#{ 'cause how am I supposed to stop saying crow ? it's a bird ??? }

[rebelelegance]

Calloused Hearts - 4

Summary: Trouble stirs, but maybe it was for the better. Or for the worse.

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Tidemaker!reader

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Kaz’s touch aversion

w/c: 1.5k+

A/N: I'M BACK! And in view of sab ss2 I thought "what better way to start of than by continuing this beautiful fic?" so here I am.

I'm a tad bit rusty, so please sympathize. But here y'all go.

&lt;<prev chapter

Chapter 4:

A week.

You’d spent a week getting better, gambling, teasing Jesper and hanging out with the crows.

But most of all, you’d spent a week avoiding Kaz.

Although at this point you couldn’t tell if you were avoiding him or if he was avoiding you. But, it seemed like a mix of the two. 

You watched as he made his way down the stairs, your eyes temporarily diverting from the drink in front of you. Jesper cleared his throat next to you, earning a jab in his side from Wylan. “What?! It’s like a full blown romance novel!” Your head spun around, wide eyes landing on your friend. “Cut that out will you? He could hear you!” you whispered. “Well he already knows. ‘Till the tide goes sti-” you clapped your hand over his mouth, sending him a warning look.

Yes.

You’d told him. He’d found it rather amusing. However he didn't seem to understand the fact that it had to remain a secret. You pulled away, still watching him carefully as he held up his hands. “Sorry,” he muttered.

You turned back around to face Kaz, the familiar hollow feeling settling in your chest. He was talking to Inej now, the girl’s body language, a hand on her knives, worrying you. 

“Something’s wrong,” you say, watching Kaz’s expression harden even from this distance.

And then his eyes are on yours.

Piercing. Hard. And yet again, unreadable.

His head tilted to the left slightly, the age old gesture causing you to spring to your feet. You pull at Jesper’s hand dragging him along, ignoring his protests about a drink going to waste.

It was weird. No matter how long you’d spent apart, the signal never changed. Your understanding of each other was still rather perfect. You followed Kaz and Inej up the stairs, the other crows following behind. 

You couldn’t imagine what it was. What made Kaz call you up here along with the others? If he had to contact you all, why tell you directly? Why hadn’t he told anyone else?

Maybe. Just maybe…you were regaining his trust.

You all piled into his office, Inej sending a worried look your way.

Maybe not.

“Inej picked up on intel. Pekka Rollins is working with the stadwatch and Grisha now.” Kaz said, placing his hands on his desk and leaning over it.

“Why would he do that?” Jesper asked from next to you. 

“Because then he hits two birds with one stone.” 

What did he mean?

“I don’t get it,” Wylan responded, “ am I the only one that doesn’t get it?”

“No. I’m confused as well,” Nina added.

“He’s heard we’re harboring a Grisha that’s supposed to reward him with nearly 3 million kruge. And with the stadwatch’s help. He’ll take us down too.”

“3 million?” Jesper gawked.

Kaz wasn’t only keeping you away from Pekka. He was protecting you from the Grisha as well.

But he chose to not hand you over? Even if that meant losing 3 million kruge? And Pekka coming after him again?

“I’m sorry, Let me get this straight,” Inej started, “ You’re protecting her,” she said pointing to you, “even with a bounty of 3 million kruge over her head?”

You cowered away. 3 million could help them. Set them straight. Kaz didn’t even know the full story of what had happened to you. According to what he knew, you lived a luxurious life at the Little Palace. So why not get rid of you?

But what Kaz did next sent shivers down your spine.

“And what if I am Inej?” he asked, his tone menacing low.

The 7 of you stood there awkwardly, as you tried to stop your mind from racing.

What was Kaz thinking?

You felt an arm around your shoulders, and you did your best to stay still and not flinch at the sudden contact. 

“Even if you’d decided to trade her off. I wouldn’t let you,” Jesper remarked, squeezing your shoulder lightly. He shrugged, “She’s the only fun one around here.”

You smiled at Jesper, catching the others nod from the corner of your eye.

“I don’t mean that you’re not fun to be around,” Inej smiled slightly. She turned to Kaz, “I just don’t understand him sometimes.”

Kaz’s eyes were on yours. His face was blank. His eyes, however, were swarming with all sorts of emotion. He seemed angry, confused, a little relieved and …jealous?

“If you understood him there’d be no point in his existence,” Nina chimed in. 

His eyes landed on Nina, sending a glare her way, “I wanted to tell you all to be alert. Nina, see what you can find out from the stadwatch, and Inej, stick to the shadows.”

Both girls gave him quick nods, before leaving. “The rest of you, do your best to act normal,” he said, sorting through stuff on his desk. 

“That’s our cue,” Jesper said, using his arm around you to guide you out, your head swarming with the information that had been laid out.

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

That night as you made your way to Kaz’s room, you had to remind yourself that there was no other logical explanation.

It had to be done.

Just as you were about to knock on the door, Kaz’s voice sounded from the room, “Come in.”

You closed the door behind you, walking in hesitantly, unsure of how you were going to tell him, and how he would take it.

But you didn’t have to.

“I won’t let you do it,” he said. 

He was sitting on a chair, only one lantern illuminating the room, as shadows danced around. 

You thought it depicted your heart quite well.

The light was in front of you. Disheveled hair, tired features, and an outstretched leg. 

And the shadows were everything that had ever gone wrong in your life.

How much longer ‘till the light decided he was done glowing for you?

“Let me do what?” you asked, voice trembling slightly. You knew what he meant. But you couldn’t believe that he said it.

“I won’t let you turn yourself in.”

There it was.

“It’s 3 million kruge Kaz. That could get you all settled for life.”

“So what?” he asked, leaning forward. He was scarily calm, his face illuminated ever so slightly.

“So what?! So I’m saying that I should go. That I need to go. That it would keep Pekka off of you for a little while longer. Tha-”

“They’re all happy with you here.”

“Kaz-”

“They’ve warmed up to you quite fast. I’m not going to take that away from them.” 

You shook your head. “3 million kruge is a lot. Imagine the wonders it would do for all of you.” 

“And what about the wonders you do by being here?”

You froze. 

“Nina finally has someone that gets her humor. Wylan sees you as an older sister. Jesper thinks of you as a platonic soulmate. You’re the only one Matthias doesn’t want to be all over and can tolerate. And Inej-”

“Doesn’t like me” you cut him off.

He tilted his head to the side. “You’re wrong. Yet again. She admires you.”

You shook your head. “She doesn’t trust me. She admires the fact that you haven’t kicked me out yet, there’s a difference.”

Kaz just watched you, his eyes never leaving yours.

“Which I’m curious to know as well. 3 million kruge. PR, the stadwatch and grisha off of your back. What am I still doing here?” you ask, the words finally falling out of your mouth.

Kaz stilled. He looked away from you for a moment, before standing up and walking over to you.

You weren’t short, but Kaz had quite a few inches on you, and as he stood in front of you, eyes boring into yours, you felt your stomach do multiple flips.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he whispered.

Your heart raced. “Why?” you asked, your eyes searching his.

He closed his eyes, and you felt his gloved hand over yours. Not holding your hand, not moving, just there. Your breath hitched, as his eyes opened again.

“Because, you said,” he paused, swallowing thickly as he visibly struggled to keep his eyes on yours, “you said - ‘till the tide goes still,” he looked away, unable to maintain eye contact any longer. Your eyes widened in shock. You didn’t think he’d remember.

