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hopeassassin · 3 years ago

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Rally’s Scribbles in the Work

So after that lovely anon blew my mind away with their kind words and wonderful support, and because I keep telling you guys about my writing plans without actually giving you even a teensy little detail, I have decided to stop being coy and actually likely get your hopes up a bit by dilvulging small details and bits of plots of what is currently going on in my G-Drive.

This will be a brief recount of what I have currently baking in the AoMomo oven, so let’s dive right into it! Please note that the numbers are in no particular order - I just keep revisiting each of these stories and writing a bit more to them whenever I feel like it. So there’s no ranking and no importance, just a number to keep proper count.

1. “Knight of Renown” Dragons and Knighthood AU, based on that one AoMomo pic with Momo ithe Knight and Dragon Aomine that I reblogged a while back and I actually let me imagination go a bit too much in the tags. I ended up actually rather enjoying the premise I set up in the tags so I actually started writing that one out! Completion rate at about: 5%? I’d say? Less? :D

2. AoMomo Music AU - a dearly beloved project that I am pouring a lot of love and attentioin to. That’s why it’s coming along super slow. It’s been in the making since November and I chewed it and mulled through it so thoroughly that I’ve grinded to a halt with it. Intending for there to be 2 chapters, and I am at about 25-30% of chapter 1 currently ready currently. At the pace I’m going, it might be another full year before you actually get to see this bad boy up, but when you do, I’m sure you’ll see all the care and effort that went into making it perfect. Honestly, no joke here, I am intending for this to be one of my rare masterpieces in this tag. So I’m not gonna rush it!

3. AoMomo Car Accident AU where Daiki barely manages to save Satsuki from being run over by a hit-and-run and ends up being the one run over instead. This was my first piece of writing after coming back to AoMomo last summer and yet completion rate is a sad thing. I want it to be flawless, a perfectly agonizing, thrilling type of torturous read that gives you a great sense of relief by the end of it. Needless to say, the clusterfuck of negative feelings is a bit difficult to hold onto for a prolonged period of time and the work is coming along slowly. Planned at about 5 chapters, I have 2 complete ones and the 3rd one is at about ... 30%? Hopefully before this year’s whumptober, we’ll have a finished piece!

4. AoMomo bond character study, which went in a direction I did NOT expect nor intend. It was suppsoed to be an idea that you will see also listed below. But I started this one from their early childhood and somehow, instead of focusing on the kids and their bond and their weird interactions with each other and their first moments of realizing they are of opposite genders, it turned into something much too fun to let go of and the ideas for scenes just kept piling. It’s going to be a long one, very explorative and very in-depth character study on the bond between these two and how it changed over the years, and their first encounters with their sexuality inbetween (because that was really the main idea that I started with... xDDD;;;) Currently at 1 chapter complete, chapter 2 somewhere around 50-60% completion, and at least 6-7 chapters to come after that, soooo.... :’DDDD YEAH. THIS ONE AIN’T SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY ANYTIME SOON.

5. AoMomo deciding to practice stuff on each other, because I am a sucker for this trope.THIS will be what the idea under previous number 4 was SUPPOSED to be like, but it instead spun out of control. So this one, under number 5, is going to be the smutty, idiots bumbling through physicality to discover that they actually have serious feelings for each other kind of piece. Chapters are planned at about at least 6-7 or so, but not my usual monstrocities! :D First we start with practice kissing, and we move our way up from there!

6. “The Evil of Humanity” AU - a dystopian futuristic kinda mecha AU, sort of an amalgamation of some of my favourite anime in the genre - a bit of NGE, a bit of Gurren-Lagann, a lot of Darling in the Franxx rewrite and improvement, in distinctly AoMomo colors. I poured a lot of thought and love into initial outline of main moments for this one, and I really hope to make it an epic, thrilling action/adventure with a big dash of romance kind of read! Chapters currently not even planned properly, because I need to sit down and consider this seriously. It will definitely be more than 10-15 though, and they will be my usual chapter lengths so.... likely no time soon. :D

7. Aomine Fanclub - I got a plot bunny some time ago and I shared it here and my friends were spurring me on with it, so I started trying it out a little more. I’ve written out like... maybe 30% of this one as well, but need to re-read and reconceptualize to get it back on track. The issue with this one is that I’m not really sure where I want to take it, thus it’s on the back burner at the moment.

8. KagaKuro AoMomo double-date kind of story, where Aomine is asking some curious questions of Taiga about going to America and pondering if any of his immediate friends know what Satsuki wants to do with her life. I’m really invested in this one but haven’t started properly writing it out yet beyond just sketching out the idea so I don’t forget it. (I’d say 1% complete here.) Really looking forward to using the idea of Kagami being super impressed with AoMomo perfect sync when playing as a team in arcade games!

9.Laws of Attraction Chapter 2 - You might be surprised at this, but I’m actually super invested in this one. Likely the reason why I am delaying so much working on it - I feel like all my great scene ideas are just too chaotic and I have a hard time starting the chapter flowing properly. I had like 4-5 false starts already and I’m feeling a bit skittish with picking it up. But I have such AMAZING concepts on where to take it after it revvs up the engine, so... Maybe sometime this year! Completion rate: 0% written, but at least about 30% ideas built up for the installment!

10. AoMomo college rooming together story - sort of an expansion on my fill for one of the prompts way back those years ago in AoMomo week. I really dig the concept and the trope of sharing spaces with someone you consider nothing more than a friend and then gradually learning to appreciate each other for something so much more. I am definitely doing this one some day, but not anytime soon, likely.

11. A random idea bit me the other day (read: a month ago) and I actually wrote out like... maybe 25% of it already as well. A random comment from Wakamatsu miffs Satsuki but then she realizes why he’s asking dumb questions and she comes to realize that something is wrong with the equation: either Dai-chan likes someone really close to them and she hasn’t realized, which is unlikely, or Dai-chan likes HER and is super blase about it in a way that betrays his feelings not at all, which is even more unlikely. Being a curious individual, she sets out to find which it is! Some hilarity should ensue but mostly just some mess-with-Dai-chan fun!

12. Touou summer training camp at the sea - progress is practically 0, I wanted to write a summery piece and set my mind on this, but nothing beyond has come to me, so I’m not forcing it.

13. AoMomo cultural festival fic in second year of high school (meaning something approx end of Oct -> beginning of Nov.) with Daiki being in a distinctly Haruhu Suzumiya role at that festival (has anyone even seen this anime? I adored that episode to freaking bits, man, it’s engraved upon my soul) and singing Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” and one more song just like Haruhi did. And Satsuki just beholding the phenomenon he becomes in no time flat while he lays bare his passion for life for all the student body to see. Shippiness will happen in private afterwards!

14. You Can Leave Your Hat On Chapter 2 - Probably like 2-3 years ago while I was still in the damn woodwork and wrestling with real life and adulting being crap, I remembered this AU premise and I got super hyped on the idea of Club Owner Dai-chan being a flirt with innocent Satsuki who got dragged to his joined and fell in love at first sight with his shenanigans. I’ve already played around for like 7k words with the second chapter of this but I’m still not where I want to be at, so it will take a while longer to flesh it out.

15. Idol Worship - a story that I promised my mate aricana some 6 years ago the premise for which I am super hyped for but not quite engaging with it yet. The idea was that Momoi finally starts gettiing the dates she has been pesting Kuroko for for years, and Daiki feeling terrible about beholding that, whilst Kise is being pestered by Horikita Mai for a date and instead ditches her with Daiki because he knows his former Teikou classmate is a huge fan of her. Mai-chan isn’t particularly happy but somehow ends up enjoying her time with Daiki and starts considering actually pursuing him instead of Kise when she sees what an interesting soul he is, with the torch that he’s carrying for some girl in his life he doesn’t really talk about but is evident from the little things he drops off as hits. AoMomo shenanigans will start to ensue properly when Satsuki realizes that Daiki is actually having a close female friend who is not her but is Horikita Mai instead, Dai-chan’s perfect woman, practically. She doesn’t take well to the news and has to grapple with why that is! And what to do with these newfound frustrating emotions!

16. Obstruction of Justice Chapter 3 - MAYBE SOME DAY, I WILL GET TO WRITING THIS. Last summer I inteded to do just that but instead, Wild Side of Justice was born. And it became a spin off of sorts on its own. ORZ. I WILL FINISH THIS SOME DAY, I do have some plans for it and I do have the desire to pursue them. I just need to be in the right headspace for it ahsjkfhkjaf

17. A PWP story of Kagami arriving early for a practice match at Touou and somehow walking in on AoMomo getting busy with each other in very unexpected and explicit ways that Kagami did not see headed his way. Because, we need more PWP in this fandom, honestly.

18. And since we DO need more PWP, recently when checking the 30 lemons community on LJ (shut up, I’m not ancient, YOU’RE ANCIENT) I was wondering how exactly a smut plot around the “Taken by the Faceless Stranger” could work for Aomomo and I came up with this Masquerade ball that they end up both attending because of their friends and meeting each other and hitting off fantastically just chatting the night and then banging in a niche in the long castle-like premise of the ball. :’DDDD Cuz it’s me and if I don’t have something like that in the works, you know i’m likely sick.

ALL OF THESE I am planning on eventually finishing one day. ONE DAY!

For now they are in various states of completion and in various stages of being cared for and improved on with more ideas added and fleshed out.

I am not joking when I say I am very invested in this fandom. I just have difficulty getting to writing out these ideas when I spend like 60% of my free time playing my mobile games. :D

So there you have it. I didn’t want to say anything about these because 1) I don’t want to get your hopes up. You Can Leave Your Hat On 2, for one, has been in the making for 3 years, very on-again-off-again kind of way, and I just... can’t do that to you guys. I have decided against posting any incomplete fics so I don’t torture you guys and my muse doesn’t abandom me forever for them. So when something is complete, it gets posted promptly for your viewing pleasure!

And 2) If I divulge too much of the story, I feel like my hype of it may disappear completely. Ehh, my muse is a willful creature, what can I tell you...

So let’s hope at least SOME of these get to see the light of day soon!

#my scribbles #here you have it #a rather complete list of incomplete AoMomo stuff I'd say #Rally's works in the making #tagged as:#AoMomo #because it's all AoMomo #sorry for spamming the main tag with nonsense #Kuroko no Basuke #will I ever finish any and all of these?#here's to hoping!#a little bit insider info from the kitchen #fanfiction #writing

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she-toadmask · 4 years ago

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I’m kind of in a mood suddenly so below the cut there will be me just talking about fanfics I have read or am reading and why I like fanfic and stuff because I need to just

Fanfiction fucking rocks the basic part before all the stuff about it as the story just...it’s so easy to access and there’s so much and it’s just all there on the internet I don’t have to find a physical book

And on AO3 (where 90% of good currently-updating fic is afaik) there is TAGGING where you will know what you’re getting into (unless the author suddenly adds a sex scene and only then updates the tags but at least they give a warning at the start of the chapter but it doesn’t bother me as much as it did a couple years ago as long as I know it’s coming I know it’s a tool and it has its uses) with character drama and deaths and all that jazz not to mention how Ash being a badass has a specific tag and just other random things having tags that are important parts of the story

Like there are multiple fics I have found (not all of them are living fics sadly) of writing Ash’s journey in the beginning differently, like there was one I saw once that I kind of forgot to keep reading where he went to Sinnoh (and was still rivals with Paul and I think their ship tag was there?) and it said it was following game plot and then there’s one that I definitely don’t have open anymore because it didn’t update for some amount of time where he had a Joltik and then a Ferroseed and it’s really cool and a different one that’s still living and it’s called Pity of the World and Jesse + James (who is genderfluid in this fic) + Meowth are good people and stuff and just steal abused Pokemon and they run into Ash and they all end up being travel buddies and Ash understands Pokemon (not literally of course that’s not this fic) and also just knows what James’ gender is before they say anything and also in one chapter Zapdos is in Gringy City and says something about friendship being for mortals or something??? idk we’ll see and then there’s a different fic that I was reading and lost when switching devices and Ash was raised by Pokemon and literally can speak Pokemon and it was really neat but I haven’t tried to find where I left off because I’m too lazy for that tbh but it is still updating it’s Symbiosis or Symbiotic or something like that

Most things involving Ash that aren’t shippy or weird like that (ok there are some I’m not interested in but whapdfajaldjakjdf) end up being really cool because he’s a fucking legendary magnet which can either be played for laughs or deadly serious or just not be part of the fic if it isn’t relevant and so many fics use Aura it’s really cool (including Pity of the World I think he mega evolves Pidgeot (who evolves before leaving) when he fights Sabrina who does not have a doll in this fic) and there are different ways they do it and the thing I was mentioning about his connection with Pokemon like maybe it’s just a bit more than normal or it’s just yes he is everything and I kinda skipped out on gens 6 and 7 of the anime but I get enough to understand what they mean in chat fics and when referring to it in other fics it’s really cool

I think I mentioned Creepypasta and how there were two Harry Potter Creepypasta fics, one that was one and was slow to update if it wasn’t dead and one that was on the fourth one actually I was wrong about what number it was I think and updates every two weeks the first one is more lighthearted/written by a younger person like Slendy is a character and Harry x a lot of the ‘pastas I guess and it takes place starting before 4th year and the beginning is kinda meh with some weird dialogue and absurd levels of Dumbledore Ron and Hermione bashing but it does call out some of the other legitimate problems like how the lake trial in the tournament just kidnaps people which is very big because it was Ben who was kidnapped so big yikes there and honestly it’s not what you want to read if you want something really high-quality and serious like not that it doesn’t take itself seriously but it feels closer to something I would have read when I was in middle school than most of the Sanders Sides fics I read (just using that as comparison because the vast majority of that is well-written stuff). Then the other one!!!! For one it has a much more realistic/developed take on the Creepypastas’ existence like how the stories are how they exist with Slenderman being a cosmic horror being thing more than a character with character which is always really cool and Jeff kidnaps Harry as a baby (he is Boy when he is with the Creepypasta and Harry when at Hogwarts and there’s some really cool stuff about how they’re different) and, having lived with murderers, Harry gives zero fucks about things and kills Fluffy in the first book long before other stuff happens, Quirrel tries to use him to get the stone but gets annihilated at the mirror because family and then Voldemort is just a giant white snake for the rest of the series so far and also because he sucks Lockhart tries to exorcise Harry because Harry is fucking nuts and it’s great and also Harry is a Hufflepuff and there is probably more Gryffindor bashing than is necessary and pretty much all the adults get bashed for sucking (like in book 3 the boggart stuff is called out for being hella dangerous for them also Harry can’t cast the Patronus charm make of that what you will idk what) though Harry does make for quite the conversation topic among the teachers, Harry x Neville is the main ship and Neville eventually gets resorted into Hufflepuff because the Gryffindors are being massive dicks to him, also Harry flirts with Draco because Harry gives no fucks and it’s great (also both books give Luna lots of love, like the young one she’s a Seer like from Madame Macabre’s old webcomic that’s dead as it gets and the long one she’s just a good character and shit) and Harry makes these books to spread Slenderman’s legend throughout Britain/the Wizarding World and Draco may have gotten one and survived???? but now Neville has one during the summer months (and also through feeding Fanged Geraniums or whatever live stuff and blood instead of bonemeal he is creating Audrey II and straight-up says something about having to call it Harry Jr. but that’s probably just a little joke and isn’t going to stay beyond this but it’s just fun because Little Shop of Horrors slaps) and I have big fear about him doing the stuff and getting hurt and Harry/Boy conflict will be scary

