#i saw where the ship hit the rocks and let me say. we as humans can be so dumb.

[mareemareau]

PART OF YOUR WORLD. - CHAPTER TWO

summary: seira is a mermaid and every since she could, she always dreamed of being on the surface. her father told her all about humans and pirates how they’re horrible and better off under until she gets too close to a pirate ship and is lead by determination to be part of their world.

warnings: none

note: some filler before they meet officially. you think i’m taking her voice like the little mermaid?

chapter one

-

seira followed the ship for a bit. she couldn’t catch up fast enough since she had to make sure he stayed over the water so she trailed to not lose the ship. she saw the boat hit the end of the island harshly stopping it. she moved towards the end of the island where a beach was and pulled him to the sand laying him down. that’s when she really looked at him.

she moved her head to his chest to see if he was breathing. she could feel the water in places it’s not disposed to be with her water powers and moved her hand to his chest. she moved her hand to pull the water out his lungs and he coughed a breath now being able to breathe clearly. she got ready to move back but she saw he didn’t get up up. he was still unconscious. she moved closer and moved the hair out his face. she studied everything about him, the closest she ever got to a human let alone a boy.

she felt too many things. she thought he was beautiful, but she was also envious. he lived above everyday. and angry. the fact that she’ll never be able to know him, know who he was.

she felt her tune move and had to sing her siren song.

“what would i give to live where you are?” she moved her hand down his face singing softly.

“what would i pay to stay here beside you?”

“what would i do to see you smiling at me?” she let out a small smile as his hand moved to his chest, “where would we walk? where would we run? if we could stay all day in the sun, just you and me, and i could be part of your world.”

before she could say goodbye to the man who can’t do the same she heard something coming from the ship. she looked at him one more time before going back to sea.

she saw the people from the ship surround him as they spotted him expressing joy for their friend.

she turned and watched them carry him to their ship with him still unconscious as she sat on a rock to look at them better.

her realizing she had to back she couldn’t help but be excited for her adventure.

“i don't know when, i don't know how. but i know something's starting right now. watch and you'll see, someday i’ll be, part of your world.” she moved up the rock as the wave hit it. she knew now, she couldn’t just live her life the way her dad saw. her life is up here, and she knew just how to get it.

seira swam back to her cave to on a mission. she’s been looking for this recently but she needed it now. when she got back to her cave she saw poki waiting for her. when she saw, her eyes widened and she swam up to her, “oh my! you went to the surface. this is bad! you broke the law!”

seira ignored her and moved to look for something. poki relizing she wasn’t thing heard slowly trailed off, “and what are you doing?”

seira didn’t stop her movements, “when i saw that island the pirates stopped at, it looked familiar.” she got a paper and carefully unraveled it. she figured out paper doesn’t do well in water so she’s carful with all her scrolls. she sat it on a rock surface and her and poki looked at the paper. it was a map, and seira was correct, it was the same island she swam the boy to.

“okay, what so special about the island?” poki asked.

seira grabbed the scroll and her bag and went to move out the cage, “it’s going to give me legs.”

she saw out and poki nodded for second then her eyes widened in realization, “wait- legs?”

she followed her and seira swam quickly back to the island.

“yes, legs.” seira explained, “the island was created by mermaids, back when they used to go to the surface. the map says i have to look for a fruit or a rock. the fruit will give me legs permanently and the rock, if i listen to the conditions, it’ll be temporary. hopefully i find the fruit.”

poki stopped, “wait, your going to the surface world permanently? what about your dad, sisters, what about-what about me?” poki spoke softly.

seira stopped swimming at her voice. she sighed and looked at her, “i’ll miss all of you, i will. but i don’t think i belong here. and if it’s not at all what i thought…i’m willing to take the risk. this is for me.”

seira continued to swim and poki thought about it. of course she wants her friend to happy, and this is all she ever talked about. she sighed and continued following her.

the five mates walked thought the strange island. there was nobody on it but it looked amazing. everything was green, fresh fruits and veggies grew throughout the plants and trees, there was animals around. there was fresh water, basically everything somebody would ever need was on the island but it looked like nobody was on it.

usopp spoke looking around as they all walked, “this island is amazing! why isn’t it on your map though nami?”

nami sighed and spoke, “i don’t know. i never heard of it before. i wish we could find somebody but it looks to be no signs of life’s currently living here. it’s weird considering it looks like the best option lace to live. food and water. you think a pirate would have already discovered this place.” she spoke looking around in suspicion.

“speaking of food, when are we eating?” luffy whined to sanji.

“whenever we get back.”

“zoro got lost at sea, maybe we should rest for another day!”

zoro not paying attention to the convo looked around. he could’ve sworn there was a girl. he heard her voice, and he could never admit but he can’t get it out of his head. could he have imagined it, all the salt water could’ve gotten to him. if there’s nobody living on this island there couldn’t have been a girl.

“zoro!” the crew yelled to get his attention.

he turned to them and usopp asked, “you’ve been out of it since we found you on the beach? what happened?”

zoro sighed and decided to tell them, “somebody saved me.”

nami sighed, “yeah we figured that. but there’s nobody on the island.”

zoro scoffed, “i know that, which is why i’m confused. you guys didn’t see anybody before you got me?”

sanji sighed inhaling his joint, “nope. just you.”

zoro sighed, “whatever, let’s keep moving. you get what you need for the sail then we’ll be out of here!”

seira and poki swam too the island. she didn’t go in surface because the map leads under water, “okay it says there should be an entrance somewhere.”

“okay but an entrance where. you don’t have legs so-" poki got cut off by seira.

“yeah, i know.” she snapped as she continued swimming.

they dodged a few rocks before she saw light on a path. she moved towards there and saw a cave it looks like. she moved under the surface and looked around. she saw poki peak out too.

it was a cave.

and the place she was a a pool right in the middle. it wasn’t empty, either. there was a few chest around the area. and there were two different entrances. the map led her here, she assumed the chest would help with that.

seira looked at everything, “everything is old. this stuff hasn’t been used in years, nobody lives here.”

“how would you know that?” poki asked wondering. all human things looked the same to her.

“i seen pictures of items, used items don’t have dust on them.” seira explained, she could be a little observant, “i need that chest.” she pointed to the one in the middle, “it has the same crest on the map.”

“are you going to crawl over there!” poki asked sarcastically.

seira rolled her eyes then got out her hands and took a breath, “i got this.”

she moved her hand in water motions like it was was explained on something she read back home. she focused on getting water up. slowly but surely a line of water rised from the pool between the two. once she thought it was big enough she focused on moving it towards the chest.

she stuck the end to the chest then pulled it back with the chest moving with it. when it was at the end of the pool she sighed happily and swam towards it.

“how did you do that? you’ve been practicing the water touch?” poki questioned amazed.

“not to much, it feels stronger on the surface.” she shrugged.

she looked at the chest and seen no lock, “there’s no lock?”

“hurry and open it so we can go back down!” poki said scared.

she rolled her eyes funnily and opened it. there were a couple things to skip over but she saw a few blue scroll with silver lining so she assumed they’re important and picked one up.

she opened it to find her home writing from when they used to communicate with the surface, “it’s our writing. finally! something i can read!” she expressed her joy.

they both turned to sounds coming from down one of the entrances.

poki looked to seira, “i thought nobody been here since forever?”

“i think the pirates are snooping.” she turned and grabbed every single blue scroll in the chest. they’re from her home so she knows they’ll survive underwater.

poki pressured, “hurry! let’s go.”

she closed the chest and before the pirates could come in she lifted water quickly and push it full force to move the chest back. as it pushed and she and poki moved underwater as the pirates walked in the cave.

poki let out a sigh, “that was close!”

seira moved towards the edge where they wouldn’t see her and before she turned she got a glimpse of green hair in her reflection. she stared at him not expecting to see him again so soon.

she looked and paused before she turned her tail and swam away, the sooner she gets this done the better.

#monkey d luffy #zoro x oc #roronoa zoro #one piece x reader #one piece #vinsmoke sanji #nami #halle bailey #the little mermaid #pirates #east blue

[bonnibuckets]

idk but let's say this headcannon where metkayina reader is becoming a healer (not tsahik, but just a healer like a school nurse but BETTER) and neteyam is her best friend and always helping her out when she's stressing about whether she would pass the healing test. after the battle and neteyam gets

healer | neteyam

reader is a healer and when they fight the humans on the boat neteyam tells them to stay back and they don’t (yolo) and they finds neteyam shot and take him back to the village

i messaged them and this is basically the plot, their ask got cut short on accident (reader is gn! :D) semi spoilers also almost death!

It wasn’t too long before your test to become a healer, and ronal was teaching you and making you an underling. “I’m so nervous teyam!” you said groaning and ruffling your hair “it’ll be alright you’re an amazing healer,” he said resting his hand on your shoulder “even before ronal was teaching you! I know you’ll do great” he smiled warmly.

“Yeah.. i’m just scared that i won’t pass because of something stupid— i always manage to mess things up” you said palming your face. “Nun-uh! i think you’re amazing i’ve seen what you can do” neteyam said grabbing your hands and staring into your eyes lovingly.

—

“Stay please, i want— no i need you to be safe” neteyam looked into your eyes pleading. You felt his anxiety and fear through his words and eyes. “Promise me teyam you’ll be safe too okay?” you said cupping his face “of course, i promise,” he said holding your hand.

‘Be safe’ were your last words to him before disaster hit.

—

It’d been too long— way too long since you had heard from neteyam and that made you worried sick. You paced the beach back and forth as your stomach did backflips “what is taking so long” you mumbled. You were debating going to get him but you told him you’d stay— ‘but what if he’s hurt?’ you thought panicking. ‘But he told me to stay— i’ll only get in the way’ your thoughts were contradicting and you were a nervous wreck.

‘But what if they need my help’ you thought biting your nails “fuck it” you said stopping in your tracks. “He can be mad later” you mumbled and grabbed your bag of travel medicine supplies and your knife. “Now or never” you whispered to yourself to make sure you’d follow through, then you got on your ilu and set off.

Your heart was beating out of your chest as you saw the demon ship— you pushed on, needless to say, you had to be brave for neteyam. You looked around and dove underwater and saw ilus by brothers rock and you immediately swam over. You reemerged and saw the sully’s gathering, and you felt your stomach drop.

You immediately rushed in and saw neteyam, “neteyam!” you weeped as you saw his brother lo’ak putting pressure on his wound. “Please help!” tsireya cried holding kiri’s hand, “where are your parents?!” you tried to sound calm as you could. “They’re on the ship” tuk said crying hysterically as kiri pulled her close.

You took in a shaky breath as you looked at neteyam and your heart broke. “It’s going to be okay teyam i’m here okay” you smiled as tears rolled down your face. “T-thank you” neteyam smiled weakly cupping your face “don’t s-suppose this could-d count as your t-test” he laughed before coughing. You cried harder and smiled holding his hand “i better pass”.

You then dug in your bag and got out cloth and medicine to help with the pain, “lo’ak stuff this into his wound— it will hurt” you said firmly as you put the medicine into neteyam’s mouth “swallow, now here squeeze my hand because this will hurt teyam” you half smiled as you wiped his sweaty forehead. “Okay i’m ready” he said only focusing on you as lo’ak packed his wound. “Holy shit!” neteyam groaned and threw his head back “i know i know” you winced seeing him in pain.

“Okay we only have so much time, get him on my ilu lo’ak, tsireya watch tuk and kiri tell your parents whenever you can that i took neteyam to the village” you said pointing and making sure they understood before setting out.

Your shoulders immediately dropped as you got out far enough and tears came crashing down your face, “you better fucking make it neteyam” you whispered. You stayed at the surface to avoid making neteyam do any other unnecessary work. “Stay with me” you said patting neteyam as he grabbed your hand “m okay promise” he sighed closing his eyes trying to slow down his heart.

You made it to the village and held neteyam in your arms “help please!” you screamed. You were immediately found and many people came surrounding you “ronal i need ronal!” you cried and pushed people out of the way. You saw her and rushed over “help he’s been shot by sky demons!” you said pleading as your heart was hammering out of your chest.

Ronal nodded and led you to her marui and you immediately went into action. You applied pressure to his wound as you asked ronal to hand you some medicine you had in your bag. “I need tawtsngal and paywll” you pointed as you held cloth onto neteyam. Sweat was dripping down your face and you wiped it away quickly. Ronal handed you the medicine and you looked at her “i’m going to roll him over check to see if the sky demon’s weapon went all the way through” you said sternly.

You heaved him and ronal checked quickly “it went clean through” she nodded. “Good i won’t have to dig for it” you sarcastically chuckled. You took a deep breath and ronal grabbed your hand “it will be alright child” she said staring into your eyes as you let out a breath through your mouth. “I know,” you said as tears welled in your eyes she quickly switched and was applying pressure as you opened the paywll and mixed it to form a paste.

Ronal lifted the cloth and you both sat his unconscious body up and you smeared the paste on the entry and exit wound. Then you quickly wrapped the paste and wound with a natural bandage wrap. You both gently laid him down and you sighed heavily as your shoulders fell. “I’m going to mix the tawtsngal for when he wakes up,” you said regulating your breath as your turned around.

“Of course, i shall do some healing as well to ensure he does wake up” you whipped your head around panicked at the thought of neteyam not waking up. “Nothing to fear child he will wake,” she said waving her hand “i know, thank you” you halfheartedly smiled as you mixed the drink for neteyam.

—

You had been pacing around praying to ewya that she’d help neteyam. “I’ve done everything i can now we just wait” you jumped as ronal spoke grabbing your shoulder. “Okay thank you,” you said as you passed and went in to see him. Your heart dropped seeing him in the same position as you and ronal had left him. You sat down next to him and grabbed his hand “oh neteyam please awake” you said as your voice shook.

“I need you teyam you’re my best friend and i-i love you please wake up,” you said sobbing and holding his hand closer. “I became a healer for you,” you said trying to wipe the tears away “did you know that? Just for you so i could be your little nurse” you smiled moving his braids out of his face. “So i need you to wake up so i can continue to do that please neteyam please” you begged kissing his temple.

You were met with silence and you swallowed daggers “please” you whispered into his skin as tears fell down your face helplessly.

“W-why are you crying?” you jumped and immediately started crying harder “neteyam!” you cried as you sobbed into his chest. He chuckled weakly before coughing and hissing in pain “no stop you’ll hurt yourself” you said attempting to clean your face. “Here i made you this drink it should help,” you said helping him sit up.

He hissed and held into your hands tightly as you handed it to him, your fingers following to make sure he didn’t drop it. He was shaking and your heart sank, he drank all of it and took a deep breath. “Tawtsngal?” neteyam smiled looking at you “yep learned from the best,” you said kissing the crown of his head. “I was really scared you know,” you said resting your head on his, “i can only imagine,” neteyam said grabbing your hand.

“I’m thankful you’re here neteyam,” you said barely above a whisper “me too” neteyam matched your softness. “Don’t ever do something that stupid okay?” you said softly grabbing his hand. “I know i’m sorry,” neteyam said squeezing your hand.

—

Neteyam made a full recovery thanks to you and ronal and neteyam’s family was forever grateful for your efforts.

It was the day of your test and you were a nervous wreck. Pacing back in forth making neteyam go over the names of plants and their uses. He had the names on one side of a leaf and on the back were their usages. He went tirelessly through them as you got them all correct, but you insisted on keeping going. “Neteyam, please! I need to pass” you pleaded desperately “if i don’t remember these then i’ll definitely fail”.

Neteyam groaned and threw the leaves aside and grabbed you by your shoulders “you are going to do amazing— i promise okay” he smiled and gave you a reassuring squeeze. You nodded “and i have no doubt of your skills,” he said hugging you. “You saved my life,” he said into the crook of your neck, you took a sharp breath in remembering the pain but you exhaled and hugged neteyam tighter.

“Yea i did do that” you chuckled as he pulled away and cupped your face “there’s absolutely nothing on pandora that you cannot do and i fully believe that,” he said with a toothy grin. You smiled softly and he rested his forehead onto yours looking into your eyes “you got this okay now go show ronal how badass of a healer you are”.

a/n: i’m so sorry i haven't been updating just haven’t been taking my meds regularly so it’s affecting me 😭 and my motivation but im taking them so dw and i’m working on requests as well and thank y’all for being patient (idk if its spelled like that) i appreciate it

taglist: @d34ng3l @wekiamo @sapphicrhee @sully-stick-together @gloryy-vs @catgogrrr @kyber4crystal @kairreeee @winkingface @starfrier @lov3-bby @itsokilovemetoo @eywaheardyou @loverswiftsblog @owaowaowawa @durinsnowxii @loaksbitch



#avatar #fanfic #avatar way of water #awow #fluff #neteyam x yn #neteyam fanfic #neteyam avatar #neteyam sully #neteyam #neteyam x you #neteyam x reader #neteyam x y/n #neteyam fanfiction #inbox 💌

[ele-sme]

Noccoro (pt.2)

In the canon we have: Lo'ak who was being save by Neteyam, and when he say to save Spider too Neteyam is not quite sure. In this Neteyam doesn't know that Spider is there too, i don't know just read this isjsijw.

Neteyam jumped on the boat and got to his baby brother and sister, he cutted the handcuffs of them and Tsireya. He was ready to go, get away from there. Then his brother got to the other way.

"Where are you going?!" He asked his brother.

"They got Spider" the other responded.

Neteyam heart jumped at the sound of that name, his name. He surpassed his brother, "which way?".

Lo'ak leaded the other to the human, who was found by them with a gun.

Ready to shot.

Almost shoted the other two cause the given him a jump scare.

"Oh thanks to the great mother you are alive!" Neteyam exclaimed, picking the other up and covering his mask and hair with kisses.

"Did they hurt you?" The blonde asked, his arms behind the neck of his beloved.

"No, no I'm okay, did they hurt you?" The other asked, adjusting the human in his arms.

"Who cares?"

"I do"

"Such a cute couple, but i think we should go" Lo'ak said, ruining the mood.

Neteyam jumped first, then Lo'ak and Spider who was hitted in the shoulder.

They quickly finded a rock, where Tsireya was waiting for them.

"Where is Tuk and Kiri" Lo'ak asked getting to her after helping his brother and his best friend getting in the rock.

"We separated" the girl admitted, and Neteyam hissed, even if his eyes were only on the pink boy and how to help him.

Jake and Neytiri getted to the rock.

"Spider" Jake said seeing the boy, he gotten closer to help Neteyam with the wound.

"Where are Kiri and Tuk?" Neytiri asked without caring for the boy, which wasn't a surprise.

"We separated" Tsireya repeated, causing Neytiri to hiss even harder.

"Sully, do you hear me?" Quaritch voice gotten in the parents ears, both hissed at the sound.

"I got your daughters-"

"You demon let them go!" Neytiri said hissing again.

"If only you would let me finish, i got your daughters and you got someone i want," Quaritch continued, both the parents turned to face the human boy, still in pain. "If you give me him and Sully i will let your daughters go, you got fifteen minutes or you will feel sorryfor your daughters" the recom finished.

Jake and Neytiri watched eachother for a moment, reflecting. Then Jake picked violently the boy from the arm.

"What are you doing dad?!" Neteyam asked immediately trying to get him back, but couldn't since Jake gotten more strength.

"Or your sisters or him" Neytiri only saided and both parents lefted with the human boy for the ship.

Neteyam and Lo'ak watched eachother for a second, then they decided to follow.

"You stay here, we will come back soon, i promise" Lo'ak said kissing the girl forehead.

Then both him and his brother lefted.

When they arrived they watched theirs mother is a crazy status.

She looked crazy.

then they saw, their younger sister Tuk.

She was unconscious (they hoped) on the floor, next to the demon. Kiri having his knife on the neck. She looked so scared, like when she had to kill for the first time, thinking Eywa won't forgive her.

Jake had Spider by his arm, tugging him, that part of him all red.

"Leave my daughters alone, i will give you Spider but please, not my daughters" Jake asked, begged the demon.

Neteyam was motionless. Couldn't move, panic all over him.

From one hand his family,

From the other his loved one.

"Why don't you join him too sully?" Quaritch asked.

Neytiri hissed frustrated, she snatched the boy from her mate.

"I'm tired of this, giving me my daughters or you will feel sorry" she hissed, her knife above Spider chest, ready to get into it.

Lo'ak managed to get Tuk.

"Please, don't hurt her!" Spider begged for his friend "I'm asking you please!"

"You think i care? We are not even the same species" Quaritch said, his knife making drop some of Kiri blood.

Neteyam hissed, not knowing if for what he had said or for his sister. Probably his sister but what he said didn't help either.

Neytiri might have saw red when she saw the blood.

"A child for a child" she cutted Spider chest, making him scream in pain.

Neteyam hissed.

Quaritch letted Kiri go and Neytiri pushed Spider to the demon, he was lucky that Neteyam was closer and grabbed him.

After that, it was all blur.

They all got to the island at some point, Spider was sure cause he waked up in the infirmary, Neteyam holding his hand.

"What?" Spider said confused and Neteyam jumped on him seeing him awake, covering him of kisses from the chest up.

"It's a long story but now is okay, I'm here with you, rest please" Neteyam asked softly.

Spider couldn't do anything if not obey and falling asleep again.

#avatar spider #avatar 2 #miles spider socorro #avatar fanfiction #neteyam #tumblr fanfic #reminder not native english #i am in my nocorro era omg #nocorro #neytiri #jake sully #kiri #lo'ak #tuktirey

[rivka-kopelman]

Delivery Lemur Logbook : 14-B

January 1st, 3432

New Year's Day

Mocha?

Mocha?

Hot blue death sparkled in the night above. My jaw slackened. Lopcorn let Welker slide onto the ground.

“Miss Menosky,” I breathed. She can't be gone. My scalp tingles. Tears are blurry in my eyes; I rub them and watch the faraway lights blinking out. I stare hard at them. Every little pop is a massacre.

I really only care about my friend. Somewhere in that

Lopcorn was squinting, shocked and impatient. “What the hell is going on?”

“Oh wowza,” gasped Plum, gazing up in awe, as though at a fireworks show.

“Safe... Oh, finally...” the murderer was saying.

“What did you do? What did you do?” I'm screaming. I land on Welker and grab his head and scream right in his face. “What did you do? Why did you do that?”

He's serene, he's in bliss, he looks so relieved.

His demons will never get anyone else.

Lopcorn pulls me off him and holds me.

“What is going on? Text me. Type it out for me.”

I wipe my eyes and my nose. I take my phone out but I can't hold it steadily enough to type anything. The baby starts bawling and Plum tries to soothe it.

It could just be that, couldn't it?

I run away.

“Where are--?”

Lopcorn follows me.

It doesn't take a minute.

~Lemur~

Oh!

~Leeemur?~

I'm here, are you okay? Where are you, Miss? There's... a genocide happening, you have to get far away from the sanctuary

Lemur ~ What did the normies do?

Her voice is so tiny! She's so shrunken! It breaks my heart! It's so wrong! It's very wrong! Mocha is broken!

Why did they do this?

She feels my fear, and she opens her eyes to mine. She's at the conservatory; A tiny structure orbiting Febris. it wasn't hit.

It's a miracle, Miss Menosky

It's ~ murder. We were ~ only living ~ we didn't do anything

Like looking through a telescope, the feelings zoom in on me, and I perceive the grief, the sheer cold

Intellectually I know there are pockets of the psy population living outside the sanctuary or on ships and ZUD stations who must have survived, but 95% or more of her people were just culled.

She knows what I know

I was ~ listening to music ~ now, I don't know how it goes ~ the song is over

We can come get you. We'll be safe together. We can find the survivors. The perpetrator's been caught, and

Let's see ~ how the normies like it. Just ~ stop breathing ~ you monsters

Lopcorn coughed. He swayed and fell over, rubbing his neck around his throat. It was Mocha.

I knew it was the whole city, and beyond, and beyond, and beyond. She's in my mind and I feel her reaching out, inconsolable, insensible.

Stop breathing. Stop breathing.

It's everybody in the world

She's strangling everyone. The birds in the trees, snakes and fish and hens and old dogs and every horse, every lion, the humans, bats, cats, everybody. At home, asleep, and in the streets, and in the floating cities. All around me and tucked into aloof corners, everywhere in the distance, floating on rocks, every member of the out-of-sight far-flung universe-spanning society. She's suffocating them with pure pain, she's in their heads, cutting off the will to live. She's killing everybody she possibly can.

Not you

Stop that! Don't hurt my mom and dad! What are you thinking? Stop!

Everywhere in the 8 Galaxies they're dropping dead. Ships with strangled pilots crash into asteroids and into each other. Families slump over at the dinner table.

Numb fury is burning out the light of civilization, but I am untouched. Mocha wants to end the world

Lopcorn is fading. His face shows pure confusion. It's the most pitiful thing. I can only hold him.

Mocha stop right now! Look through my eyes and see! Look at what you're doing to him!

If only they left us alone ~ but they're too cruel ~ If only it was just us ~ I'll make us safe

You're cruel! You're worse! You have to stop!

No one stopped Welker

So kill him!

I can't find him ~ but you can

My head turns (against my will). A hundred meters back over the rubble, I saw Plum first and the others with her.

My arms let go of Lopcorn and my legs carry me back. I pick up a heavy chunk of concrete.

Kill them

Kill~

Her presence is scrubbed away. Sindla Syndrome. I'm near enough to the infant to be protected. I drop the concrete slab. What the hell?

Franz is there, leaning on Plum who's cradling the baby.

The Zag IX census; did Welker know there was a psy that could do this? Was he right all along?

Shit, I've got to get Lopcorn over here. Then he'll be able to breathe.

I turn back. A step later and she has me again. Oh this is too much.

I'll need a good sharp stone, of course. With a good sharp stone I'll be safe / by killing them

I'm bedbugs. I'm that knife you're always thinking about (the end). I'm battery acid. I'm sunstroke, I'm your subdural hematoma. I'm dark gelatin caking the folds of your grey matter, caking it fatally, shiny slime congealing into opaque greasy dead blood in your living skull. You know I'm going to get you.

Kill

Yes, I'm the life-ending thing. That's it for you!

