and her eyes were tear-less and now heavy with sleep. She fought the sleep though. She was way past worried. Her cell was dead and she had no way of knowing if they had tried to call for help, and her charger was back at the hotel they had rented for the week. The street was dark and fog surrounded the car, no street lamps were lit to light the way. She looked out each window trying to see , but failed. There was no way of knowing if anyone was outside the car or nearby at all.

"where the hell are you guys...please don't be hurt...or...." she couldn't even finish what she was saying into the silence that she sat in. She sat there for a couple moments more then made up her mind to go find them. They couldn't be that far away, surely they were in one of the warehouses she had seen on the way there.  She grabbed her beaten brown backpack that carried all her hunter weapons and donned her favorite black leather jacket Dean had given her last christmas. She unlocked the door and stepped slowly out of the car, her eyes searching the darkness for any danger that might be lurking in the shadowless alley ways.

Her boots crunched on the graveled road as she started walking forward away from the only thing that secured her safety.

"I can do this...I won't be stupid...I'll be safe...maybe Dean and Sam won't kill me later? .." she had to stop talking to herself or even the demons they hunted would think she was crazy. Then again..sometimes she was her own company so who cared anyways right? The chill in the air made her hug her jacket tighter around her body, goosebumps rose up on her arms and her teeth chattered for a second when the wind seemed to blow right threw her. She passed each broken building , stopping at each one to listen for any voices or sounds of struggles and fights. Nothing could be heard though and she began to panic again. She stopped next to a broken brick wall and leaned over, her breathing becoming jagged and rough as a panic attack hit her hard. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst from her chest as she waited it out. Finally after what seemed like forever her heart slowed back down and her breathing went back to normal. She slowly brought her body back up to standing , her head still woozy from the small attack. She had to find her brothers soon or each one would be longer and worse than the last.

She began to walk faster, wishing she could call out for them. She knew if she did though she could be putting them in potential danger and didn't want that to happen. A few more buildings up and her prayers were answered. She could hear the distant but yet close sounds of her brothers voices and another mans shouting in the building ahead of her. Her feet began running and she stopped at the rust corroded door that would lead her to them. Her shoulder pressed againist it, and it gave way to a dark hallway. At the end of the hallway she could see a faint light glowing. She reached the end and stared into the large open room. Her brothers stood in front of the trickster who was surrounded by a ring of holy fire, the flames rising up like angry arms ready to set fire to who ever dared touch them.

"Well played boys...well played.. I gotta ask..where'ed you get the holy oil?" the trickster clapped his hands as he spoke, no one had noticed her arrival in the room yet so she stayed put in the shadows near the door.

"You might say we pulled them out of Sams ass?" Dean's sarcasm dripped like venom when spoke. He was not in the mood to play the tricksters games.

"Where'd I screw up?" the tricksters eyes finally landed on her but he didn't say anything at all. She kept her eyes on him even when he turned his own back to the men in front of him.

"You didn't, but nobody gets the jump on Cas like you did."  Trickster stared daggers at Sam when he spoke Cas's name.

"Mostly was about the way you talked about armageddon " Trickster shook his head.

"Meaning?"

"Well call it personal expierence, nobody gets that angry unless they're talking about their own family."Dean knew he was right when the trickster shifted from leg to leg and dared him to deny it.

"So which one are you, grumpy, sneezy or douchy?" Sam asked. Tricksters eyes shifted back and forth and he turned his head away for a moment, his eyes focusing on her again for a split second, letting his gaze roam over the beautiful girls body from head to toe.

His voice was strong and firm as he looked back at Sam. "Gabriel..okay, they call me Gabriel."

"Gabriel...the archangel..?" Sams face was clouded with anger while Gabriel's was smug.

"Guilty"

"Okay Gabriel..how does an archangel become a trickster"

"My own private witness protection, I skipped out of heaven, had a face transplant, carved out my own little corner of the world, till you two screwed it all up !"

The room went silent for a few seconds as the brothers and Gabriel stared at each other. She stepped foward slowly, not wanting to startle her brothers with her entrance.

"Boys....and girl, Now what, stare at each other for the rest of enternity?" Dean and Sam jerked around to find her standing sheepishly behind them, her arms raised in mock defense.

"What the hell Hope! I told you to stay in the car and you just couldn't listen could you !"

"look I got worried ok , don't be pissey with me right now when I thought you two were DEAD!" Hope shoved him back, tears pricking her eyes again as she looked up at him, demanding he not do this to her again.

He brought his hand to her shoulder and held it there. " you gotta start listening though sis...we can't ever lose you...that's why i make you stay behind...you just...you just can't run off in the dark by yourself anymore..it's not safe and I can't have that.." He wanted nothing more than to lock her away in a padded protected room when they were gone so he knew she was kept safe and sound.

"I know bubba...i know..i'm sorry I didn't listen" her whispered apology was heard by Gabriel who was listening intently to the two as they talked.

"As great as this show is, there's not any popcorn or comfy seats just holy flames licking at my feet so we could finish this or what!"

Dean turned back to the archangel and glared at him, his body moving in front of Hope to shield her from the angels eyes.

"Well first of all you're gonna bring Cas back from where ever you stashed him."

"Oh am I?" the archangel looked like he was having fun toying with Dean.

Two could play that game though and Dean played it well.

"Yeah, or we're going to dunk you in some holy oil and deep fry our selves an archangel"

Hope peeked around her brother at the man who had taken her guardian angel from her.

"please...I need him....WE need him..he's family to us too ..can't you even begin to understand that at all?" her voice shook, tear threathing to spill from her blue eyes if she didn't get Cas back soon.

