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#why were our boys taken from us so cruelly
dailyaudiobible · 1 year
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1/26/2023 DAB Transcript
Exodus 2:11-3:22, Matthew 17:10-27, Psalm 22:1-18, Proverbs 5:7-14
Today is the 26th day of January, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It is great to be here with you today, as we gather around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward together. And we've taken all of these steps that have led us to this point, which yesterday allowed us to conclude our first book on the journey, that was the book of Genesis. And we began the book of Exodus yesterday, talked about that a little bit and even in our first reading in the book of Exodus, we met this baby boy, his name is Moses. He is an important person in the Biblical narrative. And so, he’s just a baby boy and he's being raised up in Pharaoh's daughter’s home. She's adopted him and we sort of see this dynamic as he’s a child. We’re gonna pick up the story from there. Getting to know Moses, getting to know his life. We’ll be journeying with Moses for quite some time. And so, let's dive in, Exodus chapter 2 verse 11 through 3 verse 22 today.
Commentary:
Okay so, as we get ourselves immersed into the book of Exodus, we are obviously getting to know a main character, that is in, in the Bible, his name is Moses, and we've seen what was going on. The children of Israel were being enslaved in Egypt and marginalized and treated very cruelly. And some really awful commands were sent down by Pharaoh, about how to control the expansion of the Israelites. And it was like if a baby boy is born, throw him into the Nile River. The king had also commended the midwives to kill the baby boys, which they didn't do. And so, Moses ended up in the Nile River, he's a baby boy, he ended up in the Nile River, he was just in a basket, Pharaoh's daughter found him, had mercy upon him. He was able to be raised by his own mother. And she was able to be paid to take care of her son, and so God's providence is there. And then she, then he grows up, Moses, grows up in the home of Pharaoh's daughter and so, he is educated like royalty. He is treated well, but he does know who he is. He does know his origin and he goes out among his people to see what they're like and he kills an Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew. And the next day he goes out to…to be among his fellow Hebrews and he finds two Hebrew men fighting each other and kind of asking them like why, would like, your part of the same family, like why would you guys be fighting each other. And there's even if we just like focused in on that and looked out among our brothers and sisters today, same question could be asked. But in this case, they turn on…on, Moses, and are like you gonna kill, you gonna kill me too, like you killed the Egyptian yesterday. And that's when Moses knew like there’s a target on hom now, once the King finds out what has happened, he's probably gonna be killed and so he flees. And so, we see his story of how he kind of grew up and he flees Egypt and he's a Shepherd in the desert, this is where he meets his wife Zipporah and he is shepherding as the story concludes today, with Moses seeing a bush that is on fire but is not being consumed. And this is where Moses meets God, and God and Moses are going to have a very famous relationship, a very famous friendship. This is where Moses encounters God for the first time and God is telling Moses of his calling, that I am going to send you back to Egypt, to deliver your people, the Hebrew people, out of slavery. I am sending you back to Pharaoh to speak to Pharaoh. So, in effect, God is telling Moses, I am sending you back to the place that you feared the most, the place that you ran away from. I'm sending you back there. I am not sending you back there alone, I will go with you, which is beautiful. Moses though has some reservations, some considerable reservations at this point. And we will kind of pick that up tomorrow, but at this point, Moses is like if I go back to there and I tell them God has sent me to you. There gonna ask me what's His name. Like they're gonna have all kinds of questions about this, what am I supposed to say to them. That's where God famously says I am, who I am and I used to be like, I don’t like that so much. But it's like how does the most high God describe who He is in human terms, in his fullness, other than to say I am who I am. And so, this is how Moses meets God and that is going to completely change who Moses is. But Moses has some wrestling with himself to do and will continue this story as we move forward tomorrow.
Prayer:
And, Father, we thank You that we have this story and that as it unfolds before us over time, that we find ourselves in these stories, we find our postures of heart, we locate our own fears, we locate our own reservations, we locate our own self-preservation techniques, we…we see ourselves as we see the people in the Bible, and the way that they conducted their lives and where the paths lead, based on the choices that they made. And so, Holy Spirit, come and show us the path we are walking and where that is leading, and use the Scriptures in our lives each and every day to give us direction and clarity. We pray, in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is home base, that is the website, that is where you can find out what is going on around here. There is something going on around here right now that I mentioned yesterday and will mention again today. And that is that registration for our pilgrimage to the land of the Bible for the year 2024 is now open and available. We will be going to the land of the Bible here in about a week and 1/2 in 2023, for our 2023 pilgrimage. Very much looking forward to that and all of those of you who are coming along. Can't wait to see you, can't wait to meet you. Can’t wait for all of us to be together, can’t wait for all of us to have this experience together, but not talking about this year, talking about next year. We’re gonna go back in February next year. Between the 12th and 25th of February 2024, and registration for that pilgrimage is open for now, while there are seats available. So, just go to dailyaudiobible.com or open up the Daily Audio Bible app. In the app, push the drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner, on the web, just look for the Initiatives Section. If you're using the app and opened the drawer look for Initiatives, there and in the Initiatives Section you will find Israel 2024 and going in there will give you all of the details that you would want to know. And so, check that out and hope to see you in the Promised Land, in the land of the Bible in 2024.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we’re doing here around the Global Campfire every day is life-giving to you, then thank you for your partnership, we wouldn't be here around the Global Campfire, there wouldn't be anything like that if we hadn't been in this together all these years and so thank you, humbly. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you're using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.
And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.
And that's it for today, I'm Brian, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hi DAB family, I am new to listening to the Bible through this app. I am loving every minute of it and growing so much in the Lord. I am asking for prayer for a new job. There were some things going on at my current job which have really, have hurt me and so, I’ve resigned. And I’m just praying that God would open up the right job in educational leadership for me. This is Sheila, please pray for me to find a new job. Thank you.
Hello, my beautiful DAB family. This is your sister Ashley from California. And I just wanted to call in, today is January 22nd, 2023. And I wanted to give you an update. So, gang, Jackson was released on Friday the 20th, one day short of being in the hospital for a month. And God gave me a word while we were in there to give to Jackson, that he is set-apart. That God has done, has a plan for Jackson and that He is up to something. I can’t tell you, guys, how many, how many mighty works that I see God doing right now, in my family and in the lives of the people that I know. So, I can’t even, I can’t even tell you, guys, it’s amazing. I, it’s hard to see it though, sometimes, when you’re walking through the trenches and it’s literally just a day at a time. Sometimes it’s an hour at a time, and sometimes it’s a breath at a time. But God is so good, and He sustained us, and I can’t thank you all enough for your prayers. You guys blow me away. Thank you so much for blessing us and blessing my sweet son who is just [sigh] he’s…he’s making, we’re…we’re taking it a moment at a time. But I also wanted to respond to, there was somebody on the community prayer request that asked to contact me, so my email is A as in Ashley, E and in Edward, A as in Ashley, [email protected]. Okay, DAB family, I love you and I will be letting you know what is going on soon. Bye.
Good morning, DAB family this is Saved By Grace from California. I’d like to lift up my sister who’s requesting prayer for her, as her husband, she just found out something about her husband and her marriage of 29 years. Father, in the name of Jesus, I just lift up my sister to You, I plead the blood of Jesus over her, and I pray for Your love, Your comfort would just immerse her body, Father God. Encamp Your guardian angels round about her, Father. And shower Your love around her God. Let her know that she is not alone in this, Father God, and that You got her. And I pray, Lord, that You would just bring spirit filled people around her to minister to her and to encourage her, Father God. That Your will, will be done and help her to know, Lord, that it doesn’t matter what it feels like, what it looks like, we know Father, that You are still on the throne and that You still are in control. And that anything that is removed from Your children, Father, You got something better. And I thank You for my sister, Lord, and her…her courage to…to always lean on You, Father God, to trust You. Just harden that trust, Father God. Bless you, my sister. I will continue to pray for you. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Good morning, this is Doctor __ from Washington, DC area. I am calling in to pray for that young lady who asked us to pray for the husband who broke her heart. My sister, I know what it is to have a broken heart. My heart also was broken by my husband and that’s what brought me here to the United States. And God brought me here and blessed me so amazingly. But I’m not saying that God is in every situation where people have broken hearts. But he can use your brokenness and turn it into power. In the meantime, let me pray for you. Know that we love you and that we’ve got you and most importantly God got you. Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for my dear sister this morning. You hear her heart, how broken it is. Father, I pray that You would hold her heart in Your hand and let it break into a million pieces but Lord God, strengthen and encourage her. In the midst of this pain, turn that pain into blessing. Lord, let her find a way that she has never found before. Father, You’re so amazing. Let her experience how amazing You are, in the midst of pain. Father God, for all the women out there that are in the same situation that she’s in, we come together to pray for them. That You also will mend broken hearts. And that You would cause that they would know that there is nothing that You cannot do. Oh, amazing Father, Oh, wonderful Father, strengthen her and all the women out there. In the mighty name of Jesus and may you get the glory. In Jesus name …    
Hello Daily Audio Bible, this is Paul from Houston. Long time have been a DABer since 2017 so, it’s been going on almost 6 years now. Anyways, I’m calling for prayer. I’ve been separated for six years and just access to kids. I’ve had visitation with kids but, I have three, but they’re not wanting to come over now, for some reason. And I’m having to go through mediation or go to court by the end of February. So, just please pray for me and my family. Just trying to make peace with…with my wife and with my kids. Just trying to, trying to just trying to take it a day at a time. That’s how I can put it because it’s a little difficult at the moment. So, I appreciate your prayers so, thank you so much. I love this program, it’s been an incredible, just an incredible feeling around the campfire, hearing everyone and being able to pray for everyone. Thank you again, it’s Paul from Houston. Love you all, bye.
Hello DAB family, Pastor Steve from Southwest Ohio. Just calling to say I praise the Lord for all of you. I thank you all for your prayers, for your needs and for your concerns. And I pray Father, today, in Jesus name, that You would be, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, touch each and every prayer request, each and every need answered as only You can, and You will receive the glory. I really am so thankful for this family and this ministry. For Brian and his family for everyone who helps him put this together. I pray and trust you will continue to remember me and my family in your prayers and thoughts, just know that He is worthy to be praised and greatly to be praised constantly, as is our prayer without ceasing. Just know that you’re greatly loved and prayed for with and the Lord willing, will talk again. Until then have a blessed and joyous day in Jesus.
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Do you spend at least 5 minutes a day thinking about a potential season 3 or are you straight
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snafu-maniac1 · 3 years
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Zuko deserved better
So I rewatched Avatar the Last Airbender recently and let me tell you......
I wanna murder several people.
Looking back on this entire series I’ve come to notice something. I watched the show just like any other audience member and only saw the good and the bad characters. One of these prime examples is Zuko. Zuko’s redemption arc has been praised as one of the greatest in history, succeeding where others have failed. But watching it all again......it wasn’t redemption. Not to me personally.
Before everyone gets angry and defensive at me, please finish reading my post and hear what I have to say. I do not wish to start any fandom wars or discredit or disrespect anyone’s opinion, this is just my personal psychological analysis of Zuko’s character....Sigh and let me give you a warning.
It’s gonna be LONG. 
So if you’re not interested or don’t want to hear it or don’t feel like reading something this long that’s fine, you can go ahead and just click away and ignore this post.
Starting from book 2. 
Now you may be wondering why I’m starting here and not from the start of Zuko’s childhood but I first want to address the one question everyone had been wondering since the series 2 finale. What would have happened if Zuko hadn’t sided with Azula?
My answer is.....that wouldn’t have happened.
Everyone’s been focusing on the entire arc where Zuko was struggling to accept that the war was wrong and how Iroh was trying to get through to him when he tried to capture Appa and afterwards, but here’s something everyone tends to ignore.
Why didn’t Iroh try sooner?
Why didn’t he try to stop Zuko before Aang came, before he’d gotten so deep and desperate to the point that he continuously committed heinous acts to capture the Avatar? People would justify it by saying Iroh wanted Zuko to realize the wrongs of his father and Nation by himself to shape him into his own person. But that is in no way the appropriate way to approach a physically, psychologically and mentally unstable and abused child. Zuko was a thirteen year old boy when he was burned and banished. This is where we go into his childhood. Zuko was raised like any other Fire Nation citizen. As we’ve seen in book 3 and in the Pirate comic book, The Fire Nation citizens were led to believe that the other Nations were ‘savages’ and ‘barbarians’. It villainizes the Fire Nation even more. The very fact that they would spread heinous lies against other people when they themselves were responsible for the war that ruined so many lives. But when you realize, what Sozin and the other Fire Lords did was a solid battle tactic. Making the opposing side out to be these horrendous monsters. Making lies or accentuating every one of their worst traits to dehumanize their enemies so that the people would not have any qualms about fighting them. All of the Fire Nation schools were taught these lies. And Zuko was no exception.
Zuko was a member of the Royal family. And from what was shown in the Avatar series, the Royal family was isolated from the rest of Fire Nation society. Zuko had no way of knowing what the other Nations were really like, no way of knowing the truth about the war and no one had bothered to explain it to him. The one person that could have, did NOT. And yet people had expected him to just automatically know that he was being lied to and that his people were the villains. Zuko’s only social exposure was with Fire Lord Azulon, Fire Lord Ozai, Dragon Of The West General and Crown Prince Iroh, his cousin Prince Lu Ten, his mother Princess Ursa and his younger sister Princess Azula and her friends Mai and Ty Lee. All of whom believed in the Fire Nation propaganda and all of whom had no problem in participating in the war and making jokes about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground. Zuko was under scrutiny and aggression from Ozai. Ozai was Zuko’s ‘handler’, his ‘groomer’. He groomed Zuko into a certain type of submissive and obedient behavior. Zuko was not allowed to show any type of emotion otherwise he would suffer severe repercussions. Ozai and Azula taunted Zuko for having a sense of compassion and with how he was ostracized in a war loving family, he began to believe his behavior and way of thinking was unusual. It was like Azula said to Mai, “Your mother had certain expectations of you and when you strayed from them you were shot down.” In Zuko’s case, the expectations he strayed from resulted in severe punishment. Ozai was willing to permanently disfigure and traumatize Zuko when he was a thirteen year old boy. It’s not unusual to think that his punishments towards Zuko would sometimes very likely be physical and many people even write alternate universes of the Avatar series where Ozai was even more abusive than he already was. He was a manipulative man who brainwashed his daughter into being his perfect, obedient little slave and manipulated his son into questioning his own sense of reality. He would tell him that Azula was born lucky and he was lucky to be born, cementing Azula’s view of herself of receiving everything she wanted and turning her personality toxic while he made Zuko feel inferior and faulty. If there was something wrong with him, his father would tell him and he needed to fix it. But he never could. He strayed towards his mother, who like Iroh, abandoned Azula because of Ozai’s manipulation and did nothing to help her like they ‘helped’ Zuko.
When Zuko was thirteen he wanted to ‘prove’ himself to his father by attending one of his war meetings. Zuko very likely only wished to do what his father wanted because by then, Iroh had abandoned him when he left after the Siege of Ba Sing Se, his mother disappeared and his grandfather and cousin were both dead. The only ones he had left of his family were his father and sister who both abused him and he only wished for their approval and their affection. Humans need mutual affection. Children who do not receive affection from their parents, tend to not take that type of neglect well. Because people need affection to properly function. Our parents love us from when we are young and that emotional connection is something very important to every human being’s mental state. However, Zuko’s only source of affection, his mother, was taken away from him. Azula herself, had no source of affection. Not from her mother, who thought she was demented from her father’s brainwashing, nor from her brother who feared her, nor from her father who used her as a tool. Returning to the day of the Agni Kai, Zuko wished to be of use to his father, he craved his affection because that is what the abuser does. They make you believe they are the only ones who can validate you and if you do not abide by their rules or follow their orders then you mean nothing. Zuko for the most part from what I could see in the flashback, held his promise and did not speak. But when he refused to back down when his people were in danger, Ozai was not pleased. This is because he is an abuser. He is Zuko’s ‘handler’ and when someone who is abusing another person witnesses this type of behavior, they have a feeling of loss of control. They desire control, they crave it, over the abusee especially. So when Zuko showed empathy towards the Fire Nation citizens and did not do as Ozai wished, he decided to ‘rectify’ that. In the most BRUTAL way possible. An Agni Kai. A public spectacle where he would establish dominance over his son, over his pawn and he would make a show of it. He would show everyone that HE was the one in control and NO ONE could defy him. When Zuko refused to fight Ozai, because of his love for his father, Ozai only saw that as a weakness. Ozai is a psychotic man. The fact that he did not have any problem in burning his son so cruelly shows that he does not have any sense of morals. Going back to Zuko, a thirteen year old child at the time, he had just been punished for disobedience, for straying from his father’s expectations, in the worst way possible.
Zuko did what many people would say is the right thing to do. He tried to defend his people from a cruel man intent on sending them to their deaths. But in doing so, he had defied his father and was punished for it. He was punished....for trying to HELP people. His life was essentially DESTROYED and he was thrown out of his home...for trying to help people. For showing empathy towards others. He was punished in the worst way possible for defying his father. His entire perception of right and wrong was thrown out of balance. He was taught that the war was right and that the Fire Lord, his father, was all knowing. And his mother tried to teach him kindness and her lessons of kindness got him punished. The amount of physical and mental damage he had sustained from such a punishment would in some cases be irreversible. Iroh was right there with Zuko and he did nothing. I CAN understand why he did not step in during the Agni Kai. He had been gone from the Fire Nation, his brother had taken the throne and he could have very well himself been punished severely for intervening. However, why did he allow Zuko to continue to believe he was the one at fault? Everyone of us has seen Zhao, has seen the way he treated Zuko during his banishment. Zuko very likely spent those entire two years before Aang’s arrival, being subjected to that type of behavior from everyone around him. All of them blamed him, all of them very likely said that he’d deserved what had happened to him. No one was on his side. He ended up turning aggressive and cruel towards others, because that was the way his father behaved and it was his empathy towards others that got him punished in the first place. He said in The Storm ‘the safety of the crew doesn’t matter’, just like the general that called the 41st division ‘fresh meat’. It was easier for Zuko to lash out at others and be aggressive than to let them see his vulnerabilities and hurt him for them again. It was the same with Song and her mother. Ozai tried to force him to be cruel, he tried to groom him the same way he did Azula. They dehumanized the other Nations and Zuko behaved the exact same way he was expected to. ‘Their compassion would cost them’. It was exactly the way his father wanted him to be. It was what Iroh did not wish for him, and yet despite claiming he thought of Zuko as a son, he did not in any way try to convince Zuko to give up his quest during the two years he had been searching for something that at the time was believed did not exist. The only instance we were shown of Iroh saying anything against his search, and even that is a stretch, was in the Western Air Temple episode where Zuko has a flashback of Iroh telling him that ‘destiny was a funny thing’ when Zuko said it was his destiny to capture the Avatar. Iroh had time to run the White Lotus, an antiwar organization for two YEARS maybe even longer and he did not think of taking two MINUTES to talk to Zuko, to ease him into realizing the wrongs of the war. Okay, yes he could have passed it off as character growth. But how do you expect a person, surrounded by people telling him he was at fault, he had no choice, either obey or never come back, to realize something like that? How do you expect an abuse victim to accept help all by themselves when their abuser forces them to depend on them? Did Iroh take him to some Earth Kingdom villages to see that they aren’t the vicious savages the Fire Nation portrays them to be? Did he take Zuko to the Southern Water Tribe to see the damage done to them at the hands of his own country? No. Instead he acted like an oblivious old man who had no interest other than Pai Sho and speaking proverbs that Zuko could not hope to understand.
Two years Zuko spent looking and looking and he turned desperate to the point that he was willing to do anything to go home. And then The Avatar finally returned. And then the people that Zuko was raised to perceive as brutal savages continued to stand in his way. And did Iroh intervene? No. He still did nothing. He allowed Zuko to continue his pursuit and turn into the worst possible version of himself. People say that Zuko should own up to the consequences of his actions. And he should. But would he have done those actions had Iroh stopped him earlier? Would he have done any of the things he did when the only remaining adult figure in his life had told him otherwise? Would he have listened to Iroh? The answer is yes. He was willing to do what Ozai had expected of him so why would he not listen to Iroh with time and patience instead of waiting till the last possible moment to do so? Children don’t automatically know right from wrong from the moment of their birth. They are taught by their parents, by the adults in their lives and Zuko had Ozai as his parental influence. And Iroh knew that. He knew the type of man his brother was and he did not try to overwrite his brother’s abuse to help his nephew until Zuko was already on the path of no return. When they became refugees Iroh still did nothing until they got to Ba Sing Se and until Zuko, again in an act of desperation, tried to capture Appa. That was when he FINALLY decided to step in. Three years since Zuko’s banishment, sixteen years of his father’s influence and abuse and he decides the very moment his nephew is close to the brink of insanity is the perfect opportunity to DESTROY his entire world view. He had worked day in and day out for two years before Aang appeared, only for his uncle, someone he TRUSTED, to tell him it was all for NOTHING. Two years of TORTURING himself. A year of fighting against his Nation’s enemies and SUDDENLY he’s being told it was all for nothing. When Iroh and Zuko reunited, Iroh told him he found his way again ‘on his own’ like how Zuko told Ozai he had to learn everything ‘on his own’. And they were both right. Zuko had no one to help him. He had to suffer through so much on his own, without anyone’s help and they’re SURPRISED he acted the way he did. When everything came to ahead in Ba Sing Se with Katara, people thought ‘Oh Zuko has changed he’s going to help Katara.’ And when he did not they HATED him for it. 
The reason for this is because Katara was the ‘good guy’ and Zuko was the ‘bad guy’. Black and white. Katara and Zuko shared a moment of understanding from both losing their mothers and Katara offered to heal his scar and he chose to side with Azula and both Katara and the viewers saw this as a betrayal on Zuko’s part. This assumption however is completely unjustified and unfounded. Everyone sees Zuko and the Fire Nation as the bad guys. The villains of the story. But Katara and the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom were the bad guys in the Fire Nation’s eyes. Katara was the ‘savage’ standing in the way of Zuko going home. The Avatar was his home’s greatest ENEMY and THREAT. Had the situation been reversed and Katara had to choose between Zuko and the Water Tribe and her brother and father, people would have supported her choice because they were the good guys. Zuko’s people were the bad guys so it had to be the wrong decision and a betrayal to Katara and Iroh. But Zuko was an unstable, traumatized child who did not wish to believe his people were bad, who did not want to fight his home after he spent so long trying to capture Aang, his home’s greatest THREAT and ENEMY. Katara hated Zuko because he represented everything that the Fire Nation did to her family. And Zuko hated her because she was the ‘savage’ keeping him from his one way home. To Zuko, Katara was the bad guy. And looking back at their moment of sympathy where Katara said he betrayed her trust I can only ask one thing....how could Zuko have known that Katara wasn’t trying to trick him? Now, the viewers would automatically respond ‘Katara’s not like that! She wouldn’t do that!’ but the fact is, we the viewers KNOW Katara. We know she’s not that type of person because we got to know her through out the series. Zuko does NOT know her. To Zuko, she’s just another faceless enemy out to KILL his father. He chose Azula’s side because he could not accept what Iroh was saying to him because why hadn’t Iroh said so sooner? He did not want to join Aang’s side cause this was the AVATAR. The one out to KILL his FATHER and take down his HOME. When Zuko returned, he was conflicted about what he had done because he had begun to see how wrong his father and sister’s behavior and The Fire Nation’s war truly was. And Iroh cemented that further by proclaiming Zuko’s struggle was because of Roku and Sozin’s conflict when that was clearly not the case. Zuko was groomed and brainwashed by the Fire Nation propaganda like every other citizen but he was not dispelled from that belief by anyone. No one tried to make him question that belief. Iroh did not try to ‘help Zuko’ until the very last moment in Ba Sing Se. People believe Zuko betrayed Iroh because that’s how it’s supposed to be when Zuko was the ‘bad guy’ and Iroh was the ‘caring’ Uncle and ‘voice of reason’. And yet he did not think to ‘reason’ with Zuko before this entire mess even started. He did not in any way try to disrupt Zuko’s view of the other Nations or his father. In my opinion, IROH was the one who betrayed ZUKO. Iroh KNEW the entire time that what Zuko was doing was wrong. Zuko was a child who was not allowed to think for himself and Iroh KNEW Zuko was brainwashed by the exact same propaganda he himself had believed before he lost his son. If Iroh, who had believed in the Fire Nation for so many years, was unable to realize the wrongs of the war until his ADULTHOOD when he lost his son, how in the world did he expect a 13 year old child to do so? And Zuko became even more unstable and then he chose the Fire Nation.
When he realized it was wrong and went to join team Avatar, they were reasonably mistrusting.
Zuko’s redemption arc from a simple perspective, from team Avatar’s perspective was very well done. Team Avatar did not know what Zuko had been through. To them he was just another Fire Nation monster who had hurt them. To the audience, he was just another Fire Nation monster who had hurt the good guys. No one would think that deep into a fictional character’s perspective or psychological and mental state. No one would think past the ‘good guy’ and the ‘bad guy’. But one thing I cannot justify is Katara’s accusation of betrayal towards Zuko. As we have mentioned, Zuko and Katara were enemies who had a mutual hatred towards each other before his ‘redemption’. They had one single moment of shared empathy and understanding and that is NOT the basis for earned trust. What would Katara have done had she been in Zuko’s shoes? Fighting her enemies, fighting people she sees as nothing more than monsters and she has to choose between her long time enemy and her sibling and her home and her family. If she was in that position, she would choose Sokka and Hakoda and Aang and the Water Tribe over Zuko in a heartbeat because those are her FAMILY members and her FRIENDS and people would justify her because she’s the ‘good guy’. The hero. But Zuko is the villain so his actions automatically AREN’T justifiable. I understand Katara’s mistrust towards Zuko because of their history and because again, she doesn’t know anything about him or what he went through. But she cannot expect him to just automatically leave behind everything he’s ever known and ever believed in because of one single moment of understanding. Zuko should have done everything he could to make it up to the group because he owed it to them and they again, did not know any of his reasons for hunting them. But Zuko does not deserve to be labeled simply as ‘a bad guy turned good’ when he was NEVER a bad guy to begin with. When he was never even mentally stable enough to make that type of decision for himself. In today’s day and age Zuko and Azula would have BOTH ended up in a mental institution. And after all of the things he went through, Zuko was the one who ended up going back to Iroh and apologizing when Iroh was the one who abandoned him and then Zuko at 16 years old ended up as the leader of a nearly fallen apart country. He had to suffer through insomnia, assassination attempts and mental instability and abandonment. Iroh left to Ba Sing Se and only made two appearances in a total of SIX comic books after the end of the War and one of those was entirely brief. So while Iroh gets to enjoy the rest of his life selling tea, Zuko has to suffer the consequences for what his family did. He was also abandoned by Mai which brings me to another point.