There's a little oxygen left in the red freeway tied around your vital organs. (drooling)(disgusting mouth)(shut up) There's a dwindling little bit of self that blows away like dust / she sees you and shes sweeping it up. You better avert your tiny bug eyes, hang your head, suffocate, stop your life, go to bed for today, so, even though I never realized it before, I'm the grim reaper, even though I like kindness and tried to fill my life with light, I'm really the killer.

(The scars won't matter if you actually do it)(stupid coward)(ugly coward)(you know you're actually worthless)(you know)

dont think about anything, just die, and go to bed, and burn in hell. This is just what you do, so get it over with already. Eat your own lips, I'm telling you

I turned back into myself. I dropped a long shard of glass. Plum and even Welker were gaping at me in terror. She's yelling something.

“Listen,” I pant. “There's a disaster going on. It's revenge. You killed the psys. Let me take that kid, just so I can go get Lopcorn, he can't breathe.”

“Never,” Welker vowed, quaking. “Plum, Don't let go of Nikolai.”

Plum held the baby close.

“Oh you bastards. Okay, I'll just carry him.”

I hurry back to where Lopcorn is motionless on the ground.

But now

I'm death.

I can't dance back and forth like this, get out of my head! Get out of my head!

I need to drag Welker away from his protectors. I'll fling him from the rooftop.

Lop's not moving. It's too late anyway.

Get out of my head. Give me back. You're disgusting. I wish I never met you, I wish I never heard your voice. I wish I could be someone that never knew you. You're the worst person I ever met. Leave me alone. You're a freak. Freak!

I bolt. My legs are mine again and I'm gone. Don't care where. The city's dead and so is the world.

The sky is dirty and oppressive. There's nothing but dead bodies up there now. The glittering sky is only a revolving graveyard now.

ghost towns rot away,

brick buildings full of skeletons, row upon row, town upon town, world upon world, star after star, forever dead.

There's no one to light it up again.

Roving over the debris of the battle, I see a tilted tower that half-collapsed into the pediment of Lugdunum's senate dome. I climb up and up through slanting stairwells. The highest storeys were mushed under the mostly-caved-in roof. From here I can see just how much of the city's superstructure had fractured off and been lost to the fog and gravity.

The tower shifted. I kept my balance. The last bit of standing wall supporting a section of the roof gave way. As the hunk of concrete dropped and rumbled down the gap between buildings, a bundle of braided steel cable connecting it to the crossbeam under me was snapping a strand at a time under the weight. When the last wire split, it sounded like a whip-crack.

I fell over for some reason.

I stand back up. actually I don't. I try to get up and I cant do it right. I laugh at how clumsy I am.

How hopeless!

ah I'm bleeding. it's my tail. my tail is gone.

cut off.

my beautiful tail?

Nahh

it's so cute. its fluffy, and, and, and my mom used to count the stripes with me when I was growing up, and even though I'm grown up now, i hope she'll count them again when I come home

so you can't take it away I have to find it

I go somewhere, I go real quick. I'm bumping into stuff. Ahah! This is too much today

I run for what feels like 40 miles. But it's not that far.

I think there's nowhere to actually go

Don't know where I am or what I'm doing.

Well, I can't run any more

I'm so tired

I just can't keep doing this

I want to eat something and have a hot drink.

I sit. And that's it.

The dome up above is bowing in on itself. The crushed foundation can't hold it up.

It's cracking. It's gonna flatten me.

I can't walk another step. My life depends on it, but I really can't.

If I had another chance I'd be better. I don't know why I could never muster the little bit of focus it would take to tackle my responsibilities. I don't know why I act so dumb. Maybe I could have been better.

I wish I tried. I should have tried while I still could.

I want to do stuff. I still want to fly. If I could just fly away from here, I'd start doing everything right.

I'm not getting out, though. The ceiling is going to land on me in a minute and turn me into a pancake.

If I could just pause and gather my thoughts, I think I'd feel better. Or if I could eat something.

I check my pockets. Got nothing.

I wish the ceiling would just fall and give me a quick end.

Oh. I don't mean that at all. I don't want to die.

I try to stand but I can't even wiggle. I must have lost tons of blood. I think about my poor tail, lost somewhere, probably getting full of dirt. I'll never see it again. Or my ship or my beanbag chair, my toothbrush

Lemur ~ may I whisper with you now

It doesn't matter. Uh, I mean, I don't mind.

She thinks of holding my hand and I feel hers there.

I'm so sorry ~ for everything

I know. Miss Menosky? Miss? I'm about to die.

Lemur ~ You are the only one who ever made me feel safe. My dearest ~ is there any dream you want to see now? I can show you something if you want ~ anything

The obvious first impulse is for Lopcorn and my parents, and the world given back. Renewal. And your sweet face. But that makes my heart ache.

Show me something nice please. I don't know.

The dome came down. I had a vision. Before the ceiling touched me, it turned into the viewport. My control board lit up. Reactor's hot and ready to go.

There's my starry open road. I press the

[unicagem]

I don’t want to bury you in photos but at least let me show you (1st pic) once again the Emerald bay, where a jellyfish decided to sting me on the thigh. Thank you, Emerald.

The second picture is Punta del Capel Rosso (red hair), there’s a lighthouse here. It’s where some scenes of the movie “La Grande Bellezza” were shot.

Last picture is the old Roman port of Giannutri. I also visited this island, which is absolutely unique, since it’s almost uninhabited during the year and it’s a protected area. I stayed on the wonderful Giglio tho, which some of you might remember for the terrible shipwreck of a cruise ship some years ago.

#me #i saw where the ship hit the rocks and let me say. we as humans can be so dumb.

[littlepadika]

Hi!! Can I please request 💕Din, 🔥enemies to lovers, 💅dom!reader ??? Thank you!!☺️☺️☺️

OOOH I love dom!reader with Din mwahahaha this one is hot and takes a nosedive into soft. Your fave @axshadows?

500 follower celebration

Warnings: Male receiving oral, Dom reader

Din despised you. Whenever he'd be close to catching a bounty you would swoop in and finish the job yourself, stealing his thunder. You didn't do any work yourself. Din tried everything to shake you from his trail. He tried to lay a trap, he tried to split the reward, he even tried to kill you once. Nothing worked. You always slipped through his grasp.

Your conflict was coming to a head as Karga was tired of the constant bickering.

"Work it out you two or no pucks."

"Find someone else to steal from." Din glared up at you from his seat.

"But I like annoying you, Mando." You smirked. "Fine..." You groaned dramatically. "How about a deal? We both go after the same bounty. If you get him first then I'll leave you alone."

"You'll just come and steal it at the last second like you always do." Din shook his head.

"I'll play fair. I'll even give you a head start."

"I don't need a head start." Din leaned forward menacingly only you weren't scared at all. In fact you smiled.

"Let me finish." You held up your hands. "If you win, I leave you alone. If I win, things proceed as usual and you can't complain. Do we have a deal?"

"If I win, you should give me all the credits you stole from me."

"No way. Finders keepers."

Din grit his teeth under his helmet. Your little grin made something inside him ball up tight and sometimes he just wanted to throw you over his lap and-and- he didn't let himself think those things right now.

"I want a better deal." He folded his arms.

"You're not exactly in a position to negotiate. I'm perfectly happy with our current arrangement."

You loved playing with Mando, making him stutter and sigh. It started off as a power trip, making a Mandalorian putty in your hands. He tried to kill you once but he hesitated at the last moment. You realized his hatred for you wasn't pure, it was tangled with need. You knew he would miss you if you just left him by himself and you sure as hell would miss him too.

"How about..." You saunter over to him, perching yourself on the table in front of him. You saw him stiffen immediately, clenching his hands into fists on the seat below. "If you win... you can do whatever you want to me. You could try and kill me again, but something tells me that's not what you really want." You watched as the visor of his helmet turned towards you. You felt your heart pound faster knowing you had him in your grasp. "See... you could shut me up with a bullet in my skull or with your cock in my mouth. Decisions decisions, Mando."

With you left him dumbstruck at the table.

"Karga- We've reached a deal. One puck and we'll make it a race."

"One puck huh?"

"And don't make it an easy one." You hold your hand out. Karga rolls his eyes shoving two pucks into your hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a close one. Both of you were at the same cantina spying on the target. You happened to have more natural assests that drew the targets attention. What an idiot, you smirked ready to drop the sedative into his glass. What you didn't expect was for Din to blast the idiot to hell from across the cantina.

"I win." Din cheered, strolling up to pull the lifeless body off the counter.

"We said bring him in warm!" You glared at Mando.

"We never agreed on that."

"Didn't we?" You frowned.

Mando shook his head. He lugged the body over his shoulder with ease. "Come on, let's get out of here before the imps are on us."

Outside on the street it hit you that Mando won the bet technically. This would maybe be the last time you saw him if what he asked as reward was for you to leave him forever. The warmth in the pit of your stomach hoped that he'd ask for something different.

"You won, Mando." You stopped at the end of the street. He turned, the bounty still on his shoulder. "My ship is that way. Shall I take off never to return?"

The breeze made his cape flutter, but otherwise he was a statue. Conversely it made you squirm where you stood, tugging at your shirt which now felt too tight for some reason.

"No." He said quietly, so quiet you almost missed it.

"Then what do you want?"

"Will you let me put the bounty away before we talk?"

"Fine." You shrugged nonchalantly though you were still nervous. "Lead on."

You had never been on Mando's ship before. It was dirty and breaking down but it softened him. Gave him some personality. He was less intimidating. The clutter and dusty knick knacks made him so human.

"So..." You place your hands on your hips trying to project confidence though you were becoming more and more anxious. "What'll it be, Mando?" Was this the end?

Din was freaking out. He stood on a shaky pedestal he had built to stand up to you. He had only pretended to be arrogant and capable. He played into his appeal towards you but now the game had ended. He was proud of his abilities to catch bounties, track targets, to kill, but his confidence ended there. He had no skills when it came to sex let alone with pretty women like you. You expected so much from him from the way you teased and talked crudely. Din knew he’d never live up to that. He didn’t even know where to start. His desire was bottled up in him with no clear outlet. Just a general direction towards you.

"Mando?" Your gaze softened a little. You realized perhaps he wasn’t going to send you away. You almost smiled as he rocked on his heels. The nervous tick was strangely endearing.

"I'm not going to kill you. I want-" Din struggled to find the words. "What you said in the cantina. You said I could silence you..."

You furrowed your brow in confusion. What did you say? You couldn’t remember-

"When you said I could put my-my cock in your mouth." Din felt his cheeks heat up. He felt himself harden in is pants just at the dirty word.

"Did I say that?" You chuckled. “I guess I did. Is that what you want?"

Din nodded. He waited for you to take charge, tell him what to do, but for some strange reason you were waiting for him.

"You've never done this have you?" You realized, your smile falling off your face. You felt bad for how you treated him this whole time. Maker, you probably made him uncomfortable.

"No." Din looked down in shame. "Fuck-This was dumb. Just go away."

"Mando..." You stepped towards him placing a hand on his arm. The first time you've really touched him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't judging. Most guys don’t like me to be in charge.”

Din cringed further at the mention of your copious previous experience.

“Mando… look at me please-“ and he did feeling some of his dread subside. Your warm reassuring hand felt so good. “I'm happy to show you everything. I want to make you feel good. If that’s what you want.”

“I’m sorry.” He grumbled. He hated feeling so vulnerable. He wanted to explain himself, give excuses for his lack of experience, but the truth was he hadn’t found anyone he was interested in until you.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Now will you let me do this for you?” He looked at you, searching for honesty. There wasn’t a hint of disgust or doubt on your face.

Din nodded, feeling his stomach lurch in excitement. He felt safe with you which was another completely foreign feeling for him.

“Thank you, good boy.” The word shot through him, making him stand up straighter. You chuckled. “You like that?”

Din nodded shyly.

“Go and sit down.” You pointed at the crate against the wall. Din obeyed looking at you again for acknowledgement. You smiled kneeling down below him. “Good boy. See you’re a pro already.” Din blushed at your praise wanting to continue pleasing you. You slid your hands up his thighs slowly. “You can stop me at any point. Just say stop. My only rule is you have to tell me if I’m making you feel good. I wanna hear you.”

Din nodded his understanding. You raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” He said.

“Good boy. I know you can’t remove your armor which is fine. But can I take your cock out?”

Din nodded biting his lip. His dick was already straining against its confines. He exhaled sharply as you tugged down his waistband just far enough to pull him out. The only piece of skin exposed.

“You’re beautiful, Mando.” You cooed, stroking the warm length gently. You couldn’t wait to feel him in your mouth. A low broken cry cracked the voicecoder. “That’s it… feel good baby?” You stare right into his visor. Din swallowed harshly and nodded rapidly trying to keep from blowing his load.

“Tell me.” You reminded him of the rule.

“Yes!” He huffed. “It feels good. Please more.”

“We’re just getting started.” You promised opening you mouth and letting a dollop of saliva hit the head of his cock.”

“Oh Kriff…” Din pounded his fist against the crate. You continued your slow movements. You didn’t want to push him. He seemed lost in pleasure and you felt yourself warm at his trust in you. You slowly lowered your mouth on him, keeping your suction soft. He whined above you, his thighs flexing under your hands. You flicked your eyes up to him. His head was thrown back. You could see just a small slice of golden neck. He was sucking air between his teeth. The edges of the crate groaned under his grip.

“So-so good.” He mumbled between shallow breaths. You chuckled. He was trying so hard poor thing.

“It’s okay if you cum, Mando. I want you to.”

“But-“ Din’s hips jerked up into your hands. “What about you? I want to- I want-“

“Shh I know baby boy.” You chuckled at his eagerness. Already wanting to jump ahead. “We’ll get there but first you’re going to cum in my mouth.”

And almost on instinct he did, hunching over as ropes and ropes slid into your hot mouth.

“Oh fuck…” He croaked. It was better than anything he had done on his own. Your hot mouth and tongue had brought him so high only to let him plummet into his pleasure with no safety net. He was totally out of control. He didn’t hate it though. He loved it. He wanted more.

He came so much it made your pussy tighten longingly. His groans and sighs were gorgeous. You moaned, getting the last drops.

“Good boy…” You started stroking him back to full mast again. Surging with control and pride.

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

My masterlist

Permanet Taglist: @ajeff855 5 @what-iwish-you-knew @kirsteng42 @fan-of-encouragement t @sleep-tight1 @pascalisfairyy @ceniington, @prettypedros 🧁, @pascal-rascal424 @axshadows @prideandpascal @frenchyjuju @pedrosmustache @blackmarketmummy @idreamofboobear @pretty-brown-eyess @persephones-garden @javierpinme @mylittlesenaar @bellaorisa @elinedjarin @beskarboobs @beskar-candy

Din Djarin taglist: @a-skov @pasckles

#din djarin smut #din djarin x y/n #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #sub!din #mando x you #the mandolarian #mando smut #padika's request game #follower celebration #ashley #pedro pascal fanfiction

[internalsealpanic]

Sealing the Deal part 1

Summary: Always, always be nice to sea creatures but never ever accept their pelt.

  A/n: A fic I’ve been meaning to write since forever. My contribution to mermay.

  warning: Disgusting fluff and bad decisions

Main Masterlist

part 2

You look like you're gonna die from boredom in your little fishing boat. 

 Dick rolls over to where Jason was sprawled and used his momentum to push the larger seal into the water. Jason gives an undignified squawk of outrage. Dick just preens and looks smug. 

 You cup your hand over your mouth as you begin to laugh. 

 Jason glares even harder at Dick. Dick... couldn't care even less if he tried. All he can focus on is the wrinkle in the corners of your eyes. They'd been gone for so long these past few months. It felt like the first ray of sun after a long storm.

 Dick claps his fins in excitement even as Jason snuffs and rolls his eyes. You clap in return but accidentally drop your fishing pole into the sea. Reaching for it, you fall into the water. Dick feels a little bad for laughing but you manage to get yourself back up into the boat safely.  You sigh in defeat as your fishing pole drifts away. Dick notices for the first time that your face has grown gaunt from the last few weeks. Are you eating enough? Are you even taking care of yourself? Dick swims over to your boat as it rocks back and forth on the waves. He hops in easily and plops onto your stomach. You laugh and pet his head. It was a weak laugh so he croons at you in question. 

 “Sorry pup, I don’t have any food for you today. I mean I don’t even have any for me.” Despite the sweet timbre of your voice, Dick can still taste the bitter hopelessness in the statement. 

He nuzzles his face into your chest. He can feel just how thin you’ve gotten. He has to do something about this. 

To say Dick had been afraid of humans would be a monumental understatement. It had been around 200 years since humans had left the island and the first thing they did when they came back was hunt down selkies. Dick's parents had been two of the unlucky few who'd been hunted down.

 So when Dick found himself stranded onshore because of a fin tangled in a fishing line, he thought he was a goner. And when he saw you approaching; well, he still thought he was fucked but he thought you'd at least be nicer than the adults.

 Maybe if he acts cute enough you'll spare him. 

 Dick whimpered and he gave you the big innocent look. 

 You shushed him harshly. Dick flinched then you flinched and muttered apologies.

 You approached him slowly. You looked around before crouching and fiddling with the line Dick had managed to get himself caught in. Carefully, you began to disentangle him. It hurt, especially when you took the hook out, but once he was free. He clapped and trilled before you shushed him again.

 Dick thought that it was all over and he could just roll back into the sea until you scoop him up and swaddle him in your shirt.

 After 10 minutes of your father screaming at you, he agreed to treat Dick who knew better than to snap at him. Your father was kind with gentle hands. He worked on Dick while you fed him fish. It wasn't the best fish but  Dick can't complain. 

 After an hour or so, Dick started to wriggle and you pull him closer to your chest. 

 "Dad, can we keep him for a few days? He might still be sick." You plead with big eyes. 

 Your father glared at you then sighed. "No more than two. His wounds just need to close up, understand?"

 You squealed a little. Hugging Dick tighter, you thanked your father before scampering off to find you a basin to put Dick in. You, thankfully, had the good sense to fill it with lukewarm water.

 Dick lived like a king in those two days. You fed him a lot of fish much to your dad's exasperation. You kept him warm. You even read to him and sang songs to him. 

 Dick wanted to stay but he missed Bruce, Alfred, Damian, and maybe that new kid Jason.

On the fourth day (one of the wounds was deeper than expected), Dick was released back into the sea but he never did manage to stay away after that

Dick sets the odd little trinket down in front of Jason's sleeping form. It was something you'd caught in your net days before along with the meager amount of fish you'd managed to net. You'd busied yourself with it for days before throwing it out. Dick wasn't sure what it was; all he knew was that it was something Jason would like. 

 He waits semi patiently for Jason to notice it, nudging it forward a little until it touches Jason's snout and the larger seal is forced to pay attention to Dick. 

 "I know when I'm being bribed, Dickface." Jason says, glaring. 

 Dick volleys it with a wide-eyed hopeful look. He nudges the little trinket forward again. This time, instead of ignoring him, Jason rises to his full height, teeth bared. This... does not faze Dick. 

 "C'mon Jaaaaaaay," Dick says as if the prolonging of syllables would whittle down Jason's irritation. Jason suspects if he were less inclined to tell Dick to fuck off, it would have worked. Probably. But as it stands, Dick is responsible for ruining a very good, very rare nap for Jason and so he's on the shit list and has lost any favor privileges until further notice. 

 "I said no. Go away or ask Bruce."

 "But Jaaaaaaay, it's just a teensy tiny favor. It won't even take an hour. Not with your skill at least."

 "That kind of flattery may work on Harper and it may even work on West but I'm not an idiot about to get involved with whatever shenanigans you have planned with the human."

Dick lets out a long-suffering sigh. Jason isn't stupid enough to think that Dick has actually given up. No, the stubborn little fuck is worse than a barnacle. "You've left me no choice-"

 "I have given you plenty of choices. Most of them involve minding your own goddamn business." Jason says with a little snuff. 

 "-I'm calling it in."

 Jason narrows his eyes at Dick.

 "Don't you dare. That was 5 years ago."

 Dick smiles, evilly. "Unless you want the rest of the family to know about-" 

 "Fine! What do you want?"

 Dick looks smug. Jason wants to bite his face off. 

 "I need you to help me catch fish."

 Jason looks at him, incredulous. "Did you hit your head or something?"

 "Not recently. Look, I just need you to help me catch fish for the human." Dick explains like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Contrary to what Dick seems to think, Jason really isn't concerned with the one human on the island. Most of the selkies on the island have barely even interacted with you outside of staring at you.

 "You're insane."

 "I think we reserve that term for Bruce." 

 Jason raises his head from the ground. "You're not wrong."

   You think you hear the light pitter-patter of raindrops. You sigh. You would be lying if you say you aren't the least bit thankful for the excuse to stay indoors today. You... don't exactly like foraging for food. You had avoided it for as long as you had food in the lighthouse. You thought it would at least last you 'til the ships came in but whatever is going on in the mainland has kept the ships from your shores. You don't mind. You never did find the sailors all that pleasant on the rare occasions that you did have to interact with them. 

 You like your island the way it is but... you're not exactly the most skilled at hunting... or fishing. You have no idea how your father did it. You chucked it up to the miracles of loaves and fishes. You miss him.

 You curl around your pillow in a vain attempt to chase the wakefulness away but the sun in your eyes was too bright. You flutter your eyes open. The sun had the audacity to be there. Still the splushing sound continued. 

 You strain your ears to listen, trying to make heads or tails of it. It was a squishy sound, the sound of putty hitting stone over and over again. You scramble to the front door. In hindsight, you probably should have grabbed a weapon before running towards the strange sound. 

 Opening the door, you're greeted with the sight of a familiar seal caught red-handed with a fish in his mouth.

 You stare at each other for a long moment before your eyes wander down to a pile of fish. A large amount of fish. Laughter rolls from your lips, musical and manic as you bury your face in your hands.

You think the seal furrows his brow at you, dropping the fish in its mouth before plopping towards you. Plop. Plop. Plop. He looks at you with big dark eyes. Your mouth twitches between curling down into a frown and a smile that spread across your face. On one hand, you are confused. On the other hand, you were gonna be able eat some meat. 

 A concerned croon comes from the pup and your face decides that it would rather smile at the moment. You throw your arms around him, not at all caring about the seawater getting on your nightclothes.

 "Thank you." You whisper and the seal answers with a happy trill.

 Dick is over the moon. 

 He can't even help how loud his trills get. It's ok you don't seem to mind either. He's just happy that you get to eat now.... but you don't. 

 Dick's a little frustrated when you don't immediately start digging in. Instead, you go back inside your home, swear, shout in delight then come back out with a basin and a jar of white powder. You then run around to fill the basin with seawater then add what Dick finds out is salt into the seawater. 

 Dick is... concerned. 

 You go back inside the house. When you come out again, you have a knife in your hand. Dick waddles back a bit. He knows you won't hurt him but it's a habit. You develop these kinds of habits around Bruce. 

 You settle yourself onto the ground cross-legged and grab a fish. Dick looks on with mild curiosity. You begin to dismember the fish by cutting off it's head, cutting it up in the middle then removing the bones and stomach. That kind of makes sense, Dick thinks. The bones are kind of annoying. Dick nods his head agreeably until you toss the fish into the basin.

 Dick looks on in utter confusion as you repeat the process with most of the fish he's brought you. 

 You turn to him looking equally befuddled before your eyes soften. You look sheepish. "Sorry pup, I can't eat all of this today so I'm salting them so I can eat them the next few..." You count the fish in the basin. "... weeks."

 Dick tilts his head but doesn't say anything. You really should just eat more. Dick can get you more if you need it. You just need to ask but you seem content with what you're doing. 

Dick is about to rest his head on your lap when you shoot up and scuttle back inside. You return with a line and a smile. Dick watches you string the fish up like laundry. He could probably help you but he has no clue if he should. Just eat the fish damn it.

Finally after what felt like forever, you start preparing the fish and actually eat. You offer Dick some and Dick has to admit cooking the fish does taste odd but not unpleasant. It's totally different from eating it raw (the better way) but it's not horrible. Or maybe it just tastes good because you've got the biggest grin on your face while eating.

Maybe.

 Probably, Dick thinks as he munches on his fish, pressed to your side.

___

 You sing at the top of your voice. It's a cheerful song but Dick can't quite make out the words. He knows it's human but he's not quite familiar with it. The tune is nice though. Dick rests his head on your lap closing his eyes.

 He croons happily when you being to pet him.

 You stop midway through the song dissolving into a fit, of what Dick can only describe as, giggles snorts. It was a despicably adorable sound that was engineered to make Dick feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

 He looks up at you with big curious black eyes. He's not complaining but he hasn't heard you laugh this much before and he may or may not want to know how to make you laugh like this again.

 When you don't answer his questioning gaze, Dick nudges against your chest. Your shoulders are still shaking but you manage to stop laughing for a moment. 

 "Sorry pup," you say wiping a tear from your eye, "I must look crazy to you. "

 A little but not as bad as Bruce, Dick thinks. Bruce thinks you humans still don't know there are selkies on the island. Dick snorts at the idea. Everyone knows that all you humans know about selkies. That's why those men keep coming here trying to trap them. 

 You squish his face affectionately with your hands. "My dad taught me that song and  I just realized..." Your mouth turns into a curved line of held back laughter. "...It's a sea shanty about missing being between a woman's legs." The last few words come out more as giggles than proper syllables but Dick can't enjoy that because he can feel his face warm up from the thought. He hides his face in his flippers. 

 You squeal, absolutely delighted with his mortification. Smiling down at him, you say: "Yanno pup, sometimes I think you understand me."

 Thought process-wise, no.

 Dick snuggles up to you again, blowing air out of his nose to voice his ascent. You can't just say things like that but again, you just simply seem amused by his suffering when you bend down to press a kiss to the top of his head. 

 Dick looks up when you pull away. No! Give him more!

 Dick stretches up to return the favor, having to partially climb on your lap but only managing to boop your nose with his snout. You nuzzle your nose against his and Dick makes the happiest noise in the back of his throat.

   Sometimes after wandering around you had a habit of falling asleep on the shore which Dick thought was fine until he found out that you couldn't swim. Dick being the only with brains in this duo always nudges you awake when the tide starts getting too close. Dick doubts the lapping water will wake you up before sweeping you away. After all, you managed to sleep through Tim, Kon, and Bart's rock piling contest on top of you. Dick shooed them away but even after cleaning up, you didn't wake up.