There’s this other fic I found when trying to find good fics involving Ash and it’s kinda weird and seems to be written by a younger author but we’ll see where things go, like Harry got transported by Celebi to the world of Pokemon and Giovanni is Silver and Ash’s dad and they live with him and also Harry does too and he’s in a wheelchair and also is really smart and I wish we had gotten to spend a bit longer seeing their dynamics before when Harry is 14 the Goblet of Fire somehow spits his name out and Celebi helps with getting Harry (and also the other three because of course) safely there without dying because dimensional travel is hard and Celebi is friend and Luna gets to be important here too I think she’s shown up as a named student and guided them to a room and seems to know things about the castle and that’s kinda all there is so far there’s a bit more but it’s not got a lot yet I hope the author keeps going it’s a weird idea but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes

Oh I forgot to talk about it but there’s this whump Ash fic that was being written under one title but it got dropped and now it’s being rewritten with the same concept but under a new title and going about a lot of things a different way it’s just the same starting premise and the fic is Helpless and Ash almost dies multiple times and there’s this theme of adults failing him and also Gary fucks a thing up and Ash needs support and therapy (a good number of fics have Ash needing therapy but given the shit he’s been through that is not surprising especially from my limited knowledge of Kalos holy shit Lysandre was doing some mad shit) and it’s just good but it is a lot of hospital and Ash being hurt and almost dying so be warned if that isn’t a safe read for you

The reason I don’t just outright block explicit anymore despite the horrors of trying to find safe Pokemon fic on AO3 amidst the consensual porn, incest porn, pokephilia porn, etc., is I randomly decided to try and find some Sonic fanfic on AO3 because a couple people on YouTube have been doing Sonic story stuff (Sonic What If has some good stuff that’s just... what-if scenarios and then there’s Sonic Rewritten which takes a game’s plot and then redoes it but good like the Deadly Six having personalities or Sonic 06 not having maybe bestiality or Generations being more than ‘oh past and present stages now have nostalgia’ and Robotnik and Eggman are significantly different people in that one and it’s really cool) and I thought maybe I would find some good stuff on AO3 (which I have but nothing that I want to ramble about specifically though there was one fic where Eggman does Tails clone and then his original body dies so he’s stuck looking like Tails and it’s kinda wild) and I found a fic that was marked explicit because torture and violence (honestly it wasn’t that bad) and I like it and don’t want to miss something that I might like by accidentally blocking it and now when I try to find Pokemon fic I have to see Leon x Hop and Pokemon x human smut.

There’s one Sanders Sides fic that I was reading and I don’t remember the name nor do I know if it’s updating I think I lost it but it started from the beginning of the series with the Dark Sides being a platonic poly family and when they weren’t in the episode they were talking about it/the Light Sides and it’s honestly really really good and the author just decided to have Deceit’s name be Janus and it was amazing when it turned out that was his real name it was just great but IDK if the fic has been abandoned, I think I lost it in the shift, but it was really good (but sympathetic dark sides and unsympathetic patton and roman and logan for a bit so do be warned if those aren’t comfortable for you)

Oh yeah I remembered another fic I can talk about there was this one Creepypasta fic and it’s completed and it is a Jeff x Reader but it kind of just stops being about the romance after a certain point and just goes way off the rails. It starts like ‘oh this will be a normal x reader with mansion and Slendy is dad and Zalgo is probably evil’ and then NOPE SLENDERMAN HAS BEEN RAISING FAMILIES THAT LOVE HIM TO TURN THEM INTO CRYSTALS TO MAKE HIM MORE POWERFUL AND ZALGO IS AGAINST THAT and it just is great like I never see Zalgo being good, like Slenderman being evil or whatever is plenty common (especially in the innumerable ARG fics I don’t read because I don’t have the attention span to learn what the fuck the source is) but never in tandem with Zalgo being anything but chaotic evil n shit it’s wild and it’s great and also Slenderman’s parents have faces I guess idk that was weird also there is one smut chapter but like the author said you can skip the smut and I did and didn’t feel like I missed any plot stuff so if that’s a no for you just keep an eye out for the author’s warning. It is by a younger writer, as demonstrated by its daily updates while it was being written, tiny chapters, and some general writing style stuff common to younger writers, but honestly I just love it for being something so wildly different, under the guise of a typical x Reader fic.

Speaking of ship stuff and Creepypasta the trilogy of Sans x Creepypasta fics are amazing. The writer definitely improves over time, the beginning of the first book kind of has the weird ‘then I knew I was in love’ stuff from a couple of the pastas (then again I’m ace and demiro so starting romance is just generally weird) but it is just a really good series. Sans ends up with seven kids in the third book and, while everyone else in the Undertale cast is bashed in the first two, Papyrus does seem to get some redemption in the third, so there is that. Also Murderer Sans is a fantastic tag, Gaster made a deal with Zalgo to create the skelebros and Sans is more demon than Papyrus by a lot and Zalgo is trying to kidnap Sans and Sans’ children so he has his family together to destroy the world and wander free and it’s wild and also Chara and Flowey show up and also LJ being an angel is mentioned and relevant to the plot for a bit so that’s neat and I don’t know all the details of how it ends because I lost it when I shifted and didn’t want to find where I was but it’s a great fic (albeit with a few things I can argue on) and the author has also been writing other Sans x Creepypasta stuff but I haven’t read it because idk

I really wish I had a good Minecraft fanfic to gush about but I really don’t it’s hard to find Minecraft fic that isn’t tuber-based, either Dream and friends (which occasionally I find a good one but so much is either Dream SMP which I have no interest in getting into, involves people I don’t know from Dream SMP, or just is shippy or straight-up doesn’t have a premise I’m interested in) or Hermitcraft (I fell behind so I have no idea what’s happening anymore) (but also like Mianite and Aphmau stuff but not as much as used to, but now Dream rules all so), and it just sucks. Like if some of it was Team Crafted fic I would be on board like hell yeah give me that nostalgia juice but it’s so much shit I just don’t know. I love the idea of Minecraft fanfic because there are so many options for the world and you can either make your own characters and you probably have to but then there’s just if you use Steve Alex Herobrine or Notch how they are written depends on the author and I live for that shit it’s a big part of why I read Creepypasta fic it’s because I like when there are different ways characters can be done (not unsympathetic or sympathetic like Patton so much like straight-up different characters) like Herobrine and Notch are the big ones like good vs evil, involved vs not, serious vs comedic, there are so many different ways to play them and I’m so disappointed AO3 doesn’t have much of it and so much of it is just Dream stuff and it usually just isn’t what I’m after in a fic.

The only other fics coming to mind right now are two wildly different fics involving Springtrap x Reader, one of them is being transferred from Wattpad for copy reasons, complete with tiny-ass chapters and that language that’s just so middle-school in the best way possible (like William and Springtrap are different consciousnesses and they way the author describes their struggle at one point is just so similar to a stupid thing I did and I have so much affection for it) and the other is legitimately really really good and the reader-insert has recently found out that Springtrap is William Afton and has murdered many children and they are currently dying multiple times to help his victims pass on because they can see ghosts and it’s actually really good and I have no idea where things are going, reader has currently met up with Michael Afton, currently all purple and dead and stuff, and has learned about remnant (weird-ass shit from modern FNAF lore) and it’s getting wild. I feel like there are two types of FNAF fic, ones in the style of FNAF 3/4 and earlier and ones from maybe 4 onward. Like ones where the lore was basically ‘bad man committed murder against children and they’re possessing the animatronics and that’s why they’re trying to kill you’ and then 4 starts having some more expansive lore ish and then after that it just goes everywhere with remnant and scooping and even more locations and also the books matter probably??? There is this one fic involving Glitchtrap that hasn’t updated in a bit and it’s fun, I like the idea of Glitchtrap and really wish I could read more fic just centered around FNAF VR. Then again, BEN was always one of my favorites and after I stopped being absolutely terrified of Herobrine I really liked his possibilities, maybe I just like the story utility and possible execution of characters with wide-ranging powers over technology and affecting the real world outside of it, IDK.

Ok I’m out of ramble energy, and also topics unless I go more in-depth about specific character options, but my energy is gone so I think that’s the end of it. I typed 3,000 words about fanfictions I’m reading and probably could have talked more about some of them if I wanted. This is my new hyperfixation. I guess. At least I know I have one, it’s reassuring to know for some reason, like for a while I missed how much Pokemon was my life in elementary school and Minecraft was in sixth grade, like it was nice just having something to focus on, though maybe that’s just the college and depression talking.

That was good, I’m glad I did that. Y’all are loved.

If you seriously read this entire thing... Wow. I really appreciate you digitally listening to me talking about random fanfic shit that I like. You’re really really cool.

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greensaplinggrace · 5 years ago

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Hello! This is kind of out there but I was wondering if you could do a post apocolypse au? With tons of Barret but not very shippy. With lots of found family though! Thanks

“I know you didn't list Barret as one of the character you write, but you also said that the list was only a sort of guideline and not actually hard rules. If that's the case could you maybe do a prompt for some Dad!Barret and Marlene fluff? Thank you 💞💕” - Anon

Filling two prompts at once here, so I hope this fits the bill for both! Also I got really into this prompt so I’m honestly probably going to continue it? If so, it’ll on ao3, but here’s what I’ve written so far. Sort of the start of the fic/a prologue. A five + 1 type premise, beginning with Tifa XD

-UPDATE! The fic is now finished - PART 2 - PART 3 - ALL PARTS ON AO3

-If you want to send in a prompt, the guidelines are HERE and HERE!

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His daughter makes him a crown of dead flowers.

Barricaded inside of some long abandoned home, the only pieces of nature still visible are the wilted remains of a bouquet once gathered neatly in a vase. They’re faded, of course. Neglected and passed over for more urgent necessities; victims to the cruel fate of the merciless virus. Just as humans had been.

Just like every other living thing on the planet.

Yet Marlene doesn’t seem to mind. As soon as they’re both settled in for the night she takes the flowers up, small fingers clutching ever so delicately at the crumbling stems, and weaves him a crown. Kicking her feet on an old dusty couch and humming away, she even appears almost happy and content, though he knows she’s not.

He knows she’s afraid. Sees it every day in her frightened tears and hears it every night in the tiny, terrified whimpers of her nightmares.

These things - these small, innocuous pieces of joy she seems to find at the strangest of moments, are the only pieces of innocence she has left. Her only protection from the monsters inside of her head.

Barret can’t rob her of that; he never could. Even if the flowers she plays with are dead and the couch she sits on once belonged to someone else. So when she looks up at him with wide brown eyes and that big, loving smile, presenting his crown like the glittering tiara she imagines it is, he can’t do anything else but kneel to accept it.

Can’t do anything else but return the smile and play pretend, heart aching with the loss of something he knows she’ll never get back.

Sometimes, he thinks of what his life would be like without her. Thinks of the kids out on the streets and the parents he’s met along the roads. Shell shocked, blank faced victims, waiting for the infected to end it all, and he knows he’s lucky. Lucky to have her at all in this destructive world, and the loss of her innocence isn’t so horrifying in the face of her simply being here with him. Safe and cared for and alive.

Because Marlene is the only thing he has left in the world - she’s the only one who matters - and he knows he’d do just about anything to keep her safe.

More importantly, though. More than anything else. He’d do anything to keep her happy.

So he plays pretend.

He wears the crown made from dead people’s things and cooks in their kitchen. Ignores the plundered and violated remains of their home to search through his own bag for some food, and hopes that his little girl doesn’t go looking upstairs to see the empty baby’s nursery.

Dinner is small again. It’s been beans and carrots for the past week, and it’ll be beans and carrots again today. Considering their circumstances, it isn’t exactly surprising. Watching over Marlene means making certain sacrifices, and raiding the bigger places for better supplies is simply too difficult with a child in tow.

Impossibly difficult.

But it may soon be necessary, if things keep going the way they are. The thought that he might have to expose Marlene to the atrocities of their new world doesn’t sit well with him, but he might have to start doing so if he wants to keep them both alive and fed. Especially if he wants any tools of a high enough quality to maintain his arm.

Right now it works, but the thing is too slow to be useful for anything except shooting, and he relegates it to hanging limp and useless beside him on most days. Though even when his arm had been working at it’s finest, it was never useful for cooking.

Mechanized gun arms tend to be like that.

“Daddy?”

He hums, pots and pans banging, relieved when the stove starts without problem. “Yes, honey?”

“Where do you think the people who lived here moved away to?”

That warrants a glance backwards, and Barret turns to see Marlene still on the couch. She’s got a large photo album opened up on her lap now, flipping through it with a childlike curiosity. Her feet are still kicking off the edge of her seat, and after a beat of silence she looks up at him questioningly.

He pushes back the urge to snatch the book away from her - to protect her from the darkness only he can see hiding between the pages.

Alive or dead, those are happy photos. Moments of a better life and a better time, and Marlene’s touch can only make them brighter. So he leaves her to it and returns to his cooking.

“They could be anywhere,” he still tells her, hoping to give her whatever small shred of hope he can, “maybe they’re hiding somewhere safer.”

“Like a Camp?”

“Maybe.” The nearest Camp isn’t for miles, but he knows the army and fast formed neighborhood watches had been evacuating people to safe sites. A lot of those had been transformed into Camps or eventually transferred to other Camps. For anybody living near the city, it isn’t exactly a stretch to imagine.

More of a stretch than Barret can muster, though.

“What if they Clustered?” Marlene asks after a moment of thought.