“Yes. I did. Why are you bringing that up now?” you whispered. 

He looked at you again, his eyes fierce. “You didn’t hear me say it back that night.”

You couldn’t think. It seemed as though, just for a moment, the light in the room was a little brighter. Just for a moment. Because, he couldn’t have meant in the way you had. Could he?

But before you could ask, the door swung open. You spun around as Kaz stepped away from you, both in shock.

A confused, and worried looking Jesper stood in the doorway.

“I’m sorry for ruining,” he waved his arms around, “whatever this was. But, I can’t find Wylan.”

next chapter>>

Tags: @ancientbeing10 @lila-kille @emmnf1 @gabby10100 @foulkryptonitepeanut @pinchofhoney @peaches1958 @lyria-skyfall @sabii5

[mochamoth]

Another quick fic I wrote rn at like 1 am, y a y.

_______________________

"Alright you got it set up?"

..

"Grounder, did you set the trap up?"

...

"Grounder?"

....

"GROUNDER!"

Scratch yelled in Grounder's face. "Ah! Y- yeah?!" Grounder replied with a flinch. "Did you set up the trap? Jeez pay more attention!!" Scratch growled, crossing his arms. "Yea I got it set up, and I AM paying attention," he argued. "You just ignored my question 3 times!!" Scratch scoffed. "I did?" Grounder asked, seeming genuinely confused. "Oh whatever boltbrain, now all we have to do is wait and SO help me if you messed up the trap," Scratch fumed. "Me?! If anything you're gonna give away our hiding spot!" Grounder yelled back. "Shut up!!" Scratch groaned. "Wh- you need to shut up!!" Grounder ordered. "Fine!" Scratch growled, sitting down with a fussy trill. Grounder just rolled his eyes, eventually looking away and off into the distance.

At some point he had zoned out. He heard some noises but he didn't bother to look away from where he was staring off to. His mind was both racing but also numb. Like he had thoughts screaming in his mind yet it was fuzzy. He then felt a weird sense of dread come over him. He didn't know why though. He just felt sick all of the sudden-

"GROUNDER WOULD YOU QUIT IT?!" Scratch crowed in his face. Grounder flinched horribly, nearly passing out from how loud Scratch was. "Wh- what??-" Grounder was about to ask, but then looked up at Scratch. He was.. Definitely beat up!

"Take. One guess. At what happened while YOU were slacking off. Go on!" Scratch sarcastically prompted. ".. Sonic didn't fall for the trap and you got-" "YES. DUMB BOT. HE DIDN'T FALL FOR IT AND I GOT MY WORLD ROCKED!! AND YOU DIDN'T HELP!!" Scratch growled. Grounder shrunk back a bit, like a dog who knows they're guilty of causing trouble. "Sorry," he murmured. "IF DOCTOR ROBOTNIK GETS MAD IT'S GONNA BE ON YOU!! WHAT IS WITH YOU!!" Scratch hissed. "I don't know!!" Grounder responded sadly.

"What do you MEAN you don't know?! What so you don't know why you've been ignoring me!! Like I don't even matter!!" Scratch scolded. "I'm not ignoring you!! I just can't hear you!!" Grounder replied defensively. "Why? You need your ears fixed or something?.. Do we even.. Have ears?" Scratch asked, trailing off at the end. "No I just, I dunno I keep zoning off!" Grounder cried out. "Well stop daydreaming, we have work to do!" Scratch groaned. "I'm not though!! It's like, my mind becomes all weird a-and it's hard for me to think," Grounder attempted to explain. "Well you're like that all the time, so what's the problem now?" Scratch sarcastically teased. "Scratch I'm serious! Would you stop being a selfish asshole and let me explain?!" Grounder snapped at him, almost just as loud as his squawking. Scratch shut his mouth real quick, blinking in shock. ".. Thank you!" Grounder sighed out.

"When I say weird I mean like.. Fuzzy. Like nothing feels real in that moment. And I feel weirdly um.. Nauseated I think it's called? And I feel this sense of.. I dunno that something bad is gonna happen," Grounder finally explained, Scratch staying quiet the whole time. The bird tilted his head in confusion. "Why?" He asked. "Scratch, if I KNEW I'd tell you," Grounder groaned. "Oh," Scratch blinked, sitting next to Grounder.

..

"Scratch do you think there's a problem with me..?" Grounder asked nervously. "What, the fact you're dumb or the fact you're annoying?" Scratch scoffed. "Am I breaking..? A- am I supposed to be like this??" Grounder stuttered out, shaking a bit. "Oh that! That I.. I.. I dunno? I mean it's just zoning out right?" Scratch asked. "What if I AM breaking? Robotnik's gonna.. He's gonna tear me apart, probably while I'm awake too, and what if I don't even realize it!! What if I get stuck like that for good?! What if-"

"GROUNDER," Scratch shook him. Grounder quickly turned his head towards Scratch. "Grounder. Calm down, I'm sure you're fine!" Scratch brushed off. "Oh no I didn't hear you again, I'm getting worse it's getting worse," Grounder hyperventilated, holding himself. "What n- no you did hear me that time!! Grounder it's only you over thinking maybe you're just tired or something!!" Grounder just continued his anxious rambling, about how there was something wrong with him and how he couldn't be fixed and how he'll be scraped. Scratch was clueless on what to do. "Grounder calm down! I'm sure if it is a problem Robotnik can fix it!" Scratch tried to assure Grounder. But, that only confirmed the idea that there was something wrong with him more in his head. "A- and I keep having horrible thoughts and I keep feeling this idea of- of something horrible and- and-"

Grounder quieted up and flinched when he felt something grab his shoulder. "Grounder it's.. It's fine!" Scratch simply stated, awkwardly rubbing his shoulder. Grounder blinked through his hyperventilating. Was this his way of comforting? It was.. Pathetic. "I mean come on!! I have a ton of problems and yeah Robotnik threatens to throw me in the dump after beating me over the head every day, but he hasn't yet!! So stop.. Stop fussing over it," Scratch spat out. "That's not really that reassuring you know," Grounder mumbled quietly. He was expecting some sassy, snippy reply. "Yeah I know.." was what he got instead. Grounder sighed. "Well.. Thanks," he shrugged. Scratch patted his back. "Y.. Yeah! Now let's go catch Sonic!" He cheered, standing up and walking off. Grounder hesitated. "Scratch I know you said not to 'fuss' about it but what if it happens again?" Grounder asked hesitantly. Scratch stopped and turned around, looking down at Grounder. "Well.. Do you think it'll happen again?" Scratch asked. "I dunno.." Grounder mumbled. Scratch hummed. "Then maybe you can just.. Help with setting stuff up, I can do all the catching!" Scratch suggested. "But then you'll take all the credit and it'll give Robotnik more of a reason to scrap-" "I swear on my life I won't," Scratch firmly promised. Not playfully or sarcastically or angrily. Just firm and honest. ".. Are you sure?" "I'll say we did it, if he suspects anything just take the credit and I'll fight you for it," Scratch whispered. ".. Sense when did you have GOOD plans?" Grounder teased. "Oh shut it all my plans are good, now come on! We're wasting time!!" Scratch nagged, walking away. Grounder followed, and oddly enough the feeling of dread slowly began to fade away.