"Is that right sweetheart? well..Maybe for you I can grant this one wish hmm? I don't feel like being burned alive anyways"

Gabriel knew this girl, had always known her even before she was born and now here she stood begging for his own brother to be returned to her as if he was a lost puppy. He knew if he didn't comply that Dean and Sam would no doubt do as Dean had said. He wasn't looking to die that night so he rolled his eyes and lifted his hand up to bring back Cas. He snapped his fingers and an electric pop sounded. Cas appeared behind Dean and hope, his face cut up and anger towards his brother was dominant in his eyes.

"Cas you ok?"

"I'm fine" His glare redirected to Gabriel at the same time Deans did.

"Hello Gabriel"

"Hey bro, hows the search for daddy going?.... let me guess?.. Awful"

The angels stared at each other , Cas breathing hard from his decent back to earth.

Hope embraced Cas from the side, her hand coming up to cradle his face.

"I was so worried Cas!" a few tears escaped as she hugged him to her , careful not to hurt his bruised up body.

"I'm fine really Hope" he leaned his head into her palm and gave her a reassuring look. He hated to see her so destraught.

"We're out of here, come on Sam, Hope.."

Gabriel became skittish as they turned to leave him there in the flames. He had to get out of there or risk being trapped there for enterity.

"Um, ok...um GUYS so ...so what ? you just gonna leave me here forever?!"

The winchesters and their angel kept walking to the door and stopped when Dean turned back to the tratious angel.

"No...we're not cuz we don't screw with people the way you do. And for the record this isn't about some prized fight between your brothers, or some destiny that can't be stopped!, this about you being too afraid to stand up to your family!" his words echoed in the room. Dean looked at Gabriel one last time and then turned back to the door. He reached over to break the glass around an old fire alarm and pulled it  down, an alarm and  the celing spray nossels came on, the water flowing down like a shower putting the holy flames out slowly around the angel.

"Don't say i never did anything for you!" Dean turned from the angel and put his hand on his sisters back to guide her from the room. The angel waited for the flames to get lower, wanting desperatly to free of the circle he had almost been trapped in. Cas was the last to leave the room allowing him to be the last person his brother saw before they were gone.

Gabriel knew that hiding Castial had been wrong, but he had felt it was the last option he had had at the time. Returning him had took away alot of his pride but it was worth it when he saw the relief on the young girls face when she embraced the angel. It was like he was her brother as well, her real actual guradrian angel in the flesh. He had for a moment wished she had been embracing him instead. He had wanted to smell her , to see if she smelled like sunshine and flowers on a warm spring day. He shook his head to rid it of the thoughts he was having and stepped from the circle once the last of the flames had washed away. He had to find her again , he wanted to know her, to hold her close and he had no idea why. He could remember the girl when she was but a baby in heaven. She had been adorable and he had held her himself, passing her to and from Cas to watch in the days before her and Adam were sent to earth to be born to Kat and John. He had been beyound grateful that she had been born the good twin and not the evil one. He delighted in the years to come, watching her grow up, even during the hard times when John would come and go, sometimes barley visiting the little one at all. The last time he saw Hope was when she was 16. There had been no "sweet 16 " party. Only a gloomy rainy day spent sitting in her room alone. He often wondered why the young girl hadnt had many friends, but then he remembered..she had been able to see beings such as hisself from a young age and that is never easy to explain to meer humans.

"I'll see you again sunshine...I promise you that right now" his words weren't heard by anyone, but he didn't care. He was going to find her and he was going to have her, no matter what he had to do to win her over.

He left the warehouse quickly , only to be hit with the smell of the young girl at the door. Her scent had lingered even after they had left from where she had leaned against the door...she really did smell like sunshine and flowers...honeysuckle growing on wild vines...and oh how he planned to suckle those sweet petals soon...

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #crowley #lucifer #gaberial #john winchester #supernatural sister imagines #wattpad #fanfiction #fandoms #writer #words #i write #author

[bettername2come]

What Will Be Left to Defend?

Spoilers for Infinity War. Also posted here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14554131

There were some moments Jessica really hated living in this city. For instance, moments where a giant alien spaceship appeared in the sky when she was supposed to be getting proof that some rich bastard was cheating on his wife while she was working late nights at Metro-General in the pediatric oncology unit. Jessica crouched on the roof, snapping photos of the cheating asshole and his secretary (God, could he be more cliché?) when the wind picked up, whipping her hair around her face. She heard an engine above her and tilted the camera upward, expecting to see a helicopter but instead spotting a giant, round spaceship spinning around like a Ferris wheel from hell.

Her finger automatically clicked on the shutter button. “Holy shit!” she exclaimed. She stood and jumped over the edge of the building landing hard but gracefully on the sidewalk below. People were just beginning to react, fleeing the sight as quickly as they could. Not that it would do much good. Traffic everywhere would be gridlocked. Kilgrave had barely been able to get them out of the city when the Battle of New York had happened and that was with mind control powers. She hadn’t wanted to leave then. That instinct to protect others fought against Kilgrave the moment when he said “Go, Jessica!” but she’d been unable to break free then.

She was free now and she was going to help as many people as she could, including the very limited number of people she truly cared about. She grabbed her phone, dialing Trish’s number, glad the alien invasion hadn’t affected cell service…yet.

Trish’s phone rang…and rang…eventually her voicemail picked up. “Hi, this is Trish. Leave a message at the beep.”