Barret isn’t at all expecting the words, and he barely manages to bite back an unsavory comment upon hearing them. What Marlene refers to as Clusters, most call Mobs, and he’d rather jump off a damn cliff than ever even look at one again. He doesn’t want to scare her, though. So instead he clears his throat and focuses on making their plates to distract himself, lips tightening.

“Then at least they’d be safe,” he offers mildly.

“Well then why aren’t we in one? If it’s safe, I mean.”

“Because it’s only safe for certain people, baby.” When she opens her mouth he cuts her off, raising the plates in an apology. “You just have to trust me, okay? Let’s talk about something else.”

At her huff of reluctant acceptance he moves back to the couch, sitting close and pulling away the photo album.

He closes it and tosses it aside immediately, but in the half second his gaze finds the photos, he notices they’re all of a happy old couple. Thin and frail and paler than porcelain from a distinct lack of sun.

Dead, he realizes.

There’s no way they would have made it.

“Daddy? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine. Let’s eat, huh? We gotta finish up soon if we want you in bed on time.”

Marlene pouts at that, suitably distracted, and they both dig into their food with gusto.

Speculating about strangers will get in him nowhere, he knows. Especially when it comes to the dead ones.

There’ll be time for mourning later.

Much, much later.

So he sits and he eats and talks about ponies and princesses, the crown still adorning his head, and he doesn’t think about anything except his daughter.

Doesn’t think about a thing except how he’s going to keep her alive.

They finish their meal in record time. Soon enough, Barret is tucking a fussy Marlene into bed. She’s curled up in her cot near the living room heater, bundled beneath some extra blankets he found in the linen closet, and she’s out like a light as soon as her head hits the pillow.

Barret sits and keeps watch while she sleeps. Through the slivers of space between boards, he watches dusk pass peacefully by. The infected begin to meander away once his and Marlene’s disturbance becomes old news to them, and a silence befalls their cozy sanctuary as the sky gradually darkens.

Then shit goes horribly, explosively sideways.

It happens in the middle of the night: a deafening boom that rocks the world and instantly has Barret on high alert. The air around them erupts in a blaze of fire and screams, upper level catching like dry tinder before he can so much as blink.

Barret jumps to his feet with a yell, turning to grab Marlene as the ceiling crumbles around them. She’s glossy eyed and confused, but he doesn’t have the time to explain it to her. Doesn’t have the time to do a thing as beams pop around them, tires screeching in the near distance. Then the sound of shattering windows rends the silence of the night, a sadistic chorus of hoots and hollers following right at its heels.

The approaching thunder of footsteps is what pushes Barret into motion. Quickly, with the rise of voices goading him to move faster than he ever has before, Barret pulls their bags onto one shoulder, hefting his little girl over the other, and races to the crooked backdoor. He kicks it down amidst a cascade of red hot cinders, ducking underneath the doorway without hesitation, and looks up to see dewy grass stretching out cold and exposed before them.

Another explosion sounds out from the house, the footsteps beginning to get closer as the war cries rise, and he has no time to waste anymore - no time for second thoughts.

Barret takes Marlene and he runs.

------

After that night, their situation only gets worse. The Mob isn’t tracking Barret down, but it’s clear they’ve set up shop in the surrounding buildings and aren’t planning to move anytime soon.

As a result, Barret gives the city a wide berth. Skirting past the outermost houses and heading into the open fields, he eventually leads them into the surrounding forests. He’s hoping for some modicum of safety within the boughs, but greenery is scarce and the leaves are falling. Winter’s chill becomes more prominent with every passing night to exacerbate the issue, and it drives home their need for four walls and a roof like nothing else ever could.

Yet for now, it’s better than nothing. Better than being left so vulnerable again, defenseless in another family’s home.

The added protection of the trees brings other problems, however. They’re isolated from civilization and traders out here, with no friendly faces to be seen for miles, and the subsequent dip in their supplies is severe.

By the end of their first week camping out in the forests, Barret finds himself staring at his and Marlene’s very last can of beans, and knows without a doubt that they’ve finally hit the breaking point.

They’re going to have to go looting again if they want some food.

And it is that thought that finds Barret and Marlene outside the remains of an empty, half hidden store just a few too many paces off the main road. With not a single infected in sight, it looks like the perfect mark.

Marlene huffs into the chill beside him, breath fogging. “What if there are monsters inside?”

“Daddy will take care of them! Don’t you worry a bit about that.”

Marlene shuffles her feet and ducks her head. She has a death grip on his fingers, body closed off and fearful, and he already regrets making the decision to come out here. All around them, the silence of the abandoned store echoes with a warning.

“I’m scared,” she whispers at the ground, and Barret squeezes her hand lightly in reassurance.

“It’ll be real quick, baby, I promise,” he says, voice strong even as he eyes the flickering store lights with trepidation, “we’ve just gotta run in and out. Grab all the food we can carry and haul ass, huh?”

“But I can’t carry lots,” Marlene replies mournfully.

“That’s no problem! I’ll do most of the carrying. Your job is just to stay on my shoulder and make me feel better.”

“Like a cheerleader?”

“Exactly like a cheerleader. You’re my hype crew!”

Her giggle lights up the dark parking lot, and he kneels to give her a gentle hug. When her small hands come up to wrap around his neck he gets an arm under her, lifting her up with exaggerated force until she’s clutching at his fingers and giggling wildy.

Shifting her to his shoulder is almost easy after that. She’s distracted and pleased, beginning to hum her little happy song again as she kicks her legs in the air, and Barret hates himself for having to make it go away.

“Now you gotta hold on real tight, remember? Cause I need both hands free for this.” He looks up to see her nod and frown seriously, heart aching at the maturity in her expression.

“Okay,” she whispers, “I’ll be quiet, too.”

“Good. Just like we practiced.”

“Mhm!”

Then it’s go time.

They move towards the store slowly and enter with care. Barret’s desperate but he’s not going to act the fool. There could be any number of threats inside, and he isn’t going to risk his daughter because he acted rashly - made too much noise or stepped too loudly. Isn’t going to give the infected the satisfaction of seeing him fall.

Marlene is careful, too. She’s got a death grip on his shoulder and his hair the entire time he walks. Yet the pain is nothing compared to knowing she’s safe, so he stays silent as they creep past the threshold.

As soon as he steps foot in the building he sees the checkout. It’s right beside the door, as he’d known it would be, but it’s holding way more registers and lanes than he’d planned on seeing. Immediately, Barret takes a longer look at the aisles spreading out a fair distance in front of them, and realizes with dread that this store is a lot bigger than he’d given it credit for.

The CVS sign in the far corner blares accusingly from its place above another, smaller checkout.

Medicine is his first thought - his only thought - for a long time after seeing it. And of course it is. Medicine is indescribably valuable during catastrophes such as this. It’s priceless.

And he’s staring at a whole roomful of it.

This store hasn’t been looted, he realizes blankly, and that’s when the second thought hits. Harsh and brutal as if he’s been hit by a truck.

Threat, his mind blares, and he’s instantly tensing as he readies for a battle or a confrontation - anything.

This is no longer a simple search for remaining loot. Any Mob or Camp worth a damn would be on this shit in seconds if they knew it was here, and they wouldn’t shy away from using any means necessary to obtain the supplies.

Hell, if a Syndicate finds this place they might as well give up on life right now.

His heart skips a beat, hand coming up for just a brief moment to squeeze tightly at his little girl’s leg, and she hugs him from above. She doesn’t say anything, though. Merely patting the top of his head in an attempt at comfort.

Smart girl, he thinks, moving to grab one of the shopping carts lying about. It’s completely intact, and even the mere presence of a fully functioning shopping cart at the entrance of the store lets him know nobody has set foot in this place since shit hit the fan.

They’re loud but they’re handy, and Barret plans on filling the entire thing to brimming. With this whole basket full they’ll be able to eat well for weeks.

An insistent hand tugs at his hair. “Daddy?”

“Yeah, honey.” He begins to wheel the cart around, but Marlene’s next words stop him dead.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” He demands, but he’s already tensing, gun charged up and free hand coming to steady his little girl.

He whirls around to face the back rooms just as she yells out a “that!”, and as if on cue a crash rings out, several voices rising in the sounds of a fight. Barret barely has the time to raise his gun and take a step back before the doors are bursting open, a long haired woman flying through to skid painfully across the white tiles.

Marlene gasps. “Daddy, it’s a girl!”

“Marlene baby, don’t-”

Then the doors burst open a second time with a reverberating thud. It’s loud enough to wake any infected in the nearby vicinity, and though Barret doesn’t hear any cries rise up from the surrounding forest, he knows it’s only a matter of time before some creature comes looking.

“Hey!” He snaps at the people coming through the doors. They’re all white men, though two are big and burly while the other is slighter, only coming up to their shoulders.

All three look pissed as hell.

“Who the hell is that?” One of them hisses, gesturing with a bloodied wooden bat in Barret’s direction, and Barret wastes no time in directing his gun straight at the man’s ugly mug.

“I’m your worst damn nightmare unless you back the fuck down, boy!” He growls menacingly, and though his chest tightens at Marlene’s fearful whimper, he doesn’t let the stony facade fade.

The smaller man scoffs. “You and what army? The seven year old on your shoulder? I hate to break it to you big guy, but that we could take you both down within seconds.” The cocky shit brandishes a pistol as he speaks, finger pressed so tightly to the trigger Barret’s half afraid he’ll fire wide without meaning to.

Subtly, he tightens his hold of Marlene, about to speak again when the woman on the ground coughs and rises to her hands and knees.

“No!” She protests loudly, to both Barret and the smaller man’s surprise. Her voice is scratchy yet strong with heated conviction, eyes burning a brilliant red as they come up to glare accusingly at the other. “She’s only a little girl, don’t-”

“Any fool stupid enough to carry around a brat during the apocalypse deserves to have her ripped from his fingers.” It’s one of the larger man that speaks this time around, and Barret has to grit his teeth through the rush of anger that sears through his veins, seconds away from putting thirty fucking bullets through the man’s worthless smirking face.

“What the hell did you just say?!” He demands.

“I said we’re going to kill you and your little brat, and then after that we’re going to kill this stupid whore for thinking she could steal from us!”

“No!” Barret’s heart almost stops at Marlene’s shout. The way every eye in the room is drawn to her. The way the gun points straight at her head - “You can’t hurt her! She’s ours, now. Tell them, Daddy!”

Barret turns to break the gunman’s line of sight, but surprisingly it’s the woman who speaks again, shaking her head wildly as she struggles to get to her feet. “Please! Please don’t get involved. I don’t want anybody else to get hurt.”

Stunned, all Barret can do for a moment is stand frozen, staring down at her. Her face is bruised and swollen, lip split and bleeding where she’s biting it aggressively to fight back the pain, and her arm curls around her ribs in a way that indicates they’re at least bruised, if not broken. Yet still she tries to rise up in their defense - in his daughter’s defense - despite her injured and unarmed state.

“Daddy-”

“I know, honey.” He can’t risk Marlene but he can’t just stand idly by as someone else gets hurt.

Before he knows it and before anybody can do a thing to react, he’s stepping forward and placing himself firmly between the woman and the three twitchy men. They all buck back like frightened horses at his rapid approach, making harsh, surprised noises that instantly tell Barret what he needs to know.

So he grins and bars his teeth, massive gun swinging around to aim at each of them for a second. Lingering until every last one is skittering uncomfortably, shifty eyed and sweating.

“I ain’t gon’ let you touch this girl and I am sure as hell not gonna let you so much as look or think about my daughter again! Now scram!” Bullets ring through the air, battering the concrete by the group’s heads and making them scream with terror, scattering like ants. Even the gunman forgets his own weapon and fragile bravado to turn tail and flee right behind his friends.

Then, as quickly as they’d appeared, the men are gone; glass doors sliding closed behind them as they stumble and stagger their way through the entire length of the parking lot and disappear into the trees.

Barret doubts they’ll last long with the infected in their current states, so he doesn’t bother chasing them. Instead, heart racing and mouth dry, he falls to his knees beside the woman. Though he pays her no heed as he sweeps his daughter from his shoulders and tucks her close to his chest.

“Are you alright?” He gasps into her hair. “Are you okay? Did they-did they-”

Marlene giggles, squirming against his hold until he’s forced to let her go. She twists her dirty pink shoes against the floor and holds her hands behind her back, smiling up at him so widely her eyes crease with the force of it. “I’m fine, Daddy!”

He sighs and checks her over with his eyes. Nobody had attacked them, of course, but he just can’t shake the fear that she could have died. One stray bullet or unfortunate ricochet. If the men had been any braver or the woman any more willing to use her proximity against them. If…

“You promise?”

“I promise!”

He gives her another quick hug, because she’s his daughter and she’s alive and he can, and then pulls away again to take a look at the woman behind them.

She’s dead to the world, eyes closed and completely limp. So still that if it wasn’t for her breathing, Barret would be hard pressed to think she was dead.

“Is she our friend now?” Marlene asks, going to her tip-toes to peer around his large bulk curiously.

Barret snorts. “What did I tell you about strangers?”

“To never talk to them or trust them and to always stay away from them!” Marlene recites proudly.

“That’s right! That’s very good, Marlene. If you meet a stranger you come straight to me, okay?”

He pats her on the head, but that doesn’t stop her from huffing with agitation and clenching her hands into fists, glaring up at him stubbornly. “But you are here. And she helped us!”

“I know-” Barret begins, but Marlene cuts him off.

“We can’t leave her behind, Daddy. She’s hurt and it’s our duty to help people. You always say that.”

“No, it’s my duty to always help people. It’s your duty to stay out of danger so Daddy doesn’t worry about you.”

She doesn’t respond this time around, bringing out the full force of her puppy dog eyes as she pouts, and Barret shakes his head, circling the woman’s battered form. Her breathing is heavy and steady, so at least she doesn’t seem to have a lung problem, and when he runs his fingers along her ribs he’s relieved to note that they’re only bruised and not broken. Painful but manageable. She should be up and about soon.

If they take her back.

Barret sighs, glancing over to Marlene’s wide, pleading eyes. “Who the hell am I kidding?” he grumbles to himself, moving the woman to a more secure position.

“So we’re keeping her?” Marlene asks, solemnity instantly turning to excitement at whatever she’s gleaned from his actions.

“Only until she’s better.”

“Okay!” Marlene squeals. She holds her arms up expectantly until Barret leans down and scoops her onto his shoulder. “We can bring her back with us!”

“After we get the food, sweetheart. You know we need the supplies.”