 Dick sees the sailors on the shore and nudges you. You... don't even blink. You hum, content to bask in the sun as you wrap your arms around Dick. Dick huffs. He likes this but he really would prefer it if you move. Dick considers slipping from your grip and grabbing a fish to slap you with like last time.

 Dick cranes his head to look at the ship again. It was far too close now, too close for you to get away without being seen by the sailors. 

 Dick turns you back over to your back and proceeds to body slam you with all his blubber. He winces when you make a choked noise. Dick can give you apology fish later. 

 "Pup, what the fuck?"

 You see the ship. Your eyes widen then flicker to his injured fin. Dick had injured it when he’d been swimming by the docks and got caught in one of the old traps. You’ve done your best to help it heal but you only know so much. You’re still reading up on herbs in case it happens again.  

 You try in vain to push him off but he's a big loveable sack of blubber and he refuses to move.  “C’mon pup, you need to move. They’ll try to catch you if they see you.” You grunt but the sack of blubber refuses to move. 

 You and Dick stay still as the ship draws near, neither of your chests rises or fall as the ship rocks back and forth.

The ship passes and you let your head fall back with a sigh. 

 Dick nuzzles his snout against your face, his whiskers tickling your face. You giggle and try to push him off. It’s useless so you let him stay there. 

 You both decide to take a nap on the shore with Dick huffing in your face once in a while as he snores. 

You curl up on the floor in front of the fire, watching the embers flicker, flash, and fade. It's the best thing you can do to calm your fraying nerves. The storm rages outside violently as if it was trying to tear the lighthouse down brick by brick. The whole building shakes with another boom of thunder. You close your eyes and burrow under the thick blanket. 

 In the back of your mind, your father is chuckling. The absence of a hand on your head is disconcerting. You remind yourself that it won't come, that you'll have to learn to weather the storm alone. You sigh then tighten the blanket around you.

Tok. Tok. Tok. 

 You blink. The fire was dying. When had you fallen asleep? 

 Tok, tok, tok. 

 Blinking, you rub the sleep from your eyes, but the haze doesn’t lift, only growing as you watch the firelight.  

 Tok tok tok. 

 You shoot up and barrel towards the door with the frantic knocking growing louder and louder as your feet pound against the stone floor.  

 You run into the door in your haste. The loud thud of your body against the door causes the frantic knocks to turn into muffled shouting.

 Prying yourself from the door, you open it and you don't know what you expected but this wasn't it.

 Standing in front of you was a man soaked like a wet rat. You blink in confusion before pulling him inside. You run to grab him a blanket. Wait. You should probably get him a towel. No, wait. You should have gotten his name first. Fuck. 

 You shuffle back into the room with a towel, spare clothes, and an extra blanket. You.. what can generously be called a heart attack. 

 For the first time, in the soft glow of the fire, you can fully admire your guest. Not see, admire because there was a lot to admire.

 The light of the fire flicking over the planes of his chest, with a light dusting of chest hair, the amber glow highlighting all the muscles of his body, framing the ripples of his toned figure. Swallowing any good sense you have, you watch the rainwater turn golden as it drips down his perfectly bronzed skin. The water cuts through valleys of muscle that could have only been handcrafted by gods. Your eyes follow the flow until... Oh.

 You flush furiously, your face glowing brighter than the fire. He's- He's- Oh my god, he's naked. 

 You reign your eyes in. Ok, you let it linger down there a bit. Not long enough for your guest to notice. You concentrate on his face which wasn't hard to do. The man pushes his raven hair out of his face letting you fully appreciate his face. In keeping with his body, his fine boned face looked like Pygmalion himself spent hours shaping it, not satisfied until he's made the perfect face. It's handsome in an adorable way. Not intimidating. It's the kind of face you'd like to pepper with kisses. You try not to focus on his lips in case of any sinful thoughts. You just met the man. The only thing you will note is that yes, his lips do look absolutely kissable and it aggravates you. 

 The most striking feature however are his deep blue eyes. The kind of deep that you feel like you could drown in. The kind of depth that looked too pretty to agonize over the fact that your lungs are burning. You stare, trying to carve a perfect replica of those eyes into your mind. Those eyes... that are currently staring at you... as he steps closer... at an alarming speed.

 You hold the stack of fabric in front of you like a shield. Your guest stops, looking at the stack. His face goes from concern to confusion to blinding enthusiasm. He was probably freezing.

 A smile spreads on his face, the cutest dimples you've ever seen forming on his cheeks, as he accepts the stack. He thanks you and your heart leaps from your chest. Whatever chill you were experiencing from the storm was completely gone. You turn away from him, rubbing the back of your neck and mumbling a halfway point between 'no problem' and 'you're welcome'. You hope it came out as 'no welcome' instead of  'your problem'.

 The man snorts and you are pretty sure which one came out. To save yourself the embarrassment, you walk to the kitchen and start preparing tea. The man thankfully occupies himself by looking at the assortment of knick-knacks you've hoarded gathered over the years. It gives you ample time to breathe.

 "Do you like sugar in your tea?"

 The man nods enthusiastically. You can't help but smile a little. 

 You sit next to him in front of the fireplace as you hand him his mug. He leans his head against your shoulder. You can feel his body radiating a comforting heat. 

 You two sit in silence, sipping tea and watching the fire flicker. You wanna scold him for slurping his tea. You're not exactly his mother. You don't even know his name. 

 You turn to him, face scrunched and about to ask him for his name when he surges forward. His lips brush against your lips as he nudges his nose against yours. You fall backward in shock and the stranger falls on top of you, his eyes still glowing bright and cool against the amber light.

 There's a thrill working up your spine or is it fear? You squeeze your eyes shut and throw your arms over your face. 

 "Please don't hurt me." You plead barely above a whisper. 

 You feel the body above you lower itself on top of you. He chuckles and shakes his head. "(Y/n), you're being silly."

 You open your eyes. The man is laying his body on top of you keeping you pinned down and he's... pouting at you?

 "I- I don't know who you are. You can take what you want but please don't hurt me."

 The pout deepens into a frown.

 "(Y/n), I'm not gonna hurt you. Don't you recognize me?" 

 You blink. You would definitely remember someone this eye-catching.  "You always sing that sea shanty to me. The one about the sailor who misses his wife's..." The stranger flushes and makes a hand gesture. Your face scrunches again. The only person you've sung that to aside from your dad is...

 "Pup?!"

 His frown morphs back into a pout. "I'm not even that little."

 You squish his face with your hands before you let your mind wander. You think back to the scars crisscrossing his limbs and chest.  "How is this possible?"

 He laughs, prying your hands from his face. "I'm a selkie," He says as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "My name is also Dick, not pup."

 You stare up at him wide-eyed and stupefied. Dick snuggles against you like he always does. Somehow snuggling you in this form is better. He can hold you closer like this. You run your hand through his hair, fingers lacing through the tangles in his hair. He lets out an excited trill. 

 Dick might just be in heaven right now. 

 "I dunno how but you're somehow even prettier when I look at you in this form," Dick breathes contently. "I'm so lucky to have such a pretty wife."

 You stiffen. Dick looks up at you and the confusion in your face wrenches a knife in his heart. He swallows. "That is what you meant with this, right?" Dick asks, tugging at the collar of his shirt.

Your mouth turns into various shapes trying to piece together a coherent response. It settles on the simplest one. "No."

 Dick looks stricken like you'd taken a club to his head. 

 You reel back. "I just- I- I thought you were cold and you-"

 Dick's heartaches. It's a dull ache. He thought this kind of thing would be sharp like having a hook pierce your heart.

 His insides twist as he peels of you. 

 Your stomach sinks as you feel the cold fill your body once more. You don’t want him to go. The thought of being alone right now makes your stomach curdle. Your hands grip his shirt without meaning to. The look on his face hurts but the idea of him leaving felt unbearable. You know it's selfish but here you are begging him not to leave. 

 "Dick, I'm sorry... I didn't know... I-" 

 Thunder booms. You squeak and bury your face in his chest. You can't stand storms.

 Dick smiles down at you softly. It's still pained but it's bearable.

 He lays on his side and pulls you closer. He slots your face into his neck. You're still shivering even when he uses his body to shield you from the rest of the world.

 You whisper another apology.

 Dick shushes you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

The sunlight floods into the room like it does every morning but the room is still cold. Your mind works to understand what's wrong with this picture. Your hand pads beside you. The space next to you is empty save for the blanket left behind.

 You sniffle, gripping the sheet in your hand. You messed up, you think, pulling it to your face. For the first time in months, the tears come easily. You lay there all day because the tears won't stop.

   "If you sigh one more time, I am going to rip your throat out." Jason growls not bothering to open his eyes. Why would he? Dick has been flat and mopey for the past two weeks and Jason is really starting to miss his hyperactivity. 

 Dick lets out another mopey sigh. Jason. Is. Going. To. Scream. 

 "Can't you be depressing in Roy's direction? Or Bruce's?" 

 Dick sighs even louder at the mention of Bruce and Jason, for once, is considering murder or at least maiming. 

 "She doesn't love me back."Dick sniffles and Jason really should have known this had something to do with you. 

 He turns to Dick. "I'm going to regret asking but how do you know that?" The sooner he sorts Dick out, the sooner he gets to sleep. "Did she tell you to go away and never come back?"

 "Well no-"

 It's Jason's turn to sigh. "You fucking moron, What did she even say?"

 "She said she didn't know." Dick lowers his head to the sand and Jason wants to slap him with his tail. 

 Jason is now fully awake and very ready to throttle Dick. Or he's just cranky. "Are you telling me Bruce was right?! This day just keeps getting worse."

 Something seems to click in Dick's brain. "Oh, crap Bruce is right." He mutters stupidly. 

Jason will take whatever consolation he can get out of this. "She probably thought you were just some random pervert flashing her then." Jason snickers. It's petty and childish but so is interrupting a well-deserved nap.

 "What?"

 Jason lets out an exasperated huff through his snout. He twists his body to look at Dick with minimal effort to lift his head.  "Let's see, you turned up naked at her door and then you called her your wife and nearly kissed her in what?  The space of 15 minutes?"

 "I got confused." Dick sputters. 

"Geez, I thought West was bad but you're just a disaster," Jason chuckles, "Oh! And you made the brilliant decision to leave without explanation," Jason is having far too much fun rubbing salt in the wound.  "She probably feels terrible”.

 "Are you guilt-tripping me?"

 "Is it working?"

 "What-" Dick growls. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

 "Hmmmmm, have you tried talking? Yanno the thing Bruce never does. But seriously, I can’t believe you call her your wife and then abandon her." Jason shakes his head. "And you have the audacity to call yourself the smart one."

 Dick strips out of his skin and begins running towards the lighthouse... naked.

 Jason debates on letting him.... he probably shouldn't.

"Dickface!" Jason calls out. 

 Dick doesn't stop, face crumpled in determination and his little Richard swinging wildly as he walks. 

 Jason is gonna die of second-hand embarrassment. 

 "DICKFACE!"

 "What?!" Dick asks turning around his hands on his hips. Like usual, his hip tilts to the side and his foot taps as he waits expectantly for Jason to gather a mildly coherent response. 

 "Your little Richard..." Jason says pointing with his fin.

 Dick looks down and the look of mortification on his face is satisfactory. ".... Right. Shit."

 "Just steal some from her laundry."

  "But she'll be pissed."

 "Ok, so you would rather flash her then?"

 Dick sighs and this time Jason doesn't have the urge to throttle him only because Dick is already beating his own ego into a pulp. "I hate it when you make sense."

 Jason raises a brow, setting his head back down to the warm sand.  "I always make sense."

 Dick just cackles in response as he heads to the lighthouse.

Dick shifts his weight on the balls of his feet. He feels sick like he'd eaten one of those pickled fish you made him one time.  Maybe this was a bad idea. Why did he even listen to Jason? He flips onto his hands and begins to pace.  His stomach feels like it's being tossed violently by ocean currents. It feels like a shapeless lump sitting in the pit of his abdomen. Maybe you're out or maybe you never wanna see him again.

 Your face had been so blown wide with shock when he had called you wife that it looked almost foreign like the suggestion had been so audacious that your face had to reconstruct itself to accommodate the shock. 

 Dick puts a hand to his face trying to stem the flow of thought. He was such an idiot. Why did he assume you would love him like that and why did he just leave you? Dick closes his eyes and breathes. He'll knock just once more then leave if you don't answer.

 Tok.   Tok.   Tok. 

 The knocks register just above a whisper. He thinks you don't hear it. 

 He lets out a breath and walks away. This was stupid. He should never have come back. 

 Jason was right. Fuck. Dick buries his face as he walks away.

 Distantly, Dick hears the squeak of rusty hinges but it's lost in the tempest of thoughts plaguing his mind, in all the little hurts from that night. 

 "Pup?" The sound of your voice is followed by the pounding of your feet against stand. Dick's careening to the ground before he knows it as your body collides with his. 

  "Pup," you sniffle into his shirt, "it is you." 

 Dick twist in your grip so he's facing you. Your face is buried in his shirt. He strokes your hair, wrapping an arm around you, holding you tight. "Of course, it’s me. Who else would bug you at this hour?"

 Dick feels his shirt grow warm. You mumble an apology.

You look up to face Dick with half your face still buried in his shirt. You've clearly been crying based on how red and puffy your eyes are.  Dick's stomach churns at the dark circles under your eyes. He feels guilt stab him in the gut.  All of that combined with your generally disheveled appearance. Dick can just tell that you haven't slept well the last few days. 

 "Let's go inside and talk." You say, peeling yourself off of him. 

 Dick shakes his head, not loosening his grip on your midsection. "Let's walk around you look like you need some sun."

 You flushed and put a hand to your cheek. "Do I look that bad?" You ask absently, a shy smile creeping into your features. 

 Dick smiles at you and pushes your hair out of your face. "Never but the weather is sunny for once and we both need some air."

"So you really didn't know that the island was filled with selkies?" Dick asks, adjusting the infernal scarf you had forced him into. He insisted that he didn't need it. He could just cuddle up to you for warmth but you were equally stubborn about him wearing a coat and the wool monstrosity strangling him. 

 Your face scrunches up in confusion." I- I don't even know what that is."

 Dick stops.

 You slow down upon realizing he wasn't by your side anymore. "You... don't know what a selkie is?" He asks, his face the definition of dumbstruck. 

 You shrink into your coat." My dad wasn't interested in things like that," you shrug, "I dunno much about..." Your hand twists in a circle, reaching for the right words. 

 Dick tilts his head. That made sense. "You thought we were all just seals?"

 You nod slowly, looking like you wanna shrivel up. 

 Dick starts laughing and you look like you're a second away from throwing yourself into the water. 

 "I'm sorry," he says, flailing. He's screwing this up again. He breathes to collect himself. "I just thought it's funny that we all thought my dad was wrong about you guys not knowing."

 You rub the back of your neck. "Most of us mainlanders don't really believe in magic, yanno? It's just such a foreign concept. Kind of hard to wrap my head around it."

 "I get that." The smile on his face makes your gut twist. You fiddle with your hands. 

 "So what are selkies?"

 Dick tilts his head, not exactly sure of how to word it because how do you explain something that's been obvious to you since you can remember to someone who just found out about it a few weeks ago?

 "We're fae, I guess-" Your face twists in confusion.

 Dick needs to backtrack. "We're fae..." This is hard. "We have this human form and we have our seal forms. We switch between them using our pelt."

 Your brow knits in confusion. "Which one is your true form then?" 

 Dick wraps his arm around your waist and holds you closer as you walk along the cliff tops. He hums as he thinks. "Both?" 

 You look up at him with a weary smile. “That makes sense in a way.” You hum.  Swallowing thickly, you fiddle with your hands. "So what was with the... um..." You clear your throat. "What was with the wife thing?"

 Dick’s mouth dries.  “Well... when we want to ask someone to be our mate... we- we kind of give them our pelt and I thought it translated to human clothes…” He stammers out dumbly. 

 “Oh...oh!” Your eyes widen into a look of horror. You open and close your mouth trying to form words. “Dick, I didn’t realize , that must have - I’m sorry I hurt you.” 

 “Please don’t apologize,” Dick says and presses his lips to the top of your head.  His lips are warm and comforting. “I’ve spent so long in love with you my brain just didn’t...” Dick’s mouth twists. “It just didn’t do what it was supposed to.”

 You would definitely laugh at that last part but you’re still seeing stars from the startling confession he just hit you with. You snuggle tighter into his embrace as you look over the sea. You don’t know how to respond. You really don’t and it frustrates you. It was all just a lot to take in all at once like you’d been tossed into the sea and you’re flailing and grasping at water. 

 But if nothing else, you’re at least glad that Dick is still talking to you. 

 “If you don't mind…” Dick says carefully, the look in his eyes determined. “Would it be alright if I try and pursue you properly?” Dick braces for a no. He’s not dumb enough to be hopeful twice but he needs to ask. 

 Inevitably, you freeze. You pull his arm closer to your chest. Swallowing, you ask: “you mean like a human courtship?”

 He nods closing his eyes.  “Yes, I want to court you.” He coughs clearing his throat.

 You’re silent for what felt like the longest 30 seconds of Dick’s life. Dick cracks one eye to see you fiddling with your hair. “Uh Dick, there’s this one problem that might make that difficult…” Dick raises a brow. It wasn’t an outright rejection but it wasn’t an answer. 

 “I don't know how that works either.” You laugh nervously, burying your face in his arm. 

 “Good - then we don’t know if I’m doing it badly.” Dick beams with a blinding smile.

 You twist to look at him, the corners of your mouth twitching. “That sounds like cheating.”

 Dick snorts, “would you rather I court you the selkie way?”

 “I mean it depends. What's the selkie way?”

 “Fish.”

 Dick startles when you let out a loud bark of laughter. “Fish? You’ve already done that so many times.” You giggle.  Dick tries to wrangle his mind away from the fact that he can feel your lips through the thin fabric of the sweater. 

 “I thought it worked.” Dick sighs. He really did, but alas, miscommunication is a cruel mistress.  

 You lower your gaze trying to concentrate on the fraying needlework of his sweater. “Maybe it has.” You mumble low enough for a human not to hear. How unfortunate it is then that you’re dealing with a selkie. 

 Dick is beaming when you look up again. He nuzzles his face against yours. Dick is once again insanely, stupidly, incredibly happy. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Because neither of you knew what you were doing, Dick's attempts to court you ranged from ridiculous (a literal mountain of fish that you ended up drying, giving away to the other seals, and selling to passing ships.)  to ridiculously sweet (finding you handful of pearls).  Dick nudged a little shell overflowing with pearls and looked up at you with liquid eyes.  He could have gotten you pebbles and it would have been endearing.

 It wasn't always gifts though.

 Sometimes Dick would just sit quietly with you on the beach, snuggling against your leg as you scratched his stomach. You love the ways his squish vibrated as he purred. 

 When summer passed and it became unbearable to watch the stars outside, Dick sometimes spent nights in your lighthouse, wrapped up in your sheets or wrapped around you. It was nice having him around the house even if he was kind of a slob. You love him but he is a mess.

 You made the mistake of introducing him to tea cakes and got him addicted to November Cakes specifically. As it turns out, your cute pest has a sweet tooth and will nuzzle you into submission just for another bite.

 If you ever doubted that Dick was evil before, you now have proof.

 During the winter, Dick insisted on staying in the lighthouse to keep you warm. You wanted to point out that you had a fireplace for a reason but it was so hard to turn down hugs from him.

And because you hadn't had the heart to clean out your father's room yet and Dick clearly preferred it, you let Dick sleep next to you on your cot. You felt a bit bad but Dick was just so happy with the arrangement that you didn't want to make him go away. Besides, it was nice to wake up to his sleeping face in the morning, all sleep rumpled and drooling.

 __________________________________________________________________________

 "Hey Jay, do you have a book on selkies?" Dick asks, caterpillaring on the rock Jason is sunbathing on. 

 Jason takes the opportunity to roll down the rock and knock Dick into the sea before saying: "No." It shall be put on record that there are no drama queens in the Wayne family. 

 Dick shakes off the seawater, big puppy eyes staring at Jason. 

 Jason glares at him. He can't even let Jason have a second of smugness.  "Ask Selina."

 No one really knows where Selina came from or why she stayed (well, they had their suspicions), but if you need something you can't find easily, your best bet was to ask her and hope she doesn't ask you to do anything ridiculously hard.

 Dick hasn't had first hand experience but from what Bruce tells him, they're mostly silly things like recite poems or do a flip. He could do both those things. Well, depending on the poem. He gets tongue twisted sometimes. Hmmm, maybe he should ask if he can avoid tongue twisters so he won't bite his tongue.

 Sloughing off his coat, Dick walks towards the glowing cauldron. 

 "Still no clothes pup? You're going to give a poor girl a heart attack." Selina tsked, reappearing from one of the other cave entrances with a handful of things Dick can't recognize. 

 "Oh... I- I'm still not used to it." He says sheepishly. 

 Selina chuckles, dumping the handful of what Dick can assume is plant debris into the cauldron while before dusting her hands off.

 Dick stares at the thick vat. A bubble rises and bursts emitting what sounded like a human voice. "What is that? Should I be worried?"

 "Oh no, no, this? This is just a little soup for colds."

 "It screamed."

 "All soups scream."

 "I- anyway, I came here to ask if you have a book on selkies."

 Selina tilts her head to the side. "I believe I do-"

 "Great!"

 "Buuuut..."

 Of course, the price.

 "I brought pearls and some seashells." He says hopefully. 

 The angle of her head does not change. Though from the gleam in her eyes, she's clearly interested. 

 "Tell me why you need the book."

 Dick's thoughts halt. Should he tell Selina about you? His eyes dart to the boiling cauldron.  "... Why do you need to know?"

 Selina flourishes her hand. The book appears out of thin air."Do you want the book or not, pup?"

 Dick's nerves pinch. Why does everyone call him that? "I need it to teach someone Selkie customs." He manages.

 "Oh! The little lighthouse keeper!"

 "You know her?"

 Selina shrugs. "Do you really think I wouldn't know something going on about the islands nearby?" She pinches his cheek. "Oh little pup, I know about your little crush. You spend more time on land than you do in the sea these days. Dami's been all huffy about it."

 He has.

 "I've told you my reason." Dick says holding his hand out. 

 "Hnnnn, you have I suppose." Selina sighs.

 Dick takes the book, putting it into a waterproof pouch before gingerly putting his pelt back on. He happily caterpillars out of the cave with the pouch in his mouth. He really hopes you'll like this.

You really should just fix up another cot for Dick at this point and maybe buy him a set of clothes when you go to town. 

 "It's too cold to sleep outside." Dick whines, flattening himself against you on the bed. 

 You lift your book to look at him. Dick just gives you that wide-eyed look when he wants something. You roll your eyes,  letting him snuggle up to you.  "Dick, it is obviously summer and you're like 40% blubber." You snort. 

 Dick pouts.  "You're still gonna let me sleep here." 

 You scrunch your face up and sigh. "I can't exactly let you brace the summer cold, can I?" You say, running a hand through his hair. 

 "Eeeeeexactly." Dick says happily as snuggles into you tightly.  He nuzzles his face into your neck wrapping his arms around your waist. You hum helplessly, curling into his embrace.

 "See." Dick trills with a happy grin. 

 "Are you going to be smug about it all night?" You huff, throwing a blanket over the two of you.

 "No," he says,  "you assume I can't keep being smug 'til sunrise."

 "Dork," you snicker, setting the book down. It was a book on selkie traditions that Dick had gotten you a few days ago. You devoured it the same night but you're reading it again and subtly testing things while Dick was invading your house. You hum, running your hand through his hair, fingernails lightly scraping against his scalp. Dick purrs against your chest. "There was a one eyed seal on the beach the other day. He was a grumpy fellow but kind of cute. Seals really are a sleepy lot. The big lug started snoozing on my lap after like 5 minutes." 

 Dick tense under your touch. He looks up at you seriously.

 "That was a selkie." Dick deadpans. 

 You stop your rambling. "What?!"

 "That grumpy one-eyed seal was a selkie." He repeats carefully. 

 Your breath stutters. "Are all of the seals on this island selkies? ALL OF THEM?" Dick is pretty sure your eyes are mounting an escape.

 "All of them, darling." Dick nods. 

 "Oh." You are so screwed. "Do you guys all talk to each other?!" You shouldn't have told that seal about your little crush. You want the mattress to swallow you up. 

 "Yes? Should I be concerned?" Dick asks, lifting his head. 

 "No! No reason!" You squeal, shaking your head.

 Dick pouts at you with suspicion. It occurs to you with some amusement that Dick is actually glaring. You wisely decide to sidestep the conversation. 

 "You guys love taking naps on people, huh?" You say, absently twining your fingers into Dick's hair. He settles his head against your chest. "That's just cus we like you." He hums. 

 A snort rips out of you. "You're just biased."

 Dick looks up at you seriously again. "We selkies like pretty things like any fae." Dick says, wrapping his arms around you more tightly. He's being petty but Dick has always been protective of you and he isn't about to stop now. Besides... he doesn't want anyone stealing you away.

 You frown at him. "Dick, there are far prettier things on this island and sweet talking won’t magically make November cakes appear." You huff, kissing the top of his head before picking up the book and using it to hide the smile shaping your lips. 

 You feel Dick pick himself up off of you. You peek over your book to watch Dick. He scoots closer to your face until the only thing separating you is the far too thin book in your hands.

 "You don't believe me, do you?"

 "No." You say. You don't mean it but it's the easiest thing to conjure up when Dick is this close. Your lips prickle from imagining Dick's lips against yours. 

 You weren't paying attention. Dick has apparently been going on a two-minute diatribe on how pretty you are and in that two minutes, Dick has managed to scoot even closer. He gently takes the book out of your hands to make sure you're paying attention. He fails to take into account the fact that his face is in fact distracting. Your eyes zero in on his very plush and very kissable lips. If you just lean forward a fraction, you could...