“Shit,” Jessica muttered. “Trish, it’s me. I know how we left things. I just – look, there’s a spaceship wreaking havoc on the city, it puts things in perspective. Just call me when you get this. Let me know you’re okay. Don’t do anything stupid. Please.”

Jessica hung up just in time to see a giant chunk of metal hurtling towards the ground, straight where a kid was huddled behind a bench, as if that would protect him from the chaos around him. She leapt through the air, snatching the boy from the sidewalk and rolling away with him, trying not to grip him too tightly as she did. The debris hit a fraction of a second after they had moved.

Jessica pulled away, checking the kid and seeing nothing obvious. “Are you okay?” The boy didn’t react, just continued staring at the spot where the metal had landed. “Hey, kid, are you hurt?”

He finally seemed to snap out of his reverie trance, shaking his head.

Jessica looked around, hoping there was some kind guardian within shouting distance who she could hand the kid off on. She did not want to get stuck with babysitting duty on top of all this, but she couldn’t exactly leave a traumatized kid alone in the street.

“Jacob!”

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief as the boy reached up and hugged the woman who came over, presumably his mother.

The woman glanced back and forth between Jessica, her son, and the hunk of metal laying where he had just been. She locked eyes with Jessica. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Jessica nodded, unsure of what to say as she watched them hurry off. Her phone rang. She reached for her pocket, hoping to see Trish’s name on the screen, only to be disappointed. “I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.”

“Well, I was thinking about getting the gang back together,” Danny said. “Seemed like a good time.”

Jessica glanced up at the sky as Iron Man flew past, chasing after some alien. “I was actually thinking this might be a little above our paygrade. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’m not much good in the sky.”

“I was thinking more like ground work. Let Stark and the spider guy handle the aliens, get as many people off the streets and underground as possible.”

“What, does Rand Enterprises have a secret underground bunker or something?”

Danny’s silence was deafening.

“I was kidding.”

“Colleen already called Claire. She’s supposed to be bringing in Luke. Figured people could use her medical help since the hospitals would be packed. Thought you and Luke would be good for search and rescue.”

“And your super fist?”

“Iron Fist. And if I could actually get within punching distance of an alien it would probably come in handy, but until then, I think money’s gonna have to be my best superpower.”

“Works for the other iron billionaire.”

“Yeah, I keep trying for a team up, but he won’t return my calls.”

Jessica rolled her eyes.

“Are you coming or not?”

Jessica surveyed the damage around her. It wasn’t that far to Danny’s building; she could be there in a couple of minutes if she ran. They could do more together than they could separately; they’d proven that last year. “Yeah. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up without another word and typed a quick text to Trish. Headed to Rand Enterprises. Danny’s setting up a shelter. Let me know you’re ok. She hit send and took off for Rand Enterprises.

*

The attack ended more quickly than Jessica would’ve expected. The Battle of New York had taken hours, but this time…she didn’t know what, it was different. She wasn’t sure if that meant the bad guys had accomplished their mission or been defeated. Or if they were watching, waiting for a chance to make another move. According to the news, Tony Stark was missing, which didn’t bode well for the aliens being done. Jessica stayed with Danny and the rest of their ragtag team. There were still warnings out to stay inside, underground if possible. Like hiding would make any difference if monsters from space tried to show their ugly faces again. Still, rescue crews had been checking the damaged areas and they were much less picky about getting help from the local vigilantes than the police were. The next morning she and the others were still trying to get things in some semblance of order around the city (better than last time at least), when she heard someone call her name.

“Jess!”

She turned her head quickly at the sound to see Trish sprinting towards her (faster than she should’ve been able to, but Jessica didn’t want to think about that right now). Jessica stood there frozen as Trish collided with her, wrapping Jessica in a (too tight) embrace.

“Oh, thank God, I was so worried, and my cell phone got smashed under rubble.” Trish pulled away. “I guess I was right. Figured Danny Rand was one of the only people you weren’t pissed at.”

“Yeah, well, he’s one of the only people left who haven’t betrayed me, so…”

The relief started to slip away from Trish’s face.

Jessica sighed. “I’m glad you’re all right,” she said honestly. “I tried to call.”

“You did?” Trish asked hopefully. She sounded so desperate for Jessica’s approval that Jess felt her resolve weaken just a little. Trish had been trying to protect her, right? Hadn’t Jessica killed to protect people she loved? Hadn’t she screwed up the lives of the people around her?

“I was angry. I still am. And I have every right to be. But there’s a difference between being angry and thinking what you did was wrong and wanting to see you dead. That’s what family means.”

Trish took in both sides of Jessica’s statement and nodded. She looked around the scene, where volunteers were still working. “Do you guys need some help?”

Jessica looked back to where Luke was clearing away rubble. “Not sure there’s much left to do here. Everyone who was injured has gotten to the hospital. Danny’s got a shelter set up in his building, but I don’t know – “ Jessica was cut off as she felt Trish grip her arm suddenly. She turned back to her. “Shit, Trish, what are you – “ She didn’t finish her sentence. Trish’s death grip on her arm had released, but not for the reason Jessica had expected. It was gone. Turning to ash before her very eyes.

“What is this?” Trish asked, staring at her rapidly-dissolving arm. She locked eyes with Jessica, who could only stare back in horror. “Jess?”

“No. No, no, no.” Jessica reached for Trish, only to have her sister crumble away beneath her fingers. She stared at the empty space as the ashes blew in the wind, scattering over her clothes and face (no, no, not again, not again).

Jessica heard a bloodcurdling scream in the distance that snapped her back to reality. She surveyed her surroundings and realized it wasn’t just Trish who had disappeared. All around her the streets were filled with people now blowing in the wind, confused loved ones left behind. What the hell? Was this their big plan? How? Why?