[sanchoyo]

arc v ep 88-100 thoughts... cannot believe I hit ep 100 already. hell yeah

also my cat sat on my laptop and typed this while I was watching and its important I leave in HER thoughts too. she says: "4r4 rrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr4ggggj,"

ok now onto My Thoughts (which are considerably less Important than hers)

-ok shun leaping onto his monster to save a small child then everyone being like 'omg i cant believe he'd do that..wow…hes not so bad…' LIKE? YOU THOUGHT HE WAS HEARTLESS??? dude cares SO much hes been consistently trying to stop a war and find his sister and stuff??? jkdashkj (also it was just very dramatic and Cool and made me laugh bc he was SO serious and straight faced during the whole thing. nerves of STEEL)

-'i wonder if kurosaki is a lot like crow'….theyre both bird boys. theyre uniting to be bird FRIENDS and FIST BUMPED OVER IT WHY AM I TEARING UP. SHUN LOST WITH A SMILE TOO….im glad theyre friends and birds and birdfriends. even jack smiled over crow winning AAAUGH. STOPPP. too cute. didnt expect this ep to be so WHOLESOME

-the subs said smth like 'youre one of us' when they were through speaking (which is lovely bc they have a solidarity in that they both have causes theyre fighting for) but the more literal translation of what was said was closer to 'you're one of my/our friends now' from crow. Augh. AUGGH. ;_;

my god the sora meeting up with yuzu then their monsters working together (in an ADORABLE dance sequence) was THEE best thing ever like 2 eps in a row have been BANGERS and making me unlock new emotions. I love both of their decks SO much too????

screenshots that made me bawl my eyes out tbh. like I literally, actually cried a little JKADSHKFJ sora has FRIENDS for the first time and he LOVES THEM and they TRUST HIM he found the best friends ever and its SO tender. this is why I watch ygo btw. sobbing in the club rn.

-yuzu declares shes gotta save yuya bc he is, once again, locked up. girl boss protag! …of course tsukikage interrupted and tbh he and sora had Points abt it being better if sora goes and gets yuya since hes…yeah, trained for this kinda stuff but they all trust each other and the whole teacher and student thing with yuzu and sora…god theyre all so CUTE this is EXACtly what I wanted ;__; exactly what i NEEDED.

-yugo v serena started exactly how I expected jdshjk I LOVE how constantly Pissed serena is. shes SO blunt and I love her for it. (but also wARRANTED he got way too clingy fast and im sure thats Weird for her. gotta assume her and yuri werent…like, even acquaintances or anything by way she acts around the yu boys) she did make sure to let yugo know she expected a lot from him from his last duel which was Something. but my god yugo is SO in love with rin isnt he kjdsahkj hes got like that wholesome childhood friends puppy love, the way he imagines her, and its REALLY cute. cannot wait to actually meet rin…

-roget is so damn annoying that everytime he speaks i just hear the adults from the peanuts cartoons so i cant recall, but hes saying smth abt wanting serena to be a symbol for the commons and the tops and im like. he wants her and yuzu so academia cant have them and has his own plans for them, but. does he know WHY academia wants them? im gonna need him to share with the class. I still need to know too

-also its rly annoying that roget is cheesing the duel in serena's favor. but also I'm always rooting for the girls so like. i get it, but if shes gonna win I want it to be on her own merits yk… (rin seems so cute from the flashbacks also, she always WON IN THEIR DUELS?? GIRL IS STRONG IM EVEN MORE EXCITED TO MEET HER)

-yuyas thng where he can astral project (??) himself into his alt selves bodies is creepy and i KNOW its prob not supposed to be but it IS and I Dont Like it. Pls dont Dissolve yugo too like u did with yuto. maybe it only happens to them when theyre not in their dimension. maybe yugo will absorb yuya instead. I DOUBT it since yuya is protag protected but still

-….yugo being like 'no, i LIKE it that when youre in trouble the course changes and u get an action card!! its cool and a good thing!!!" OK FEMINIST KING JHDSKJF. hes great and I love him. (also yeah its not her FAULT roget is trying to give her advantages but id argue having yuya backseating on the duel is also kinda cheesing it for yugo so. theyre EVEN on the unintentional cheating)

-much as I hate to see her lose her attitude makes PERFECT sense given how she was raised in academia. duels are not Games to her, theyre tools, and she hates relying on whats basically handouts from roget to win or dumb luck. perfectly understandable and I appreciate her stubbornness and sense of honor abt it. but gotta agree with yugo that nah girl take the W if u can jkdhsjk. she ofc changes her tune later in the duel but Still

-oh my god yuri is HERE im going to PUKE just seeing his silhouette made me get so hyped up. i dont even KNOW him hes barely had ANY screentime but the way the other characters and even fucking roget hyped him make me like. dude u better be a hammy villain i have HIGH hopes for u. if hes good at being squirrely he WILL be my fav yuya counterpart EASY bc looks wise hes already my fav. pink and purple is unbeatable. but hes just STANDING THERE. MENACINGLY. with his lil bunny hair...tbh kinda cute.

-AWWW serena being like 'why am i getting kind of excited…' girl has had so little Hype in her life and this is def her first time hearing ppl cheer for her im gonna cry. id hype u up bestie ur SO cool and good at dueling….AND SHE GOT TO SAY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THIS TIME. and SHE IS ENJOYING HERSELF GOOD FOR HER. I did kinda figure she woulnt win or go all the way (and I assume the same goes for yugo...) but. still very proud of her. and her and yugo had funnnn together ;w; yugo is lowkey befriending ALL the yuzu counterparts isnt he. king shit! love him!

-I know this shot of yuri standing is supposed to be menacing and threatening but he looks like a little. i dont know. like a littol kitty or perhaps a pug dog. he said :I look at him:

-btw why was he on top of the stadium howd he get up there. WHY IS HE STANDING ON TOP OF A MOVING TRUCK??? then he leaps OFF it and-- all the yuboys are so…acrobatic…I mean it makes sense if him and sora were both academia-trained but still...not Normal.

-oh…layra coming to save serena while reiji creates an opening for them and trusts his sibling to go do that…look at layras character development bc of jacks inspiration…layra got so vocal and seemed so confident IM SO PROUD OF ALL MY KIDS RN. SNIPED 3 COPS TOO. SO QUICKLY. it was barely a duel god damn. they are reijis sibling huh

-the way reiji keeps WINNING (also I love how his scarf defies gravity. very cool) roget is SOO mad and I love to see it. he said hes going to KILL REIJI AND THE COUNCIL? NOT DUEL THEM? KILL THEM OUTRIGHT? oh ok roget. sure you will when we have checks episode count at least …2-3 seasons left. sure you'll kill the sort of rival but not exactly character, who leads the lancers. I totallllly believe u ;)

-eeeeugh roget is so creepy 'normally i wouldve wanted to rework his (yuya) brain first but-' blah blah blah do you realize youre talking abt modifying a living person against their will. i mean hes already done it to every cop and sergey. but still. urgh creepy and bad.

-obv I know yuya will win the friendship cup stuff and duel jack. bc protag. but them pitting yuya v crow seems like swinging a bat at the hornets nest (the fandom) by definitively saying one is a better duelist and would win against the other…sjdhfkjn its the reason we dont get protag v protag duels in stuff like bbt n no conclusive winner to the judai v yugi duel i guess hahah. tbf this duel was p much all Thee Demon and not yuya, and fixed at the start so crow didnt do his 100% best on the first turn, and its not as if yuya planned to go thru with it at ALL bc hes got priorities, but ofc I figured thatd get dashed...despite their scheming...ugh. still a bit bummed. hope they have an earnest on screen duel fr before the end...