 Your lips feel warm and soft against Dick's, the rest of his diatribe dying in the back of his throat as his eyes flutter shut. His mind might just be melting out of his ears because the only thing he can think about is how soft you are and how perfectly your lips fit against his. 

 "I'm sorry." You whisper shyly. You should be sorry, Dick thinks. Who told you to pull away?

 You touch your fingers to your lips. Fuck, what did you just do?

 "You can do it again." Please, he almost adds. 

 You lick your lips. Dick perks up and leans closer. His heart is going to leap out of his chest. You lean closer. Dick can feel his heart pounding against his rib cage. 

 You kiss Dick on the nose and pull away, hiding your lips behind your hand as you snicker. Dick scrunches his nose and blows air out of it. 

 "You know perfectly well what I meant." He huffs. 

 You lean back into your pillow, grinning at him. "I have absolutely no clue what you're on about." You say slowly, smug.

 "Let me remind you then,"A grin takes over his face. Dick leans in, pressing his lips against yours. You exchange breaths as you drink in the feeling of each other's lips. Dick caresses your sides. He feels you shiver and he smiles into your lips. "That ring any bells?"

 "Not really..." You say, flickering your eyes to him. "But if you try again... it might."

 "Oh sweetheart, I can keep reminding you all night." Dick chuckles, winking. 

 Covering your face, you attempt to hide your embarrassment. You hate how easily he flusters you. "You can't just say stuff like that." You whimper. 

 "Why not? I'm supposed to be courting you and that includes buttering you up," Dick says, nuzzling your cheek. You're just too cute.  Dick gently pries your hands away from your face. "Don't hide your face from me, Honey."

 "Oh god, you're making me regret letting you court me."

 "Never."

 ______________________________________________________________________

 Dick's eyes are struggling to remain open as he watches the fire.  He burrows further into the thick comforter you'd given him. It's not quite as warm as his pelt but the fabric is puffy and it has a sweet smell that makes his head swim. 

 Dick angles his head slightly to watch you. You've been toiling for hours and refuse to tell Dick what it is. Your back is still hunched over with your foot bouncing on the floor. Dick lets his eyes flutter shut, listening to the sound of your shuffling tools. 

 You glance down at the adorable mess dozing off on your sofa. You gently move his hair out of his face. He swats at you sleepily, face scrunched even as he sleeps. You sincerely wish you had Damian's talent for art or that you had one of those cameras. You really wish you could keep a picture of Dick's sleepy face. It's the cutest thing in the world.

 "Hey Dickie," you whisper.

 "Hmmmmm?" He groans.

 "Could you hand me your pelt?"

 "Sure," he moans, blindly padding around for it. You snort as he nearly falls off the sofa. After groping nearly every surface, he finally finds the pelt. "here you-"

 The fur brushes your fingertips before Dick stops. Dick shoots up, nearly clipping your nose with his forehead. He's looking at you fully awake, drool still hanging off the corner of his lips."Are you sure?!"

 "Hand it over coward." You smile gently at him. You try your best to fight off the excitement bubbling in your veins. 

 Dick is off the couch, his own excitement barely contained as his whole body vibrates with happiness. He sits up. You hold out your hand but instead of handing you his pelt, Dick drapes it over you like a wedding veil. It's thick and warm to the touch. You let your hands brush over the silken fur. You can feel magic thrumming from it. It feels like a minute current of electricity but it doesn't flow linearly. It ebbs and flows as it pleases, pulsing beneath your fingers. You burrow yourself in it. 

 Something warm spills in Dick's chest as he sees you wrapped up in his pelt. Dick kisses your nose. "You have now been wifed."

 You twitch your nose. "You missed."

 "Nope. Don't think so. Buuuuut if you show me where you want me to kiss you..."

 You roll your eyes and surge forward, pressing your lips to his.  Dick smiles into it, pulling you close and savoring the sensation of your lips melding together. He makes a happy trilling noise while you laugh against his lips. 

 "That clear enough, Dickie?"  You ask, pressing your forehead against his. 

 "Yeah, I think I got it, wifey."

__________________________________________________________

THANKS FOR READING

Tag list:  @batarella​, @anothertimdrakestan, @lucy-roo, @multifandomgirl-us, @idkmanicantenglish , @birdy-bat-writes​,  @boosyboo9206, @americasmarauders , @l-inkage, @arestorationofbalance , @cloudie-skay, @wunderstell   @hyp-oh-critical @glorified-red @ marshmallow12435 @vvipgot7be​ @jadedhillon​​

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x you #dick grayson #dorks #seals #selkie x reader #selkie au

[dindjarins04]

6a) Do you need a hug? With Din

I’d love to see this with Din asking this to the reader after she’s just had a really rough day with all the little things not going quite right (burning rations, knocking thing over while cleaning around the Crest things like that). And Din is just awkward and sweet about the whole thing and maybe the reader get a little emotional about how Din is just being a softie with fluff and comfort all around.

Ohmygosh I loved writing this so much! Thank you for this idea! I love Soft!Din so much!!

Rough Days

Din Djarin X FEM!Reader

Word Count: 1.5K

Prompt: 6A) Do you need a hug?

Warnings: Soft!Din, mention of blood but like a tiny bit.

Request rules here

Prompt List here

Main Masterlist here

Din Djarin/The Mandalorian Masterlist here

It was one of those days nothing was going right. Mando left at the crack of dawn to take on, in his words, 'a particularly hard bounty'. So, you were left to care for the child which you do a lot but today, it all fell apart.

It first started when you were cooking food for you and the child. You saw he was fidgeting in his seat, a clear sign he was hungry. However, somehow you managed to burn the food. With a sigh, you threw it away and went rummaging around for any more food but of course, the only rations left was a small pack of nuts. You looked at the child who was waiting patiently and sighed. You opened the pack and poured them into a bowl before handing them to the child. He looked at you as if he was waiting for more.

"Sorry kid, that's all we have," But even though he didn't seem impressed, he still ate them. You thought things couldn't go wrong from there but you were wrong. While the child was occupied with playing with your stuff on the small makeshift table, you decided to clean the ship up. However, it didn't go according to plan.

Every time you swept an area, you would turn and knock something over in the small space of the Crest. It didn't happen once or twice, no, it happened anytime you turned. The child's toys that were put neatly away on shelves were a mess on the floor along with other belongings the Mandalorian or you owned. You were picking things up and putting them back when the baby began to cry. You turned to him and saw him just crying, he hadn't dropped anything or broke anything.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" You looked over at the pan still covered in burnt soup that was suppose to fill him and you up until Mando went out for supplies. "Mando's going to kill me," You groan.

After finally cleaning up the mess you caused, you tried to put the child to bed as it was nighttime. But he refused to sleep on an empty stomach. You kept rocking him back and forth, walking the length of the Crest but he kept crying, kicking, squirming. It made you feel useless like you couldn't do the specific job Mando hired you for. Keeping angry and sad tears at bay, you kept rocking him back and forth but to no avail.

You placed him down at the table and gave him something to amuse himself with while you went to clean Mando's weapons. He told you not to do it while the child was still around but you wanted to be helpful and do this job so he didn't stress about it and the child wasn't going to sleep. Anyway, the child seemed pretty happy to play with your holopad. You sat away from the child but you could still see him and make sure he's okay. You just hope the screen lulls him to sleep. You decided to clean Mando's knives, if he saw you cleaning his blasters while the child was around, he'd probably dump you on some backwater planet.

You were gently cleaning the blade, the cloth in your hand sliding up and down the stained metal. The child made cooing sounds and touched the screen before looking at you, motioning to the screen. You placed down the knife and walked over and saw the child has opened a picture of you and the Mandalorian. A picture you assured Mando you deleted but one you keep for memories. You smile before picking up the child. He began yawning as you rocked him. You celebrated in your head and then the ramp opened. You turned quickly and was relieved to see Mando come inside, dragging a bounty behind him.

"Finally, we've been walking for ages," The bounty complained but he barely had time to look around before Mando shoved him into carbonite. You smiled softly as he hit the button and the ramp closed.

"How'd it go?" You asked.

"It was okay, not one of my easiest but not one of my hardest," The child in your arms began to wiggle out of your grasp. You set him on the ground as he runs to the Mandalorian. "Hey kid," He says as he picks him up. "Why are you still awake?"

"He wouldn't sleep...I think he was waiting for you," You respond as he holds the child with such gentleness.

"You missed me, buddy? I missed you too," He says as he walks over to the compartment the child slept in. You sat back in your original place and continued to do your job. However, you were watching Mando put the child to bed with such ease and kindness. You smiled at the interaction which made you feel better after the day you've had.

"Ah-!" You drop the knife and cloth when cutting yourself. Mando is quick to turn and look over at what happened. You cursed and clutched your wound. It was nothing critical but it stung a lot. After double-checking the baby was asleep, he closed the doors and walked over to you.

"Let me see that-"

"No! I'm fine," You push past him and went over to where the first aid kit was. You didn't want to feel even more pathetic from him asking to help. Maybe if you didn't have such a bad day, you would've accepted his help but you were so angry at yourself for doing nothing right you just wasn't in the mood for help. You can sense his eyes on you as you brought out the first aid kit and you felt him cringe when you dropped the box and its contents spilt over the floor. You bit the inside of your cheek, frustrated and humiliated.

"Are you alright?" His voice was soft, even through the modulator.

"No. I'm not. Everything today has just gone wrong. I burnt the child's food so he didn't eat and proper meal. I tried cleaning up but successfully made more of a mess and I can't even take care of myself let alone the child!" You exclaim, refusing to turn and look at the beskar clad man behind you.

"Do you need a hug?" You could the hesitation in his voice but the gentle tone almost made you melt. You turned and nodded. He walked over to you and pulled you into a hug. You wrapped your arms tightly around him, burying your head in the fabric between his helmet and shoulder pads. At first, the hug felt force but eventually his arms wrapped around you comfortably as he rested the side of his helmet on top of your head. The kindness he was displaying and how sweet he was being made you cry. "I...What's wrong?" He quickly asks, pulling away, thinking the hug was the wrong move but when you pulled him back, he happily returned.

"Thank you," You mumble, the affection he is displaying overwhelming to you.

"Anything for you, cyare," You look up at him and he gently wipes away a rogue tear with his gloved thumb. "How about we get this wound dressed?"

"M'kay," You respond, relishing in the feeling of this embrace just a little bit longer before pulling away and allowing him to wrap up your injury, his affection making you feel so much better. He is so gentle and soft when cleaning the wound and wrapping it up. "I'm sorry," You say after a long yet comfortable silence.

"What for?"

"For this...you should be relaxing not worrying about me after your hunts," He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Cyare, I choose to care for you. I choose you," He says, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

"I've just been feeling useless all day, not being able to do anything right-"

"We all have our off days when we can't seem to do anything right," He says softly. "Sometimes my hunts go wrong and I have to stay on planets longer than anticipated," He laces his fingers with yours. "But that's human. Making mistakes is human. Being angry is human,"

"Says the least human person in the galaxy," You joke, earning a soft laugh from him.

"You're not useless...you've just had a rough day...you're the only person who can keep me grounded," He rubs the back of your hand with his thumb. "I...I think it's time for you to get some rest,"