Zuko’s toxic relationships.
Some people say they dislike Mai because she is emotionally abusive towards Zuko. It never occurred to me before but looking at it now, I have to say that I agree. In the comics after book 2 had ended it was shown that Azula used Mai’s childhood crush on Zuko to manipulate him into going back to the Fire Nation with her. And Mai.....I don’t even know how to get started on the entire mess that is their relationship. Mai is a person who does not like emotion. She doesn’t like to express herself and immediately shuts down anything even close to emotion. The same applies to Zuko. Zuko is a very emotionally unstable and insecure person. And instead of reassuring and calming him, Mai immediately cuts him off whenever he loses a handle of his emotions and just flat out ends their relationship on the spot. She gives Zuko no explanation, just gets angry at him and then all of a sudden when Zuko can’t take anymore and explodes she suddenly says she cares about him. Their relationship is toxic. Mai demeans his problems and things that trouble him. Quote “I just asked if you were cold, I didn’t ask for your whole life story.” when Zuko was nervous about going back home. She demeans his guilt towards Iroh and tries to make him feel better by ordering servants around. And then in the Boiling Rock episode she attacks him for his letter which is reasonable on her part, but there is the problem that despite being Zuko’s girlfriend, up until that point she was Azula’s subordinate first and foremost and she could have tried to let Azula know. Still was a shitty way of ending their relationship, I’m not gonna act like it wasn’t but I still wanted to put that perspective out there just for thought. Not to mention how she ended things in the comic books. The trust issue I understand. But I don’t understand how ONE single mistake would lead to her just immediately ending things instead of at least TRYING to work it out. She could have listened to him and seen why he was so upset and scared of messing up that he went to Ozai of all people for help. She did not stick by him when he needed her and that was what forever ruined their relationship for me. 
In simple terms, Zuko was a bad guy who became a good guy and redeemed himself.
In psychological terms, Zuko was an abuse victim who was brainwashed since his childhood, blamed for it and made into a scapegoat while his sister ended up in a mental institution because of her father’s influence and because the same people who ‘helped’ Zuko didn’t think she deserved it too.
So from what I’ve seen while rewatching the series....
Zuko never needed redeeming. Zuko needed help.
And he didn’t get it. 
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church-history · 3 years
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St Charles Lwanga and Companions
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Feast: June 3rd
Patronage: African Catholic Youth Action, converts, torture victims
For those of us who think that the faith and zeal of the early Christians died out as the Church grew more safe and powerful through the centuries, the martyrs of Uganda are a reminder that persecution of Christians continues in modern times, even to the present day.
The Society of Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers) had only been in Uganda for 6 years and yet they had built up a community of converts whose faith would outshine their own. The earliest converts were soon instructing and leading new converts that the White Fathers couldn't reach. Many of these converts lived and taught at King Mwanga's court.
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Mwanga II of Buganda
King Mwanga was a violent ruler and pedophile who forced himself on the young boys and men who served him as pages and attendants. The Christians at Mwanga's court who tried to protect the pages from King Mwanga.
The leader of the small community of 200 Christians, was the chief steward of Mwanga's court, a twenty-five-year-old Catholic named Joseph Mkasa (or Mukasa).
When Mwanga killed a Protestant missionary and his companions, Joseph Mkasa confronted Mwanga and condemned his action. Mwanga had always liked Joseph but when Joseph dared to demand that Mwanga change his lifestyle, Mwanga forgot their long friendship. After striking Joseph with a spear, Mwanga ordered him killed. When the executioners tried to tie Joseph's hands, he told them, "A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die." He forgave Mwanga with all his heart but made one final plea for his repentance before he was beheaded and then burned on November 15, 1885.
Charles Lwanga took over the instruction and leadership of the Christian community at court -- and the charge of keeping the young boys and men out of Mwanga's hands. Perhaps Joseph's plea for repentance had had some affect on Mwanga because the persecution died down for six months.
Anger and suspicion must have been simmering in Mwanga, however. In May 1886 he called one of his pages named Mwafu and asked what the page had been doing that kept him away from Mwanga. When the page replied that he had been receiving religious instruction from Denis Sebuggwawo, Mwanga's temper boiled over. He had Denis brought to him and killed him himself by thrusting a spear through his throat.
He then ordered that the royal compound be sealed and guarded so that no one could escape and summoned the country's executioners. Knowing what was coming, Charles Lwanga baptized four catechumens that night, including a thirteen-year-old named Kizito. The next morning Mwanga brought his whole court before him and separated the Christians from the rest by saying, "Those who do not pray stand by me, those who do pray stand over there." He demanded of the fifteen boys and young men (all under 25) if they were Christians and intended to remain Christians. When they answered "Yes" with strength and courage Mwanga condemned them to death.
He commanded that the group be taken on a 37 mile trek to the place of execution at Namugongo. The chief executioner begged one of the boys, his own son, Mabaga, to escape and hide but Mbaga refused. The cruelly-bound prisoners passed the home of the White Fathers on their way to execution. Father Lourdel remembered thirteen-year-old Kizito laughing and chattering. Lourdel almost fainted at the courage and joy these condemned converts, his friends, showed on their way to martyrdom. Three of these faithful were killed on road.
A Christian soldier named James Buzabaliawo was brought before the king. When Mwanga ordered him to be killed with the rest, James said, "Goodbye, then. I am going to Heaven, and I will pray to God for you." When a griefstricken Father Lourdel raised his hand in absolution as James passed, James lifted his own tied hands and pointed up to show that he knew he was going to heaven and would meet Father Lourdel there. With a smile he said to Lourdel, "Why are you so sad? This is nothing to the joys you have taught us to look forward to."
Also condemned were Andrew Kagwa, a Kigowa chief, who had converted his wife and several others, and Matthias Murumba (or Kalemba) an assistant judge. The chief counsellor was so furious with Andrew that he proclaimed he wouldn't eat until he knew Andrew was dead. When the executioners hesitated Andrew egged them on by saying, "Don't keep your counsellor hungry -- kill me." When the same counsellor described what he was going to do with Matthias, he added, "No doubt his god will rescue him." "Yes," Matthias replied, "God will rescue me. But you will not see how he does it, because he will take my soul and leave you only my body." Matthias was cut up on the road and left to die -- it took him at least three days.
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The original caravan reached Namugongo and the survivors were kept imprisoned for seven days. On June 3, they were brought out, wrapped in reed mats, and placed on the pyre. Mbaga was killed first by order of his father, the chief executioner, who had tried one last time to change his son's mind. The rest were burned to death. Thirteen Catholics and eleven Protestants died. They died calling on the name of Jesus and proclaiming, "You can burn our bodies, but you cannot harm our souls."
When the White Fathers were expelled from the country, the new Christians carried on their work, translating and printing the catechism into their natively language and giving secret instruction on the faith. Without priests, liturgy, and sacraments their faith, intelligence, courage, and wisdom kept the Catholic Church alive and growing in Uganda. When the White Fathers returned after King Mwanga's death, they found five hundred Christians and one thousand catchumens waiting for them. The twenty-two Catholic martyrs of the Uganda persecution were canonized.
When Pope Paul VI canonized these 22 martyrs on October 18, 1964, he also made reference to the Anglican pages martyred for the same reason.
Prayer:
Martyrs of Uganda, pray for the faith where it is danger and for Christians who must suffer because of their faith. Give them the same courage, zeal, and joy you showed. And help those of us who live in places where Christianity is accepted to remain aware of the persecution in other parts of the world. Amen
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Fire and Darkness Chapter 3
The Darkling x reader
Word Count: 1044
Summary: There’s still more than one secret between you, but for how long?
“Adrian!” his mother’s voice snapped from the trapdoor in the corner. 
It’d been a few days since the two of you really started talking and sharing secrets with the other during which you spent as much time together as possible. He opened up a little about his history--specifically about instances such as the times other grisha had tried to kill him with the excuse of him being a monster when they discovered what he could do--while you made little figures made of fire dance in the space between you. You mostly shared stories you’d heard from other weary grisha since your life had little of the trauma and tragedy that his did. Still, it was strange the way he insisted on staying at least a few feet away from you; you assumed there was some instance he hadn’t mentioned attached to that little phobia.
He jumped in surprise, darkness pooling at his fingertips in an automatic fear response. “Mother,” he tried to sound calm as he bowed his head.
“What do you think you are doing?” she demanded, eyes cold. You could never understand why she, his mother, always looked at him like he was a little monster or pest.
“We were just practicing,” you jumped in, determined to keep him from as much trouble as possible.
Her icy eyes only landed on you for a second before snapping back to Adrian. “I would have thought you learned your lesson about getting attached by now.”
Adrian flinched, and you decided right then that you hated this woman. He said nothing and kept his head bowed.
“It was my idea,” you explained, “so don’t be angry at him.”
“I will be angry at this boy’s reckless behavior whenever I deem it appropriate. No child--” Her tirade was cut off by the shack’s little front door bursting open.
It was your cousin, up in the dead of night when she was usually sound asleep by now. Her eyes were wild, and her hair was plastered to her face by the rain that’d been falling all day. “Someone knows you’re here,” she panted. “All of you.” The last was said with her eyes locked onto yours. “They’ll be here by dawn.”
Your eyes widened in horror. This was something you’d always suspected would come about, but hoped and prayed it wouldn’t. While you were still processing, you found yourself pulled into a tight hug; a kiss was pressed to the side of your head while a bag was pushed into your hands. 
“You have to go. If they find you here, they’ll kill you.” Her eyes flitted over to the other grisha. “Can she go with you? I’ve given her her own supplies and money; she knows how to hide and be useful.”
“N--”
“Of course,” Adrian’s cool--and surprisingly calm--voice cut off his mother, heedless of the way she glared at him for it. It was like a different mask had slid over his features, one that wasn’t intimidated by Marisha. In the back of your mind, you wondered which was the real Adrian, or was this new attitude something that was only dredged up by disaster situations.
“She will only be in the way.”
“If you have an issue with helping the people that have housed us for far longer than we anticipated with no complaints, then we will leave you and go our own way.”
“You will do no--”
“I’m almost of age, Baghra,” he snapped harshly, grey eyes flashing. You blinked in surprise at the name for it must have been her real one. “It’s about time I start making my own decisions.”
“Then you will go on your own,” she said just as cruelly. “I will not be caught and killed because of some girl you’ve taken a shine to.”
“So be it.”
Your cousin’s gaze was flitting between the pair arguing just as yours were. “I don’t want to cause strife between you.”
“She’s right, I can take care of myself,” you promised. “There’s no need for you to fight.”
“No,” Adrian straightened to his full height, something he hadn’t really done while he’d been hiding here. Normally, his shoulders were hunched in what you could only assume was an effort to be easily missed. Though, honestly, there was little about him that would blend into a crowd easily. Not many had such interesting features making up their faces. “This has been coming for quite some time, I’m afraid.” His grey gaze slid over to you. “Say your goodbyes while I gather my things; then we can leave.”
You nodded mutely as he and his mother vanished into the trapdoor once more.
“Sweetie,” your cousin’s voice called your attention back to her, her hands coming up to cup your face. “You are the light of my life, the daughter I never had. I love you with all of my heart.”
Tears welled up in your eyes. “I love you, too.”
Now, she was crying. “Be strong. Be safe. Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll try.”
“And take care of that boy; he seems like he could use the help.”
You gave a tearful gasp of a laugh. “I’ll do that. Be careful, okay? Don’t let them do anything to you.”
“Oh, they can try. There’s no proof of what you are. They can run all the tests they want and search this place from end to end and find nothing. I’ll be fine. Once you’re gone, I’ll smash the columns that hold this place up, and none will be the wiser.”
You nodded. “Okay.”
You heard Adrian clearing his throat. “We need to go and get as much of a head start as we can.” His mother was nowhere to be found.
With a hand at the back of your head, she pulled your foreheads together so they were touching. “Come visit me, okay? After this place settles a little.”
“I promise.”
“Now go.”
When you looked over at Adrian, he had a hand extended to you. You took it. And immediately realized why he stayed out of arm’s reach when you felt your power swell within you. “You’re--”
“I know. Now come on.” His fingers clenched around yours, and then you were running for the woods at the edge of the farm.
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supersilversleuth · 2 years
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Your Words Aren’t Real (So Why Do They Hurt So Much?) by SuperSilverSpy
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Fandoms: DCU, DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Dick Grayson & Batfamily members, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson & Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake, Hurt Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson-centric, Dick Grayson Whump, Whump, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, I seem to be doing a lot of that these days…, Whumptober 2021, Mind Control, fear toxin, Hallucinations, anyway, Angst, SuperSilverSpy, SilverGrayson, SilverWhump, Taunting, Insults, ”who did this to you?”
Summary:
“Sometimes I wish you were my father, but I know you could never be. Bruce will always be my real father. You were just an inadequate stand-in.”
Dick choked, barely noticing the swift kick to his ribs before he was already stumbling back, ducking around Steph’s fist as he fought to regain his balance.
“You were a terrible brother,” said the voices of Jason and Tim. “All you ever did with me was make mistakes.”
OR Mind Control with a heaping of Angst
No. 3 - STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT… taunting | insults | “Who did this to you?”
Series:
Part 3 of 2021 Most Whumperful Time of the Year - Dick Grayson-centric
Language: English Words: 1,645 Chapters: 1/1
Nightwing awoke in a warehouse, surrounded by Batman, Red Hood, Robin, Spoiler, and Red Robin. They were all passed out on the ground, strange devices wrapped around their heads. They seemed relatively unharmed, not a bruise or laceration or twisted limb in sight.  He sighed in relief.
Looking around, Dick noted the absence of visible hostiles. He turned to Robin, who was closest to him and inspected the device around boy’s head; whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.  He felt along the smooth metal, searching (or feeling) for a way to remove it.
A moment later, several ding! sounds echoed in the warehouse, emitting from the head devices. Damian’s eyes opened, glowing a vibrant yellow. Dick backed up as the rest of his family began to rise around him. He knew mind control when he saw it, though that didn’t stop him from asking, “Uh…guys? You still in there?”
Their faces remained  expressionless as they turned threateningly towards him.
“Guess not,” he answered himself. “Looks like it’s just another exciting day in the life of the great and eternally stressed out Nightwing.”
He’d probably have to come up with yet another insightful and compelling speech to snap them out of it, par for the course for him at this point. Oh but how he wished it wasn’t. Every single time somebody in his family got brainwashed, or mind-controlled, or possessed (all of which happened way more often than it should), he was pretty much always the one to talk them down, or get beaten up and nearly killed for his efforts. It had reached a point where he wondered if Bruce was actively trying to get one of Dick’s siblings to accidentally kill him.
Well, at least one thing was different this time—he was facing off against five family members at once, instead of one, or two, or his entire f***ing team. But that was a story for another day.
Maybe, he could actually fight close to his full capability against them, without too much fear of hurting them. He didn’t have to knock them out or sedate them after all, he just needed to damage those device things around their heads.
Hood lunged at him first, guns drawn. Dick dodged, wrenching one of the man’s guns away with a grunt. He threw it across the room, knowing it did nothing for him in close quarters combat wherein he was attempting not to hurt, kill, or maim any of his would-be killers. There was no time for him to contemplate Jason’s likely reaction to the discovery of his ruined gun that would surely come later. Batman was already springing into action, fists swinging through the air in an unnaturally aimed-to-kill way.
Dick flipped around, dodging attacks from the two. He needed to bide his time, wait for the right opportunity to strike. He tried to electrocute them to short-circuit their metal head-band device things, but it didn’t really seem to do anything. He did, however, manage to get in a good hit to Jason’s head, which disoriented the man—and likely the person in control of him. Bruce went down next, Dick slipping the man’s belt out from around his waist in a move no one else in the world knew, and throwing a flash bomb in his face.
Pocketting what he could from the belt before tossing that too away (the emergency beacon didn’t work), he turned to face his new opponents. Spoiler and Robin, the short little duo wreaking havoc to his right, with Bruce and Jason getting back up on his left.
Whoever was controlling his family wasn’t the best at it, though forcing them to attempt murder against their own instincts was a feat in itself.
“You failed me,” said two very familiar voices in unison. It was Bruce and Damian.
Dick was so startled he almost didn’t manage to dodge the sneak attack Red Robin was attempting from behind.
“You failed the mission, our mission, you’ve failed the family I’ve given you, and the city I put in your responsibility.” It was just Bruce now, speaking blankly, words flowing out with no restraint.
Dick swallowed, but forced himself to ignore the man, ignore the words. It was probably just a program to detect negative emotion associated with thoughts of Nightwing and force the mind-controlled victim to...to say the thoughts out loud. Logically, he knew this.
Logic couldn’t prepare him for what came next.
“Sometimes I wish you were my father, but I know you could never be. Bruce will always be my real father. You were just an inadequate stand-in.”
Dick choked, barely noticing the swift kick to his ribs before he was already stumbling back, ducking around Steph’s fist as he fought to regain his balance.
“You were a terrible brother,” said the voices of Jason and Tim. “All you ever did with me was make mistakes.”
His vision had blurred at some point in time, he wasn’t sure when. A fist slammed into his jaw, a bow staff swiped at his feet. Purple flashed in the corner of his vision as his wrist was brutally snapped. Dick opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
“They say never meet your heroes. I guess they were right then, hmmm? Except you were never my hero, and yet you still managed to disappoint me anyway.” Steph’s tone was sharp and biting as she jammed a shuriken into his shoulder.
Dick pushed her away, doing a messy backflip to land on Bruce, using what little momentum he had to push off towards Jason, tackling him for the umpteenth time.
“You were unfit to be a mentor, just look at you now. And the students become the masters…” said the scathing voices of Dami, Steph, and Tim. Laughter echoed in his ears, sounding cruelly amused. No, this wasn’t them, they would never say such things…
“Oh it’s all true,” said a voice from behind him, Jay’s voice. “What is it, Goldie, can’t handle the pressure?”
Dick tried in vain to block the voices out, focusing just long enough to knock the device around Tim’s head askew.
The boy fell to the ground, reality mixing with fantasy as Tim’s eyes looked up at him, cold and lifeless, as blood pooled around Tim’s twisted body, as if he’d fallen… Corpse-pale lips parted, harsh words spilling out onto unforgiving ground, “You think I’m just like you, but you’re wrong. I’m better. You couldn’t beat me if you tried. I’m too pure, somehow untainted by your doomed soul, even after all this time.”
Crazed laughter echoed in Dick’s ears, even as he blinked and saw Tim as he actually was, lying unconscious—and alive, on the ground.
“Look at that, failing to protect those you love most? You’re worthless to them, and to me. I should never have taken you in.” The words were growled in a familiar deep register, and yet...the tone was unusually cruel—
Dick found himself sprawled on the ground, back still smarting from where he’d been kicked. He struggled to his good hand and knees, only to hear the sound of a gun cocking. He looked up. Jason stood above him, Steph and Damian on either side.
“Tt, Grayson, always so pathetic.” For a moment, Dami seemed to be wearing an older version of his uniform, from when he was still Dick’s Robin…
Steph tossed her hair back, giggling, and Dick saw her in a different costume, that of Robin, and then it changed to Batgirl. Gah, he was so confused.
She wasn’t. “You’re not going to make it this time around. How does it feel knowing we’d all be glad? You’ve hurt us more than helped us, Dick. It’s time you’ve faced that fact.”
Jason smirked down at him. “Any last words? We all know you don’t deserve them, but, well,” he smirked, “I’m feeling charitable today.”
Dick lunged upward, body tensed as if to tackle, arms outstretched as if to hug. Dick himself wasn’t quite sure what it was meant to be, what he wanted anymore…
Bang!
The gun went off, bullet burying itself in Dick’s side.
Three pairs of feet began to kick at his prone body from all sides. He curled in on himself, clutching desperately at the bullet wound, mind hazy with blood loss and something...else… A scraping noise, close to his ear. Dick barely registered it through the pain of the systematic blows raining down. Another pair of feet entered his vision, Bruce’s Batman boots. Dick panicked, using one hand to staunch the blood flow while the other went to his neck, to where he instinctively knew the real problem was. There was a device, attached to his neck, like a mini version of what the others had, but missing a few parts. He yanked it off, and immediately, he heard the thumps of his hopefully just unconscious family members falling to the ground.
Dick squinted at the device, as he felt himself joining them in the land of darkness. A familiar scarecrow label stared back at him, Jervis Tetch craftsmanship was practically written all over the thing as well…
Jason woke, groggy and disoriented. He found himself amongst other bats, all lying on the floor in a circle like some kind of crazy sorcerer spell gone wrong. The others were slowly waking, blinking and shaking their heads as if to clear the fog away. And in the middle of it all, at the center of their little coming-back-to-the-land-of-the-living circle, lay Dick Grayson, covered in blood, close to passing out.
The guy was nearly unrecognizable, but Jason would recognize that ridiculous hairstyle anywhere. Scrambling over to his brother’s side, Jason ignored the way the room spun, placing a hand on Dick’s shoulder and looking down at the man, brow pinched in concern.
“Dickie?” he asked, “Who did this to you?”
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chaozsilhouette · 3 years
Text
Turbulent Beginnings
This forms the opening act to Macaque’s story, showing just how different his and Wukong’s early lives were and why he took Wukong’s disappearance so hard.
The idea Macaque was born from the wind was inspired by @animemoonprincess. And yes, I am a shameless fan of Macaque originally having white fur. The angst is just too perfect.
Brace yourselves, this isn’t going to be pretty. I am essentially shoving our boy through an emotional meat grinder.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
On a remote island, a day’s travel from China’s eastern shore, a massive hurricane raged as it had since the beginning of this world. The surrounding storms fed into it as its winds carved stone. No life had dared blossom on its soil out of fear of a painful demise. The merciless storm drank deeply of the waters of the sea, draining all aspects of potential and life before casting it aside. Not even curious spirits were spared.
Various deities had wondered why such a storm existed or why the Jade Emperor allowed such a dangerous presence to continue unchecked. Most believed that since the hurricane was stationary and prove no threat to the established order of the world, it was not important.
One day the hurricane vanished. As though it had never existed. Or rather that it had been transformed into something else.
It was the night of a new moon and with the hurricane gone, the island experienced its first cloudless sky. The only one to witness the momentous occasion was a monkie with pure white fur and six ears. Minding his manners, the nameless monkie bowed to the four winds in greeting.
The newborn proceeded to spend his days searching the island for something. Some clue as to the reason behind his birth. He could hear strange voices and words he didn’t understand yet at the same time could. He knew he wasn’t the only creature alive, so why was he alone?
For food, he walked his way through a cave system towards the sea, where he enjoyed the fish that were drawn in through the whirlpools and the mussels that clung to the sharp rocks. He grew to savor the taste of life, even though there was a part of him that craved something different.
Almost forty years passed before he mustered the courage to leave everything he knew to seek out those voices. He gathered all the driftwood and rope that had drifted onshore over the decades, fashioned it into a makeshift raft, and sailed towards the closest source of voices.
His voyage was actually pretty boring once he cleared the whirlpools.
The only exciting part about it was when that strange fish tried to sink his raft. It was bigger than any fish he’d previously seen with a mouth to match. Didn’t mean it survived past the first blow. Taking a bite Macaque wasn’t sure if he liked this fish. The muscles were tough and the flesh was rough on his tongue. He didn’t particularly like the taste. But there was enough to feed him for a full day.
In the end, he chose to eat a third of the fish’s muscles along with its heart before tossing back into the water.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
Docking on dry land was an experience that would haunt him for years.
At first, he was filled with wonder at the sight of buildings and new creatures riding rafts far bigger than his.
When he stepped onto shore the whispers began.
The creatures, who he later learned were called humans, were pointing out his ears. They acknowledged his obvious intelligence. He heard them grip wooden instruments tightly. It was as if they expected him to do something.
No one made a move against him. No one approached him, but he could tell he wasn’t wanted. Everywhere he turned he saw eyes that cursed his every existence.
He didn’t stay in that village for long. In his mind, satisfying his curiosity wasn’t worth being stared at as though he was the source of all evil.
Demon.
That is what they called him. Was that what he was?
He didn’t know, but he didn’t like it.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
He aimlessly wandered the countryside for far too long.
The first act of kindness he received was from a couple who could not have children of their own. He stumbled upon them by accident, but instead of the normal fearful expressions he’d come to expect they greeted him with genuine smiles and an offer to join them for dinner.
They took him in and treated him like family. He became the son they always wanted. They taught him how to properly speak and how to walk comfortably on two limbs. They blessed him with a name.
They were kind and nurturing. In another world, they may have been called bodhisattvas. But sadly, due to them being ordinary mortals, his time with them only lasted four decades.
He buried them with love but grew resentful of his weak emotions.