“‘Kay. Supplies first, then her, then home!”

“Yeah...home.”

And that’s how it begins. With one person - one chance encounter - and in a second their family has grown.

Tifa Lockhart, she later tells them her name is, while still laid up in the cot they’d prepared for her beneath the swaying boughs of the tallest tree.

She won’t stay for long, is all Barret can think in response, watching his chipper daughter chatter happily into her ear. She’ll leave before the night is out, and we’ll never see her again.

And only later - five more people and two years later - will he realize that he was gloriously, beautifully wrong.

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effervescible · 4 years ago

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Trick or Treat 2020 letter

Hi there! Thanks for checking out my letter! First, I want to note that while I hope my likes & prompts are helpful in sparking ideas, optional ideas are optional, and I'd rather you go with a premise that you feel really good about and are jazzed to create rather than something that checks a lot of boxes but you don't feel strongly about.

General likes: adventures, complicated relationships, loyalty/BFFs being rock solid in the face of adversity, canon divergence/"for want of a nail" AUs, time travel, exploring the setting beyond what's shown in canon, outsider point of view, established relationships, found family/unusual family arrangements, in-world texts, amnesia, exploring identity issues, supernatural elements, characters wrangling with past mistakes without demonizing anyone, close friends forced to fight, missing scenes, post-canon events, characters being very competent DNWs: AUs other than canon divergence, omegaverse, cheating/infidelity, non-canon gender identities, major character death, hopeless endings (anst is fine though), excessively saccharine fluff (but general good feelings/happy stuff is fine) If you're interested in writing smut, please no scat, watersports or dubcon/noncon (though bad idea sex that characters might kick themselves for later is absolutely fine). More detailed stuffed regarding my requests: KINGDOM HEARTS I only requested Roxas as a character because I'd really like something where he is either the main character or has a strong role, but feel free to include whatever other characters you like! I adore the sea salt trio to the moon on back, but I also enjoy seeing him interact with characters he had no or few interactions with in canon. His relationship with Sora and how complicated it can be is also endlessly fascinating to me. I also enjoy bouncing him off Riku, Ven, the BBS trio and his former Organization comrades, especially those who only knew him as a dazed clueless kid and not an angry ball of pointy fury. A few canon-specific requests/notes: -If you write something post-KH3, feel free to fast forward slightly and assume Sora's been brought back somehow, you don't even have to explain how. -Please no post-KH3 resurrected/redeemed Vanitas; I felt satisfied with the resolution of his story in KH3. That said, if you wanted to include him in some other way, that's cool! -Also please no dad!Isa. I think their relationship becoming something more positive is interesting and complicated, but I just can't buy that he'd ever have that kind of emotional authority over Roxas. (Using him as a Fake Parent for plot purposes makes me chuckle though.) As far as ship stuff goes, please no Axel/Roxas (nothing against it, it's just not how I see their relationship) or Namine/Roxas (KH2 leaned too hard into the Sora/Kairi parallelism for me to enjoy it romantically.) Platonic friendships with both of them are A+++ though. tbh I'm not super shippy about him with anyone, but if you have an idea that includes a ship, I'm pretty okay with all other characters, male or female. Spooky Scary ideas: -Delving into the nature of Nobodyhood and being half a person and just being different from standard humans has a lot of potential here. And of course Roxas has identity issues ahoy. He might be in a much better place post-KH3 but that doesn't mean everything is 100% great now. -Visiting creepy places. Maybe a missing portion from Days, or something post-KH3 now that he can travel as much as he wants? -Canon divergence AUs/time travel/supernatural stuff where Stuff Goes Wrong is always interesting. Sweet Treat ideas: -Post-KH3 ADVENTURE TIME. Suddenly Roxas has a lot of free time! He and some friends deserve to go exploring. -Roxas meeting and getting to know the Twilight Town kids for real. What was that like? -General trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life now that it's his own. Getting to know the other wielders outside of a crisis situation. -Terra and Aqua dealing with Ven's sudden non-evil twin also has a lot of potential. ASSASSIN'S CREED Similar to Kingdom Hearts, I only listed Altair because I like him so much, but feel free to include most other characters! He became one of my favorite Assassins because I'm really fond of the Huge Jerkass Learns To Not Be a Jerkass and Becomes Kinda Cool Actually trope, as well as his boundless intellectual curiosity and extreme competence (while still being very flawed.) Sweet Treat ideas: -What about some slice of life, even if that life is mainly in an Assassin stronghold? The mundane side of being a mysterious stabby brotherhood is alway fun to explore, along with Altair having to actually run Masyaf once he takes power. Would especially love to see Malik by his side for the latter, because I'm sure there's a lot to mine there. -Maybe a look at younger Altair hitting some milestones as he grew up, before he became an arrogant dick. -I'm pretty fond of dad!Altair because I doubt it would come naturally to him but he'd care so much. Spooky Scary Ideas: -The Pieces of Eden are always really creepy when they activate in-game, so inventing new ancient artifacts that facilitate creepy shit happening would be a lot of fun. -An Assassination gone wrong in some way? I do enjoy angst and whump. Also, not sure which this would fall under (maybe both), but finagling time travel (either real or simulated somehow) so Altair can meet other AC characters is something I enjoy a lot. Caveat - I have not played Oddysey, so please nothing after Origins if you want to give this a try. Character-wise, I love how his relationship with Malik evolved from bitterness to ride or die. Altair and Malik as either best friends or a couple are both excellent, but if you write them as a couple during a time period when Maria Thorpe would be around, I'd prefer you just pretend she doesn't exist rather than finagle a breakup or infidelity. (I also like them as a throuple but please don't feel pressured on this - I'm mainly looking to avoid a 'Altair never really cared about her' scenario.) OVERWATCH NGL, I ship Mercy/Moira like burning, but very much as a complicated thing where their differing ethics present an insurmountable barrier between them yet they're incredibly drawn to one another both personally and intellectually, and a lot of angst ensues (well, for Mercy; I'm not sure Moira actually cares about the ethics division.) They're especially interesting to me when Moira's edges aren't smoothed down - I LIKE that she could take some really dubious actions and still be someone Mercy can't quite get over. That said! If you don't feel them as a ship, pretty much everything I just said also applies to them as professional peers/onetime friends/science rivals, just without the sexual tension. Sweet Treat Ideas: -Pre-Overwatch shutdown/Talon era where they're actually working on a project together or sparking cool new scientific ideas or just smoochin' if you go for a ship. -Likewise earlier in canon - Mercy and Moira both want to woo the other one but have VERY different ideas about how to go about it. (Babe, I did some mad science for you, isn't it romantic?) -Surely Overwatch had at least one obligatory office Halloween event -Epistolary fic feels like it could be really fun. Spooky Scary ideas: -I mean, Moira is the evil/amoral scientist trope, I feel like you could get a ton of creepy stuff just from there. -Bad idea ex sex -General clashing of ideals + angst Also I'm explicitly counting Dr. Junkenstein-verse AU fic as being the exception to my request for only canon divergence AUs. That would be a ton of fun, for either a trick or a treat.

#exchange letters #fandom

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franstastic-ideas · 6 years ago

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Franstastic Prompts Vol. 1

I cracked open my Undertale word document where I type down any stray or random idea for a story that pops into my weird little head. I've selected the best ones of the bunch since not all of them are all that shippy (although perhaps a more creative mind could steer the narrative to make it more shippy). Maybe I'll release the others and make more if this volume goes well enough.

Each prompt comes with:

A punny title (though some of the more serious ones don't)

A descriptor of what universe the story occurs in

A barebones summary of the prompt

Here we go!

Prompt #1

Present Day, Present Time - Undertale - A few months after the barrier is broken, on Christmas day, Frisk gifts Sans with the Reset button as a sign of trust and goodwill between them, telling him it’s his now: to use, to keep, or to destroy. It’s his power now. It may be the best gift Sans has ever received. Sans finally feels like he can move forward.

And he can feel in his SOUL that he wants to move forward with Frisk.

Also, Sans can’t get over the fact that Frisk used the hypothetical situation of marrying Burgerpants to assert her age when he calls her 'kid' one too many times.

Prompt #2

I’m Telling the Tooth! - Underfell AU - Sans’s gold tooth gets knocked out during a physical confrontation with a rude human. Unfortunately for him, this means a trip to the dentist’s, and Asgore isn’t the only monster that feels uneasy about dental work. Anesthesia is required for the procedure, and when he wakes up, he makes a lot of loving claims about her that Frisk can’t really believe are true. He says he likes her. He really likes her. He loves her. He wants to marry her. He's skipping more than a few integral steps of the courting process.

Prompt #3

Icy You Thought You’d Get Away - Underswap AU - In order to escape battling Sans, Chara jumps onto a chunk of ice heading down the river towards Hotland and the CORE. Sans spots her however, and he and Papyrus are forced to race across the riverbank to catch the human before she slips and falls into the icy water and drowns or freezes to death.

Prompt #4

Nothing To Get Egg-cited Over - Lamiatale AU, Swapfell AU - Chara is a simple country girl living out in the sticks. One day the chickens are acting up and she notices a monster lurking around the premises from her window – a lamia. Somewhat fearful, she avoids him and he makes no move to interact directly with her. However, when she wakes up in the mornings after, the eggs are already gathered in a basket on her doorstep and some of her other chores are already done…

Prompt #5

Hemophobia - Undertale - In many headcanons, Sans has frequent nightmares about the Judgement Hall, Papyrus’s demise, and his friends and the rest of the Underground falling victim to a genocidal Frisk. If Frisk never hurt anyone in any of the timelines, what might he dream of instead? All the times he witnessed Frisk’s death. Sans unwillingly recalls these times, and he learns that death is not as clean as it is on TV.

#frans #sans x frisk #papara #papyrus x chara #undertale #underfell #underswap #swapfell #fellswap #lamiatale #franstastic writes

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warlordgab · 7 years ago

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One Piece shipping fuel: Manga Vs. Anime

This was made by One Piece fans from the Orojackson forum.

It seems that a considerable amount of people, non-shippers included, can acknowledge the remarkable strength and the impact of LuNa as a potent relationship. Still the fact people are able to grasp it is a great accomplishment for the manga, because the anime adaptation is not always on point when it comes to adapting the source material

Sometimes this happens because the staff at the time merely provide with their own interpretation of characters and story. And this interpretation is what defines the way they adapt the manga into the anime. So they ignored, changed, and altered scenes; and their take on characters and story affected the way anime-only watchers percieved characterization in One Piece

However, we should also recognize that sometimes they did something that could highlight the premise of LuNa. Something fans appreciated. One example would be the first anime episode, although their choice at that time was more likely a nod to Oda's original intent of having Nami as Luffy's first companion.

Other times the changes they made were justified because of censorship, such as this scene in the Kuro arc...

...or Whitebeard getting half of his face instantly melted away.

Both changed in the anime to something less "intense" (ultimately a good call on this 2nd panel)

But there are many times when they arbitrary overlook scenes, change them, and even add to them. And this trend heavily impacts the position people take regarding the relationships set in the story

This post will showcase how the anime adaptation downplayed one premise to overplay another. Most of the times it's subtle, sometimes it's not...

1) During the Buggy arc:

In the manga, we see Nami feeding Luffy and saying she basicaly has nothing against him, so she'll let him out later, which showcases Nami's morals aren't entirelly Lost and rotten. She is a kind person inside and can even overlook the fact that Luffy is a pirate, because he wasn't "bad" to her

In the anime... this scene doesn't exist. It was adapted out of the anime. What reason could they had to make such a call? We'll see it soon enough

2) Ending of the Kuro arc: In the manga, Nami's reaction to Luffy's odd mix of stubbornness and carefreeness is merely a sweatdrop...

In the anime Nami reacts more violently towards Luffy's attitude at that moment

It doesn't seem like much, but it's the start of a pattern that would be upheld by the TOEI for years to come. They started subtle but little by little they gained confidence in their very own way of portraying characterization 3) Sanji meets the SHs In the manga, Nami manipulates Sanji and warns the others to be careful. Next thing she sees is Sanji letching around...

In the anime, this moment is conspicuously missing. Sanji just flirts with Nami and gets interrupted by Zeff. What reason could have TOEI to remove that scene? Were they trying to show Sanji only focusing on certain girl? 4) Arlong Park... The arc that provided with, what many readers considered, he third most impactful pre-timeskip One Piece moment. What did TOEI changed?

In the manga we a simple yet beautiful and meaningful way during the conclusion of this arc: After Luffy provided with hope, comfort, strength, and emotional support, all through a highly significant gesture. Nami returns said gesture to Luffy in a silent scene...

In the anime, this was downgraded to a mere high-five (granted some shippers enjoyed this anyway, but others found it kinda upsetting)

What reason could TOEI have to water down what the arc stablished as a meaningful gesture between two characters? Well, if you lived in Japan by that time you probably got the answer

But, to be fair. They later corrected this in the OVA: Episode of Nami

Still, that doesn’t mean TOEI animation stopped the trend that started during these earlier days.

5) 98.72%

During the final closure of the Arlong Park arc, there was a scene that, at first glance, seemed like a bit of comedy, but it’s actual ship-tease...

Some people take this 98.72% scene seriously without realizing, the pervy cook never made such a calc in the manga

6) Before they arrived to Jaya In the manga, Nami angrily refuses Sanji's shell and walks away...

In the anime, we had another not so obvious change: while they kept her “funnily” aggressive reaction toward Luffy. They toned down Nami's reaction to Sanji:

So in the anime adaption Nami gave Sanji more of a preferential treatment when compared to the manga

Some of you might think this sounds like an exaggeration. But keeping in mind that TOEI offers their own take on charactes and story, take a look at the movies animated by Eisaku Inoue: "The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle" and "Episode of Alabasta", Luffy recieves the full force of Nami's overplayed wrath while Sanji gets, once again, a preferential treatment: either toned-down reactions or no anger at all

7) Skypiea (note: this one is a little bit tricky...)

I guess some people remember this AP scene:

When the AP building collapsed upon Luffy...

Well, during the Skypiea arc we had the Sanji/Usopp team helping Nami to scape Enel. Sanji stays back to buy some time, which leads to this...

And then they immediately jump off

But the Anime extended the scene in a way that could properly mirror that AP moment:

While the manga had a move or be toasted situation. The anime added scenes and dialogue where Nami questioned Usopp's quick call, adding an impact the manga version didn't have. It might not seem as much but as soon as we get to the latest ones, the pattern will be easier to notice

What makes this change impressive is that while they tried to both "improve" and "re-create" the impact of another scene, they also downplayed other scene involving a different character setup, which we’re going to see right now...