"I think it's time for us to get some rest," You encourage. He smiles beneath his helmet and nods.

~~~

After locking down the ship to have a peaceful night sleep, he follows you into his room. You help him remove his armour, piece by piece and neatly stacking it in the corner. You leave his helmet, of course, and any other clothing. You get in the cot and he turns off the light before joining you. He wraps an arm around you and pulls you closer to him. With a smile, you cuddle into him, relishing in this warm embrace and this relationship, a relationship you wish will bloom into something more.

#the mandalorian #mandalorian #mandalorian x reader #mando x reader #mandalorian x you #mandalorian x y/n #din djarin #din djarin x reader #mandalorian one shot #mandalorian x reader fluff #mandalorian fluff #star wars #star wars fanfiction

[datawyrms]

Ghostly Mystery Tour

For Phic Fight 2021! dey’s lovely prompt c:

On Ao3

Maddie and Jack had fully prepared for their adventure into the Ghost Zone—or so they thought. The fuel on Specter Speeder had fizzled out about a mile in. They're stuck. At least, until Phantom comes by, offering help.

“I just don’t understand it Maddie, I swear I charged it just this morning!” Jack’s voice managed to be louder than his frantic jabbing at the fuel gauge in the enclosed space, the sickly green glow outside making him look ill instead of agitated.

“I’m sure you did honey, but we need to think of a plan.” Maddie was already trying to think of what they could use. They weren’t too far away from the portal home, with how quickly the Speeder ran out of power. They had plenty of gear and weaponry packed in for their research trip, but the Specter Speeder wasn’t powered with something they could just toss in a gas can and bring along. “Maybe we can hook some of the ropes to the floating land masses and tow it?”

“Oh! Great idea!” Jack brightened, shoving the previous problem aside, hands now occupied with measuring the distance of the nearby rocks. “The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get back to work!”

The problem about how safe it actually was to breathe in the air when in the realm of the dead had been accounted for, but if they had to waste the air tanks just to get back- well they wouldn’t get to have nearly the amount of time to actually explore on foot, let alone gathering samples. They could learn so much about the ectoplasmic terrors from the world they clawed out of, weaknesses they didn’t need to fear on Earth even! So to have their expedition, a trip that had been months in the making derailed like this in mere moments hurt. At least Jack could keep his eyes forward, his positive attitude the only thing keeping her from screaming from the absolute unfairness of it all. “Just run the best options past me before you open the hatch, okay darling?”

“You betcha!”

She was still going to enable the Fenton Child Safety Lock as a precaution, he could get a little over eager when he saw an opportunity. It was just a matter of what tools could be repurposed into a makeshift claw or skewer to actually keep hold of the rocks. What would be the smallest loss?

The sound of something hitting the roof of the speeder halted her thoughts, turning to look out of the windows, drawing up her hood in case they’d be fighting so soon. Even Jack had stopped with his mental calculations, pulling a weapon from under the seat. “Company already? Guess we’ll show em what for, eh honey?”

“Well it is the Ghost Zone, they’re probably braver here. Not that it’ll be any problem.” A little boasting could help keep morale up, even if the situation was less than ideal. Stranded with a ghost already trying to take advantage, typical.

“Well one little zap with this baby and it’ll scoot right on back!”

If the ghost could hear them, maybe it would be frightened off just by their voices. Whatever had hit them hadn’t shown itself near the window, or hit their vehicle again. It didn’t feel right. There might be no evidence for whatever it was lurking around, but sometimes you had to follow your intuition. Jack was inquisitive, but didn’t ask out loud as his wife stood to knock the ceiling herself.

“Sooo are we doing knock knock jokes, or do you need a tow?”

She should have known. Of all the ghosts, it would have to be the one that always managed to get her hackles up, pretending to be helpful so people trusted him. A ghost that even tried to have a human name to fit in, not that she’d ever call this thing ‘Danny’. It was an insult to her baby boy, quite frankly. “What are you up to now?”

“Asking you if you need this thing moved. Duh,” the ghost snorted, the metal clanking as he knocked it again. “Talking at you from the roof feels dumb, you gonna shoot if I go to the front?”

“Depends on what you do, ghost scum!” Jack had looked pensive for a moment, but spoke up quickly on spotting Maddie reaching for a notebook. He just had to give her time to think it over, and he was great at distractions.

“Is scum what you call all people who help you out, or am I just your favourite?” A white haired head appeared at the top of their window, looking down with an amused smirk at the pair. Still playing innocent when they were at a disadvantage.

“You’re a ghost ‘claiming’ to want to help.”

That earned a frown, though the ghost stopped half hiding to float in front of their stranded speeder. “Riiiight. Put it that way, whatever,” he paused, as if studying their faces. His green eyes lingered on the weapon, notably so even as he went back to jabbering. “I’ve got some stuff to do, but I can drag the s-that thing back to the portal. So?”

The hunters shared a glance, unsure how to handle it. Phantom liked to claim he liked humans and protecting them, but he was a ghost. There had to be something he wanted out of them in return. Or might get violent if refused in the wrong way. At least he shouldn’t be able to see the quickly scrawled message to Jack. ‘You play the doubtful one, I’ll pretend to trust him- it’ll underestimate us’

“As if, spooky! Jack Fenton doesn’t need any ghost’s help!”

The ghost bought the open hostility without a second thought, eyes rolling to a sky that wasn’t here. “Really? I heard tow trucks were expensive out of state! Can’t imagine the out of dimension costs.”

It was going to be difficult to stay civil when it would be so much easier to just demand the ghost stop playing around. “We’re listening. So what do you want?”

“Awwww Mads, we don’t need this punk’s help! He doesn’t even have toes!”

The passion Jack had put into his moping managed to baffle the ghost. “Wait, what? Of course I do! No, stop, why does that matter? I know tows and toes are different things! I’m not that bad of a student, sheesh.” He seemed quite thrown, which was good. If the ghost forgot what the plan had been he might just get lost.

“Yeah, and you don’t have either Phantom!” Her husband managed to keep from laughing, but the shake in his shoulders showed it was a near thing.

Phantom glanced down at the black wispy tail that made up his legs, muttering something. “Well okay I don’t right now, but I normally do!”

It was a bit fascinating that Jack had distracted the ghost from his goal so completely. They’d have to think about an invention that could replicate the effect. “Can we focus please? I already said I’d listen to what you wanted.”

“Oh! Right, sorry,” he coughed, a strangely human expression of embarrassment. “I don’t actually need anything? I just have some stuff to do so you’d need to wait a bit.”

Oh right. Sure, the most dangerous ghost in town wanted to help the ghost hunters that wanted to destroy him ‘just because’. Just wait here while he goes to get some friends to attack them! Honestly, did ghosts think they were stupid? “Then why not tell us when you’re done? We’re not moving very quickly.”

“Cus he wants to make us think we’re safe before WHAM! Outnumbered by cowardly ghosts!” Jack expressed her true feelings effortlessly. “Not that it’d help em!”

“No way, you think I’d leave you guys here where anyone can try something?” The ghost still seemed confused, eyebrows raised and arms crossed. “You guys are here to study or whatever anyway, right? So you can look around while I get my errands done. And you know, you don’t get attacked. Most of the little guys leave me alone.”

As if that was a surprise! A ghost of Phantom’s strength could destroy smaller and weaker entities without effort. Perhaps it was a subtle threat slipping through his mask of ‘helpful child’. The idea of going deeper into the Ghost Zone, completely at his mercy was...well absolutely idiotic. Even if they could probably overcome him...being able to still get some studies done would make it not a complete waste of a trip. “So you think it’s likely we’ll be attacked here, so close to the portal?”

“Yeah, by him!” Jack looked tempted to grab his weapon, but refrained. “So what if we say no, huh?”

“Then I guess you can float here? Up to you, I guess.”

It was strange, to see the cocky ghost a bit hesitant. Even if there was an obvious threat he wasn’t mentioning. “Well if you could pull the Speeder, you could take it even if we don’t want you to.”

“I think that’s called kidnapping.” Phantom’s cocky smirk returned “Which is weird, you’re not kids! Adultnapping? Nah, that sounds dumb.”

“Ah cut the innocent act, we’re not falling for it!”

“Hey, I said it’s up to you! Either you agree to come along and I get you back home, or I just leave you guys to do whatever you plan to do. Even if yes, I could totally just drag the ship anyway. I’m not, because I’m trying to help, remember?” A hint of frustration slid past the confidence at ‘remember’, but the ghost folding his arms behind his head as if kicking back to relax did defang most of the threat. “I don’t have all day here.”

“We don’t have all day either Phantom. We have family to get back to, and no idea how long you plan to be ‘on errands’.” Maddie pointed out, still unsure what they should do. Trusting him was stupid, but he had showed his hand. Refusal might be met with the same result anyway, but ‘agreeing’ might trick the ghost into thinking they fell for his ‘trustworthy’ act.

“Like an hour or two? Not too long.”

“Well I’d use my Fenton Stopwatch! So don’t think you can pretend it’s a shorter time than it is, ghost!”

“Yeah yeah, you do that D-Jack,” he stumbled over the ghost hunter’s name, but otherwise didn’t move from relaxing. “It’s not gonna kill you to trust me for a bit.”

Even though it very much could kill them. He really was a smug bit of ectoplasm, thinking he blended in with humans well enough to be considered one. “So only a few hours, and you won’t stop us from researching or taking samples? Or lead us to a trap?”

“If I wanted people to get threatened by ghosts, I could just take some days off. No trouble, cross my heart. I’d swear to die but I got the jump on that bit,” he snorted at his own joke, but otherwise left the family to consider.

It was just safer to say ‘yes’ so the ghost thought they were fools. It had nothing to do with wanting to salvage something out of this disaster of an expedition. “Yes. We’ll accept your help, this time.”

“And you aren’t getting any thanks until we’re home, got it?” Good, ghost hunter, bad ghost hunter. An easy enough trick. Even if she wished Jack was the ‘trusting’ one. Yelling would feel nice.

“Yeeeah, kinda expected that too. Rude.” The ghost only shrugged before flying up and out of sight. She half expected to hear the ghost grab the Speeder, but they only really noticed when they started moving. Moving very, very quickly.

She couldn’t help it, her curiosity tamped down some of the fear she should be feeling, pointing out interesting landmasses as they passed, Jack just as enthusiastic to discuss what caused them, if the ghost built them or they were simply generated when a ghost squirmed into existence. A great castle that seemed familiar, an island with some sort of skull as a decoration and thousands of doors. Most ghosts they only could get sparing glimpses at, even when carrying an entire vehicle the ghost boy was fast. Ridiculously so. She thought it was his small figure that contributed to how quickly the pest could move- how the ghost could just vanish out of range in moments. That most of the power behind his physical attacks came from the speed they were delivered with instead of raw strength. Clearly that was an incorrect hypothesis, moving this quickly and carrying so much extra weight without any real difficulty. They slowed near what seemed to be another castle, though it was much less foreboding looking then the other one.

That sinking dread returned after they landed. She had some landmarks, but this much distance would be a big ask to get back. That, and this castle seemed more...occupied, judging by some humanoid ghosts loitering near the gates. One even waved. To them, or the ghost carrying them?

“Okayyy so. Ground rules? Don’t shoot anyone. None of these guys even go through the portal, they’re not the fighting type. Other than that? Have fun, I guess?” He’d stopped floating, standing on the ground beside their stalled craft. He didn’t look as if preparing to fight, which is what she’d assumed the ghost meant by ‘errands’. So what was he up to?

“We won’t do anything if they don’t.” A lie, honestly, but the ghost nodded.

“Wait, what’s that stuff for?” White gloves pointed at the masks the ghost hunters were pulling from under the seats. “Like you can hear me, there’s air out here.”

“It might be safe for ghosts, but we aren’t ghosts.”

Phantom opened his mouth as if to protest before shutting it with a frown. Strange, it was hard to get him to shut up most of the time.

“Nice try, we’re not gonna choke on ghost air today, Phantom!” Jack chuckled, adjusting his mask before popping open the hatch.

“I wasn’t expecting you to- oh whatever. Just don’t embarrass me,” he sounded like a sulking kid, only glancing at them for a moment before kicking off the ground to fly closer to the castle. Off to fight whoever ‘owned’ this area, perhaps?

“Well look at that! Regular plants!” Jack shook her from her pondering, crouched over what looked like a tended to flower bed near the walls. “Well, ghost plants that aren’t trying to attack. Think we should sketch em for the kids?”

“Well Jazz has been more interested in ghosts lately, I suppose.” It was interesting, but she was more curious about the ghost meandering past the walls. They seemed docile, almost like people just walking and apparently talking with one another. Not attempting to fight for territory or resources. Perhaps they were just repeating the memories of their lives over and over? Yet none of them had reacted badly to Phantom zipping past either. A different breed of ghost, perhaps? Or ghosts often had ‘kings’ that kept the lesser ones from squabbling. The large brute of a ghost that stole the town had claimed to be a king of sorts, and this was another castle...but she didn’t want to test anything by getting their attention. They might only act savagely towards humans, being jealous of those still alive after all.

“Yeah, she has! Danno might not like em, but that goth chick he’s eyeing might like em too!” He was already sketching away, quickly getting the basics. He’d fill in the details from memory back home. “You want to try seeing if those ones talk? Not sure how the ghost kid thinks we could embarrass him, ha!”

“Oh he was probably just trying to insult us. He likes to pretend to be a teenager,” she waved that question away, double checking her weapon was easy to reach in case of an emergency. No reason to make their predicament worse by being unprepared. While still considering to go near those ghosts instead of safely observing from a distance. Jack’s enthusiasm was too infectious, really, but that’s how they made so many discoveries!

The ghosts didn’t object to her moving closer, but she kept off the busier paths to be safe. So many stalls of what seemed to be goods, clothing and paintings, rugs and nick knacks. Well, the ghosts didn’t need anything to live, so it would make sense for them to prioritize other items first, but the art was strange. What did the dead know of creativity? Were these all recreations of something found in life? No, some of the paintings had the green skies of the Ghost Zone, implying at least some ‘new’ thought. They were strange, very unlike the wild animals that often attacked the town, or the showy inhuman mimics that tried to claim world domination. They just looked like greener, more transparent people. Barely any of them even floated much. They’d need new categories, they broke too many rules that stayed true on Earth.

“Oh that’s a lovely shade of blue! I wish I could make something like it.” The voice echoed, but it wasn’t growling or mocking. In fact, the ghost woman who had paused beside the hunter was smiling warmly, despite the dead red eyes. “Are you just visiting for a bit?”

“We’re mostly stuck going wherever the ghost boy is taking us, our ship broke down,” Maddie struggled not to frown, her natural inclination to get away from the still potentially dangerous ghost strong with so many fights. She could tell it the truth, in a sense. Phantom was far more likely to be dangerous then this waif of a woman. How she could move in so many ruffles was baffling.

“Oh dear! Well if he’s any trouble you can let Dorthea know, she’s a caring ruler. A human helped her get her rightful throne back, so I’m sure she’d be happy to help!” The ghost tittered a little, as if expecting that to be obvious.

So the ghost did know she was human? Far more alarming was the idea some other human had been dragged this far from home, possibly trapped. Maybe this would turn into a rescue mission. Unless it was too late for them, a distinct possibility. “Oh really? How did that happen?”

“Oh I don’t really know the details, but it was a human that inspired our good Queen that she didn’t need to fear that tyrant and she could fight back. I wish I’d seen it!”

It was disquieting how human the ghost sounded, a friendly sort of gossip. If only she had a way to record it. “The human got back home after helping, right?”

“Well I assume so, she had no intentions of staying here very long, that’s for sure!” She laughed easily, apparently blind to Maddie’s confusion and apprehension, or just unable to see it past the mask and goggles. “I’m fairly sure Sir Phantom took her back, you could ask him.”

Sir? That town terrorizing scoundrel was respected around here? And had been taking humans out of the ghost zone? Probably because he made whoever it was get here in the first place, just to rescue them. Was that why he was here? To stage some new act with this ghost queen? “Right, I might do that.” Would she? This morning she hadn’t expected to talk to ghosts, let alone multiple.

“Oh! If you see any of those angry blobs you can just run back towards the guards and they’ll deal with it. It’s their job, and they’re quite good at it. I actually considered doing that job for a bit, but I like looking after the plants more. Maybe I’ll switch in a decade or two!” The ghost kept talking, apparently taking Maddie’s lack of further questions as permission to keep chattering.

“Can’t you deal with them yourself?” Attacking ghost blobs was something she knew about, and if this ghost was strong enough to mimic humans, shouldn’t it be able to deal with the much less sophisticated tactics of blobs?

“Me? Oh no, I’m not not trained. Do you still have lions on the other side? It would be like trying to fight one of those with a stick!” She laughed, but not unkindly.

“You’re both ghosts though, aren’t you?” Perhaps they differentiated themselves by name in the Ghost Zone? It would lend some evidence to the ‘different breeds’ of ghost hypothesis she was rapidly stringing together.

She tapped at her chin for a moment at the question. “I suppose we are, but they’re more like animals. They might have always been animals, or never alive at all! It’s perfectly safe here though, they usually fight more among themselves.”

Well that was fascinating. Some ghosts didn’t instinctively know how to fight and had to be taught? Yet didn’t consider themselves completely separated from the more animalistic ectoplasmic terrors. Perhaps the more ‘domestic’ setting here made the ghosts less feral and more reliant on their previous memories. Well, the ghost could be lying, but she couldn’t see the benefit she’d gain from deception here. “So you’re kind of stuck here then? We saw a lot of those outside of this place.”

“No no, we’ve got safer ways to travel than just flying around! Not all of us are that brave, dear. Though I don’t think I’d want to stay somewhere else very long anyway. Here it’s safe, all my friends are here and we have one of the largest markets in the whole Ghost Zone. Other ghosts come to us!” There was a hint of pride as she spoke about her ‘home’, gesturing over to some of the stalls Maddie hadn't had time to look at before getting interrupted. “I was really hoping to get something from the seven armed bloke over there, but he’s not very interested in my clothing. Maybe next time.”

Said ‘bloke’ had far too many eyes to go with the arms, and a collection of honestly terrifying little statues with strange designs that made her head hurt if she looked at it too long. A clear outsider to the more human ones, but not causing a stir. So much for constantly fighting out groups, but they barely had anything in common either! Not to mention engaging in some kind of simplistic trading. “So this happens often?”

“Pretty much. It’s fun to make new things, but you get bored of just your own stuff after a few centuries you know? So we swap and find new things.”

Well of course, it’s not like the ghosts needed to trade for something vital to existence. Swapping ‘things’ made more sense in that context. So why weren’t any trying to trade strength or favours? Or simply taking what they wanted? Was it related to having a queen? She had so many questions that knowing what ones needed to be asked was next to impossible. “I suppose you would. How can you tell if a ghost that comes is peaceful?”

“Asking!” She laughed again, apparently finding the question funny. So they didn’t deal with constant attacks from spectres like Phantom trying to ‘take over?’ Why?

“Oh geeze, I’m so sorry if she said anything about trying to-” Phantom’s voice interrupted her thoughts, the ghost suddenly floating beside the other ghost and sputtering.

“Sorry? She’s been perfectly lovely! Haven’t you- oh I’m so rude, I didn’t even get your name!” the ghost tisked at herself, once again strangely apologetic.

“Wait, she has?” His doubtful tone made the ghost hunter scowl. As if he had any room to judge them.

“We’re scientists, not uncontrollable monsters.” Like him. She was fairly sure he caught the implication when the boy muttered something she couldn’t hear.

“Cool. Anyway, got another stop, then I’ll get you two back home.” He still hovered, glancing between the two of them a few times. “Oh. Maddie, that’s her name.”

“Lovely speaking with you Maddie! Had a good trip back, I’m Guenivier if you’re ever in the area again,” she smiled and gave another wave before somehow drifting back into the crowd without displacing even a bit of that dress.

“Who said you can give out my name?” Maddie hissed, once certain the other ghost was out of earshot.

He leaned back on teenager mannerisms, scoffing and heading away. “Because she wanted to know and thinks you aren’t a total ghost hater? It’s not gonna hurt anything.”

“How can I know you don’t have a way to locate people by name?”

He was rolling his eyes again as if she was being ridiculous. “You live in a house with a giant glowing sign. Not exactly subtle.”

“That isn’t in the ghost zone.”

“It’s attached to the ghost zone, it totally counts.”

It really was like arguing with a teenager when he bantered on like this. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Yes ma’am. Sheesh.” He hopped on top of the speeder, kicking his heels against the side. “Hey Jack, you coming?”

“Coming!” he bellowed back, jogging over from the patch of plants she’d left him at. However, he wasn’t just carrying his notebook, but a folded glowing bit of cloth. Some sort of tapestry judging by all the stitching? “Just wanted to get a few more lines done-” he broke off after spotting his wife, apparently reminded that he shouldn’t be so chummy with the ghost. “I mean I leave when I want to, you can’t boss Fentons around!”

“Oh come onnn, can you pretend you don’t hate me for like five minutes? I’m not even doing anything!” Phantom complained, flopping backwards onto the Speeder. “You were totally having a good time”.

“How did you get that, dear?” Maddie chose to ignore their sulking captor and instead look at what Jack managed to gather besides sketches.

“Oh, one of the ghosties liked my pictures and asked to trade for one! So I gave em a page for this! We can study how they made it back home, neat huh?”

Apparently he hadn’t been too worried about it being a trap, but a picture he’d just sketched wasn’t a big ask for something that could teach them a lot about the ghosts in here, so it was a good trade nonetheless. “You did great sweetie. Just make sure to store it safely, just in case.”

“Already on it sweet cheeks!” He was indeed, already pulling out a large sample bag to store their find before opening the hatch again.

“Ew. I changed my mind, go back to threatening me. Sappy is worse.”

Well, at least the ghost regretted his actions a bit. He’d be more sorry if he tried anything, but this did just seem to be something to sooth that hero complex it had. So far, anyway. She was tempted to ask the ghost what it had been up to at the castle, but it didn’t really matter. He’d just lie anyway, he clearly wasn’t the same sort of ghost as the weaker ones back there.

“Ha, he crumples in the face of our love Madds!” Jack laughed, hugging his wife and they got comfortable back in the speeder. “You think he’d take us back home if I said how much I love ya?”

“I so don’t need to hear this.” He was muffled, apparently still flopped on the speeder. He didn’t add anything before the Speeder lifted from the ground and resumed speeding through the strange green expanse.

“Clearly he buys his own teenager delusion.” Maddie mused, content to rest against Jack and look through his sketches. “Did they seem strangely lifelike to you too?”

“Oh sure! They just talked and didn’t even seem interested in going to the human world! Even though one was very jealous of how bright my jumpsuit is.” He leaned a bit to flick a few pages forward. “I sketched a couple and got their names, so we can see if we can look em up. See if they’re similar to their old selves according to history and all.”

“That’s a good idea. I didn’t get a complete name, but apparently they have jobs? Not like the wilder ghosts, and they do have a queen…” she paused, remembering the ‘human’ Phantom apparently ‘helped home. “Hey! You did help someone home from the ghost zone before, did you?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, she’s back safe. Wasn’t even a whole day.” He sounded distracted, or at least surprised by the question.

It could be a valuable lead. That, and the human might need help after such an experience. Who knew how ecto contaminated they might be! “Who was it?”

“How should I know? Just because I’m in town a lot doesn’t mean I know everyone’s name.”

She frowned, glancing at Jack who only shrugged. So he hadn’t heard that story, only her. “You know ours.”

“Because you shout them at me and shoot at me a lot? Pretty easy to remember!”

“Ghost kid’s got a point.” Jack admitted, patting her on the shoulder. “We’ll just find who it is ourselves! Just an extra project.”

“What, and just make their life weird again by bringing up ghost stuff? Leave em alone.”

Well now they absolutely had to look into it, if Phantom wasn’t keen on the idea. Better to let him think they agreed though. “True, it could just lead you back to them.”

“Hey! This is all you, not me!”

Jack chuckled. “You’re really good at riling him up. Almost sounds like our Danny like that, getting all touchy about fun family activities!”

“Well he probably copies behaviour from local teenagers,” she didn't like that comparison though. Their children were nothing like life destroying ghosts. It was better to turn her attention to the passing green and how the amount of doors seemed to dwindle as masses of ice started to become the most prominent detail. That made more sense, actually. Phantom had started using ice in addition to ectoblasts, if he came from somewhere with this sort of climate it seemed less out of place with his other abilities. Even if he was otherwise ill suited to snow and ice with how he insisted on looking like a kid.

The next stop felt more like a mistake, with only hills of untouched white powder and ice to see, but the crunch of snow below confirmed they were no longer moving. Good thing they came prepared with heated coats!

“Not a whole lot around here! If it wasn’t for all the green we could pretend we were in Alaska.” Jack chattered as he shrugged a coat on, still apparently too excited to look around to keep his suspicion up. “They don’t all like castles, or maybe it’s a hidden one!”

He better not be thinking Santa had an ice castle. That was probably what he was thinking of, but she didn’t really want to bring up their annual argument at the moment. He could be wrong today, there were more important things to do. “You do realize it’s a frozen wasteland you’ve stranded us on?”

“It’s not that cold.” Phantom objected, circling the Speeder idly.

“Easy for a ghost to say, you’re always cold ghost kid!”

He stopped at that, glancing back at Jack. “It's not that bad, is it?”

“Only because we brought warm clothing. Jumpsuits aren’t enough for the living.” Maddie huffed, looking at the snowfields to find anything worth looking at. The structures of ice were somewhat interesting, but not inherently ghostly.

“Well you guys can stay here, I guess.” The ghost bit at his lip, playing up the concern now that they pointed out a frozen wasteland was cold. Honestly, how did anyone fall for Phantom’s act if he made mistakes like this? “I don’t think Frostbite’s people come out this far…”

“Oh, are they dangerous? We can take any of your little ghostly pals!”

Phantom looked as if Jack suggested exploding a building. “No! Don’t fight any of them! They just look scary, okay? Just ignore them, if any show up.” He didn’t wait for a response before flying off this time, apparently in much more of a hurry this time.

“Sounds like he’s worried about what we can do to his little pals, huh?” Jack elbowed his wife with a grin. “Well, maybe we can find something weird about the ice here!”

It was better to try getting some of the ghost ice instead of doing nothing, though she doubted it would be very different from regular ice, beyond the ectocontamination. Now what would a ghost think is ‘scary looking’? He hadn’t given such a warning when close to all of the other ghosts, after all. It was a bit of a mystery, and none of the ice here had any identifying marks or hints of another odd little ghost ‘civilization’. ‘Frostbite’ wasn’t much of a name either, perhaps they were more like the wild sort that came to Amity?

“Oh hoh! Look at this!” Jack yelled out, pointing to something below him as he waved her over.

A large, clawed footprint left in the snow, and fairly deep. So something monstrous after all, as expected. “Maybe we can get a cast of it?” They had supplies for it, but she wasn’t certain if it would work in the ice correctly. The tracks didn’t go for long, but following them wasn’t a very tantalizing idea. Better to keep a distance and be well armed if they wanted to tangle with whatever left this. It wasn’t as distracting as the previous stop, but the sound of crunches increasing in volume had the couple back on edge and wary.

“Seriously, we should just go-”

It sounded like the ghost boy was near wherever the crunches were coming from, which didn’t improve her mood one iota.

“Nonsense! I have been asking to meet them for how long?” A deep, growling and carrying voice came in response as Maddie readied a weapon.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. You don’t want to, trust me.”

“Seems he doesn’t have a very high opinion of ghost hunters, eh Mads?” Jack was less noticeably readied, still half crouched near the footprint, but his hand hovered where a weapon was concealed. She focused on her breathing as the sound grew louder, eyes narrowed as she spotted a large figure cresting the nearby hill. With the little white haired ghost boy completely at ease near it. Nothing like his regular behaviour, let alone the talking. Why would this huge beast know of them?

“What did I say about not shooting people?” Phantom actually seemed to blush on seeing her holding the weapon, smacking his face. “Okay, you saw them, bye now!”

The large furred creature ignored how the smaller ghost pushed at their shoulder, instead waving with a horrific ice claw, bones gleaming from within as it seemed to rip at the very air. “Well our first meeting was hardly perfect either, I can manage.”

“Yeah but I can’t just pull a ‘won’t shoot a big yeti’ icicle out of their jumpsuits!”

For a human loving ghost, Phantom was certainly very concerned about this giant horned monster being harmed by ‘mere humans’. More proof of his act, at least. Though the large creature did have a cloak of some sort and clothing. He spoke well, if you ignored the fanged mouth and growls. A strange contradiction of appearance and intent. That wasn’t a normal thing for ghosts either, you could gather a decent amount about one by how they looked. So why was this one chatting and apparently interested in seeing two humans? “So, you’re the ‘Frostbite’ he mentioned?” She hazarded a guess, but wasn’t going to put the gun away.

It showed its fangs, maw wide and unnerving. “Yes, I am! It is an honour to meet you” The furry head bowed slightly, as if trying a sort of nod of respect. “Your work assisted the Great One in vanquishing Pariah Dark, we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Please don’t call me that. Especially in front of them!” the green eyed ghost practically squawked, somehow flushing even harder when he didn’t even have blood.

Maddie’s mind almost flipped over from the sheer confusion of what this terrifying ghost said. They had ‘helped’ vanquish something? More likely, Phantom had stolen something. So why did this ghost still give them credit? That wasn’t even starting to touch why the ghost boy would be considered great in any aspect. “Assisted him? Do you mean with that ghost who took our town into the Ghost Zone?” She wasn’t sure if that was what the ‘king’ ghost was called, but it made more sense than anything else she could think of.

“Indeed. The King of All Ghosts would have sent the infinite realms into chaos and conflict. Of course we are grateful for your help in preventing that.”

“That’s when you stole the Ecto Skeleton!” Jack spoke up, no longer tense. “You never brought it back.”

“That’s not my fault, that thing almost wasted me! It was gone once I woke up!” The boy objected, but seemed to settle down when the larger ghost ruffled his hair. “I wanted to bring it back.”

“I’m sure now they understand how vitally important that technology was, for your world and ours.” The ghost’s yellow eyes watched them expectantly, the unnerving void of pointed daggers thankfully closed now.

“Well it did get Amity back where it belonged.” Losing the Ecto Skeleton had been a blow, but an acceptable one to get back to normal. The fact that more ghosts seemed to know and care about their part of it was somewhat unnerving. She very much doubted Phantom just ‘lost’ it either. Jack suffered from the demands of the suit, but the ghost was just ectoplasm and electricity. Quite unlikely he could be drained that much, it wasn’t meant for ghosts to use in the first place.