He learned what it was like to have someone welcome him home after a long day. He learned to savor the taste of a mother’s home-cooked meal. He enjoyed having a father figure who was willing to teach him old military tactics. He experienced friendly competitions to see who could paint the most accurate portrait of a flower they saw earlier that day. It was everything he never knew he craved and then it was gone. Leaving him with an empty home and a broken heart.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
Nearly fifty years later he joined a band of traveling performers.
Their natural oddities allowed them to see who he really was and welcome him into their party. With their compassion, he was granted the opportunity to heal. He learned that despite the group’s large size, very few of them had any direct blood relations. What made them special was how they created their own family and turned what many called strange into something beautiful. Out of respect, he delved into the world of entertainment, found he had a natural talent for it.
When he took the stage people assumed he was in costume, but that didn’t matter. The applause of the audience was a gift he cherished. The sheer passion this family expressed through every second in life warmed his heart beyond words. They were just what he needed to bring him out of his depression.
Alas, it was not meant to stay.
One night their camp was ambushed by a group of demons. They were nothing special, hardly worth mentioning. But for him, back then, it was a fight he never imagined. He could easily handle human bandits, so could his family, but never had he traded blows with a small army of his fellow demons. With the rising of the sun, Macaque stared at the cruelly bright sky covered in blood. All around him bodies lay scattered, life essence soaking into the ground. Despite being tasked with fighting off nearly five dozen demonic opponents he managed to survive with barely a scratch, but he was alone. Again.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
He tried to change things by sticking to his fellow demons. At least they lived longer.
Somehow that ended up with him becoming the apprentice to a demon healer for almost a century. She was a cold-hearted bitch with a heart of gold. Meticulous in her work, masterful in deduction, and short-tempered with the foolish. She gave everything to her practice and expected the same from him. It was bitter work, but he found it fulfilling. The knowledge that he now possessed the ability to restore others to peak condition settled some unknown part of his soul.
Of course, they would have visitors who wished to take advantage of her skills or steal the medicine. Between the two of them, they protected their clinic, but they weren’t always together. While she may try to hide it, she wasn’t the strongest demon out there. Apparently, the entire reason she got into medicine was to uncover why she was so weak. Centuries of research turned up nothing, but it did make her incredibly skilled at using poisons with her knives to compensate.
One day after he returned from gathering ingredients, he pulled back the door to find the shop in disarray, five unknown bodies slowly dying of extensive blood poisoning, and his master bleeding out from her severed arms. She always said she had no intention of entering Naraka alone.
Guess she kept her word.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
The cycle repeated itself over centuries. He would experience a brief window of happiness only for it to be savagely stolen from him, leaving him to mourn and curse his weak heart.
The small glimmers of kindness humanity showed him only made him curse their race even harder when he couldn’t walk into a village without being harassed. The humans who had proven stronger were sadly a rare breed. He was rare to encounter one a century and often they perished at the hands of their kind rather than by demons.
There were times when the ignorance had gotten so bad he’d taken to traveling with a constant glamour, disguising himself as an average human. Whenever he was in the presence of other demons, he allowed his true form to manifest, however, he made it look like he only had a single pair of ears. Standing out was the easiest way to wind up in a complicated situation he had no interest in trying to defuse.
That’s not to say his time was wasted.
Quite the contrary, he had learned much during his travels. He could hardly be compared to the happy young monkie, who was ignorant of the dangers and hardships this world held. In a sad attempt to fill the void, Macaque sought out wisdom and strength. He located masters of both the mystic and martial arts. He may have had to lie about his age, he was becoming quite the accomplished liar, but the results were more than worth it. With every stop, he found himself growing more certain of his strength and his identity.
Eventually, he discovered a strange monastery hidden in a cave in the face of a mountain.
He had never seen anything like it during his travels. But what truly drew his attention was the feeling the temple exuded, every stone exuded a strange aurora. Something powerful dwelled within, powerful yet there was an undeniably human quality to it all.
Hiding beneath his usual glamor, Macaque approached the temple with the desire to discover exactly what was being taught. Before he knew what was happening, he was speaking to the immortal sage who was running the joint. Master Subhuti welcomed him to his home and offered some tea. The disguised monkie was bombarded by dozens of questions, all of which he attempted to answer as though he was a normal human.
The master welcomed him as his newest disciple and showed him his new home. Later he learned the master could see through his disguise and sensed his potential. Apparently, the old immortal believed that the monkie would do well to learn his disciplines and he was fascinated by the monkie’s natural talent.Said something about how with proper guidance only the Buddha would be able to peer past his façade.
The monkie even received a new name to celebrate his rebirth. From that day forward he was Liu’Er Mihou, or the Six-Eared Macaque. He liked it. While he cherished the name his first family gifted him, he felt this was a good sign. A tribute to show that he was a changed monkie.
Regardless, he refused to drop his glamor. He had seen too many demons be cast out and attacked for getting sloppy. The other students were not thrilled about the newcomer showing them up and he wasn’t willing to give them a true reason to despise him. He learned quickly, more so than any other human disciple, but that put him at odds with those who were still struggling after years of training.
Macaque distanced himself from the others. They weren’t that interesting anyway. He didn’t care that they talked about him behind his back or were fully aware he could hear them. He couldn’t risk getting close so soon. He was determined to break the cycle. He didn’t care about immortality. He didn’t care about obtaining power. All he wanted was to end the pain. So far things had been working out in his favor.
Then heshowed up…
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
That trice damned monkie with peach-colored fur and markings like a golden mask. He was so naïve about the world. He treated everything as though it was some exciting game. His upbeat energy made Macaque sick. Some twisted part of him wanted to snap his neck just to end it, but a small part was fascinated by it. The other monkie reminded him of a time he had almost forgotten.
The Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, didn’t bother hiding his true appearance. Truthfully, Macaque wasn’t sure he knew how or that he should. He didn’t seem to notice how other students would keep their distance or how they kept their conversations as brief as possible without crossing the threshold into being considered rude.
He was so earnest and happy, it was painful. The new monkie pestered everyone about everything, it was like dealing with a newborn, but it seemed Macaque was his favorite to bother. The worst part was how he stared at Macaque as though he could peer past his glamour. Although Macaque wasn’t sure if that was truly possible. The Master could, but he dedicated centuries to refine his skills. Wait. How old was this annoyance? Perhaps he could smell he wasn’t like the other disciples.
Either way, he knew it was just a matter of time until the truth got out. He just didn’t expect it to be when he was changing.
Each student was offered a meager room for privacy. They were all the same size and offered little to no space for any customization, but the walls were enchanted to cut out sound whenever the doors were closed.
Behind those flimsy walls was the only time Macaque allowed his glamor to drop. While he valued being cautious, even he couldn’t keep up the glamour indefinitely, much less when he was asleep.
It was in that small space of safety that he discovered he wasn’t alone.
He had just allowed himself to relax when a smiling face covered in peach fuzz was shoved into his own.
“I knew it! You’re like me.” Sun Wukong happily exclaimed, stars practically dancing in his eyes.
“Shut up.” Macaque clamped his hand over the other’s mouth. Checking to ensure no one else was present and the door was shut, he faced the intruder. “Have you told anyone?” He hissed, while berating himself for failing to check the ceiling. You always look up when scanning a room, he knew that.
“Nope. Why are you hiding? You’re beautiful.” The cheerful demon spoke as though they were old friends. His golden eyes took in every hair of his fellow monkie’s true appearance.
“I’m a demon. And there is nothing beautiful about me.” Macaque growled.
“Yes, there is.” Wukong insisted. “You didn’t answer my question. Why are you hiding? The Master let me in, I wager he knows about you, so why?”
Sighing, Macaque massaged the bridge of his nose. “I have been hurt enough times to know keeping a low profile is optimal in survival. It is better to keep one’s head down than risk getting called out.” From observation, he knew the newer student wouldn’t leave until he received answers, so the best option was to just give him what he wanted and pray he knew enough to leave.
“That’s no fun.” Wukong stuck his tongue out in distaste. “You shouldn’t have to hide who you are. We were born this way.” He jumped high into the air only to catch himself on his tail with a cheeky grin. “So, they’ll just have to deal with it.”
“Cute speech. But my answer is no. Now leave.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll fix that attitude right up.” Thankfully Wukong left, but not before sending a smile laced with mischief his way. “See you tomorrow.”
Macaque prayed to every deity that would be the end of it. But even he knew it was a futile attempt.
“Do you have a tribe?” Wukong asked, hanging by his tail from Macaque’s favorite tree.
A startled Macaque blinked at the random question. “A what?”
“A tribe. A family. A place to call home?” Wukong asked smoothly even if he wasn’t familiar with the term family until recently he knew it was important.
“Not anymore.” Glaring Macaque returned his focus to his meal.
“Aw.” Wukong knew that look. He had seen plenty of monkeys wear that arura after watching other tribe members die. “Then you should come with me!”
“What?”
“Yeah. You can join my tribe. There are dozens of us back home. Plenty of food and water, you’ll constantly be surrounded by others like us.”
“Other demons?”
“No.” Wukong smiled as though he told a funny joke. “Other monkeys.”
“There is no reason for me to join you.” Macaque stated, wishing he could finish his lunch in peace.
But Wukong wasn’t letting him go that easily. “And there’s no reason for you to refuse.” He stated, ignoring any and all social cues or common sense for respecting personal space.
It went on like that for years. Every day Macaque would awake to find gold eyes staring at him, waiting for his answer to change. Breaks were spent dodging the hyperactive monkie as he tried to eat alone. Training sessions soon found him sparring with the same partner.
The monkie was stubborn no doubt and Macaque feared his actions were slowly breaking down his walls. The pale furred monkie missed having a connection. He adored being able to talk to others, but whenever he opened up he only got hurt.
But maybe, maybe this time could be different…
Wukong was training to obtain immortality. He had already proven to be stronger and more clever than anyone he’d known. The simian showed that he wanted to know him better. He constantly tried to touch his fur, something he called grooming, which felt pretty nice.
Maybe…maybe this time he could truly have a home.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
A streak of light accompanied by a sharp whistle pierced the night sky. For a brief moment, it vanished before exploding in a beautiful display of color and light.
On the monastery’s rooftop, Wukong backflipped in joy at the sight, his golden eyes wide. “Happy New Year!” The monkie cried. In the village below, he could make out dozens of voices echoing the greeting.
It didn’t matter how many times he saw them, fireworks were a sight he always adored. “This has got to be mankind’s greatest invention!” The flowers of fire were simply too beautiful. So unique. Nothing on Flower Fruit Mountain compared to such beauty, it made him thankful he decided to leave.
From the corner of his eye, Wukong noticed that his companion was clutched his ears wincing with every detonation. “You okay, bud?”
“I’m fine. Just loud.” Macaque said. He was truly questioning his sanity by joining Wukong on the roof. Normally he barricaded himself in his room, but his friend was so thrilled about sharing their first New Year together he couldn’t say no.
“Oh.” Somehow the new set of fireworks didn’t look that attractive. “We can go inside if you want.” They were beautiful, but nothing was worth feeling helpless as his friend curled up in pain.
“I’ll be fine. I’m adjusting to the volume. No different than punches that break the sound barrier, right?” Macaque tried flashing a confident grin to varying success.
Wukong suspected that Macaque was lying, but learned enough to know further prying would just cause the other monkie to simply shut out the world. “I’m glad you’re coming with me.”
“You made a persuasive argument.” Anyone who could harass him for nearly five years straight proved their determination.
Wukong playfully stuck his tongue out. “Hehe…Seriously though, I’m happy you chose to be part of my tribe. No one should be alone.”
“Then why have I been for so long.”
“I doubt even Master knows. But you won’t be able to say that anymore.” Wukong wrapped his arms around his best friend. Pulling him close, Wukong faced the fireworks, unconsciously grooming Macaque as he savored every pop of color.
Beneath those gentle digits, Macaque steadied himself against the soothing heartbeat of the one he slowly learned to trust. As the display continued, the pale monkie learned to appreciate the human’s creations. Turns out they weren’t so bad so long as you have the right company.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
“I’m sorry. You’re what?!” Macaque’s response was perfectly justified. There was no way he just heard what he thought he heard.
Wukong flashed a blinding grin. “I’m heading to the Celestial realm. I’ve been given a position in Celestial Bureaucracy.” Not seeing any problems whatsoever.
“Why?” Just why? From everything he heard about those stuck-up deities, they would never hand over a position to anyone without requiring the completion of an impossible task, much less to a demon. Least of all a demon who has done nothing but terrorize others and unleash chaos whenever he went.
“Don’t know. But I got to go right now.” Wukong shrugged as he finished packing. The Gold Star of Venus was waiting just outside the waterfall.
“But what about Flower Fruit Mountain? What about your subjects? What am I supposed to do? How long are you going to be gone?” Macaque fired off a rapid stream of questions. Panic was beginning to take hold.
Wukong, however, was as calm and confident as ever. “Stop worrying so much. Look I’ll be back as soon as I can. Until then you’re in charge.” He finished as though it was obvious.
“Me!” A white tail nearly burst into twice its normal size in shock. “But I have no idea how to run a Court!”
“Neither do I. Not in the traditional sense at least. Look just keep an eye on things. Protect the monkeys from hunters and malicious demons. Sometimes one of the allied demon kings will ask for some help. It’s nothing you haven’t helped me with before. I’ll be back before you know it. I’m sure you’ll be able to handle things until I get back.”
Seeing his companion and good friend growing even more lost, Wukong closed the distance and took his face in both hands. “This is a good thing. If I can make this work, none of us will ever have to worry about being hunted or not having enough food ever again.”
In a snap, Macaque grabbed the king’s arms. “What if I don’t care about any of that? What if I just want you to stay?”
For the first time in their conversation, Wukong’s cocky attitude vanished replaced with a loving smile. Gently prying Macaque’s claws off his shirt, Wukong placed his cheek on a palm as he kissed the knuckles of another. “I can’t. This is too good an opportunity to pass up. This isn’t goodbye. I’ll keep in touch. The time will fly. We’ll make this work. Trust me.”
“Alright, Wukong. I trust you.” Macaque said, ignoring every fiber of his being that screamed this would end poorly.
“If things go wrong, remember I’m just a telepathic call away.” Summoning his cloud, Wukong back flipped onto it with his bag. “Monkey King, out!”
One sonic boom later and he was gone, along with a good chunk of the cave walls.
“Hpmh. That’s my idiot.”
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
How did this happen? How did this happen?!
One moment they were fighting for their lives against the army of the Celestial Realm and the next Macaque bore witness to Wukong being carted away in a diamond snare.
Now as he stared at the charred remains of what once was a growing village of monkeys, Macaque felt something within him change.
For almost two months he had burned in celestial fires. The sounds of the dead and dying rang out, making his namesake almost bleed. He choked on the ashes of the mortal monkeys. The air had a strangely sweet and bitter taste to it.
Macaque lost count of all the times he charged back into the fires to save as many heartbeats as he could. He wasn’t sure but he suspected he blacked out more than once. With every heartbeat that stilled before he could reach them, a part of him followed them into Yama’s realm.
Finally, the fires had died down. They didn’t have anything left to burn.
All around him he saw the pitiful leftovers of what was once a thriving community. He had treated the survivors the best he could, but he lost his medical equipment in the blaze. The only ones he didn’t have to worry about were the monkeys Wukong made immortal, but he did what he could to ease the pain.
But still, he wondered why…why were they staring at him as though they were confused?
Maybe he was overthinking everything. He just worked through 49 days without any sleep. Everything was stable for now. The best course of action was to wash off the ash and get some much-deserved rest.
There was nothing the Celestial Realm could do to Wukong that he couldn’t handle. Besides Macaque didn’t even know how to get there even if he was at full strength. Wukong couldn’t die so it was only a matter of time before someone tripped up allowing him to return home.
He just had to be patient.
Stepping into the clear river, Macaque’s jaw almost dropped as the water around him immediately turned gray. He didn’t realize he was that filthy.
He started scrubbing himself, ducking under the water to ensure he didn’t miss a spot. He had to move a few times due to the sheer amount of shoot and ash that clung to him. The entire cleaning process took a full hour before the water ran clear.
Stepping out, Macaque felt more refreshed than he ever remembered. Shaking to remove as much access water as possible, all the towels were soot so he had to make do, he paused by the waterside to see how much fur he lost. But what he saw met none of his expectations.
Instead of fur that invoked images of the moon, he was cloaked in the color of the darkest ink.
“What happened to me?”
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
Five hundred years.
Five hundred years he searched, for any trace of the legendary Five-Fingered Moutain Buddha used to trap Sun Wukong only to find nothing. Macaque scoured far and wide. Neither the winds nor the shadows could lead him towards his friend.
He picked fights with countless demons who claimed to witness the great Monkey King brought low. It barely took two punches before they broke down crying how it had been nothing but a lie, how they only repeated rumors.
He bargained for any information he could find, but all accounts claimed the mountain didn’t exist. Many refused to answer him on principle of not interfering with the Celestial Realm’s issues. Their last mistake. Others took Wukoong’s punishment as a sign to amass as much power as possible out of fear that they would be targeted next.
Macaque had witnessed the formation of more alliances and territory grabs in the past century than had been recorded in the last thousand years. Demons were becoming more power-hungry and suspicious, which meant even more trouble for the humans. Things were becoming so chaotic, Macaque had to wonder if it was planned.
But he couldn’t dwell on that.
He hadn’t visited Flower Fruit Moutain in years. His clones kept guard, but slowly he was losing the drive to keep replenishing them. The only reason he called that mountain home was because of Wukong. It wasn’t home without him.
But he had to keep looking. Had to keep trying. He would find his friend.
Somehow.
§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§
He tricked himself into thinking this would be different. That he would no longer be alone. That finally he had found a family he could keep.
He was an idiot!
The truth was he was no different than anyone else. The world was Sun Wukong’s toy chest and Macaque was merely a shiny new trinket to bat around until he grew bored. Seeing him with that group, knowing that he chose them over their past, was too much.
He was sick of being left behind. He had been left alone so many times. What made him think he couldn’t be replaced?
He could have attacked, ripped their precious monk to pieces, he could have...should have...but he was tired.
Returning to Flower Fruit Mountain was a chore, but one he swore he would never complete again. The monkeys questioned his return, asking where their king was and if he’d return soon. Macaque ignored them all. He simply walked to the part of the manor he and Wukong had shared for years, where he had been waiting for his return.
Staring at all the knickknacks and souvenirs they had collected from their adventures, Macaque made up his mind. Grabbing a large sturdy bag, he swiftly packed his essentials. In another, he packed non-perishable goods and water containers.
Stepping out, a flash of something peach-colored caught his eye. Spinning around, hope burning a hole in his chest but his dreams once more were proved false. It was just the special peach tree Wukong had planted from the leftover pit he had saved from his time in the Celestial Realm. Apparently, it had reached maturity and was proudly bearing the first fruit Macaque had seen despite having been planted nearly half a millennia ago.
Macaque wasn’t sure why it was so special, Wukong just winked and said it was a surprise for when they could share a fresh one. Feeling something wet on his arm, Macaque looked down to see his hand stretched towards the tree and the memories he held. Feeling his cheeks, he realized he was crying, which was strange as he didn’t think he had any tears left.
Spurred by longing and spite, Macaque plucked six peaches from the tree and stuffed them into his bag. It wasn’t like Wukong was going to miss them. And he needed the food.
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thebeebi · 3 years
Text
your little games pt. 7
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pairing: Jungkook x reader
warnings: fluff in later chapters, smut, non-con, mention of r*pe attempt, implied murder and many more! Read only if you are okay with these topics!
genre: historical AU, 18th century?
word count: 3.7k+ [part 7]
a/n: Hello, hello wonderful people. As I stated before, the schedule for the series changed and now you will be able to read it twice a week. Every Monday and Thursday. I will try to keep up with the schedule but you know I am actually really laaaazy so it hard to keep up with it. Please bear with me and enjoy the series. Enjooooy ♥
taglist: @njrwifey​ @danietoww04​ [If you want to be added, just let me know :)]
You ran away from the man who tried to take an advantage of you. You stabbed him and escaped. Escaped to the arms of the handsome captain who was even worse than the man you just killed.
Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6
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An awkward cough from Mr Black interrupted your stare at your now-husband. A priest looked at both of you and then held Jungkook’s hand softly patting it. “You will have time for that later, son.“ the priest smiled and let go of him turning back to the crowd in the church. Jungkook’s strong grip let go of you and you could finally breathe. Your lips were hurting from the hungry kiss and his touch was visible on your pale skin. You stepped back a little when Mr Black and his wife approached you smiling. He kissed you fatherly on the forehead and leaned in closer to your ear whispering. “I really hope this was not a bad decision, Y/N. I hope my decision will not hurt you.“ he looked at Jungkook warily who was standing next to you. “I wanted you to be taken care of but I-“ You shook your head interrupting him trying o hold back the tears. “-please…don’t” You pressed your trembling finger against his lips, to stop him from saying what you were fearing. Lady Black looked at Jungkook who was staring coldly at your interaction with the older man. Jungkook had his hands behind the back and his legs were straddled. He looked like he was simply standing on the board of Bangtan. Lady Black was worried for you and when it was her turn to hug you. The eyes of Mr Black widened and he suddenly announced. “I think it would be a great idea if you spent the night at our house. We have many spare bedrooms. It would be our pleasure to welcome you!” He did not add that it would be more convenient for him to break into the room if Jungkook tried to hurt you. Junkook smirked. “I see, well… if we must.” Jungkook knew what he was trying to do but Lord Black did not notice it. He simply replied, “Yes, you must.”
Jungkook clenched his teeth annoyed, but did not say anything, not even when Lord Black said it was time for the feast to celebrate their marriage. Jungkook grabbed your hand and waited until everyone left the church. You were nervous and shaking under his touch. You wanted to walk outside with Lord and Lady Black but Jungkook had no intention to let you do so. His power over you is now official and you know that you will never belong to yourself again. You are his. You were worried that even though the only thing that did not belong to him was your soul, you were sure he would not stop until he had it too. When you were about to walk out, you were stopped by the pull of the dress that did not let you continue. Jungkook frowned thinking you wanted to run away from him. “Please,” you whispered looking over your shoulder to find the cause of you not being able to move. He followed your gaze and found out that your dress got caught in the nail which was poking out of the chair you were sitting on during the ceremony. He fake smiled and stepped back to let your dress free. You were staring at him with fear in your eyes. When you looked at your finger that now had a golden ring on it, your palms started sweating. Once Jungkook removed your dress from the nail, he returned to you grabbing your arm by the elbow and pulled you closer. “You don’t need to worry, my love” He smiled derisively. “The dress is alright.” You looked up at him unsurely. “Thank you,” Evident smirk on his face was scorching and it brought the pink colour to your cheeks. Jungkook was cruelly making fun of you and your damaged pride was starting to show itself. You lifted up your chin and stared at him through tears that showed up. “If I were a man, you wouldn’t be smirking so calmly!” You warned him hatefully. Jungkook raised his eyebrows and laughed. “If you were the man, little one, then we would not be in this situation.” The blush of your cheeks reddened and then you felt his hand touching your fingers, you tried to pull away but he squeezed them harshly. “You are not going to run away, little one.” He said calmly and you felt like he was enjoying hurting you. “Now you are mine. You wanted a marriage with me and I promise you will have it until the end. Well… except in case I die early. But don’t worry little one, I am not going to leave you anytime soon.” After his confession, your face went pale and you felt like you were about to faint. Your legs went weak but Jungkook held you tighter and pulled you closer. He ran his finger under your chin and raised it up smiling. “Lord Black is not going to protect you for long. What is one night compared to countless ones awaiting us?” His words sent shivers down your spine and your head dropped oh his shoulder. “You are beautiful.” You felt his hoarse voice near your ear when he added. “I will not get tired of you anytime soon, little one.”
Lord Black who was standing in front of the church was nervous wondering why you and Jungkook are not coming out. He walked back inside to find you in his embrace with the head dropped to Jungkook’s shoulder. His eyes widened and walked towards you. “She fainted?“ The flame in Jungkook’s eyes burnt out when he looked at the shorter man shaking his head. “No.“ He answered and again looked at you. “She is going to get better soon.” Lord Black looked mad at Jungkook and nodded towards the direction of the exit. “Then let’s go, the guests are waiting.“ Lord Black mumbled and turned to leave.
Jungkook held you even tighter than before whispering into your ear. “Should I carry you?” He smirked as he asked you such a trivial question. You widened your eyes and looked at him quickly. “No!” You shouted and pushed him away. Jungkook laughed at your quick reaction. When he let go of you, you thought that he was letting you walk away from him, but you were wrong. Before you could do anything, he quickly stepped on your dress, making you stop. You turned around glaring at him to let you go, but when he did not do so. When his grin widened, you slowly returned to your place next to him. “You are not going to run away, little one. I inherited something from my father and it is showing up when I am with you. I hate when someone is touching something that is mine and let me tell you, you are mine.”
“Then take me right here when you cannot wait!” you shouted louder than you intended. “But be quick, because others are waiting.” He looked at you while clenching his teeth. “No.” He held your hand looking away from you. “I will take it slow and when I have time for that. Now, let’s go. As you said, the others are waiting.“ He walked out of the church with you while the others were waiting. You both walked towards the carriage. Your aunt was quiet because Jungkook was too close. Jungkook snorted and helped you up so you could sit up comfortably. You were honestly surprised then he held your waists and lifted you up. You were so shocked you could not tell him thank you before he patted your butt to move to the side, so he could sit next to you. When you were all set, the carriage moved towards the direction of the Lord Black’s mansion.