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there before she heard someone calling her name, before she was wrapped in a warm embrace. She hugged him back (God, why hadn’t she hugged Trish back?) before pulling away to get a look at him. “What’s going on? Are we under attack? Are we supposed to be fighting someone?” God, she wanted to punch someone right now. She looked up at the sky, just in case there was a ship within jumping distance, but no sign of the attackers were there, just clear blue skies.

“We don’t know,” Colleen spoke up, alerting Jessica to her presence for the first time. “I was talking to Claire, and then she just…”

“Luke too,” Danny whispered. He reached out his arm to bring Colleen in close to his side, as though she were about to slip away too. Which, for all they knew, she might.

“Trish,” Jessica murmured.

“We need to do something,” Danny said, his old eagerness kicking up. “We’ve got to move, find out who these guys are, what they did, how to defeat them. Jess, what should we do?”

“I – I don’t know.”

#Jessica Jones #marvel cinematic universe #i wrote a thing #mcu fanfiction #infinity war spoilers #avengers: infinity war

[jainarepellista]

Tower of God S2ch250 Rough Translations

zzzzz

..........

You guys… Since when were you on the same side?

………!!

That kid who has been there for a while..

Can he be..?

That eye monster..!!

Don’t think of fighting him head on. / Our goal is to lure him into a trap anyways.

Our opponent can freely control the shinsoo in this place. We can’t win.

Yes yes- / But you see-

This is the first time I've met someone like him.

Gotta have fun for a bit!!

Hey!!

I can’t ignite it-

But take this!!

Hya!!!

What are you doing? / I can’t feel that power from before.

Oh- that. / That wasn’t me.

You'll have to bear with me for now. (alt. Put up with me for now.)

I'm also quite the fun person when you get to know me.

That kid is really…

43F Hell Train - Floor of Death - 19

Who cares!! I want that power from before!!

Red Bari’s claws

!!

Oh ho-

He managed to scratch me even with an indirect hit.. (alt. Even with just a graze it damaged me)

Stop playing around, both of you!!

!?

Tch!!

!?

Snow Blaster

Ice Castle

A...Awesome!!

…!!

..But it still isn't enough. (alt. ...But nowhere near enough though.)

Right now..

An attack aimed at freezing an immortal, is it.

No attack will work on Hell Joe.

Too bad for you. / That won't work on me, I radiate heat from my entire body. T/N: Hell Joe has a burning hot bod. Noted

But if that power from before emerges once again

Those three will be dangerous to even me.

I will definitely-

annihilate you-

Zero's Zone!!

!?

This is!!

Aaaack!! I’m falling!!

Bastard’s changed the shinsoo concentration!! / Kranka-ssi!!

Whew-

That guy.. He really can control the shinsoo here as he pleases.

But even if he can freely manipulate the holes / how can he dominate the shinsoo to that extent..? Isn't that..

Just like a guardian..?

……!!

What..?

That guy..?!

How can he use shinsoo!?

…..!!

Wait.. / The red thing on his back, could it be..?

A thorn fragment..?!

Good.. / Hell Joe’s taken the bait.

Once he realizes that Viole has the thorn fragment

Hell Joe will do anything to capture him.

What…?! Use Baam as bait!?

That's right. / This is the best way if we want to outrun that guy and get to our destination.

What kind of..!!

Viole.. You said you could kill the residents of this place who are otherwise immortal, right?

Yes.

That's very likely due to the Thorn's power.

Same with Hockney being able to see much further into the future than normal.

I think the power of Viole's thorn is also affecting him. / I don’t know, but perhaps, Enryu gave D’za those eyes to guide us into the future we need to go.

And with the thorn, you should definitely be able to use shinsoo inside Hell Joe’s zone.

Joe will notice of the existence of the thorn fragment when you use shinsoo in his area.

We will take advantage of that to lure him in.

Hockney said that in the future, the guide, Kranka-ssi, and I will definitely meet something in that hole.  / So we need to go there.

!!

While Hell Joe chases you after he notices your thorn fragment, we'll head towards that hole.

It’s a dangerous task, but one that only you can do. / Think you can do it?

Wait!! That's too dangerous!!

Its alright! Yuri-noona.

I will do it!! This is also my test, so-

Just leave it to me!!

Lets go!!

Hey!! Where are you running off to!!

I won’t let you go!!

Eeek!! He’s chasing us!!

Sanchez!! They are hiding in the upper section!! / You guys get in too!!

!!

Yes!! Hell Joe-nim!!

Sanchez!! There's no need to go!! / Just leave it to Hell Joe!!

You will really die if that guy hits you by mistake!! / After all, this is all because of Hell Joe’s broadcast..!!

Stop it, Charlotte.

Sanchez!!

He may have gotten a bit weird recently / But since I received power from Joe-nim, I will keep on believing in him.

He is qualified to be our true leader.

Stop right there!!

Why do you have a thorn fragment!!

H-he's catching up!!

!!

Mata!! An enemy!!

?!

Get down!!

As low as you can!!

Aaaaaagh!!

Keuk!!

……………….

(Joeeeee-niiiiim-!!)

(Are you alright?!)

Thank you!!

!!

Th...ese.. bastards… Are…!!

Seriously pissing me off!!

Hell Joe Blood Purge

!! / T-the hole is being filled with blood!!

We need to escape!!

Woaaaahhh!!

We’re here!! / This is the place Hockney saw in the future!!

You bastards!! You won’t escape this time!!