-I do love yuya and crow PLOTTING TOGETHER. thats great….schemers! also glad the whole 'crow thinks yuya might be working w the tops' shit was short-lived bc I knew crow wouldnt buy that

-sora…jumped onto a helicopter's wheel..and is just hanging on…his upper core and arm strength has to be INSANE what the HELL dude if u fall u will DIE dont DO THAT

-the silly music that plays when yuya brings out his hippos is such a bop. loveeee this ost

-….YUYA WAS GOING TO JUMP AND ABANDON THE DUEL TO GO TRY AND FIX SHIT. my god he was so close to breaking the unspoken ygo rule (protags always win tournaments) to ABANDON THE TOURNAMENT FOR THE SAKE OF THE PLOT!!! i cant believe it…roget stopped him with a BRAIN SHOCK??? he put some shit in his helmet :( at least its not IN HIS BRAIN I guess?? oh my god it increases aggression too. roget you are so so stupid man hes got a DEMON in his necklace or some shit you CANNOT be doing this its gonna come out and EAT you. or worse, eat crow who I actually like. i wouldnt MIND if it ate roget

-we then get a really cool shot of a red eye looking over a disintegrating city line. and all the yu-dudes have a Moment. uhhh safe to say this demon thats attached to all of them wiped out a fucking huge city or dimension/world? great. very cool. roget you dumb fuck youre going to cause the apocalypse or something

-the demon said fuck ya friends im winning the duel lmaooo of course its a demon with priorities to duel. classic ygo moment. the other yuboys are completely controlled and copying yuyas movements and their eyes are doing the Thing….ok, so the demons goal is 100% absorb all of them into one like what happened with yuto.. like to get the power of all the dimensions/their dragons all together? ? still like, doesnt explain why they all look the same or how the yuzugirls/bracelets are involved really, but im pretty sure thats the Idea right…starting to think we cant Friendship our way out of this and the demon might end up being. a real problem and not a Potential Bud. Sad

-'if he dies he dies' ok roget. youre horrible. VERY effective villain tho

-oh christ academia is here too rn? WORST timing. but im like. on the edge of my seat this is season finale worthy tension.

-btw this is a VERY funny screenshot. sora jumped from a helicopter WAY up in the air perfectly onto crows bike SOMEHOW without shattering all of his leg bones. what they dont tell you abt academia is that they replace all of your bones with a sturdy rubber so u can do unlimited parkour without hurting urself

-jack finally got up out of that damn chair he was so pissed crow lost jkdshjk. real. me and jack ALWAYS on same wavelength. twinsies <3

-yuya said FUCK the friendship cup im leaving for real this time. good for him. dip out and save ur friends. but you WILL be back to finish the tournament or so help me god. thats ygo LAW.

-genuinely didnt expect yugo and yuri to be SO funny when they interacted but my god i kept having to pause and laugh. but also…uhh…yugo really thought yuzu was DEAD?? he did keep sayin yuzu from heaven or smth along those lines BUT I THOUGHT HE WAS BEING CUTE AND CALLING HER AN ANGEL OR SMTH LIKE. AS A PET NAME. HE REALLY. THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD? 'then I suppose rin lives on in your heart too' BRUTAL. but I laughed. sjdfkjn

btw this?

sounded like a genuine laugh jkhdsfjk and was super cute. im...hesitant to say i SHIP any of the yuboys bc im terrified its gonna be smth like theyre bros. literally interdimensional brothers or smth insane like that. but. if that DOESNT end up being the case. cmon. look at them.

-the council being like 'hmmm hmm yes maybe we shall use sergey and make peace with roget afterall to get him on our side :)' and reiji looking PISSED. my god I would be too, hes done so much for you FUCKS. down with the council and roget and academia and the tops/police force in synchro. they ALL gotta go.

-….god tsukikage is the best isnt he. as far as he knows, the carding of his bro is like. equal to death (I know it cant be, no way we're losing that many minor characters FOREVER. just like im 100% sure yuto will Be Back or smth) and still, hes like no we dont hold grudges thats not the way of my clan. thanks for your help. to sora. very tender and sweet moment im so glad…..

-YUYA LITERALLY BUSTING IN ON A MOTORCYCLE. ICONIC ENTRANCE AND THANK GOD. poor layra had to fight waaay too long :<

-…shun is WAY too extra I LOVE him lmaooo he straight up started bodying ppl underground with his fists AGAIN the second he heard academia was here. gonna need a shun fight compilation or gifset immediately if such a thing exists. and if not I will MAKE it. bird of Incredible Violence

-the REVOLUTION IS STARTINGGGGG OK SHINJI LETS GOOOOOO this is awesome

-…my god the stuff with layra and serena turned into a clusterfuck SO fast. sora showed up to try and help. yuya showed up to try and help. then YURI SHOWED UP. AND YUGO. and yuzu, FINALLY. everything happens So Much. (and then fucking sergey too) everyone is kinda in One Spot huh…Bad Feeling abt This

-speaking of bad feelings. when all the yu's dragons came out! and they started talking about becoming one and saying shit like 'i'll be revived!' ok. so. yuya's demon is trying to resurrect itself and needs all the yu's to do it. bad! kinda suspecting yuri and yugo are gonna go to Spirit Town with yuto kjsdnkjn oh no. so its like. safe to assume this is some zorc type shit? the demon put pieces of itself into each of them? the dragons are like, the key to Waking it Up (which…yuya did get his mysteriously from pendulum stuff right. his DAD gave him the pendulum necklace didnt he. im SO sus abt his fuckin dad rn I dont trust him I KNOW how ygo dads Are. this is his fault somehow. he gave his son a cursed Amulet type shit)

-…and the yuzugirls all have bracelets that can detect and lead to the demon when its active? …does reiji's dad know this? and wants them all together and to find the demon? and assumedly put it back together/fuse the yuboys for world/dimensional domination? maybe thats why hes trying to fuse the dimensions together, so he can rule them All with Demon Power (tm)? cliche but thats my best guess… but like. if thst WAS the case he'd just need one of the girls bc yuzu could find yuya on her own? or maybe leo is actually…trying to STOP the demon thing and is going abt it in the worst fuckedest up way possible. thats also a possibility. but he seems like. he doesnt give a FUCK abt the yuboys at all and just wants the girls so??? do they also have a demon. doesnt seem like it but that would be sick af I think the girls deserve to go a bit feral too. as a treat

-if…fusing the yuboys is the demons ultimate goal its already halfway there LOL got yuto! doesnt explain why it would split itself across dimensions to be in them in the first place or anything or why itd pick yuya and his counterparts unless it chose them from birth or smth (which explains why they might look the same kinda?) (I am going to assume when we keep seeing that cityline being destroyed in yuya's vision, that it at one time was some big bad. so assumedly it got destroyed and maybe scattering itself was a last ditch effort in hopes of being revived?? or someone else did it??) also still doesnt explain how the yuzugirls factor in. im trying so hard rn to figure it Out. the whole 'we will be ONE AGAIN' thing did confirm a lot of my suspicions tho and if I was yugo and yuri id get the HELL OUT OF DODGE tbh