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“I wish you a happy marriage, even though it does not have a happy start.” The Lord wished to newlyweds and raised the glass with wine. “And I hope for the child to be a beautiful baby boy.” You blushed and raised the glass to your lips. You did not take a sip but you watched as your now-husband, Junkook, gulped the liquid in one shot. You felt like the feast ended too early, even though when they decided to end things it was almost midnight. The men took the brandy and walked to the saloon, Mrs Black asked your aunt to go to sleep and you started walking towards to room that they prepared for you and Jungkook. Two giggling maids were waiting for you, bringing you your nightgown that was too sheer to your liking. Your face lost its colour once you saw it, but Lady Black was close to you and took your hand into hers to calm you down. She sat you in front of the huge mirror and whispered. “I will come back with wine when you are ready.” She kissed the top of your head and stroked your cheek. “It might help you.” When the maid helped you to take off your wedding dress and let your hair free from all the accessories, you sat down on the bed shaking. I am shaking as if I were a virgin. You almost wanted to laugh at yourself.
Outside in front of the room, you heard steps but relaxed once you realised the belonged to the woman. Lady Black walked inside with a tray that had the bottle of wine on it. She poured the red liquid into the glass and placed it on the nightstand, then you walked towards you to check what the maids did and when she was satisfied with the result, she nodded approving it. “Now you look even more beautiful than you were in my dress. Even though you were beautiful, not you just look stunning. I am so proud of you but I feel sorry that we did not have time to invite more guests. I wish I could announce the happy news to everyone as if you were my own, my dear. I just feel so sorry, that your mother died so early. She would be proud of you too.”
“Proud of me?” You scoffed and looked down on your growing belly. “She would be ashamed.” You said with the tears in your eyes but Lady Black just smiled and shook her head. “Nonsense. Sometimes people cannot change their fate and what will happen to them. Sometimes young people are just victims of coincidence.” She caressed your cheek but you frowned. “or victims of captain.” Her smile widened and nodded. “Or captains, but at least he is young and handsome. At first, when I got to know about your situation, I was worried. I thought it was some old man. Even your aunt thought so and hoped for that. I guess she must be upset that her wish did not come true. He looks like an amazing person, Y/N. I bet you will have wonderful children and I think you are going to have many of them.” She winked at you as she remembered how the captain kissed you hungrily in front of many people and then how calm he looked after that. “Yes.” You sighed and gulped admitting loudly. “Looks like there is going to be many of them.” You thought about how easily Jungkook made you pregnant within one day. It was almost for sure that you are going to carry many of his children. Lady Black started walking towards the door when you asked her suddenly. “Do you have to leave now?” She nodded and added: “Yes, my dear. We tried to delay it as long as we could. We cannot do it any longer. But remember, if you need us, we are going to be close.” You knew what she meant. If you need help, they would be just one scream away. You knew they would come to help you even if they no longer had the right to do so.
You were alone once again. Even though Jungkook’s smirk was bitter, you knew better than to get scared by him. I will show him, that I am willing and he will lose interest in me. You thought about the plan on how to make him not to touch you. The long waiting ended once you heard footsteps outside of the room, knowing that they belong to him. The blush came out once you realised that the door opened and you were staring into his darkened eyes. When you noticed his sight went lower, you tried to cover your clothed body but the flame within Jungkook was burning strongly. You sat still on the bed, feeling awkward due to the silence, but soon enough his words interrupted it. “You look beautiful, little one.“ His voice was husky and you could tell he had been drinking. He came closer to the bed and stood in front of you. The almost sheer nightgown was showing way too much to your liking but you could not do anything since it was the only thing you could wear instead of the wedding dress. “You look even more beautiful than I remember.” Jungkook sat next to you and slightly moved closer to hug you. His hands slid down under the gown and grabbed your buttocks, squeezing them. He leaned in closer to your face and you were ready for the kiss. But before your lips could meet his, he pulled away from you a little and smiled for himself. “Now you are more willing than you were the first time, little one. Is it different because of marriage? I thought that I finally found a woman who was willingly giving her body to me out of love, not just for the money.” He smirked. You felt ashamed and mad. He doesn’t know anything about me! Your inner self was screaming, wanting to come out. You thought you could hold it in, but a sudden outburst of emotions surprised you. “Oh you asshole!” You shouted at him hitting his chest. “What could I do? You will rape me either way!”
“Be quiet!” He pulled you closer and covered your mouth with his hand to stop you from screaming. “Do you wanted them to hear you? Lord Black is waiting just for that,” He sighed and let go of you. “Why do you even care about that? You are stronger than him anyway.” You spat out quietly. “You can easily throw him out of the window and then take advantage of me.” Jungkook clenched his teeth and you knew very well, that it meant danger. Jungkook stared at you coldly but you could tell he was mad. “Tonight I would not use my marital right even if you were the last woman on the planet.” The stoic face changed into a smirking one and you stopped pushing him away confused, not sure if you heard him correctly. You furrowed your eyebrows ready to ask him what he meant, but he continued. “You heard me, little one. I am not planning on making love to you tonight and in the house.” He ignored the relieved expression on your face. “When I will take you, it is going to be on my own ship or how I will want it. Not when another man is nervously waiting just so he could break the door and take you away from me. And surely not when that man can put me in the prison.”
“Prison?” You asked innocently and cocked your head to the side. “Don’t tell me that you don’t know anything. You, for sure, knew what was their plan. I don’t believe they would not tell you everything.” You shook your head slowly. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Jungkook laughed bitterly. “Always so pure and innocent, right little one?” He looked down on your clothed breasts and with a gentle touch he caressed the part where was the neckline of the gown, then he slid the hand lower and rubbed your nippled slowly and you winced at the sudden feeling. “Always so innocent,”  he repeated himself quietly. “Always beautiful and always so cold.” You let him touch you, not hating the strange feeling his hand was bringing you. He was gentle and you believed him that he would not do anything more. You could not stop asking him though. You wanted to know what he meant by prison. “How did they force you to marry me?” You asked quietly and Jungkook kissed you on top of your head softly, then moved southern and left kisses on your neck. The shivers that normally came due to the fear came this time for a different purpose. You liked his touch. You liked it when his hand kept on caressing your left breast but were worried that he would not stop. You held his hand to stop him from continuing and pulled away from him to lay down in the middle of the bed, pulling the covers over yourself. “Could you tell me, please?” You bit your lower lip looking at him. “What for? I am sure you know everything but if you want to hear it from me, then sure. Your beloved Lord Black wanted to convict me of smuggling and selling the weapons, even though I have never done anything like that. They would have sent me to prison, they would take my ship and only God knows what would happen to my winery back home. I gotta say it was clever of him.” He stood up and took off his coat, placing it on the nearest chair and then started unbuttoning the shirt. “Did you know that I am – well, that I was engaged and I was supposed to marry her when I return home? What should I tell her now? That I met you and I could not help myself?” The silence was filling up the room when he finally took his shirt off and looked at you with evident anger. “I don’t like it when people force me into something, little one. It goes against my nature. If you only came to me, told me that you were pregnant, I would take care of you. I might have married you if you acted like you wanted the marriage with me, but you sent your influential friend and threatened me. And trust me, it was the stupidest thing you could ever do.”
You pulled the covers closer, wanting to put at least some kind of wall between you two, in case he decided to jump on you. Jungkook was walking around the room, blowing out the candles and once he was done, he sat on the chair looking at you. “You know you are beautiful, right?” he asked coldly. “You could have any man you could have wanted but you still chose me. I would like to know the truth now. Did you find out, by any chance, that I am rich?” Your eyes widened not understanding why he was asking such a question. “I do not know anything about you.” You said quietly. “You are just a man… who took away my virginity. I could not look for another man when I was disgraced by you and I am expecting your child. I would rather be a single mother than to do anything like what you accused me of.” He sighed and you continued. “Now you are mad, that you had to pay for something you had done, but you do not think about how the child growing inside me would feel if it was born without a father.” He shook his head. “I would take care of the child and you too.” You laughed at his statement. “You would take care of him as you would take care of any bastard child and you would keep me as your mistress. No, thank you. I would rather slit my own throat than that.” You saw that he clenched his teeth again and looked into his eyes. “Normally, mistresses are being treated better than wives. I would be nicer to you and more than generous.” You looked away from him. “It means you won’t be now.” You noted and he smiled cocking his head to the side. “Exactly.” Jungkook stood up from the chair and looked at you from above. “As I said, I don’t like it when someone threatens me and I chose the right punishment just for you. You wanted security and the name for your child. I will give it to you, but only that. Nothing more. In my house, you will be nothing more than a maid. You will have the name you wanted so much but will have to beg me to fulfil your even tiniest request. I will give you no money and you will live no ordinary life, even though I will take care of it, that no one knows about the truth. In other words, little one, the status you wanted so much will be nothing more than a prison. We will not share even the nicer bits of the marriage. In my eyes, you will be just another maid. If you were my mistress, I would treat you like a queen but now I will be just your owner, nothing more.” You looked at him surprised. “You mean we will not…”  Jungkook nodded. “You are very quick-witted, little one. But you don’t have to worry, I will not stop. You are just one of the many women in the world and a man can find an alternative easily.” You happily exhaled as if you were relieved of what you just heard. “I ensure you, that you could not make me any happier.” Jungkook clenched his teeth even more. “I see that you are happy right now but the hell has just begun. Life with me will not be easy. I have a horrible temper and with a petite body like yours, you could do nothing to stop me. So be careful and walk on the tip-toes if you want to survive. Understand?” You smiled and nodded quickly. “Now go to sleep, we are leaving tomorrow” Without saying a word you make a place for him in the bed and turned to the side to find a comfortable position.
Part 8
a/n: So Jungkook came up with the punishment and Y/N actually loved it. HMMMM. Well it makes sense though, because he took advantage of her but like... HEY Y/N! HE IS LITERALLY JEON JUNGKOOK. DID YOU SEE HIM? I would literally let him *play Sistar’s song touch my body * you know. Whatever.
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teelagurl558 · 3 years
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What Comes After Lightning
Chapter Eight of The Dragon, a modern au Zuko x Reader
Other Chapters
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word count: 6,180 ish
Warnings: angst but with resolve, sex mention, some more language than usual?
A/N:  Hey guys! I wanted to let everyone know in case there was confusion, this is NOT the last chapter for The Dragon! I have about 3 more roughly plotted for the story line, so stay tuned.
It was so late that even Zuko's little house in the college sector of the Middle Ring was silent, save for the wet crunch of his happy lizard eating bell pepper slices in his lap. He was sitting up in bed, lamp on and trying to let his pet bring him comfort while he handed the creature treats. At least one of them would be having a pleasant night, he consoled himself.
He had spent a lot of the day at his uncle’s house after Y/n had shooed him off, letting Iroh soothe his angst with tea and fried foods, but now he was home. Sokka had left a little while ago, and while Zuko tried not to let it make him feel worse, he was pretty certain he knew exactly where his friend was going. Even though he hadn't been sitting with Zuko when he left, it made the older boy feel very alone; and even though Y/n was in no position for him to be jealous of, it made him unhappy that this time it couldn't be him that comforted his best friend. All he wanted was to sort this out, be there for her like he should've been for the last decade when she needed it. If their friendship suffered from this mistake, Zuko wasn't sure how he'd cope with it.
The sound of the front door opening caught Zuko's attention, and he was a bit surprised--Had Sokka not just left a few minutes ago? If he hadn't been paying attention to the amount of treat he was feeding Druk, Zuko might've been worried he'd lost track of time.
However, when he stood and went for his bedroom door, it was Katara's face that met him. She had a knowing look on her face and gestured to his room. "Mind if I come and sit?"
He knew what this was. With a nod, he ducked back into his room and reseated himself beside the lizard, still content to munch on his snack in Zuko's bed. Katara followed in and sat on the opposite side, slipping off her shoes to pull her legs up under her.
"So," he laughed dryly. "I guess this means I've really screwed up this time, huh?"
Katara frowned and shook her head, then stopped and made a cringing expression. "No, I mean- well... Yeah, you've definitely screwed up. But, so has she. I'm here because it seems at this point that intervention is still necessary to get you two to talk things out."
"It isn't though!" he sighed, rubbing his face in his palm. "I want to talk to her, I've wanted to all day but she won't let me. It's like she's going to hate me now no matter what I have to say."
"Oh, Zuko," Katara cooed sadly. "She doesn't hate you. So far from it. Why would she be acting so hurt if she did?"
He swallowed the burning in his throat before he replied. "I feel like I've hurt her badly enough that she does. There's so much that she could've read into it, and I don't even know what's the worst of it. I never got to tell her how I really felt, I just kissed her and slept with her like an idiot. She could be freaked out by the expectations on us, and there's nothing I could do about that, Tara, I can't take her from what she's working so hard for and I can't burden her with everything I have on me."
"I-- Wha- What?" Katara looked genuinely confused, and Zuko had to remind himself of his friends' commoner backgrounds. She wouldn't understand the chess game he and Y/n had to live.
"Our...our status, Katara," he tried to explain, trying to find words that didn't sound uppity and stupid; he hated having to explain these things. "Wealthy, known families like ours, we usually have arranged marriages for business reasons. I never planned on that for myself after Dad was arrested, but it's something she'd expect of me. And I've never asked her what she plans to do for herself, because she's got a lot of work trying to gain back the status and inheritance they took from her. No matter what way you look at it, we're both from high-class families and in dangerous situations and reckless romance would be really bad and--"
"And have you actually talked to her about these things?" Katara halted him, placing her hand on his arm to ground him a bit.
Zuko shook his head. "Well...no, like I said I-I don't know what she's planning for herself in that regard. And I've never really brought up my side of things because it felt too obvious and revealing."
She smiled at him. "Then breathe, Zuko. You have no reason yet to worry about all that, okay? And I'll tell you right now, I don't think that's what's hurting her. If it really bothers you, then when you talk things out, tell her. If you're afraid of what your weird rich-people-culture is going to do to your relationship, then you can always just take things slow."
"Yeah," he sniffled. "I guess you're right. If we even get that far."
"You will, but Y/n is really confused and upset right now. You know how hard it is when someone you care about hurts your feelings. Both of you have made a really stupid mistake here not talking things through before you went at it, but when she's ready to talk, you'll be able to work past that and both understand what was going on underneath."
Zuko nodded but was staring at his lap sadly. Druk nipped at his foot wanting attention, and climbed up onto Zuko's leg. "How do you know she'll even want to talk to me?" he asked quietly, petting the lizard more for his own comfort than Druk's.
"Because she cares about you, Zuko," his friend soothed. "And she cares about the relationship you both have. You can't imagine how happy she was to see that we were all friends when she moved here, because it meant she could finally have back all the good things that were taken from her. Looking for you was the first thing she did. I really doubt Y/n would let something that important to her die away without even trying to work it out."
Her words made Zuko's heart flutter, and a smile crept up his lips in hope. "She was looking for me?" he asked quietly. "I thought... I thought she just came to see Uncle, or something."
Katara laughed at him. "You honestly still think you weren't on Y/n's mind while she was gone? The only reason we didn't know you two were friends ages ago when she came to visit was that she knew about all the garbage your dad put you through with Aang."
Memories resurfaced at that, Zuko recalling all the times his father ordered him to find any way to knock Aang and his huge extended family down a peg. Aang was already becoming a known activist through his family when they were in high school, worker's unions and animal rights activist groups run by them often targeting Ozai's cruelly run empire. Aang didn't like him for that connection, and Zuko, though living with his uncle at the time and kicked from his dad's home, would still do anything back then to please his father. They got in more fights in school than the poor pacifist had likely been in his whole life, and Zuko was feeling the shame of his actions drifting back to him.
"Don't you go dwelling on that now," Katara scolded, swatting his knee. "You know you have more important and current things to think about."
Zuko nodded, forcing his mind back to Y/n and all the things he needed to say to her...When she would let him.
"How long do you think I should wait?" Zuko asked as Katara stood to leave. He was staring at his lap, thinking of his best friend and her tendencies with worry as he dragged his gaze back to Katara. "I want to give her space if she needs it but...I know I'm going to have to tell her how I feel soon, before she assumes something bad. I can't let Y/n overthink things and feel worse."
With a sigh, Katara shrugged. "We'll see, I don't know honestly. Definitely not tonight, just try to get some rest. We're all trying to keep an eye on both of you now just in case, so for the time being you just have to try and wait until she's ready since you already are."
That made his heart sink in his chest, wanting nothing more than to run to Y/n's doorstep at that very moment despite his lack of energy for such a thing. He tried his best not to let Katara notice his declining mood since he knew she would feel badly about leaving. The group mother seemed not to notice though, or if she did she didn't press as she hugged him goodnight and took her leave.
Zuko heaved an agonizing breath out as he put Druk away and turned out the light. As he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling instead of sinking into the clutches of sleep, Zuko felt more depressed than he'd been in a long time. His mind grasped hopelessly to the memories of Y/n first helping him with a bad episode, and the thought brought stinging tears to the young man's eyes.
Y/n had seen him at his darkest, at his most vulnerable, and had still cared for him the same way she had since they were ten. She saw he was hurt, and it didn't matter that she hadn't seen him in a decade--Y/n had just brought him tea and held him, and reassured him when his mind only wanted to give him doubt. Laying there in his bed while he wasted under the weight of his thoughts used to feel like a prison, something he could only leave when some other entity decided. But when Y/n came back to his life, when Y/n was sitting with him in the same bed, Zuko felt secure. He still felt sad, and helpless, but he had something to latch onto and someone to remind him he was loved.
He was loved.
Could she love him? Really, really love him, despite everything that came along with that? Zuko lay and wondered with a heavy heart if there was a chance her fondness for him extended the way his did. All he wanted anymore was to wake up beside her like he did that first day, all his worries washed away under her (e/c) gaze and sleepy smiles. Y/n had come to his aid every time Zuko felt like garbage after that; every time he wished he could just stop moving, stop time for a moment, she was there. Y/n came and got him from work or class or his home, and would sit with him or take him on walks until Zuko felt okay again. It was like magic, what she did to him. What she did to his heart.
Zuko sucked in a shaking breath and wiped his tearful eyes. If Y/n didn't come to him first soon, he didn't know how long he could hold back. Knowing he'd hurt her, and that Y/n didn't understand how or why all this had happened--it made Zuko's stomach churn and his chest clench in pain. He would suppress his feelings as long as she needed him to, if that's what it took, but Raava how he just wanted to hug her again. Zuko wasn't even fantasizing about the sex with her anymore--although he did admit it was the best he could remember ever having--but he wanted to hold her again, feel her hand in his and her arms around him. Zuko wanted to kiss her damned head so bad he could die.
Sleep, as you might imagine, was not easy to find on a night like this.
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(Y/N POV) 
When classes got done for the day, I was about ready to drop. I hadn't been emotionally or mentally energetic enough when the day started at 7 AM with Aang blasting Elton John through the house like it was his religion. Not that I minded Elton John, but nobody was going to be on my good side today, and before I'd even had my coffee he was trying to rope me into his self-care crystals review video or whatever. If Toph hadn't dragged me out the door, I would've surely regretted my comments about how useful the little rocks were.
My cousin had met up with Suki and I after her classes and were all walking back to my car. The latter looped her arm around me while texting Sokka, and Toph held my hand as usual for guidance. It softened my edgy feelings a little, but not enough to wash away my exhaustion.
"Hey, I know you're pretty wiped, but do you wanna come to the skate park with us after you've showered and stuff?" Suki asked gently. I cringed a little, knowing it would force me to be around Zuko and I didn't know if I was up for that.
"I dunno, I--" I started, trying to force words out of my unwilling mouth.
Toph sighed. "C'mon, Cupcake, you and Sparky have been dancing around this even worse than Aang and Katara did. And that was a freaking nightmare. And anyway you've been feeling dumpy all day and you always feel better hanging out with everyone, whether you work it out with him now or not."
I let out a groan but nodded. "Yeah, I know, you're right, okay?" After pausing to think it over and load up into my car, I nodded again. "Okay, yeah, I'll go. But someone has to buy me the fancy tuna from that commoners' shop nearby."
Suki let out a squeal of happiness before hugging me. "Yay! Of course I will, babe, all the fancy tuna and a bubble tea to go with it."
Sniffling in mock emotion, I whimpered, "I have the best wife," and started to drive us all home.
When Toph and I arrived back at our apartment after dropping off Suki, we came up to find Aang frowning at the TV from the couch. Katara was packing rice balls and mochi into the picnic basket, likely for the skate park trip, but was also scowling as she stole glances at the television behind her.
"What's with the faces, you two?" I asked, scooping Momo into my arms as he ran into my ankle.
Toph sucked in a breath beside me, head cocked. "Oh, no."
Before I could say anything she was hurriedly following the wall into the living room, standing beside the couch to hear the TV. Aang gave her and I a sympathetic look, and fear tugged at my gut as I realized it was the news station run by the Upper Ring--it was the news for the aristocratic class.
"They haven't made anything formal yet," Katara said, and I scowled in confusion before running into the living room. Aang reached out to lay a hand on my arm in support and Katara followed us in. My stomach dropped when I saw the photos of the family being discussed onscreen.
"--are still going through with this transfer despite it being a bit nontraditional. The Beifong Dynasty has been renowned across the country for their metalworks industry, and though this new potential inheritor is technically from the Fire Nation, Lao Beifong has announced that he plans to pass the company to his sister and her husband."
I swore, rather violently actually, and it made Aang jump. Normally Katara might've scolded me for it and teased me about sounding like Toph, but these circumstances were far too grave.
"They're really doing it, then," Toph grunted, letting out a long breath as she glared at the carpet. I swallowed hard, the saliva in my mouth turning thick and breath becoming hard to manage. Toph and I had hoped beyond a hope that her parents wouldn't make a claim before we were out of college and could dispute it before they did, but it seemed they wanted to deal with these matters sooner. Now, Toph and I would have to reclaim the inheritance with the eye of the public on us, and our parents' experience and reputations backing them.
"I'm sure it'll be okay, maybe they won't sign any paperwork for a while," Katara tried.
I shook my head, sucking in a breath and forcing it in. "No," I choked, my resolve slowly solidifying. "No, it doesn't matter. The longer that agreement is out in the open with the other business families to know of, the stronger of a hold it gets and the more allies will accept it. Toph and I are going to have to make a claim to the company publicly now, and soon, or else we lose the advantage we have."
"You have an advantage?" Aang asked, bewildered. Despite being a very well-known, in-the-spotlight person, Aang's life had definitely never been the carefully calculated chess game that Toph and I played.
Toph answered him after a moment. "Since I'm technically next in line, and that's how things are traditionally passed, if I dispute the change of hands in court then they're supposed to give it to me. Technically I still have rights to the company and should be signing it over to Y/n's dad with my parents, but they don't think I'm capable enough for all that bureaucratic bullshit."
"So...You're saying what they're doing...Isn't technically legal?" Aang pressed.
I shrugged and set Momo down in his lap, eyeing the screen as it now moved to a report of the new clothing lines from the Hitachiin Enterprise. "It's not so much actual written law as it is just tradition in those circumstances. Things are heavily based on allied business families and their opinions, it's all about what the community as a whole sees. And if they see us calling back that this was never our choice..."
"Then we get exactly what we've been trying for from the beginning," Toph finished. "Y/n and I have to make a public statement to let that simmer with the news outlets and the other rich biggots for a while, and if they don't surrender the rights and kill this new arrangement then we apply for a court date."
I let out a heavy breath. This just got so much more complicated. "I'm going to shower, and then we can go to the skate park to concuss this stress out of our brains."
Toph was the only one who gave me a snorting laugh, but the others nodded as we all separated to get ready. I gave her hand a squeeze, and then just straight pulled her into a hug. This was my sister as far as I was concerned, and our lives were about to take a very drastic leap.
-----------------------------------
(3rd person POV)
It was a beautiful day. There was a nice autumn breeze going, the chill warning the park’s inhabitants that winter was around the corner. Clouds blocked out the bright sun, leaving just enough daylight filtering through to show they weren’t ominous with rain just yet. It was perfect sweater weather, laughter echoing around the grassy hills and concrete half-pipes and ramps.
Zuko was among the laughter, a happy grin finally painted across his face after the last few days’ miserable state. He was gliding around the main bowl with Aang, both boys drifting back and forth past each other hollering jokes. Behind them, Sokka was whirling at top speed up and around the nearest half pipe, doing flips and shouting--which was causing most of the laughter at the moment.
On the nearest bench, Katara sipped at her water bottle with Toph. She was narrating a little of what was happening, but it wasn’t entirely necessary with all the shrieking. Their picnic basket lay out on a blanket in front of the bench for when the group was ready, Katara heaved a deep sigh of content gazing around. She hoped things would go well. Glancing at the sky, she worried that the threat of rain would come sooner than expected, but she was more worried about one of the two other girls now approaching from the street.
Y/n and Suki were just returning from a favorite sushi shop in the commoner’s district down the block, little lunch boxes in hand along with tall cups of bubble tea. It made Katara relax a little to see Y/n was smiling, though her hope faltered the moment Y/n’s face started to at the sight of Zuko.
He hadn’t noticed her yet, and Y/n had the uncanny urge to run, to just sprint away from this problem like she’d had to do with many before it. Suki’s hand around her shoulders grounded her a little, and the pair made their way to the picnic blanket without issue.
“Hey, guys,” Y/n said, a little nervously. Toph perked up upon hearing her.
“Did you get your food? Can I have a bite?”
The excitement had the older Beifong giggling, and she plucked out a little piece to put in her cousin’s hand. Suki set down her food with the basket and started to strap on her pads.
“SUKI! CHECK THIS OUT!” Sokka yelled, and she had to holler back that she was coming in a second. Hurrying to grab her skateboard, she took off and jumped into the bowl, gliding over towards Sokka’s pipe. Y/n swallowed hard, taking a deep drink of her tea upon seeing the other two boys approaching.
Aang was running, a big grin on his face, but Zuko was slow, hesitant even. When the pair made it up to the girls, Aang took Toph’s hands in his excitedly.