!! Hell Joe!!

Shit!! Hell Joe followed us!!

What do we do..!!

This is up to me now!!

Yuri-noona!?

You can't, noona!! You can’t even use shinsoo!!

Oh that-

I will overcome it with my guts (alt. fighting spirit, or determination)!!

!!

Sh.. / she flew?!

Without any shinsoo reinforcement!?

Amazing..!!

Her physical ability is monstrous!!

Aorgh!!

(surprised!!)

?!!

Yuri-noonaa-!!

Ho ho- / Finally got one hit in.

Sanchez!!

(Catch!!)

...Kukuku / It looks like your last ditch effort failed.

Well, not that there was any chance of you winning against me here to begin with.

I don't know how you got the thorn / but I’m guessing it has something to do with that eye monster.

I will interrogate you slowly after bringing you all down to your knees.

So how about we end this boring game of hide and seek?

I will kill you- / And take the thorn fragment you possess.

!!

Please hurry, Garam-ssi..!!

Inside the hole connected to North City

….What the, there's nothing here..?

Just what the heck is coming that could help us? / We need to quickly get back to help Viole..

Let's look around a bit more, princess.

W-why did you suddenly stop? Mazino-ssi?

B-be quiet. / I can’t get caught by Garam.

G-Garam?

Shit!! I’m screwed!! / I was planning to beat Joe without Garam noticing

So why is she here!? If she finds out that I gave Hell Joe the Red Bari..

I'll be completely dumped!!

The first time I came to the Floor of Death, I fell in love with Garam

(Please accept my love!!)

(Piss off)

(You look like X)

I kept trying to win her heart / but she won't accept mine.

Without giving up, I appealed to her with everything I can show her.

(Oh - Oh-)

(Garam~)

(Take everything~)

(I have~)

(Piss of!!)

(You want to die!!)

But in the end I got banned from the Floor of Death by her.

Fuck!!

After she rejected me, I tried to meet many other girls / But the fact that Garam was the only one for me didn’t change

…..Everyone just seemed so normal to me..

Phone Message: Girl F You up? Message: Girl A What ya doing? Message: Girl B Bored T.T Message: Girl C ??? what do you want to eat

After hearing about Hell Joe / I thought if I could defeat him without Garam knowing, I might be able to earn her heart, but..

Why is a person that's supposed be at North City here!? If I get caught..

(It'll be the end..!!)

Shit.. I should just go home..

(Are.. are you crying?!)

Princess Garam. Why don’t you try saying what that kid with weird eyes suggested?

….? / ….That's…

And… I heard you talking in the future.

Talking?

Yes.

You said this. / I will-

I will forgive everything!!

What's the point of this..

I waited a long time for you to come back. / If you help me now-

Let's forget everything and start over again.

!!

..If you say it like that then-

!?

Of course I will help. / My Lady.

SFX: Eeeek~

...........!!!!

(Why is he here?!)

I will kill you-

And take the thorn fragment you possess.

Then from her I will figure out how to escape this place .

….!!

Eye monster!! The same goes for you.

I will have you tell me me how you got out of this place.

Now-

Bow down before my power!!

Wow, that guy is just!! / I’ll block it!!

Yuri-noona, it's too dangerous!!

You've had quite a lot of trouble thanks to that guy running wild, baby.

!?

This voice!!

But you don't have to worry now.

!?

Because a hero has arrived-

!!

Right now, I-

am filled with the power of love!!

and am undefeatable!!

Y-you are?!

Yo- / It’s been along time, Hell Joe.

(Urek.. Mazino…?!)

You changed a lot since I last saw you.

#Tower of God #translations #S2ch250

[nico-meridius]

Afternoon Fic - Angel AU (Part 6)

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

And we’re back!! This is starting to get interesting, and I’ve actually got an idea of where this is fully going - expect some action coming soon!

Previously On ...

"It's what happens when you hug an Archangel."

Harold startled jerking back away from the vanity, spinning around cringing at the pain shooting through his neck and hip.  He stared in shock at the person leaning against the bathroom door.  

"Nathan?"

"Hello Harold."

"Nathan?"  He stared in shock at his best friend.  "Am I seeing ghosts now?"

"Not really a ghost."  He shrugged shifting slightly.  "I’m sure if you think hard on it…"

"You're my Guardian Angel?"  He shook his head, having a hard time figuring that out. "But I've known you since MIT!"

"You were special Harold.  He knew who you were going to be, especially to Michael.  So I was ordered to infiltrate your life." Nathan gave him a bright smile. "But really it was easy being your friend."

"I'm so going to hell. I've fucked an Angel."

"Hate to tell you this Harold, you’re a few seconds from fucking an Archangel."  Nathan's waggled his eyebrows at his friend.  "And considering you have his mark, you're not going to hell.  And even if some low life demon was able to drag you into…"  He paused, staring off for a moment.  "If they thought the damage he did in the first battle, taking on Lucifer was bad …"

The door opened, a hand reached in and grabbed Nathan by the collar yanking him out of the bathroom.  "Harold, shower."  

The door closed.

He blinked, blinked a second time, blinked again.  

"Shower!"

Harold wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh, cry or both.  Instead he stripped out of his clothes and looked back at the mirror.  There wasn't even a scar where he had been shot, and the scars on his hip from the surgery were faint, but still there.  But what had got his attention was the small mark on his hip, it looked like a sword and feather crossed over each other.   He ran a hand over it, but didn't feel any scaring the skin was completely smooth.