“Your world? Doesn’t the kid live here?” Jack asked, making his wife blink. She hadn’t noticed that odd phrasing.

“No, no. The Great One prefers the human world and his friends. How are they doing?”

He froze up, eyes flicking to the hunters and back to the yeti. “Fine. They’re great.” He darted closer to the two hunters, gesturing at them to move. “Okay let’s go.”

How much interacting was this ghost doing with humans to have ‘friends’ it told other ghosts about? They could be in danger, or used as targets! “No no, we’d love to hear about your friends.”

“Nope, you don’t, gotta get home right? Big hurry, don’t trust me, remember?” He was practically pleading with them.

Frostbite’s ears twitched as he tilted his head. “Don’t trust you? Surely they’re the ones who taught your friends how to drive that craft of yours?”

Phantom had the gall to turn invisible.

“We were unaware anyone other than us was using it, actually.” Maddie didn’t bother to keep the frost from her voice.

“Ah, well at least the good news is I already knew how to make a replacement battery for it when the Great One came asking for help.” His tail twitched, as one of the great claws scratched at his furry chest. “It should be good as new once you can install it.”

So not only was this ghost stealing technology and bringing humans to the ghost zone, it was teaching other ghosts how it worked! The second that ghost was in their grasp, he’d have some serious answering to do. “Do all of you call him that?” It was the only question she could ask without wishing to spit acid, quite frankly.

“All of the Far Frozen recognize him as such, but not all ghosts are the same. He should be proud of the title, a savour of two worlds.”

“Frostbite I’m begging you, stop! It’s embarrassing!” The ghost dropped his invisibility, still looking more like a flustered kid instead of the heroics seeking fame junkie he was.

“Well if it helps your relationship with these ghost hunters, I think it is important that they know.”

“Yeah no. Let’s not.”

It felt like there was something the two ghosts weren’t saying. That, and the fact Phantom didn’t seem to like being hailed as a hero here in the Ghost Zone didn’t make sense. Why all the grandstanding in Amity then?

“Well we’ll be glad for the lift home. You shouldn’t steal from us, kid.” Jack tried a stern approach, and the ghost actually flinched from the rebuke.

“You’re not the only ones who want to map this place out, that’s all,” he didn’t really seem to be answering them, more talking to himself before launching himself at the Speeder again. “You can shoot at me about it back home or whatever.”

“Travel safely! Do try and explore your other half more often, Great one. You’re always welcome here.” His great furry head watched them all easily, seeking out the ghost hunters eyes as well. "I understand you are less interested, but you are welcome to see the realities of my home as well. It may surprise you, in a good way."

She desperately wanted to ask what that monster of a ghost meant by that, but managed to hold her tongue. If all the ghosts here saw Phantom as some sort of godlike hero, chewing him out here wasn’t safe. Jack’s small nod of agreement and warm hug helped, but it couldn’t stop her mind churning. They’d seen and hurt so much, and none of it made any sense! This Frostbite just threw in several more wrenches in the works with only a few sentences, but with how agitated Phantom was getting now wasn’t the time to push their luck. Perhaps when the shoe was on the other foot, and the boy needed their assistance.

He didn’t speak up or grumble this time as they left the frozen land behind. Though that might be them as well,m sitting close together and considering the notes and samples they had taken. That and the huge list of questions Jack had scrawled down in the margins of a sketch of Frostbite. How could a ghost like Phantom truly manage to stay in the human world most of the time? Did it have to do with this ‘other half’ that ghost had mentioned? Would knowing what it was reveal a weakness in the ghost? So many questions, but no answers. Why had Phantom even let them speak to any ghosts, considering how badly he’d reacted to some of the information given? He couldn’t genuinely be wanting to help.

The inviting glow of the portal appeared sooner than either of them could expect, the ghost dropping the ship on the lab floor with a loud clunk.

“See? Home. No ‘evil plan’” he floated into view, and she was fairly sure he only did so to make those air quotes with his hands.

“So you say, ghost kid. Don’t think we won’t be checking for tricks!”

“Yeah sure,” he shrugged, grinning after a moment. “Oh hey, by the way, you do know what the Speeder is powered with, right?”

Maddie didn’t actually know how to take that question. “Of course we do, we built it!”

“Uh huh.” His grin widened as he kicked back, legs vanishing into that strange tail. “All you had to do was take the cover off. It’s the Ghost Zone! There’s ectoplasm everywhere! I just had Frostbite make a backup.”

...Had they really- They had. They’d been dragged around by a ghost for no reason at all! “Why you little-”

He kept laughing before turning and getting out of the way. “Thanks for flying with Phantom Zone Tours! I’m out.” A jaunty wave and he was gone, leaving two baffled ghost hunters behind.

“I think some fudge is in order after that!”

She couldn’t say he was wrong. Maybe fudge could make sense of that whole affair. All that for a prank? It didn’t add up. They’d have a lot of work to do.

#Danny Phantom #phic fight 2021 #Maddie Fenton #jack fenton #hey look a fun one! #tho they are kinda mean about poor danny-boy #but hey minimal angst! woo! #Team Ghost

[wonderwomanfantasy]

life is better down were it’s wetter

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again Fantasy Bakugou slaps

Mermaid! Bakugou x Deaf!Reader

warnings: kidnapping, mentions of abuse and murder, swearing, fantasy shit

word count: 1,600 (about) 

Summary: The mermaid in the hull fascinated you, funny how he wasn’t even human, but he was the only one on the ship you could connect to.

You touched the cool glass of the tank. You weren’t supposed to be down here unless it was feeding time, and you being trapped in the hull of the ship, but something about the beautiful mermaid they had captured made the dark black belly of the boat bearable. 

He turned to face you, the tank wasn’t big enough for him to swim away from you. He looked miserable and cramped. He pressed his hand flat on the other side of the glass, you swore you could feel the heat of his hand through the cold glass. Embarrassed you pulled away wrapping both hands around the broom handle where you belonged. 

Trapped. Both of you. You’d been kidnapped a few months ago and forced to work on the ship with others like you. You swept and mopped and fed the monster they had pulled up while looking for treasure. He was pretty, with tan-toned skin and a glittering tail that churned the water he swam in. you looked back at him and saw he was banging on the glass trying in vain to get your attention. He looked angry when you finally did look at him. No not angry, desperate. 

He jerked his finger up desperately at the lid of the tank. He wanted you to take it off, your heart ached for him, if you could free him you would, but they would kill you if you even tried. You shook your head, I can’t. He pointed again then banged on the lid himself making the lock jostle. He grabbed his throat covering the gills on his neck. He was drowning, you realized. You fumbled for the key in your apron pocket and clumsily unlocked the tank and popped the lid. He quickly swam to the top gulping down the air. You’d thought he’d been hungry when he swam to the top like that, but the truth was he couldn’t breathe. 

You looked around the floor of the hull and found a splintered board, on the floor.  Quickly you used it to prop the lid open. Just enough so air could go in and out but not enough for him to slip through. Shigaraki would get mad when he found out, but surely not madder than he would have been if you’d let his prize die. A dead mermaid could surely get a lot of money, but not as much as a live one, and if there was one thing you knew about your captor, he was nothing if not greedy.  The creature sunk back into the tank and faced you again, pressing his hand back to the glass, did he want you to touch there too? Hesitantly you raised your hand touching where he indicated. 

He pressed his forehead against the glass and waited for you to do the same, you glanced back at the hatch you’d come through still locked. Cautiously you lowered your head pressing your head to the glass. Your skin tingled and suddenly a voice that wasn’t yours echoed in your head 

“Took you long enough, dumbass that almost killed me,” you stumbled back in surprise looking at him in surprise and a little bit in horror. 

“Is that you?” you thought, wondering if he could even hear you like that. He smirked and nodded

“Yes, though it would be easier to talk like this,”

“And you can hear what I’m thinking?”

“Only what you think at me,” you gulped and cleared your head 

“You should thank me instead of being so rude the others would have let you drown,”  you thought and you heard a throaty laugh echo in your head, he was smiling, genuinely smiling, it made you feel surprisingly warm inside. 

“I’ll thank you by not killing you when I get out of here,” suddenly the good feeling inside of you was gone, he was joking clearly but you knew he’d never escape it was impossible. Even though you didn’t think it at him, he seemed to be able to read your expression

“I will escape,” he thought defiantly. 

“You can try,” 

You’d spent too much time down there already, as quickly as you could you made your way back to the top deck, the bright sun blinding you as you left the darkroom. Quietly you started sweeping and dusting around the ship, as your mind wandered, no one bothered you unless they were feeling mean and needed to yell at someone who wouldn’t or couldn’t rather, snapback. But everyone was in a surprisingly good mood today, so you were alone. 

The ship rocked gently back and forth as the waves passed beneath you. The salt cared about the wind hitting your face. It made you sick. You focused on the horizon centering yourself. You wondered if you could still communicate with the merman, even if you weren’t in the same room. Cautiously you reached out to him with your mind. 

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” 

“Oh,”

“Is that all?”

“What’s your name?”

“My name?” did merpeople not have names?

“What do people- er merpeople call you?”

“Katsuki,”

“Katsuki,” how strangely normal 

“What about you? What do people call you?”

“(y/n),”

“(y/n),”  the words he thought had weird lit to them, almost like an accent. 

You continued to learn about him and tell him about yourself as you worked, it was nice to have someone with you. You lingered when it was feeding time, his teeth were sharp, they tore through the fish you gave him easily, leaving nothing, not even the bones his pupils dilated as blood filled the water filling his red eyes almost completely. You noticed his hands were like yours in every way but instead of nails he had claws. He was dangerous, and if his internal monologue was anything to go off of he was mean. But you weren’t afraid of him. You couldn’t be, Even if he was a monster he was the only person you had connected to since you’d been brought aboard the ship. You lingered even after he’d finished eating just wanting to be with him. 

“Put your hand in the water,” he commanded, reaching his own hand up to the top of the water. “I want to touch you,”

You had to strain to reach him, your fingers barely skimmed the surface of the water, his hands were rough but warm, he traced the outline of your fingers and you saw the thin piece of webbing connecting his fingers. 

“You’re soft,” he purred internally, this wasn’t enough for either of you It had been so long since you’d been touched so gently, and it had been so long since he’d touched anyone. But it was all you could have for now. 

You’d always hated the ocean, even before you’d been kidnapped and forced on this ship, but the way he talked about it, the sunlight reflecting off the crystalline water made it sound so beautiful and you couldn’t help but start to look at the sea through his eyes. 

You were starting the last leg of your journey, soon you’d be back to the mainland and you’d lose Katsuki forever. 

“We can escape,” he responded and you realized you’d been thinking too loudly. 

“How? They’ll catch you, then they’ll kill me,”

“We’ll escape together idiot,”

“I can’t swim and you can’t walk on land,” 

“Carry me to the ship then I’ll carry you as we swim,” you bit your lower lip and clutched the mop handle. It was too risky. 

“When we dock and they’re unloading the tank I’ll trip them so you fall in the harbor,” you offered instead, not even knowing if you could do such a thing. They didn’t normally let you off the ship when they docked, it would be strange if you come now, but it would be worth it if you could free him. 

“No, I don’t want to leave without you,” your heart lurched in your chest. You couldn’t argue with that, especially when you didn’t want him to leave without you either. 

A few nights later, you took Kattsuki’s plan into action. You weren’t strong enough to carry him so you ended up dragging him across the deck in a burlap bag, that way if anyone suspected anything you could just claim it was trash you were throwing overboard. 

“You’re making me regret this he snapped after you cracked his head on the railing. 

“Sorry,”  you were trying your best but it was hard. As you communicate more and more with Katsuki you found you could understand him even stuff he didn’t necessarily want you to know. You could tell he was struggling to breathe he needed both water and air to breathe. 

“Here we go,” you warned heaving him over the side you watched him fall into the water cutting through the waves you cautiously climbed on top of the railing, your clothes billowing in the wind. You were supposed to jump. you hesitated, what if he had been lying? Just using you to escape

“Come on dumbass, jump, I’ll catch you I promise,” he called out to you. You let go of the railing falling to the sea, to him.

#katsuki bakugou #bakugou #bakugou katsuki #bnha bakugou #bakugou imagine #mermaid bakugou #bakugou x reader #my hero academia #my hero acadamy #my hero academia imagine #my hero academia head cannon

[13atoms]

"Relax, I'm not going to kiss you." (Dhawan!Master x Reader)

Happy (incredibly late) birthday to the brilliant @startrekkingaroundasgard – this fic was based on the dialogue prompt: “Close your eyes. Close. Your Eyes. You’re safe. You can relax. I’m not going to kiss you.” with Dhawan!Master x reader. I am so sorry it’s late, I hope the cuteness makes up for it! [4k]

Context: The Master's companion is trapped above the dangerous power source of a city encased aboard a spaceship after trying to help some children, being chased by the onboard ‘peacekeepers’. Meanwhile, the Master is helping them to try and restore power to the ship, needing the vessel to return to his TARDIS. MC can only hope the Master realises they’re in trouble before the damaged maintenance walkways succumb to destruction.

Think: The Beast Below meets those terrifying walkways from Star Wars.

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

An almighty heave of metal warned you of the shifting ship, a walkway warping beneath your feet and the service door ahead of you falling away into the abyss of the engine room.

It was a striking space, you had to admit, the maintenance area above a fusion reactor, magnificent as it an entire city on the spaceship above you. Amber warning lights glowed distantly below you, the waist-height safety railings doing nothing to protect you as the ship lurched and the alien ‘peacekeeper’ chasing you fell to his death with a scream you wouldn’t be able to forget for years to come.

The city was amazing, an entire civilisation floating through space, but it was crumbling beneath the surface. An aggressive group of ‘peacekeepers’ had chased you below decks, the Master nowhere to be seen, and the small group of runaway children you had been trying to help had long disappeared back into the cracks in the city’s foundations. At least they would be safe.

You could almost hear The Master now, that same jokingly-chiding tone as he pretended to be exasperated by the depth of your heart. You had told him you had to help them, that you would join him as soon as you could, in his quest to repair the ship and secure first-class passage back to his TARDIS. He had rolled his eyes, a faint smile on his face.

“It’ll be the death of you one day, human. That strange need to help.”

Yet, each time you insisted on helping, it would end with a smiling person saved, and the Master’s eyes fondly dancing across your face. The children, the vulnerable, the injured, whoever you couldn’t bear to leave unhelped would unfailingly be grateful, nervously glancing at the Time Lord beside you and offering you whatever thanks they could.

He would pretend not to be worried, pretend he hadn’t been losing his mind chasing after wherever you’d gone, and for just a moment you would see his gaze tracing your features. And you would wonder if he would kiss you. The Master never did, but each time he gave you that look, a warmth would rise in your chest and your fondness for him would grow.

The thought of being torn apart from him now, without a last glance or a word of your true fondness for him, was enough to weaken your legs beneath you.

The ship jerked to the side again, no doubt unfelt by the ruling classes above but painfully dangerous down in the engine rooms, where the gyroscopic stabilisers no longer worked. The distant pings of the asteroid belt outside battered the ship, and you wondered how long the metal would last with the forcefields disabled. The Master had actually been trying to repair the power outage last time you had seen him, if only as an act of self-preservation. Clearly he hadn’t managed it yet.

Around you the room was flashing red, moving and shifting in a disorienting way which made it hard to keep your eyes open. You squinted towards the end of the walkway you had come from, wanting to cry as you saw the heavy steel still firmly closed.

The door was closed behind you, and ahead the walkway had been wrenched from the outer wall of the ship, the torn metal abruptly stopping, hanging towards the fatally hot reactor hundreds of feet below.

Your legs trembled frustratingly as you tried to grasp onto the handrails and stay standing on the walkway, unable to go anywhere, and aware The Master would never find your body if you fell.

You cried out as the largest collision yet seemed to make the entire room throw itself a few metres to the right, your fingers aching as you fought to grip on to the metal railings. As your feet left the ground and you landed with a heavy thud you took a moment to realise that the entire outer shell of the ship had lurched, the darkness concealing the drastic angle of the walkway as the outer shell of the ship moved.

Strips of lighting gradually flickered on, the hum of a generator filling the chasm around you, but the ship didn’t right itself.

As your fingers, elbows and shoulders ached at the challenge of holding on to the walkway, you allowed yourself a moment of joy imagining The Master’s excitement as he repaired the ship’s power. The ping of rocks hitting the ship outside was replaced by a steady sizzle, the rocks destroyed on impact.

Grateful that the ship was no longer shaking, you reassessed the situation in the shifting light.

You could see the door, but it was still closed. You couldn’t pull yourself up to the doorway.

The seconds were ticking past, your muscles screaming from holding yourself up, and the image of the peacekeeper who had fallen to his death was haunting you. His broken, cooking body would be down there, somewhere. Perhaps you would join him, a painful death on the heated reactor.

The walkway jolted, voices shouting above you, and you forced your eyes open.

And there he was. In the open doorway, the Master stood panting.

As striking as you’d ever seen him, coat missing and the furrows of concern across his face painted in emergency-red light. Even the whites of his eyes were reddened by the emergency beacons as his eyes met yours, saw the desperation on your face as your sweaty palms struggled to grip on to the twisted bannisters.

He looked around, panicked, and you started trying to pull yourself up. You screwed your eyes closed at the effort, feet struggling to find purchase on the angled metal. Over the hum of the generator you could hear you own frantic breathing.

The Master hadn’t moved.

Behind him stood a group of the Peacekeepers, one decorated in medals and stripes, their jaw set unnaturally square and their eyes shining with something that unsettled you. Something dead.

The ship lurched again and you cried out in shock, your feet losing contact with the walkway and your shoulders agonising as you tried to hang on.

“Do something! Help!” the Master barked, his commanding tone tinged with panic.

It took seconds for strong hands to grab you, a chain of the Peacekeepers wrenching you back through the doorway as you screwed your eyes closed. Mixed with your gratitude at being rescued was exasperation. You could have done that earlier, you wanted to scream at them, but numbness was overtaking you.

You were in the carpeted corridor you had come through, no longer filled with screaming youths, instead empty aside from the Peacekeepers and the Master. The door had been closed firmly, locked. Presumably to hide the horrific outer shell which encased this strange city.

No resident living onboard would ever know about the life lost, the slow decay of the ship. The Peacekeepers would pretend it was fine, the door welded shut

You sat on the floor in shock, where you’d been painfully dropped.

The Master dismissed the small crowd with a few curt words, and yet you ignored him.

All you could feel was the ache in your shoulders, the burn of your palms, the slight hum of the ship beneath you.

The Master crouched in front of you, hands crossed where his forearms rested on his thighs, eyes filled with concern as he took in your despondent expression.

“Are you okay?” he prompted, reaching out to touch your face.

You recoiled.

Your throat felt tight with tears, ready to close, as you choked out: “I want to go home.”

His face fell, and your stomach plummeted with guilt as he looked forlornly down at his hands.

“Not long now, I – ”

The Master cut himself off. Down the corridor a couple were chattering, their indistinguishable but inane words capturing your attention for the briefest second as they walked past. The Master curled around you like a defensive housecat, one palm on the carpet as he tilted his body to shield yours on the ground. You buried your face in your hands. He waited for them to be out of sight, the couple’s suit tails rounding the corner without a glance at the scene they had just passed.

“Can you get up, love?”

Mutely, you stumbled to your feet, wincing at the pain of using your arms. The Master offered you his elbow, holding you up a little more than you would like to admit. The pair of you swayed on the spot for a second, and you tried to school your face into neutrality.

He looked desperate to say something, but each time you glanced at him, he grimaced silently.

“Where are we staying?” you croaked out, trying not to cry.

You didn’t miss the look of concern The Master shot you, his usual bravado eroded by the day, his bristly exterior softened while the two of you roamed the corridors alone.

“A King suite,” he tried to enthuse, “the finest they could offer for the rest of our trip. I ever made sure the bed was oversized, they’re all rather short here.”

Your curt nod seemed to concern him, and he pulled you closer to him by the arm.

“Let’s get you to bed. You need to sleep,” he soothed, a slight smile gracing your lips as you fought to keep your eyes open.

Soon a door was unlocked and the promised suite came into view, minimalist yet luxurious in a way you knew The Master would loathe. You stumbled as he let you walk into the room ahead of him, a fresh ache in your overworked muscles.

Finally, he voiced the question: “are you okay?”

“Exhausted,” you answered honestly. “The… the guy ahead of me died. On that walkway. That was almost me, and my arms kill, and –”

You trailed off at the blatant pity on The Master’s face, a little bothered by the concerned tilt of his head as he listened to you. A frown creased your features, and he reached for your hand, guiding you down to the window-seat, faux-glass behind you displaying the darkness of space.

“I saw,” he admitted.

You slouched forwards onto your hands, covering your face, only for The Master to pull you back to sitting beside him. You looked across at him miserably, eyes red-rimmed, as his hand awkwardly found a resting place on your forearm.

“I saw on their security cameras, when I was up on the bridge. I wrote a script to repair the ship and then I… I left it working. I ran straight down to you.”

“Thanks,” you told him blandly, truthfully too exhausted to process what he was saying. You supposed you ought to be grateful for the rescue, even as it was shrouded in The Master’s pity. His thumb stroked across the fabric covering your forearm, before pulling away.

“Can you take this off?” he tapped your ruined jacket, and even the thought of moving to undo the buttons of it made your shoulders ache.

Nonetheless, you slipped it off, wondering what The Master expected to see. Without a change of clothes here, you supposed you would have to rewear it until the giant ship docked somewhere near his TARDIS. His short-distance teleports did, for all their usefulness, have one flaw: that short-distance range.

The Master took your jacket carefully, avoiding getting any soot on his own clothes as he crossed to a cupboard which appeared, on closer inspection, to be some kind of washing machine.

“You can get the rest cleaned when you’ve showered,” he muttered.

You sighed. You definitely did need a shower. But you weren’t sure you would stay upright long enough.

The Master seemed to share the same train of thought, coming to sit beside you and leaning back peacefully against the window. It was the slowest you’d ever seen him move, you realised. His usual mania had been stripped away, his playfulness and unpredictability replaced by a calm and patience so palpable it seemed to emanate from him and seep into your own being.

“Thank you,” you told him suddenly, meaning it where sarcasm had been just minutes before. Your cheek rested against the cool glass as you watched his expression.

“Every time,” he replied instantly, tilting his head to stare up at the plain ceiling. “I’ll come for you every time.”

He turned to look at you, and through sleepy eyelids you shared a smile.

“Thank you.”

“I am slightly less inclined to save you when you’re marking up the furniture, though,” he teased, brushing at the engine soot coating your legs.

You groaned, frustrated and exhausted as sweat grew sticky on your skin and grime coated your exposed arms. Perhaps he hadn’t expected your exasperation, because the flash of playfulness quickly left him.

“Not that I care,” he added dismissively, “they owe me a million boring white cushions for fixing up this sorry ship. Make everything as grubby as you like.”

You smiled at his contrariety.

“I should shower,” you agreed. Perhaps the hot water would ease your aching arms. The pulled muscles would feel worse by the morning, you felt sure.

“Probably,” he smirked, yawning and stretching as you summoned the strength to stand. “There should be everything you need in the bathroom. I requested it. I’ll even let you have the bed, since I’m feeling generous.”

For the first time, as your eyes swept the room once more, you realised: there was only one bed.

*

The shower was glorious. Much needed and pleasantly soothing on your aching body, and yet throughout all you could do was fret. Most of your strength was sapped as you returned to the room in a robe provided by the ship, your dirty clothes thrown in the cleaning cubicle as The Master passed you, taking his turn in the luxurious en suite.

Idiot, you wanted to chide him. Why wouldn’t he get two suites?

Worse still, he actually seemed to need to sleep, yawning and scratching absently at his beard, sleepy blinks revealing he was as exhausted as you were. He took a second to realise you were there, a smile lighting up his face as he saw you, his guard down and his excitement making your words catch in your throat. You cursed the timing of it all.

From adventure to adventure the two of you would hold hands, he would offer you his arm relentlessly, there was even the occasional hug exchanged between you. But sharing a bed? That was beyond all realm of your cosy relationship with the Time Lord.

Still, too exhausted to care, you climbed beneath the sheets. He was too exhausted to be clever or snide with you, she gave you one last gentle look before disappearing into the bathroom.

You tried to fight down the swelling feeling of affection in your chest, tucking your chin beneath the duvet and listening to the thunder of the shower.

It was weird, sleeping in just a robe, but it was all you had. You pulled the fabric tighter around you just before the Master re-emerged, hair fluffy from being dried and his own robe engulfing him. It was oversized, and you couldn’t help smile as he shoved his hands in the pockets awkwardly, striding barefoot across the room.

He perched by the windows, seeming to consider lying down, his gaze downturned. You bit down a smile at how disoriented he was, how slow. You had never seen the Master sleepy before. It was quite sweet, all things considered. One hand reached out to stroke across the seat cushion, maybe deciding if it would be comfortable, and you took pit on the poor man.

“It’s a big enough bed,” you called to him, your voice coming out quieter and less sure than you had intended, “come share.”

The lights were low, but you could still see the relief on his face.

“I was hoping you would offer,” he confessed. You smiled despite yourself, shuffling towards the edge of the mattress to give him space.

“You’d be awfully grumpy if I didn’t,” you teased.

He lifted the duvet and flung it towards you, and you caught a flash of a toothy grin before the material covered your face. He laughed lightly as you huffed, climbing into the bed beside you in an unusually clumsy motion. He pulled the duvet from where it covered you, chuckling at your pout as he wrapped it over himself.

And suddenly the bed didn’t feel quite so big.

His body was warm beside you, perhaps not warm as a human’s, but you were so acutely aware of his presence he seemed boiling. The dip of the mattress seemed to pull you towards him, and you fought to keep your expression neutral as he glanced towards you.

“Comfy?” he asked, shuffling down to rest his head on a pillow, his dark hair flopping onto the white fabric as he fidgeted.

“Perfectly,” you replied, hoping your voice didn’t betray your sudden nervousness.

With one hand, the Master dimmed the lights.

“How are you feeling?” he murmured through the dark, with the self-consciousness of a man who rarely asked a personal question.

You nodded, before realising he couldn’t see you. You felt him turn on to his side, facing away from you, and you mirrored him quickly.

The windows glinted faintly, the glass catching what little light remained in the room, and you shuddered at what you knew lay beyond that fake view.

“Shaken,” you admitted, “sore.”

“We can get you checked out properly tomorrow,” he promised, and you were surprised he didn’t insist on fixing everything himself.

He must be more shaken than you had given him credit for. You allowed yourself a wave of fondness for him at the thought.

“‘Night,” you mumbled.

He shifted behind you, almost imperceptibly had you not been sharing the same bed, and stifled a yawn.

“Night, love.”

It was hard to disguise your shudder at the pet name, pressing your face just a little harder into the pillow to hide your smile.

You tried to even out your breathing, to seem relaxed, as you felt the weight of his body move on the mattress behind you. He wasn’t as warm as a regular human, you knew that, but the comfort of him was still tempting. You could hear his breathing, steady and gentle, as the two of you laid there in the dark.

Minutes ticked by as you tried to sleep, to relax, but you couldn’t. He was somehow too close and too far away, a temptation and a source of nervousness all at once.

“Go to sleep,” he grumbled, and you started at the realisation he was even awake.

That kind of honesty and giddiness which overcame you at teenage sleepovers seemed to course through your mind, the illusion that near-sleep and darkness masked any of your words. Your drowsy mind hardly protested a little too much truth as it slipped from your tongue.

“You’ve never called me that before,” you mumbled.

“What?”

He didn’t seem irritated, just tired. You felt him roll onto his back, and you pulled the duvet tighter around your shoulders. You stayed silent.

“Love?” he answered his own question, a tinge of nervousness in his tone. His voice was deeper with sleepiness, his words a little more gravely, the baritone of it making you giddy.

“Yeah.”

He chuckled, and you felt the duvet move as he shifted again, angling himself to face you in the darkness. You finally unfurled, laying on you back beside him. Your hotel robe was soft but tangling a little as you moved, and you tried to avoid jostling the Master as you adjusted it to cover yourself. The white light on the washer indicated your clothes were now clean, but you didn’t want to get up.

For a second your bare leg brushed the Master’s, both of you quickly shuffling back away from one another, startled by the contact.

“Sorry,” you muttered.

He snorted a laugh; you could hear his sharp exhale.

For a moment the two of you lay in silence, your heart beating out of your chest. It was hard not to ruminate on how close you were. To imagine what the two of you would look like if the lights were on, side by side and wearing nothing but robes beneath the covers.

The Master watching you, even in the dark.

“Your thoughts are loud,” he mused.

“What?”

“Relax,” he huffed, “you’re just being… noisy. I can’t read your mind. Think of it like TV static – I’m not tuned in, but it’s still annoying.”

“I’ll try and think less,” you breathed.

“Not your fault, love.”

You couldn’t help the sigh that left your body, in frustration and confusion and that slight flicker of excitement you couldn’t quash every time he called you that. You felt him freeze up beside you, muscles tensing.

“So what would you like me to do?” you whispered.

“Relax.”

You smiled to yourself in the dark, the word ghosting across your neck with his breath, dripping syrupy-rich from this lips.

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

You stretched, letting yourself brush closer to him, wrapping an arm around your pillow as you lay down facing him.

The Master was silent as he reached out, finding the bedside table and turning the lights up, the faint light of dusk filling the room. Suddenly, startlingly, you saw his face mere inches from his.

Blinking in confusion, you took in his wide eyes, his mussed-up hair and gentle stare. His shoulder was exposed where the robe had slipped, and you pulled the duvet to your chest self-consciously.

“You’re all wound up,” he commented.

“Of course I am, I almost died today.”

“Of course, love.”

He knew that wasn’t the full reason. You inhaled heavily, only smelling him, staring as his eyes appeared almost black in the darkness.

