#remember to do your wrist exercises kids | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theshelbyclan · 2 years

Text

Battle Scars

Summary: Slowly, you are bonding with the strange blond assassin and somehow you are drawn to her more and more (Part 2)

A/N: I was overwhelmed with the support on the first part for this series: thank you so, so much! Again, if you’d like me to continue this, let me know, it’s honestly the main reason for me to keep posting :) Also, if you wanna be tagged in this and the next parts, let me know!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Words: 1559

*****

“What’s this I’m eating exactly...” you asked the chef, who was currently loudly enjoying her own meal.

“You don’t like it?” she asked you casually, “Give it to me. I will eat it.”

“No!” Protectively you put an arm around the plate and pulled it in closer towards you. “I was just wondering what it’s supposed to be.”

“It’s Russian,” Yelena answered by way of explanation.

You laughed shortly, “It’s really not. I’m from Russia, remember?”

“Vseznayka...” she grinned at you.

You constantly tried to keep an eye on her. And even though you were starving and eating as quickly as you could, you never once tried to break eye contact. She, on the other hand, seemed to be so familial with you already and it confused you.

“What do you want from me?” you finally asked her, your voice sounding a lot smaller than you had intended.

“Nothing.”

“Then why chase me across three cities?”

“Ah! So you did realise you were being followed!” She almost seemed proud.

“Obviously,” you shrugged, “It’s not like you were being subtle about it.”

Yelena burst out laughing and you held your breath at the sound. Then she said, “You know, you are very rude and still I like you. It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“It is weird.”

“You still think I am here to kidnap you and take you back to the Red Room?”

You had no idea what to think, so you just shrugged again and took another bite of the strange concoction that Yelena called dinner.

“Don’t worry, little one,” Yelena said, now using the nickname for you that Natasha often used for her, “You can leave here if you want, after you finish eating.”

“I will,” you nodded, even though you had no idea where to go.

Yelena looked at you with some sympathy in her eyes. She remember how uncertain she had felt after being freed, and she hadn’t even been a kid. Carefully, she inquired, “What are your plans?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“I’m sure you will. You are smart.”

You eyed her carefully: was it a compliment or just another trap? And honestly, you didn’t want to talk about your plans, seeing you didn’t have any. You’d rather die than tell her just how afraid you were of the future, how you got scared alone at night sleeping rough and how lonely you felt every day. So you quickly changed the subject, “How did you get that scar?” You pointed at her finger.

Yelena turned over her hand and studied her middle finger, “This? Knife exercise gone wrong. I was ten.” She pointed at your wrist, “That looks like a knife also.”

“Sword.”

“So a big knife. Same thing.” Yelena casually waved a hand.

You narrowed your eyes at her, wanting to prove something, even though you weren’t even sure what, “I didn’t even feel it, I just noticed the blood first.”

“That’s normal,” Yelena opened her vest and pulled down her t-shirt, “Two bullets. Didn’t feel the first one, but the second one hurt like a bitch.”

“Fuck...” you leaned in closer to get a better look at it. “When did that happen?”

“First real mission. I was fourteen.”

Quickly, you flashed you shin at her, “Baton. Broke my entire shin. I was eleven.”

“Pff..” Yelena scoffed and she inclined her head, “A guard gave me a concussion and I woke up three days later. Now, that really hurt.”

You nodded, officially impressed. “How about this one?” you showed her your right ear, “Frostbite. When I was 8 I got punished for stealing and was locked outside for two nights.”

“Ha!” Yelena laughed, “That’s nothing, kid. Check this out!” She showed you her other foot and one toe appeared to be missing, “A whole week up in Siberia will do that to you.”

*****

“How’s it going?” Natasha inquired.

“I think we’re bonding.”

Her sister sounded sceptical over the phone, “Over what?”

“Scars.”

“Yelena...” she started.

“I’m serious!” her younger sibling interrupted her, “We compared scars and she was impressed and I was impressed and I don’t know what you usually call this, but it is a bond, yes?”

“If you’re trying to befriend a polar bear, yes...” Natasha grumbled on the other end.

Yelena picked her teeth with a knife as she tried to get rid of her ‘Russian dish’. Then she said, “I like her. She is like a fish.”

Natasha laughed, “I hope you didn’t call her that.”

“I did. She didn’t mind.”

“I bet she did.”

Yelena was quiet for a bit, “I’m staying here for a while.”

“Ah...” her sister said knowingly, then added, “So you really like her.”

“She tried to kill me.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

Yelena looked over to you and it struck her that you seemed so very small all of a sudden. All this time, she’d viewed you as an equal, but while she was on the phone with Natasha, you were sitting with your back against the wall, watching some cartoon on TV. Silently, you were repeating the lines. Just like we were taught, Yelena thought.

“I’ll tell her you said ‘hi’,” the blonde ended the conversation.

Natasha nodded on the other end, but didn’t speak.

“I’ll tell her that her sister misses her,” Yelena added, more to herself than anyone else.

“I do...” Natasha mused, “I’ll see you both soon, rooskaya.”

*****

As the evening was about to fall, you looked at the strange blonde for some kind of plan. And she seemed to understand what you were asking her, “Go on. You can go. I won’t stop you.”

“You’ll let me go?” you asked, still not quite trusting her.

Yelena studied her hands and decided right there and then, “I’ll stay here, for at least another week or so. I won’t force you to stay with me. You are free now, so it’s up to you.”

“I’ll leave,” you ventured, “I will.”

“You are free to choose.”

Unsure of what to do, you looked at the door, but when you looked back at Yelena, you saw she only smiled at you comfortingly. “I will be here, if you want some more food.”

“Some more ‘Russian food’?” you joked cheekily.

“Yes,” she grinned back at you, “Good, delicious food. You know you want it!”

You smiled back at her and the next second, you had jumped out of the window. But as you were about to climb down the wall, you heard Yelena call after you, “Oh! Your sister, the Avenger, says ‘hi!’”

For the next hour, you roamed London. You had no idea where to go from there. The last couple of days you’d been sleeping in the Underground stations, but it felt strange going back there now. Still, with no other options, you felt the pull of those places once again. Once arrived, the familiar punk kids greeted you with friendly faces, but suddenly it was like you no longer belonged. The thought occurred to you that they had no idea who you really were or where you came from. And there was another prickling image in the back of your mind: only a few miles away, there was someone who did know. A blond assassin who shared your scars. Someone who did understand. A sister maybe?

Meanwhile, Yelena was lying on the bed, being consumed by doubt. She felt completely incompetent for letting you go. All she could keep thinking was: I let a child sleep alone on the streets tonight and Natasha is going to be so disappointed in me. And of course she could tell herself that you’d be fine, after all you had survived and outsmarted the Red Room’s dropping, but it didn’t help much.

Suddenly, she heard a noise and Yelena sat bolt-right up in the bed. Instinctively, she pulled a knife and crouched towards the back room. From there, she could watch the window perfectly. A small, hooded figure climbed in without making a sound. Yelena watched you lower yourself and therefore she made her way back towards the bed, secure in the thought that it was only her little fish. There, she closed her eyes and waited.

You had decided on a whim to go back to the apartment. It wasn’t a simple decision, but it was the easy choice: this was the only place where you didn’t have to hide. Climbing back in through the window was a lot less hassle without all the tourists, and you knew you could do it without making a sound. Carefully, you crept around the apartment until you found the bedroom.

A loud snore sounded from the bed. For a second, you wanted to turn around and run, but Yelena’s sleeping form was somehow a relief to you. So, you did what you normally would never do and you pulled aside the blanket and laid down next to her.

The first few minutes, you were laying there stiff as a board for the nerves, unsure of whether you’d woken her or not. Then, you relaxed and felt yourself getting drowsy. Being in the presence of another widow, it was no longer a threat, but a comfort now. And so you let go.

Yelena heard your heartbeat get steady and waited until it was completely at a calm rhythm. Then she turned around and put an arm around your sleeping body.

You felt her hug you closer, without trapping you in her arms. Your breath hitched, but then eased.

Yelena felt the moments before you surrendered to sleep, and she took these moments to whisper, “Don’t be afraid, detka, I’ve got you.”

Seconds later, you were blissfully asleep.

*****

Masterlist

1K notes · View notes

mimi-ya · 1 year

Text

countdown ~ zoro x reader

2,900 words | she/her, f!body | nsfw

summary: he's been waiting his entire life for this moment (timer that counts down to soulmates meeting)

a/n: @missallsundayy do you even remember requesting this? well you did, and i had so much fun with it!

masterlist | soulmate event

Zoro was starting to worry his crew.

It started when Nami noticed Zoro was spending his nights in the crows nest. And then Chopper became concerned when Zoro had upped his exercise regime to inhuman amounts. Sanji was getting annoyed when the moss head barely took a break to eat. Even Luffy had taken notice.

And Luffy never notices anything.

“Zoroooo!” Luffy rolled across grass, “C’mon, I’m bored!”

Zoro didn’t take his eyes off his sword, slicing the air with practiced precision, “Training.”

“What about later?”

“More training.”

“Ugh!” Luffy cries, gaining the attention from his crew, “Why are you training so much!”

“My fight is next week.” Zoro swings his sword.

“Fight?” Luffy pops up, “Who are we fighting?”

The rest of the crew stopped what they were doing, looking to the swordsman for his answer. This dramatically increased training had been going on for almost a month without an explanation until now. They each lean forward, obvious interest written across their face, only to be disappointed when Zoro answers-

“Don’t know.”

Luffy lets out an annoyed groan, melting back into the ground.

“Then how do you know there’ll be a fight?” Chopper appears at Zoro’s side, and his question finally gets Zoro to put down his sword for the first time all day. Zoro’s always had a soft spot for the reindeer.

“It’s my time.” Zoro says, bending at the knee to show Chopper his timer.

“Are you kidding me?” Nami screeches from her lounge chair, “That’s what you’re talking about?”

“But Zoro?” Chopper puts a hoof to his chin, “I don’t think you’re supposed to fight them.”

“I have to.” Zoro answer. He can’t be the greatest swordsman if he hasn’t beaten the one destined to fight him.

“Don’t listen to him Chopper!” Nami stomps over, “Zoro doesn’t know what he’s talking about and in a week he’s gonna look like a huge idiot!” She gives the swordsman a flick to the forehead for good measure.

“I don’t have time for this, witch!” Zoro spits, grip tightening around his sword.

“You’re really going to challenge your soulmate to a duel?” Nami crosses her arms, “That’s not what they’re for!”

“I think it’s sweet.” Robin pipes in, setting her book down in her lap, “There’s no conclusive explanation as to what these timer’s indicate. Why, I think our captain is a perfect example of that.”

Robin sprouts an extra hand from Luffy’s back, earning a laugh as it takes his wrist to show off the dozen timers, a majority of which have already counted down to zero.

“They can be our family, friends, loves.” Robin’s eyes slide to Franky who’s tinkering with a metal contraption, “A sense of belonging. And for Zoro,” She looks back to the swordsman who’s returned to his exercise, “His greatest fight.”

Zoro sits on the edge of the cliff and waits.

The day he’s been anticipating is finally here.

After years of preparation, he’s as ready as he’ll ever be. With his swords laid out in front of his crossed legs, a refreshed body and mind, there’s nothing left to do but wait. And wait.

And wait.

He supposes he could look at his timer. He had covered it up a few days ago, willing to give you the element of surprise.

Zoro smirks to himself. It was the least he could do.

He’s broken from his thoughts when a scream cuts the silence of the forest, “Ahhhhh!”

“The hell?” Zoro grabs a sword and gets to his feet, spotting a small dot in the sun rays.

“Ahhhhh!”

He squints, “Wait a minute.” Is that dot getting bigger?

“Ahhhhh!”

“Oof!” Zoro grunts, getting thrown to the ground when something collides into him.

The person on top groans, squishing Zoro’s face as they try to sit up, “Thanks for breaking my fall.”

Zoro snarls, quickly pushing the person to the ground as he scrambles to his feet. He readies his sword faster than he ever has; the blade pointed at their head.

“You here for a fight?”

The man on the ground lets out a pained moan, “Fight?” He rolls over to meet the stare of Zoro’s sword, knocking it out of his face, “I just finished getting my ass kicked.” The man groans pitifully, throwing an arm over his face. His body is already marred with bruises and cuts, tears in his clothing.

He isn’t the one.

Zoro growls, “I don’t have time for this.” He sheathes his sword, “If you’re not here to fight then get out of my way.” He walks back towards his spot, ready to continue his mediation until his opponent arrived but of course-

“Is it them?” A voice whispers from behind.

“Why aren’t they fighting? I thought they were supposed to fight.”

“What’s he doing!”

Zoro scowls as the voices carry from the bushes.

“Idiot probably wised up.”

“Impressive.”

Zoro’s patience finally snaps as he turns to the forest, “I can hear you!”

Not a moment later Luffy bursts out of the foliage, “Zoroooo! This is taking too long and I’m hungry.”

“No one said you had to be here! None of you have to be here!”

As if on cue, the rest of Strawhats pop out of their hiding places.

“Nice catch, moss head.” Sanji croons, giving the man on the ground a nudge with his foot.

“It’s not them, you shitty cook!” Zoro growls back.

“Oi.” Luffy pokes the man in the cheek, “You come from Sky Island?”

“Luffy!” Chopper slaps his hand, “Knock it off!” The little reindeer turns his attention to the man, “Are you okay? Do you need your injuries checked?”

“Hah?” The man looks at Chopper, “A talking racoon dog? She must have knocked me out harder than I thought.”

Chopper lets out a noise of indignation, stomping his foot, “I’m a reindeer!”

Robin takes a step closer, “Did someone cause you to land here?”

“That damn restaurant boat.” The man sits up, rubbing at his head, “Thought I could take her on myself.”

“A restaurant boat?” Sanji and Luffy perk up.

“Please no.” Zoro mutters, examining his blades, “Last time we went to one of those we got stuck with a shitty cook.”

Sanji lets out a growl, “Won’t need to wait for your soulmate cause I’ll kick your ass right now!”

“I could use a warm up!” Zoro shouts back, but before they can go any farther Nami pushes between them.

“But there’s no boats on the coast except ours.” Nami crosses her arms, waiting for an explanation.

“Oh!” The man laughs, unsteadily getting to his feet, “Hades Blade is on the other side of the island! I think this is the furthest she’s sent me flying so far!”

“Thought you said it was a restaurant boat?”

“Oh, it is!” The man dusts off his feet, “Doubles as a fighting pit too! My third time trying to win a meal from that chef.”

“You can fight and eat?” Luffy’s eyes go bright, and he latches on to Nami with drool down his chin, “Oh, can we go? Can we go? Can we go?!”

“Why am I here again?” Zoro groans, following the rest of his crew onto the deck of Hades Blades.

The ship is painted a deep red, black sails rolled up to the top. There are dozens of people milling about. Some looking worser than others, and a few knocked out cold on the ground.

“Cause we’re gonna win!” Luffy exclaims, punching a fist into his hand, “Oi!” He screams into the crowded deck, “Who do I gotta fight around here for some food!”

Silence falls over the ship as everyone turns to stare at the newcomers.

“Uhmm Luffy.” Usopp whispers, “Maybe we shouldn’t draw attention like that.”

“But I’m hungry!” He screams out.

Too quick for most notice, a person leaps out from the crow’s nest.

But Zoro spots it.

They swing down on a rope, a blade drawn as they head right for Luffy’s back.

“Oi! Watch out!” Zoro calls, shoving his captain to the ground with not even a second to spare before the person lands right where Luffy was standing.

“Someone hungry for a fight?” You release the rope, letting it sling upwards. With a hand placed on your hip and a smile for the boy who’s face first on your deck.

“Hey!” Luffy cries, jumping up from the ground, “What’s that about!”

You cross your arms, “You called for a challenge, didn’t want to leave you waiting too long. Timeliness is a quality of a good chef.”

Luffy frowns, “Well I already have the best chef!”

“Is that so?” Your eyes quickly pass over the bunch before landing on the boy again, “So you a captain or something?”

Luffy pulls himself to his full height, chest puffed out, “Captain that’s gonna be king of the pirates!”

You raise a brow at his little show, “Alright. And what’s that got to do with you disturbing my patrons?” The knife twirling between your fingers, eyes narrowed.

A loud stomach growl cuts through the tension. Those surrounding the boy let out various groans of their own, one even slapping a hand to her head. “Uhh. Well, I’m kinda hungry.” Luffy slumps with a hand pressed to his stomach.

Laughter bubbles up from your stomach. This boys tenacity is something else, “I only cook for those I deem worthy of my food.”

Right as Luffy opens his mouth someone pushes him to the side.

“A real chef cooks for anyone who’s hungry.”

“Oh?” You stop your knife twirling, “And what would you know about being a real chef?”

There’s a guff of laughter but you don’t pay it any mind as the blonde man in front of you seems to light on fire with determination.

Oh, this was going to be easy.

“Well pirate king.” You glance back at the boy who started all this commotion, “If your little chef here can best me, I’ll let you eat your fill.”

“It’s on!” Luffy wraps an around on his chef, “Sanji’s can cook better than you ever could!”

“Who ever said anything about cooking?”

“Oh c’mon!” You scream over the cheers, “You all talk or what?!”

And here you were looking forward to a good fight.

Everyone else who had come to you over the last week had been pitiful at best. And you could see this man hand some skill to him. The entire crew probably.

But of course, now that the two of you were in the ring, your regulars cheering around you, he just had to back out.

Thought the two of you were going to cook, he said.

What a joke.