-also. the bracelets have teleportation powers. (yuboys specifically targetted during it…) what does THAT imply? that the dragons pull them together…and the bracelets are tools to keep them apart? from fusing? hm. so what im understanding is yuzu protag real

-earthbounds are SO cute I loved them in 5ds how is it fair that SERGEY has them. bullshit

-btw I appreciate how cute yuzu's prison jumpsuit is. shes just runnin around in a lil onesie doing all of this. I mean motorcycle suits are also onesies. this is the onesie arc

-why has the nerve gas on serena lasted so long. i feel like it shouldve long since worn off

-the entire duel between barett and yuya was 'tell me where yuzu is.' 'no' 'tell me' 'i..said i wasnt going to?' 'tell me' 'no' tell me' 'NO' 'oh shes here :)' 'FUCK' like for 20 mins I swear to god jasdfk

-they took serena nooooooo. sad :( I hope we can see a lil of academia and keep following her while shes there (and that shes not just thrown in a cell) oh!! i hope her and rin and ruri can meet up there!!! I want to see them

-SERGEY HAS DISGUSTING LEG…ENGINES??? HE FUCKING LAUNCHED OFF WITH YUZU. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. diGUSTING this man is nightmare duel what the hell. not my best girl :<

-layra deciding sora is a Safe Person and clinging to him…VERY cute ;_; sora once again being the one to go and try to save yuzu too…BESTIES.

-…the fact the duel arena is..empty bc the fucking revolution is happening outside LMAO even gon is like 'hey why the hell are they even continuing the tournament rn this is ridiculous' same dude!!

-holy shit jack is finally doing smth. jack is going to beat sergeys ass im so ready do it king. his cool as a cucumber disposition and pretty face are like. the only buffer I have to protect me from sergey

-choziro appealing to shingos EGO to get him to protect layra is SO funny. hes got NO braincells and hes the best for it

-ohhh the rain during the sergey v jack match. jack In The Rain while sergey DESTROYS THE ROAD. its so DRAMATIC and cool and I love this for him yesss show this guy how jack duels!!! #1 king of all time. hes calling him shit like 'fool' and 'buffoon' too such a jack moment. and 'if theres perfection, its ME' oh my GOD I love you SO much jack. pls.

-I need u all to understand ygo is My Sports Game I'm hysterical rn over jack slipping past sergey and then RIDING BACKWARDS TO FACE HIM. love when jack does that

-by the way, roget bringing yuzu up to have someone to monologue at? v funny

-jack caused sergey to have some kind of fucking…duelgasm which caused an Error. which is Disturbing I hate this dude TF. this is the effect jack has on everyone tho I guess

-ROGETS LITTLE 'SERGEEEEY!!!' SCREAM WAS SO FUCKING FUNNY I NEED A CLIP OF THAT HIS VOICE. LIKE. JKDFHKJ. hes LOSING his shit I cant stop laughing

-I Never Doubted Jack for One Second

-You Ever Have a Duel So Good You Kill Yourself After. ok. goodbye sergey. cannot say I will miss you infact I am very Relieved actually

-…by the way. does jack know anything abt whats currently happening with the plot? im sure he at least knows abt the revolution but does he know abt the lancers/academia stuff? hes been on his Chair most of the time so I assume Not which is very funny. this random dude just dueled him, turned into a bike, then killed himself after and jack is like. well ok. JKDSHFKJ

-some rando street dudes killed sergey actually. but he was def falling on purpose. either way. watching roget LOSE it is so funny his plan has sucked ass from the start

-shun scooping layra up was really cute. Scooped

-HOLY SHIT YUZU. SLAMMED INTO ROGET AND HE HIT HIS HEAD ON THE EDGE OF HIS CHESS TABLE. i LOVE how shes consistently been a Get Shit Done girl even when shes cuffed rn. she said ya im gonna go steal his broadcast and get MY message out

-jack said for sam to tell yuya: Yuya Im Fucking Disappointed in You. Stop dueling like a Damn Animal. and this is enough to make yuya actually remember his goals. and run to the palace to duel jack again. to stop the riots and shit with a Duel. Good

-reijis smile when layra ran and hugged him PLS. cute

-the council finally gets fucking Told by Reiji. 'those who sit on the sidelines have no right to speak about the future' hey reiji youre the best (and his whole speech was REALLY good)

-shun and his Flock of Birds comes to Help. why is that so funny and kinda sweet. hes gotta STAND on his too while it flies like a drama queen

-the tournament was basically canceled bc we didnt get the semifinal duels BUT we are getting jack v yuya anyway of course as the finale…is it bad I still want jack to win? I want yuya to be fine with winning so long as it makes ppl smile bc THATS his main goal and jack is a symbol of hope for the ppl in this city…so I want jack to Win…again…but this is a duel for yuya to redeem himself after losing to jack the first time isnt it. aah

-'i declared martial law!' 'no you dont' thats basically what the council guy did kjshk

-lancers beating cops up together in the stadium :) on live tv….fun lil friend group activity aw…

-JACK SMILED WHEN HE SAW LAYRA DUEL IM ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING CUTE AGGRESSION BC OF JACK

-by the way can roget even duel. he hasnt, hes just had other ppl do it for him and been hellbent on KILLING ppl when it comes down ot it. which is. weird and funny for a ygo villain ur not even gonna duel for urself dude? do u even have any cards

-radish horse is such a cute card btw. all of yuyas cards are p Cute.

-im SO glad jack said 'dude STOP with your fathers words and speak with YOUR OWN WORDS' tbh real and true.

-…the subs this ep abruptly changed rogets name to roger….lol roger. (and the font changed between episodes which is like. Why did you do that. I cant focus on anything else now that its Weird)

-the sound gons shoes make is like asmr to me. clank clank clank :)

-I like how jack basically teaches yuya his own will can be learned from others but duels are conversations and u gotta use ur own 'words/will' to convey what youve gotten from everyone youve dueled before. its like. abt appreciating and carrying ppl before u with u. and gratitude for everyone whos taught u smth put towards achieving ur own goals. dueling for others sakes. very cute message and true bc yuya wouldnt be able to do half the stuff he can w/ pendulum if it wasnt for his buds yk

-omg jack laughed and was smiley :) yayy

-the clown guy from 5ds made a cameo! still dont remember shit abt him besides the fact he has a Clown Wife and is on arc v money…?? Ok

-ok the end of the duel was pretty cute im not even that mad abt jack losing. bc jack was happy…it makes sense too. when ur the king it can be BORING if no one challenges u or whatever

-not a huge fan of the cops magically bein buds now but fine, I get it was mind control making them suck ass and this is a more idealistic world

-the..council disbanded? cool. the upper class will dissolve and the lower class will be able to live better…very optimistic happy ending…and it all happened very fast, compared to the pacing of this arc so far tbh??? like. ok guess nothing is bad and everything is Fine Immediately! (this is a thing every ygo series does tho so. not a total awful thing I cant look past, but it did give me kinda mood whiplash)

-yuzu and reiji calling roget out!!! reiji must be so damn tired of adults not taking responsibility!!! his whole thing is just running around cleaning up after grown ass men!!!