One hand found your shoulder over the sheets, stroking down your bicep gently. You tried to ignore the shiver creeping up and down your body.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed, smiling as you burrowed deeper into the pillow and glared at him, “close your eyes.”

You let your eyelids flutter shut, embarrassed to realise you were hanging onto his every word. His thumb was still stroking across your shoulder, an unsteady rhythm which set your heartbeat racing behind your ribs.

You held your breath when he suddenly moved closer, opening your eyes in time to see the tendons of his neck as he leant over you. You tensed, suspecting some trick, but you were more startled as he pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of your head.

“You’re safe. You can relax,” he murmured, one hand still bracing on your shoulder as he laid back down beside you.

You watched him with wide eyes, lips parted and hands creeping towards him beneath the covers.

Mostly, you watched his lips as he gently pursed them, watched the adoration and fondness in his eyes, shining and more unguarded than you had ever seen. You shifted closer to him, fingers brushing against the open collar of his robe.

He tilted his head, beard rasping against his pillow, and gentle hum in his throat before he spoke.

“I’m not going to kiss you.”

He must have noticed your face fall, a dazed and distant sense of embarrassment hitting you, because he smiled gently, one hand reaching up to cup your face with the gentleness he would show a stolen treasure.

“Not tonight, love.”

He reached for the light, but you stopped him, grasping at his robe.

“Why not?”

He almost rolled his eyes, perhaps the answer seemed obvious to him, somewhere in that baffling mind of his. You were fighting exhaustion, frustratingly emotional in your tiredness, your sinuses aching in a tell-tale warning of tears.

“Because we’ve got all the time in the world for that,” he switched off the light, but he didn’t move any further away. His hand found your shoulder again, his body closer still as he replaced that protective hold on you, “and you’re exhausted.”

You huffed a laugh, and the Master joined in, his body shaking slightly against yours.

“Go to sleep,” he told you yet again, and you fought not to roll your eyes as you settled in beside him.

“Yes, dear,” you mumbled back.

You relished how he tensed up beside you, how his breath hitched and his rumbling laugh never left his lips.

“I really don’t deserve you, love.”

“You’re stuck with me,” you promised.

#this took me two full weeks #13atoms #fic #dhawan!master #dhawan!master x reader #*gasp* there's only one bed #convoluted plot im so sorry #fluff #no smut rip #pre-friends to lovers

[endlinetheredeath]

Arrested

“KEZEKET A LEVEGŐBE!”(Hands in the air!) came a strained raspy voice trough a loudspeaker

I was squinting hard as my eyes adjusted to the harsh light, my right arm still blocking a large portion of it. Nak was looking much worse, his eyes closed, shut tight, both his upper arms blocking as much light as possible, his face contorted in a painful grimace. His eyes likely much more light sensitive than mine trading range for better night vision, evolution in this instance was a bitch to him, the police floodlights must have almost blinded him.

Before i could process what the voice even said i heard a bunch of feet quickly shuffle towards us and in the next moment both of us were tackled to the ground. The team of officers quickly cuffed us, pulled us back to our feet and stuffed us in the patrol cars that were just behind the lights.

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

Time passed and minutes became hours, on the bridge Kiela was getting more and more nervous, pacing back and forth.

“Where IS he, he should have been back long ago...”

The place where Nak had landed on Earth was behind the planets moon at this point as well as they themselves were laying low in orbit of the next planet in the system that they now knew was called Mars and didn’t want to risk discovery just yet, so for now they were blind to what was happening on Earth.

“Try hailing the captain again!” she ordered one of her subordinates

A couple quick clicks could be heard and then...

“Captain this is the Terkwrat, do you copy...”

“... “The line remained silent, the comms officer tried again...

“Captain Nakqr’ this is the Terkwrat, DO you copy?...”

“... “The result was again, the same.

Another 10 minutes pass, the ships scopes all trained on the spot where the shuttle landed on Earth behind the moon, all waiting for the big rock to move so they could finally see. The minutes dragged ever so slowly as the crew nervously waited, then they started to see flashing blue and red lights and the shuttle illuminated by dozens of large harsh white lights. Around the craft they were able to see a small army of people scrambling everywhere... they knew immediately, things have gone terribly wrong in the past couple hours.

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

The cops took us to the nearest police station in separate cars and now i was sitting in an interrogation room, alone and nervous. One of the walls had a huge one-way mirror, I’m sure they are watching me, either waiting for the right moment to burst in to intimidate me the most or are currently trying to get Nak to talk or worse.

“Shit...” i said under my breath. I shifted in the chair lookin around, nervously rubbing my chin.

Out of nowhere the door to the room almost exploded, a detective stood in the doorway. He sighed angrily and stepped into the room. I looked up at him my eyes narrowed slightly my face became serious and I could feel my nervousness pulling back deep within my body. I watched as the detective made his way to the table that i was seated at and sat before me.

“Hol van..”(Where is..) I was cut off by him

“NEM te vagy aki itt a kérdéseket felteszi...”(You are NOT the one who is asking the questions here) he pointed a finger at me “TE szépen válaszolni fogsz minden kérdésre amit felteszek és HA kielégítőnek találom a válaszaid akkor TALÁN nem mész a bíróság elé hazaárulásért...”(YOU will answer my every question that i ask and IF i find your answers satisfactory then MAYBE you wont be put in front of a court for treason...)

“M M MI!? Hazaárulás? Mi a faszt csináltam én, hogy hazaárulással vádol!?”(Wha Wha What?! Treason? What the fuck did i do that you are accusing me with treason.)

“Állami titkokat árultál el ismeretlen erőknek amivel aláástad az ország de talán a bolygó biztonságát.”(You have disclosed state secrets whereby you undermined the security of the country or maybe even the planet.)

“MILYEN ÁLLAMI TITKOKAT, semmilyen titkokról sem tudok. Egy kicseszett szerelő és hobbi pilóta vagyok az isten szerelmére.”(WHAT STATE SECRETS, i don’t know of any secrets. For god’s sake I’m an F-ing mechanic and a hobby pilot.) I sighed  “Ok nézze, igen beszélgettünk jó pár dologról, DE semmi olyat nem tudok s ezáltal semmi olyan ‘érzékenyet’ nem tudok elfecsegni ami ne lenne könnyedén elérhető az interneten, csak kérdezze mag Nakot.”(Ok look, yes we have talked about quite a few things, BUT i don’t know anything that isn’t easily available on the internet therefor i can’t divulge anything that’s ‘sensitive’, just ask Nak.)

The detective looked me over with a cold gaze as i was on my tirade then just said...

“Tehát Nak a neve...” (So it’s name is Nak...) he leaned back in his chair.

I blinked a couple times and lifted my head a little in confusion before saying

“Várjunk csak egy kicsit ... még nem beszéltek vele?”(Wait hold up... you haven’t talked to him yet?

Just as I finished the sentence the door to the interrogation room opened again but this time the figure that stood in the door was less angry and more worried.

“Nyomozó ennek itt és most vége. Tamást most azonnal engedje el az űrlénnyel együtt.”(Detective this ends right here right now. You will release Thomas and the alien this instant.)

“De kapitány...”(But captain...) The police captain held up his hand sharply silencing the detective.

“Semmi de, új fejlemények történtek és ezáltal ez a letartóztatás sosem történt meg, értette!?”(NO buts, new developments happened and thus this arrest never happened, understand?!)

I was led out of the room and into the lobby of the station where I got back my stuff. I stood there dumbfounded to what just happened. After a few minutes Nak was led into the lobby as well, when i saw him i saw that his left shoulder was bandaged and his left upper arm was held up by sling.

“Well this was a first ...” he said as he walked up to me with an officer in tow.

“Wait you speak English?!” said the woman as they came to a halt in front of me. Nak turned to her and sighed.

“Well yes i do speak English with the help of a translator, but you didn’t bother to find that out in the last ... how many hours?”

“ 13 ...We were brought in roughly 13 hours ago ...” I answered his frustrated question. “What happed to you...”

“Well when they tackled us to the ground i hit some rock and felt my arm go limp, turns out my shoulder got dislocated. Don’t worry i should be back to normal in no time...” he said turning away from the officer and back to me with a smile on his face. I smiled and shook my head a little.

“Do you know why they let us go?” he asked. I opened my mouth to answer him but before i could the doors of the station were thrown open and a big group of the ships crew flooded inside led by Kiela and followed by a bunch of human diplomats as well as the minister of defense.

“There you two are. By the Gods, are you ok captain?!” she said as she marched up.

Turns out once the crew realized what happened they scrambled together a diplomatic team mostly consisting of the department heads on the ship and contacted the Hungarian government. They got us out, but by doing that they basically announced to the whole planet that yes in fact humanity is not alone in the universe, not by a longshot. Now Humanity knew that not just aliens existed but that there is an intergalactic federation.

Yeah...things are going to get interesting ... i hope we don’t F it up.

#alien #space #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #sci fi

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen [chapt. 6]

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, chapter 5 here

Come on, save it, save it, Donnie chanted to himself later that night, at home and tucked away in his room trying to figure out how to neutralize the situation. He paced along his bed back and forth, phone in hand as he wracked his brain thinking about how he'd get her to let it go. He could tell her that she was...overtired? Go the stereotypical route and say it was just her eyes playing tricks on her? Try to play it off as human teenagers messing around on the roof?

She'd gone to bed already. He hated that he couldn't pursue the subject until morning, her morning, but by then, he'd be tired. When she woke, he slept. But he needed to get it resolved as quickly as possible, so he reckoned it was time to pull an all nighter. Luckily, that wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

He figured he'd get the preliminaries out of the way so he could get right to it when she eventually texted back.

"Good morning

I know you're not awake yet but I figured I'd get an early start today.

I want to know, what exactly did you see last night?"

He shut his phone off and set it down on the bed, fingers rubbing his temples. Depending on her answer, this would either be difficult, or near impossible.

The rest of his time was spent just waiting around for her to finally wake up, dodging all his brothers and trying to occupy himself with something. He was fiddling with the radio he kept on the floor next to his bed when his phone notified him of a message. Turning the volume up, some old-school rock played softly. He didn't always keep music on when he worked, which was what he was doing felt like, but something needed to fill the silence. It also made it feel more casual to have the radio on, for both himself and for whoever might stop by his room.

"Good morning to you too

That was...sudden??"

How nice it was to read those words coming from someone who wasn't his family. Not that they said it like that often anyway, but the small gesture hit differently.

"I'm just really curious about what you said you saw."

Curious? Not quite. More like dying to know, and not because he fancied himself some cryptid hunting.

"That's fair I guess

But don't laugh, ok?"

"I'd never, [y/n]"

"Well

Okay

They were big

But no like not the overweight kinf, not even just 'tall guy' kind of big

kind*

You know?"

Yeah, I aware. I'm 6'8" and have a giant shell on my back.

"They?"

He was hoping she'd only seen one of them. Maybe it would have been easier, but, of course, that wasn't the case.

"I think there were two

Idk it just looked really weird, it was dark but the silhouette from the light made them look bulky, I don't know what it was"

Lips pursed tight, he looked up from his phone, and all of a sudden that music in the background was suffocating. He quickly reached over and shut it off. He needed to be able to divert all of his attention to one thing. Except, even though he should have been spazzing over her spotting them (even if just for a split second), a concern crept up in the back of his mind that made him scoff at himself. The need to know was too great.

His eyes fell on his scaled, three-fingered hand as he typed.

"Did it scare you?"

Perhaps it wasn't what he should have been focusing on. But he was. He knew she hadn't seen much, but what if she quipped that it was frightening, or gross, or…?

"I don't know, Bo

I guess it was kind of freaky

Uh, do you actually believe me? That I saw something?"

"'Freaky?'" he repeated to himself in a whisper, brow ridge furrowed. What was I expecting?

He had to shake himself of whatever was going on in his head at the moment, because there were more pressing matters at hand. Like what he was going to answer her question with. Theoretically, he could go two routes; one, invalidate the experience and try to walk on the line of telling her that it was not real without making her feel crazy. And then probably get mad at him. Or two, go along with it, if he didn't have the heart to do that to her. The answer was already here; he let out a deep sigh. Two, it is.

Nothing could make him want to make her feel that way, even if it meant he'd have to put in a little extra effort in fixing his mistake.

"I wouldn't doubt your judgement, [y/n]."

"Thanks

That makes me feel a lot better

You're a really good guy, Bo :)"

Freezing, he sat and stared at the screen before slowly taking the phone away from his face, lips moving, but no sound coming out. He had no idea what to say; all he could focus on was the fact that the girl he undeniably liked thought he was a good guy. And that, presumably, it meant she might have liked him as well. Big on the "might", he realized as the logical part of his mind took over once again. Regardless, he licked his lips and got to preparing a worthy response. He didn't want to come off as flustered as he felt. Donnie was aware he was not particularly suave—he took solace in the fact that she couldn't see his face or hear his voice. He contemplated on acting a bit more "cool guy" than he actually was, but wanted her to like him for him, not a facade. Which was a major contradiction to all that he had done up to that point, but the least he could do was be the person he was on the inside!

"You there?"

"Sorry, I got distracted…

You really think so?"

"That I think you're a great guy?"

"Well...yes."

"Totally. 100%"

His heart was going, he was stammering to himself, and a new feeling enveloped him. He was no stranger to the different emotions; he'd gotten familiar with many of them. Because though he didn't always show it, he had a lot of feelings. These, he felt most viscerally. But he had to get back on track. If he could push last night's incident under the rug, all would be well. More well than it already was, considering.

"Thank you, [y/n]

To be honest, I've never had a friend like you

So, do you want to talk more about what you saw? I know I'm switching tracks quickly, it's just very….interesting."

It was a jarring and awkward subject change, he knew that, but he desperately wanted to get it out of the way. The sooner, the better.

"I suppose

You seem pretty interested in it"

Maybe she wasn't hanging onto the experience like he'd thought she would. There were so many tales of people seeing inexplicable things and becoming enraptured by the experience that he guessed he should only expect the worst, but it appeared that she was not so obsessed. Crisis averted?

"Not too much, I was just wondering

We can forget about it."

"Oh, I'm not going to forget about it, Bo"

There it is, he thought, not surprised.

After thirty minutes of attempting to throw her off without coming off as suspicious himself, he had to take a breather, reorganize his mind. Only to come back and find that she had to go take care of things, and that she'd talk to him later. He'd done as much fixing as he could; at that point, it was as good as it was going to get. The thought of being looked for by his unknowing friend loomed about in the coming weeks as they did their patrols, when they would pass by her residence, and the times that he snuck off to stop by himself. Sometimes accompanied by Mikey, but he tried to keep it as solitary as possible. Soon, watching her on her balcony from that roof became part of his routine. He vaguely thought sometimes that watching her like that could be considered creepy, but that ship had already sailed.

For the third time in the last month he was there yet again, on the same roof, watching the same balcony, watching the same girl. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they didn't. The times he wasn't talking to her as he sat there were the times he daringly crossed the threshold onto the fire escape. There were only a few instances of that. But did he still feel out of his mind doing so? Yes. The window only looked into part of the living room and kitchen, but he felt scandalous to do it. Most of his time there was spent only with his shell against the wall next to the window, just out of sight. He could always hear her faint but noticeable footsteps coming and could easily vault the railing and climb up or drop down. She couldn't get past his keen hearing unless she knew to tread lightly.

Mikey was with him once again, this time out to look for scrap rather than patrol. He'd been buddied up with his younger brother more often ever since their talk that night in Donnie's room. They only stopped by because they were already out and had a viable excuse.

"Does she know about us? Like, me, Leo, Raph..." rambled Mikey, curious, as he practiced one of his new moves with his skateboard. He kicked up onto the ledge of the roof and skidded before hopping off, tucking the board under his arm. "You guys have been together like, what, two months? And she doesn't even know your name."

Fiddling with the strap reaching around his shoulder, Donnie replied matter-of-factly to hide the embarrassment that was ailing him at the thought, "Okay, for starters, we're not 'together'. And secondly, she hasn't mentioned voice chatting in a while."

"And?" He got back on his board, zooming by Donnie.

"My name? It just hasn't come up," Donnie shrugged.

"Call her, then!" Mikey smiled, still preoccupied with his board and trying out his new tricks. Donnie gave a light scoff and shook his head. His brother passed behind him where he sat leaned against the water tower.

"I don't want to just call her out of nowhere, Mikey, she might be asleep."

He also didn't want his brother there when he did.

"You gotta not be so shy!...oh, look, in the window. Right there. See? She's up," he quipped with a small smirk. The curtain was drawn, but the light had turned on at some point, and they could see her silhouette moving past. Donnie looked over his shoulder to say something but felt a hand slip into his pocket on the other side, stealing his phone right off of him. He was fast, but Mikey was faster in jumping into his board and gliding all the way to the other side of the roof with the fussy turtle hot on his trail.

"Mikey, quit it!" Donnie barked, lunging toward him for the phone.

"You'll thank me later!"

The two wrestled for the phone, Mikey holding it just out of reach as he tried to navigate the screen without dropping it.

"Come on," grunted Donnie as the tussle led them near the edge, where Mikey held it precariously over the alley below. His glasses were jostled off his face when a stray hand bumped them, causing them to fall amongst their feet. Squinting, he partially knelt down and searched for the pair while still looking at his brother and his phone, trying to stretch his arm long enough to snatch it. "Really?" he groaned, "just give me the phone!"

Donnie slung out his staff and used the other end to whack his wrist from underneath just as he pulled away from the edge, losing his grip on the phone. Mikey tried to catch it but it bounced off his hand, going right over the side of the roof and plummeting down into the alley.

Mikey froze. Donnie finally found his glasses.

Laughing nervously, Mikey turned back to him, "Whoops…"

When he didn't immediately find the phone on the ground, Donnie knew what happened. He looked over the edge, and there it was, sitting on the pavement in the alleyway. The building wasn't incredibly tall, but enough to do some major damage. He'd have to switch for one of his spares if he didn't want to deal with a busted-up screen.

"I don't need your 'help', Mikey, so leave it alone next time," Donnie said and gave him a narrow-eyed look, huffing as he leaped down to retrieve it.

Mikey may have been insistent, but he knew then it was time to stop. All he wanted to do was help. For his shy, flakey brother to come out of his shell (no pun intended). Donnie, at that time, had the biggest shot out of all of them for something unique and good. He hadn't yet worked out the logistics of how to bridge the gap between the two, but it was a calling of his to help him along.

Donnie watched for people from behind a corner before creeping out to get the phone, which was face down on the concrete. No doubt cracked to all hell if not completely shattered, though it did have a case.

But as he got closer, he heard a voice. From the phone.

He picked up the phone timidly and shot a glance up at the roof, where Mikey was peeking over the edge in apprehension. Without a word, Donnie activated the taser in his staff, pointing it at his brother and zapping it briefly. He flinched and retreated out of sight.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Bo?" she asked again, tone riddled with confusion. "What was that?"

"Uh, yes—hol—hold on, please," stammered out donnie, flying around the corner and pressing flat against the wall as a group of laughing people passed by the alley. "Just one second," he said nervously. Above him, Mikey was rapidly motioning for him to get up there, eyes wide and body trying to stay low. Baffled, Donnie gestured back at him, mouthing at him to keep his pants on for one more minute while he made his way up.

"Hey, what's going on there?" she inquired, concerned.

A street cat abruptly skittered out from between his legs from the dumpster he stood next to, and he had to stifle a startled yelp. He hopped up onto the nearest fire escape, trying to control his breathing. "Hey, hello…[y/n]," he half-chuckled, distracted by working up the building one-armed as he kept as quiet as possible.

"What was all that? And who's 'Mikey'?"

There was suddenly a shout—Mikey's shout—and his stomach did a jump. He sputtered as fast as he could, "I'm sorry [y/n] but this really isn't a good time, and I mean it really isn't," he pulled himself up onto the roof, and there was Mikey, fending off men clad in black, "so I have to go, but—"

"Don, dude! I need help over here!" cried his brother, sliding out of the way as a sword was jabbed towards him. He countered with a harsh uppercut to the man's chin, sending him stumbling backwards. The blade fell to the concrete with a clank.

"'Don'? Bo, what the hell?! Who is with you? And—"

Donnie jumped into the battle, a mix of nine or ten armed men with swords other weapons, and Mikey trying to stave them off, swinging his chucks with nothing short of reckless abandon. But he still didn't hit himself with them.

Ending the call, he secured the phone in his pocket. He wailed the guy closest to him in the side of the head with the heavy staff, then kicked him in the chest. The man fell to the blow, and Mikey ducked underneath the length of Donnie's weapon just in time as the two came together. Stray bullets flew past them, some colliding with their shells as they spun around for protection.

"How was it?!" Mikey yelled over the clamor, breathless. Donnie sidestepped from the rapid hit he sent towards the human to his left.

"What are you talking about?!" Donnie loudly questioned, flummoxed of what could have been going on in his brain during a fight. "We're kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Your phone call!"

"Yeah, the hell's the talkin' about, Don?" a gruff voice cut through the jumble.

Both of the boys whirled around to see their older brothers there, weapons drawn.

"Oh, right. As soon as I saw those bad guys coming, I let them know," said Mikey casually to Donnie, throwing his fist into the face of the man coming up behind him. "You know, standard biz."

With the rest of the team there, the fight was over twice as fast. Some groaning in pain and some unconscious bodies littering the area, along with their weapons. Leo finished the last one and sheathed his swords, eyes on their tallest brother while Raph kept watch around them. Donnie swallowed as Leo approached him.

"Don, you said you were going out for scrap metal," Leo stated.

In the background, Mikey grabbed his skateboard and was going to try to kickflip over one of the knocked out guys, but Raph yanked the board from him, growling. He checked all of the men to make sure they were down and would stay down.

"We were...just on our way back?" Donnie answered. Nearby, there was a small pile of scrap he'd collected, though definitely not enough to justify being out that long.

"So you stopped at your friend's place?" Leo deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Didn't you think that this could get her in trouble, too? Her apartment's right there, dude!"

Mikey budded in and corrected him, "Ah, we stopped by [y/n]'s. And nah! It's all good."

Donnie's face twitched. "Of course I thought about it! That's why I've only come here three times since, and only thirty minute intervals!" he bit back, throwing his hands up. The rest of his brothers all looked at him and his specificity. "I'm not naive, Leo."

The leader pushed past the both of them, signalling that it was time to leave, and they followed. Not before Donnie got what little metal he had collected and put away his staff, tucking the stuff under his arm. Raph joined alongside Donnie as they ran. "What's with all the secret' stuff, Don? First, ya hide it to begin with, then, ya make out like you were done, and now you get jumped by Foot guys by her place when you shoulda been gettin' scrap!" he said. "How were we supposed to cover for ya if you're lyin' even after we let you off?"

"Technically, I did get some!" Donnie remarked. He held up a piece of the scrap for him to see, and Raph snorted. "But..."

Well, his question would be a little harder to answer.

Next block was the nearest manhole, where each turtle swiftly jumped in, knowing by heart (and years of wandering) most of the sewers and the way back home. In some tunnels was Mikey's telltale graffiti, but it was scattered throughout the place enough to not be a giant arrow to their hideout. In the last portion of the run was the tunnel they always slid down, and once they were actually home, Donnie knew what was coming. Master Splinter was already waiting for them by the time they arrived.

"Uh-oh," Mikey said upon seeing him, sinking behind his brothers. Raph pushed him back up front.

Dropping the scrap in his arms, Donnie squeaked, "That's not good." He quietly cursed how high pitched his voice became when he was nervous.

"Yeah…" Leo cleared his throat, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him. The situation had an awkward tension for everyone in it, save for Raph, who was immune to it by then and Splinter himself. "We took care of the soldiers," he added more seriously. "Got out of there before too much attention was drawn.

"The police may be able to handle them from here, but it will not make a dent in the Shredder's forces," explained Splinter, grave as he paced along the line of brothers. "He owns the city. Until I say so, there will be no venturing to the surface. You are all lucky to be unharmed."

"That ain't it," Raph piped up. "But they'll be bringin' the big guns, next time."

"Oh, I am well aware."

"Um...of which thing?" the nervous turtle questioned, exchanging glances to Raph and then Mikey.

Splinter raised his brows knowingly, and that was all it took for Donnie. The floodgates of his signature anxious chatter opened. He grabbed the edge of Mikey's shell and pulled him over into the spotlight with him, "I met someone over an online game and we started texting after a few weeks, and—and Leo found out and I said I would stop, but we never told you," he gestured toward their brother in blue, who refused to make eye contact, "so I told her that it was through and then Mikey somehow convinced me to go back on it," he sucked in a breath, and Mikey grinned uncomfortably, "and then we started talking again and I don't know why, but I went back there to her apartment building and it was just…stupid."

There was a cumbrous pause. Donnie was stiff as a board, Mikey couldn't look at any one thing too long, Leo stood in his polite but awkward stance, and Raph started to whistle.

As poised as ever, Splinter spoke. "I know."

All four pairs of eyes shot to their father.

"What?"

"Uh..."

"Huh?"

"Wait."

They expressed their collective confusion at the same time, and Splinter chuckled. Donnie wanted nothing more than to be able to retreat into his shell, but that was physically impossible. "Nothing gets past me, especially not you and your nervous habits, Donatello. You are scratching that spot on your neck again, son."

Flinching, Donnie pulled his hand away. He'd be damned; Splinter was right.

But unbeknownst to them, there had been spectator of their fight on the roof that night.

————————————————————————————————

shh do not think too deeply about this my children

a/n: haha plot device go brrrr

i need to finish this cursed fanfiction

#tmnt #tmnt donnie x reader #tmnt Donatello #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2014 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt x reader #tmnt donnie #donatello #donatello x reader #tmnt donatello #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt michaelangelo #fanfiction #tmnt fanfiction #writing #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #tmnt mikey

[sityoursiredassdown]

Nobody asked for this rant and I rarely comment on the acotar fandom but it still amazes me that people don’t seem to get they very real running theme of people aren’t perfect that Sarah has put into just about every book she writes. It was a problem I saw in the ToG fandom as well but I’m paying attention to Acotar because a lot of familiar (and new) drama has stirred up with Acosf being out. 

Probably gonna ramble so if you’re as tired as I am hit the “read more.” Also, spoilers, obviously. 

Morality in Characters

Characters being named problematic or irredeemable for something or another is a long running issue in multiple fandoms across a variety of media. That’s its whole separate issue, but one thing that drew me to SJM’s books in the first place was how willing she is to let characters make mistakes. To let themselves believe they are in the right even if we, the readers, know they’re not. 

She lets them justify their anger, lust, panic, doubt, longing, the scope of human emotions. She lets them be right but she also lets them, most often, be incredibly wrong about an emotional situation they are in. She lets them hit rock fucking bottom. But most of all she lets them change their mind, lets them gain a new perspective or move on from something that had felt so important fifty chapters before. And it is an incredibly realistic journey of being human (I know they’re all fae but you get what I mean.)

Any book written by Sarah is going to feature characters that have flaws, some changeable some that are ingrained in them--no person alive is created without personality traits that can never quite shake, can only try to work on, or suffer the consequences from their mistakes. 

Rhysand and Nesta are big examples in the Acotar series. 

Rhysand can be manipulative and scheming, withholding information and thinking he knows what’s best because he’s the smartest person in the room. 

Nesta can be as cold as ice, petty, and downright cruel with her words alone, lashing out and biting like a rabig dog for trying to get close.  

People in different sides of the fandom will lash out at either for these respective traits, citing the mistakes and problematic behavior each character has exhibited in the various books as reason. And I, by no means, am saying that we need to condone the different things various characters have done. The mistake is believing that’s ALL they are. 

Rhysand is also incredibly loyal, generous, thoughtful, and caring to not only his family but to essentially anyone he comes across when not in High Lord Mode.

Nesta is also fiercely protective, brave, insightful, and capable of being incredibly selfless when she cares, when something truly matters. 

The good and bad traits exist in both characters, as they exist in all characters because that’s how people work. Their bad traits lead to mistakes that we can criticize for what they are without condemning the character on a whole, because that is not all they are. And whether there is fallout/forgiveness with other characters makes sense because these are all people intricately connected with their own thoughts and feelings and reactions to situations. 

Which brings me to: 

Nesta vs. Feyre

This, by far, continues to be one of the most aggravating parts of the fandom. Nesta is a naturally divisive character, one I’ve always loved. Because, as stated above, I can find issue with how she treats those around her but also understand that it comes from a place of trauma. The whole point of Acosf is for her to go on that journey and explore why she is the way she is and the journey she takes, it was never going to be solved in the trilogy or the novella. 

While I don’t think Feyre is perfect (that’s the point, none of them are) it does rankle me that parts of the fandom read the trilogy, went on that journey with her, and decided she had become some entitled snob that didn’t deserve to be in the books anymore because she got fed up with how Nesta was acting. The inner circle also was treated similarly. 

In Acosf, there are certainly scenes where Nesta isn’t trusted or respected by members of the inner circle, and at that point we can say they’re in the wrong because we were on Nesta’s journey with her. But trust, understanding, often takes time to rebuild/gain when its been broken and Nesta had certainly been burning bridges back in Frost and Starlight.  

Nesta and Feyre have both suffered trauma, and the thing about trauma is everyone handles it differently. A reason it took Nesta much longer to get help and go on that journey to self love is because she continuously fought against and pushed away the people that reached out to her. Feyre, while wary of Rhysand and the inner circle as they took her in, was more willing to open up. 