“Toph, come on! You’ve got pads on, let me take you around the bowl a little!” he begged, a big grin on his innocent face. Toph looked uncertain, but after being promised she wouldn’t get dropped, the two youngest of their group took off running back into the concrete pool.  Soon, Aang was tugging Toph around from his skateboard with one hand, her roller skates getting steadier under her as they went.
Y/n had seated herself on the bench next to Katara, her open box of sushi on the empty side of the seat. Zuko raised his eyebrows at her, a gentle face silently asking if he could sit. She swallowed hard, but nodded.
“I don’t think I’ve ever tried that place, is it good?” Zuko asked, gesturing to her food. His throat was tight. He wanted to ask her to forgive him, to hear his apology, to understand how he felt--but he knew he had to wait.
She could sense what he wanted, but she was so glad he didn’t say it.
“It is,” she said, glancing down at the box and wondering if her decision earlier was the right one. She would’ve said more, but the moment Y/n looked back up at his gentle gold eyes, her strength began to crumble.
“Hm. Maybe I’ll try it sometime,” Zuko replied. His smile was fake this time, and she knew it.
Y/n gave him a small smile but then tore her eyes from him and got up, quickly slipping into a pair of roller blades and choking out, “I’m gonna go on in.”
She was gone in seconds, following her cousin and Aang in the bowl and laughing but still obviously stiff. Zuko sighed, his lowered gaze getting a glance at her lunch. He noticed something very strange, one of the rolls in her little bento box very obviously out of place.
Why would she get this? Y/n hates fire flake rolls, he thought with a frown at the classic Fire Nation dish. Zuko glanced up to the girl in question and noticed her quickly look away. A realization suddenly hit him.
Oh...It was for me.
The idea almost brought tears to his eyes that Y/n would still be thinking of him, making decisions like this and always including him. Tucking a piece of the spicy roll in his mouth, he sighed. It was a little sign that Zuko hadn’t really lost her, she was still there. She was still his. He could still make this right.
That was it. That was the last straw he could handle, and with determination flooding his veins Zuko stood up and strode off.
“Zuko, wait,” Katara hissed, panicked. “I know that look. Not--”
“I can’t wait on this anymore, Katara. I just can’t,” he said hurriedly, and then continued his long strides towards his three friends. At the edge of the bowl, he stepped up onto his skateboard and hopped in, swerving towards her.
Y/n saw him approach just as his hand caught her arm, skillfully turning at an angle so that she would roll a ways further with him and not fall. (E/c) eyes wide, she tensed and looked at him in such a threatened manner Zuko almost lost his resolve. Almost. He swallowed hard, held onto her wrist a little tighter, and reminded himself why she felt this defensive.
“Zuko, what are you doing?” she hissed. A week ago she never would’ve questioned him pulling her to his side like this. He just wanted to keep this talk to themselves, so she didn’t feel more vulnerable.
“Y/n, I know you may not be ready to talk about this, but I--”
Her eyes bulged, and she jerked her arm. “You’re right. I’m not. So let’s not.”
Zuko raised his voice, stepping of his board. “Y/n I just need you to listen,” he said, then softer, “--please.”
“I can’t, Zuko, not right now,” she tried again, now hugging herself and looking around the park. Anywhere but his face. “I can’t--I can’t talk about this, okay?”
Her voice was shaky now, and she was glancing around to the other clusters of their friends, most of them now noticing but pretending they hadn’t for the pair’s sake. Y/n wanted to talk about it, knew she had to get this out of her heavy chest and just do it, but the moment he approached her all the wisdom Sokka gave flew out the window. Fear threw it all away, and now she was standing taking anxious glances at the darkening sky and clutching her biceps with trembling fingers, too afraid of being rejected and abandoned again by this one special person to say what needed to be said.
“Why do you keep running from this?” Zuko finally snapped, desperation in his now loud voice, crying out while she was backing away. A loud BOOM of thunder cracked open the tense air and Y/n flinched, opening her eyes to see her best friend’s welling up with tears.
“Why do you keep shutting me out?”
The softness in his voice, the pain she could hear that mimicked hers, was the last straw. It drew tears to her own eyes and as lightning zipped above them, everything that was pounding against her chest and weighing on her shoulders tore through her lips in a yell.
“Because I can’t be abandoned again, Zuko!”
Thunder boomed again and punctuated her statement, the skate park going silent save for the grinding of wheels on concrete as her friends quickly huddled back towards Katara.
“I’m running because that’s the only way I don’t get hurt again, because I’ve been trying so hard to fight my feelings down and I never know what you want! You act like you want to kiss me and then shy away like it was a bad idea. You take me in when I need it and sleep with me, then act like it was all a mistake. You keep chasing me around trying to talk to me like my best friend and I can’t tell you why I’m this hurt because you’re the reason I feel used!”
Hot tears were burning down her face now, blurring the still silhouette of the fire nation boy in front of her. As if the very spirits were as hurt as she was, the sky continued to scream and boom and light up like fire above them.
Katara wanted to yell to them, wanted to hurry them to a car or to walk everyone back home but this was necessary. This was too tense a battle for her to step in--it was a duel of lovers, and she and their friends had to watch them exchange blows until hopefully, both came away better off.
“That’s why I’ve been trying to talk to you, Y/n,” Zuko yelled back. Rain started to sprinkle over them, but the only ones who cared were tucked under the picnic blanket and hurrying to the one car they’d brought nearby. Y/n started to turn away and hike towards her shoes by the bench, but Zuko got louder, causing her to stop short.
“I know I fucked up, okay? But you’re the closest friend I’ve ever had, and not understanding why you’re always acting like this has stung like a bitch. All I wanted was to talk to you and fix this--”
She spun around, rage practically boiling the icy rain around them. “It hurt you? Every minute you’ve had that we could’ve talked through what’s happening between us, you refused. You never brought it up, you never tried. You let me sit here and be hurt and wonder what the hell you wanted from me, until I found out the other night. How can you act like everything you’ve done to me lately has been hurting you?”
“Because I fucking love you, Y/n!”
“Well I love you too, you asshole!”
Both of them froze, staring at each other with wide eyes. Zuko’s words had come out in a sob--a loud, heartbreaking, crackling sob--and now he was crying freely. Y/n had still been angry, but her reply had come out instinctively before she could even process his confession.
“Wait…” she sniffled. The tug in her chest brought her closer. “What?”
Zuko felt like his heart was pouring out of his mouth like a boiling pot of tea, little sobs crackling between the painful words.
“Y/n, I'm so sorry. I- I do feel the same, I have for a long time, I just get so af-afraid any time I feel like something will happen between us. I did want to do all those things; every- every time you thought I did, I did. I was just too much of a c-coward because I didn’t want to burden you. I didn’t want to hurt you with everything that came wi-with it.”
A pale hand came up to aggressively wipe his face, giving it up as a bad job as the rain poured over it. He tilted his head to the sky, the downpour cooling his overheated face and dripping through his shaggy hair.
“The other day...I was so happy wak-waking up beside you, and then I just felt so guilty and ashamed of myself for letting my feelings come out that way. There was no way I wouldn't have enjoyed it; I-I love you. I can't just- just stuff that down. But I didn't want it to- to happen like that, I never meant to hurt you or let it get that far so soon. I should've t-told you sooner, and maybe this wouldn't have happened, but if it hadn't then I-I don't know how long it would've been--”
Y/n stopped his hiccuping tangent by cupping his cheeks, pulling his face down to hers roughly and kissing him like this was a lovers’ reunion.
The tiniest whimper squeaked out of Zuko’s lips, the tears pouring from his golden eyes now those of relief, and joy. His muscled arms clamped around her and when they pulled away they both sucked in shaky breaths.
“We’re a couple of oblivious pussies, aren’t we?” Y/n laughed. Zuko could only really nod, finally able to try and calm himself down now that he had Y/n again. Her hands on his face grounded him, gave him purchase after the emotional rollercoaster he’d nearly thrown up on, and the feel of her in his arms was spreading warmth through his now-soaked body.
After a moment, once their breathing had evened and the cold that was soaking them through finally registered to them, the pair hurried to grab Y/n’s shoes and go to Katara’s car. It was running, but the group had been waiting in the lot to watch the ordeal in case their friends needed help. Y/n stood under a tree in the parking lot by the car, yanking off her skates and hurriedly pulling her wet shoes over wet socks.
“Y/n, do you care if we...go somewhere?” Zuko asked her. He could see the others watching from their windows a few yards away.
“Like where?” she asked, grimacing at their wet surroundings. “We’re too drenched to go out, and if I’m honest I don’t feel up for that just now.”
She seemed anxious to him, but not like she wanted to get away from him, and that was all Zuko needed to confirm his idea. “Just somewhere that’ll feel safe, where we can calm down and talk?”
Y/n nodded, and he gave her forehead a gentle, reassuring kiss before he approached the passenger side window. Aang rolled it down, giving Y/n a gentle smile and wave where she stood under her tree. Sokka was behind him, and while Zuko talked to Aang and Katara to let them know where they were going, her honorary big brother was mouthing dramatically to her. He looked ready to sob trying to check on her with wide eyes and stressed, wide-open-mouthed silent questions.
Most of it she couldn’t make out, but it made her laugh. Understanding when he started to frantically ask if she was okay, she nodded. Y/n held out a hand for him to calm down and then up to her ear, mouthing “Call you later”, which thankfully did the trick and satisfied his protectiveness.
In a moment Zuko was tossing his skateboard in the trunk and jogging back to her, looking up to the still-thundering, still-pouring sky and rolling his eyes like this karmically would be his luck. He held out his hand and Y/n took it, pulling her along through the rain and both waving to their friends driving away.
It didn’t take long for laughter to bubble up in Y/n’s chest, remembering all the times she and Zuko had been caught in the rain before because they ‘just had to go on a walk right now’. Often it was while he wasn’t feeling well, or she was restless and had to get out of the house, and it reminded them of when they were children. Come to think of it, of all those times, Y/n couldn’t remember being as drenched and frozen as this since they were children, staying out playing in the woods on Zuko’s family property long after his mother or Iroh would’ve called them in. His father used to scoff and roll his eyes a lot on those days. She remembered Iroh laughing on the back porch at two sopping wet kids trudging back through the treeline, and it made her giggle.
Zuko didn’t have the words in him to ask why she was laughing, but one glance back at her eyes as he kept running made it clear. He felt it too, this connection they’d had for so many years. And now, he was laughing too, racing her through the storm until he saw the sign of The Jasmine Dragon come into view.
“This still counts as going out in public, you know,” Y/n panted, hugging herself under the tea shop’s awning.
In an attempt to soothe and warm her, Zuko ran his hands up and down her arms. “I know, I know. I didn’t mean for us to stay here, but I knew Uncle could take us to his house. And I thought, you know, maybe we’d both feel a little more comfortable there after… all that.”
The sweet gesture drew a smile to Y/n’s lips, and she stood up on her toes to kiss him again, much gentler this time. “Thank you, Zuko.”
The boy grinned ear to ear, taking her hand in his again as they stepped into the nearly-empty shop. And they could tell by Iroh’s bug-eyed, adoring expression, that he had seen. They hardly had to complete a sentence before the old man was scurrying to close up shop, babbling near incoherently about getting his kids dry and warm and fed before they died in front of him.
There was so much to talk through still. So much Zuko wanted to say to her and that she needed to hear, and so much Y/n had to think through and reassure him of. But for now, at least, they were going to be taken care of, and they knew they could work those things out. The door was open now, and inside it was a lot of love. And, Iroh’s cooking.
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Tags: (open til the end!)
@ur-jinji @complainsalot @sorrythatspussynal @theblueslytherin @irohs-teapot @sunflowerr-mami @curly-whirly-bar @girl-ln-green @eleonor-da-silva @strangerr-things @dirivaakku @sistheselenophile @zagbloom
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raindancer2004 · 3 years
Text
A mate for Christmas? - Jane
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Word Count: 1,901 Jane x Swan reader Oneshot Warnings: Fluff, Angst
Jane –
Demetri, Felix and the twins joined Aro and Marcus at the Cullen’s house for Christmas; Caius refusing to go as he knew the ‘Dog’ would be there. “Caius sends his apologies Carlisle, but he couldn’t join us for Christmas. He decided to stay back and keep things in order at the castle” “I understand Aro. We’re glad that you, Marcus and the guard would come” Carlisle replied.
Carlisle led them upstairs to where the rest of the family were waiting; including Y/N Swan, Bella’s sister.
Jane noticed her the moment he entered the room; Y/C hair, Y/C eyes and your scent hit her like no other had before ‘Blueberry and Vanilla’ She felt a pull towards her and a knowing smile from Marcus confirmed it; Y/N Swan was her mate.
The Cullens exchanged gifts and Y/N handed her a small gift neatly wrapped in blue wrapping paper with silver Stags “For you.” She took the gift and gave her a small smile; opening it revealed a quad of eyeshadows in various shades of blue and a second quad of eyeshadows in various shades of grey. “I know it’s not much, but I thought you may like them, especially as Alice mentioned you prefer darker colours to pastels” “Thank you Y/N” Jane thanked her and felt a warm feeling run through her although she was annoyed that fate had given her a human as a mate. She didn’t like humans.
Y/N tried talking to Jane, asking her about her life in Volterra, her gift, if she had a favourite time in history seeing as she had lived so long. Jane didn’t wish to talk to Y/N and she certainly didn’t want to get to know her. Y/N sensed Jane wasn’t in the mood for talking judging by the minimal / lack of responses she received and left the room.
Marcus was very disappointed in Jane and her behaviour and told her so once Y/N and Ness were out of earshot; he didn’t care who else heard him “You my dear are being rude and disrespectful to Y/N and I am extremely disappointed in you. She didn’t choose to be your mate any more than you chose to be hers. Fate made this decision long ago after you were turned. She was born to be with you and only you. She is the one to complete you and vice versa” Marcus paused to see if Jane would interject; she did nothing but look like a child being scolded so he continued “If you choose to walk away from her; from your bond, that is your decision and I will respect it but…know this you will have lost my respect. You are throwing something away; something that is precious and should be treasured because of your inability to let go of the past; a past Y/N had no part in. You are throwing away a bond that was taken from me many many centuries ago; a bond I would do anything to get back, to be given a second chance at a happy ending. I cannot and will not forgive you for this” Marcus left the room not caring that he left a room full of vampires staring open-mouthed at the dressing down the usually soft-spoken King had given Jane.
Jane didn’t change her mind. She decided she could live without Y/N in her life. She could live with being a disappointment to Marcus as long as she had Alec by her side and was still favoured by Aro. What more did she need?
Later that night Jane found Y/N in Edward’s old room; it had become a guest room now, something that amused Edward greatly. Jane knocked on the door and waited for Y/N to answer “Come in” Y/N’s soft voice called out and Jane entered the room “We need to talk” She said to Y/N getting straight to the point “Ok” Y/N replied as she sat on the bed and Jane did the same. “This isn’t going to work Y/N…the mate bond between us. It isn’t what I want. You are not what I want” “O-ok. So what happens now?” Y/N asked low, dread filling her as she knows she cannot remain human and know about their world. “Firstly, I want you to know that I won’t kill you, none of my family will. I trust you to keep our secret seeing as your sister is one of us” “Th-thank you Jane. I will take the secret to my grave. I promise” “Secondly, I am going to formally reject you and then we can move on with our lives as though this…little inconvenience never happened” Jane added turning to look at Y/N.
“I bet Y/N feels great being called an inconvenience” Felix said low “Imagine how she’ll feel in a few minutes once she’s been formally rejected” Demetri replied. Everyone could hear the conversation between Jane and Y/N due to their hearing and they all felt sorry for the human girl, including Alec.
“Look at me Y/N” Jane says coldly and Y/N lifts her head and meets Jane’s red eyes “I Jane Volturi do reject you Y/N Swan as my mate, from now until forever” Y/N felt something break inside her but didn’t tear her gaze away from Jane “You must now reject me in return for the bond to be severed completely” Y/N nodded and sat up a little straighter, taking a deep breath “I Y/N Swan do reject you Jane Volturi as my mate, from now until forever” Jane nodded and smiled at Y/N; happy she was no longer tied to the human girl.
Jasper felt everything during that conversation and his heart went out to Y/N “Hey you, do you want some company?” He asked softly entering the room “No, I would like to go home. Can you take please Jas?” “Of course I can, come on. Alice will bring your stuff by tomorrow” Jasper led her out of the house and over to his car. “I’m sorry you had to go through that” He said softly after a few moments “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry you have to deal with my feelings, that can’t be very nice for you” Y/N replied softly “Don’t worry about me, I’ve felt much worse over the years.” Y/N nodded and they sat in silence for the remainder of the journey.
When the Volturi left on Boxing Day Jane left the gift behind that Y/N had given her and didn’t bother going to say goodbye. Demetri took it upon himself to reach out and find Y/N’s tenor; committing it to memory, just in case Jane changed her mind and wanted to him to track her mate down in the future.
Jane surprised everyone as it had been two months since she rejected her mate and she showed no signs of being heartbroken or depressed at being away from Y/N. Jane continued with her life at the castle and didn’t give Y/N a second thought, the same couldn’t be said for Alec however. He felt sorry for the human girl that his sister so cruelly rejected and wondered if she was doing as well as his sister.
Y/N wasn’t doing as well as Jane but did her best to hide it; it felt like something was missing, like she was incomplete. Although she had rejected Jane at her request Y/N didn’t mean it; she wanted to be with Jane and figured that may be the reason she feels this way and cannot move on like Jane had said. Y/N had stopped spending time with Bella and the Cullens as it was just too much of a reminder of what she will never have so she made the decision to move to Florida to live with her mom and Phil. “I need a fresh start Bells. I need to get away from here and we can stay in touch” Y/N hugged her sister and boarded her plane ready to start her life away from Forks, away from the vampire world.
“Demetri can you track Y/N for me?” Alec asked one night on the way back from a mission the two of them had gone on “I can but can I ask why you want me to?” Demetri replied “I’m just curious I guess…I want to know if she is taking the rejection as well as Jane” “Alec you know that I can only tell you where she is, I can’t tell you how she is” “I know that, but I can find out how she is if I know where she is” Alec said looking at the tracker “You plan on checking up on your sister’s rejected mate? Why?” “I don’t know Demetri, maybe because I’m struggling to understand how Marcus can be the way he is thousands of years after losing his wife and Jane seems totally unaffected after rejecting and being rejected by her mate” “I think you’ve already answered your own question Alec. However, I will tell you Y/N is in Jacksonville, Florida” Demetri replied “Thank you Demetri. Please do not tell Jane” “I don’t have a death wish so I won’t tell Jane you’ve gone to Florida if you don’t tell her I helped you track down Y/N” Demetri offered “Deal” Alec said as he shook Demetri’s hand.
Y/N had been in Jacksonville for a month and felt better than she had in a long time, moving here was definitely the right thing to do. Y/N had met a boy and they flirted with one another but it didn’t feel right to her; she kept thinking about Jane. ‘Why do I keep thinking about her, she didn’t want me. I wasn’t good enough for her, at least Matt likes me; talks to me’ she thought to herself and decided to let Jane go completely “I Y/N Swan do reject you Jane Volturi as my mate, from now until forever” She said aloud and she instantly felt like a weight had been lifted off her.
At that very moment in Volterra Jane felt something break inside of her and all of a sudden she felt lost; incomplete, like something was missing from her life and couldn’t understand why. She let out a gasp at the feeling. Marcus sat there on his throne giving her with a knowing look. Alec, Demetri and Felix were in the throne room on duty with her and upon hearing her gasp they turned to look at her “Sister what is the matter?” “It would appear Y/N has rejected Jane and now she is feeling the pain and the hurt she caused Y/N many months ago” Marcus answered with a smile “But master Y/N rejected Jane at Christmas” Alec said looking confused “Indeed she did, but only because Jane asked her to. Y/N didn’t mean it then, she didn’t want to reject Jane so Y/N’s side of the bond remained in place. Therefore, allowing Jane to carry on with her life without a care in the world” Alec nodded in understanding “However, it would seem that Y/N is finally ready to give up on Jane and their bond and has rejected her of her own free will. Thus, causing this reaction in Jane. Welcome to a forever of heartbreak and depression child. It really couldn’t have happened to a nicer person” Marcus said smiling at her, enjoying seeing her experience the consequences of her actions.
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nelapanela94 · 3 years
Text
Yellow and orange leaves floated on the calm water. Gray clouds mustered in the sky foreboding a rainstorm as shivering gusts of wind stirred the small branches of the trees nearby. Levi was sitting on the ground, his back resting against the largest tree trunk, one knee bent while his other leg laid stretched out in front of him. Steel gray eyes were lost in the landscape, as his mind wandered in dozens of memories that place brought back.
It was a bright and sunny day when you confessed your feelings for each other. You had left a note on the captain's desk, setting a time and place for the meeting. 3pm. The pond near the HQ; followed by a slackish drawing of a map indicating the path. He found you throwing rocks in the pond, attempting to make them skip, but they sank as soon as they touched the water. Levi sighed and approached you, grabbed a couple of small stones and stood right behind you. Lavender. The smell of your hair was intoxicating. He was too close you could feel his breath on your neck. You're releasing it too soon. He said to your ear, sending shivers down your spine. The raven-haired did a perfect demonstration and handed you the second rock for you to try again.
You triumphally smirked, your eyes following the rock bouncing multiple times before it disappeared in the water.
Levi shook the head, you had deceived him and he could not believe he had fallen for your trick. You shrugged and turned around, locking your gaze with his. I just wanted to have you closer.
You stared at each other without saying a word, the sound of croaking frogs getting louder. Sweaty hands, pounding heart, he was first to speak. Can I kiss you?
Your lips parted and your eyes widened, a shade of pink crept across your face. The man felt the sudden urge to slap himself, wondering whether his words were to direct and offended you. He glanced down, embarrassed, but his eyes met your (e/c) orbs once again when your giggles filled his ears. You silly. You don't have to ask for permission. Take anything you want. Hug me, kiss me, bite me, eat me, break me. And don't be sorry when you're done.
His rough hands cupped your face. All the fears and insecurities drifted away as his lips made yours their prisoners. So sweet, so tender, just like he had imagined.
One day of late spring, you convinced Levi to spent your day off at the pond. You'd packed ham, cheese, bread, jam, fresh fruits and wine in a woven basket that, naturally, he was to carry. We're only two, (name). He growled and you rolled the eyes. You know I eat for two.
You stopped in your tracks when you spotted a bed of daffodils adding color to the pathway. You bent down, cut a yellow flower and put it behind his ear. Stop putting that grumpy face. You scoffed and slightly pushed the ends of his mouth upwards with your fingers. See, you're so adorable when you smile. In moments like that, he thought you were out of your mind. You must've been the only person in the walls who found him adorable.
It didn't take too long for your judgement to get obnubilated by the alcohol, your face all flustered and a dumb smile plastered on your lips. Mumbling no sense and complaining about the weather, you began to unbutton your shirt. Levi snorted and made a mental note to not let you drink too much again. His girl clumsily crawled towards him, and sat on his lap wrapping your legs around his waist. Your hands resting on his shoulders, you caught his mouth with yours hungrily and desperately. Your fingers traveled down his chest, past his torso, until they reached his belt. Levi broke the kiss, he knew what you were trying to do and grabbed both your wrists.
I need you now. You looked at him with half lidded eyes.
What if someone see us or hear us?
Let's make them jealous. And you kissed again, getting rid of your clothes as they were in the way. You nuzzled your face into his neck, moaning his name while his hands gripped you by the hips, guiding you up and down. Your bodies fit perfectly, just like they were molded for each other.
On his last birthday, you visited your secret place once again. You were laying on the snow sweeping your arms and legs drawing an angel. Levi thought it was a stupid idea, but when he saw the joy and delight in your eyes he had no other choice but to lay down beside you. It was fun, but he would never admit it to you. You rolled over onto your sides contemplating each other in silence.
He loved all of you. Your eyes, your smile, your scent, your voice. The way your lips caressed his skin and kissed his scars. He loved when your fingers played with his hair, and the cheesy notes you left in his office. Only with you he could take his armor off, let his guard down. The only person he could bare his soul to.
Was he worthy of all this happiness?
Let's wipe out all the titans and get married. You broke the silence. We can start our own family. Imagine mini yous and mini mes running around making us crazy.
He looked at you in astonishment, trying to process your words in his head. You sat up and drew out a tiny box from one of the pockets of your thick jacket. Levi sat up too.
Happy birthday, Levi. You smiled as he took the nicely wrapped container from your hands and opened it up, revealing a pair of golden rings. Gray orbs glanced back at you. It's a promise. You explained. And a reminder that our souls are bound to each other forever.
But forever came to an end.
Desperate, he searched for you in the woods and found you severely injured, the titan you had taken down was already evaporating, but at what cost. He quickly dismounted and ran next to you. Blood sprouted from your torso, your face was pale and your eyes had lost their glint. Levi you whispered, my beautiful boy. I'm happy to see your face one more time.
No, no, no.
You could not leave him, not you. You had made a promise.
He tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. You had lost too much blood, you would not make it back wall Rose. Find me in another life, my love.
Pain crashed through his body bringing tears to his eyes. He hold you tight in his arms. His jaw quivered and tears rolled down his face as part of his soul faded away.
The survivors regrouped and headed back to the walls. Rain poured down, like the sky was mourning your departure.
It was the first time he visited the pond, your little place on Earth, after losing you. Levi looked at the ring in his finger and deeply sighed. He had already run out of tears to cry; his insomnia had worsened, reviving your death in his nightmares over and over again.
Why was the universe so merciless? Granting him all the love and happiness; and cruelly taking it away.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I woke up with this in mind this morning. Thanks for reading :)
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phoenix-downer · 3 years
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Lover of Life
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After the end, a boy and a girl are the only two people left alive in the entire universe. But they need not worry. The boy’s love for the girl and her love for him are more powerful than either of them could ever imagine. 