8) Skypiea: Luffy & Nami exchange... In the manga we get a lot about Nami prioritizing Luffy over the fate of Angel Island; Nami seems to make the point across that her priority in that moment was Luffy's life

While in the anime the conversation about Luffy's life ends here:

9) Skypiea: Luffy & Nami, again...

The manga gives us this little jewel, mutual trust/faith in action:

The anime once again downplays this scence. They even altered the dialogue and conveyed something quite different from the manga...

Why would they ingore and/or alter dialogue of such scenes? Yet try to add more impact to others involving a different character setup...

10) Convo during the Fishman Island arc I was going to add the fact they adapted out Nami's first flashback after hearing about Luffy's hardship in MF. But by that time TOEI was a little bit more tamed, after all SW (written by Oda) was released. Also this post is already long enough.

As noted by some fans, old habits die hard, so TOEI started once again: In the manga, we had Nami recieving tea from Sanji but letting Luffy drink it instead...

In the anime, this scene doesn't exist. Luffy gets the tea off-screen

11) Zou arc: Most obvious pander ever Manga: Nami and the rest watches hopelessly as Sanji is taken away by Capone

The Anime: Toeiland!Nami, in a very emotional manner, runs after Sanji...

By this point, subtlety is obviously out of the window. With this little bit we put into context most of the arbitrary changes and additions made by the anime adaption. If you still skeptical, the next one will be even more obvious...

12) Stealing moments (again), TOEI style Recall how number 6 didn't seem like much? Well, let's highlight another manga scene concerning Nami and a speech she gave about Luffy...

Nami's weatheria speech is acknowledged by some readers as a moment that highlights the dynamic and the chemistry between both characters from Nami's perspective

What did TOEI do during WCI? While Toeiland!Nami is facing Cracker to buy time for Luffy to recover, the anime adaptation gives us a "WCI speech":

Nowhere to be found in the manga

Fun thing is, I've seen shippers stealing moments from rival relationships and re-creating them in their preferred ship. But that’s to be expected from shippers, not from the staff in charge of adaptaing a best-selling manga into an anime

13) Carry me?

Now, a reader of the One Piece manga was watching the moment when Nami used Zeus against BM in the anime, on top of it looking bad (low quality animation), Toei can't help themselves:

youtube

Toeiland Nami turns her head to face Sanji and ask him to carry her and run, then tell else everyone else to run as far possible. In the the manga she was too focused on Zeus “transformation” to the point of forgetting to move (lol) and was clearly taken aback by Sanji’s sudden action, went with it and told sanji and everyone to run as far as possible eyes still glued on Zeus.

They also didn't have Luffy busy stopping Carrot the page just before. Adding scenes is one thing, but they even changed actual scenes that happened on-screen in the manga.

They're not even in-character, It would have been more consistent for Nami to ask Jinbe to carry her since we have actual instances of her using him as a mean of transport (lol)

It may seem like a minor change, but an anime-only watcher can easily interpret it as Nami wanting (at least subconsciously) to be carried by Sanji when there are others options available (in the anime they’re all standing close to each other). In the manga they’re hasty so she just let it be, having all her focus on something else.

It looks like some animators don’t even bother to hide their bias even if that conflicts with the source material

14) Pandering Wano-style

I didn’t expect this at all, but TOEI’s adaptation of One Piece shows they’re getting bolder when it comes to shoving their favorite premise into the anime. Case in point, this scene…

…while the first panel doesn’t give us anything shippy, the anime gave us Toeiland!Sanji tenderly grabbing Toeiland!Nami, who responded saying his name and holding onto him all in a very sweet manner, before calling Carrot in a neutral tone.

TOEI is now blatantly trying to sell their favorite pairing to every anime-only watcher. And they’re not showing signs of stopping any time soon. In fact, the alterations made afterwards show how their bias is focused on specific characters.

Before Luffy reunited with Zoro, we had a little joke about Sanji’s thirst for women...

...this joke at the expense of Sanji’s character didn’t make it to Toeiland. When a hardcore fan doesn’t like how the story mocks one of their favorite characters they’re prone to dismissing such scenes.

But, once again, that’s not the behavior one would expect from the people in charge of adapting the One Piece manga into an anime.

The prelude to Luffy Vs. Kaido also featured ship fuel. While, Sanji nearly holds Nami’s hand to take her with him...

...such thing never happens in the manga

Due to this large history of wanking and pandering, we could expect that as soon as we get to the point Sanji scapes with Shinobu, Robin, and Nami of course, they’ll likely add shojo bubbles, flowers, and maybe a little blush to spice things up. At that moment, we’ll likely update this post once again

After all, “Toeiland is a magical place”

While it’s true Toeiland had several LuNa scenes. More often than not, they do them justice because the source material doesn’t let them do anything different... of course, as of now, they seem more than willing to fill their version with their favorite premises regardless of what happens in the manga

In spite of the anime adaptation providing with a not so reliable take on the author’s work in this particular regard, we still can draw three positive things from their animation… 1) Thanks to TOEI’s anime adaptation many people were introduced to One Piece and became fans of Oda’s work 2) The fact there were a least two groups of animators who tried to emulate the impact of LuNa and re-created in another premise, reminds us of the saying: “Imitation is the highest form of flattery”. The need to imitate LuNa to make another premise look believable is a proof that LuNa is far more solid and impactful than any other alternative 3) Despite all of TOEI’s changes, alterations and additions, many people acknowledge the strenght of the LuNa bond as one of the most potent, compelling and believable relationships in manga/anime. That’s quite an accomplishment for as we saw, their moments and interactions are diluted many times by the desires of the anime staff

Hopefully this post helps some people to think before they use an argument if they’re basing their premise on TOEI’s adaptation, or the author’s work

#One Piece #comparison #manga #anime #shipping fuel #Luffy #Nami #monkey d. luffy #luffy x nami #straw hat luffy #cat burglar nami #LuNa #Sanji #sanji vinsmoke #adaptation #accuracy #TOEI #eiichiro oda #ルナミ

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dontcallmebugaboo · 7 years ago

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Broken Arms

My second Voltron fic and my first Kidge fic! It’s mainly friendship, but in a way towards the end especially, it does get kinda shippy. XD

A warning now, there’s hints of Shidge...I started writing this before the canon ages came out. However whenever I write this pairing, I always age up Pidge. She’s seventeen in this and as I said, there’s hints, an allusion really and it’s not confirmed.

That being said, I hope you enjoy!

The castle hallways were grey with dim lighting, seeming to wash everything in a soft, sad glow matching the emotion that wrapped itself around Keith as he wandered the enormous Voltron headquarters. His shoulders slumped; his gait was in time with heavy, dull thumping of his heartbeat. He didn’t normally wander the halls when—mostly—everyone else was asleep. But tonight his room seemed suffocating and there was no way for Keith to get any sort of fresh air save for taking Red—no, Black—out for a flight…not that she’d acquiesce in any case. He didn’t think he could blame her for that, nor was he truly sure if he wanted to be out there among the stars. Under normal circumstances, yes, absolutely. But now? Keith was fairly certain that the innumerable stars and heavenly bodies out there would overwhelm and swallow him whole. Which couldn’t happen. Not until Shiro was found in any case.

Shiro…

Keith’s big brother in every sense of the word except for blood. The lack of that connection never bothered him; it didn’t matter to him. Shiro was his mentor, his best friend. Someone who looked out for him and never stopped believing in him; making sure he stayed on the correct path, teaching him how to stay calm in the moments when he wanted to be fiery. Shiro was just…someone who cared. Keith hadn’t had that in a long time. Not since his father had vanished when he was eight and he was tossed from foster home to foster home within the system until he was old enough to escape it.

Shiro had found him not long after that and like hell was the model Garrison student going to let the boy whom was posturing despite his visible rage and hurt trying to prove to the world that he could take it on at his age be on his own. Shiro managed to convince Keith to come back to his place, to his family, though it had taken hours of arguing and Shiro never once raised his voice. He reintroduced Keith to warmth, security and the genuine happiness of family, something the young Kogane hadn’t felt in years.

The new pilot of the Black Lion was startled from his thoughts when his left shoulder collided into a column and sent him staggering a few steps. He stared in surprise and was even more shocked to find that his vision was warm and blurry. Oh. Tears. Keith hadn’t cried in nearly two years; not since the night he had stormed away from the Galaxy Garrison and its venomous pit of lies that were mostly spewed from that asshat Iverson. The night it hit him that Shiro was missing and that he was truly alone once again.

The Shiroganes had reached out to him upon learning of his expulsion and despite their kind words and reassurances that he was still welcome under their roof and despite knowing how selfish it was, Keith hadn’t returned. He just couldn’t; Shiro’s absence would be so enormous to the point of smothering and had he stayed, the craving to have answers would’ve been so great as he would’ve been undoubtedly echoing his brother’s parents’ desires and it would have been to the point that he probably would have done something that would’ve gotten him arrested. Or at least banished from the Garrison’s premises, like Pidge had been.

Pidge…

Keith’s fellow arm of Voltron had refused to swallow the lies the Garrison had tried shoving down her throat about the dark turn the Kerberos mission had taken, saying that her family was dead and pinning the blame on Shiro. She’d snuck onto the Garrison grounds several times, hacking her way in, tearing apart security systems that were most likely child’s play to her, determined to find the real answers of everyone’s fate. Iverson had busted her one too many times and she had been thrown off the campus and been named Persona Non Grata. Like hell that was going to stop her. She’d faked an identity that was accepted as a student, chopped off her long auburn locks, donned the military school’s uniform and swept past the doors that had been previously slammed shut in her face.

Keith grinned at those thoughts, part of him wishing he could have met the defiant genius sooner, knowing they probably could’ve been friends before becoming unwitting defenders of the universe, dragged into a war they had never known existed. Or at least, he and Pidge could’ve been good acquaintances before all this. Taking a much needed deep breath and swiping away his tears, Keith continued his way down the hall, searching for the teammate he had a feeling was still awake in these early hours.

He’d walked for nearly two doboshes before he found her, hearing her voice quietly filter out of a crack in the door of her lion’s hanger. Talking to herself whilst working was a typical Pidge habit; it was usually a sign of how deeply involved she was with a project, never seeming to realize there wasn’t anyone to really listen to her. Keith wondered if she actually found that preferable or if it was merely a quirk of her habits.

Peering in, Keith watched as Pidge sighed loudly, raking both of her hands through her thick, unruly hair that was slowly reaching back toward her shoulders. “This would be so much easier if I could just take a scan of Black’s last readings and mission recordings from when Shiro was piloting.” She paused and Keith could see from the look of concentration on her face that she was listening to whatever Green was telling her.

Pidge shook her head. “I can’t ask her that, Green. You know how broken she was when we returned from that insane battle. She had collapsed. I’ve never seen her do that before. You all seem so powerful, so majestic. I guess vulnerability was never something I thought you guys were capable of. So no, I can’t ask the Black lion for help, I’m not making her relieve that hellish moment again.”

The green Paladin continued to type away on her laptop before addressing her metal partner once more. “You wouldn’t happen to have any other ideas, do you?” Apparently the answer was “no” for Pidge let out a soft groan before leaning back and gently letting her head thump against the lion’s paw. She threw her hands up. “I am seriously lost here, Green. I’m blank. I’ve got nothing.”

Keith took this as his cue to enter the hangar. “I hope this means you’re not waving the proverbial white flag,” he teased.

At the sound of her new and hopefully temporary new leader’s voice, Pidge shot up, nearly giving herself whiplash, something both humans winced at. “Keith! What’re you doing here?” She tilted her head, amber eyes squinting as she stared at him, assuring herself that he really was there and not hallucinating the young man’s presence out of exhaustion. Though, if that were the case, wouldn’t she be seeing Shiro instead?

Her fellow Paladin shrugged, looking away from her briefly before replying. “I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go for a walk. I figured you’d be awake as well. Looks like I was right.”

“You were right,” Pidge agreed though she could help but wonder if she were missing a piece or two to Keith’s story. Why would he actively seek her out when he normally preferred being solitary? When she called him a loner days ago, she hadn’t said it strictly out of snark.

Keith nodded toward her laptop. “Working on something interesting?”

Her reaction was a bit surprising to say the least as she looked away from, her entire being seemed to curl in on itself; fingers into fists, shoulders hunched, head down and her knees coming up toward her chest. Her eyes were forlorn and her mouth sagged into a deep frown. “Looking for Shiro,” she murmured.

“I heard you talking to Green,” Keith admitted. “I could ask Black to help…”

Pidge shook her head, still in that balled-up position. “No, thank you. It’s fine. I’d rather not bother her.”

Keith tilted his head and leaned toward the right as he chased after her eyes. “Then could you at least look at me, please? I’m not mad that you can’t find Shiro; I keep running into dead ends too.” When she glanced at him for half a tick before looking elsewhere, he attempted humor. “Could you at least tell me why you’re looking like I just busted you for sticking your hand in the cookie jar?”

She huffed out a sound that was torn between being a laugh and a sigh. “I was being selfish,” she told him quietly. “I…I haven’t been looking for Shiro this whole time.” She gritted her teeth, holding back tears. “I was looking for Matt…”

Ah, now he understood her sudden change in behavior. She was most likely remembering their fight back when they were still new to being Paladins, to being a team. Keith could admit that if he hadn’t grown emotionally and mentally since that time then Pidge would have a right to not trust him not blowing up at her. But things were definitely different now.

He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, mentally frowning at just how small and lithe she was. She was horrible at taking care of herself and he was willing to bet that save for Shiro for the most part, they were all horrible at not noticing her lack of self-care. He leaned against her slightly, resting his head against hers as he silently offered her warmth and reassurance, taking in the same from the mere presence of a friend.

“Tell me about him?”

Pidge froze at the completely unexpected question. Slowly she began to unclench her fists, one finger at a time, her shoulders and spine relaxing as she straightened, turning to look at Keith, and forcing the older Paladin to sit up as well. She stared for a long moment as if trying to detect a lie in his visage. He calmly stared back. “You really want to know about Matt?”

“I don’t really know much about him,” Keith replied with a shrug. “Save for the fact that he’s your big brother and that you’re tearing apart the universe to find him so to speak. You and Shiro,” he amended. “I met him once for a moment, but obviously he’s a big part of your world. Also, you’re my friend…but I don’t know a lot about you. Not to mention we’re partners,” he stopped. Sighed. “We were partners.”