Nesta being criticized by other characters for her self-destructive behavior doesn’t mean they don’t care about her or are terrible people. She was never going to go on that journey of self-love and personal growth we all wanted her to have, without a push. The point in the storytelling is to fray those dynamics so they can be rebuilt stronger and from a healthier foundation because Nesta finally loves herself. 

Despite how different they are and the way they’ve clashed, Feyre and Nesta love each other. Because by the end of Acosf, they’ve truly seen and accepted each other as complex people, good and bad. Yet we as fandoms so often seem to think if there’s bad, there can be no good. 

Change

Circling back around to the overall morality of the characters, their mistakes and flaws, one thing SJM has always shown in her books is change. That people and what they want are constantly changing and evolving. 

Characters can be in love, look like they’re meant to be....until they’re not. 

A Character can have a goal, a reasoning, a desire so strong that it feels like they couldn’t want anything else...until they realize it’s not what they needed at all. 

SJM has always let this build across her stories, always goes through her characters emotions and reasonings for this change rather than telling us to accept it. 

The one time I think she erred in this was Morrigan’s sexuality and the sub sequential dismantling of the Morrigan/Azriel ship that had felt so certain in Acomaf. I will clarify. I have no issue with Mor being queer and only mean that the reveal was used as a plot device/twist. 

And of course, that shifted into quite a bit of debate about Lucien/Elain/Azriel, which has rebirthed with Acosf and the special Azriel chapter (I will say I have not read the chapter, didn’t get that copy, but lord I’ve seen the metas.)

Change is a big theme in SJM’s books, especially with ships. She is not afraid to jump around more than once, but most often, the endgame love story feels right. Of course not everyone may agree with this, but that’s always where I ended up after finishing her various books. And of course, everyone is free to ship what isn’t endgame to their heart’s content. 

My final point of this long winded rant is, these characters across these books are messy, complex individuals. Sometimes they have unhealthy behavior, say or do terrible things, and have thoughts that are going to lead to self-destruction. But that’s what makes them vibrant and real, because they can never be perfect. We can love these characters without it meaning we condone whatever it is they do. 

And if you’re this far into a SJM series and haven’t realized that these journeys and these people are never going to be simple and clean-cut for some idealized standard you have, then you may have picked up the wrong book.    

P.S. If you have read all this just so you can try to tell me whatever stan camp you’re in is the only correct one; you’re getting blocked. 

#Acosf #a court of silver flames #meta #acotar meta #spoilers!! #lord this is long #I went on a bit of tangent #but the book hasn't even been out for a week and we've already got shenanigans #Nessian #Feysand #Elucien #Elriel #Nesta Archeron #Rhysand #Feyre Archeron #acomaf #acowar #acofas

[headinthestaticsky]

The Dusk Calls for me: Jasper Hale x Fleur Swan, Chapter 15 FINALE

AUTHORS NOTES: This is a long one folks... hope you like it.

 ALL THE CHARACTERS IN TWILIGHT DO NOT BELONG TO ME! ALL RIGHTS GO TO STEPHENIE MEYER!

WARNINGS: Violence

“Before you slip into unconsciousness I'd like to have another kiss Another flashing chance at bliss Another kiss, another kiss.” 

Crystal Ship by: The Doors.

POV: BELLA’S

I slowly opened the ballet studio doors, I peaked around each side of the room before entering. It was quiet, and I didn’t see mom anywhere the entire room was void of people. 

“BELLA? BELLA? WHERE ARE YOU!?!”

I knew it, I knew Fleur was wrong... mom was here!

“MOM?”

“BELLA!”

“I’m coming mom!”

I ran to the end of the studio and opened the door, my heart sunk into my stomach... It was a TV, of an old home video mom took of me when I was a kid.

“Oh there you are! What are you doing in here?” My mom said.

“Mommy, I suck.” I said back to her, she gasp.

“You do not suck!”

I heard a laugh, it was deep, my blood had run cold, I knew who that voice was. My breath had started to stutter, but I face him. His body was imprinted on every mirror in the room.

“That’s my favorite part... You were a stubborn child weren’t you? Hmm?” James walked up to me, he petted the side of my head before pushing me against a wall.

“S-she’s not even here.”

“No.” He pushed his face closer to mine, breathing me in.

“I’m sorry... but you really made things too easy for me... so to make it up to you. I’m going to make a little film of our time together. I stole this from your house... I hope you don’t mind. And... action. Oh, this will just break Edward little heart.” 

I glanced up, I thought my mind was deceiving me... I saw Fleur, she was holding a rock in her hands. She brought her finger up to her lips and silently shushed me.

“Ed-Edward has NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.” I said, I pushed myself up but I was pushed right back against the wall.

“Oh but he does, his rage will make for a much more interesting sport than his feeble attempt to protect you... and let’s continue.

“HEY!” 

James turned around, before he could say anything a rock was thrown right at his head. His skin had a slight crack in it... he looked pissed. When he turned back around to me I sprayed him in the eyes with my pepper spray. I took off Fleur waiting for me halfway in the room. She grabbed my hand and made a rush to the door but James jumped right in front of us. He grabbed me and threw me into a glass podium. He then turned toward Fleur, a deadly look was in his eyes.

“BELLA!” She screamed.

POV CHANGE: Fleur

All the fear had left my body as soon as I saw him... it was as if adrenaline had taken over me. I threw that rock with all my might, hoping to damage him in someway. I saw the slightest crack on him, and I got him to divert his attention toward me for a second. Bella and I then ran for the door but James got in our way. He threw Bella into a glass podium and then turned around to face me. The fear still didn’t enter my being, I was beginning to wonder if I had a death wish at this point. Before I could react James grabbed me by the back of my hair and turned me around to face the mirror. He slammed my head into the floor. He lifted my head back up and made my look at my now bloody appearance in the mirror.

“Jasper... he is just as pathetic as Edward... he left you this, fragile, idiotic human... He didn’t have the strength to turn you. You make this hunt much more...fun.” He licked the side of my head, drinking my blood in the process.

“You think your so amazing? I’ve seen the way you hunt and track people... It’s mediocre at best.” I spat back out, I could hear Bella groaning in pain in the background.

“How have you seen me? If I sensed you were there I would’ve eaten you up too.”

“I’ve had dreams, I was in that slut of your’s body Victoria... I saw how you hunted, it’s pathetic.”

“...You’re lying...”

“Oh yeah... does this sound familiar to you?”

“It’s always the same, inane questions. Who are you?” 

“What do you want?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“James... let’s not play with our food.”

“How in the hell could you be able to do that...You’re human, nothing more, nothing less.” James said, his grip tightened on my hair, he teeth were clinched. He was seething in pure anger.

“That doesn’t matter...” I said my dark brown eyes glaring back up at him through the mirror.

“All I know is Jasper is going to kick your ASS!”

James dragged me away from the mirror, bringing me to Bella.  He then set the camera down and grabbed both of our legs. Breaking them instantly Bella had started to scream but I held it.

“It doesn’t hurt...nothing is cracking... nothing has broken.... I will not give him that satisfaction of him knowing he hurt me.” I thought.

“Tell them how much it hurts.... tell them to avenge you!”

“NO EDWARD DON’T”

“That means you too...tell poor ol’ Jasper how much it hurts.”

I didn’t budge, he then let go of Bella’s leg and grabbed both of mine, He hurled me threw me through one of the mirrors. A large piece of glass was impaled into my side he then dragged my through the glass, my back getting cut along the way. He then dropped me  and turned to go back to Bella but before he could someone had knocked him out of the way. I then heard a bang against one of the mirrors.

“You got here first... because your fast than the others... but not stronger.” James said.

“I’m strong enough to kill you!” He then kicked James back, I couldn’t tell where though. The room was starting to spin, It felt like I was floating. I could tell who it was though it was Edward, he looked between Bella and I not knowing who to go to. He turned his head to me before muttering a “I’m sorry Fleur” to me. 

This was it, I was going to die here...Edward was going to take Bella and leave me here. I saw him jump up in the air toward a window but James had grabbed him and drug him and Bella back down to the ground. I was gasping at this point, the pain and loss of blood was starting to take it’s toll on me. I heard Bella scream in extreme pain, I knew James had bitten her right then and there. I couldn’t even say anything, I had blacked out. Muffled screams and voices had come into my sense of hearing. I woke up after being shaken by someone.

“Hey, hey, darlin, look at me. You’re going to be fine.”

“J-jasper?” I said... I didn’t recognize my own voice, it was weak and frail.

“Yeah, it’s me... you need to stay awake for me okay? C’mon let me see those beautiful eyes huh?” 

My eyes opened slightly I could see the blurry image of a fire with Alice, Dean and Emmett fighting for something to go in it. I felt a gigantic pressure on my side and hissed. I began to fade out again.

“Hey, hey... c’mon keep your eyes open... you have to stay awake! You can’t forget about what you told me in your room that night... 

I weakly grabbed his hand, squeezing as tight as I could.

“Jazz, y-you need t-to go... my blood, you can’t be comfortable right now. He ignored me and continued in on his rant

You told me you’d live... that no matter how much you got hurt... you would live, you would still be human. You can’t break you promise on me now... you need to stay awake. Fleur? FLEUR!”

My world faded to black again, the sound I heard was the beeping of a machine, it smelt like I was in a hospital. My eyes twitched and I heard rustling on the side of the room.

“Petal? Are you waking up?” It was my dad’s voice... relief filled my body, he was okay. I finally opened my eyes, they were burned by the bright fluorescent lights in the room.

“Dad?”

“Hey petal, you feeling okay?”

I tried to sit up but, a stinging sensation on my side made me lay back down.

“I’ve been better.”

“When I got the call from Jasper, my heart dropped... I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” Dad said, he grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

“I’m here... just a little beaten up right now.”

“Jasper has been here ever since you came in, he hasn’t eaten or drunken anything... in 3 days. I’ve tried to get him to eat something but he would budge. You picked a good one Petal, I’ve never seen so much dedication for someone before.”

“So, you aren’t mad at him?”

“Not at all, Edward on the other hand... he needs some work.”

“A lot of work you mean.”

He chuckled 

“Yeah, you got that right.”

“Is Bella okay?”

“Yeah she’s fine... she told me what happened. She said you were chasing her down a flight of stairs in the hotel  when she tripped dragging you down with her... and then you both went through a window! Do you remember any of this?” 

“Nope, none at all.”

“They said you lost a lot of blood due to a piece of glass stabbing you on the side, it was close to hitting the side of your lung. You got stitches over there.”

“Oh, that explains the pain then.”

“Yeah...”

“I can’t wait to go home... I miss it there... and I miss my bed too.”

“The rooms ready for you Petal.”

The hospital room door opened, we both looked up and saw Renee looking in on us.

“She wants to see you.” She then closed the door behind her, not even acknowledging me.

“Well I see she hasn’t changed much.”

“Yeah... not at all.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with her dad.” 

He turned and looked at me, and then he smiled.

“It’s worth it for you.”

“I love you dad.”

“I love you too.” He then left, leaving me alone in the hospital room with Jasper.

“Hey Jazz.”

“Hi Darlin.”

I opened my arms, inviting him in for a hug. He accepted the invitation immediately.

“I’m so happy to hear your voice again love.” We pulled apart, now facing each other.

“I’m happy to be alive, to be able to see you again. Did you guys get James?”

“Yeah, we got him, boy you should’ve seen Emmett and Dean... they were brutal.”

“I couldn’t of imagined how you felt... I’m sure my blood made you uncomfortable too.”

“You’re the one in the hospital bed... and you’re worrying about me? You did the same thing in the studio. You told me to leave, that you didn’t want me to be uncomfortable around all your blood. You are something special my love, purely amazing.”

“Of course I worry about you Jazz...I love you.”

“I love you too Darlin.”

TIMESKIP: Two week later.

Getting back to Forks was amazing, I never thought I would be so happy to see that small town again. The first week back was rough, I could hardly move, the pain was unbearable at times. The second week was a lot better but, Bella and I haven’t talked much since our fight. The tension was back... and I knew I couldn’t trust her anymore. She was too selfish, too self absorbed, she would risk me and everyone around her just to save herself and Edward. Rosalie and Alice visited me whenever they could and today, the were helping me get ready for prom. I didn’t think I would be able to go but, the pain in my side was nothing more than a annoying throb.

“You guys really don’t have to do this you know...” 

“Yes we do, besides I picked out the dress and I want to see you wear it.” Rosalie said.

“I’ve always wanted to do your makeup and hair... and since I’m here, you can’t stop me now!” Alice exclaimed.

“Alright, alright, make me beautiful!”

A few moments had passed and my make up and hair were done, I was impressed. They really knew what they were doing. I quickly changed into my dress, this was the most beautiful I had felt in the past 2 weeks.

“You look beautiful.” Rosalie said, she looked at me through the mirror, a smile was on her face.”

“You better go, Jasper’s waiting downstairs with Charlie...”

“Okay, okay, thank you guys.”

We all three hooked arms with each other and made our way downstairs. Jasper and Dad sat up walking toward the stairs, they both smiled at me.

“You look gorgeous.” Jasper said.

“Thank you, you look great. Just ignore the cast... it’s a lot...”

Jasper wrapped his arm gingerly around my waist and kissed my cheek.

“You two have have fun, stay safe.” Dad said.

“We will dad.” 

Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and I all made our way outside, Emmett and Dean were waiting for us. 

The drive was nice, it gave me a sense f peace after everything that had happened to me. I wish I could keep this feeling this forever, I felt safe, loved. Jasper had helped me out of the car and guided me through the front of the building. We got our pictures taken and made our way inside... it was a bit chaotic. I looked around and saw Angela and Eric, she looked at me and waved happily. I of course, returned the gesture. I then saw Jessica with Mike, she was posing and taking pictures. When she saw me I gave her a thumbs and mouthed,”You look incredible.” She mouthed back, “you do too!” 

“Come with me, love.” I heard Jasper say, he pulled my attention back to him.

I he pulled me towards the outside of the building, it was secluded. The lights from the inside and the gazebo gave it and warming glow. He turned to face me and grabbed my hands. He pulled my on top of his feet and then began to dance.

“This isn’t how I exactly envisioned this moment but, the one part I knew would happen is still here.” I said.

“And what would that be?”

“That I’d be dancing with you.”

“Looking you over, and you don’t know my name yet.

By the time you looked away I already knew I couldn’t fake it.

I got this need for you, forming in my beating heart.

I knew the meaning right away, when only yesterday were worlds apart.”

“I’m glad I got to be apart of it with you.” Jasper said

“I do too, the happiness you’ve made me feel, is always the best I’ve ever felt.”

“You brought me back to life, love.”

“And you brought even more life to me.”

“I think I may love you, 

If you give my sometime,

Maybe you’ll love me too.”

“I got this need for you, if you come closer I can whisper in your ear.

And if you wanna walk away 

I’ll tell you all the things I know you’d wanna hear.”

“You know... I was talking with Edward he told me some things about Bella.” Jasper said.

“What would that be?”

“Bella is in desperate need to become a vampire now.”

“Wow...”

“So I wanted to ask you... are you in desperate need to become one too?”

“ I mean... I would love to spend eternity with you but... it’s way too soon for me to change. I’m not ready to leave dad yet...”

“That’s a relief to here love.”

“If I were to get changed so soon... It would have to be because I’m about to die... I won’t do it any other way.”

“I promise I won’t change you unless I absolutely have too.”

“I’ll come closer,

To you if you

Come over

I know we’ll go farther

Farther with you

With you I’m in warm water swimming down.”

“I love you Jasper Hale.”

“I love you Fleur Swan.”

“With you I’m in warm water swimming down.”

Warm Water by, BANKS.

END OF BOOK 1

#jasper hale x oc #jasper hale #rosalie hale #jasper hale x reader #edward cullen #alice cullen #esme cullen #emmett cullen #carlisle cullen

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

What would an Azula redemption arc look like?

First things first: I hear this thing a lot about how “Azula deserved a redemption arc” and while I don't think Azula was irredeemable, that’s not to say that she should have been redeemed nor was she in the right place to be redeemed during the series. Post-series, I think Azula could have gotten better, but I don’t think “redemption arc” is the right phrase for it. 

Second, I hear a lot about how Zuko should have been the one to go on a “life-changing field” trip for her redemption arc and I don’t think it’s that simple, nor do I think Zuko would be the right person to help her become a better person. The fact of the matter is that even though they are siblings, they spent a good part of the series trying to kill each other. Azula shot lightning at Zuko in the first episode of season 2, they both almost killed each other in The Boiling Rock and The Southern Raiders, and Azula tried to kill Katara during their Agni Kai. They are siblings and I do think they care about each other deep down, but the fact of the matter is that their relationship was hostile and damaged. Repeated murder attempts aren’t a thing either of them is going to get over quickly and they aren’t the type of thing that’s going to make it possible for Zuko of all people to be the one to help Azula heal. There’s also the fact that he’s a teenage boy dealing with his own damage from his abuse and just because they had the same abuser doesn’t mean he’s going to be the right person to help her heal. 

An Azula redemption arc would in no way be the same as a Zuko redemption arc, but let’s first examine why his redemption arc worked in the first place: 

I’ve written more about Zuko’s redemption arc and why it works here. But in terms of him making amends, the big reason why his redemption arc worked was because it stemmed from him choosing Iroh over Ozai. It was his recognition that the unconditional love and support Iroh had shown him was right and the cruelty and conditional acceptance Ozai had shown him was wrong. And further, it was his realization that he was right all along in terms of being compassionate and his father was wrong when it came to the war. He recognized that all the war was needless suffering because he had seen the real human cost in season 2. And through that journey, he saw that the people of the Earth Kingdom didn't deserve the destruction the Fire Nation was bringing on them and realized they had been wrong the whole time. And his betrayal of Iroh was the catalyst for his redemption arc because Iroh realized that already and spent season 2 trying to get Zuko to embrace compassion and peace. He spends a lot of time after he joins the gaang wondering “what would Uncle do?” and tries his hardest to do the things that will make his Uncle proud. Even though Iroh showed him unconditional love upon their reunion, Zuko still put the work in to do right by Iroh in order to make up for his betrayal.

“He’s the one who’s been a real father to me.... It was cruel and it was wrong!” 

Another thing that needs to be made clear: Zuko’s redemption arc worked because he spent time making amends with the people he hurt, but not just because he wanted to make amends, but because he genuinely related to and wanted to help them with their struggles. He was able to make amends with Aang, Sokka, and Katara by relating to their dilemmas and doing everything in his power to help them through their own emotional struggles he also struggled with. He helped Aang overcome a fear of firebending because he too struggled with finding a way to see his element beyond destruction and harm. He helped Sokka “regain his honor” by helping him at the Boiling Rock because he knew what it was like to fail at something and have a person he cared about bear the consequences of his actions (Sokka with Hakoda and Zuko with Iroh). And he helped Katara find the person who killed her mother because he understood what it was to have the Fire Nation take away his mother. Zuko understood their pain in these specific cases and leaned his hand not only to show them that he had changed, but because he had changed. It was because he genuinely understood and wanted them to overcome their problems. He wanted Aang to find his inner fire, he wanted Sokka to regain his honor, and he wanted Katara to be able to find closure because those were all things he wanted for himself. His acceptance into the gaang wasn’t ‘do X thing and then that made up for how he hurt them’ or ‘said he had changed and felt bad and that was enough’-- it was the combination of his genuine remorse, his ability to relate to them, and the actions that stemmed from that. 

“You can do it, you’re a talented kid.” 

“You need to regain your honor? Believe me I get it.” 

“I know who killed your mother and I’m going to help you find him.” 

So the main takeaway: Zuko had the capacity to be good all along but needed the right influence and before he made amends with the people he hurt. He needed to heal a little bit himself, confront the fact that he was hurt too, and change on his own before confronting the gaang. 

So for Azula to have a redemption arc, she would need to do the same. She would need to address the people she had hurt and Zuko was one of the people she hurt the most. That’s why Zuko wouldn’t be the person to guide her on the path to redemption. She’s the one that needs to do the work to make amends with him (this isn’t to say that Zuko hadn’t hurt her in fights before, but she was the instigator of most of their fighting). But before she’s able to do that she would need to do some work on herself. 

The thing that’s going to make it difficult for Azula to get ‘redeemed’ is that Zuko had a war to change sides on. There was a tangible conflict for him to help the ‘right’ side with. Post-war Azula doesn’t have that. She doesn’t have a Firelord to help Aang defeat or a war to help end. 

But another thing that’s going to make it hard for her is that her actions were objectively more harmful than Zuko’s were. Zuko spent season 1 trying to capture Aang, but there were multiple instances where he chose to put others before his search: he chose not to leave the Southern Water Tribe alone, when Iroh was captured he chose to save him from the earthbenders rather than go after Aang, and during the Storm he chose to keep his ship safe rather than go after Aang. He never intended to hurt Aang, even though his actions were harmful. The worst things Zuko did were as follows: burning Kyoshi village, capturing Aang in the North Pole, betraying Iroh in Ba Sing Se, and sending the assassin after Aang. But in all these cases, there was either someone else with worse intentions or he did tangible things to make up for them or the actual consequences weren’t that bad in the end. Kyoshi village was fine, Aang escaped his capture, he committed treason for Iroh, and he risked his life to stop Combustion Man. 

So what exactly does Azula need to redeem herself from?

1. Repeatedly trying to kill Zuko 

2. Almost killing Aang in Ba Sing Se 

3. Sending Mai and Ty Lee to prison 

4. Conquering Ba Sing Se/wrecking havoc on the Earth Kingdom in general 

5. Hitting Iroh with fire (The Chase) and sending him to prison 

But again, she doesn’t have the outlet of war to tangibly show that she’s changed sides. And for most of these actions, it’s other people that dealt with the consequences. Katara healed Aang and Zuko after Azula shot them. Zuko helped Iroh after Azula shot him and Iroh busted himself out of prison. Mai and Ty Lee were released without her help. The Order of the White Lotus freed Ba Sing Se. She doesn’t have a clear way to make amends for the damage she caused. 

So she’s not going to be able to make personal amends with the gaang. Mostly because there’s no reason for her to do so. Zuko was able to because they needed a firebending teacher for Aang and their goals were aligned. Azula doesn’t have that. That’s one of those things that’s just not going to happen because neither party has a reason to want to make amends.

I don’t think she’s going to be able to reconcile with Mai and Ty Lee after what she did to them. She was going to hurt the people they cared about and at the first instance of disloyalty, their childhood friend threw them in prison. At the Boiling Rock, Mai betrayed her because she was going to kill Zuko and Ty Lee betrayed her because she was going to hurt Mai. Neither one put Azula in danger, but she still tossed them aside when all they wanted to do was keep the people they loved safe. They move on from her after the series and find new people to surround themselves with. They were entirely justified in deciding to cut Azula out of their lives after how she treated them. 

And in terms of Zuko, again, they spent a good part of the series trying to kill each other and I’ve written about the complexity of their relationship and Azula in general here, here, here, and here. But the point is that they spent most of their lives pitted against each other by Ozai and they have some serious resentment and hostility towards each other. This isn’t their fault, but it’s undeniable and that hostility is something that’s going to make it impossible for Zuko to be the right person to help Azula heal. He shouldn’t have to if we’re being honest because of how outwardly violent she was to him. But more on that later. 

So because of these things, I think Azula’s redemption arc would have to parallel Iroh’s. 

It’s talked about a little bit, but Iroh was at one point militaristic and destructive. When he was kidnapped in season 1, the earthbenders called him a war criminal. In the flashback of Zuko Alone, we saw him laugh about “burning [Ba Sing Se] to the ground”. In between Ozai’s coronation and Zuko’s banishment, Iroh let go of his need for military victory and learned to focus on spirituality and peace. This is when he joins the White Lotus and starts to see the faults in Fire Nation propaganda, especially after he lost his son in the process. But what I think is important to remember about Iroh is that he faced the dragons long before his son died. In The Firebending Masters, Zuko says that Iroh allegedly killed the last dragon “long before [he] was born” and they deemed him worthy anyway, despite the fact that he still went on to use his bending abilities to conquer the Earth Kingdom. This means that the dragons were able to see deep inside of him and that gave him a greater appreciation for firebending not as a weapon, but as an extension of the self. So if Iroh had that chance when he was younger, before he decided to live peacefully and help others, Azula might have that chance too. 

And Azula is a prodigy at firebending, but the reason Zuko and Iroh are better than she is is that they recognize firebending as energy and life. They use it to keep them warm and they incorporate other bending techniques into it. We only see Azula use firebending as a weapon, never as a tool. She considers firebending something she has to conquer rather than something that’s a part of her. And she thinks this way because that’s what she was taught her whole life, but like Zuko, she needs to understand her element beyond its ability for destruction in order to accept that she herself has the capacity to be something more than a destructor. Azula determined her self worth and the worth of others by their strength and abilities. In order for her to move past this mentality, she would need to go to the dragons. 

And this might be the place where Iroh can step in for her. I’ve written about the dynamic of Azula and Iroh’s relationship (or lackthereof) here. But during the series, Iroh’s priority was to protect Zuko and Azula just happened to be one of the people he had to protect Zuko from (see The Avatar State, The Chase, and The Guru.) If Azula were to face the dragons, she might want to kill them in order to prove herself as worthy since that was the mentality of the Fire Nation, but if Iroh were to connect with Azula in any way it would be though firebending. It would be in guiding her to the dragons and showing her the true meaning of the element. 

Second, and again like Zuko, she would need to recognize how she was hurt by her parents. There’s that scene in The Beach where she mentions how she was hurt by how her mother treated her, but doesn’t actually talk about it. It would be beneficial for her to verbalize how her self image was warped by how Ursa viewed her. Azula seems to realize that how Ursa favored Zuko over her wasn’t right, but she doesn’t understand that the way Ozai treated her was wrong either. She relished the praise her father granted her and didn’t recognize how he used her for her abilities and didn’t value her as his daughter. So a big part of her learning to become better would be recognizing that the way Ozai treated her was wrong and that she has value beyond her ability to carry out his orders. Azula needed to have her own “it was cruel and it was wrong” moment now that Ozai’s in prison and she’s not beholden to him. And it would take her time to come to that conclusion, but she could get there eventually. Through all of this, Azula really just needs her mental health addresses over anything else. 

And for her to truly be “redeemed” (for lack of a better word) she would need to do two things: she would need to prove to Zuko that she was remorseful for how she hurt him and she would need to prove to the world that she wasn’t seeking destruction anymore. Let’s parallel to Iroh’s redemption arc again. Iroh changed in small ways by helping those around him, mainly Zuko, but his redemption from his years as a general for the Fire Nation and his actions in that regard came in his freeing of Ba Sing Se in the finale. That was his moment of redemption. Azula, being the conquerer of Ba Sing Se, would need to have a moment where she proves to the world that she’s going to work for the greater good over personal glory or her father’s orders. There would need to be an opportunity for her to use her abilities to save people, most likely from Ozai’s supporters. 

And in order for her to reconcile with Zuko, she would first need to be genuinely remorseful for how she hurt him and would need to recognize how Ozai hurt him. For most of the series she relishes in his suffering and if she’s going to truly be redeemed, she would need to first, be genuinely remorseful for how her brother was hurt and second, take steps to show him how she doesn’t want to hurt him anymore. In the finale, we see just how fractured their relationship is as she shoots him with lightning and Katara heals him. In season 3, Zuko learns to heal by letting go of the family that hurt him and finds a family that’s going to look out for him and protect him. If Azula is going to prove to Zuko that she’s changed, she would need to act as his protector. Maybe from an assassin or something along those lines, but she would need to put all her efforts into showing him how she’s changed, similar to how he risked his life in stopping Combustion Man to prove to the gaang how he changed. 

And it’s very possible that they’ll never have a good relationship, but if what we’re looking for is an ‘Azula redemption arc,’ that’s what needs to happen. And Zuko isn’t required to forgive her or have her in his life. The fact of the matter is that Azula hurt him and the people he cared about repeatedly. And just because they were hurt by the same person doesn’t mean she didn’t hurt him too. They very well may never have a ‘good’ relationship, but that doesn’t mean Azula wouldn’t be able to get better on her own. 

I think if anything, Azula might be able to immerse herself in firebending. That’s something she understands and that she’s good at. But in order for her to find peace within herself, to move past the mentality Ozai and Ursa instilled in her, and to become a better person, she would need to follow a spiritual path. She would need to go the route of Iroh. Azula doesn’t need to be any kind of military leader or fighter. What she needed was to recognize herself as something other than a weapon, because as long as she valued herself for her combat and military abilities, she was going to seek destruction. In order for her to heal, she needs to recognize that her ability as a prodigy doesn’t mean she was meant for power or destruction, but rather it’s a gift. Azula is an incredible bender, but she didn’t appreciate herself or the true meaning of the element. And if she’s going to move beyond ruthlessness and callousness, she needs to learn the beauty in her element. 

In conclusion, an Azula “redemption arc” is easier said than done. Azula’s motivations are sympathetic and it’s obvious that she’s a victim of abuse and manipulation, but she did hurt people in major ways. She hurt people in ways she wasn’t able to make up for and that’s why if she were to become better, she would need to learn to let go of this image of herself as a force for destruction and recognize the beauty of firebending. She might never fully reconcile with Zuko and it’s improbable that she would develop meaningful relationships with Mai and Ty Lee, but the fact of the matter was that Azula was 14 and her actions stemmed from her abuse. Her path to becoming a better person wouldn’t focus on the people she hurt, because they had moved on and cut her from their lives, but rather it would focus on her individual path to growing past the propaganda of her nation and the emotional abuse under her parents. 

Azula’s “redemption arc” would not be rooted in interpersonal relationships, but rather would entirely focus on interpersonal growth. 

#this got long #went off a little bit #azula #atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #iroh #ozai #ursa #hot leaf meta #the babes are asking #tw: abuse #spoiler alert: azula needs to meet the dragons #and get some therapy