-im tired too, reiji. tired of yuzu being a Damsel to Roget. let her DO more next arc or so Help Me God

-next episode(s) are supposed to be watched together in a HOUR LONG SPECIAL ohh. inchresting

-love how even tho they were also going w yuya to where reiji and yuzu are, heaven FORBID crow and jack ride in the copter with yuya. no, they HAD to ride their d-wheels here.

-holy shit. so. tsukikage and sora DID win the duel against roget! and so did reiji! hes just! a fucking cheating bastard! like 'neverending duel that wont end ever until u quit' ok…that does fit rogets character LMAO hes a WORM. of course I trust reiji to be the one to be able to Beat The Bullshit

-roget is such a fuckin slime trying to turn the lancers against reiji and reiji countered his logic with ONE sentence lmao. also reijis lil smile when yuya said he trusts reiji :( sweet…

-ohhh…yuya and yuzu hugging and crying bc they FINALLY got each other back…tender…

-roget says he'll drop everything into the void between dimensions. So there IS a void. did I not say in one of these posts I think the yuya demon crawled out of a void in between dimensions. now we have confirmed such a space EXISTS… will I Be Right? :3c

-….roget got sucked in and the portal closed. lmao. is he DEAD? goodbye forever (hopeful)

-…fuck. the wormhole also took yuzu, yuya, gon, shun, and shingo…. to xyz dimension!! yeahhh heartland!!!! LOVE IT. KAITO TIME??? prayin its kaito time.

-'the capital of despair, heartland' is the ep title. oof. heartland looking rough :(

I will say its funny (in a horrible way) they took the Cheeriest Setting (heartland) and did this to it. and that gx setting which is also pretty chill (a school setting...) and made them fucking interdimensional warmongers. and 5s, the canonically most gritty setting was Not Involved like until the lancers showed they were the neutral ones hahah

-arc area project!!! we havent gotten a name for leo's lil 'unify the dimensions' scheme yet until now! so…arc is in the name. back to my og theory the name arc v means more than fifth series in the ygos. and like. theres (5) dimensions for Sure right. (or, the unity of the four would be the fifth?) hm. Thinking

-shingo asking the real q of why the hell turning ppl into cards/waging war on xyz would help fuse dimensions. i also still want to know. (we keep seeing the shot of leo feeding the cards into a machine, so..hes using…soul/ppl power? to power it to fuse the dimensions?? dude what good is ruling dimensions if NO ONE is left in them???)

-…a lot of this two parter was flashbacks/recapping stuff. I…kinda appriciate the earlier flashbacks but god it could've went faster.

-KAITOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! OF COURSE YOU WOULD SHOW UP ON EPISODE 100!!! SOOO HAPPY TO SEE U :D zexal is the series I KNOW the most like its engraved in my brain, unlike 5ds where I barely remembered enough to be able to tell all the ways its an au, so im gonna be fucking ON IT trying to figure out stuff Now. also, is kaito the only zexal character? why? dont two gx charas show up? and we had jack and crow in the synchro world?? zexal shouldve gotten 2. I vote akari bc 1. she didnt get enough screentime and we always need More Girls 2. she can ride a bike so if they go back to synchro shes set already 3. she kicks ass and is a reporter so she could be trying to report on the war/document it. 4. her and melissa could be reporter gfs. im RIGHT hear me out.

-oh at the end of the ep there was a promo for dsod? this came out around then?? wow thats wild. I saw that movie in THEATERS when it released in the us. very fun. the nearest theater that was showing it was 2 hours away lol. we should have another ygo movie. pls. (maybe not another dm one tho…)

[advnterccs-archive]

Hey, so I know its 100% unintentional, but I wanted to say something before someone else tries to accuse you of it. Crow is used as a slur against Romani folk, and combined with referring to liking shiny things as "crow-brain" could be seen as sus since the stereotype of Romani being thieves. even though it is true that corvids like shiny stuff. You might want to try something like "magpie brain" instead.

{ ooc } Thanks for bringing this to my attention, but if I may say something -- if you're making that distinction, it sounds like a whoever thinks of the slur / stereotype of Romani people type of problem. I've never heard of that until before today and it's also not that easy to guess unless you're very well aware of that fact + coupled with the going straight to that thought process (neither of which I did.)

I think Tumblr jumps to a lot of conclusions and ridicules people for the smallest things without looking at nuance / context. The only reason why I used a Crow was because I was referring to the bird itself. Rick is associated with crows, he had a whole two crow episode. And the fact that Rick has been canonically seen collecting gems, rocks, crystals (by the way, of which, are easily accessible. So I never even mentioned theft.)

Also if stealing is ever mentioned in anyway, it's because that's who Rick is as a character. He steals shit. That's canon and how I portray my muse. And in no way, would I ever, tie that into racism.

It's also a simple fact that most birds collect shiny rocks? Like it's a bird thing to do. I simply leaned heavily on the crow thing because of that one episode. And while I would use "magpie brain", it doesn't fit the same way. Only because I'm using the inside joke from that one episode in Season 5.

Now while I've said this, I will stop using that term altogether. I apologize if I offended anyone. I didn't know and I'll try to be better. However, I can't say I won't mention crows (the bird, for context) in reference ever. To me it will and always will be a bird. I don't condone saying slurs but I love the bird and that's how we call them here. Ravens are completely different birds (altho very similar in color and are often mistaken for Crows.)

So, I'll stop saying the term "Crow-brain" in reference when saying Rick is collecting rocks. But I won't stop talking about Crows. So, once again, I apologize if I offended anyone. I'll start correcting myself more often.

[bakuhoes-dumbass]

Aberration - Chapter 1

MHA!Various x Fem!Reader

Thriller/Horror/Drama

Criminal!AU

Words: 2.3k

A/N: Yay, here’s the first chapter of my new AU! It might be a little slower at first but it’ll pick up the further we get into it. So I hope you like this!

Warnings: Yandere Themes, Mentions of murder, blood, felonies, bullying, swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of MHA, just this story. In no way does this reflect the characters, writers or VAs of the show/manga. MINORS DNI.

~~~

Aberration Masterlist/Character profiles

~~~

In this world, mutations, renamed as ‘Quirks’, are abnormal. Only about 5%-8% of the world population are known to have these so called ‘Quirks’. You are a graduate of one of the most prestigious science tech schools in the country. You’ve been selected to work for a secret scientific research facility that houses some of the most notorious criminals in the nation. Besides their crimes, what makes these individuals incredibly dangerous are their mutations. After meeting these individuals, they seem to have taking a liking to you. That should make your research and search for the cure all that much easier…

Right?

~~~

Before you stands one of the largest facilities you have ever seen. You take a deep breath, attempting to calm your rapidly beating heart. Adjusting the strap on your bag, you make your way into the research center.

Upon entering, you gasp in wonder. The inside is huge, tall pure white walls that meet at a double paned glass ceiling. In front of you is a wall of security, stretching to accommodate the vast interior of the lobby. You walk up to the nearest security officer and give them your information. Thankfully, you were on a list and after checking you over, you're granted entrance to the building.

That's where you meet a man and a woman, both dressed in white lab coats and carrying clipboards. You bow your head to the two of them and they return the gesture.

"Ms. Y/N, I presume? My name is Shota Aizawa and this is my assistant, Momo Yaoyorozu." The older of the two speak.

You smile at the two. "Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Y/N, L/N, graduate of UA science tech. I am so happy to be here and look forward to working with the two of you."

The younger girl nods and smiles, gesturing behind the two of them. "If you would kindly follow us, we can get started."