“A chef should only use his hands for cooking.”

You hold up your knife, slicing it against the cage just to hear the sweet sound of metal, “Sounds to me like you don’t have much confidence in your culinary skills.” A grin spreads across your lips, “Vegetable, fish, man. It all cuts the same to me.”

Sanji shoves a cigarette in his mouth, a shaky hand flicking at the lighter, “If you weren’t a lady, I’d flay you for the insult.”

“Oh?” You cock your head, “A failure of a chef and a fighter, I see.”

Jeers and boos fill the room, realization dawning on everyone there wouldn’t be a fight today.

“Ah, shut up!” Sanji screams in return.

Zoro watches as the stupid cook turns his back on you, and you easily kick him into the cage.

“If you’re not here to fight, get the hell out of my kitchen.”

“Sanji!” Luffy cries, shaking the cage fence, “You said you would win!”

Sanji stumbles down the steps, a crisscrossed imprint on his cheek from the metal wiring, “Yeah, well that’s before I knew I’d actually be fighting her.”

“Excuses, excuses.” Zoro smirks.

“Of course, you’d say something like that you brute!”

“Well, Strawhat?” You call from inside the ring, “I promised all you could eat if one of you could win!”

Luffy growls, ready to jump to his feet. He’ll take on anyone for food!

“Let me handle this one, captain.” Zoro presses a hand into Luffy’s shoulder, throwing a smug look at Sanji, “Show ya how it’s done.”

“Fine.” Luffy crosses his arms, “But you better do it fast, I’m hungry!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Zoro answers, pulling out two of his swords. No need to go all out on you just yet.

The crows cheers when they see Zoro walking up to the ring.

“Oh?” You turn with a smirk, “So someone from your crew is willing to fight?”

Zoro mirrors you with a feral grin, “Someone willing to win.” He corrects you.

You stand up a little straighter, both of you acknowledging the aura of strength coming from one another.

It sends a tingle down your spine, a heat that spreads throughout your entire being. Had a fight ever made you feel like this? Feel so alive?

But it’s not the fight that’s invoking this energy. When you move to slice your knives together, you notice the timer has counted down to zero.

A small gasp escapes your lips, and your head whips up to the man across from you.

His feral smile widens when you meet his challenged stare. Like he expected this to be your meeting.

The grin slowly creeps back onto your face. Alright. If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he’ll get.

Your back slams against the wall with a gasp, “I totally won.”

“The hell you did.” Zoro growls, laying a trail of biting kisses down your neck.

“Had you pinned- hnng.” His leg finds a cozy spot between your legs, “In five minutes.”

He traps your hands against the wall, “And look at you now.”

“So, you admit it.” You grin, “Greatest swordsman my ass. Couldn’t even pair against my steak kni- oh fuck.” A groan escapes your lips as Zoro pushes his leg up further, rubbing your center over his muscled thigh.

“Quickest way I could get you here.” He mutters, his eyes trained on your face.

This is not how he was expecting his day to go.

The fight started off how he anticipated. Neither of you able to get an edge over the other, a continued clash of blades. But then there was a moment and he slipped up.

You had almost got him with that damn vegetable knife. If he had been half a second slower, it would have sliced right against his cheek. And instead of planning his next move, he thought of getting you a proper sword, showing you how to fight with something more capable than a kitchen tool.

It was this slipup that cost him the fight.

Not a second later you had kicked him to the ground, pouncing on him with both knives pointed at his throat and he had nowhere to go.

It was at that moment that he thought of something else.

“I think I’ll take my reward.” You twist your wrist against his thumb, easily freeing your hand from his hold. Fingers pressed into his shoulder, you push him to his knees.

“Fuck.” Zoro groans, working your pants open without complaint. Your fingers card through his hair as he helps your foot out of a pant leg.

And like all things in life, Zoro dives in headfirst. Literally.

“Oh!” Your voice is a squeak and part of you is angry this man could pull such a noise from you so quickly, but the feeling is quickly replaced with need when he slings a thigh over his shoulder.

Zoro groans into your cunt, his tongue quickly moving over you. He’s never been so reaved up in his life. Whether it’s you, the fight, the timer, or combination of all three, his pants are becoming unbearably tight.

Finger digging deeper into your thigh, Zoro positions his mouth over your clit and gives a hard suck.

With a cry your head hits the wall behind you, hips rolling against his face as you chase your pathetically quick finish.

Zoro drinks up everything you give him, thirsty for more as he doesn’t let you out of his hold despite your squirming.

“Please!” You whine, trying to pull back but it’s impossible as your stuck in your position.

And Zoro’s too consumed to notice, not that he would care much either. He’s overwhelmed with your taste and smell, mind filled with thoughts of getting you bent over that kitchen counter so he can really get a feel for ya.

But before he can get any further, a harsh shove casues Zoro to fall to the ground. He doesn’t miss a beat as his eyes ravage your body and tongue licking his lips.

You reach for your pants, quickly pulling them up your shaky legs.

“That it?” Zoro asks, not moving from his spot on the ground but smugness dripping from his word.

“I have a restaurant to run.” You button your pants, “I can’t be leaving my customers hungry.”

“And what about me?”

“What?” You cock your head with a smirk, “That meal wasn’t enough?”

.BONUS.

“I don’t get it.”

Zoro pinches the bridge of his nose, “We leave behind shitty cook and take her with instead!”

Luffy frowns, “But why can’t we have two chefs?”

“We don’t need two chefs.”

“I don’t know Zoro, I can eat lot.”

“Luffy, you’re missing the point.”

#zoro roronoa x reader #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #op x reader #one piece x reader

606 notes · View notes

diabolikwriter · 1 year

Text

Nga yawne lu oer - Chapter 7

Recom! Miles x Na’vi/Avatar! Fem! Reader – Chapter 7

Sentences in ‘Na’vi’ is outlined like this: Nga yawne lu oer

Warnings: Cussing! Loss of family member. Miles being confused.

Word Count: 1749

Chapter 7: Learning to see

Miles’ POV

The day after Miles woke early, and looked over to where you and Miles were sleeping, and that weird fluttering in his chest returned. There you lay, mask tucked over your mouth, curled around your small son. He remembered when Miles had just been born, and you curled up around him, exhausted from being in labour for hours and then giving birth, but you smiled so sweet, and had such a serene and happy look on your face. He leaned over the two of you but the moment his shadow covered your face your eyes snapped open, and you hissed, quickly crouching over your son.

“Calm down tiger.” Miles said raising his hands.

“What were you doing?” You hissed out.

“I was just looking at the two of you sleeping, you look so sweet and innocent when curled up asleep around Miles.”

“His name is Spider.” You gritted out, not commenting on the other things he had said.

“Pretty sure we agreed on Miles.”

“We did, but that ended up being a horrible name, with the indication that he’s his father’s son, and it just made his life so much easier to forget that name.” Ouch, that stung, but Miles wouldn’t show it.

“If you say so… well get up, you’re still a hostage and I can’t just allow the two of you to sleep the day away.” Truth is if you lay there a moment longer, looking that delicious, he could not be held responsible for the things he would do. And perhaps that wouldn’t be the greatest idea with how rocky your ‘relationship’ is at the moment.

After some breakfast, which consisted of some kind of extremely gooey and bland oatmeal, he had gathered all the recoms, you and Spider - he’s pretty sure that it was the other Brainiacs that came up with that name for the kid - and announced the plans he had for the day.

“So you’re probably all wondering why I’ve disturbed you from you daily training exercises and chores.” He said standing proud before his team. “The General has given the green light for us to take these hostages out in the jungle. I will explain why when we get there. We leave in 20 minutes, so get packed, it’s an overnight stay.”

“Yes Colonel!” The recoms saluted and left to pack their necessities.

Twenty minutes later they were marching to their helicopter. Miles had one hand on the neck of the boy, and the other was wrapped around the arm belonging to (y/n), who had both of her wrists cuffed. Cuffing her had taken about 10 minutes of hissing and struggling, and he hated every single fucking second of it. No matter his opinion about the natives, he couldn’t see you as one of them, and treating you like a savage animal and a hostage had felt so wrong. But he managed to get you cuffed in the end – and of course his stupid brain had to conjure up the last memory he had of cuffing you, which was way more pleasant -. Spider ran ahead and eagerly jumped into the helicopter, and after Miles had helped you about, of course not without you hissing quietly at him, he turned to Spider just in time seeing him getting a bit to close to the big gun for his comfort. He wanted to lie and say that it was just irritation, but he knew that just wasn’t it. But the thing is, he didn’t know what the feeling coursing through him was, sure there was a great deal of fear for the boy and a bit of irritation, but it was almost as if it was instinctive in a very weird and very fucked up way. Probably another weird thing this new body of his could do?… feel?. Fuck he didn’t know. What he did know was that Spider definitely was a mix between you and him, and he had definitely gotten both of yours stubbornness. After having reminded the boy of the tracker and telling him he would discipline him if he stepped out of line, the boy had reluctantly answered with a yessir, and how much he looked like you in that moment was insane.

Miles was enjoying breathing in the air of Pandora, and for once not needing that shitty mask. When he looked around the helicopter observing his team his eyes eventually landed on you, and there you sat, with you eyes closed and taking deep breathes and enjoying the fresh air, for the first time in a of couple days. His breathe left him and he felt like a teenage boy with a crush on a girl, which was absurd considering his mental age. Miles had to remind himself once more that emotions right now couldn’t get in the way for the mission, but still without a doubt, you had his heart in your hand, and he knew that even after everything he would do anything for you.

When the helicopter landed on the ground Miles gathered his team and decided that it was time to tell them why he had dragged them into the jungle.

“Gather around Team!” Miles stood with you and the boy at his side and the time forming a half circle in front of you and he gestured towards you and Spider. “(y/n) here has decided to help us, but in her own way.” The team all looked at each other in question. “Everyone know that to beat your enemy you gotta know your enemy. So (y/n) and the boy has decided to teach us the Na’vi way. We’ll learn to walk like them and talk like them, we’ll learn their language.” After that Miles said what he himself thought was a well pronounced sentence in Na’vi, but it earned some laughs form the boy, and he could also see your shoulders shaking.

“You call that Na’vi? How come you not have learned more with my amazing mother as your teacher?” Asked your son, and though he perhaps weren’t as good at pronouncing the words, he was somewhat decent at understanding most of the language.

“Sorry kiddo, your ma is very distracting, which normally resulted in anything but those language lessons.” Miles answered with a wolfish grin, and for a second it looked like the boy turned green, while the other recoms laughed. Miles thought he could see a purple tint on your cheeks, and he almost puffed out his chest in satisfaction of getting such a reaction from you.

“Ew! That’s so disgusting!” Exclaimed Spider.

“It’s natural kiddo, perhaps one day you’ll know what I mean.” By the blush spreading across the boy’s face, Miles had a feeling that Spider in some way knew what he was talking about.

Half an hour later Miles had freed you from your cuffs and you and the boy was walking around looking extremely serene.

“So Colonel, when do you suppose that our ‘training’ start?” Asked Lyle from beside him, and it wasn’t a dumb question, because Miles himself was very curious about that as well.

“Hey (y/n)!” He called. “Is it gonna be anytime today.” The moment those words left his mouth, Miles knew that he fucked up, because you tail stiffened, your ears tucked to your head and when you turned to look at him every trace of your smile was gone.

“The moment you get those horrid boots off.”

Miles scoffed. ”That ain’t happening.”

“Well then guess I can’t teach you the Na’vi way then.” You shrugged, “Too bad.”

“Okay the we’ll just head back to base.”

“As far as I know that’s your loss. I mean every minute count if you wanna get to Jake, right?” You and Miles just stood and stared into each other’s eyes, until Miles sighed and gave in.

“All right then. Team get your boots off!” He ordered.

A few weeks had gone by since the first time Miles and the team had taken you and Spider to the jungle, and to say it hadn’t been challenging would be to lie.

Miles had been humiliated so many times, he had failed so many tasks that according to Spider was something an Omaticaya child could do with their eyes closed. An example could be the time you taught them how to braid bracelets, which only Lyle, Z-dog and Ja managed to do. And he could not and would not mention learning to walk in the jungle. It had been challenging mostly because he and his teams had to put a lot of their training and values from Earth away, and focus on the values of the Na’vi people. You were still trying to teach them how to breath with ‘the great mother’ and you were trying to get them to see the planet, and Miles was slowly starting to think that you had managed to at the very least make them understand. They had learned the prayer you do when you hunt and animal, and they had learned to prepare said animal with respect, and Miles could keep on going. And slowly as time had went, he had started seeing you in a new light. He still held the same feelings for you, but now it was as if he saw you, and to be honest it was a little bit unnerving.

Today was another day in the jungle, and he and his team and you and Spider were all sitting in a circle, eating breakfast in peace and quiet until Z-dog opened her mouth.

“How’s Paz doing?”

You stiffened and Spider immediately turned his eyes to you in worry.

“Paz didn’t make it. She was killed in battle.” Miles could hear the sorrow in your voice, and even though he hadn’t really talked with your sister, other than her threatening him after she found out about your relationship, he felt bad.

“Oh.” Z-dog’s ears flattened, and Miles recalled that Z-dog and Paz had had some relations with each other. And judging by Z-dog’s reaction it had possible been more serious than what he originally thought.

Silence spread throughout the team until Miles broke it. “Sorry for your loss Sweetheart. I know how much she meant to you.” Tears had welled up in your eyes and Miles felt his heart clench painfully at the sight of your tears. He sighed and stood up. “Alright back to base, I think these last couple of day have been eventful enough.”

Taglist:

@ratchetprime211 @mechformers @iwishiwas-anita @iskamr @yumuramma @isabellekenway @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @callmejod @mochiivqi @sofiebstar @ssc7514 @mikeyswifie @ducks118 @ladylovegood-69

#miles quaritch #miles quaritch imagine #miles quaritch x reader #recom miles quaritch #colonel miles quaritch #avatar way of water #avatar x reader #avatar #avatar the way of water

103 notes · View notes

five-rivers · 1 year

Text

Life's Great Lie 14

AO3

“I guess,” said Sam, “the good thing is that we were planning on going to the Ghost Zone anyway.”

“You were what?” asked Maddie. She looked sideways at Stark. “It was my understanding that the problem had to do with aliens. Not ghosts. Not our area of expertise, but of course—”

“We’ll beat up anyone that messes with our kids!” The statement was emphasized by the sound of the bazooka cocking.

The effect was slightly ruined by Sam’s knowledge that the sound was an entirely unnecessary addition Jack and Maddie had built in. A flip of a switch could disable it entirely.

“Ow!” yelped Jazz.

“Well, if our doctor hadn’t just been zapped into a hell dimension, you’d be getting better care,” said Romanov.

“And if your arrow guy didn’t shoot me, I wouldn’t need medical care.”

“I said I was sorry!” said Barton, who was doing some kind of wrist exercises now that he was no longer tied up. “I was being mind controlled.”

“Stuff you do while being overshadowed doesn’t count!” agreed Jack.

“I don’t blame you for shooting me,” said Jazz. “I am judging you for the whole unsecured interdimensional portal thing and missing the obvious Nazis.”

“They’re not that obvious,” said Romanov.

“We are wasting time,” said Thor. “Open your portal to Helheim and retrieve Banner so we can continue our search for my brother.”

“That is the reason Dr. Banner was brought on board,” said Romanov.

“I’m not sure we do need to search for him,” said Jazz. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about. The things Danny wanted from us, I mean. I’m sure Sam and Tucker have, too. But, Mom, Dad, you remember the ecto-converter? How much power could it…” She shook herself subtly. “How much power could it extract from a level seven ghost? How many places can produce that much power?”

“A level seven ghost? Where would Loki even—” Maddie cut herself off. “Oh, right. Phantom.”

“Danny,” corrected Sam.

Maddie sighed. “He’d need a power plant. For a portal like the one he’s creating…” She trailed off.

“Didn’t you guys make a portal in your basement?” asked Barton.

“The Ghost Zone’s different! It’s always around us, right next to us, even now, and it’s chock full of energy! Once it connects, it’s—Well, not easy to make it self-sustaining, but it’s doable!” explained Jack. “But his portal, it goes somewhere in this universe. Somewhere really far away, right?” He looked to Thor for confirmation.

“I believe that to be so,” agreed Thor.

Jack pumped his fist. “Yeah! So, Loki’s gotta get some power to punch through that difference!”

“But the reason HYDRA and SHIELD wanted the Tesseract in the first place was the power it could produce,” said Captain America. “Wasn’t it?” He shot Romanov and Barton a look that wasn’t quite a glare.

“Oh, yeah, Mr. America, sir! That thing has loads of power!”

Captain America pointed a finger at Jack. “Don’t call me that. It’s Rogers. Steve. Even Captain America. But if the Tesseract has power, then what—"

“Think of it like a potential barrier,” said Stark, who was tinkering with a piece of his armor. “Or activation energy. Or, if that’s too scientific for any of you, needing to heat something up, put energy in, before it burns, puts energy out. Which is technically activation energy.” He jerked his head sharply to one side. “So, that checks out. I don’t suppose he told you where he was going?” he asked Barton.

“Not really. The last few days are a bit… Blurry. And I didn’t need to know. What I didn’t need to know, I didn’t ask about. I mostly remember Loki and Danny arguing about it. One of the places was apparently pretty heavily populated.”

Natasha paused. “Fenton—Danny was arguing with Loki?”

“Not real arguments. More repeatedly stating his opinion. But he did seem… different from… the rest of us.”