“We’re still teammates,” Pidge encouraged. “We’ll be the arms of Voltron together in no time, you’ll see.”

Keith nodded slowly, only partially pretending to believe her words. “So tell me about Matt?”

This time her sigh veiled a laugh. “Telling you about Matt is pretty much like telling you about a large part of my world. He’s my big brother as you know, obviously.” She adjusted the stolen glasses that were her only physical connection to her missing sibling. “My fiercest protector, my loudest cheerleader, my very best friend…my biggest challenger, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Pidge leaned her head on Keith’s shoulder as she explained. “It was how he pushed me to do my best, to go beyond whatever barriers I had made myself comfortable with. He made sure that I didn’t just surpass any technical know-how, but that I knew how to get creative with it, make a project interesting and mine. Matt usually did that by taking advantage of the stereotypical rivalry between siblings, especially ones with a significant age difference like the one we have…it was all light teasing and banter, constant reverse psychology, but thanks to the Holt temper and stubbornness I’d inherited from the generations, Matt’s tactics always worked and I’m grateful to him for it. ”

“I just wish I could tell him that.”

“You will,” Keith stated with the conviction that often wavered within Pidge herself. “And like I said earlier, I’m not mad. Honestly, Pidge, if I knew you weren’t looking for your family and that wasn’t due to us being engaged in battle or you recovering inside a pod, I’d be worried.”

She actually snickered at that. “We can’t have that,” she teased, though she lacked the mirthful bite when half of her sentence was swallowed by a large yawn.

Keith stood up and stretched his back before reaching a hand out to Pidge. “C’mon, Katie, time for you to sleep in an actual bed.”

Pidge’s first instinct was to snort and start to retort with a quip that she wasn’t the only one to sleep at odd times and in odd places either most likely when his words actually registered with her. Her amber eyes went wide and she nearly stumbled as she took his hand to stand. “Wha-wh…you…you-you…know…Ka—how?” She took a breath to center herself then asked, “How do you know my name is Katie?”

Keith chuckled and it was a sound Pidge hadn’t heard in an achingly long time. A sound that made her heart soar. “Shiro may have let it slip once or twice when talking about how impressed he was with all the things you do with tech; your robotic creations, your viruses,” he snorted. “Or maybe I should say Shiro would gush, especially when mentioning how cute you would get as your eyes light up whenever you slipped into technobabble.”

Pidge nearly slammed into a wall at that. Fortunately for her, Keith took her clumsiness as proof of her exhaustion for he carefully steered her toward the door. “Yeah, you’re going to sleep. Now.” He looked at her sidelong and added, “And for the record, Shiro slipping up had nothing to do with me figuring out that you’re a girl. Watching him turn red when I asked him who Katie is was pretty entertaining, though.”

“How did you figure it out?”

Keith was silent for a moment, lost in his memories before replying, “You had already said goodbye to your dad and brother before the shuttle took off for Kerberos, I was still saying goodbye to Shiro. Matt had come over to say hi and on his way, dropped his picture of the two of you. ‘Wow, she’s really pretty’, was Shiro’s immediate response.”

Keith grinned slyly, laughing outright at the crimson hue Pidge’s face had become. “Matt was annoyed and started arguing with him, though he only said that you’re his baby sister, he didn’t give a name, however he had shrieked your age…which immediately caused Shiro turn as red as well, Red and he stammered out apologies because he hadn’t known just how big of an age difference there was between you and Matt let alone you and Shiro himself.”

Another chuckle slipped. “In the end though, Shiro still gets red anytime I bring up the incident which means that I have blackmail for a long time to come.”

Pidge scoffed, “Considering that I now know, I don’t think you have blackmail on him anymore.”

Keith shrugged, “that’s for me to know and for you to get annoyed over.”

“How does that even make sense?”

Her friend merely grinned, sly and mischievous, bordering the line of wicked. “As I said before.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Okay, I think we’re both overtired to the point of being ridiculous,” she shot Keith a look. “Some of us more than others.”

Keith couldn’t help himself, he nearly cackled at that and the sound was so startling and strange, yet it was just pure, unguarded Keith in this moment that Pidge couldn’t help but dissolve into giggles with him, laughing as hard as she dared in the dead of the night. The two collapsed to the floor, still snickering as the adrenaline rush that had suddenly crashed over them, ebbed away, leading them toward a warm silence.

Pidge was the first to break it. “Y’know…I didn’t exactly spend my time looking for Matt…just for the sake of looking for Matt.”

Understandably, Keith was confused. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, finding the cold tile that was cooling her heated skin fascinating. “I…I needed the distraction…” she drew her knees toward her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “I figured if I focused on finding my brother, losing myself to a whole other project, then I wouldn’t have to deal with the fact that we lost Shiro.

We lost Shiro, Keith. Our leader who is sometimes our literal head; and I’m not just talking for the sake of Voltron. One of our best friends; who absolutely completes us. We’re broken without him, Keith.” Her voice hitched and she did nothing to stop the tears that were pooling in her eyes. That bout of laughter had left her more emotionally raw than she had previously thought. “I’m broken without him.”

Keith swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat at his friend’s words. He crawled over to her and tugged her into his arms. “It’s okay to cry, Katie.” She sobbed at that. Her damn birth name always brought her walls crashing down and an emotional reaction out of her. The one glaring crack in her Pidge façade.

Keith hesitated before placing a hand against her head and ran his fingers through her short, thick hair. “You’re right though, we are broken. Broken, but not shattered. Not unfixable. It’s okay that we miss him, but we can’t let that be the end. We gotta keep fighting in this war and we can’t give up on Shiro. We will find him.” He swallowed hard, biting his lip. He was the leader here, for the time being. Pidge needed him. No crying.

Pidge seemed to sense his self-argument for she mumbled into his now-damp shoulder, “it’s okay for you to cry too, Keith.”

He snorted wetly. “I don’t cry, Katie.”

She leaned back far enough to gently thump him on the chest. “Liar. You know, you don’t have to be big, bad fiery Keith Kogane all the time, right?”

Still, he tried fighting back the tears that were stinging his eyes as he hugged her tighter. “I know…I…I just…”

“I know you miss him like hell.”

That did it. His sobs matched the aching thumping of his heartbeat as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and cried. Pidge was right. Shiro was gone; he was suddenly catapulted into the role of Voltron’s new team leader and the new pilot of the Black Lion. He doesn’t really know what to do nor does he entirely have the patience to find out and he hates it.

So he cries. He cries and mourns, unravelling bit by bit, but not really minding that it’s Pidge he’s crying with. She’s his friend, the Shield to his true Sword and one of the few people he knows will help him put him back together whenever he breaks down.

Keith too, would be one of the people to put Pidge back together whenever she breaks. To remind her that it was okay to be Katie and to help her find the balance of the two, this he swore.

When their sobs eventually dwindled down to sniffles and hitched breaths, the two slowly pulled away, rubbing at their eyes, feeling even more exhausted than earlier. As one they stood, silently making their way back toward their rooms. When they were nearly there, Pidge once again broke the silence. “I’m glad you found me. I needed that. To laugh and to cry.”

“Me too.”

A half smile tugged at her mouth as she said in the most serious voice she could muster, “I won’t tell Lance that you cried.”

“You mean, you won’t tell Lance that big, bad fiery Keith Kogane cried, right?”

Her smile grew as she nodded. “Right.”

Upon reaching her room, Pidge was about to turn and say good-night when Keith awkwardly asked her, “Will you sleep with me?”

She snapped around at that, eyes wide with shock as she hissed out, “what?!”

He blushed violently. “N-n-not like that! I’m not propositioning you, Katie, I swear. I-I-I…I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

Pidge relaxed, her expression softening. “The silence is smothering, isn’t it?”

Keith sighed, relieved that she got it and wasn’t about to wake the rest of the castle to the sound of her beating the daylights out of him. He nodded. “Yeah…it’s too loud weirdly enough. Just…too much.”

“Well, we’re right here,” Pidge said, tilting her head toward her door. “So…c’mon in.” She opened the door and headed straight for her bed, too tired to deal with anymore potential awkwardness. They could be weird later that morning.

Keith followed, stripping off his jacket and placing it onto a nearby chair before slipping into Pidge’s bed. He curled around her, her head resting on his chest, his arms holding her firmly but not too tightly to him. He breathed out as a weight lifted from him due to the mere prospect of him not being alone that night. No threat of being drowned by the stars and silence.

He wasn’t alone. Shiro may be missing, but he wasn’t alone. That was finally beginning to really click for him now.

“Good night,” Katie whispered in a sleep slurred voice.

Keith closed his eyes, slowly dropping his head against hers, finding himself easily lulled to sleep. “Good night…”

#Voltron legendary defender #voltron pidge #vld keith #kidge

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sasusakufestival · 8 years ago

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Ma'at

Summary: When her eyes fall on him, taking in his condition, something terrifying flashes across her features. Sasuke knows, in that moment, that if his insides weren’t hanging out of his body, if she didn’t need to stabilise him as soon as possible, Sakura’s own oath to heal would mean nothing. [SasuSaku Festival 2017 – Day 5 – Prompt: “Saving Her Man”]

Disclaimer: This story utilizes characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz Media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelizations, comics or short stories is intended by the author in any way, shape or form. This fan oriented story is written solely for the author’s own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All fiction, plot and Original Characters with the exception of those introduced in the books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn and using them without permission is considered rude, in bad-taste and will reflect seriously on your credibility as a writer. You will be strung up by a creepy marionetted if you are found plagiarizing.

Warning: NSFW due to graphic depictions/descriptions of torture and injury. Spoilers for pretty much everything up to Chapter 699.

Canon-Compliance: As close to canon as fanfiction can possibly be. With a few personal additions :P Takes place during the Blank Period.

Fanon-Compliance: Takes place several years before An Inch of Gold and Unplanned.

Special Thanks: Once again my bro JBankai89 has seen fit to take time out of his busy student schedule and catch the minor errors here while I await the full edit by my usual beta. Dude is awesome, if you like smut and rare-pairs in the HP fandom, check him out. Now. Go now. Doooo it.

AN: This isn’t as hardcore shippy in the first part as I’m used to doing for a one-shot, but when I was thinking about the prompt, I figured there would have to be a pretty horrible situation for Sakura to have to save Sasuke. The result was this. Hope I managed okay!

It’s the all-encompassing, bone-deep agony that draws Sasuke out of unconsciousness.

Pain radiates through his entire body, seemingly coming from too many points to narrow down. There’s an icy, wrenching ache somewhere below his lungs, but that’s only the most noticeable. Sharp, stabbing sensations assault him from everywhere – his nails, the webbing between his fingers and toes and even his hair follicles. His skin feels stretched and raw, as if it has been flayed from his body and then replaced.

Clearly something happened to him while he was asleep, but he can’t figure out what.

In fact, he’s having a hard time organising his thoughts, which is a sign of just how serious the situation is. If being subjected twice to his brother’s Mangekyō Sharingan has given him anything, it’s a remarkable threshold for withstanding torture.

Whoever or whatever has reduced him to this state is no novice.

Sasuke orders himself to concentrate, to take in whatever information he has about the situation – but there is nothing.

He can’t remember what situation could have led to this.

There are bits and pieces, images and memory that jumble together in his head, but the pain is making it hard for him to filter. Slowly he puts some of it in order –

Travelling through Suna. Accepting temporary work helping to rebuild the city wall. A tour of the new hydroponic system that…

Who was it? That mousy girl that follows Gaara around…

Whoever she is, she came up with it and was showing him and –

Wait.

Where’s Sakura?

He struggles to free himself, and makes a disturbing discovery – although he is aware of his body, mostly because of the amount of pain he is in, he can’t control any part of it right now.

He is utterly paralysed.

Something straps him in place across his chest, wrists, ankles and other joints; the burning, twisting discomfort is worse there than his arms and legs. His neck is immobilised, some device at the back of his head pressing his face forcibly downward so that his chin practically touches his sternum. It makes breathing hard, exacerbating the clawing, wrenching ache beneath his lungs.

Most troubling of all, though, is that he can’t see.

Upon trying to activate his Sharingan to better assess his surroundings, a surge of chakra burns into his retinas, making him curse. Someone has covered his eyes and added a seal; the last time he experienced something like this, he was in prison cell in Konoha.

“Ah. It seems that you are awake.”

A cold, reedy male voice echoes in the darkness, making Sasuke’s stomach leap in surprise. Instantly, a wary sensation settles over him, like mounting nausea. He has spent his entire life honing his senses, priding himself on his awareness of the world around him.

Just how far gone was he that his senses have been so easily dulled?

“I am sure you would prefer to escape into the next life,” the flat voice continues; it sounds distant, as if coming from the end of a long tunnel. “But I fear we are running according to a more pressing agenda, and one which is not relevant to you.”

There is a creaking sound, like wood shifting, and a rattling noise he feels like he should be able to identify. Something pricks into his arm, and Sasuke swears.

Only a garbled groan escapes his lips.

“Ah, yes. An unfortunate requirement, that. You’ll begin to feel the effects of that in a moment – it’s counteracting the adrenaline that was used to wake you. You see, Sasuke Uchiha, you were dead for five whole minutes there. And we can’t have that. I can’t have that.”

Sasuke mouths wordlessly at that, unable to understand what he’s being told. It explains why his brain feels so muddled, but…dead?

“If you shuffle off this mortal coil so quickly, then we can no longer continue our discourse,” the voice goes on, maddeningly calm. “I demand at least three days from you – given your reputation, and the way even children on the street speak of you, I think it will end up being more like a week.”

A week of being tortured to death and constantly revived? Not something he is interested in. Sasuke inhales slowly, centring himself and trying to discover if there is any part of him that can move.

“You’re wasting your energies,” he is told quietly. “I know better than to take risks with an individual such as you. All of the nerves allowing for motor function have been severed, and no doubt you can feel that the restraints keeping you secure have been sealed and warded. Your pain receptors are perfectly in tact, however. I took special care to ensure that. I assure you, you are completely at my mercy. And with that same assurance, I can tell you that there is very little of it left.”

The information is delivered with a clinical certainty, informing Sasuke that his fate is a foregone conclusion.

Sasuke grits his teeth – about the only movement he is capable of – fighting the irritating confusion and still cataloguing information.

From the precise tone and explanations, it’s not the run-of-the-mill criminal.

“I understand how confused you must be,” the male voice continues. “Death does muddle the neurons. Allow me to explain, if only because it will heighten the importance of what comes next.” There is sound, someone moving near Sasuke, the rattle of what could be metal or glass. “I intend to catalogue the entire experience, and for it to be the most successful, you must understand what is happening, yes?”