He wasn't getting any answers staring at it, so he turned on the faucet and stepped inside the cubicle, sighing in contentment at the instant hot water.  He had made sure Mr. Reese's apartment was luxurious.  He had wanted to give the soldier every comfort, knowing that John had lived a hard life.  The bathroom was designed to fit a man of his size, he made sure there was a tankless water heater for continuous hot water for those aching muscles after chasing down the Numbers.    He had many fantasies of sharing this shower with John, but had never made a move to make them real.

Maybe now…

He looked down to see that he was getting hard.  

This was not the time!  

But his thoughts were filled with John … Michael.  

He closed his eyes, hand moving down his stomach, taking  his hard cock into his hand.  Biting back the moan, as he stroked himself, thinking about having John laid out on the luxury bed he had bought, sprawled out on the 1000 Count grey sheets, the ones he picked because he knew they would bring out the blue in his eyes.

He stroked firm, yet slow.  Letting himself enjoy this moment.  They weren't on the run, they had their lives ahead of them.

A moan escaped as he slipped closer to the edge.  

An image popped into his mind of Michael standing before him, wings stretched out around his naked body.  He came with a groan, spilling all over his hand.  Harold slumped against the shower wall, trying to catch his breath.

A noise startled him.

Harold blinked and looked out of the glass shower stall to see Michael standing there watching him, blue eyes flashing.  Harold stilled in shock, as the piercing gaze moved across his naked body, he smirked as he set the clothes on the counter, and with a wink he left the bathroom, leaving Harold in mortification.

Well at least he didn't get smited.

Harold quickly dressed, and with every inch of dignity he had, he exited the bathroom to find Nathan eating his Chinese food.  He walked over the open space, took it out of his hand grabbed a new set of chop sticks then sat down besides Michael on the couch.  Bear settled next to him, whining and staring longingly at the food.

"You know the sad thing is that the weirdest part of this day, isn't my dead friend sitting in the living room eating Chinese Food." Harold glared at him, then looked at his Archangel.  "Is he really my Guardian Angel?"

"He was assigned to you when you entered MIT." Michael nodded.  "Most Angels don't show themselves or live as humans to stay with their protectee, but as he was just explaining to me and which I had confirmed from a Higher source, he was ordered to stay that close to you."

"What about Olivia and Will?"  Harold asked frowning. "Does that make Will one of those mythological creatures, a Nephilim?"

"That word doesn't quite mean what you think it does."  Michael put his arm around Harold.  "But considering how words have changed over the centuries, it could fit."

"No, Will isn't half Angel."  Nathan moved over to the counter to grab more food.  "I told Olivia I couldn't have children, which in reality I can't, and we had vitro fertilization.  Will is still very much mine, as he has my name and protection."

"You could've told me that."  Harold stared at his friend.

"Not really, I couldn't."  He pointed at Harold with his own chopsticks.  "As we built The Machine, I suddenly knew why I was there and what I had to do to protect you, but my guardian instincts kicked in when the Numbers started coming in.  There was no way I couldn't help those people, which lead to me disappearing from your life. I took that blast to protect you, I regretted not being more forceful, but realized His plan was not my plan."

"He kept guarding you, afterwards, just not in this realm." Michael added to the conversation. "When I appeared, he wasn't happy."

"I thought I had screwed up to the point, that they sent Michael of all Angels to replace me."  Nathan shrugged, eating the chow mien.  "When I realized he was in someone you hired to help with the Numbers, I stayed in the background watching.  The night he was shot, and you came to save him … I suddenly knew what was going on.  You were his one.  I only bitched when he brought in a Hell Hound!"

Bear ignored him, still begging for food.

"You have to admit he's been a good guard dog." Michael tossed him an eggroll. "You saw what he did to that drug dealer."

"Oh yeah."  Nathan's smirk was positively wicked.  "I did like him after that."

"I don't want to know do I?"  Harold looked between them, concerned by the twin self-satisfied grins.  "I don't want to know."

"When everything went to hell, no pun intended." Nathan smirked at Michael. "And you two were separated, I protected you.  I also made sure he knew where you were at all times."

Harold leaned closer into Michael, taking comfort from him. "I never want to be separated from you, not like that. Never again."

"I will never leave your side." He kissed the top of Harold's head, one of his wings wrapping around him holding him close.

"On that note."  Nathan stood up, tossing the empty container into the trash. "I'll go do my guarding duties out of ear shot!"  He winked at Harold.  "Enjoy that."

"Why are we friends?"  Harold glared at his friend/guardian, despite the rising blush.

"Well obviously because I'm handsome, charming…" Bear started growling.  "And that's my cue to leave."  

Harold gave the Hound a look, before making his way out of Michael's embrace.  He made his way over to his friend.  Nathan smiled and opened his arms, letting Harold slip into them easily holding him tightly.  He glanced over the smaller man's shoulder, seeing only kindness and gratitude in Michael's eyes.  "If you need me."

"I'll call for you."  Harold nodded, stepping back.  "Thank you, for everything Nathan.  Your friendship, protection, love."

"As I said." He cupped Harold's face, gave him a soft kiss. "You were easy to care for.  Be happy, Harold.  You deserve it."

In a blink he was gone.

Harold stood there for a few seconds, as the dread he had felt when he lost Nathan began to sneak back in.  He startled slightly when John's arms moved around him, followed by the large wings.  "He's always with you."

"It will take time to sort all this out."

"We have time."  He kissed the side of his neck. "How about some rest, this has been a stressful day for you.  Dealing with my brothers are bad enough, add in the emotional impact of finding about Nathan."

"I want to be with you."  Harold turned in Michael's arms. "In all ways, is that legal?"