“Well, knowing that might help us rule things out,” said Maddie. “Beyond that, we can eliminate anything too inconsistent, like wind power. Probably not hydroelectric, either. Nuclear? Coal?”

“I don’t know,” said Stark. “That doesn’t seem like Loki. I mean, far as I can tell, there was no reason for him to be walking down the street in the middle of Amity Park. He was grandstanding. Whatever he’s doing, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience. I know the type.”

“Because you are the type?” asked Romanov.

“Ha ha, very funny. I might be a narcissist, but Loki, Loki’s a full-tilt diva.”

“Stark.”

Stark waved Thor off. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. He’s still your brother. But we’ve made him run twice, now. How’s he going to react to that?”

“Loki has never liked losing. But then, neither of us has.”

“He wants to beat us.” He pointed a screwdriver at Thor before turning it on Maddie. “He wants parades, he wants flowers, he wants monuments with his name plastered—” He froze.

“You thought of something?” asked Jazz.

Stark rubbed his hand over his mouth. “He’s going to Stark Tower.”

“Great,” said Jazz. “So we can get going!”

Maddie nodded and turned to the control panel to punch in coordinates. “But don’t think we forgot what you were saying about going to the Ghost Zone, young lady.”

“It’s not like we were going to hide it from you,” said Sam, exasperated. “We’re going to go fight an army, right? So, we’re going to need an army. We have contacts on the other side, or at least Danny does.”

“I don’t think introducing ghosts to this situation is the right thing to do,” said Maddie.

“Come on, you can’t think that all ghosts are evil after—”

“Danny’s not a ghost, he’s a unique case—”

“Wow, I can just imagine that conversation going well. ‘Danny, we only think you’re half evil—”

“Sam!” snapped Jazz. “That’s not necessary. Mom, I’ve met some of these people, and if we don’t manage to stop the portal from opening, and everyone on the other side can do stuff like what Loki did when he was fighting Tucker, we’ll need back up beyond a bunch of people with guns. No offense.”

“None taken,” said Captain Rogers. “I agree. We should notify the local police and National Guard—”

“About what, an alien invasion?” asked Stark, whose work on his armor had become notably more frantic.

“Well, we can’t exactly tell HYDRA.”

“Wait, wait,” said Barton. “That was real? That was a real thing? SHIELD has been infiltrated?”

“Yep,” said Romanov. “Not the news you wanted?”

“Not really, no,” said Barton.

“The army,” said Captain Rogers. “They’re reliable? You can really get them to come?”

“At least some of them are,” said Jazz. “The Far Frozen, Dora’s people, the Greeks.”

“And even for the unreliable ones, a lot of them used to live here.” Tucker shrugged. “They might still care enough to help.”

“Then we need them. Dr. Fenton, Dr. Fenton, will you be able to build a portal?”

“Between the porta-portal and the rest of what the kids brought, we should be able to make a stable portal if we start now,” said Maddie.

“Actually, we don’t need to do that,” said Tucker. “Not for this part, anyway. Might need it later, for the actual army. Can I have my staff back now?”

Romanov frowned deeply, but swung the long, thin bag off her shoulder.

“Thank you. I can send a few of us straight to the Zone.”

“Are you okay to use that?” asked Jazz.

“I can handle it,” said Tucker, notably not yet opening the bag. “I didn’t go full megalomaniac when I was fighting Loki in Amity Park.”

“You tried to bite me,” said Iron Man.

“I’m sure that’s a common problem,” said Sam, dryly. “Who’s going?”

“I was thinking me and Val,” said Tucker.

“I will join you,” said Thor.

“The Ghost Zone isn’t for everyone,” warned Sam. “It takes some getting used to. And you kinda need to be able to fly.”

“I can fly, and while I am sure you are both fine warriors—” he inclined his head towards Tucker and Val “—returning Banner to this realm will require strength.”

“Isn’t anyone going to ask me if I want to go?” asked Val.

“Don’t you?” asked Tucker.

“Sure, but…” She swallowed. “Jeez. This is really happening. Yeah, I’m going to go. How do we do this?”

“Just stand near me. Uh, Mrs. Fenton, where will your portal be in the Ghost Zone?”

“We’ll try to put it near our home portal,” said Maddie. “But we don’t have a lot of experience with placing portals in specific places in the Ghost Zone. There hasn’t exactly been a point.”

“Oh! I’ve got an idea!” exclaimed Jack. He dove sideways, making Barton jump out of the way and opened a cabinet under one of the dashboards. “You can use this!” He chucked a blocky item at Tucker.

“The Fenton Finder?”

“Upgraded!”

“We added a feature to find the Ops Center after it got lost last time,” explained Maddie. “The signal should be able to work through a portal.”

“Okay,” said Tucker, “got it.”

“Great,” said Captain Rogers. “You three go. Fentons, you build the portal—”

“One of us will have to keep the Ops Center on track. Our autopilot isn’t that good.”

“I can do that,” said Jazz. “And Sam can tell the rest of you guys what you can expect from fighting Danny.”

“I’m not telling you how to kill him or anything,” warned Sam. “But his powerset and how to manage ghosts in general… I can do that.”

“Cool!” said Tucker. “Now that we’ve agreed on that, can we go now? You do need to get closer to me, Mr. Thor. Great. Now let’s hope Egyptian magic and Norse magic don’t explode on contact or anything like that!”

Val did a double take. “Wait, what—”

Sand swept over the three of them, leaving a thin layer on the floor.

Sam clapped her hands together. “Okay, let’s get started on Ghost Fighting 101!”

“Aw, I want to do Ghost Fighting 101…”

“We’ve got a portal to build, Jack.”

“Oh! Yeah! Gotta love portals!”

“… And those are the basics,” finished Sam.

“The basics,” repeated Natasha. “Okay. The basics.”

“Hey, fighting people who can turn invisible and intangible isn’t easy,” said Sam, “and Danny’s our heavy hitter.”

“I don’t suppose you have any arrow-type things?”

“I don’t know, but I can take you to the armory. If you promise not to shoot Jazz again.”

“You’ve got it.”

“And after that, we should all get some rest,” said Captain Rogers. “Some of us have been awake for over twenty-four hours.”

“Not like an extra hour is going to mean much,” said Stark.

“You’d be surprised,” said Captain Rogers. “Soldiers learn to sleep when they can.”

“We’re not soldiers. These kids we’re relying on? Especially not soldiers.”

“Hey, it’s us or HYDRA,” snapped Sam.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I have to work on this, anyway.” He rapped his knuckles against the faceplate of his helmet.

“Wow,” said Sam, sitting in the copilot’s chair, “that was tiring. Who knew that assassins were so obsessive about weapons.”

“Literally everyone,” muttered Stark.

“Yeah,” said Jazz, “that tracks. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

Stark snorted. “If anyone is sleeping, I’m a teetotaler. We saw capsicle go thataway, and no one with that kind of expression on their face is sleeping. Drinking, maybe.”

“You are a teetotaler, though, aren’t you?” asked Jazz.

“What?”

“I mean, I know you used to always be in the paper partying, but given everything, I know you’re more responsible than to get drunk when you have direct access to some of the most dangerous weapons in the world.”

“There’s a huge gulf of difference between getting drunk and having drinks now and again.”

“Welp!” said Sam, before Jazz could reply. She did not need to be in the middle of Jazz trying to expand her ‘billionaires I have interrogated’ list. “I’m going to go see if anyone is sleeping.”

She walked out of the control room. The Ops Center was surprisingly large, all things considered. Or maybe not surprisingly. It had more or less doubled the size of Fentonworks. Greater emphasis on more.

Now, if she were the one sulking around, where would she go?

Observation deck, probably. Assuming she knew it existed. She walked through a couple more doors and slid down a ladder. Sure enough...

Well. She had wanted to talk to him.

“Captain Rogers? Are you okay? I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“You know,” said Captain Rogers, staring down out the window at the rapidly passing countryside, “one of the first things I used the internet to look up was how the war went. SHIELD told me, but the joke about military intelligence, that’s an old one. Books had more. Went to my own museum exhibit. Figured out the internet.” He shifted his hands slightly on the rim of his shield. “I didn’t like the Neo Nazis, wanted to…”

“Kill them all?” asked Sam.

“Something like that.” He smiled at her, thin and tense. “I understand why they’re not all in jail. I don’t like it, but I understand it. I can… live with it, most of the time. There’s always going to be bullies. HYDRA, though?” He shook his head, not turning his gaze from the window. “I thought… I really thought we had gotten them. It just feels like all of it was for nothing.”

Sam shifted her weight, tapping her foot behind her. “My great-grandparents were from Germany,” she said. “I’m Jewish. So, yeah. Kind of a do the math thing.” Captain Rogers turned to look at her and she shrugged.

“Miss, you don’t have to—”

“You’re right, I don’t have to. But I am. They, um, they didn’t get out in time. But they still got lucky. Sort of. They were caught about the same time the Kreischberg Facility needed more laborers. Slaves. Test subjects. So, they got sent to Austria. It’s how they met, actually. You know, other families have cute stories, but-- Never mind. They were—The one time I heard it from them, it sounded like they were on the operating tables when you came in.” She paused to swallow. “From the beginning, everything you did, it wasn’t for nothing. If it was, I wouldn’t be here.”

The captain looked up at her.

“Just, you know, something to think about. And you really should take your own advice. Get some rest.”

Danny craned his neck, gazing up at the glittering expanse of Stark Tower from the safety of the alleyway. He’d never seen a building this tall in person. It was honestly giving him a little bit of vertigo.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” said Selvig, with a chuckle. “But that’s nothing to what we’ll have in the next couple of hours.”

The part of Danny that was Fenton giggled along with Selvig. Phantom, however, was hoping his friends got his messages, such as they were. Danny as a whole… He had mixed feelings. Obviously. “Yeah, I guess not.”

Loki’s hand dropped onto Danny’s shoulder. “Enough talking.”

“Right,” said Danny, letting invisibility and intangibility wash over all three of them. “Let’s go.”

#life's great lie #danny phantom #dp/mcu #op!dannyxmarvel #dp/marvel #danny phantom/marvel

62 notes · View notes

stardustandash · 11 months

Text

the path forward is paved in history - Jedi Fallen Order & Survivor

Summary: Through the years Cal has had more Masters than most Jedi. Each one of them has a different lesson for him to learn about fear, anger, and obsession.

Word Count: 5,972

Tags: angst, introspection, spoilers for both games

This one is inspired by Down the Line by @breakfastteatime and this adorable art by @skynapple

If you prefer reading on ao3 this is the link! (Note it is locked to registered users only)

Cal is eleven years old when he meets Master Tapal. The Lasat looms over him with an expressionless face for a long time before he agrees, without any fanfare, to take him on as a padawan. The sun is shining over the Coruscant temple and yet all Cal feels is the fear of leaving his crèchemates and heading off into the unknown with a Master he does not know. He doesn’t even get the chance to say goodbye before he’s on Master Tapal’s Venetor-class cruiser, the Albedo Brave, surrounded by newly minted clones and thrown into a war beyond his understanding.

The first few days on the Brave are spent learning every nook and cranny of the ship. Its new enough that Cal can’t sense echoes off the bulkheads or the door controls yet, and that kind of freedom after being so careful around the temple and its immense history is almost intoxicating. The only downside is Master Tapal himself. While Cal is thankful to have a Master, he’d always hoped for someone with prestige, like Master Kenobi or Master Yoda. Sometimes in the dead of night he’d hope for a Master who would understand his psychometry personally, but there was nothing to indicate there was anyone else with his power connected to the temple. So Master Tapal it is. And he could not imagine a stricter Master. Any time Cal was within earshot of him there were questions on Jedi teachings, or drills to be run in the practise room. By the end of the first week Cal is more sore and tired than he’s ever been before.

By the end of the first month he’s heading into active combat and starts to understand why Master Tapal has him going over exercises every day. At his side are Glow squadron, his very own squad of clones that he has trained beside for weeks. The gunship rattles as they fly down through the atmosphere on a planet Cal can’t remember the name of, only that it was full of forests and clear lakes. All he can think of is how every drill he’s ever run through in the practise room is leaking out of his ears. Probably visibly. Unlike the clones he doesn’t have the safety of a helmet to hide his expression behind.

“Don’t worry kid, we’ve got your back,” says Sunny as he places a hand on his shoulder.

The weight of it grounds Cal somewhat, even as the ship lurches around gunfire. He offers a weak smile in thanks.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” says Twitch, the leader of Glow squadron.

The grounded feeling vanishes along with the hand on his shoulder. Cal feels the fear creeping into him with cold fingers as the ground looms closer and closer. He wonders, briefly, if he should have insisted on staying at Master Tapal’s side and foregone leading his own men.

“Sixty seconds to landing,” announces the pilot over the ship comm.

Cal grips his handle a little tighter, his other hand moving towards the hilt of his lightsaber. He could do this. Maybe. The ship landed hard, then the doors were sliding open and Cal was following the rush of his men out and into the active battlefield.

Blaster bolts bounce off his lightsaber, every hit jarring against the bones of his wrists. Live rounds were nothing like the training bolts they used in practise. The droids are close, and getting closer. There are more of them then there are clones, and Cal is a singular entity alone on the battlefield. The lone Jedi. He can hear the droids barking orders to aim for him and senses the clones closing ranks around him. Someone behind him lets out a choked scream but Cal can’t force himself to turn and see who it was. All he knows is the parry of his lightsaber and the desperate scramble for cover behind the trees. He doesn’t think to comm Master Tapal that he’s pinned down and won’t make it to the meeting point. He doesn’t think to check in with his squad. All he can do is feel the adrenaline flowing through him to the beat of his pounding heart.

Someone else falls with a gasp and suddenly Cal can’t stand to stay hidden and wait for death to find him. He lurches out from cover and away from the grasping hand that tries to pull him back down.

“Commander, no!”

Cal barely hears the shout. He dashes forward with his ‘saber raised and launches himself into the closest droids. They fall to pieces beneath his blade. Some of them shriek in an almost humanoid way, but Cal doesn’t falter. He can’t. He swings and parries until the droids are falling back and he is panting with the effort it takes to keep standing.

Then he hears the rumble. Its low at first, then builds. For a moment Cal is sure he will feel the tremor of an earthquake, but instead through the lines of retreating droids come two rolling spheres. The droids close rank behind them, marching back for another attack. His breath catches in his throat as the spheres unravel into droids, thicker than the B-1s and with four blasters each. An energy field surrounds them and Cal doesn’t know what to do.

Cal watches as their photoreceptors lock onto him and their blasters spin into a ready position. He can hear Twitch yelling for him to get back into cover, but he can’t quite get his body to move. He is frozen, as if his blood has turned to ice. These droids are going to kill him. He knows this as he knows his hair is red. Red like the blood that’s about to paint the once serene landscape.

“Padawan, down!”

A voice echoes across the landscape, and Cal has spent the last month learning to listen to that voice no matter how tired and sore he was. He drops to the ground, getting a face full of dirt for the move even as red blaster bolts explode off the trees above him. He pushes himself up to his elbows and stares at the broad back of Master Tapal.

It was like watching something out of one of the old stories in the archives, from when the Jedi were the heroic figures from legend. Master Tapal stands with his lightsaber lit at both ends and without looking back at he takes on the rolling droids effortlessly, using the Force to augment his attack in the way Cal’s never quite been able to grasp. It is over before Cal has the thought to get himself off the ground and he ends up being hauled to his feet by Sunny. His legs don’t quite want to support him as the adrenaline leaves his system and he finds himself clinging to the clone for support as Master Tapal finishes the fight and comes over to them. He lowers himself to one knee in front of Cal, bringing him closer to eye level but still looming far above him.

“Are you hurt?” he asks.

His voice is not filled with concern, but neither is it uncaring. Cal finds the cadence soothing. It means that Master Tapal will take control of the situation, that he doesn’t have to worry anymore.

“No,” says Cal. “I don’t think so.”

Master Tapal eyes a spot on Cal’s arm and when he drops his eyes to look he sees a singed hole in his sleeve. There’s no pain, so he doesn’t think he’s actually hurt, but it surprises him nonetheless.

“Good. Now, Padawan, report.”

Cal gives his halting report, which is supplemented greatly by Sergeant Twitch. They lost Barrel and Oya in the fight. Gamut was injured. They did not reach their objective, although the droids have retreated off-world for now. Through it all Master Tapal listens with his impassive face, and at the end simply orders that the fallen be given the dignity of a burial and the rights of the dead.

As the clones honour their fallen brothers Cal stands to the side. It’s his fault that they died. If only he was a better commander, or didn’t freeze when the droids attacked. If only he had insisted on going with Master Tapal.

“You are thinking too loudly,” says the Master in question as he comes to stand and watch beside Cal.

“I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize. Tell me what is on your mind.”

“It’s my fault they died. I know we aren’t supposed to feel fear, but I was so scared Master. And I couldn’t remember all our drills, and then the big rolling ones came out and-“

“Breathe, Cal,” says Master Tapal.

Cal takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, like he does for meditation.

“Everyone feels fear. What you must do is learn your fear, and face it. That is what it means to be a Jedi; to feel the fear and be able let it go.”

“But how do I do that?” asks Cal, feeling lost.

There is something soft about the expression on Master Tapal’s face. He isn’t sure if it is amusement or fondness, but it loosens part of the knot in Cal’s chest.

“I have something to show you,” says Master Tapal. “Come.”