Based on the myth of Lif and Lifthrasir from Norse Mythology. 
~2000 words. Post-Kingdom Hearts III and Melody of Memory. Light Angst, Romance, Restoration. Written for @sokaizine​, and the banner art is by the lovely Nath. 
The worlds were without form and empty, and the stars were gone from the sky. No light shone save the light from one girl’s beating heart. With her was one boy, one very frightened boy who nevertheless would do anything to keep her safe. With her he felt strong, and with him her light would never go out. 
They were the only two people left alive in the universe.
All the stories had foretold this moment, all the prophecies had spoken of this future. The death of the old worlds was written on parchment and paper as well as stone and steel, but no record had survived. The only stories left were the ones engraved on the hearts and minds of the boy and girl.
“It’s so cold,” said the girl. The darkness had consumed everything but her and the boy. The fruit of the paopu tree had bound their hearts together and granted them life after the end. 
“Here,” the boy said, wrapping her in his jacket. She stopped shivering, and he led her to a rocky outcrop that would protect them from the elements. There they sat and solemnly pondered the events of the final day, with only the wind howling in the distance for company.  
“Do you think everyone else is really…” she said at last, biting her lip. 
He shook his head. “No. We can’t give up on them. We just have to have faith they’ll be okay.”
“Faith, huh?” she said as she rested her hand over her heart. The light within shone dimly, and it cast the boy’s face in light and shadow as he summoned his Keyblade.
“Blaze,” he said softly, and a few moments later, a crackling fire was at their feet. The only warmth in this empty, desolate place besides the light in their hearts.
“I’ll take first watch,” he told her. “You get some sleep.”
She didn’t move from her spot by the fire, just clung to his jacket wrapped around her. His expression softened, and he scooted closer to her. She met him the rest of the way and snuggled into his outstretched arms.
“It’ll be okay,” he said as he wrapped his body around hers, shielding her from harm. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“And I’ll keep you safe,” she murmured sleepily. Her eyes fluttered shut, but the boy’s eyes were wide open, and his heart was filled with worry. Holding the girl as she slept was to reassure him as much as it was to protect her. 
A new World with only the two of them in it—what were they to do? 
~~~
The girl gently shook the boy awake. His eyes fluttered open, and the formerly pitch-black sky was a deep purple now. The embers of the fire glowed red, and he sat up and rubbed his eyes. 
“Look,” she said, her hand brushing against his and leading it to the nearby earth. A tender green shoot poked its head out of the ground, and the boy stroked its soft leaves and marveled at the miracle.
“But how? Without the sun or the stars—”
She pointed at his heart, then at her own. “I think it’s reacting to our light.” 
“How is that even possible?” he asked as he clutched his chest. 
She was silent for a few moments as she stared into the dying fire. “Maybe this is a second chance. Not an ending, but a new beginning.”
The boy thought over her words. The girl saw matters of the heart with full clarity and soundness of mind, and his own heart had the faith of a child combined with wisdom far beyond his years.  
“If it’s reacting to our hearts, then maybe we can get it to react some more,” he said. It hadn’t escaped him that the sky was ever so slightly lighter too. 
She nodded. “The question is, how? What will make the light in our hearts grow?”
He thought for a moment, then grinned and pulled her to her feet. “Dance with me!” 
“D-Dance? You mean right now?”
“Sure, why not?” 
Dancing did not seem very appropriate to the girl, considering the situation. But the boy was not so easily dissuaded, and when she looked at his smiling face and searched his shining eyes, her mind relaxed, and her heart filled with peace.
“Okay,” she said, a slight smile on her lips as she rested a hand on his shoulder. He put his free hand on her waist, then led her through the steps of a waltz. One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three. Their footsteps shuffled across the ground, and the boy gazed into the girl’s eyes and sighed. 
So long as she was with him, even the darkest night didn’t seem hopeless.
When he twirled her, she noticed something remarkable. In the places they’d taken their steps, tender shoots were bursting forth from the earth, a trail of green dotting the once-barren landscape. 
“It’s working! It’s really working!” she cried. Some of the shoots were forming little buds, and she giggled and met the boy’s eyes for a moment before looking around again. 
The boy took her word for it. He couldn’t bring himself to look away, because as far as he was concerned, she was the most beautiful creature in the entire universe. Everything else simply paled in comparison. 
The deep purple of the sky gave way to a dim gray, and still they continued their dance. The boy dipped the girl low, and her hair brushed the ground. She touched his face and spoke his name with the same energy that was breathing life back into the universe, and a moment later, a spring burst forth from the earth. It sprayed them with its cool water, and they laughed and embraced, then paused to drink.
With his thirst finally slaked, the boy sat back and sighed. His stomach growled loudly, making the girl smile. It was a very human thing to be hungry, and she treasured the simple reminder that he was alive. 
He just grinned and rested his hand on his belly. “Think we might be able to grow some food? I could really use a meal.”
She looked all around them, at the green grass and delicate flowers, at the water bringing healing to the earth.
“When I said your name, water came out of the ground, so maybe we could do something similar to get food?”
“I’ve got it!” he cried, his face lighting up as he scrambled to his feet and pulled her up. “Sing with me!”
Singing seemed even more foolish to the girl than dancing, but at a time like this, all the wisdom of the worlds offered no answers, so perhaps indulging in more foolishness was the right thing to do. So she sang along with the boy, a bright melody with a lilting rhythm from the place they’d once called home. He twirled her around, and wonder of wonders, another miracle happened. A paopu tree sprung up out of the ground, its trunk winding and weaving till its leaves unfurled and two ripe pieces of paopu fruit popped into existence. 
“There’s our meal,” the boy said, his eyes dancing. He led the girl to the tree and helped her up, then plucked one of its fruits. She likewise plucked the other fruit, and without another word, they fed each other like they had before. As they consumed the fruit, the light in their hearts grew and grew till it burst forth from their backs in two large wings. The girl smiled when she saw the look of awe and wonder on the boy’s face. This was not the first time this had happened, but their wings were bigger and brighter than ever. 
She found his hand and wove their fingers together. “Shall we?” 
He nodded, and with that, they took off, flying higher and higher till the paopu tree and spring forming a small pool below looked like children’s toys. A few feathers fell off of their wings, and the places they landed burst with light and color, and that light spread forth and brought healing to the land, the sea, the sky. The boy’s and girl’s hearts raced as they flew low over the waters, its sea-salt spray tickling their arms and legs and making them laugh with delight. Then they swooped up, up, up, till they’d reached the heavens. 
The sky was lilac and pink and gold now, though the sun had not yet returned, nor had the moon or stars resumed their posts. The boy and girl slowed their ascent, and he couldn’t help but stare at her. She was the one who had done this. The restoration and healing of the World was all thanks to the light burning steadily in her heart. And that light had been amplified by his love for her and her love for him till it had set the entire universe aflame. 
That flame burned brightly in his heart, and when she looked at him, he thought his heart might melt from the warmth of her gaze. She likewise thought his smile might as well be the sun, and she couldn’t help but continue thinking so when her hand brushed against his and he wove their fingers together. Her smile was shy as he gently pulled her to him, and his heart raced and butterflies danced in his stomach at what he knew he must do, at what he wanted to do more than anything. The girl wanted this too, and it would be the perfect final blow against the darkness, against despair, against the forces that had so cruelly tried to snuff light and life out.
But those forces hadn’t succeeded. They were losing, losing to one courageous boy and one hopeful girl, and the moment Sora kissed Kairi, the two of them secured their victory. The exciting new feelings that filled their hearts as she brought her hands to his face and kissed him back brought forth the moon and the stars, and when he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her more boldly and deeply than he’d ever dared to dream, the sun at long last burst forth, its light filling the sky. The feathers of their wings scattered to the four winds, and Sora and Kairi fell, fell, fell to earth, clinging to each other and laughing with delight. 
When they landed in the waters of Destiny Islands, they knew they had succeeded, that their foolish hopes hadn’t been so foolish after all. Sora’s head popped out of the water first, and Kairi soon joined him. Their beloved Play Island with the paopu tree and pool and Seaside Shack was waiting for them, and on the island were their friends, so dear to them both, called back into existence by the light of their hearts. 
The two of them couldn’t reach the shore fast enough. The moment they did, they were enveloped in a group hug. This was worth all the uncertainty and doubt and fear. Bringing their beloved friends back and getting to embrace them like this. Riku, Terra and Aqua and Ventus, Naminé, Roxas and Axel and Xion, Mickey and Donald and Goofy.
Amidst all the hugs and well-wishes and greetings, Sora and Kairi found the time to gaze at each other, and everything else melted away. 
Thank you, she mouthed, and he grinned and reached for her hand. She interlaced their fingers in acknowledgment that their hearts would be forever one. And so the bringer of life stood hand-in-hand with the lover of life. Surrounding the two of them were their friends, their friends reclaimed from death by the love in their hearts. 
Their bond had made this all possible, and they would treasure this moment in their hearts forever. 
~~~
A/N: This story is based off of the story of Lif and Lifthrasir from Norse Mythology, the only two humans who survive Ragnarok and bring life to the new world. Ever since the very Norse-sounding character names were announced for Dark Road, I wanted to write something Kingdom Hearts-related involving Norse Mythology, and the story of Lif and Lifthrasir felt like it would fit Sora and Kairi really well. Lif’s name sounds like the word for “life” in Old Norse, and Lifthrasir can mean “lover of life,” hence the title for this story. 
A big thank you to all the contributors who poured so much heart and talent into SoKai zine. Your pieces are so beautiful, and I loved reading everyone’s fics and seeing all the lovely art. Thank you to my fellow mods for all your hard work that made this project a reality. And a big thank you to Nath for drawing the banner for this story! I really enjoyed working with you, and you did such an incredible job capturing the mythological feel of the story 🥺❤️
And as always, thank you reading!
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agentrouka-blog · 3 years
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Tyrion and Tysha murder mystery hints - first mention in the text
This thing just keeps tugging at me, and this recent thread made me ambitious to examine it in more detail. So I’ll look at hints for an even darker edge to the story of Tyrion and Tysha in the parts of the text that actually mention her.
Since I have limited time, I’ll do several posts. This one is about how we learn about Tysha in A Game of Thrones.
We head into AGOT, Tyrion VI via a chapter transition from AGOT, Jon V, where Jon talks Maester Aemon into choosing Samwell as his assistant. In the presence of his current assistant Chett, who - it is revealed later in the ASOS Prologue - murdered a girl he liked for rejecting him.
Chett gave a nasty laugh. “I’ve seen what happens to soft lordlings when they’re put to work. Set them to churning butter and their hands blister and bleed. Give them an axe to split logs, and they cut off their own foot.”
“I know one thing Sam could do better than anyone.”
“Yes?” Maester Aemon prompted.
Jon glanced warily at Chett, standing beside the door, his boils red and angry. “He could help you,” he said quickly. “He can do sums, and he knows how to read and write. I know Chett can’t read, and Clydas has weak eyes. Sam read every book in his father’s library. He’d be good with the ravens too. Animals seem to like him. Ghost took to him straight off. There’s a lot he could do, besides fighting. The Night’s Watch needs every man. Why kill one, to no end? Make use of him instead.”
Maester Aemon closed his eyes, and for a brief moment Jon was afraid that he had gone to sleep. Finally he said, “Maester Luwin taught you well, Jon Snow. Your mind is as deft as your blade, it would seem.”
“Does that mean …?”
“It means I shall think on what you have said,” the maester told him firmly. “And now, I believe I am ready to sleep. Chett, show our young brother to the door.”
(AGOT, Jon V)
The chapter is followed by AGOT, Tyrion VI, where Tyrion and Bronn rest on the high road after being kicked out of the Gates of the Moon, after he won his trial by combat:
They had taken shelter beneath a copse of aspens just off the high road. Tyrion was gathering dead-wood while their horses took water from a mountain stream. He stooped to pick up a splintered branch and examined it critically. “Will this do? I am not practiced at starting fires. Morrec did that for me.” 
The entire conversation between Jon, Aemon and Chett sets up Tyrion. A lordling, bad with manual labor, but smart and a reader. Yet we know he is no Samwell Tarly in his sensibilities, and the last sentence is dedicated to Chett.
Chett...
The only women Chett had ever known were the whores he’d bought in Mole’s Town. When he’d been younger, the village girls took one look at his face, with its boils and its wen, and turned away sickened. The worst was that slattern Bessa. She’d spread her legs for every boy in Hag’s Mire so he’d figured why not him too? He even spent a morning picking wildflowers when he heard she liked them, but she’d just laughed in his face and told him she’d crawl in a bed with his father’s leeches before she’d crawl in one with him. She stopped laughing when he put his knife in her. That was sweet, the look on her face, so he pulled the knife out and put it in her again. When they caught him down near Sevenstreams, old Lord Walder Frey hadn’t even bothered to come himself to do the judging. He’d sent one of his bastards, that Walder Rivers, and the next thing Chett had known he was walking to the Wall with that foul-smelling black devil Yoren. To pay for his one sweet moment, they took his whole life.
But now he meant to take it back, and Craster’s women too. That twisted old wildling has the right of it. If you want a woman to wife you take her, and none of this giving her flowers so that maybe she don’t notice your bloody boils. Chett didn’t mean to make that mistake again.
Like Tyrion, Chett is rejected by others for his appearance, has a violent father and a lot of resentment that comes out in the shape of murdering “slatterns”. He also mixes it up with the idea of marriage. Like Tyrion, the cold night reminds Chett of the girl in his past.
He could see Bessa’s face floating before him. It wasn’t the knife I wanted to put in you, he wanted to tell her. I picked you flowers, wild roses and tansy and goldencups, it took me all morning. His heart was thumping like a drum, so loud he feared it might wake the camp. Ice caked his beard all around his mouth. Where did that come from, with Bessa? Whenever he’d thought of her before, it had only been to remember the way she’d looked, dying. What was wrong with him?
Chett killed her in a rage, but the truth is layered and haunts him.
But back to Tyrion.
Tyrion VI emphasizes Tyrion’s cleverness as he converses with Bronn, explaining his strategy in the Vale for how to steal Bronn from Cat’s service and make use of his practical talents, and his strategy for their travels in the Mountains of the Moon. Tyrion talks, Bronn listens and agrees to serve him.
The point is, Tyrion is very observant and smart. Reader, trust Tyrion’s judgent and words, is the message. Then we get more personal.
As they light a fire and eat a goat, Tyrion remembers his goaler Mord who treated him cruelly in the sky cells.
(Mord, btw, translates to murder in many a germanic/Scandinvian language.)
“And yet you gave the turnkey a purse of gold,” Bronn said.
“A Lannister always pays his debts.”
Even Mord had scarcely believed it when Tyrion tossed him the leather purse. The gaoler’s eyes had gone big as boiled eggs as he yanked open the drawstring and beheld the glint of gold. “I kept the silver,” Tyrion had told him with a crooked smile, “but you were promised the gold, and there it is.” It was more than a man like Mord could hope to earn in a lifetime of abusing prisoners. “And remember what I said, this is only a taste. If you ever grow tired of Lady Arryn’s service, present yourself at Casterly Rock, and I’ll pay you the rest of what I owe you.” With golden dragons spilling out of both hands, Mord had fallen to his knees and promised that he would do just that.
The image of coins spilling from hands is picked up later.
Tyrion was hoping to lure in the mountain clans, but they take their time showing up, so he tries to be even more conspicuous.
Tyrion chuckled. “Then we ought to sing and send them fleeing in terror.” He began to whistle a tune.
He chooses the “terrible” tune himself. It leads straight to his memory:
“Myrish. ‘The Seasons of My Love.’ Sweet and sad, if you understand the words. The first girl I ever bedded used to sing it, and I’ve never been able to put it out of my head.” Tyrion gazed up at the sky. It was a clear cold night and the stars shone down upon the mountains as bright and merciless as truth. “I met her on a night like this,” he heard himself saying. “Jaime and I were riding back from Lannisport when we heard a scream, and she came running out into the road with two men dogging her heels, shouting threats.
Myrish, as in the Myrish lens. The object Lysa sends Catelyn, which has a false bottom hiding the real message in a secret language, a message of murder and conspiracy. A secret language, a foreign language, like Mord.
"A lens is an instrument to help us see."     (AGOT, Catelyn II)
Bright and merciless as truth.
My brother unsheathed his sword and went after them, while I dismounted to protect the girl. She was scarcely a year older than I was, dark-haired, slender, with a face that would break your heart. It certainly broke mine. Lowborn, half-starved, unwashed … yet lovely. They’d torn the rags she was wearing half off her back, so I wrapped her in my cloak while Jaime chased the men into the woods. By the time he came trotting back, I’d gotten a name out of her, and a story. She was a crofter’s child, orphaned when her father died of fever, on her way to … well, nowhere, really.
Where Tysha went will become a theme. @une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir examines that beautifully here.
But even right here, the tone is ominous, and GRRM goes out of his way to emphasize it with the ellipses.
We get the story of Jaime chasing after the outlaws and Tyrion and Tysha falling into bed at an inn after drinking, eating and talking, and the story of their marriage, and its end.
Tyrion was surprised at how desolate it made him feel to say it, even after all these years. Perhaps he was just tired. “That was the end of my marriage.” He sat up and stared at the dying fire, blinking at the light.
“He sent the girl away?”
“He did better than that,” Tyrion said. “First he made my brother tell me the truth. The girl was a whore, you see. Jaime arranged the whole affair, the road, the outlaws, all of it. He thought it was time I had a woman. He paid double for a maiden, knowing it would be my first time.
NOTHING about this makes sense, which is ridiculous when you consider we were just hammered over the head with how smart Tyrion is supposed to be.
Since when is Jaime prone to setting up complex schemes? Why would feel the need to push Tyrion to have sex at thirteen, and why would be ever do it this way? Why would be hire him a virgin for his first time? We don’t question it because GRRM has told us not to question the smartiepants. But as we later learn, that was all. not. true. So maybe other things aren’t true, either.
“After Jaime had made his confession, to drive home the lesson, Lord Tywin brought my wife in and gave her to his guards. They paid her fair enough. A silver for each man, how many whores command that high a price? He sat me down in the corner of the barracks and bade me watch, and at the end she had so many silvers the coins were slipping through her fingers and rolling on the floor, she …” The smoke was stinging his eyes. Tyrion cleared his throat and turned away from the fire, to gaze out into darkness. “Lord Tywin had me go last,” he said in a quiet voice. “And he gave me a gold coin to pay her, because I was a Lannister, and worth more.”
The parallels to his memory of Mord are striking. Silver and gold, coins spilling from hands, a “price” beyond expectation... and a promise of something very sinister at the next meeting.
After a time he heard the noise again, the rasp of steel on stone as Bronn sharpened his sword. “Thirteen or thirty or three, I would have killed the man who did that to me.”
1) Nice how Bronn makes it about Tyrion’s pain. Tysha’s pain does not exist to them. And so the reader is also drawn away from it. Poor Tyrion.
2) Another reference to killing. It foreshadows Tyrion’s murder of Tywin over this very matter, of course, but at the same time...
Tyrion gestured impatiently with the bow. “Tysha. What did you do with her, after my little lesson?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Try harder. Did you have her killed?”
His father pursed his lips. “There was no reason for that, she’d learned her place … and had been well paid for her day’s work, I seem to recall. I suppose the steward sent her on her way. I never thought to inquire.”
“On her way where?”
“Wherever whores go.”
Tyrion’s finger clenched.  (ASOS, Tyrion XI)
I don’t think it can be emphasized enough that this happens right after he murders Shae. Shae the whore.
“Did you ever like it?” He cupped her cheek, remembering all the times he had done this before. All the times he’d slid his hands around her waist, squeezed her small firm breasts, stroked her short dark hair, touched her lips, her cheeks, her ears. All the times he had opened her with a finger to probe her secret sweetness and make her moan. “Did you ever like my touch?”
“More than anything,” she said, “my giant of Lannister.”
That was the worst thing you could have said, sweetling.
Tyrion slid a hand under his father’s chain, and twisted. The links tightened, digging into her neck. “For hands of gold are always cold, but a woman’s hands are warm,” he said. He gave cold hands another twist as the warm ones beat away his tears.
And just before he asks him about Tysha, Tywin assures him he was meant to be sent to the Wall. Whether or not that’s a lie, we’re looking at another Chett parallel. Murdering a “slattern”, facing life at the Wall.
We close Tyrion’s memory of Tysha:
Tyrion swung around to face him. “You may get that chance one day.  Remember what I told you. A Lannister always pays his debts.” He yawned. “I think I will try and sleep. Wake me if we’re about to die.”
He rolled himself up in the shadowskin and shut his eyes. The ground was stony and cold, but after a time Tyrion Lannister did sleep. He dreamt of the sky cell. This time he was the gaoler, not the prisoner, big, with a strap in his hand, and he was hitting his father, driving him back, toward the abyss …
Like Chett, his thoughts return to the girl. He turns into the goaler, Mord, his rage comes through, his capability of great violence. In ASOS, his lashing out at Tywin is preceeded by directing his violence toward the “whore” who allegedly betrayed him. Which is preceeded by a truth about Tysha.
“Thank you?” Tyrion’s voice was choked. “He gave her to his guards. A barracks full of guards. He made me … watch.” Aye, and more than watch. I took her too … my wife …
“I never knew he would do that. You must believe me.”
“Oh, must I?” Tyrion snarled. “Why should I believe you about anything, ever? She was my wife!”
“Tyrion—”
He hit him. It was a slap, backhanded, but he put all his strength into it, all his fear, all his rage, all his pain. Jaime was squatting, unbalanced. The blow sent him tumbling backward to the floor. “I … I suppose I earned that.”
“Oh, you’ve earned more than that, Jaime. You and my sweet sister and our loving father, yes, I can’t begin to tell you what you’ve earned. But you’ll have it, that I swear to you. A Lannister always pays his debts.” Tyrion waddled away, almost stumbling over the turnkey again in his haste. Before he had gone a dozen yards, he bumped up against an iron gate that closed the passage. Oh, gods. It was all he could do not to scream.
(ASOS, Tyrion XI)
The turnkey here is interesting. Once again, Tysha’s memory is associated with a cell and the presence of a turnkey. In his anguished memory, Tyrion almost stumbles over him. The last turnkey was Mord.
So, just looking at Tysha’s first mention, there are so many ominous connections. Murder murder murder.
The chapter ends with Tyrion meeting and “hiring” the mountain clans. How? To avenge himself on Lysa Arryn, he promises them the entire Vale. Really driving home that “a Lannister pays his debts” is all about disproportionate retribution.
A few chapter later, to create some distance to this dark tale, Tyrion meets Shae and sets up to re-create his entire Tysha trauma. The two are intertwined, so why should their ends not be?
That’s fodder for a different post, though.
101 notes · View notes
nostalgiahan · 3 years
Text
Euphoria
word count: 4k (holy shit)
genre: smut
content/warnings: explicit sexual content, threesome, restraints, pillow humping, oral (both receiving,) anal (m receiving,) face sitting, consent, discussion of boundaries, aftercare :)
pairing: dom!chan x sub!felix x afab/switch!reader
a/n: it is heavily implied that felix goes into subspace at the end! however you can interpret it however you want <3
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You never planned on having two friends with benefits at once, but it turned out to be better than you could have ever imagined. You were originally just looking for someone to take your emotions out on after a long day, break them down to the bone and then put them back together again. You found that in Felix, your perfect boy; always obedient and eager to please, even if that meant getting orgasm after orgasm cruelly denied or being overstimulated to the point where his lithe frame was shaking and his eyes were puffy and red from tears. In the end, though, you were always there to calm him down, to rub lotion into his sores and to kiss his bruises better, to run your fingers through his hair as he cries into your chest. That’s what makes it worth it for you.
However, soon enough, you became burnt out. Domming Felix was fun, but it was tiring, and sometimes you just wanted to be taken care of. This lead you to Chan; similar to Felix in some ways but entirely opposite in others. Where Felix was timid and obedient, Chan was outgoing and domineering; ready to degrade you and pound you into his creaky bed or call you sweet names and milk multiple orgasms out of you until you were relaxed; whatever you happened to need that day.
So here you were. You had thought for some time about introducing them to each other; after all, they would fit together perfectly. Chan was the Yin to Felix’s Yang; one unabashedly dominant and the other perfectly submissive. You would love to just sit back and watch their dynamic play out. However, you also felt that doing that would make things more than just casual, and you weren’t sure how either of them felt about it. That was, until after one of your sessions with Felix.
You two were in the bath, his back against your chest, and you thought he was asleep until he turned around to press a peck to the top of your breast, his favorite way of getting your attention.
“What’s up, Lixie?”
“Um, I’ve been thinking about… something. Lately.”
“Yeah? What is it, baby boy?”
You maneuver him so you’re both sitting up in the tub, facing each other. At that, Felix averts his gaze.
“What do you think about, maybe, bringing in another dom?”
It’s silent for a bit before Felix speaks again.
“I mean, it’s okay if not. It’s just… you’re a really good dom, but I’ve been thinking lately about how hot it would be to be dommed by… two people at once. I don’t know. I feel like it’s weird.”
You bring a gentle hand under his chin, guiding him to look you in the eyes.
“Sweet boy, it’s not weird. I’ve been thinking about it too.”
You pull him against your chest again, and your hand returns to his hair.
“I have another friend with benefits, you know. His name is Chan. He’s a really good dom, and I’ve been thinking about introducing you two for a while.”
Felix relaxes noticeably against you, nuzzling his face into your chest.
“How about I text him right now?”
“Mmm. Bath first.”
“Of course. We’ll finish our bath, and then I’ll fix you some tea, and then we’ll text him. Sound good, Lixie?”
Felix nods against your chest, and not five minutes later, he’s dead asleep.