~~~

"Ms. Y/N, here's the list of the inmates you will be working with from this point on."

Momo hands you a clipboard containing pictures and descriptions of each individual. Your eyes scan the information on the page in front of you, your brow raising with each word you read. "There is… quite a bit of information on these individuals."

Aizawa nods. "Considering how dangerous the subjects are, it's best to have every detail we can."

You internally cringed at the term 'subject'. These were criminals, yes, but they were still living breathing people. Noone deserves to be dehumanized, no matter the reason.

Shaking your head of those thoughts, you continue to look over the notes in your hands. One in particular catches your eye. " 'Multiple counts of 3rd degree murder by reason of insanity' and yet he's only deemed as a level 4 danger?"

The doctor looks over your shoulder at the character profile. "Ah, yes. Fumikage Tokoyami. He's an interesting one, to say the least." You wait for him to continue, but seeing as it doesn't seem like he will, you gesture for him to elaborate. "Tokoyami himself is actually fairly harmless and incredibly cooperating, which is why he gets a level 4 only. However…" Aizawa looks down the hall of the facility to a door near the end. "Dark Shadow is deemed a level 9."

Your eyes shoot up in shock. "Dark Shadow? A level 9? Explain."

"Dark Shadow is his mutation. It's a completely sentient being that he harbors inside of him. Highly dangerous, more so if there is darkness." He looks back at you. "I'll let him explain the reason why he was instituted. He always prefers to explain the story himself."

The more Aizawa explains Tokoyami's situation, the more your excitement builds up, wanting desperately to meet this man. This was such an interesting mutation and you couldn't wait to hear everything he had to tell you. You take a breath to calm your childish manner and clear your throat.

"If it's alright with you, sir, I'd like-" You look down at your clipboard once again. "'Inmate 06' to be the first one I meet with."

Aizawa nods and writes something down in his notebook. "Very well. Follow me this way please."

You follow the doctor down the long white hallway, your excitement growing with each step. Along the way, you notice each door on the facility that lines either side of the stretched hall. Each door had a narrow window towards the top and a small number engraved underneath. You don't take too much notice and keep following the doctor to your destination. However, an eerie feeling makes you freeze in your tracks.

You slowly rotate your head and look at the inmate's door you stopped next to. The color drains from your face as you see two ice blue eyes peering right into yours. It felt like your breath was stolen, a hint of fear and anxiety built up within you from this intense gaze. After what felt like hours, you snap your gaze back to Aizawa and Momo, who were standing in front of a door you were also supposed to be at.

"I would highly advise you to keep cautious while you are in this facility. While we keep all inmates in cuffs that neutralize their mutations, the technology has not been 100% perfected yet and parts of their powers may leak out. That is why we have additional precautionary measures in place for each inmate." Aizawa gives you an impartial look as you walk over. "Now. The only special precaution with Inmate 06 is the lights must stay on at all times. There are no light switches in his cell, so nothing should go wrong. But like I said, always stay cautious."

You nod your head at the doctor's words and turn to face the door. Aizawa places a hand onto the keypad next to the door, scanning his prints before buzzing and opening the door. You give the man one last nod before making your way inside the room. The room itself is bare. White floors, white walls and an equally white ceiling. Nothing was in there except a desk with a chair and a bed.

On top of that bed sat a young man with the body of a human and the head of a crow. Your eyes widen in awe at the beautiful being in front of you. Tokoyami tilts his head and gives you a curious look.

"Oh. Hello, there. I've never seen you before."

The deep voice of the man shocks you. You bow your head and give the bird man a smile. "Hello, Tokoyami. My name is Y/N. I'm the new scientist at this facility. I'm here to get to know and observe you all to help further our findings for a cure. I hope we can be friends."

Tokoyami blinks. "You want to be… friends? With us?"

"Yeah, of course. Why not?" Your smile never leaves your face.

"Well, maybe because we're all… felons? The greater majority of us being murderers?"

"I truly believe everyone deserves a second chance." You gesture to the desk chair, silently asking if you could sit. The man nods and you greatly take your seat. "Now, would you ever be so kind as to answer a few questions for me, Tokoyami? I would like to get to know you a little better." You take out your pen and notebook, opening to a fresh page.

Tokoyami nods again and you give him a smile. "Just a few standard questions first. Can you please state your full name, age and date of birth?"

"Fumikage Tokoyami, age 22, October 30th."

"What is the name of your quirk and how does it work?"

Tokoyami fiddles with the quirk-cancelling cuffs around his wrists at the mention of his quirk but answers anyway. "It's called Dark Shadow. It's a fully sentient shadow that resides inside my body. It can come out when I call call it or it can show itself on it's own. But it's always connected to me and cannot be separated. It…" Tokoyami takes a breath. "It gets stronger the darker my surroundings are. So the less light, the less control I have over it. If it gets too dark, it completely takes over me, no longer under my control."

The longer you listen to him, the wider your eyes get and the more they shine in wonder. "That is incredible! To have that kind of quirk is truly fascinating!"

Hearing your words of praise would have made Tokoyami blush, if he could. He clears his throat in embarrassment. "Why, thank you for those kind words. Though, I doubt having this...quirk, as you say, is all to be impressed about."

You shake your head. "You may not think so, but really, I've never seen anything like it." You excitedly write a few things down before making eye contact with him again. "Now onto my final question of the day. Can you please tell me the reason why you are here?"

Tokoyami stays silent for a moment, staring at nothing in particular, residing in his thoughts. You clear your throat and he looks up to you. You give him a small, comforting smile and it causes Tokoyami's heart to beat harder. For some unknown reason, he suddenly feels like he can trust you with anything.

"I've been charged with multiple counts of 3rd degree murder." He sighs, recalling that day. "I was invited to a college party on a date, by someone whom I had grown quite infatuated with. I never really was one to socialize and never really had any friends. But I really liked this person, so I went. At first it was going okay, nothing too out of the ordinary. Then, the host decided that playing truth or dare was the way to go.

 So my date dragged me to sit down and join them. Every time I was asked, I always chose truth. And everytime, their questions were about my appearance, my mutation. Laughing at all my answers, mocking my looks, talking about how unnatural I was. The more they asked, the more my anxiety and anger built up. But my stubbornness didn't want to show any weakness, so I stayed. 

Finally, I decided to just choose dare instead. At that point, I decided that nothing could be more humiliating than what they've already done." His sharp, red eyes flickered to yours. "Oh, how wrong I was. They dared me to go into the closet with my so-called 'date'. We were shut in and from then, they decided to tell me how this whole thing was a set up, just to humiliate me. That anyone with mutations like myself should just disappear because of how disgusting we are." He spits out that word like it was rotten food. "Remember how I said Dark Shadow gains control in the dark? Well, with my anger rising and the fact that it was almost pitch black in that closet, I lost control of myself and Dark Shadow took control of me. Next thing I remember, I was standing in the middle of the college dorm party, blood painting the floors, the walls, and the entirety of my class slaughtered."

You almost dropped your pen in shock but regained your composure. You give the poor young man a sad smile. He sighs and finishes off his explanation. "I was arrested and charged with multiple counts of 3rd degree murder by reason of insanity, considering I was technically not in my right state of mind at the time."