Master Tapal starts walking away into the forest. Cal shoots one last glance back at what remains of his squad before following. He has to jog to keep up with Master Tapal’s long, striding steps and try his best to avoid the twisting roots that break through the uneven ground. They travel in silence, and somewhere along the way Cal starts wondering more about where they are going than what they are leaving behind. Eventually, as the sky begins to darken, they come out at the edge of the forest near one of the planet’s lakes. It’s turning a deep blue in the twilight, and the waters reflect the lights of a distant village. Master Tapal leads him along the shoreline to the edge of the village. As they approach Cal can hear the sounds of music and laughter. The shift from the solemnity of the clones mourning their brothers is jarring, but Master Tapal doesn’t seem to notice.

As they near the edge of the village Cal can see that they’re having some kind of fair or celebration. There are streamers and garlands of branches woven in between houses and the smell of sweets and alcohol clouds over the streets. He takes it all in with a sense of awe, until two hands seize him about his middle and lift him high off the ground. For a moment he struggles, then he stops as he is placed carefully on Master Tapal’s broad shoulders. From here he can look over the celebrations without getting caught up in the crowd, or bump into anything that might set off his psychometry. The gesture is thoughtful, and Cal feels the dim warmth of affection through the Force.

“What are they celebrating?” asks Cal once he’s secure and Master Tapal begins walking the streets.

“They are celebrating that the Seperatist forces have been driven away from the planet.”

Cal can see how that would be a cause for celebration if he lived here, but his thoughts linger on Barrel and Oya, who had given their lives to make it happen.

“They have experienced loss as well, Padawan, that is why they asked the Republic for assistance.”

“But Barrel, and Oya...”

“They knew the risk of battle, and died honourably,” says Master Tapal. “However, that is not the lesson we are here to learn.”

Master Tapal keeps walking, his steps smooth from Cal’s perspective, and they are drawn into the crowd.

“Your fear made you freeze today because you did not know the reason you are fighting. Fear is an instinct, it is found in every living being in the galaxy. However, if you have something to fight for, a reason to choose to pick up your lightsaber, then it is much easier to face that fear.”

Cal looks around at the life surrounding them in the village, of the people dancing arm in arm, or laughing over jokes, or the few children that race underfoot with delighted shrieks, and soaks in Master Tapal’s words. He thinks he understands. Bravery in battle is not the product of experience, but rather the knowledge that things will be worse for others if he lets the fear take over.

Cal is eighteen years old when he meets Cere. He is no longer a padawan, and that’s okay, because she’s no longer a Jedi. Not really. There just two remnants of a lost faith who’ve found each other and are trying to claw back some shred of their people from the Empire. At first Cal doesn’t understand why she needs him, or rather why she needed another Jedi. She’s strong, capable, and has a level head, all traits he associated with Master Tapal.

It’s not until the Force starts to curl itself around him once more that he feels the darkness simmering below the surface. It’s one thing for her to tell him she gave into the dark side, it’s another to have it buzzing in the background whenever Cere is in the room. Still, she hides it admirably, and tries to impart what knowledge of the Jedi she still possesses when she can. Cal can feel himself growing stronger under her guidance, and the walls that he built around himself on Bracca are crumbling brick by brick. It is nice, to be able to trust and learn again, even if this time his Master isn’t actually a Jedi. He isn’t really a padawan. Instead they form a bond that Cal can’t describe, and he includes Greez and BD-1 in that bond. Its comfortable, familiar, familial. They are more open with their emotions than Master Tapal or the clones ever were, and in turn Cal starts to trust them both. And then that trust betrays him.

The encounter with Sorc Tormo and the Haxion Brood is the first time Cal starts to feel the call of the dark. It’s just a whisper in the back of his mind, but its presence is unsettling. More unsettling is that instead of heading straight for Kashyyyk they’ve detoured to Bogano as Greez wants to check over the Mantis after crashing her through the arena. After everything Cal wants to be alone and preferably carving his way through the Empire’s troopers. Instead he settles for sitting at the edge of their makeshift landing pad with his feet dangling over the misty drop and the dark whispers muttering in the back of his mind.

Cal senses Cere approach more than hears her. She stands behind him for several minutes before eventually stepping up beside him.

“Beautiful sunset,” she says.

It is a beautiful sunset. The sky is alight with an amber glow that’s starting to turn pink where it meets the clouds, and the sun itself is on fire behind the Zeffo vault. With the gentle wind just shy of warm, it’s a serene sort of evening. At least on the outside.

Cal says nothing.

“I know you’re angry with me about Trilla.”

The words seem like an understatement for the storm of unrest they churn in him. He’s angry, yes, but also sad. Disappointed. Cal stays quiet as Cere slowly lowers herself to sit next to him on the marshy ground. He wants to offer his poncho for her to sit on instead, but stops himself.

“I know I made a bad call, not telling you the truth sooner.”

“You lied to me,” Cal says. “You said she was dead.”

Cal glances out of the corner of his eye and catches the frown on her face, the pinching of her brows. It’s not an angry look. Cere’s sadness is broadcast through the Force strong enough he could almost reach out and grasp it.

“After what they put her through, any part of her that was Trilla, my Trilla, is dead. But you’re right, I shouldn’t have kept what she became from you,” said Cere. “I’m sorry.”

The admission and apology are said so simply it throws Cal for a loop. He had been expecting excuses, or defensiveness from Cere, not this. He doesn’t know what to do with this other than let the silence between them grow comfortable rather the tense air that’s been choking them since the rescue.

“They did the same thing to you. What they did to Trilla,” Cal says as indigo creeps along the eastern horizon.

“They did.”

“But you conquered your darkness, why couldn’t the Inquisitors?”

“Because I didn’t conquer it, or overcome it. I cut myself off from the Force when I realized what I had done to escape, and I am too afraid to let it back in and tempt me deeper,” says Cere.

“Is that what I should do then, if I ever feel the darkness?” asks Cal. He purposefully keeps the question light and hypothetical, though the look Cere gives him says she understands why he’s asking.

Cere reaches out to put a warm hand on his shoulder. “All Jedi must face the darkness. It is the only way to truly see what the light has to offer. I drowned in it, but you’re strong enough to overcome whatever’s rooted in you.”

“Yeah, but how do I do that?” asks Cal, his tone growing sharp.

“Reach out, feel the Force around you. Like those boglings over there, feel them through the Force, how their lives entwine with the light.”

She points to a group of boglings keeping a wary eye on them from the other edge of the platform. Cal follows, and takes a deep breath in and lets it go slowly. The feeling of the Force around him is still strange after spending so many years suppressing his own connection to it. He reaches out with it towards the boglings. They are simple creatures brimming with curiosity about the strange intruders on their home. Some of them are hungry, some of them are sleepy, and some of them are interested in an activity that makes Cal blush as red as his hair. Yet he can feel it, the energy winding through them that connects them back to the planet, and the planet to the stars. They have no concept of evil and darkness. They only have life, all the things that entails, and death. Cal tries to grasp that understanding of the world and pull it into himself.

It doesn’t quite work, Cal still has the hurt from the betrayal like a wound on his heart, but the dark whispers have quieted. He isn’t ready to forgive Cere, but the anger is starting to ebb away, draining out of him into the Force.

“Feel better?” asks Cere.

“Kinda.”

“Good.”

Cere stands and wipes the mud from her pants as best she can. It’s a losing battle, considering how wet the ground is. She reaches down a hand to help Cal off the ground and brushes the dirt off of him once he’s up. The action is methodical and once she realizes what she’s doing her hand drops away. He almost misses the fussing as she steps back. They’re saved from whatever awkward comment would come next by Greez bustling out from the Mantis.

“She’s all patched up and ready to go, but how about some dinner before flying into a warzone?” says Greez as he waves them over from the bottom of the ramp.

Its easy to relax with Greez around, even if he is the reason the Haxion Brood kidnapped Cal. They enter the ship to the smell of simmering nerf stew, one of Cal’s favourite meals Greez has made so far. It smells like an apology Greez is too proud and ashamed to say out loud, and he feels the weight of the unsaid words in the extra-full bowl he’s passed.

There’s still the tempting darkness, but Cal surrounds himself with the light from Greez, Bogano, and even the faint glimmer that pierces through Cere. The Force winds around him like a river as he eats, washing away the darkness into something simple and light.

Later, when they’re trapped in the Fortress Inquisitorious, Cal clings to the memory of the boglings in the Force as the terrifying Inquisitor draws closer, baiting Cere into darkness. He uses it to wrestle away the fear and anger and cast a line to the light dying within her and tug it to the forefront. She will never be free of the darkness, but Cal will not let her fall.

Cal is twenty-three when he meets Master Cordova. He does not feel twenty-three. He feels like he’s a kid meeting Master Skywalker again, faced with someone he couldn’t actually believe was real until he was standing in front of them. It feels strange to meet someone he’s known so intimately. He has felt Master Cordova’s joy and sadness as if they were his own, and he has heard his voice so many times through both echoes and BD’s recordings.

The strange feeling doesn’t go away as they step into Cere’s archives. It persists all through their discussions and lingers afterwards as Cere and Greez take a moment to themselves to catch up after being apart for so long. With their pilot indisposed, Merrin and Bode begin to chat about the Hidden Path, and how Merrin’s helped people fleeing the Empire. Something about it makes Cal’s gut twist, knowing she was doing more to actually help people than he ever had on Saw’s endless missions.

He is drawn from these thoughts as Master Cordova approaches. BD-1 chirps happily and jumps down from Cal’s shoulder to dance playfully about Master Cordova’s feet like an excited tooka. Again, Cal’s gut twists in ugly jealousy.

“Cal, if you have a moment?” asks Master Cordova.

“Of course,” says Cal.

Master Cordova gives him a polite bow before gesturing towards the back of the archive. The bow is foreign and yet overwhelmingly familiar. It’s something that Cal had forgotten about completely in the ten years since the Jedi fell. Just another way he is failing to upkeep the legacy of the Jedi, like he’d once sworn to do.

The overlook Master Cordova leads him to is a perfect nook in the rock that houses the Anchorite base where they can look out over the sands, but Cal doubts any watchful eyes will spot them. Cal wanders to the natural railing that lines the overlook and leans against it. The air is cold, but fresh and clear. BD-1 hops up next to him to see the landscape, and Master Cordova follows behind.

“I thought it might be nicer to talk out here, away from the eyes of everyone else.”

Cal nods, still somewhat in disbelief that Master Cordova is here talking with him in the flesh, and not through a holo projector recording.

“It is so nice to finally meet the person who followed my puzzle to the holocron. Cere has told me of your adventures,” says Master Cordova.

“To be honest, I didn’t ever think I would be meeting you. From what Cere told me and from how you left BD-1 behind, I had assumed you, well…”

“That I had died? It is not hard to see how you might come to that conclusion.”

“If you weren’t dead, why would you leave the holocron and BD behind?”

“Because I knew that I would not be a good Master to any of those children.”

Master Cordova says it so simply, though it raises even more questions for Cal. He sighs, and for a moment Cal can see the years where they weigh on him. He hadn’t been a young man when the Purge happened, and ten years of hiding from the Empire hasn’t been kind to anyone.

“Did Cere ever tell you that she was my first, and only apprentice?”

“No,” says Cal. He is surprised, from all the echoes and things left behind, he had gotten the sense that Cordova liked to pass on his knowledge.

“I had thought that maybe I could share my love of ancient civilizations with a younger mind. Cere can tell you about the many lectures and ruins I have put her through without concern for passing on the most fundamental elements of our order.”

“She might have mentioned it once,” says Cal.

“Then she is far kinder than I deserve. No, after Cere I knew that I would rather focus myself on studying the history of other Force wielders in the galaxy, like the Zeffo. Secretly I had hoped that Cere had survived, and would be the one to find the holocron. She always did well with younglings.”

Cal doesn’t know how to feel about that, but it doesn’t feel good. Master Cordova must see the look on his face as he gives him a smile.

“As you are, in a sense, my grandpadawan, I guess it is fitting that finding the holocron fell to you instead.”

He puts a friendly hand on Cal’s shoulder. It’s not a hug, not like Greez’ anyway, with four arms and a squeeze at the last second that knocks his breath out of his lungs, but it feels like acceptance and home.

The Force ripples between them and Cal can feel the thin thread of a bond with Master Codova sitting fresh at the edge of his awareness. Through it he can feel the inquisitiveness that is inherent to Master Cordova, and the sense of pride he has when looking at Cal.

“It’s too bad you couldn’t find the Zeffo,” says Cal, uncomfortable with that pride.

Master Cordova shakes his head. “It is for the best. As I said I would not have found Cere again, nor sought out other survivors if I had kept trying to find them.”

“But it was your life’s work. I felt your excitement in the Zeffo tombs, the joy of every discovery. I can’t believe you would give all that up.”

“Ah, my boy, the Zeffo were my passion, but that passion turned to obsession. I neglected my duties to my fellow Jedi, to my padawan, and even to the rest of the galaxy. I knew something bad was coming, but I did not care to face it, instead I only cared about my own research and the pursuit of knowledge.”

The way Master Cordova says the words and looks at Cal makes him think he’s trying to hint at something else. Whatever it is, he doesn’t get the message across. Instead of trying again in simpler terms Master Cordova turns to look out over the sands towards the ruins. There’s a longing on his face that Cal understands from the echoes he’s found. It’s the desire to get his hands on history, to walk the halls of the ancients and try and catch a glimpse of what their lives must have been like.

“The archive is amazing,” tries Cal. “When we get to Tanalorr maybe we can move it there, so it won’t be under threat from the Empire.”

“It truly is a marvel. Cere has been nothing but dedicated to the preservation of Jedi knowledge and texts. It is my hope that more than just the Jedi may see fit to add works the Empire has forbidden from their own cultures. If the Empire is ever to fall, there will be many across the galaxy who will wish to reclaim their heritage.”

That resonates with Cal, and for a moment he is once again a small boy on his Master’s shoulders, being told to fight for those who cannot. He has been thinking of Tanalorr as a place for the Jedi, for hiding and rebuilding the order. But of course there are others who would need to escape the Empire. Anyone who the Empire deemed unworthy also deserved a place where they didn’t have to look over his shoulder.

“Thank you, Master,” says Cal.

“I’m not sure what you have to thank me for,” replied Master Cordova. “But I can guess from the look on your face that you have reached an understanding you were looking for.”

“Yes,” says Cal, and he attempts to imitate the bow Master Cordova gave him earlier.

Master Cordova bows back, and gestures towards the door. “Shall we go rejoin the others? I’m sure you would like to say goodbye to Cere before you leave.”

Cal nods. His feelings towards Cere are complicated, but now that he’s back in the same space with her he can feel lack of her presence in the last few years all the clearer. It will be good to reconnect, even if he doesn’t quite know how to do it.

As they make their way back towards the archive Cal can feel Master Cordova’s eyes on him, and feel the hint of worry running faintly through their bond. He wonders what it was Master Cordova had been trying to tell him earlier, but figures if it were that important, he would have told him outright.

Cal is twenty-three as he stands in front of three pyres. The smoke is thick and carries the rancid stench of burning meat, but he refuses to move. Greez has corralled the little one back to the Mantis, he thinks. Merrin followed some time after that. Only Cal remains, the last Jedi. But he owes it to all three of the bodies before him to ensure that they are sent off properly, in a tradition that maybe only he now remembers. It’s what he wishes he could have done for Master Tapal, forever entombed in a rusting escape pod on a lonely, wet planet.

He does not cry. He cried all his tears on Jedha and has let go of his anger enough for it to leave a void within him. There should be more emotion there, he thinks. Sadness at such needless death, or pity at how in striving for peace Bode found only chaos and death.

As the sun rises over the horizon the last of the embers burn away, leaving nothing but piles of ash in place of three people Cal had considered his family. He takes a deep breath in and lets it out slowly. With it he tries to invite something to fill the void left behind. It takes a few more breaths, but something does come. Not from within, but from behind him. Rocks crunch underfoot as Merrin walks towards him. At her side is Kata, eyes red-rimmed but face set with sad understanding.

“It is done?” asks Merrin.

“It is done,” echoes Cal.

“Greez has the compass installed on the Mantis, we can head back to Koboh whenever you are ready.”

Cal gives her nod of thanks before crouching down to Kata’s level. “Are you ready? Did you leave anything on your dad’s ship?”

It escapes none of them that he stumbles over the word ‘dad’. The guilt threatens to choke him, but he tries to keep it at bay. For Kata or for himself he cannot tell. Still, Kata doesn’t go running from him in terror, or scream and call him a murderer, instead she nods.

“Do you want to come with me and show me what it is?” asked Cal.

“Okay.”

Together they set off towards the lonely temple and Bode’s abandoned fighter. Merrin trails after them, but gives them enough space to have a conversation if they want to without being overheard. Though she would probably hear anyways. Tanalorr, for all its beauty, is surprisingly quiet and empty. Cal has yet to see a bush rustle or hear a bird call. He thinks animals were here, once. Maybe when Dagan built his temple, but nothing is here now. It’s as if the Force is waiting, paused here until the time is right to be filled with life again. And Cal brought it only death instead.

He tries not to look at the temple as they pass it. It’s a monument to a lost culture now. The last of the Jedi Masters have returned to the Force. Cal is a facsimile, an attempt to capture the spirit of the Jedi Order, but he is too far removed, too far lost from the path. The archive is gone, burned in its own pyre back on Jedha, so it’s not like he has anywhere to start over from.