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About half an hour later, the two of you are in bed, phone in hand. You’ve already shown Felix Chan’s pictures, and he seemed intrigued, given the way he shifted in his spot and gulped a bit louder than he probably intended to.
“Alright, Lixie, what do you want to say? He already knows that you’re my sub, but not much else.”
“Uh, we should probably get straight to the point, I guess. Something like, ‘Hi, my sub and I want you to fuck us.’”
He giggles, a cute sound that makes the air in the room feel lighter.
“Okay, maybe that’s too forward.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Felix is still giggling slightly as you type out a draft in your Notes app.
“How does this sound, baby boy?”
Hi, Chan. My sub and I were talking about how we might want to introduce another person into the bedroom, and I’ve been thinking about introducing you two for a while. Is this something you’d be interested in?
Barely a minute passes before Chan replies. It’s short, but it’s all the two of you need to hear.
Of course
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The three of you settle on a time and date, about a week later. You didn’t have the foresight to set up a group chat or anything of the sort, so you’re going into this completely blind. Whatever. It’ll be fine.
The first one to arrive is Chan, and he has a duffel bag with him. Expected, but a bit intimidating.
“We could’ve just used my stuff, you know.”
“Eh, it’s more fun this way. Then I get to surprise both of you.”
You scoff but walk across the room to hug him. He takes you in his arms and chuckles when he feels you practically melt against him.
“Long day?”
You just sigh and Chan pecks the top of your head, squeezing you even tighter.
“Don’t worry about a thing, baby. Just let go for tonight, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
A few minutes later, Felix walks in, carrying nothing but his keys and phone. He sets them down nervously on the table by your front door before latching onto your side like a shy child might with their parent.
“Hi, lovely.”
Felix makes a muffled noise into your shirt but doesn’t move to greet Chan.
“What’s wrong, baby boy? Nervous?”
Felix pulls away to nod, gaze fixed firmly on the floor. Chan coos before approaching Felix slowly, just trying to get a closer look at the boy.
“You’re more… intimidating then I thought you’d be.”
Chan smiles wide and giggles brightly at Felix’s statement.
“Don’t worry, Felix. We don’t have to go faster than you’re comfortable with. Besides, we still need to have a talk about boundaries.”
Felix nods slowly, seemingly pleased with Chan’s statement.
“By the way,” you say, the two boys perking up at the sound. “I ordered pizza, it’s in the kitchen. We can have dinner and talk, and maybe you two can get to know each other.”
Felix jumps up, nervousness seemingly forgotten as he rushes to the kitchen, a big smile on his face. He rips the pizza box open, grabbing a slice for himself and shoving it into his mouth unceremoniously, forcing a giggle out of you. As everyone gets their pizza and settles down, you turn on some soft music and invite everyone to sit on your couch. You figured it would be better to have this conversation on neutral ground. Felix immediately curls into your side, now staring inquisitively at Chan, who’s sitting on your other side.
“So, uh, I figured we should just establish some hard boundaries first. Lix, do you want to go?”
Felix nods and grabs his phone from the side table, seemingly opening something on it.
“I wrote down what I wanted to say so I wouldn’t forget.”
Both you and Chan smile at that.
“So, uh, I can’t really handle intense degradation. I can do it if you mix in nice words, but I much prefer praise. I like knowing I’m doing well. Uh, and no bodily fluids or gross stuff like that. And aftercare is really important for me. I need a lot of it.”
Chan nods, looking attentively at Felix.
“Pretty much anything else other than those things is fair game.”
Chan leans in just slightly.
“So what do you like, Felix?”
Felix looks back at his phone, the tips of his ears and nose turning a light pink.
“Uh, choking. And pain. And, uh, praise, obviously. I like being marked up, too.”
Felix’s face gets adorably redder as he reads off the items on the list. You look over and notice Chan is trying to cover the outline of his half-hard dick in his sweatpants with a slice of pizza.
When Felix is done, Chan asks him another question which makes Felix choke on his own spit.
“What do you like to be called?”
After taking a moment to collect himself, Felix speaks up.
“Uh, I didn’t write that down.”
“That’s okay. If you remember later, just tell me.”
“Okay. Well, uh, Lixie and Lix are always good. And uh, baby boy, or any variant of that, really. And, uh…”
Felix murmurs the end of his sentence and although you already know what he said, you still lift his chin up with your hand and guide his gaze towards Chan’s
“Go ahead, Lixie. Tell him your favorite pet name.”
Felix looks away, and in a very small voice, says,
“Kitten.”
Chan’s eyes visibly darken and he shifts in his seat, clearly trying to restrain himself until the conversation is over. You smile contentedly, and decide to continue the conversation yourself in fear of Felix becoming impossibly more flustered.
Eventually, the conversation comes to a close, and the three of you stand up to head to your bedroom, Chan grabbing his bag which Felix didn’t notice until now. His eyes widen and he grabs your hand, squeezing hard. You squeeze back to offer him some reassurance as the three of you slip into the bedroom.
Turning Felix around to face you and taking both of his hands in yours, you press a gentle kiss to his forehead.
“Are you still nervous, baby?”
Felix nods and looks away again.
“You know we can stop any time if it gets too much for you, right?”
He nods again.
“I want to do this. I’ve just never done this before.”
“That’s okay, Lixie, just try to relax, okay?”
He nods and you let go of his hands, turning towards Chan.
“Is everyone good with using the traffic light system?”
The both of them nod.
“What is everyone’s color?”
Everyone says green.
“Alright. Lixie, why don’t you sit on the bed for me?”
Felix, ever obedient, sits with his hands in his lap, fingers nervously picking at the sleeves of his hoodie. You approach him carefully and take his face in your hands, leaning down to kiss him gently. He immediately reciprocates, falling into the comfortable rhythm that the two of you share. Chan watches from the sidelines until you pull away, beckoning him with a small tilt of your head. He pads over softly until he’s standing in front of Felix, running his hand through the younger boy’s hair. Felix tentatively places his small hands on Chan’s waist, and the older smiles before leaning in slowly to kiss him. It starts out slow and sweet, but soon Felix is grasping at the fabric of Chan’s shirt, letting out tiny whimpers into his mouth. It’s adorable, watching Felix fall apart like this.
You decide to sit behind Felix on the bed, wrapping your arms around him for a quick hug before dipping your hands under the hem of his shirt, letting them explore the skin there. Felix whines at the unexpected touch but keens into it, prompting Chan to pull back and pull Felix’s shirt off.
He’s flustered at first, covering his chest with his hands, until you pull them away and start brushing your fingertips over his pert nipples. He lets out a long, drawn-out whine, arching into your touch.
“Does my pretty boy like having his nipples played with?” Chan asks, smirking down at Felix. He nods frantically as you increase your speed, causing him to squirm even more in your hold. Chan hums appreciatively before motioning for the two of you to scoot back on the bed, and when you do, he settles in between Felix’s legs and starts to mouth at his cock through the younger’s jeans. Felix cants his hips up into Chan, but the older is having none of it and pushes his hips down violently, coaxing a gasp out of him.
“Stay still.”
Chan unbuttons Felix’s jeans and and pulls them down, along with his underwear, agonizingly slow, relishing in the younger’s sigh of relief. He’s already fully hard, and it must hurt.
“This worked up already?”
Felix nods frantically, just trying to get Chan to get on with it. Chan walks away, and retrieves a pair of pink leather cuffs from his bag.
“I’m told you look pretty in pink.”
When Felix stays silent, you lean up from where you’ve been sucking gently on Felix’s neck to murmur in his ear.
“Is that true, Lix? Tell him.”
“Y-yes, I look pretty in pink.”
Chan nods approvingly as he snaps the cuffs around Felix’s wrists, securing them behind his back. He assumes his position between Felix’s legs again, hands wrapping around his now bare thighs, shocked to find that his hands are big enough to wrap around almost halfway. He can feel his dick twitch at the thought of being so big that he can literally split Felix in half.
When Chan wraps his lips around Felix’s tip, he can tell the sub is using all of his self-control not to fuck up into his mouth. However, nearly as soon as he starts, Chan pulls off, leaving Felix whining for more.
“Tsk. Be patient, kitten.”
Chan’s ego swells when he sees Felix’s dick jump at the pet name. He looks towards you, where you’re still kissing all over Felix’s neck and shoulders, running your hands up and down his sides, and lifts your chin up, giving you a quick kiss.
“What do you think about helping out our y/n? They deserve it for introducing us, don’t you think?”
Felix nods, but tugs at the cuffs restraining his arms. He wants so badly to touch, but he knows Chan won’t let him.
“Go ahead, then. I’ll get you started, yeah?”
Felix can only nod as he watches Chan undress you to your underwear, rubbing his fingers lightly over your slit and reveling in the low groan you let out, completely opposite to Felix’s whining.
“Alright, go ahead, baby boy.”
Felix looks at Chan, confused. How was he supposed to get your underwear off if he couldn’t use his hands? Chan just shrugs and sits back on his heels, undressing himself and palming himself through his underwear as he watches.
Felix tries to be sexy and pull your panties down with his teeth, but he can only get them down an inch or so before he gives up. He eventually settles for just mouthing at your clit over your underwear, but it’s still not enough. He switches between your clit and nipples before just giving up for the second time and sitting back, looking at his knees dejectedly. Chan sighs before moving Felix aside and huffing in fake disappointment, pulling down your panties and unhooking your bra with his hands.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” Felix whines, but he yelps when Chan delivers a harsh slap to his thigh. 
“No talking back.”
Felix sighs and huffs out a “fine” before leaning against you, signaling that he wants you to touch him.
“Poor Lixie. That must hurt, huh?” You gesture towards his cock, angry red and straining against his stomach. He nods and you hum, reaching out a hand to stroke him slowly.
“You remember what Chan said, baby boy?”
Felix nods.
“Yeah? What did he say?”
“Stay still.”
You hum approvingly and continue to stroke Felix lightly, squeezing involuntarily as Chan’s lips wrap around your clit and suck. You try your best to keep going as Chan licks up your slit, making lewd slurping noises that cause Felix to thrust up into your hand. He doesn’t process that he did until he feels another slap on his opposite thigh and your hand move away from his cock. He whimpers to try and get your attention, but both of your hands are tugging at Chan’s hair, and all Felix can do is watch.
Eventually, Felix’s helpless whines catch Chan’s attention and he grabs a pillow from the head of the bed, tossing it in Felix’s direction.
“You want relief that badly, huh? Be patient for us, kitten. For now, hump that. I’m busy. And don’t you dare cum until I tell you to.”
Felix whines but complies, situating the pillow between his legs and rutting into it as he watches Chan eat you out.
Meanwhile, your eyes are screwed shut as Chan picks up speed, letting out loud moans that only make Felix more desperate for you. You can feel your first orgasm quickly approaching, and you make sure to let Chan know. He just hums against you and sticks two fingers inside of you, making you nearly scream in pleasure. Your grip on his hair grows ever tighter as you beg him to let you cum. He pulls away just slightly to give you permission, and almost on command, you’re cumming all over his fingers and tongue. Chan just laps it up eagerly and shifts his gaze to focus on Felix, who’s rutting into the pillow faster and faster.
Chan lifts Felix’s chin up and kisses him hard, almost toppling the poor boy over with the force of the kiss. He slows down, and eventually comes to a stop, panting as tears line his eyes, threatening to fall from how desperate he is to be touched again.
“Come here, baby boy. You were so good.” Chan unclasps the cuffs and Felix takes a moment to stretch his wrists. Chan kisses the spots where Felix tugged too hard and left red marks, causing the younger to look away and blush.
As Chan is leaning Felix back on the bed, kissing down his body, an idea pops into the sub’s head.
“Hey, Chan, uh…”
“Yes, Lixie?”
“I was wondering if, uh.”
Chan cocks his head and rubs his thumb over Felix’s cheekbone as he waits for him to finish his sentence.
“Yes?”
“Uh, if it’s okay with you, I want you to fuck me.”
A short silence passes before Felix covers his face with his hands, trying desperately to backtrack.
“I mean, it’s okay if not! I know some people aren’t really into that, and, uh, it was just a suggestion, but if not-”
Chan silences Felix with a kiss.
“Sweet boy, all you had to do was ask.”
Felix sighs in relief.
“Y/N, why don’t you help prep our kitten?”
You nod and reach towards the bedside table where the lube and condoms are kept.
“Lix, is it okay if I fuck your mouth?”
Felix sputters out an overenthusiastic ‘yes,’ bringing his hands towards Chan’s thick thighs. The older just laughs and discards his boxers before situating himself on Felix’s chest, the sub’s mouth watering at the sight of Chan.
Chan has just started pushing gently into Felix’s mouth when you put your first finger in, slicked up thoroughly with lube. He moans louder than you’ve heard him all night when it’s fully situated, at which Chan groans and pushes in further. You can’t see what’s happening, but the sounds give you a clear enough picture, sloppy and wet and absolutely filthy. When you tease a second finger at Felix’s hole, he groans, causing Chan to buck forward into his mouth.
When Chan sets a steady pace, you push a second finger in, and then a third. You don’t purposefully aim for Felix’s prostate, but you must have hit it because a moan even louder than the ones before it reaches your ears and a gush of precum dribbles out of Felix’s slit. You decide to treat him and wrap your lips around his tip as you stretch your fingers out inside him. Chan just keeps fucking into Felix’s mouth faster and faster, and you can tell he’s getting close, but he pulls out right before he cums, much to Felix’s dismay.
Chan gets off of Felix’s chest and rolls on a condom as you decide he’s stretched out enough.
“Ready, kitten?”
Felix nods, whining desperately. There are tears tracks drying on his face, which must have been from Chan fucking his mouth just moments before.
At first, you just want to sit aside and watch as Chan takes your pretty kitty apart. You do for a bit, reveling in the way that Chan throws his head back as he tries not to cum right away from Felix’s tightness, or the way Felix bites on his knuckles and arches his back as Chan pushes into him. However, once Chan is fully settled inside Felix, resting a comforting hand on the smaller boy’s inner thigh, you have a better idea. Crawling towards the two of them, you give Felix a soft kiss before setting yourself over him, dripping heat right above his mouth. You’re facing Chan and he gives you a look, but when you say in a low voice that face sitting is Felix’s favorite, he nods.
You can feel puffs of air on your cunt as Felix tells Chan to start moving. Then, you lower yourself onto Felix and when his tongue starts circling and gently biting at your slit, you throw your head back in pleasure. Chan grabs the back of your neck and tugs you in for a kiss, and it’s more of an exchange of spit and clashing teeth than a kiss but it works.
Chan starts fucking faster into Felix and the younger lets out a loud, high-pitched moan, his mouth leaving your cunt as he lolls his head back onto the pillow. You reach behind you and grab his hair, pushing his face up into your slit rather forcefully. His licks and sucks get more frantic as Chan thrusts even faster, and he lets out moans into you, wrapping his arms around your thighs for purchase.
You can feel your second orgasm of the night coming on.
“Can you keep holding on for me a bit longer, baby? I’m close too.”
Felix moans frantically, freely fucking himself back onto Chan, nearly screaming when Chan holds his hips up to more easily hit his prostate and wraps a hand around his dick. Chan hammers that spot over and over, Felix letting out helpless moans and screams as he approaches his high. Chan can tell that he’s close, but he knows Felix won’t be able to ask him for permission to cum in his fucked-out state.
“You can cum, Lix. Go ahead and let go for us.”
With a strangled scream, Felix cums hard onto his own stomach. Chan follows soon after, letting out a low, loud groan as he rides out his high inside Felix. You reach a hand down to your clit to finish yourself off, body convulsing as you fall over onto Chan. He pulls you against his chest as he stills inside Felix, the three of you breathing heavily. When you get off of Felix, you notice that he’s fully crying.
“Lixie, are you okay?”
Felix just groans, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes. Chan pulls out and discards the condom as you pull Felix’s head into your lap and stroke his hair. His entire body is limp.
Chan once again returns to his bag and pulls out a big fluffy blanket sporting a paw print pattern and a few extra pairs of clothes. He drapes the blanket over Felix, tucking it in around the sides and brushing some stray, sweaty strands of hair from the younger’s forehead.
Felix’s eyes flutter shut, and you lean into Chan, exhausted.
“That was… really good,” you say groggily.
Chan just nods, putting an arm around your shoulders and kissing the top of your head tenderly. You busy yourself with threading your fingers through Felix’s hair and trying to get all the knots out. Chan reaches over for the clothes and tugs a shirt over his head, wiggling his legs through some sweatpants. The two of you work together to wipe Felix down and dress him in a similar outfit, before you pull on a sweater and a pair of sweatpants identical to the ones that Chan is wearing.
After a bit of maneuvering, you’re sandwiched in between the still asleep Felix and a very, very, tired Chan.
“Do you want to do this again sometime?”
You laugh hoarsely and nod. “We’ll have to ask Felix when he wakes up.”
“Oh, I’m sure he won’t be opposed.”
You hum, and Chan wraps his arms around you even tighter then they were before, pulling you closer to his chest.
“Pancakes and bacon when we wake up?”
“Absolutely.”
100 notes · View notes
nanagoswife · 3 years
Text
Please Don't Go. - Chapter 15
Summary: Obi-Wan finally meets Aldoken.
W/C: 4.2k
Warnings: angst
A/N: we have reached the chapter where I mention something from Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. It isn't really huge, but it's there.
- - -
“How was that to start this off?” you asked with a sweet smile.
“It actually gave me more confidence. Even though I know you hadn’t planned that, thank you.” His smile was genuine as he looked down at you.
“Time to meet your son,” you say quietly, slowly leaning towards his lips. “Our son,” you finished before briefly pressing your lips to his.
All he did was nod, slightly afraid to speak now that this was really happening. Never in his life did he think he would ever have a family, a child. Until he met you, he never dreamed of things like that. For the first twenty-four years of his life, he thought the closest he would ever get was having a padawan of his own.
That thought was quickly dashed when he met you nearly fourteen years ago. Since then, he wished to bring that, not only for himself, but for you. As he stands here now, looking at you as you say your farewell to Cody, he’s mad at himself.
There was no way to tell how much pain he caused you over these years. And on top of that, he left you to raise their child alone. In a way, it wasn’t his fault, but it really was. Had he kept the promise he made to you, this wouldn’t have been happening. Instead, he would’ve been by your side and greeting Aldoken with warmth instead of hesitance. He would’ve been there, holding your hand as you had given birth to him. The years would’ve been happier with all of you as a family. Together.
Obi-Wan didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve you or the right to be introduced to his son. He didn’t deserve your unending kindness and love that never faltered. Why, after all he’s done, did anyone take him back?
His thoughts were pushed away when he heard you calling out to Aldoken after having a brief chat with Padmé. He watched as the boy easily came running into your arms when you knelt down onto the floor. As he hugged you, Padmé had said her goodbye.
“Guess what?” you say, pulling away so that you could look at your little boy.
“What?” he replied with his usual happy tone. He giggled when you brought a hand up to brush his fringe back.
As he watched, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but think how overwhelmingly Aldoken looked like him. He could see as many of your features in him as he could see his, but there’s no mistaking who the father is. Even if people like Cody, Padmé and Anakin had not known about the two of you, they would be able to figure it out in a heartbeat.
Playfully, you pinched Aldoken’s cheek which caused more giggles to erupt in the silent room.
“I have a little surprise. Can you do what Anakin taught you and find out?” Like you did with Cody, you angled your son just enough that, unless he took his attention away from you, he could easily see Obi-Wan standing not far away.
Aldoken’s expression became serious when he nodded. Closing his eyes, he reached out through the force so that he could determine what you meant.
For a moment, you let your gaze fall on Obi-Wan. There was a look of wonderment across his face. It was almost like he hadn’t realized that his son would also be force sensitive. There was a small smirk that was pulling at the corner of his lips as he must’ve felt Aldoken’s energy brush against his.
The boy’s eyes shot open and he immediately turned his head to look at Obi-Wan. This is where Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if he was going to laugh in pure joy, or burst into tears at possible rejection. It didn’t get any better as his son only looked at him for a few moments.
The uncertainty started to build as Aldoken walked away from you and, almost cautiously, walked towards Obi-Wan. He could tell that the boy was piecing something together, like he couldn’t believe that he was no longer only looking at a holo.
Then, his expression changed as the realization hit him. He was no longer looking at a holo.
“Daddy?” he said, in the softest, most innocent questioning voice Obi-Wan had ever heard.
Tears of joy were building up as he trembled and, in a breath, replied, “Yes.”
Aldoken smiled, large, and ran the last few meters to his father. Obi-Wan bent down and lifted the boy into his arms. He gripped him tight as he felt as the boy’s legs did their best to wrap around him.
As he exhaled, his breath shuddered as so much was running through his mind. You looked on at the pair and started to tear up. This was a moment that was long overdue; a moment that, for a while, you thought would never happen.
Obi-Wan caught your gaze and smiled. Maybe now he could set things right. Provide you with the life that he cruelly ripped away. Maybe, you would have him back the way it was the day he proposed.
When he thought of that, it was only then that he realized that you still wore the necklace. Had you been wearing it the whole time? Or had you only just recently put it back on?
None of that mattered, though. Not when he was holding his son who seemed to be grappling to him with as much emotion as he was. His small head was pressed into the crook of his neck, fluttering eyelashes gently tickling the skin there.
Usually, he’d chuckle at the sensation. Right now, it was something he never wanted to part with. Obi-Wan basked in the feeling.
Aldoken suddenly bolted up to look at Obi-Wan, a giant smile on his face as his own bright blue eyes couldn’t decide which one of Obi-Wan’s to settle on. His tiny hands were planted on top of both sides of his collarbone.
Carefully, Aldoken brought one hand up to rest a hand on Obi-Wan’s cheek. It was something he was doing to both help make the final tie of the bond with his father, but it was also to feel the coarse hairs there. He had always been fascinated with facial hair, but hardly any of the clones he knew well had it. Cody would always let him play with his hair, but that wasn’t the same.
He giggled lightly, just like you had when you first ran your fingers through his scruff. It warmed his heart as he felt the small hand. Aldoken brought it up so that he could feel the hair on top of his head. When he lightly stroked the strands, his eyes glowed with an idea.
“May I show you something?” Obi-Wan now saw what you meant about him being mature for his age. Even the younglings at the temple his age acted this politely and maturely. He knew it well as he was often a favourite among all of the masters that would give them lessons and they would always come to him with questions.
It was something that you had witnessed a few times on rare visits to the Temple when an issue with the Sith arose. They would absolutely swarm him as he escorted you through the halls. He always said you were good with kids, but he was exceptional.
Never being able to refuse, Obi-Wan would always accept, just as he did now. Aldoken slightly wriggled, asking silently to be let down. When his feet touched the ground, he tugged at the sleeve of Obi-Wan’s tunic. Usually it would be his cloak, but he had taken that off some time ago.
Intrigued, Obi-Wan followed as Aldoken was leading him to his room. When he looked around, it oddly reminded him of his own room that he had gotten when he was still young. There were even a few items that used to be his that lined the nearly empty shelves. Other than that, there were toys of clone troopers, a stuffed varactyl toy, and lots of books. The books must’ve been from your home planet, as yours was one of the few that still actively produced things with flimsiplast.
The varactyl caught his attention as well. Obi-Wan had fond memories of the creature. He only wondered if you had passed on those stories to their son and he caught on. Well, he is your son, he mused.
Lastly, what really surprised him, was the multiple holos of him. One holo that you and him had taken the day he proposed was sitting on a table beside the bed. There were a couple of others. One of him and Cody, another with both Anakin and Ahsoka, and lastly, one of him and Qui-Gon on the day that Qui-Gon was well enough to stand again.
You weren’t lying. You didn’t keep Aldoken away from knowing who he was. If anything, you gave him almost every detail that you knew. He wondered how much Anakin and Cody may have said as well.
“Daddy,” Aldoken’s slightly concerned tone cut into his thoughts.
You came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If this is too much, just let me know,” you say softly. He shook his head. Sure, there were a lot of emotions running through him as old memories flooded with the present, but he didn’t want to leave now. He wanted to know more, see more.
Bringing his attention back to his son, he now held an elegantly engraved box. In the center was the Jedi Order logo. Accompanying it were some intricate details that gave a sense of beauty to it. There was something familiar about it for Obi-Wan…
“Momma and Uncle Ani gave this to me. They said if you ever came back, that I should give it to you,” Aldoken said proudly. He looked to you who was giving him a rewarding smile.
Almost cautiously, he knelt down in front of Aldoken. Now that he was closer, and aid from feeling through the force, he now knew why it looked familiar. This was a box that Qui-Gon had kept for many years. As a padawan, he never knew why the box was so long, and his master never told him.
“You must be patient, Obi-Wan,” he’d say whenever Obi-Wan asked what it was. “In time, you will learn what this box is for. For now, it remains my personal secret.”
As he looked on, he was almost hesitant to even touch it. He had no idea what he was about to see.
Obi-Wan stared at the box for a few moments, only distracted when you came to kneel beside him. Taking a quick glance at you, he gave a small smile as he also felt your hand fall upon his back, rubbing ever so gently.
Diligently, Aldoken held the box, waiting until his father either took it or opened it. Finally, Obi-Wan took a deep breath before relieving his son of the box. Carefully placing it on the floor, his fingers moved to the latch which easily was undone. Slowly, he lifted the top open and was overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.
Inside held only three things. Each item was a mark of some sort of milestone Obi-Wan had reached throughout his life.
The first was a feather from the varactyl he had ridden so long ago on Pijal. That had been the first animal he had ever had such a strong bond with. He had stolen a moment with the varactyl in the stable the day they had to leave. Whether Qui-Gon picked up the feather as they walked out of the stable or some other time, Obi-Wan didn’t know.