Michael sighed, pulling him closer, letting him feel how having Harold in his arms affected his physically body.  "Angels are not man or woman, we're spiritual beings.  We do not crave sex or need it as we do not reproduce."  He cupped Harold's face in his large hands and kissed him passionately.  "When we're in human bodies we feel the same attraction and want.  It's intensified with you, as you are made for me, as I am made for you."

Harold's hand slipped into the dark hair, playing with the short ends across his collar, before pulling him back into a deep kiss. "What about the fact we're men. I'm pretty sure that it's been said a lot that homosexuality is a wrong."

"Oh it's amazing how man gets wrapped up in the small details."  Michael walked him back towards the bed.  "As said we're not man or woman, so attraction is to the soul.  I've not always chosen a male body to walk this earth."

Harold pushed against Michael's chest, stepping back to look at him. "What?"

"There's a reason some imagery of Michael looks like Cate Blanchett."  He smirked him, eyes glowing with mirth.  "Ask Uriel about the statues showing him with curly hair."

"So I'm not going to hell for jerking off to the images of an Archangel."  Harold asked, as he was laid out on the bed.

"No, and if any low life demon ever tried to drag you into hell, they would feel my righteous wrath along with the fury of my sword." Michael crawled on top of him, kissing him deeply.  "You're mine to protect Harold, no one shall tear us asunder."

"I love you."  

He kissed him deeply, lying out next to him. "And I you." He pulled Harold into his arms, letting the smaller man use him as a body pillow.  "Rest.  Tomorrow we can finish what you started in the shower."

Harold curled into John's arms, and for the first time in years, he instantly fell asleep.

Continued

#rinch #afternoon fic #harold finch #john reese #person of interest #angel au #st michael #archangels

[god-hunter]

Secret Empire #0

This was the big one folks.  A giant sized 0 issue, which apparently wasn’t even the first one you were supposed to read.

There are 3 other prelude issues to this, which I won’t bother collecting.  One from U.S Avengers, where it seems Captain America shook things up with Roberto DaCosta.  Another in the Thunderbolts book, I think.  And finally his own Captain America: Steve Rogers book, where he finally revealed his outward villainy, apparently.

...Before I go any further, I should mention to anyone not in the know, that since the Pleasant Hill event ended and Steve Rogers triumphantly returned with his youth, Nick Spencer left us with a nasty cliff-hanger.  And that was the fact that, Kobik (the cosmic diety that brought him back) was being manipulated by Red Skull.

This only spelled bad news for Cap, as Spencer spent an entire year setting up the idea that Steve was never a genuine American Hero, but really a Secret Hydra Agent, deep deep undercover for years.  [Come on, man.  Really!?]

Now.. this is old news.  People hated Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 the world over.  Then others saw through the whole ploy when they stayed on for Steve Rogers #2.  Since then, I think Marvel audiences have been split between hating on this entire plot thread, and others finding it downright brilliant.

I... have avoided it like the plague.  Brian Bendis had the chance during Civil War II to hint at us that Cap wasn’t being genuine, or secretly harboring evil thoughts or whatever, and he didn't.  He left Spencer to his devices, who handled a pretty well written Epilogue to Civil War II.

That very same epilogue hinted at what’s to come right here in Secret Empire.  Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter were in power once again.  And this time, as Top Cop, he was going to make sure he was going to follow through with his “true” mission.

[Give me a break man.  He’s obviously gonna break out of this.  But in the meantime, Marvel audiences are beyond frustrated at the straight up blasphemy and downright betrayal that Spencer has created for the Captain America fanbase.]  And I think that’s a fair Pre-Assessment.

As for this issue.  It was really well written.  It’s very dense.  There’s a lot going on.  And some of it is a bit much.  And I was definitely left feeling bummed out by the end of it.  Steve Rogers is definitely breaking my heart a little bit, here.  But I’d also like to think I understand where Spencer is going with this.  And I can only hope that he’s going to deliver a major redeeming factor somewhere down the line, towards the end of all this.

In the mean time.  Let the Secret Empire begin.

[SPOILERS]

Warning.  This was a very long issue, and I don’t want to leave a single detail out.  So the rest of this review may be tl;dr.  I’ll do my best to move the points along though.

We start with a “Flashback” from 1945 in Japan where Captain America secretly reported to his Hydra boss, Kraken.  [Already, I’m not in love.]

Along with Kraken is what I thought was Sir Isaac Newton from the Sorcerers Supreme book, but I could be wrong.  Anyway, they tell him that the Allies are about to use a ‘Cosmic Cube’ to rewrite reality itself.  And not to believe them when he falls into their will.  {To make us believe that all those years as an Avenger, he was somehow being manipulated.}

Through some really nice visuals, we see Cap’s heroic history unfold, even though he now believes that it was in-genuine.  That is to say, he believes his “true mission” is to betray them.

After that strange flashback, we’re treated to an interesting Character Page.

This book is going to host Steve Rogers & Sharon Carter at S.H.I.E.L.D. Command [obviously], both Ironheart AND Iron Man in Michigan..

The Ultimates and other cosmic favorites like Hyperion and the new Quasar, (which was kind of nice to see.)  The Guardians of the Galaxy minus Drax will be around.

At New York City, we get to see the Defenders in action for the first time, which is pretty exciting.  I’m no stranger to Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Daredevil, but to see them finally get the Team Treatment and recognition since Bendis wrapped up New Avengers vol. 2, is really nice.  Also with them is Spider-Woman, Doctor Strange, Cloak and Dagger.  The Uncanny Avengers will also be featured in this book, which I enjoy.  [Guess I’ll be collecting those tie ins.]  Did I mention The Wasp is there too?  Janet Van Dyne.  Not the new one.