The thoughts swirl around Cal’s mind as he watches Kata climb into the fighter and pull out a pathetically small bag. It’s only big enough to maybe hold one extra set of clothes, maybe two since she is still small. She hops back down to the ground and hugs it to her chest like a stuffed toy. It’s a bitter replacement for the one she gave to Bode as he burned. She stands under the fighter for a long time. Cal gives her that moment. Force only knows how long it took him to walk away from the escape pod after it crashed on Bracca. When she finally moves, Kata comes to stand at Cal’s side and reaches for his hand.

“Are you ready?” asks Cal.

“I think so. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Cal gives her hand a squeeze, and this time Merrin leads the way back to the ship without comment or complaint. As they walk Cal can feel the Force reaching out between himself and Kata and winding them together with thin threads. It doesn’t happen as fast as with Master Cordova, and the bond will take time to form properly, but it is there all the same.

It’s not until they’re back on the Mantis with Greez navigating their way back through the Abyss with the help of the compass that Cal realizes what the bond means. She’s Force sensitive. He can sense her like a slight glimmer of starlight on a dark night. Not strong enough to use it consciously, but enough to sense things on a deeper level, enough to be in danger from the Empire.

Cal gives himself the rest of the trip to mourn her future. She will never know the Jedi. He doesn’t have the knowledge to teach her anything other than the rough combat style he’s made himself and the basics of meditation. Cere should be here, he thinks with a fierce ache. She would know what to do, and how to pass on the wisdom he lacks. He should be taking Kata to Jedha and the archive to be fussed over by Cere and entranced by Master Cordova’s stories. Instead she will learn from what little he can remember.

When they land on Koboh Kata is eager to explore, rushing off the ship as soon as the hatch opens, Cal and Merrin trailing behind her in her wake. She rushes into the dry grass and dusty earth with glee, happy to be on a planet full of life again. Cal watches as she stops to inhale the scent of nekko and dust and the nameless earthy smell that makes up Koboh. He wouldn’t call the emotion that wells up in him happiness, he’s still too far in his grief for that, but watching her take in Koboh makes him feel lighter.

Then Kata spots something in the grass and makes her way over to it. Curious, Cal gets closer as well. It’s a bogling, staring up at Kata with wide eyes and spindly legs ready to run. She slowly reaches out a hand, and the bogling is brave enough to let her pet it. It leans into the gentle scratch behind the ear, before spotting Cal behind her and taking off towards the others in its pack. Cal watches them go, and thinks he might just have something to teach Kata after all.

#j:fo #jedi survivor #fic #fanfiction #cal kestis #jaro tapal #cere junda #eno cordova #kata akuna #jedi survivor spoilers #angst #character introspection #boglings

41 notes · View notes

invaders-cookbook · 1 year

Text

Invader's Cookbook #3: Keeping your mind and body healthy

Invasions in Elden Ring are insanely difficult to the point of being unwinnable sometimes. It's part of the charm, it's what makes them so appealing to people like me. The game doesn't shy away from putting you into situations where your winning chances are absolutely random, and it's up to you to deal with them. You never know when the tides are going to turn, which makes them so exciting.

But this excitement comes at a cost of risking extreme frustration. Winning against the odds feels great, but not everyone is going to beat the odds, especially if you're new to invasions! Frustration can come both from outwards (the game put you into an unwinnable situation) and inwards (You see that you're underperforming and lose a winnable situation) That's why it's important to keep your cool and mitigate the effects of frustration.

Here are the things that help me personally to not only to mitigate frustration, but also significantly improve

1. Keep your body healthy.

I am not exaggerating when I'm saying this, your winrate spikes tenfold when you take care of yourself! This is so important. I know it's kinda general life advice, but you'll be surprised how much it actually matters.

I am not kidding, you play 200% better after a shower. Try it, I'm serious.

Remember to eat healthy food sometimes! Full regular meals improve your mood and performance drastically! I can't overstate how much better you play when you have a full meal!

And PLEASE sleep well. I am serious. Sleep is integral part of your physical and mental health. I know it's tough to keep a good sleep schedule, and not everyone has time to sleep, but please do, whenever you can, try your best to have regular sleep! If you're reading this post when it's past your bedtime, first of all, reblog and tell me in the tags, and second, GO TO SLEEP! NOW!!!

2. You are not going to beat the odds every time. That's how odds work. But you can set them in your favour.

You lost again, because the coop has already completed the entire area and you were backed against a fogwall against multiple players. What were you supposed to do?

I agree, that situation is really, really bullshit. But that's invasions. Every time you use that bloody finger you roll a cosmic dice, and if you roll low, you simply don't get a good situation. What works for me is changing my goals in a particular invasion. It goes from "Kill the host" to "Kill that single phantom" or "Deal the most damage I can possibly do" or just simply "Not die for as long as I can". Land a cool combo! Befriend the host*! Poison them! Go out on your own terms!

Sometimes changing your goal according to the situation is enough to offset your frustration.

* – DO NOT do this when there is another phantom around. You're getting blocked for this. You are not only a dickhead, you also lower the pool of possible co-invaders that can connect with you and help you out in the future. Respect your teammates.

3. Take breaks

Invasions are intense as hell, and you can't just invade back to back untill you exhaust yourself! Try to take breaks from the game, so your skills are always at 80-100%! The more you play without breaks the worse it gets.

This also helps if you're having a bad losing streak. Generally I'm trying to take 10 minute breaks if I get two consecutive losses. Interestingly enough, putting myself on a 10 minute time-out forces me to find something else to do, which kinda helps me with chores. It's not for everyone, but my ADHD ass loves this.

You can use your break to do some stretches, or go for a walk, or do the dishes. Anything, really! It's up to you! Whatever frustration you had will fade away and you will be at your maximum capacity again!

Another thing you can use your break for is some wrist and eye exercises! It's good for your health and will make you more relaxed and focused.

4. Change things up: try a new build, start a new playthrough!

This is what I personally enjoy doing. Experiment with different playstyles and try invading at different level ranges. For that of course you need a new build and a new character. Creating a character with invading in mind is very fun and challenging, and it allows you to do some more calm stuff on the side when you're not in the mood for invading on your main character.

Not sure what build to choose? Ask @huggingentacles for build suggestions!

#elden ring #elden ring invasions #elden ring pvp #invader's cookbook

36 notes · View notes

perhaps-in-anotherdream · 2 years

Text

[CN] Victor’s ASMR Transcript – Ignition Point

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for an ASMR, 燃点, that is yet to be released in the global server! ♡

Though this ASMR takes place after the mind quest, it doesn’t contain any crucial details from the MQ. So feast on this one first! (´┓`*)

—

If you can, I’ll VERY HIGHLY suggest listening to the ASMR. You can go to “bilibili.com” and search “李泽言燃点” and you’ll find the video. And if you have trouble finding it, feel free to send me a PM! (・∀・)

–

[ball hitting on the ground + rustling noises]

Alright.

Come on up.

I cleaned up the dance studio yesterday in advance.

You can rest assured of getting onboard.

The floor is a bit slippery though,

even if it’s covered with a yoga mat.

So be a little careful when doing the moves.

[rustling + clicking noises]

Yoga balls, tablet, towel and water...

Is there anything else you need?

...me?

If memory serves me correctly,

a certain someone claims to have gained weight while being on vacation,

and that she has to exercise well.

What?

How can you have someone else do the exercise on your behalf?

[chuckles softly]

I’m just kidding.

For the safety of a certain someone,

I can reluctantly offer a little help.

What do you want me to do?

[tapping noises]

You want to do this move on the picture...?

It seems a bit challenging.

[reading the instructions]

You have to support yourself with both hands on the ground,

and your lower leg is to be rested on the ball while your body is suspended in mid-air.

Can you do it yourself?

[rustling + moving noises]

Mm.

Maintain this posture...

Easy—

[moving nOisEs + MC loses balance]

–– Careful!

Is your knee okay?

Sit down, and turn around. Let me have a look.

...did you sprain your wrist?

[sighs heavily]

Mm.

It looks like it should be fine.

[sighs again + Victor stretching MC’s legs + more sighs]

Relax your legs.

I’ll help you stretch them.

What was the rush just now?

You started flailing about even before the strength was in the correct position.

...don’t make excuses.

I think some people are just anxious to obtain quick results.

[tapping noises]

You set the degree of difficulty so higher right from the start.

Let’s change it to a simpler one.

First, learn how to control your core.

You can try this hand to feet pass.

It looks a bit easier.

[reading the instructions]

Lie on your back.

Clamp your feet around the yoga ball.

Lift your legs to transfer the ball to your hands.

Then, raise it above your head with your hands.

...sounds exhausting?

[chuckles]

How can it be effective if you don’t get tired out?

Lie down properly.

I’ll fetch the ball.

[Victor brings the ball over]

Come on.

Spread your legs a little.

Clasp it.

[NOISES]

Have you clasped it steadily?

Use a bit more force.

[rustling + the ball transferring noises]

Mm, keep going.

Breathe in.

Contract your abdomen.

Lift your legs up.

Stretch out your hands.

Don’t drop it.

If you can’t reach it, raise your upper body a little.

Mm, like that.

Then, lie down slowly.

Lift it above your head.

[breathes in sharply]

Mm.

Well done.

How did you feel this time around?

If there’s no problem,

just do it a couple more times.

[breathes in sharply]

...you want a reward?

[chuckles]

You are the one who’s been clamoring about wanting to work out.

Yet you still have to be rewarded for the ability to persevere?

You’re blaming my cooking for being too delicious?

[laughs helplessly]

You really have every excuse in the book.

What do you want?

Let’s hear it first.

[his dEliCiOuS happy laughter takes over the entire sentence ahahah]

Reward with a kiss for completing each set of tasks?

[chuckles]

You’re actually a fast learner when it comes to this sort of thing.

In that case, you have do it properly and you can’t slack off,

only then can you get the reward.

[rustling noises + Victor breathes in]

Mm. You can check your movements by looking in the mirror.

Observe the state of your muscles’ strength...

For instance, here.

Over here.

Also, remember your shoulders too.

What are you evading for all of a sudden?

It tickles?

Fine, I won’t touch you.

Feel it for yourself.

[ball moving noises + nOisEs]

Don’t bend your knees.

Clamp your legs together.

...why did you stop?

[SULKIIINNNGGG’]

If I don’t watch you,

how am I supposed to know you’re doing it seriously?

Don’t dawdle.

Two more to go––

and we’re done with this set.

[nOisEs]

Mm, very good.

[laughs softly]

Stop giggling.

Sit up if you want the reward.

[KISS]

Happy now?

[laughs softly]

Alright, lie down.

Finish practicing this routine.

Lift your legs.

Catch.

[nOisEs + NOisEs]

Raise your hands.

Slowly.

Hold it steady first——

[rustling noises + MC pulls Victor down]

You——!

[HEAVY, RAPID, URGENT, PRESSING BREATHING + MC kisses Victor]

...you’ve learned to turn the tables?

Dummy.

Always so impatient.

Didn’t I tell you to––

delay claiming your reward?

[chuckles almost inaudibly]

Forget it.

[clotHEs noises + HEAVY, URGENT BREATHING]

This “reward”––

is it enough to finish this set?

And I wonder who’s been provoking whom.

It seems that you’ve already thought through the consequences of what you’ve said.

[CLOTHES + RUSTLING + HAPHAZARD MOVING NOISES + HEAVY, URGENT, RAPID, PRESSING BREATHING + KISS KISS KISS KISS... I LOST COUNT – this goes on for full 40 seconds]

Since you think you can handle it,

[VICTOR STILL CATCHING HIS BREATH]

let’s increase the difficulty of the exercise a little more.

[KISS]

It just so happens that––

this mirror is also large enough,

to make it easy to see every detail clearly.

[HEAVY BREATHING CONTINUES]

—

–

[Text]: Here!

[EXTRA]

JUST LOOK AT THEM!!!! ಥ‿ಥ

—

#i fell asleep after rushing to translate this last night LOL–– (*´﹃｀*)#the mind quest translation might take a bit longer since it’s VERY LONG and I have assignments to complete and—#I also fear not surviving through the translation of the mind quest cause IT’S JUST SO 💥🧨💣#mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mr love victor #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #恋与制作人 #李泽言 #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations

155 notes · View notes

autisticlee · 8 days

Text

youtube

I somehow ended up on hEDS youtube and this video makes me go HMMMM. for a few years now i've had people ask me if I have hEDS or say they really think I do and should get reevaluated by a different doctor. I always have to say I don't have it because I failed the evaluation from the orthopedic specialist I saw for joint issues and chronic pain. she did the beighton test and gave me a 4/9 but you need at least 5.

after watching this, i've concluded she didn't even test me correctly? they say if you get a 4 but answer yes to things like could you put hands on the floor as a kid then it counts as a point. my hamstrings and back are so stiff and painful to bend forward, but I could do it as a kid. another is if you contorted yourself in weird ways to amuse your friends. I would always put both my legs behind my head at the same time to freak people out lmao. but according to my doctor, doing it as a kid doesn't count....and she didn't really evaluate anything else. she asked if I have the heart problems all the people in this video don't have, and if I had dislocations that specifically required professional medical attention....my parents forced my dislocated bits back into place as a kid. they refused to take me anywhere that cost them money lmao unless it was serious. like I wasn't allowed to go to the doctors when sick until I had bronchitis/pneumonia and could barely breathe. now I just get subluxation mostly which my doctor said I seem to get a lot of very often. that was it.

she didn't test for sketchy skin which I definitely have or those weird heel bumps I always thought were super gross and didn't even know had anything to do with this until now, or anything else from this video. also when she tested my knees, she grabbed one leg by the ankle while I was sitting and said my knee doesn't bend back, but they're all doing it while standing. i think my one knee at least looks like some of theirs from what I can tell, while standing?? but it doesn't do it while sitting because tight ass hamstrings. (don't remember if it's this video or a different one but having unstable hips and/or knees can cause extremely tight hamstrings and muscles apparently due to overcompensating for the instability which makes sense. my hips are so bad and knees pretty unstable too)

anyway. i had a lot of these things they covered on this diagnostic thing that my doctor did not go over and just told me I have "general hypermobility" and said it's not an issue and that my pain and and unstable joints are ~because I need to exercise more and exercising will cure it~ is what she basically said. not even concerned about the fact that I was there mainly because exercising fucked up my shoulder really badly and I told her how I fucked up my knee so bad once and couldn't even walk on it normally for months. also hips and wrists and etc. also my job is physical labor so.... exercise?? so instead of giving me things to help with my joints she just sent me to physical therapy to do shoulder workouts for one shoulder that I could only seem to do while the physical therapist was watching me and correcting me. once I did it at home, I hurt myself very quickly and could never finish the daily workouts 😅

I feel like there's a way better chance i'd have a higher score if it was done properly or I was evaluated with everything in this video, and not just denied right after scoring a 4 on the beighton test. but also impostor syndrome like what if i'm wrong....from what i've seen online in my googling, you have to have a 5+ in order to be allowed to say you have hEDS and self diagnosis isn't as accepted as it is for other things (like autism for example) because it's more specific and a "serious condition" so not sure if I can just say I have it despite it being very relatable. until I can figure out doctor stuff one day and see if I can pass a proper exam, I have to just keep saying I have "hypermobility issues with joint and muscle pain and other stuff and dont know why it's happening" whenever I talk about these problems....which is a mouthful (fingerful? if i'm typing it?)

unfortunately, I have no clue how to get a different doctor?? or if there's even anymore in my hospitals network, especially ones that know more about hEDS? I currently am not even sure what's going on with my primary. I was told he was moving offices and cutting down on how many patients he sees but would have his staff schedule me when he gets to the new place....that was over 2 years ago and im still waiting. I used to do checkups twice a year. idk what to do about it. I can't do phone calls. writing emails and stuff makes me anxious. when I contact them through the mychart app like refilling prescriptions, it comes up as a different doctor now. so not sure what's going on at all and don't know how to or feel comfortable asking???? trying to figure out medical stuff and communicate with medical staff is so overwhelming for me I rather lie down and cry instead of dealing with it lmao i need an adult! like a real one!!

if anyone wants to share info, related experiences, talk about your hEDS or hypermobility symptoms and problems, or anything else like that, feel free to share with a reblog or reply or go to my ask box!

#lee rambles #heds #hypermobile eds #hypermobility #hypermobile ehlers danlos #hypermobile joints #hypermobile spectrum disorder #big question is did the doctor suck at her job or am i just a little hypermobile and lazy and dont exercise enough and need to ignore pain🧐#know and am too overwhelmed to do anything about it. need support system that can help me and take me to doctors and advocate for me😭#but sadly dont have that D:#Youtube

2 notes · View notes

game-set-canet · 2 years

Note

Another Jannik request. You are also tennis player, but you are not in top 100, co you can afford your own physio on the tournament’s so Jannik is helping you to recover after match. (Massage, passive stretching.. you name it)

No disadvantage

Pairing: Jannik Sinner x reader

warnings: none

author’s note: sorry that it took me so long to write and publish it! I had quite a big writer's block 😩 but I hope you like it! I tried my best! (also: pls note that English isn’t my first language! (and maybe my ambition outweighed my talent 😂)

MY MASTERLIST

(not my gif! credits to the owner/creator!)

♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦

The Australian Open has always been your favourite tournament of the year. Even as a little kid, you used to watch it on TV and dreamt to be part of this amazing tournament. And now, 12 years later you are finally here! It’s your first time here in Australian and you even managed to qualify for the main round!