He pauses, as if waiting for some noise of agreement. Sasuke doesn’t give him the satisfaction, even if he could speak right now.

“You’ve been subjected to a constant stream of chakra suppressors and tranquilisers since arriving in Suna,” the man continues. “Nothing noticeable, of course, just enough to weaken you enough to generate an opportune moment for retrieval. You see, I’ve discovered that even in this time of peace, when one has the money, people will add anything to a stranger’s food.”

The images in Sasuke’s mind flash to the past few days. Every time he and Sakura had a meal, the growing sense that there was something not quite right. He thought he was just feeling under the weather – not something to bother his wife over when there are people in dire need of her healing. Whatever was put in his system was both untraceable enough for him not to react to it, and not fast acting enough for Sakura to notice.

Has she been captured too?

The idea of her trapped somewhere, restrained in the darkness and in even a quarter of the pain that assault him now, has him renewing his struggles.

“You truly are attempting the futile,” the cold voice says again, the tone bored. “Your chakra levels are completely depleted. Anything you intend to try will be quite impossible.”

“Don’t…need…chakra…”

The words are slurred and barely really words at all, but Sasuke has no intention of simply sitting in silence. He will get out of here, because the alternative is not an option. He made a promise to Sakura that he would never leave her behind again, and if he has to conquer death itself to keep that promise, he will.

His captor doesn’t know this, and he isn’t impressed by his bravado.

“I am well aware of that fact, Sasuke Uchiha. In fact, it’s only because of that knowledge that I have deprived myself of the supreme pleasure of ripping you to shreds with my own two hands.”

There is promise there, a manic note that Sasuke recognises all to well.

His concern for Sakura retreats to the back of his mind. Right now, he can’t do anything about her well-being, and logically, if she were dosed with anything she would metabolise it immediately and noticed.

He needs to get himself to safety, and to do that he needs to know what he is up against.

Whoever this calm voiced man is, he isn’t stupid. Drawing attention to his plans by involving Sakura would be foolish, and so he likely just focussed on Sasuke. As he said before, it’s just a matter of waiting until he was alone, which could have happened at any point when he and his wife dealt with separate errands. Sasuke remembers retreating to the guesthouse they were staying at, hoping to take a short rest while Sakura finished her rounds at the fledgling mental health clinic here.

Likely that’s when his captor somehow managed to get to him and abduct him – all without anyone noticing.

Which means he is both exemplary when it comes to sedatives and has a shinobi’s skills. Jōnin level even. Probably black ops.

But the voice – despite the coldness there’s a feebleness there, thin – like someone older. No longer in their prime, probably no longer active.

“The problem with that desire is that, at the core of things, I am not a monster,” his captor tells him. “This – what I’m doing – is not for the purposes of making hurting you. Not entirely.” Something white hot and scorching flicks at the instep of his foot and Sasuke clamps his jaw shut, trapping the yell threatening to escape. “If I truly wanted to cause you pain, I would have your lovely wife here with us.”

Sasuke growls at this, feeling his chest heave with effort. It doesn’t feel right, there’s a cold tightness there he isn’t used to experiencing when he breathes.

“There are many, many things I could do to her before she died,” the man confides in him, not with the pleasure of someone sharing a cherished secret but with the confidence of someone speaking pure truth. “Given her well-known ability to heal herself, I could make it last for days. Perhaps I would have her cursing your name in the end.”

Sasuke knows that’s impossible – knows his wife is much stronger than that, and there’s a reason his captor has apparently made every effort not to gain her attention in abducting him.

But the image the reedy voiced man is painting is too vivid, and in his drugged state, he is more susceptible to the suggestion.

“Don’t…” he attempts, trying to make it sound more like a warning than a plea.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about your pretty blossom. You see, Sasuke Uchiha, I took an oath. One I have never broken. Not until today.” He clears his throat, and with a slight mocking lilt recites, “I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free.”

There is a sound like a chuckle, and then another blistering, hot burn near his feet. Wordless sound sticks in his throat, a strangled groan; the smell of burning flesh is so thick he can almost taste it.

“But you’re not a man, are you? You are a monster. The one who claws down the innocent, and then imagines he can continue living his life freely and unpunished.” The sound of rattling and creaking continues, metal objects being moved around. Then silence. When the man speaks again, it’s with an abrupt change in tone. “Do you love your wife, young man?”

Sasuke blinks at the question, unable to make sense of it immediately.

“Come, come, it’s a simple question. I’m hardly asking you for state secrets. And talking to me will give you a chance to recover. You want your chance to escape, don’t you?” he asks, and Sasuke can almost hear a smirk in his voice. “Of course you do. You’re a legendary Sannin now, giving in is not something you do. So answer my question. Do you love your wife?”

Sasuke considers not answering. His feelings for Sakura are his own business, and he can barely articulate them to her, there’s no reason to say them to his interrogator. But the man is correct – he needs to have time, needs to build up his strength.

He also knows that if he isn’t honest, there will be more pain. He needs to take a calculated risk. “…yes.”

“Good. Yes, very good. And is she everything to you? You very existence would cease if the world was bereft of her existence?”

Sasuke pauses again here. The question is too complex, too complicated to enunciate, even if he didn’t have to worry that it might change the man’s mind about somehow going after Sakura. However, a lie won’t help him in this case either.

“I don’t know,” he says eventually, because it answers the question and enunciates his true feelings on the matter.

“Ah. That is an honest answer, well done,” the distant voice says, and there’s something like approval there. “Most young couples are so besotted with one another at this point they believe the world will end without their lover in it. I know I felt that about my wife, once. But then, most young couples haven’t lost something worse. Something much more precious. Can you guess what that might be, Sasuke Uchiha?”

He remains silent, mind flashing to that night long ago, walking through empty, blood-stained streets. His brother smiling at him through blood, then later through dead eyes as his skin peeled away.

Sasuke’s experiences aren’t like other young people, but he need not remind his harasser of this.

“No, you wouldn’t, would you? You haven’t experienced that yet,” the man points out coldly. “You haven’t felt that terrifying, suffocating bliss upon learning you’ve created life. You have never held a tiny, fragile body in your hands while it reaches for your face. You have never had a child.”

Sasuke tenses, having a sudden horrible presentiment what this might be about.

“I can’t truly describe what it’s like. Watching such an innocent soul growing up beneath your watchful eye. The need to protect without stifling. Much like coaxing a plant to flower, but…so much more delicate.” There’s a sigh, almost wistful. “My boy was so ambitious. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of my family, become a renowned shinobi. Perhaps Kazekage one day. But I knew better. I had seen it all, you see. I had lived it and I knew that kind of life, one without honour, would break him. You know all about living without honour, don’t you, Sasuke Uchiha? You turned your back on your own people, your own country. More than once, I hear.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes against the blindfold.

“But a father must support his child. And so I did so the best I could, helping him grow strong but ensuring he was out of harms way. It pays to be influential, you know. I know the Wind daimyo very well, and he trusts me more than any other.” Here there is a bitter, echoing little chuckle. “Arrangements were made. And so my son was sent to the Land of Iron, given the opportunity to apprentice to the samurai force there.”

This time, Sasuke’s mouth goes dry. There is no more doubt where this is going.

“A peace-keeping force,” the man continues. “A force that would never have to deal with the hidden deeds, the uprisings and skirmishes between the Hidden Villages. Even more so because until then, we were living in peaceful times. Do you see where I’m going with this, Sasuke Uchiha?”

This question is not rhetorical. His captor is awaiting an answer. Sasuke swallows, tries to ensure he doesn’t muddle his words.

“Your son…he was at the summit…”

“Yes. He was. Do you know what happened to him?”

“…”

“Come now, your intelligence is well-documented. I know you’ve already worked out what happened to him.”

“…he was killed.”

“By?”

“…by me.”

“Exactly.” Clinical, deadly calm fills the man’s voice now. “The reports are all the same. How the last surviving member of the Uchiha – a traitor to his own – walked into a peaceful summit and murdered every samurai that tried to stop him.”

Regret and guilt barrel through Sasuke, because there’s no way to argue or excuse this fact.

“When I heard the news…well, I guess you can imagine something close to it. You lost your entire clan, I hear. But that’s still not the same. This is worse. Losing a child, it’s…it’s like dying, but not being allowed to rest. Imagine being trapped in your own corpse, being forced to make your lungs and heart and brain continue operating. Imagine a piece of your soul torn from you and shredded to pieces before your eyes.”

Throughout all of this, Sasuke keeps his mouth shut. He knows that apologies and platitudes mean nothing to someone who has lost so much.

“I didn’t believe I could ever be able to continue. In fact, it was only the knowledge that with the five Kage seeking out the international criminal that stole my son from me that kept me going. Until…until months later, when the world suddenly made sense again. I saw him again, my son. We were reunited, and it was as if he had never died. Do you know how that was possible?”

“…the Infinite Tsukuyomi.”

“Yes. That clever genjutsu your family helped to create. For the first time, I was whole again. I felt as if every agony I had ever experienced was nothing but a dream. A memory from infanthood, completely insubstantial. I had my son, smiling before me, proud and beautiful and alive.”

“…”

“And then it was gone. I woke up and my son was gone,” the man says, voice strained and Sasuke suspects he is fighting back tears here. “It wasn’t long afterward I heard the story. That you had released the genjutsu. The man who killed my son…stole him from me a second time.” There’s another clatter of sound in front of him, someone picking up something heavy. “Do you understand now, Sasuke Uchiha? Why I am not the monster here?”

Abruptly, the blindfold or whatever has been impeding Sasuke’s vision is pulled away. The dim, overhead lighting from a lone bulb is like blinding inferno to Sasuke’s retina. Without his bloodline ability to instantly adjust to the light, his eyes clench shut again, and it’s several precious seconds of adjusting before he can see again.

Even then, it’s limited; his head remains uncomfortably pressed downward. A strange flap of some kind obscures his vision of everyone below his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the place on his arm that was pricked earlier, realises that it is connected to something. An IV line, which drips an ominous purple solution down a tube and into his veins.

Probably more of the sedative.

His right arm and the stump of his left have been pulled back, forcing him into a spread-eagle position; his entire body is reclined backward. There’s a glint of metal that takes him a moment to make out – the skin between his fingers have multiple lacerations in them, as if they have been cut. Needles and razors have been embedded into his palms and though he can’t see his feet, the general sense of stinging agony there suggest they have faired(misspelled. Fared.) no better. Judging from the wet burning on the side of his face, neither of his ears.

High ceilings in the darkness, and the walls are oddly cushioned. It’s not like any of the prisons Sasuke has been in during his life, and not as dank or earthen as any of Orochimru’s bases. He thinks he sees rows upon rows of chairs spread out in the distance, almost like an amphitheatre, which makes no sense. In the distance he also notices a strange opening, a window high above one of the rows of chairs.

Straining his eyes even more to see beyond himself, he notices a dark shape looming closer beside him. It slowly coalesces into a more defined figure, and suddenly the creaking and rattling he heard before makes sense.

It isn’t even human – it’s a wooden marionette.

Well, this is most definitely not good.

If he concentrates – and doing so rapidly burns up the tiny flares of chakra he still has left – he can dimly make out the strings holding the wooden mannequin, leading into that distant window.

He’s had a wariness about anything vaguely puppet-like since his chūnin exam, even if he doesn’t have the same history with the things as his wife does. Honestly, they creep him out, and in terms of effectiveness, his Sharingan are useless against them. That’s a problem in and of itself.

Whoever is keeping him captive isn’t taking the chance of getting close to him at all.

Worse, however, is the thing beside the puppet, which he immediately wishes he hadn’t noticed.

It looks like a brazier, and though there is no obvious source heating it, several sharp and unpleasant looking instruments lie within, glowing white hot. The very air above the scalpels, clamps and gouges warbles with heat, radiating a dark promise.

As their very plausible purpose hits him, another wave of pain rolls through his body, and Sasuke temporarily loses his ability to block out the sensations.

A moan of pain makes its way up his throat, but Sasuke fights it back down.

Focus. Figure him out.

The man controlling the puppet, when he speaks, does so with proper and polite diction. He is clearly educated, which suggested a life beyond that of a shinobi. The use of puppets suggests he’s from the upper echelons of Suna society, because only the very affluent have the resources and time to learn that craft. An advisor to the Kazekage maybe?

Who would risk Gaara’s wrath by attacking ambassadors from Konoha during peacetime?

It isn’t just an affront to the long-standing political and dynastic alliance between the two villages, either. Sasuke might be respected here because of his friendship with Naruto, but Sakura is the heroine who saved the Kazekage’s brother and defeated Sasori of the Red Sand. Gaara and Kankuro would effortlessly crush anyone that caused her a modicum of heartache, and given it’s no secret her heart lies with Sasuke…

Either this person is suicidal, or he has nothing to lose. Or both.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” the man says suddenly, the pitch of his voice lower as if he is making a confession to Sasuke. “Years, in fact.”

The puppet bends over him, joints and appendages rattling, and its fingers adjust something that Sasuke can barely see but realises is sticking out of his chest. A half second later, agony flares up from that sharp, jabbing sensation beneath his ribcage.

Out of reflex he tries to shake his head, release it from the vice keeping him immobile, but it’s fruitless. He hears the sound of blood dripping down to the ground and only just managed to clamp down on yet another cry of pain. Tears well in his eyes, his body’s reaction to the overwhelming stimulus. There’s only so much pain one can train themselves to ignore, and this doesn’t fall into that category.

Sound and sight fade out completely for several moments.

He doesn’t fall back into unconsciousness, exactly, but he finds himself completely mired in a suffocating, gnawing onslaught of pain.

When he comes out of it again, his throat is raw and his lungs are constricted.

“That is closer to the reaction I’m looking for,” the man says, satisfied, and Sasuke realises he was screaming. “It’s better not to bottle these things up, Sasuke Uchiha.”

Sasuke’s body is wracked with tremors, and he tries to take another centring breath to regain control of himself. This time it’s much harder. He needs something to distract himself, needs something useful –

His eyes flit around his surroundings, looking for anything that would offer some help, some release – something else to think on.

“Am I boring you, young man?” the man says, and that window is where his voice is emanating from. It’s coming over a loud-speaker of some kind, which Sasuke realises is because otherwise it would get lost in the insulated walls. “Perhaps you need something to hold your attention in the interim. And easily rectified situation.”