And of course this event wouldn’t be complete without some Hydra Forces such as Baron Zemo and his Army of Evil.

Now...  Before I continue, I noticed a significant lack of ‘Actual’ Avengers.  ...is Waid staying out of this??  Does Spencer not care about them??

What of Clint Barton?  Won’t he have something to say about an evil Cap in Power?

Well.  We’ll see I guess.  I’m getting ahead of myself here.  Apparently Captain America: Sam Wilson explained his absence from this event already.  =/

Once we finally get into the issue, I’m already confused.  I’ve already missed something.  There are apparently 3 red dots on the trouble map, which S.H.I.E.L.D. has failed to stop for months, and now it feels like the end is nigh.

[Also, I’m completely thrown off by her old appearance in this issue, meanwhile in Infamous Iron Man, she’s totally young and fresh looking.  I could’ve sworn she looked the same in CWII’s epilogue as well.]

Well, anyway, we get to see Captain Marvel, the Ultimates and other Cosmic friends take action in space against the Chitauri.

[You would think Al Ewing would set some of this up for Ultimates 2 tie-ins, but he definitely has some other pointless things going on in his pocket of the universe.]

As the Ultimates fight in space, Ironheart, and apparently Tony’s mobile armored A.I. is able to fully work alongside her.  [As if Tony was never in a coma or something..  Hah!]

I have no idea what they’re doing.  I wish I could say what they’re analyzing.  But outside, New York is burning.

This is where we find that The Defenders are up against Nitro, who has nothing but vengeance on his mind since Pleasant Hill, which happened more than a year ago at this point.  [Where was this before?]

“Know that it is their sins you die for now!”

The action is pretty awesome on the ground and in space as Sharon worries with a pensive Steve from the Helicarrier.  The panels are scattered and frantic, although aligned neatly along the page.

Narrations build things up in past tense.

“This is how we were betrayed.”  The mysterious story continues to unfold.

Apparently in space, the new Quasar dies, or we are lead to believe that, as a huge alien swallows her whole.

From the Helicarrier, Cap commands, “We need that shield!”

[THATS what Riri and Tony A.I are working on!!]

{I have a weird theory that Tony’s A.I. slacked on getting the shield up in time, but I have little-to-nothing to back up that theory.}

In New York, Jessica Jones definitely saves the Defenders from getting blown up by Nitro, who just suicide bombed the area.

It almost seems as if something fatal happened to her, but we find that is not the case the next time we see them.

Cutting further to the chase, Riri and Tony A.I get the shield up, but in the process Steve basically locks the Ultimates out of Earth.

The Unity Squad touches down by the Defenders, where Rogue mentions something about guessing they’re Avengers again.

[I know this team got rocked recently, but I forget why.  Do they know that Steve is Hydra..?  Or just don’t trust him??  I gotta read up on them again.]

For a minute it looks like they all won.  [But as I said.  Steve locked the Ultimates out of Earth and, he makes this betrayal apparent soon after.]

He even allowed his own Hellicarrier to be brought down by Hydra Agents who invade the place.

They all arrive before Steve and Sharon and aim their guns at her.  He orders them not to shoot and to stand down, which confuses Sharon.

...This thing gets all over the place after that.  With Carol and the Ultimates finding out that they’re officially screwed and left for dead as more and more Chitauri waves come for them, we’re given an interesting caption.  “Stage One. Alpha Flight Space Station.”

Then we see that Zemo is outside of New York on a speedboat with Blackoutm as he holds the Darkholde book.  [Ah come on man.  That’s just pandering to casual S.H.I.E.L.D. TV fans...]

Zemo and/or Blackout initiate Stage Two, which is putting New York City in darkness, isolating it via a Darkforce Dimension.

We see Doctor Strange try to stop it, but it is unknown to us at this time if it did anything.

Then, we get to see our ‘Actual’ Avengers, the Champions and Spider-man move into action, as everyone starts to notice that something is up.

Tony A.I. calls “All Avengers” into action.

“If you can hear this, your services are required immediately-- We are under attack....  This is threat level red, Defcon Infinity Stuff here, people--  We need you to get to Washington D.C.!!!”

On the last page, we see Hellicarriers hover above the White House and a caption read, “Stage Three. Washington D.C. Objective: Hydra takeover. Mission: Underway.”

-To Be Continued!-

So yes.  A lot is going on.

And the end was very exciting.

But what the Hell am I reading Spencer??

And why did Marvel think this was the direction we needed to take???

Now.  I’m not gonna complain until I get more of a feel for what’s going on here.

So far this is definitely different.

But, I feel like Marvel is definitely throwing all of the wrenches in the cogs at this point, because they’ve promised apparently that this will be the Last Event for a while.  Thank God.

[I never thought I’d say that, because I love events.  It’s what got me into collecting in the first place.  But at this point, it’s clear that they’re a cash grab and not a story enhancer.  And not for nothing, but none of these Universe-changing events hold any weight when we know they’re just gonna get changed again in 3 months.]

So yeah.  In that regard, I am looking forward to wherever this event goes.

Because if Marvel inevitably hits the Reset Button again?  It’d be nice to see them stick to a plan this time...  And maybe.. Stop with the damn New #1′s.

...Until Secret Empire #1!

[This issue definitely felt like a #1...]

#Secret Empire #Issue 0 #Nick Spencer #Marvel Event #Summer 2017