The only downer is the fact that Camille wasn't here - Camille is a good friend of yours who usually helps you as a physio at the tournaments in Europe. But here in Australia she couldn't travel with you and by now you can feel every muscle in your body. Your father tried to help you as good as he could, but even though he was your coach and tried very hard, he couldn't help you with the sore muscles. The loosening exercises that Camille had shown you didn’t help anymore. Your father had already asked various physios of other players, and some had agreed to look after you, but of course their own players had priority.

You had just finished your match. A close three set match but you did it. You won. You can’t remember the actual ranking, but you might get Top 105 after this win. You are very happy about your win, but you have a strong pulling in your shoulder. During the last set of one of your services, a sharp pain went through your shoulder and neck and although the sharp pain had subsided, there is still a dull ache in your neck muscles. You sigh and stretch out on the mat on the floor of the cool-down room. With each breath you feel the tension in your shoulders and neck, and you let out a loud cry of pain.

"Are you alright?" you suddenly hear a voice next to you. Without looking up, you murmur a quiet "No" - assuming it’s just a member of the WTA staff.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just tension in my shoulder."

The stranger settles down on the floor right next to you: "Where's your physio?"

Your head is still resting on the mat, eyes closed: "In London, probably."

"In London?"

"Yes, normally a friend of mine is my physio, but she couldn't come with me to Australia because of the quarantine regulations because she's not officially my physio and-" you lift your head to look at the WTA employee and freeze: sitting in front of you is none other than Jannik Sinner.

Quickly you pull yourself up from the mat and immediately wince because of the pain: “Oh my god…”

Jannik raises his hands in apology: “That looks bad! How did you even manage to survive without a physio until now?”, his smile is little insecure.

You take a quiet breath and brush a single strand of hair behind your left ear: “Luck? Pure power of will? I don’t know…”, the dull ache in your shoulder calms down a bit. Your gaze is fixed on the ugly floor in the cool-down room, but out of the corner of your eyes you are watching him: he wears a trainings outfit, the white cap lying next to his crossed legs. His orange hair lies in perfect curls, only one strand rests on his forehead.

He plays with the sweatband on his wrist and doesn’t seem to know to do or to say next.

A few seconds pass without a word.

“Can I help you?”

You look at him with wide, surprised eyes. Maybe you're just imagining it, but his cheeks look a little redder than they did a few minutes ago.

“I think, the only thing would be for you to lend me your physio”, you try to joke, your cheeks heating up as well.

“Of course! My Physio will be here in about half an hour! I’m sure he has enough time to give you a proper massage or something!”

Before you can think about it, you it slips out of your mouth: “Oh my god, that would be-“, you interrupt yourself, suddenly remembering your manners, “I mean, no that’s not necessary, I was only joking! I can’t ask for that!”

“No, that’s fine! Honestly! I insist!”, a bright smile appears on his face.

He has a really beautiful smile. And eyes. Eyes which seem to glint.

“Well…thank you…although I feel really bad because I make use of your physio”

“All good! I’m happy to help!”

Silence reigns again. No one of you knows what to say.

But it was Jannik again you broke it. “Congrats to your win by the way! You game was fantastic…I think you’ve hit the most aces of today’s WTA matches.”

“Thank you”, you return his soft smile, “You watched my match?”

Jannik turns his head sharply and breaks the eye contact as his fingers play nervously with his cap, but he nods in response.

You try to ignore the warm feeling in your stomach (and on your cheeks) and take a deep, long breath. But immediately a sharp pain jerks through your body and you exhale shakily because of the pain.

“That’s gonna be a long half an hour until my physio arrives”

You don’t say anything. It feels like all muscles in your upper body are on fire.

Jannik seems to understand your pain because he looks at you pitying: “Yeah…I’m…well, I’m not sure if i…but…”, he’s gnawing on his bottom lip, “I could try to ease it a bit, if you want?”

“You?”

“Yes! I mean, I had a similar problem last week and I think I know what to do…”, he gives you an encouraging smile, “So?”

You don’t think that’s a good idea, partly because he isn’t a proper physio, partly because you feel like you’ve got a swarm of butterflies in your stomach - nevertheless you give him a quick nod and lie back down on the mat.

His fingertips feel hot on your skin. At first he doesn't apply pressure, but only gently strokes you skin - trying to find out where most of the tension is. You can’t help but feel your heart speed up: this is a bad idea.

“Tell me, when it’s too much, ok Y/N?”, his voice is just a whisper.

Slowly he begins to apply more and more pressure, moving from your shoulder to your neck. The pressure hurts but feels relaxing at the same time. And the pain helps you to stay focused and not to think about the fact that Jannik Sinner is massaging you.

You’re not going to lie: you’ve always had a little thing for him. Although Rafa was your favourite player, Jannik was your favourite out of the “Next Gen”. Not only because he is a very talented young player with a bright future ahead of him but also because he always seems very friendly, humble and very down to earth. You try to watch all his matches and even try to learn some things from him through studying his game in videos. Your father says you could learn a lot from his footwork. Yes, focus on his footwork in the video you watched last night – and not on his hands working real magic on your tensed muscles.

He reaches a certain point, and you couldn’t hold back a moan.

“Good?”

“God, yes!”, and you suddenly realise which sound you made just seconds ago, “Wow, that’s embarrassing! I’m so sorry! I-”

“No, all good! Nothing to be sorry about.”, you hear him laugh quietly but at the same time you feel his fingers tremble a little.

You try to calm your pounding heart and Jannik continues to work his way through your tense muscles.

The silence is interrupted by the soft beeping of a smartphone. Jannik’s hand disappear from your back: “My physio is here. I text him where to find us. He will give you a proper massage.”

“I think you did really well!”, you sit up slowly and carefully, “It’s much much better now!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I can breathe without any sharp pain! You’ve helped me a lot already!”, you smile at him “Thank you so, so much Jannik!”

“It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not nothing! I…can I invite you for a drink? A non-alcoholic one, because we both have to play? As a thank you?”

You except him to say no, and prepare to put on a poker face and not let your disappointment show. But instead of a polite refusal, he beams at you: “I’d love that! Let’s say tonight?”

“Yeah, meet me in the lobby at 7pm?” “Can’t wait! But now I have to go to practise! My physio will meet you here in about 5 minutes!”, Jannik stands up and smiles at you, “See you later, Y/N! And again: Congrats on your win!”

#jannik sinner x reader #jannik sinner imagine #jannik sinner x you #jannik sinner #jannik sinner fanfic #jannik sinner fic #tennis imagine #tennis fic #tennis fanfic #my writing #my imagine #mira's imagines #tennis imagines #tennis fics #tennis fanfics #tennis fanfiction #tennis fanfictions

62 notes · View notes

busterstrouble · 2 months

Text

Your transgressions are mine as well Anger grows in my bones if you could not tell But I'll find comfort in company Lord forgive us, my boys and me

Birthday — Dec 5th 1986 Zodiac Sign — Sagittarius Sun, Aquarius Moon, Gemini Rising MBTI — ENTJ Enneagram — Type 8 Primary Vice — viscous Primary Virtue — charismatic Element — Fire

Overview:

Mother — Judy Palmerteri Father — John Palmerteri Mother’s Occupation — unknown Father’s Occupation —unknown Family Finances — unknon Birth Order — Only child Brothers — 10 foster brothers over time Sisters — 5 foster sisters over time Other Close Family — Found family - pack in London Members: Rancor, Marshall, Emmett, Phillip, Arthur, Ada Best Friend — Rancor - his alpha was his brother and best friend. He died in front of Buster and he has yet to truly mourn the loss of his friend and leader Other Friends — Marshall and Arthur were his closest minions. They were truly like brothers where they would argue one minute and be friends the next. Emmett was a bit stand off ish and Ada was like a little sister. All died in front of him he has yet to mourn the loss of his friends. Pets — none yet Home Life During Childhood — was in 5 different foster homes before he turned 8 years old. Was used as a pawn to get more money from the government. Was always reminded by the other foster kids that he was nothing and was just being used. Town or City Name(s) —Camden Town, London UK What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — The last home he lived in Buster only had an air mattress on the floor of a living room. He had to have it deflated and put away before foster dad was awake at 0600 or he would suffer repercussions Any Sports or Clubs — Buster joined a rugby team with his pack brothers - Very big fan of rugby Favorite Toy or Game — did not have any toys or games as a child - as an adult he does enjoy billiards and gambling Schooling — never attended school as a mundus - Rancor ensured that him and his brothers attended school as they grew up - he would consider going to college even as a 30 yr old Favorite Subject — Government Popular or Loner — He was an outcast by nature as a child. Once he was in his pack he was rather popular...his natural personality and demeanor created a hierarchy and he has the ability to draw people in. Important Experiences or Events —leaving his final foster home for the first time - following rancor to a local pub and being turned - never looking back Nationality — English Culture — English Religion and beliefs — undecided

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim — Tom Hardy Complexion — fair skin with an olive tone - freckles across his nose Hair Colour — very dirty blonde Eye Colour — bright blue Height — 6’3” Build — tall, stocky, muscular build Tattoos — covered - across his chest and upper arms down to his wrists - stand outs: The British Flag on his chest, a traditional style wolf on his forearm, a pinup girl on his left arm Piercings — none Common Hairstyle — high fade on both side, top kept longer and slicked back Clothing Style — nothing too crazy...jeans and a shirt...leather jacket Mannerisms —natural scowl and a smirk Usual Expression —

Health:

Overall (do they get sick easily)? — cannot remember the last time he was sick Physical Ailments — nothing Neurological Conditions — none Allergies — none Grooming Habits — he is very clean even though his hands always appear dirty from work Sleeping Habits — either too much or too little Eating Habits —doesnt really think about food - eats whenever he feels like it or remembers Exercise Habits — very regimented and has a work out schedule. Very strong even outside his wolf form. Emotional Stability — very short fuse and does not know how to process emotions - usually suppresses them Sociability — avoids most social situations unless he is getting something out of it or he feels like being a troll and instigating Addictions — nicotine Drug Use — no thanks Alcohol Use — socially

Your Character’s Character:

Bad Habits — impulsive, has a bit of a temper, reckless Good Habits — very determined, tenacious, head strong, charismatic Best Characteristic — he really does have a soft spot for the underdog - he will take the lowly in and protect them from those he deems too high and mighty Worst Characteristic — rude impulsive and abrasive Worst Memory —standing in the middle of harold square watching a sidewalk artist create a giant merry go round with chalk. It was very busy and very crowded. Turning around and noticing that his mother and father were gone. He was only 4 but he remembers it scene by scene - they left him? They werent looking for him? Running around frantically trying to find them only to be left in London without anyone. Best Memory — being turned Proud of —the life he has built for himself Embarrassed by — his inability to form relationships Driving Style —very conservative on his motorcycle besides the speed Strong Points — determined, strong willed, confident Attitude — rude, judgemental, unbothered Weakness — family Fears — letting someone in Phobias — nothing serious Secrets — in swyn lake he is not out as a wolf Regrets — none. Feels Vulnerable When - when someone truly sees him Pet Peeves — incompetence Conflicts — tbd Motivation — to be nothing like those who think they have it better than anyone -to build a new pack in the memory of his fallen Short Term Goals and Hopes — create a home in swyn lake, create a pack or at least a plan for one Long Term Goals and Hopes —open a motorcycle shop Sexuality — straight Day or Night Person — both Introvert or Extrovert — Extrovert! Optimist or Pessimist — pessimist Greatest Want —a pack Greatest Need — a pack

Likes and Styles:

Music — americana, 80s hair metal. Books —does enjoy reading historical fiction and fantasy novels Foods — anything with ranch, pot pies, meat pies, candy Drinks — plain tea, coke, beer Animals —wolves Sports — Rugby Social Issues — anarchy Favorite Saying —i create my own trouble Color — grey and dark green Clothing — jeans and a shirt... Jewelry — has two rings on his left hand Games —gambling TV Shows — sons of anarchy , game of thrones, band of brothers Movies — War Movies, action movies, period movies

Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:

Home — Southern Isle Household furnishings — His room is just a bed and a nigh stand pairs with a rack for clothes and a book shelf. The spare room is bare - with a few motorcycle parts. The living room has a giant leather couch and some antiques for tables and shelves. There is a tv but he does not use it much. Most Cherished Possession — journal. Neighborhood — Southern Isle Town or City Name — Swynlake Married Before — No Significant Other Before — a few short term girlfriends and a lot of random hook ups Children — None! Relationship with Family — has no contact with his parents - they could be dead or alive. His found family is all deceased. Car — vintage indian motorcycle Career — mechanic Dream Career — Own his own motorcycle shop Dream Life — have a pack of his own, create a monoply with pack - providing a business for hire - body guards...gambling...hitmen but all under the table - while running his own motorcycle shop letting the underlings do the real work unless he actually needed to show his face Love Life — single and ready to mingle Talents or Skills —very skilled mechanic Intelligence Level — very smart almost too smart but does not let it show Finances — grew up with nothing - has a lot of savings and investments but does not show it - will keep it hidden to fit in with society.

#edits #tasks #me

2 notes · View notes

s-creations · 2 years

Text

The Get Along Sweater

It was supposed to be a 'get along' exercise. It turned into a situation that no one was ready for.

Inspired by artwork by @jessadamsdraws. Link

Fandom: LEGO Monkie Kid Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Relationships: Shadowpeach, MK&SunWukong&Macaque Warnings/Additional Tags: The other characters are there briefly, But this ain’t about them, There are some curse words and mentions of blood, Just a warning, Chinese Mythical Creatures, Shadowpeach

“Alright everyone, I’m glad you were able to meet on such short notice.” MK said in a serious tone. Addressing the crowded room at the front of the noodle store.

Pigsy huffed. “Kid, we were already here.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that there is something very important to discuss,” continued MK in the same tone, “As you’re aware, after the defeat of Lady Bone Demon, things have been a little…intense.”

“That’s the understatement of the day! So many crazy demons running around like they…run the place!” Mei added with short nods.

“Exactly, we have a lot on our plates! And as the team of noble heroes and warriors, we need to make sure we’re ready for anything. Which means we need to know that we can work together as a good, proper team. Bringing us to the two major problems… That being you two!” To emphasize his statement, MK pointed a finger at the two accused beings. One being Sun Wukong, self proclaimed Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. The other, the Shadow Warrior, the Six-Eared Macaque. Both who looked absolutely bored.

“I would like to point out that I only came here because I was promised a free meal. I did not sign up to be accused of anything.” Said Macaque, tail flicking in annoyance.

“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m still right. You two can barely stand to be in the same room as the other without everything turning into a shouting match. We need to work out whatever issues you two have.”

“Hard pass.”

“Look bud, your heart is in the right place for this,” Wukong quickly took over, “But this team is big enough that the need of having the two of us team up would be very…slim.”

“Try ‘none existent’.”

The golden monkey glared at the other before continuing. “The point is that you and I make a great team. We handle anything thrown our way. You and your friends are more than capable of handling things as well! This intervention isn’t really necessary.”

“But, it is!” MK insisted, “There could be a chance you two would need to work together.”

“Plus, an open relationship is a more healthy one. It’s a comfort to know you can rely on others.” Sandy added cheerfully.

“Point further proven. So, as acting leader to this grand team (“I don’t remember voting for that.” Tang frowned.) I have elected that the both of you shall perform ‘The Sweater’ exercise.”

Macaque snorted. “I hate it already.”

“Fine MK, what do you need us to do?” Wukong asked.

“First, you need to stand next to each other.” MK beamed. Grabbing his mentor’s wrists to pull Wukong into the center of the room. Mei doing the same with Macaque, who looked less than thrilled by all of this. Now standing shoulder to shoulder, Macaque to the left, Wukong to the right, pointedly looking away from each other. But they didn’t argue when the same kids lifted their outer arms in the air.

“Alright Sandy, bring out the sweater!”

Both monkeys winced as the large human just towered over them. A bundle of violent lime green fabric in hand. Before either could protest, the fabric was shoved over them. Suddenly getting a lot closer, shoulders actually touching this time, while the arms that had been in the air sliding into the long sleeves. The heads popped out at the top. Glaring at the others as they were scrunched closer together. Across the chest, using patches of other awful colored fabrics, were the words ‘Get Along Sweater’.

“Ah…I was right, I hate it.” Macaque growled out.

“What is this?” Wukong asked weakly.

“It’s the ‘Get Along Sweater’! Patton pending,” Mei answered, “You two will have to wear it until we know you two can get along. At no time does it get to be removed. Ever. Not never ever.”

The Shadow Warrior huffed. “You do realize we can just tear this thing apart, right?”

“Ah ah, you need to keep it in tack to prove you’re working together to keep it safe! Otherwise, you two will be benched.”

“What!”

“Kid…” The Monkey King’s voice held a warning, but the stern stance fell away seeing the pout on MK’s face.

“Please? Just try, that’s all I’m asking for.”

“...Fine.”

"Promise?"

"Promise."

“Great! Now, let’s head out.” MK beamed, pout fully gone. The statement caused the monkeys to tense.

“Wait, what? Where are we going?” Wukong frowned.

“There have been some reports of some flying demon causing some issues. Mainly scaring dogs and having the lights flicker. We just need to make sure nothing crazy is going on and chase the demon away. Easy.”

“And…we’re going along with you, in this.” Macaque replied slowly.

“Yep, call me the coach because I’m making the calls! I’ll just be on the sidelines to make sure you two are actually working together. You two will be handling the situation on your own, together.”

“Kid, we can barely move in this thing. How are we supposed to fight? Can’t we just, I don’t know, sit here in silence for, like, an hour and call it a job well done?” Wukong attempted to bargain. Eye twitching hearing Macaque laugh. “What.”