Second was his padawan braid. There were so many different milestones woven into these strands of hair. Most of all, it signified the time they spent together as master and padawan. They may have had some rough patches, but the friendship had always lasted.
Lastly, sitting right in the middle, giving Obi-Wan the answer to a lifelong question, was Qui-Gon’s lightsaber. This was the item that finally brought tears to Obi-Wan’s eyes. When he had left in his dark place, he had at some point dropped his master’s saber. Believing you had been killed, he thought it was forever lost on Alderaan’s moon. But, you had brought it back and completed his master’s collection.
Seeing that he was upset, Aldoken moved and hugged around Obi-Wan’s neck. Obi-Wan accepted it quickly and moved his arms around his son. In the process, he pulled him a little closer, still making sure he didn’t squeeze too hard.
The tears didn’t fall, but Obi-Wan did take several shuddering breaths as he composed himself. He suddenly felt calming energy pressing into him through the force. It shocked him, but he knew it was Aldoken. Anakin must’ve taught him that. Especially if it was related to how you were feeling on days through these years.
“Thank you, my little one,” Obi-Wan said before pressing a kiss to the top of the boy’s head.
When he pulled back, Aldoken was beaming. Not only was he proud of his success, but he loved the endearment that his father gave him. There was nothing that he didn’t love about this boy, and he had only just met him not long ago.
“Aldoken, have you ever seen a real varactyl?”
The boy shook his head, “Only on holos.” The disappointed tone made him feel like either laughing, as he knew you would’ve answered like that, or actually feel like his heart should drop at hearing the way he said that.
Obi-Wan elected to give him a smirk, “Here.” He grabbed the varactyl feather and gently took Aldoken’s hand in the other. “This feather was from the first varactyl I had ever ridden.”
Aldoken’s eyes flew wide open in disbelief. Obi-Wan chuckled at the reaction as he brought the feather into better view. The scarlet was beautiful, as it always was. It had always been something that fascinated Obi-Wan. Clearly, even without seeing them firsthand, his son felt the same way.
“Now, when you touch it, make sure to be gentle. The barbs are delicate, but soft,” Obi-Wan said, bringing Aldoken’s hand to the feather. He let it go so that the young boy could do it on his own.
Aldoken’s smile only grew as he gently stroked the scarlet feather that was from an actual varactyl. It was nothing like the ones on his toy. This was real.
Watching the boy’s fascination, he couldn’t help but think, Was that what Qui-Gon always saw? It had always been a wonder that his master put up with him. Especially when it came to those days surrounding and during his time on Pijal.
Now, it’s time to pass on the favour.
After letting his son have a few more moments, he put the feather back into the box with the other items. With a quick glance, he could see Aldoken was dying to ask what the other items were. He silently chuckled to himself. He would tell him the rest soon enough.
“Now, you know how you said that this was mine,” Obi-Wan started, one of his hands resting on his son’s shoulder.
He nodded quickly in response, head tilted in a curious way, wondering why he was bringing this up.
Obi-Wan gave a soft smile, “It isn’t anymore. Do you know why?” Aldoken shook his head. “Because, I’m putting you in charge of taking care of it. It’s now yours.”
Not only was Aldoken shocked, but he felt a wave of it come off of you in the force. Although your face was painted with a grin, you could never truly hide your emotions from Obi-Wan.
The boy started to sputter, trying to say something that Obi-Wan knew would be to politely refuse, but he held up a hand. The sputtering stopped.
“This way, you can have a varactyl with you at all times. Not only that, but you have me and my master along with you. No matter what, we’ll always be with you in this box.” Closing the lid and putting the latch back in place, he handed it over to his son.
Hesitantly, he took it in his hands. Looking at it, he traced over the Jedi emblem with a little finger, quietly saying a shy, “Thank you, daddy.”
Glancing at the chrono on the wall, Obi-Wan realized that he needed to leave. Even though he needed to, he didn’t want to.
You had noticed the sudden shift in Obi-Wan. Catching his eyes when he looked at the chrono, you knew what he was about to say. At the same time, though, it looked like he was truly fighting his decision to leave.
He didn’t want to suffer anymore. The pain that he had to go through to disguise all of this was absolute agony. It was like a candle had to make its flame small so that the dark would have a harder time finding it. And he had to do it every second of the day until he came to see you.
But, he had to do it. He wasn’t able to stay if he was to keep up the act.
Before standing, he caught your eye for a moment. Obi-Wan saw your dejected look, telling him you knew that he had to leave.
He knew you wanted to ask him to stay. You wouldn’t, though. It was almost like the day he said he would leave The Order for you if you wanted him to. You didn’t want him to, as you didn’t want him to leave the life he knew.
Now, you didn’t want him to risk his safety for you. Obi-Wan hasn’t been able to gather enough courage to tell you the torture he’s been through, but he didn’t have to. The day you saw one of his scars peeking out from his collar had told you enough.
It’s not that he didn’t have scars before, but the one you saw was new. Not only that, but it was really new. Before you were able to fret over it, he assured you that he was alright. Even though you didn’t entirely believe him, you let it go. You knew he’d tell you when he was ready.
“I have to go,” he said, keeping his voice from showing his true unwillingness. He knew he didn’t have to voice it, but he did anyway.
“I know,” you said, letting your disappointment be heard.
Turning to Aldoken, he looked just as upset as you. The way his lips pulled down in his frown even looked the exact same as yours. This was the first time tonight that Aldoken had anything less than a neutral expression.
The boy’s eyes were fixed on the floor. It was like he didn’t want to watch him leave. Like he didn’t want to watch his eyes as they turned back. It was just like how you always looked away, not wanting to see his pain.
“Please, daddy,” Aldoken said quietly, still looking at the floor. For a moment longer, he stayed silent until his eyes came back up to meet his. “Please, don’t go.”
Those words rang in his head. It brought Obi-Wan back to that day. The day you had said those exact words, but he didn’t listen. He had turned around, but he never actually listened.
Now, as he looks at the one who he thought he would never meet, he can’t bring himself to do the same. He would never turn away again, whether it meant his life was on the line or not. Never again will he leave you and his family behind. Even with as small of a statement as this.
Obi-Wan looked up at you. Even though he knew you were trying to hide it, he could see that you also wanted him to stay. You always did.
Slowly, he nodded. A smile grew on his face as, with each nod, he was more and more certain about his decision. If both you and Aldoken wanted him here, he would stay. He wanted to stay. Obi-Wan wanted to be loved by you and Aldoken as if these last four years never happened.
Then, he looked back at his son. “Alright,” he said quietly. “I won’t go.” To Obi-Wan, those words held more meaning to you and him than it did to Aldoken. It was an indirect way of making the same promise he had made many years ago. This time, there was a certainty in this promise that he never had before. He would never again turn away from the light, from you.
Aldoken’s smile once again was plastered on his face. Without any more hesitation, he ran up and hugged Obi-Wan before pulling away and running into the sitting room again, cheers of joy loud in the near silent apartment.
Obi-Wan stood back up and turned to face you now that you were alone for a moment. After a few silent moments, you closed the distance and practically fell into his arms. He pulled you close and kissed the top of your head as he felt your breathing hitch, telling him that you were crying.
This had been what he wanted for so long. All he had wanted to do was hold you. Whether it was to comfort you or just for the sake of doing it, he didn’t care. Now he had that, and he wasn’t going to waste it.
“I can sleep on the-”
“You will do no such thing,” you said, whipping your head up from its place on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “I miss having you to hold me at night.”
“I missed it too,” he replied, looking down as a small feeling of shame creeped in.
“Hey,” you said, using a hand to bring his face back up. “It’s over now. The past is the past, and we can’t change that, but I still love you. After all this time, I never stopped loving you,” you said softly, leaving your hand on his cheek.
Leaning into it, he closed his eyes. He wanted to feel every little bit of warmth and comfort your palm granted him.
Then, he felt as your soft lips pressed to his. The hand on his cheek gently made its way to the back of his head as he kissed you back. He held you close and relished this small moment with you. His decision to stay was already making him the happiest he had ever been since the day the two of you found out you were pregnant and then he proposed.
“Momma! Daddy!” Aldoken called out from the sitting room. “Are you coming?” he asked. The two of you burst into laughter. Now the two of you will learn that moments like this don’t last long with a toddler present.
With a smile, the two of you made your way out to your son. The rest of this night will be one to remember.
-
Obi-Wan woke up to a light shaking at his shoulder. Until this point, this was the first night in years that he hadn’t had a nightmare. He was glad, otherwise he would’ve possibly woken up a lot more violently.
“Daddy,” Aldoken whispered while continuing to gently shake Obi-Wan until his eyes opened.
When his eye laid upon the young boy, concern swept through him. Aldoken was hugging himself and was shaking where he stood.
Turning on his side, he asked, “What’s wrong, little one?”
“I had a nightmare,” Aldoken replied. His voice sounded shaky, like he had, or was about to, cry.
“Oh, buddy, come here,” Obi-Wan said while opening his arms.
His son didn’t waste any time going into his father’s arms. Aldoken mushed his face into Obi-Wan’s neck as he wrapped his arms around the boy. He could feel as the once shaky breaths started to even out and become steady. The boy’s pounding heart had even slowed to a more steady and calm rhythm as well.
“May I sleep with you and momma? So the scary dreams don’t come back,” Aldoken said, muffled from his place still in Obi-Wan’s neck.
“Of course, little one.”
Once Aldoken was calm enough, Obi-Wan helped him climb onto the bed. He adjusted just enough so that their son could lay in between the two of you.
His heart warmed when his son curled under his arm, using his shoulder as a pillow. Breathing a contented sigh, he looked over at you before closing his eyes again. You were facing him and had a small grin spreading your lips.
After Aldoken made one more adjustment in comfort, Obi-Wan let his eyes close once again with a smile. This was a moment that he wished would never end.
- - -
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shinydelirium · 3 years
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MLQC Season 2 Chapter 15 (Kiro’s Chapter) Final Part [Invincible Position] & [Silver Promise] Translation [CN]
***SPOILERS*** DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!
This is the final translation of Kiro’s chapter 15 in MLQC season 2. Since there wasn’t much left, I decided to combine the last two parts of the chapter into one. Thanks so much for waiting and hoped that you enjoyed reading~
For the previous translations of chapter 15: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
I highly recommend reading Kiro’s Rumors and Secrets: A Boulder of Hope (translated by the wonderful @link4eva​ ) that’s included with the chapter karma.
[Invincible Position]
As soon as Helios said the words, the boy’s pupils lost their focus, and his body was shaking uncontrollably, as if he had to squeeze all his life to fulfill this absolute command.
The silver-white arc of light from his feet instantly shoots outward like ripples.
The dazzling light gathered in the palm of his hand and then exploded into countless arches, jumping around.
Joker’s calm expression finally broke. He struggled to get up and raised his hand with difficulty.
But nothing can be changed.
The moment the silver-white arc appeared, we had won.
In the next moment, some chaotic voices loomed outside the department store.
The boy’s body shook violently. Soon, the light dissipated and he fell to his knees helplessly, completely drained from the immense amount of energy used.
Probably this huge unstable force caused a certain amount of chaos in the city at the moment of transfer, but at least—
All of them left the misty Loveland City safely.
Helios smirked and was about to say something but suddenly a pool of blood spilled from his mouth.
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MC: Helios!
I ran to him in a hurry, just barely managed to catch his quivering body. The strong smell of blood instantly filled my nose.
I carefully avoided the wound on his body and helped him up, took his gun and let him lean on my back, blocking Joker from him.
The knife in Helios’ hand was chilling in the light, and the blood-stained silver pistol was also extremely heavy.
But I still held it up straight and pointed it at Joker.
Helios: What are you doing?
MC: I will protect you.
Even though I know we have won, Joker is still here.
As long as he is still here, we must not let our guard down.
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MC: I will protect you.
I repeated it again, without calling his name.
Joker: It turns out you did it on purpose.
Helios: Are you just realizing that now?
With a trembling hand, he took out the black metal box from his pocket and pressed one of the buttons.
The screen showed the city map of Loveland City. He glanced down, raised his head and smiled softly.
I followed his gaze and Joker frowned.
He glanced at the young boy who was sitting on the ground and his cold eyes revealed his anger at this moment.
Joker: Your goal was him from the beginning. You were using me.
Joker: A clever hunter must know when it is the best time to be injured, and then use the wound to attract its prey.
Joker: Unexpectedly, you are a very good actor.
Helios: Don’t be discouraged, you flatter me. This game is not bad, right?
MC: ….?
Could it be that Helios was injured deliberately?
I stared blankly at him trying to understand the meaning of their conversation.
He pretended to let me hypnotize the boy, then hid his Evol and purposely exposed his flaws.
He wanted to use this method to divert Joker’s attention and at the same time, consuming Joker’s physical strength.
When the time was right, he took advantage of Joker’s vulnerability and used Evol to command the boy to move the whole city away and save everyone.
He thought of everyone’s circumstances, figured out how to save others, and put me in the safest position in advance.
But he never considered himself. In order to ensure everyone’s safety, he let himself get injured.
My whole body was shaking, my back facing him, holding the pistol, my eyes were beginning to sting.
He slowly straightened his body, stretched out his sweat- and blood-soaked arm, wrapped it around my waist, and moved in front of me.
Sensing my gaze, he turned his head to look at me, his eyes had a certain light in them.
As if not caring about the scars on his body and trying to comfort me so that I don’t have to worry about him.
The boy who fell on the ground was panting heavily and then finally reacted, staring cruelly at Helios.
Teenage Boy: Da--damn it. You cheated!
Helios: You are so stupid.
Helios slowly stood up with my help.
The simple action seemed to consume all his energy but he didn’t stop, struggling to straighten his back, and looked down at Joker.
Helios: The current Loveland is just an empty city.
Helios: No one’s life will be threatened, no more conflicts will occur, and no one will die because of the hunter game.
Helios: You have lost the bargaining chip with me.
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Helios: You lose.
Joker raised up his head, no emotions could be seen in his dark gray eyes.
Joker: As long as the fog still remains, the game can continue.
Joker: You can send people out but I can send people back again.
Joker: No one can stop it until I have the answer.
His nonchalant attitude made me a little angry. The tragedy I saw in the hunter game was so vivid that I couldn’t help but speak.
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MC: ….What do you take human life for!
MC: No one is your experiment and tool to achieve your goals!
MC: No matter what you want to accomplish with the hunter game, it doesn’t matter if you are looking for CORE or looking for the lighthouse…
MC: You can’t turn a blind eye to life. No one can do that.
Joker’s expression moved slightly. He looked at me casually for a while, then spoke after a long time.
Joker: You know a lot.
Joker: But everything needs to be proven.
Joker: The formula on the paper, the theorems, and…
Joker: The ambiguity of the world.
Joker: The hunter game is just a method of experimentation.
Joker: All sacrifices and trials are necessary on the road to truth.
Joker: The world needs answers and if you can’t grasp it, you will never move forward.
Joker’s voice was faint but his eyes remained unwavering.
I was taken aback for a moment and I didn’t understand what Joker was referring to.
What does he want to prove?
He seems to have more secrets than I thought, like a complex mathematical equation. No matter how ridiculous his methods are, he will not stop.
Helios: No matter what you want to argue, you should not exchange innocent lives for answers.
Joker: Our position is different, there is no need to discuss it.
Helios: Don’t be too impatient.
Helios: I haven’t taken out my bargaining chip yet so how do you know that there is no need for discussion.
Helios looked at him calmly, speaking slowly, word for word.
Helios: You disperse the fog and I will take you to the lighthouse.
My heart jumped and I looked at Helios in surprise. He stared at Joker but secretly squeezed my hand, silently telling me not to speak.
Joker’s gaze fell on Helios, as if interested in his words.
Helios seemed to chuckle slightly and continued.
Helios: Evol energy fluctuations are not the only way to open the lighthouse.
Helios: You have worked hard but you have gone too far.
Joker: Why should I believe your words?
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Helios: The thorny slab of the “8” sign, the transparent steps, the residual intelligence…
Helios: If you have entered the lighthouse, you should know what I am talking about.
Teenage Boy: Surely, you are deceiving us. There is no residual intelligence in the lighthouse!
Although the boy was powerless on the ground, he still retorted righteously, as if he was quite sure that Helios was lying.
I was taken aback for a moment, looked at Joker and found that he also showed a somewhat puzzled expression.
Helios didn’t speak and looked carefully at Joker for a while, suddenly the corners of his lips curled up, seeming to understand something.
Helios: It seems that you have never opened the lighthouse.
Teenage Boy: Nonsense, we have been inside many lighthouses!
Helios grinned and raised his eyebrows casually.
Helios: Are you sure?
Joker: Did you see the residual intelligence?
Joker spoke suddenly. There was no expression on his face, but I inexplicably heard a trace of apprehension in his voice.
Helios’ gaze stayed on Joker’s face for a moment, and then he answered directly.
Helios: It depends on your attitude to find out if I’m telling the truth.
There was finally a crack in Joker’s expression and he took a deep breath as if hiding his emotions.
Helios: Let’s talk about the conditions again.
Helios: I will take you to the lighthouse and you tell her how to disperse the fog.
Helios: Also, let her leave safely.
[Silver Promise]
Helios’s words pierced my heart like a sharp knife, and I grasped his hand tightly and looked at him anxiously. 
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MC: I’m not leaving. I’m going with you.
Helios has suffered such a serious injury and there are still many things we don’t know about Joker….
In any case, I can’t let him go to the lighthouse with Joker alone.
Helios: This has nothing to do with you.
His tone was firm. I opened my mouth and wanted to say something, but Joker interrupted.
Joker: I can agree to your terms.
Joker: I’ll let her go and resolve the fog.
Joker: However, I need to prove first that you can indeed open the lighthouse.
Helios: You have no room for negotiation with me.
Helios interrupted Joker and his eyes were cold.
Helios: Tell her how to get rid of the fog, and then ask your lackey to send her away.
Helios: If you still want to go to the lighthouse, do as I say.
MC: W-wait….
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Helios: Listen carefully.
He leaned close to my ear, and his tone was softer than ever before.
Helios: You need to disperse the fog in Loveland City.
Helios: So that the game can truly end.
He looked into my eyes with a commanding tone but comfort and encouragement lurked in those depths.
Helios: You want to save everyone and find that healthy Loveland City again.
His tone eased slightly, but his eyes were firm and left no room for argument.
I know he is right, and if I linger any longer, I will only drag him down and I can’t let him lose everything that he has done.
MC: But your body….
Helios: The wound looks scarier than it actually is. It’s not fatal.
I bit my lip, tried to restrain the urge to cry, and nodded gently.
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MC: Okay, I promise you.
MC: But you have to promise me one thing.
MC: After the matter is over, you must contact me as soon as possible to let me know you are safe.
He bends the corners of his lips, the expression on his face softens considerably and I seem to see Kiro.
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Helios: I promise you.
He raised his hand, lightly wiped the corner of my eye, and then let go of my hand.
The moment my palm lost the warm touch, my heart was empty as if I was torn open.
I turned around, not daring to take another look at Helios, fearing that I would regret making this decision if I delay it for another second.
The moment I walked to the boy’s side, I still couldn’t help but turn my head and look at Helios standing in the shadows.
Helios: “Wait for me to come see you.”
In the faint silver-white arc of light, I saw him open his mouth slightly.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and then, darkness swept through my vision.
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The boy teleported me to the weather station in Loveland City and reluctantly told me that the special substance to eliminate the fog was hidden under the weather station.
After the teenage boy disappeared, I did not give myself too much time to process my emotions and started to work on dispelling the fog.
I contacted Zehn and asked him to send someone outside the city to find the weather station staff in the shortest time and bring them back to the city safely as soon as possible.
After that, I arranged for the BS researcher to come quickly and sample the special substance and swiftly conduct analysis and research on it.
While I was waiting, I started to edit the news about “Loveland City has successfully dispelled the toxic fog” on my mobile phone and prepared to release it after the fog was successfully eliminated.
Soon, the staff of the weather station returned and according to the analysis, many large metal cans without labels were found in the underground warehouse.
The staff frowned, seeming to know exactly what it was, and quickly picked up a jar and ran to a certain research room.
I took a step back slightly, turned and walked into the lounge.
At this point, this is something that can only be left to the professionals to do.
I looked at the vast white fog outside the window, but my heart was extremely peaceful.
“Boom—”
Mist containers scattered into the distance and exploded violently.
Upon release of those containers, the treacherous fog slowly disappeared and the night sky of Loveland City finally revealed a small array of stars.
The real midnight of Loveland City has come at last.
After confirming that the fog has dissipated, I posted the news bulletin to various social platforms, hoping that this information can spread faster.
When I was finished, it was already dawn, and a bit of cold morning light was reflected in the sky, and I stood in front of the window, my mind full of thoughts.
I looked up at the untouched starry sky and a rush of stinging pain surged in my heart.
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MC: Kiro…
The superhero fulfilled his promise.
He returned the former Loveland City to everyone.
But no one knows how much he paid for this and no one knows whether he is safe.
I clenched my hands tightly, praying in my heart over and over again that he would come back safely as soon as possible.
“Buzz—”
There was a vibration from my phone and I quickly picked it up. After seeing the name on the screen, my prayers were finally answered.
Helios didn’t say much on the phone. He only asked me to meet at the bridge’s edge.
I hurriedly left the weather station, only to find that the sky was already bright and some people had gradually started returning to Loveland City.
The police sirens kept blaring along the way, “caution” tape was set up in every corner of the city, and several helicopters hovered in the air.
The Loveland City government and related agencies are actively doing recovery and post-work.
Maybe Loveland will return to the old days soon.
Thinking about this, I quickened my steps.
Upon arriving at the river, I saw Helios sitting on the railing of the bridge from a distance.
He sat there alone, his silver hair almost blending in with the blue sky of dawn.
My footsteps stopped, and seeing him like this, I felt a pang of emptiness in my heart.
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Helios seemed to hear my footsteps and turned to look at me.
He has changed his clothes and all his injuries from yesterday were covered under the neat clothes, as if nothing had ever happened.
His expression is still so cold, but after everything that happened yesterday, I know that there is already something different.
I steadied my breathing and met his gaze.
Helios: I came to honor the promise.
Helios: You did very well.
MC: How are you?
Helios: Aren’t I standing in front of you unharmed?
I was slightly taken aback.
MC: What about Joker? Has the lighthouse issue been resolved?
He didn’t answer, just took the familiar metal box from his pocket and tossed it to me.
I caught the metal box in the air and saw an ocean sector displayed on the screen with many active coordinates on it.
Helios: These are the coordinates of all the players who were teleported away by “ghosts” in the game.
Helios: According to the map, they were trapped on a small island in the sea.
Helios:  I will start from Joker’s side to investigate the whereabouts of this group of people.
Helios: I have erased your information from the system. Joker will not find you.
Helios: There are also the coordinates of all the players in this device. I need you to be my eyes in Loveland City and always pay attention to their movements.
MC: What about you? Where are you going?
MC: You haven’t answered me yet. Has Joker’s problem been settled?
I subconsciously blurted out the question in my mind. I am pretty sure he is hiding something from me.
What he said seemed like he was going to some dangerous place.
Following his profile, I once again saw the strange-shaped earphone in his right ear, and my breathing became still.
Helios looked at me steadily, his eyes shining, but he was silent.
He seemed to have noticed my stare. After lowering his gaze slightly, he reached out and took off the earphone.
His eyes closed slowly, and when they opened later, the azure blue pupils were coated with a layer of piercing golden light.
At that moment, I seemed to hear the sound of a string that was always tight being torn off.
I closed my eyes and tried to suppress the constant bitterness.
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MC: Are you going to use your power again?
MC: You want me to listen your orders and leave, right?
MC: Still want me to forget? Forget all this, forget about your ears.
I stubbornly opened my eyes, struggling with the silent person in front of me.
This is an unspoken conversation. Many things have changed since he commanded the boy.
Helios: You should have forgotten.
Helios: But I don’t want you to.
I stared at him blankly and was suddenly locked in place by his words.
The morning wind pulled the hem of his clothes and the dawn behind him broke through the thick clouds at some point and spread over his shoulders.
His whole body was bathed in a layer of warm gold.
Helios: I want you to always remember everything about me.
Helios: No matter…..what kind of me.
I blinked hard, the whole world became a little brighter, but only those golden pupils made my eyes become hot and damp.
MC: What I remember is always about you.
It’s you: the light is you, the darkness is also you.
From beginning to end, all I envisioned was him.
Hearing what I said, a faint smile appeared on Helios’ face.
Helios: I need you to stay.
Helios: Because only in this way can I feel at ease.
Helios: But just saying that, it is still you who is solely delivering trust.
I watched him approach me step by step in doubt, lowering his head, those golden eyes magnified in front of me, allowing me to see a complete self.
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Helios: So you can command me.
MC: Me command you?
Helios: This is your privilege.
He bent down, raised his hand and gently brushed my hair behind my ears, his expression calm and relaxed, waiting for me quietly.
MC: I command you—
I looked into his eyes, knowing that it had no real effect, but I knew it was his own way to seal a promise that only belongs to us.
MC: You must come back safely.
The corners of his lips curled upward and the brilliant light fell in his eyes.
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Helios: Wait for me to return.
His voice fell and he walked to the far side of the bridge without looking back. His back gradually disappeared at the end of the bridge.
I close my palms and tell myself in my heart—
He will come back safely.
This is our agreement.
In the ancient and mysterious giant building, the light from the walls faintly appeared.
The silhouette formed by the lines stood in front of Helios and Joker but was silent.
Joker circled the empty hall and walked back to where he was.
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Joker: You lied.
Helios stood calmly in the shadows, as if he had anticipated the current situation.
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Helios: Didn’t you lie to me too?
He looked at Joker and his expression gradually became colder.
In a remote corner of Loveland City, a faint mist floats quietly in a hidden dark place.
-End of Chapter 15-
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