Something is moving, large and cumbersome by the sound of it. Sasuke clenches his fist, attempting to prepare for something he won’t have the strength to fight off.

Which is why when another puppet manoeuvers a mirror into his line of vision, he is confused.

Until it places it several feet in front of him.

The groan of horror that escapes his throat then is a sound he’s never heard himself make, the dying growl of an animal.

His entire chest has been opened up and he is staring at his own bare ribs and internal organs.

It’s not the goriest sight he has ever seen, but there is still an inherent, automatic visceral reaction to this. His stomach heaves – he watches his stomach heave – and he begins to shudder.

“Steady,” the voice tells him, and he feels the burst of chakra trailing down through the puppet’s fingers, calming his racing pulse. “We don’t want you having another heart-attack. Shock is such an interesting phenomenon in the human body.”

Sasuke forces his mind away from the macabre sight before him, mentally scours his drug-slowed brain for something to concentrate on that will keep him conscious. It’s a waiting game, he just needs to…

“…procedure itself is absolutely fascinating…resembles an operation, but in reverse…”

He’s not quite sure what he needs to do, but falling back into the deceptive peace of unconsciousness is not it.

“…instead of stitching you together, I am taking you apart at the seams…much like the way you rip people’s hearts to pieces, am I right, Sasuke Uchiha?”

The puppet reaches for another tool, and begins to process of carving Sasuke up as he watches. In the mirror, Sasuke can see it peeling back the muscles and tissue that protect his stomach and intestines, as if it is peeling fruit. Blood saturates the wooden fingers, and Sasuke screams again, one unending keen of agony.

He can’t breathe, and the world spins out of focus around him.

Focus! Fucking focus, or you’re going to die!

“The human body is absolutely marvellous in what it can endure. Yours, for example, clinging to life as it is? I imagine if we use our time wisely, I could shape it as easily as a sculptor would with marble or wood.” There is a content sigh, and the puppet selects another scorching hot scalpel from the brazier. “True art.”

Sasuke chokes at this, realising that beyond being sadistic, his captor is also insane. The last person he knew who waxed poetic about art blew up himself and an entire forest.

“Now, now, we can’t have that. If you stop breathing, we’ll be delayed again.” There’s a creaking sound and Sasuke’s head is suddenly straight up, making it easier – albeit much more painful – to breathe. “Is that better?”

Sasuke says nothing, too dizzy and agonised, and focusses instead on a distant thumping noise. He thinks it’s his heart, but it’s too fast. His captor’s solution should be keeping his heart rate steady.

It’s instinct to try to concentrate on a pleasant thought, or seek out a peaceful memory to counteract the slicing, sawing sensations being wreaked upon his bones and organs. But there are so few in his life that he has, retrieving them is too difficult.

He shuts his eyes, needing something – something concrete and unyielding, a universal axiom to draw on.

Immediately, the face of his wife flashes across the backs of his retinas, shifting through the various iterations he has seen in their life together. As the sadistic man and his marionette continue to carve into him, Sasuke imagines he can hear her voice.

“I have family and I have friends…but if you’re gone…to me, it will be the same as being alone.”

“I would do anything for you! So…please just stay with me!”

“I love you! No matter what’s happened, I still care for you more than I can bear…if I could have taken all your pain…onto myself to comfort you, I would have!”

“I’m begging you, don’t slip away any further!”

“What if…I asked you…to take me with you…?”

“Just once. Say it and mean it. I’ll never ask to hear it again if that’s what you want, but before I can say yes – to the future, to trying, to…to all of it – you have to say it.”

“Yes. Yes to all of it.”

“Shhh. Sasuke, I know you’re scared right now, but you’re safe with me.”

“Can I say out here with you?”

“I’m right here.”

Sasuke’s eyes shoot open, and for the first time since he awoke in this strange place, he feels a sense of clarity and calm.

The thumping noise is becoming louder, and it’s a wonder his torturer can’t hear it. Either he is too focussed on Sasuke at the moment, or he doesn’t care. But something is about to happen, Sasuke knows, and whatever the outcome, there’s something he needs to say.

“I…can never return…the lives I’ve taken,” he whispers haltingly. “But…killing me…will not bring him…back.”

“You think I don’t know that?” the man snaps, voice echoing in the dark through that distant window.

“…will try…to make up for my sins…the rest of my life,” Sasuke continues, trying to convey the earnestness of his words.

“I’m afraid that sentiment is rather useless. Make no mistake, you will be dead by the end of our meeting.”

“Will…my death…bring you that much…joy?”

“Oh, very little. But a moment’s joy is a moment more than I’ve had in a long time,” the man says, while his puppet selects an instrument from the grille. It’s a scooped gouge. “I think we’ll begin by taking those precious eyes of yours. And then –” The puppet draws the tool down toward Sasuke’s groin, and he flinches at the heat searing close to the sensitive flesh there, “ – I know a very useful procedure to deal with bothersome male hormones. To be fair, it’s a little redundant given your imminent death, but best cover all our bases, yes?”

“If you intend…to kill me…you should do it…quickly,” Sasuke rasps.

His captor makes an inquisitive noise. “I never thought I would hear you beg.”

“…Not begging…trying…to save your life…”

There is a beat, and then a startled laugh echoes in the distant darkness. “‘Save my life’? That’s absurd coming from you. What could you possibly do to me as you are now?”

“Not…me…” Sasuke pants as the distant thumping noise suddenly becomes a thunderous crescendo.

There is a thunderous, earth shaking crash in the distance, and the puppet looming over Sasuke is abruptly yanked away from him, torturous instruments and all. The windowed wall where his captor has been hiding himself is abruptly missing a huge chunk, and the microphoned voice suddenly cries out in shock.

It’s followed by a scream of pain, and another explosion that rocks the building. Chunks of ceiling and wall fall all around him, and cracks of light shine through in places. Immobilised as he is, he can’t look away.

Blinding light illuminates the chamber in a sudden flash, and Sasuke squints dumbly for a moment trying to acclimate to the change. When his eyes adjust once more, he perceives a scene that very few men besides him have seen: a hard-eyed goddess, fists clenched and burning with chakra, mouth pulled into an angry snarl. He has ever seen her so filled with anger, exuding a dangerous aura that promises her terrible power over life and death.

When her eyes fall on him, taking in his condition, something terrifying flashes across her features. Sasuke knows, in that moment, that if his insides weren’t hanging out of his body, if she didn’t need to stabilise him as soon as possible, Sakura’s own oath to heal would mean nothing.

She would be taking her anger out on the person who did this to him

He does not want to imagine what that would look like.

He spent three years living alongside a man who cut up bodies and experimented on the living for pleasure. A man who was motivated by discovery and power. Sakura is motivated by something a lot worse – Sasuke knows this better than anyone.

After all, he thinks as he blacks out, how many unspeakable crimes did my family commit in the name of love?

うちは

When he awakens, he is not in the dark room or restrained against the wall. There is still pain, but it’s the ache of exhaustion and overtraining, not the results of prolonged tortured. Glancing downward, he sees thick bandages covering his chest, and disappearing under a thick white blanket. It’s better quality than the run-of-the-mill hospital, which suggests he is somewhere else.

Probably the Kazekage’s residence.

His wife is asleep at his side, kneeling by the bed as if she fell asleep while tending to him. He doesn’t intend to wake her, but the minute his breathing changes, she straightens up.

“Sakura…” His throat his raw and dry.

“Don’t speak,” she orders him, reaching forward and brushing the pads of her fingertips against his lips. “You’re still weak.” It’s a natural reaction to become indignant at that, but to be honest he is still too tired. “Oh, Sasuke…what did he do to you?”

“Nothing you couldn’t fix,” he says heavily, putting every effort into not faltering in his words. He has absolute faith in her abilities.

“Of course not, but that’s not…” she trails off, swallowing audibly, and shakes her head. “You’re going to be out of commission for a while.” Anger flashes across her features. “Oh, if that bastard wasn’t dead, I’d – ”

Sasuke tries to push himself into sitting position. “You didn’t…?”

“No,” she replies shortly, and with such a note of regret that he winces. “That’s not to say I was entirely kind. I left him a mess of disconnected nerves and a face that didn’t really look like a face anymore, but…but he was alive when I went to find you.”

Sasuke exhales slowly, painfully, relieved that Sakura hasn’t done something horrible on his behalf. Still, it doesn’t answer everything. “Then…?”

“Gaara. He wasn’t impressed to find out that one of his people went rogue.”

Sasuke lets his eyes fall shut in a grimace.

“He shouldn’t have.”

“Sasuke, the guy tortured you!” Sakura cries. “He split you open, and vivisected you while you were still alive!”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Sasuke –”

“I killed his son,” he tells her, causing her mouth to snap shut with an audible click. “He just…wanted revenge. I understand that need better than most.”

But this doesn’t placate her.

“I don’t give a damn how much you understand,” she snaps. “What he did to you was wrong. There is no justification for ever doing that to another human being.” He thinks to protest, but she continues mercilessly. “Even at your absolute darkest, would you have done that to Itachi?”

Sasuke narrows his eyes – mentioning Itachi is still taboo, even if it’s not for the same reasons as when they were young. But Sakura doesn’t waver, instead raising an eyebrow in challenge, suggesting she isn’t about to let the issue drop until he answers her.

Sasuke pauses, considers, and finds that she does have a point.

He wanted his brother dead, there’s no question of that. But he never truly had the stomach to torture Itachi. At the time, he told himself it was because of how strong his brother was, how tricky it would be to defeat him. Going for anything less than a kill-shot would have been suicide.

“No,” he says eventually, and she sighs in obvious relief.

“I can’t believe this happened,” she whispers.

“It’s not your fault,” he tells her. “It’s happened before.” She gapes at him. “Perhaps not this specifically. But…I have a lot of sins to make up for. Even now. People have demons they need to exorcise.”

“And you’d just…you’d just let them?” she asks faintly, eyes wide.

He winces as his ribs twinge painfully. “…‘Let’ is a strong word.”

She shakes her head at him.

“Sasuke…I’m all for forgiveness,” she tells him softly, “but if you have this harebrained idea to let everyone in the world who has a grudge against you carve out their pound of flesh, then we’re going to have a problem.”

“I need to make amends.”

“You can make amends without having to bleed,” she insists quietly, tenderly stroking his hair off his face.

Sasuke’s eyes soften.

Under normal circumstances he would take her hand in his, offer her some kind of physical reassurance. It hurts too much to contemplate right now, and so instead he tries to lighten the mood another way. “Well, I won’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Her brows draw together. “Why?”

“Because I have something I didn’t have before.”

“What’s that?”

“A wife that will come to my rescue.”

Sakura snorts, but her mouth pulls into a rueful smirk. “You’re a bit late to the party, darling, I’ve been doing that since we were twelve. You were just too sulky to notice.”

“How many times did I save your life?”

“How many times did I carry you home unconscious?” she retorts. “Or jumped over a cliff to save your ungrateful ass? I could have just left you.”

“You never would have.”

“…I never would have,” she agrees after a pause.

Leaning forward, she lightly brushes her lips against his, soft and tentative, if only out of respect for his injuries. Then, she presses her forehead against his.

“I love you,” she tells him softly, and his heart leaps at the words, though they are commonplace these days. “I hate seeing you in pain.”

“Hm.”

“But if you get yourself into a situation like this again, I swear to every god in existence, I will break as many bones in your body as it takes to stick you in a bed for the rest of your life.”

He snorts at this.

“I’m not even joking, Sasuke,” she warns him. “You have so much to live for right now. There’s you, there’s me…Naruto and Kakashi-sensei…all our friends back home…there’s the children we’re going to have one day –”

Sasuke tenses at this, his torturer’s story repeating itself in his head, and his eyes fly to her abdomen. “You’re not…?”

“What? No!” Sakura says, turning red. “Wait…do you think I look…?”

“No,” he says immediately, forestalling any indignance on her part.

But he fights down a wave of unexpected disappointment. Something must show on his face in spite of his usually controlled reactions, because Sakura’s face smooths out again.

“But one day I will be, right?” she asks him, tentative. “We will be?”

There’s a long, breathless silence between them, the question hanging in the air like a guillotine.

Sasuke knows what his answer should be – the damage that his blood can do, the children he has stolen from their parents in the wake of his vengeance. This whole incident has reminded him very starkly that he doesn’t deserve to have anything close to happiness.

But the look on Sakura’s face, the idea that with a single syllable he can watch her shoulders slump and the light in her eyes go out, is enough to make him want to be selfish.

“Yes,” he tells her, willing a promise into that word.

Immediately, he knows he has made the right choice, deserving or not. Sakura’s face blossoms, the smile as radiant as the day they spoke their vows. Just like that day, her eyes well with tears, but by now he know them to be an expression of joy.

“Good,” she sniffs, swiping at her eyes. “That’s…that’s really good. And a relief.”

He blinks. “What do you mean?”

“Or else all this practicing we’ve been doing to repopulate the Uchiha clan is going to waste.”

It takes him a moment to register what she’s talking about, and then his ears begin to burn. “You’re never letting me live that down, are you?”

“Not until we’re old and grey,” she promises him, lying down beside him and patting his arm reassuringly. “Now, you need to go back to sleep. You have a lot of healing to do, and I have to go with Gaara to explain to a certain Wind Daimyo why his private physician is now a sticky paste all over an abandoned movie theatre.”

Sasuke grimaces. “That’s where he was keeping me?”

“There aren’t many places around here with sound-proofing that aren’t regulated by Gaara’s people,” she tells him, pressing her face into his neck. The skin there feels itchy and new, but he leans into it. “I was scared. Your chakra suddenly disappeared, and I…”

“How did you find me?”

“I’ll tell you when you wake up. You really do need to sleep now, though.”

His heart warms at this, and he can’t help the way his mouth tugs upward. He supposes he can slake his curiosity later. “Very well.”

“That’s what I want to hear.”

“Sakura.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for rescuing me.”

“Don’t be stupid. I’ll always rescue you.”

“Even from myself?”

“Especially from yourself.”

“…Good.”

終わり

Um…apologies to anyone who I made gag or cry. This was really hard for me to write, but it insisted on being written. Hope you guys are all okay now that it’s over. I just felt like a reminder was needed that not all of Sakura and Sasuke’s adventures during the Blank Period would have been happy or safe.

As part of the SasuSakuFestival, please go to the ssfest page and vote, like and/or reblog once it’s up, thanks! That would be majorly appreciated!

クリ

#ssfest17 #sasusaku #ssfanfiction #ssfestday5 #submission #ssfestentry

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