“Really, you? Being silent for an hour? I’m pretty sure you’d explode if you’re not able to inflate your already large ego.” The Shadow Warrior smirked.

“Oh really? Because I think you’d have a hard time not going a minute without having to provide a snarky remark to something that happened around you.”

“At least I add flavor to a conversation. Unlike your unhelpful remarks that only revolve around some mess up that you caused and have to fix.”

“Flavor? Ha! I didn’t know mud could be used as seasoning. You’d be surprised how everyone doesn’t have to hear about your unneeded opinion.”

“Egotistical ass.”

“Say that to my face, you uncultured leech!”

“What- uncultured? Says the monkey who eats only peach chips on his run down couch!”

“Ooooh, so because I don’t want fresh fruit all the time, I’m lazy?”

“No, you’re just a slob!”

“How dare you!”

“This…might have been a bad idea.” Tang commented weakly as the monkey’s pushed their foreheads together, teeth bared as they shouted at each other.

“Ah, maybe, but it’s too late to back out now!” MK laughed, looking sheepish. Cautiously reaching out to grab the back of the sweater. Both wearers unaware as they were dragged out of the shop. “We’ll be back soon, all in one piece, promise!”

The shop fell silent as the trio were suddenly launched into the air, disappearing into the sky.

“What a wonderful experience they’re going to have.” Sandy beamed, completely missing the raised brows of confusion his way.

__________________

MK frowned as he looked over the downtown area, staff in hand. It was eerily quiet. People have left the area due to whatever was haunting this area. What confused the teen, however, was the fact that nothing seemed damaged. Normally demons left behind something broken. Depending on the size of the demon, it ranged from a broken vase to an entire building being left in ruin. But now, there was nothing. Not even a scratch or item out of place.

“Weird…but, not my problem!” MK rested the staff on his shoulder before facing the other two. Wukong and Macaque were now sitting on the ground, sweater still on. Attempting to turn away from the other as best they could. The fabric clearly strained to the point of almost tearing. “Alright you two, time to do your thing and work together!”

This was met with silence.

“Come on guys, you promised.”

“Ah, no, the Great Sage promised this,” Macaque snipped out, “I was forced to come along.”

“If you’re so against this, why don’t you just leave. Nothing’s really holding you in place.” Wukong grumbled back.

“And have you rub it in my face that you’re the ‘better person’? No thanks.”

“Ugh, guys, come on!” MK huffed, “Can you at least help me figure out what this demon is? I’m not seeing any issues around here. I mean, besides the fact that there’s no one here.”

“Try your Golden Eyes bud, that might help.” The golden monkey offered.

“Uh, how about you do it? Since this is supposed to be your mission. Both of your missions.” With no reply, MK let out a loud groan before shouting, “Fine, I’ll go look myself! I just wanted you guys to basically try to help.”

Still no answer, so MK took that as his cue to leave. “Come find me when you two actually want to help me out with this.”

As he headed deeper into the abandoned area, the darker it seemed to come. The sun hidden away from the tall buildings as MK stalked the alleyways. Using Wukong’s suggestion, warm golden eyes darting everywhere to find some sort of clue. Just as he was about to turn back to demand the other two offer help in some way, MK paused, finally finding something. It was a single feather. As long as his arm, was a deep red with flecks of what MK could call was silver. But the color only appeared in the right light.

“Weird…wonder what demon makes this?” MK muttered to himself, standing back up with the feather in hand. “Maybe Monkey King will be able to tell-”

A shrill cry filled the alleyway. MK froze, eyes widening feeling as if his mind suddenly shut down. He was aware he was falling, losing the use of his limbs and was unable to recall them back to catch himself. All he could give when he finally connected to the ground was a small grunt, but remained unmoving. Heart hammering furiously, he was unable to look around when something approached him. Hearing large wings beat, slowing in their movement as something large landed above him.

If he was able to move, MK would have winced as something large wrapped around his waist. But as it was, he could only give a small noise for a response. A loud, guttural chirp sounded above him. A large shadow shifted before something entered MK’s vision. It was the head of a bird, possibly a falcon but MK wasn’t able to really tell at the moment. A large sharp beak opened to make that disturbing chirp again. MK’s heart beating faster hearing close replies. Yellow eyes pierced the unmoving teen as blood red feathers ruffled. Its neck, which was extremely long, curved and moved in an unnatural way.

Before MK could think of what was happening, think about trying to find a way out, the bird’s eyes suddenly flashed blue. At that, the teen’s mind became quiet. The only thing moving was his chest as he continued to breathe. The bird let out another warbled chirp before its beak opened widely. Wide enough to see inside, which was nothing more than a black void. From the depth of this darkness, a bright light started to emit from it, slowly growing. A similar light flickered faintly in MK’s own mouth before faint blue tendrils of mist left him. Slowly entering into the elongated mouth.

“You agree with me. This is a dumb idea, right?”

Wukong grumbled when Macaque broke the silence. The golden monkey looking over at the other. “I keep telling you that you can just leave if you want. I don’t know why you’re still here. It’s very typical for you to just duck out when something doesn’t go your way.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Macaque huffed and rolled his eyes. “I shouldn’t have to explain something that you did.”

“...Well, clearly you should. If it bothers you enough to keep vaguely bringing this up. So why don’t you just keep talking as you clearly love to do that.”

“Just drop it Wukong.”

“I don’t think I-” A shrill cry filled the air, both monkey’s tense hearing it. Their attention snapping to the alleyway they’d seen MK disappear down. Wukong’s fur stood on end, heart hammering as his mind scrambled to figure out where he’d heard that sound before. “...How long has MK been gone?”

“A while now.” Macaque replied, Wukong noting how worried and tense he sounded.

“MK!” The golden monkey’s voice seemed to echo back, no response given. Wukong got up quickly, only to stumble when Macaque didn’t follow. “Get up, we need to find him!”

The Shadow Warrior didn’t reply. Merely did as asked and followed. It was difficult as the alleyway was not wide enough for them to rush down side by side. Wukong led the way with Macaque attempting to keep himself upright as he followed. Doing their best to cover the distance enough to find MK quickly while dodging around items.

Macaque felt a shiver travel up his spine when they passed by another cross alleyway. Instantly grabbed Wukong’s wrist and pulled him back.

“What are you-”

“This way, just trust me!” The black furred monkey snipped out, sounding panicked. Wukong didn’t argue back. If Macaque knew something, then he just needed to trust the other.

Panic grew to full fledged fear when they stumbled upon the scene. A large bird, as tall as the buildings that surrounded them, had MK pinned to the ground. One of its eight heads having their beaks open wide, seeming to suck something from the teen’s mouth. The rest of the seven raised upon hearing the monkey’s approach, letting out hisses and disturbing noises as warnings to keep the monkeys away. Off to the side, a neck without a head flopped uselessly, blood splattering the surrounding area as it swayed.

“Jiutou Niao…” Macaque whispered fearfully. He was suddenly jerked ahead when Wukong moved. The Monkey King’s fangs bared, no doubt planning on attacking the creature. Or, at the very least, get MK away from the situation.

Only for both to be forcefully pulled back when the back of the sweater. Said item being caught on some nearby garbage and forced the two beings back. Both colliding against each other and collapsing in a mangled heap a few feet away. Letting out a groan of pain, Wukong attempted to sit up, but was too tangled with the other. Only able to lift his head. Heart sinking as he watched the creature take to the sky. MK still trapped in the large claw, completely limp and unmoving.

“Kid!” Wukong attempted again to pull away, “MK, wake up! MK!”

But it amounted to nothing. The teen was unresponsive as the creature took to the sky. Turning towards the distant mountain range and disappearing into the clouds.

“Wukong-”

“It took the kid.”

“I know, I saw it too. But you need to get up.”

“I can’t! I’m stuck to you right now!”

“Alright, jeez! Just…Just hang on.”

Wukong felt his stomach flip as they sank into the shadows, reemerging to be back on his feet. “...Thanks.”

“Uh, yeah…” Macaque replied, sounding very unsure all of a sudden.

“What?”

“Well, I was trying to take this stupid sweater off. But it won’t move. It’s like…stuck to me.”

Wukong frowned, reaching down to pull the sweater off or at least take his arm out of the sleeve. But, as Macaque said, the item wouldn’t budge. Acting as if it was glued to himself. “What? What is happening? This is just a normal sweater right?”

“I assumed as much. That knock-off monk friend of yours didn’t do something weird to it.”

“No, I didn’t hear a chant or anything-” Wukong froze, eyes widening as he realized something big. “Tang didn’t say anything, I did.”

“What?”

“I promised the kid I would make this work. Back at the restaurant. He promised me and I said I would. I’m…bound by my word to work with you to complete the task.”

Macaque faltered before letting out a growl. “So why am I stuck in this!? I didn’t agree to the stupid terms!”

“Because MK wanted us to work together! You’re stuck in here because of my promise.”

“Oh fantastic work, Great Sage. Wonderful job, putting your foot in your mouth again. You really don’t like to think things through before-”

“Would you stop!” Wukong hissed, fangs bared in anger. “I can’t fix this right now, but we have to go get MK! I’m not leaving him alone with that soul sucking demon any more than I have. So, if this is how we have to deal with it, then we do.”

“...Fine. But I’m doing it for the kid, not for you.”

“Noted. Now…how in the world are we supposed to track that Jiutou Niao down?”

“You’re lucky I can track down demons. Just follow me-”

“Don’t have much of a choice.”

“And we will find MK.” Macaque growled out, annoyed that Wukong just had to add his two cents into this comment.

__________________

Supposedly one good thing about all of this was that the sweater was thick enough to keep the two beings warm. The mountain range they were currently climbing, on Wukong’s cloud, was raging with a large snow storm. But it was ignored by the monkey’s as they focused on the task at hand. The ‘conversation’ between the two had been narrowed down to just the occasional direction given by Macaque. Eventually reaching a cave entrance, landing before it as they peered inside. Even from where they stood, it was clear this cave went deep into the mountain.

Macaque’s nose twitched and frowned. “I’m…pick up on a lot of decay.”

“Yeah, same,” Wukong let out a small huff, “Okay, lets go.”

“Wait, hold on, what’s the plan here?”

“Go in, kill this thing, and get MK out of there.”

“You can’t kill a Jiutou Niao! The most we’re going to be able to do is send it back to the Celestial Realm.”

“Then we’ll do that! But I’m just concerned with getting MK out of this situation.”

“Is this what you did with your little journey?” Macaque sniped back, “If something went wrong, you just bashed some demon’s head in and then went on your merry way? No wonder you had so many enemies.”

“Don’t not even bring that up right now. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No, I think this is a perfect time to do so. Let’s settle down and discuss how your actions keep hurting people.”

“Where is this even coming from!? Is this why you’ve been so short with me lately, you living in the past?”

“Living in- Says the monkey who gives his full title to every person he meets! Who flounces his past accomplishes without having anything else to show. Your ego is the only thing you can cling to because you know if you actually have anyone close to you, you’ll just lose them again because of your own mistakes!”

Wukong let out a shriek of absolute anger before pinning Macaque as best he could with his one free arm. The Shadow Warrior doing what he can to fight back as well. It was awkward and clumsy, being too close and too tied up to really do any major attacks. Or even damage the other. It was honestly just a tussle of scratches, kicks, and cries of anger coming from both.

The scuffle was interrupted when something cracked in the cave, the sound bouncing off the walls. Still huffing in anger, wide eyes darted around in an attempt to figure out where that sound came from. Only for the ground beneath them to suddenly shift downwards. There was an exchange of a frantic look before the ground completely gave way and they fell. Their screams were drowned out by the falling rocks that followed them down the deep cavern.

Macaque let out a small groan, consciousness slowly coming to. His head was pounding, something wet sticking to his fur. The black furred monkey believed that it was blood, if the pain he was feeling was any indication. His free arm shifted as he attempted to sit up. Only to realize that it wasn’t just the sweater that was keeping him trapped.

A sizable pile of rock and rubble lying over the lower half of his body. It wasn’t terribly heavy. But with how exhausted and hurt he was, Macaque knew he wouldn’t be able to push these rocks off. Teleporting could be an option. But it was hard to focus at that moment.

“Ugh…Wukong?” Macaque weakly called out, head ringing as he looked over. He didn’t get a response. Taking a while to clear out the fog, realizing that something was wrong with Wukong.

The Monkey King was in the same situation as Macaque was. His lower half also trapped under the rocks. His free hand clawing desperately at the dirt, the area becoming wet with blood. His face was turned towards Macaque, but it was clear that Wukong didn’t really ‘see’ the other monkey. Eyes wide with absolute fear, staring in the distance, while his breathing was harsh and shallow.

“Wukong? …Hey, Monkey King, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“Can’t move… Trapped… I-I don’t want to be back here… Please, I didn’t do anything wrong… I didn’t- I swear…”

Macaque’s ears twitched, frowning as he watched as the golden monkey continued to panic. “Hey…Wukong. You’re okay, you’re not trapped under the mountain. It’s just some rubble, we can get out easily.”

“C-Can’t move…I can’t breathe…”

“You’re okay, I promise. You need to look at me.”

“N-No, no, I can’t-” Wukong winced when something pressed against his forehead. He blinked, dry eyes feeling some relief from staring straight ahead for so long. Looking over and connecting to Macaque’s. Looking calmer than Wukong had seen for awhile. “...Mac?”

“Hey, there you are. Was worried for a minute.”

“Where…are we?”

“We’re in the mountains searching for MK. Remember MK? Think you can tell me?”

“He’s…my successor. He’s a good kid.”

“Yeah, he is, and he’s in trouble right now. But in order to rescue him, we need to get out of our own sticky situation.”

“...Situation?” Wukong’s eyes shifted to look up, but was pulled back when Macaque quickly said ‘No, no, no’.

“You’re okay, it’s gonna be okay. I need your help with getting out of here. Okay?”

“...O-Okay, what do I need to do?”

“I need you to think about open spaces. Think about sitting up, moving your legs. Think you can do that?”

“...Yeah… Yeah, okay, I can do that.”

“Okay. Just…close your eyes and keep thinking about what I asked. Just keep taking slow, deep breaths, thinking about open spaces and…”

Wukong couldn’t help but flinch when the world flipped around and they landed some distance away from the rock pile. Now that the pressure was gone from his waist down, the golden monkey could feel himself relax slightly. Which unfortunately turned into quiet falling tears as the bloodied hand clenched at his chest. Wincing when something bumped his shoulder.

“Woah, hey, it’s just me. Sorry, I was just shifting.” Macaque said quickly, whispering softly. “You’re okay, you’re out, you’re going to be okay.”

“...Sorry… I haven’t felt something like that for…a while now.”

“It’s okay, it’s understandable to freak out when faced with…passed issues.”

“Yeah…” Wukong looked down at the damaged hand, realizing his mind was catching up with the fact that it was hurt. “...Thank you…for that.”

“Yeah, it’s okay. Are you feeling better?”

“Kind of. I think I’ll feel better when we’re not here.”

“That’s fair.”

“We should get-”

“Take a moment to catch your breath. Moving too soon after an attack won’t help anyone.”

Wukong looked over to Macaque, who was pointedly staring at the ground. “...How do you know that?”

“What, you don’t think I’ve had my own moments of panic?”

“...Really?”

“Yeah.”

“What…what happens?”

Macaque shifted slightly, pressing closer to Wukong but still not looking up. “It normally happens when it’s really dark and really quiet. I know that sounds weird coming from a person who’s whole thing is to manipulate shadows. But…it’s different when I’m not in control, and maybe that’s the main issue from it. Being unable to control what’s happening.”

“Oh…is it because of-”

“That’s part of it. Not the entire thing, but…” Macaque let out a small sigh, “But I also hate the idea of being left alone. The quiet and stillness…”

“Macaque-”

“You left me.”

Wukong swallowed weakly, eyes widening from the small confession. “I…”

“You left me, I can’t begin to tell you how much that hurt. I was…I thought I was trying to save you.”

“...I wasn’t in danger.”

“You were being tortured-”

“I agreed to go-”

“No you didn’t!” Macaque growled, “You just think you did because you were rescued from that stupid mountain!”

“...It was punish-”

“You were a kid!”

“Teenager, thank you.”

“That’s not the point! You were…” Macaque let out a slow sigh, “We were crazy kids, I get that. We did some things that, looking back, were not the best. But…why were you punished and not me? Why were you so severely punished? Then you just…went along with it. You wouldn’t even listen to me when I tried to just…talk to you.”

“You threatened my master.”

“Yeah, like I said, we did things back then that were not the best. It was the only thing I could think of when I was figuring out how to talk to you. To get you to listen to me. …I wasn’t ready for a fight. But that’s what you wanted… You left me. I was still alive, and you just left me. It was so quiet and dark when I…”

Wukong swallowed weakly, looking away. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I’ve moved past it.”

“You clearly haven’t! …Is this where your… Is this why we can’t have a civil conversation? Why you can’t look at me without…glaring at me?”

Macaque winced, but nodded. “It doesn’t matter how much time has passed. I can’t look at you and not have that fight come to the front of my mind. How I did what I could to get you to just listen to me and you just…”

They fell quiet, both stewing in their thoughts.

Macaque flushed softly when Wukong rested his head on the Shadow Warroir’s shoulder. Who seemed to relax further from the touch. “...I have missed you.”

“...Missed you too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, course I did. Missed you…missed us. All the crazy things we do.”

“You mean the trouble we’d get into?”

“You can’t deny that it was fun.”

Wukong laughed softly, pressing closer, nuzzling under Macaque’s chin. Not missing the way the other’s fur puffed up. “Yeah, it was. I won’t lie, it was kind of annoying that no one else got my sense of humor. Everyone told me it was annoying. But I loved sharing the stores of all the crazy things we did.”

“Yeah, well, no one has the sense of humor that we do.”

“Yeah…”

“...We’re really a mess, aren’t we.”

“That, I think, is the understatement of the day.” Wukong smiled weakly, using his free arm to easily wrap around the other. “I know it’s not going to be…easy. But I do want some semblance of normal with you.”

“I wouldn’t be against that. Just…”

“I know it’s going to be slow, probably painful. But…I’ve really missed you.”

Macaque smiled, wrapping his own arm around the other. Laying his head on Wukong’s, a gentle rumbling sound coming from his chest. “You’ve already said that.”

“Well…it’s true.”

“Yeah, I know it is. But if you’re willing to try…I want to as well.”

Both looked down feeling warmth surrounding them. Eyes widening when the sweater shimmered before slowly dissolving away. They both moved, standing up and stretching out the arms that had been trapped in the sweater.

“We’re out?” Macaque looked surprised, “But we haven’t defeated the demon yet.”

“I…guess we just needed to be honest? I’m not really sure.”

“You know what, let’s not worry about this too much right now. We have a kid to-” The Shadow Warrior faltered feeling hands placed on either of his cheeks. Not fully prepared to receive a full kiss from Wukong, causing them to topple back to the ground. Both letting out a groan of discomfort. “Could have warned me…”

“Sorry, kind of in the moment.”

“Just…maybe not as hard next time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…” Wukong laughed, not arguing when Macaque placed his own kiss. “Come on, we need to get going.”

“Right, just let me up and I can track the creature down easily.”

Now sweater free, it was far easier to move around. Macaque took the lead as they went further into the cave system. The sudden fall did not hinder their path towards where the creature rested. Sure enough, Macaque was placing a finger to his lips before nodding to the final turn they had ahead of themselves. Wukong nodded in understanding, both inching forward to peek.

The alcove in front of them held only a few things, but it was still terrifying to see. The Jiutou Niao was asleep, resting in a large nest created from dead trees and rocks. Littering the floor was a number of skeletons, some crumbling apart, clearly centuries old. Next to the nest rested MK, who’s eyes were closed and unmoving. Paler than usual, but Wukong was calmed seeing the teen’s chest move slowly.

“Okay, so what do we do here?” Macaque whispered.

“Well, you said it yourself, these things can’t be killed. However, our main concern is getting MK away from here. Then trap this thing in the cave. There’s only one way out, so that’ll make our job easier. I can deal with Jiutou Niao. Think you can get MK out of here?”

“Consider it done. Just be careful.”

“Can do.” Wukong waited for Macaque to disappear into the shadows before making his move.

Just as the golden monkey thought, the creature was easily woken by the sudden footsteps as the cavern allowed the noise to echo easily. A familiar shriek sounded in anger. MK flinched in his sleep, face scrunched and turning away.

Wukong shook his head. He trusted the Shadow Warrior to get MK to safety. Right now, he just had to keep the creature focused. Dodging out of the way from one of the many beaks, Wukong threw a punch to send the creature toppling sideways. The unmarred heads turned towards the attacking monkey, hissing and shrieking in displeasure as they retaliated. While the creature couldn’t be killed, it was clear that it wasn’t used to having to fight for its meal. As Wukong wasn’t having that hard of a time keeping it at bay. It was clearly relying on its known hunting method as the thing would not shut up.

A shrill whistle broke through the fight. Wukong looked back to see Macaque already at the exit. An unmoving form of MK resting in the black-furred monkey’s arms. That was all the Monkey King needed. Pushing off the ground and towards the exit. Feeling no remorse as the creature's multiple faces slammed into the ground where Wukong once stood.

As soon as he was standing by Macaque, Wukong landed a blow to the cave wall. Macaque doing the same to the side he was standing by. The entire mountain seemed to shake as the entrance was soon filled with rocks and rubble. They didn’t wait around long enough to see the final outcome. But knew that Jiutou Niao wouldn’t be bothering them again.

They didn’t stop until they reached the proper exit. Both took deep breaths before they looked down to MK. Who still hadn’t woken up.

“He’s really cold.” Macaque said carefully.

“He’s fine, I saw him move. Here, put him down.” Wukong removed his scarf, rolling it up to create a quick pillow. Placing it under MK’s head as he was laid on the ground. Once the teen was laid down, the golden monkey placed a hand over MK’s forehead. “...His energy is low. Dangerously low.”

“Do you think he’ll survive the trip back?”

“If it wasn’t storming outside, maybe. But it’s too dangerous now. Could you teleport us back?”

Macaque shook his head. “The city is too far away.”

“If we had a way to even his energy out to something regular, we could make it. But…I don’t know how to do that.”

“You’re so lucky I’m here. Come on, sit down.” Wukong didn’t argue as he sat by MK’s side while Macaque sat on the same side by the teen’s head. Both monkey’s face each other. “Okay, hold your right hand out.”

Wukong did so.

“Alright, the other one, you’re going to take MK’s hand.”

The action followed the instruction. Wukong held back shivers when Macaque took the same hand from the teen, also taking the golden monkey’s free hand as well. Golden eyes looking up to a calm but stern face.

“Okay…this is going to get interesting. But you need to follow my lead. We’re going to have to take our energy and pass it to MK.”

“What do I need to do?”

“You need to find your well of energy, having it flow through you, down your arm, and into MK.”

“We’re both going to do it? Won’t that be too much?”

“The kid’s lost a lot, you said it yourself. We’ll just need to go slow and be careful. Also make sure you don’t break your concentration. Any interruption can actually pull from MK or disrupt his flow if the connection is cut too suddenly.”

“Okay…let’s try this.”

Macaque nodded before closing his eyes, Wukong following the other monkey’s lead. Breathing deeply, slowly, the golden monkey easily found the never ending pool of energy. Visualizing a steady stream of the golden force being pulled from that pool, slowly traveling down his arm, and merging with the faint energy flow that MK held. The gold soon met dark purple as Macaque’s energy arrived as well. Both flowed easily into the yellow of MK’s, which slowly grew brighter and brighter.

“...M-Monkey King?”

Wukong kept his eyes closed when he received a warning squeeze from Macaque’s hand. But it pained him knowing he can’t look down at the no doubt confused teen. “It’s okay kid, you’re okay. You’ll feel better in no time. Just try and get some sleep, okay?”

By the lack of replies, Wukong could only assume MK had taken his word and fell asleep. He only had to wait a few more minutes before Macaque broke the quiet. “Alright, pull back slowly. Wait until the flow is fully back before you break the connection.”

Wukong let out a deep breath before opening his eyes. Instantly darting down to MK, who looked so much better than when they first got him out of the cave. He was asleep, as Wukong had assumed, but peaceful instead of in pain. With his hands free, the golden monkey collected the teen gently, cradling MK close.

“He’s warmer.”

“Good, then we can make it back easily.” Macaque stood, arms out to take the teen. Smiling softly seeing the uncertainty in Wukong’s face. “You need to focus on flying that cloud of yours. I’ll keep the kid safe.”

“...Okay, I’m trusting you.”

“I know.”

__________________

Wukong was very happy that Pigsy’s aim was terrible when he was absolutely livid. Otherwise, he would have had an out of body experience if that wooden spoon made contact. It was a mix of emotions, anger in hearing what happened to MK, but relief in knowing the teen was safe and that creature wouldn’t be coming back. All wanting to gather around the teen, but was kept back by a low warning from Macaque.

As all settled down, the restaurant was completely closed, MK still asleep resting in his bed now. Wukong knew he should have gone back to his mountain home. But he was still worried. Sure, the kid was fine. MK would be up and about the next day. Not a care in the world, ready to face the next big thing. Absolutely thrilled to see that the two monkeys were finally getting along. But for now, he was asleep. Unaware of the worried mentor that was right next to him.

He jumped slightly, feeling arms snake around his middle, a chin now resting on his shoulder. “Hey…”

“The kid’s going to be okay.” Macaque whispered calmly.

“I know.”

“But you want to stay?”

“Yeah. Today was just…eye opening. How little I’ve prepared this kid for our world. He’s faced major things. But…this was still too close for comfort.”

“We’ll just make sure we cover all that we can.”

Wukong smiled softly, leaning back to press his cheek against the other. “We?”

“If you think I’m going to let you deal with this alone, you’re wrong.”

“Good…because I’m not leaving you behind again.”

#lmk mk #lmk sun wukong #lmk macaque #jessadamsdraws #s-creations #fanfiction #inspired by art #also on ao3

116 notes · View notes

calliedion-dungeon · 9 months

Text

��Sore Kisses

Picture Kath on Pinterest

Chapter 8. False Inertia

Read on ao3 here <<<

Summary: The aftermath of a night of depravity things settle down, you take a little time to think things through and doing it would be easier if you didn't have Mary in your sight who distracts you from your thoughts, taking every corner of your mind hostage... oh no...

Warnings: MDNI +18, Smoking, Heavy Drinking, Fluff and Angst Swearing, Crossdressing, Adult Content, Eventual Smut, Blonde Mary Goore!! Everyone is a Little Shit in here, later it gets all Soft and Smutty, Enemies to Friends to Lovers Trope.

Your slow and painful awakening was not of your own free will, it was the screams in the bathroom and the agonizing need to pee. Your eyes sting, the only way to move out of your bed was to crawl on the floor, with all your strength spent to put on a T-shirt and short shorts; you try to open the bathroom door, your disappointment was not greater than your discomfort at finding it locked, you hear the shower running. The apartment was silent, maybe no one else has woken up yet, except who is in the shower, you desperately drink water, you don't know why your body hurts so much, but you take everything you can find that might help with your body pain, you feel like you've been exercising for hours.

You lie face down on the big sofa, you drop one of your feet to the floor, thinking about where you would have left the cigarettes to go out to smoke on the balcony while you wait for the bathroom to clear, or considering if it would be okay for you to go into the other bathroom, knowing that Frank is no longer here, the poor guy had to go to work very early and that's why you all had to leave the club last night, you hear a couple of doors open, you turn to look over your shoulder and Mary comes out of the bathroom in boxers and a t-shirt, you get up suddenly, he has his fingers in his wet hair still dripping water.

“Can you get this off?” you notice that he still has the red streaks that you put on him the night before, without saying anything you extend your arms for him to come to sit on the sofa, he still has a little bit of eyeliner under his eyes and glitter.

“There” it wasn't that hard to remove with wet hair, you left the red hair strands on the coffee table, but you kept touching Mary's hair without thinking, brushing with your fingers.

“How can I take this off?” Mary says frustrated as he scratches his face that has scattered glitter all over.

“Oh... didn't I tell you? That never goes away” he looks at you scared when you tell him that, you laugh at his reaction and he starts rubbing his face harder.

“Hey, stop, I’m kidding, you just need micellar water” you stand up and run to your room for your bottle and some reusable cloth pads, you drop next to him again with one leg up to be face to face at him, while he watches attentively as you wet the piece of cloth and then rub it gently on his face, he blushes right in front of you.

At first, he stares at your face, but he may have remembered that you didn't like him looking at you, he diverts his eyes as you remove the residual makeup. You jolt when a droplet of water from his hair falls on your leg, you laugh for being surprised and when you look at him, he smiles at you, there it is again, that click, like a Lego that fits together, a final puzzle piece, a padlock that closes around you, and you want it to stop.

You were able to remove most of the glitter from his face, you couldn't help but touch his cheek with your fingertips, no pad, no makeup, no liquids, just skin to skin, like last night, both of your breaths become shallow, he raises his hand to grab your wrist, his eyes with a little fear behind, he turns his head and presses his lips against the pulse on your wrist, deeply inhales your sweet aroma.

You almost jump to the ceiling when someone comes out of the other rooms, you part away from him in a second and turn on the TV, you do the best you can so they don't notice how red you are in the face and your gasping for breath. Nick and Cami say hello and make some breakfast, they start talking to Mary, who also acts fast and helps them in the kitchen. The noises of their laughter call your attention to what you’re not watching on the screen, you look in the kitchen’s direction, Nick makes breakfast for everyone, they wave at you to offer you some since you don’t respond.

“Great show by the way” Cami fawns when you join them in the table for breakfast.

“Yeah, we won, that was the point” Nick says as he eats and puts a lot of sauce on his plate.

“We won?” Mary seems genuinely oblivious to a lot of things that happened.

“Sure, you put your whole pussy into the character and it payed off, well done” your words make Cami laugh, while you avoid looking at Mary who sits next to you at the table.

“Yep… sorry about the blouse” his raspy voice gets a little serious, knowing that those words are only directed at you makes you feel a bit self-conscious, more than anything it is because of the memory of how that happened.

“Oh don’t… it’s fine” you try not to choke on your words and drink some juice. You use the hot sauce that Nick had and he offers to Mary.

“I'm not a fan of my anus burning” Mary comments, leaving the bottle further from him.

“No? how boring are you then” says Nick laughing, Cami gets up from the table to wash her plate, laughing too.

“Let’s ask him again after I put him on a skirt and a couple of shots” you speak in a much more playful tone.

“That doesn’t change anything” Mary dramatically states.

“Ooohh I don’t think so, you were about to run away with that dude” Mary furrows his brows, apparently, he doesn’t remember that either.

“No way!” Nick yells between surprise and scared.

“Yeah-uh I saved your ass, literally and figuratively” you say so that the conversation is lighter, and since nothing happened, it's something rather funny, you don't know if Mary is really outraged or is just playing.

“You’re lying” finally he smiles, you leave your chair and clean your area on the table.

“You do not remember anything? It's better that way” he gets up, his threatening hands dangerously close to your stomach, you look up to him in disbelief.

“Tell me what happened” he insists and starts tickling you, you almost fall to the floor, weakened by his mischievous play, you laugh almost until you’re breathless, it’s too much.

“No, no!” you plea desperately, trying to run away from him, pushing him terrified that you might pee yourself. He carries you and lets you fall on the big sofa to continue his little game while he laughs “ah! No! Hey! Stop!”

“I’m sorry…” Mary halts looking at your angry face, he stops tickling you, not even he knows what came into him.

You run to the bathroom because you can't take it anymore, Nick and Cami make sure that things didn't end badly by sending you a message, you assure them that you just had to pee and they leave the apartment, but Mary is left believing that you were really upset with him. Especially because it takes you a long time to get out of the bathroom, you take the opportunity to take a bath, you take your time to dry yourself well, the hour that you take unexpectedly left the confused Mary thinking a thousand things about what he could have done wrong.

As you change your clothes, unaware that on the other side of your door, Mary was pacing, debating whether to knock or give you your space until you came out. In that time, you just assumed that he would already be entertaining himself with something, you abruptly realized that there was no one else in the apartment, your heart immediately races, you feel yourself sweating, your eyes widen. You go in search for him in his room; however, you find it open and empty.

“Hey, I’m sorry, sorry for being a pain in the ass” Mary speaks right behind you, his voice tinted in shame and fear, you waste no time to walk towards him and hold him by the waist, luckily, he reciprocates to your embrace.

“You’re not…” you conclude with a small smile. You tighten your arms around him, he does the same, you snuggle into his chest, for the first time he strokes your hair very shyly. You realize what you’re doing, you expected to feel safe and comfortable, but a hint of anxiety invades you; and you part from him “But if you tickle me like that again, I'm gonna throw you off the balcony.”

"I expect nothing else. I just wanted to know what happened last night, I remember a few things" you walk back to the kitchen looking for what to do.

"You apologized to me again, which is fine, because to be fair, you were a bitch longer than me." he sits on the small sofa, you take out a drink and sit on the other sofa, just so you can hear what he’s saying.

"Okay, I accept it" he says sitting smiling, still trying to remember.

"I should have asked you why, how stupid I am" you wail out loud, he chuckles.

"Saved!" he celebrates while looking for something to put on TV, your squint.

"You were also acting like a girl and tried to kiss me again..." hoping he'll be shocked by that, but he doesn't seem affected.

"But you didn't do it because I was drunk, I remember that" he mindlessly says. you didn't hear whatever was on the screen, you had your phone in hand and your drink was left behind, you got lost in your thoughts easily, although that was happening very often.

"I think you thought I was really a guy" you mock, you wanted to force yourself to want to stop talking about it, but you couldn't, the memory flooded your mind and you couldn't let go.

"Nah... I knew it was you" neither of you turns to look each other directly, but you’re dying to see what the other's face is like "Would you do it again sober?"

"Do what?" you needed to make sure they were still talking about the same thing, if so, he would be making a move.

He doesn't answer, a little late you realize that someone was trying to open the door, it was Nick, who was already back from leaving Cami at home. Mary squirms in his seat.

"So..." you remain expectant of his words, and this is the moment in which he hesitates "What do you think of the different dictatorships that occurred in Latin America in the 60's?" you frown.

"Moron" you say rolling your eyes, you turn your attention to literally anything else besides him.

“You guys are fighting again?” Nick asks like he doesn’t want to miss it, rather than prevent it.

“No, we’re talking about politics” Mary blatantly lies to Nick, he searches for your gaze, but you’re not going to give him the satisfaction and fall silent.

“So, you are fighting” Nick concludes amused as he unceremoniously sits next to you on the big sofa, you peek from the corner of your eye and catch Mary eyeing you and smirking.

#Sore Kisses #mary goore fanfic #mary goore x reader #repugnant fanfiction #mary goore #mary goore repugnant #repugnant band fanfiction

5 notes · View notes