The two of you sit there in silence, basking in all this new-found information. You close your notebook and set your pen down, facing Tokoyami directly. "Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with the way you look or your quirk. Just because it isn't the societal norm, doesn't mean it's disgusting or wrong. Remember that."

Tokoyami blinks in surprise."Um, thank you." Those were the only words he could say, as how shocked he was at what you said.

You tilt your head and stare at him. "If I may ask, would I be able to feel your head? I'm very curious as to what your feathers feel like. It would greatly help my research as well."

"Oh. U-um, yeah. Sure."

You move to gently sit next to Tokoyami, so as to not startle him too much. You slowly lift your hand and place it on his head, eyes lighting up as you card your fingers through his feathers. "Oh wow, they're so soft!"

Tokoyami's heart speeds up, his feathers ruffling at your touch. He gazes at you with something akin to admiration. No one was ever gentle with him like this before. After another few seconds, you retreat your hand, Tokoyami almost whimpering at the absence.

"Well, I better get going. I have quite a few more things to do today before my shift is over." You gather up your things and bow your head at the half bird boy. "I greatly appreciate your time and look forward to our future sessions. Have a good rest of your day!" You smile at Tokoyami before heading back to the door and signaling Aizawa to open it.

"Goodbye, Ms. Y/N. I look forward to meeting with you again." Tokoyami watches you leave his room. Once you're gone, he runs his hand through his feathers, imagining they were your fingers.

As the door closes, you turn to Aizawa who gives you a disappointed look.

"What?"

"You touched the inmate. Why in the hell would you do that?"

You place your hand on your hip and give the doctor a stern look. "I was curious about his mutation and wanted to see how it felt."

He sighs and runs a hand down his face. "We try to avoid any physical contact with any of the inmates, as it may trigger something deep within them. Remember, Y/N. Every single one of these individuals are dangerous and unstable. Any abnormal behavior could result in catastrophic consequences."

You sigh and shake your head, giving him a chaste nod. "Yes, Sir. You're right. I promise to heed your warning and modify how I work."

The doctor looks satisfied as he turns on his heel and walks further down the long hallway. You quickly follow to keep up. "Now, on to your next subject. Inmate 04, Eijiro Kirishima." You flip the page of your inmate profiles to see a picture of a red-haired man. "He is of a higher danger level, so make sure to keep your guard up. And for the love of God, under any circumstances…

Do not touch him."

~~~

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[If your name is bolded, I was unable to tag you.]

[flowercrown-bard]

I have a sentence for you...or a prompt. I don't know what I want you to do with it, but by god please do something:

"He doesn't have anxiety. He just has a god complex and no opposable thumbs!"

My darling nonny. First of all, what. Second of all, I love you and I love this prompt! I made the weirdest noise when I read it. I did not expect that second sentence XD

The thing is, I didn't know what I wanted to do with this prompt either...while being sober, so here's what my slightly tipsy brain came up with :D

word count: 2160

can be read platonic or romatic I think

content warnings: use of the name ‘Julian’ (not by Geralt), one very bad sexual innuendo (nothing sexual happens)

part 2

The spell hit Jaskier square in the chest, before Geralt had time to react and throw himself in front of him.

“Geralt?” Jaskier’s eyes went wide, though not in fear but in anticipation, as they snapped over to the witcher. “Geralt, what’s happening?”

Helplessly but not overly concerned, Geralt watched as Jaskier’s arms took on an unnatural position, bent at his sides. The bard’s head started to bob.

Geralt blinked at him and turned to the young sorcerer that looked curiously at Jaskier.

“Why aren’t you more worried?” The mage furrowed his brows. “Shouldn’t he be terrified?”

He turned to Geralt, who only shrugged.

“This happens regularly,” Geralt replied and his lips twitched up. “Last month, he’s been hit by a truth spell and the month before, he drank a potion that made him invisible to all but Roach.” His smile turned into a grin. “That was a very peaceful time.”

“Excuse me?” Jaskier squawked, his head still bobbing. “You missed me!”

“I didn’t. I could still hear you.” Geralt turned his attention back to the sorcerer who stared at them as if they were insane. “So, what exactly does this spell do?” Almost casually, Geralt’s hand wandered to the sword strapped to his back. “It better not be anything actually dangerous.”

Jaskier might have gotten cocky with how easily Geralt was able to break curses with all the experience he now had, but that didn’t mean Geralt wasn’t prepared to fight anyone who meant to cause Jaskier true harm. Even if Jaskier thought himself near invincible by now.

“No, no!” The mage held up his hands. “It’s not dangerous. I swear! It’s just supposed to…” he swallowed, his eyes darting between Jaskier and Geralt, clearly trying to figure out which one was more dangerous: The armed witcher or the bard who didn’t seem to be bothered in the least by being cursed but seemed rather giddy at the prospect of finding out what was going to happen next – after all, curses made for the most exciting songs, according to the bard. “It’s supposed to make his appearance match his character.”

Jaskier opened his mouth, probably to say something along the lines of ‘I already am as beautiful on the outside as I am on the inside’, but instead of words, a loud cock-a-doodle-doo left Jaskier’s lips. For a second, he looked terrified, before his expression morphed into one of fury and he let out a tirade of what was probably supposed to be insults.

Geralt exchanged a look with the mage, drawing up one eyebrow, when Jaskier continued to cluck.

“Ah, well, you see,” the mage turned bright red, “Marx was quite sure that he,” he glanced at Jaskier, who suddenly shrunk, his hair turning bright red and rising up and turning into a coxcomb, “was a coward and would turn into a chicken.”

Jaskier gave the mage one final indignant glare, probably cursing his rival’s name, before his mouth turned into a beak and his face was no longer that of a human, capable of expressing such emotions.

“Your employer was wrong,” Geralt deadpanned. “Jaskier is anything but a coward.” With the corners of his lips twitching and a glint in his eyes, he added, “But he definitely can be a cocky bastard.”

Jaskier, the cock, fluttered with his wings in indignation and let out another crow, looking up at Geralt. Though Jaskier could no longer speak or make facial expressions, Geralt knew exactly what the pleading look Jaskier sent him meant.

Geralt knew a hundred and one ways to break a curse. But more importantly, he knew Jaskier.

And so, Geralt knew exactly what Jaskier needed him to do.

--

It was ridiculously easy to break into Valdo Marx’ quarters at night, even while carrying a rooster that never stopped clucking and fluttering his wings excitedly in one arm. Jaskier could count himself lucky that he hadn’t turned into a peacock. It might have been more fitting, if Geralt had anything to say about it, but it would have definitely made scaling the building and squeezing through the window together, much harder.

Once inside the troubadour’s rooms, Geralt set Jaskier down gently.

“Do your worst,” he said with a grin and watched Jaskier ruffle his feathers in excitement, before he darted across the room, tearing at Valdo Marx’ notebooks with his beak, tearing at the decorative pillows on the armchair and plucking the strings of the lute standing against a wall harshly enough with his claws that they nearly snapped.

Geralt grimaced at the sound, but leaned back against a wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching in amusement as his best friend wreaked as much havoc in his rival’s rooms as possible.

The noise must have roused Valdo Marx from his sleep, for a muffled curse came through the closed door, presumably leading to the troubadour’s bed room. The sound of Valdo Marx jumping out of his bed and hasting towards his now destroyed living room was interrupted by Jaskier, who crowed again and fluttered his wings in an attempt to make himself taller, preparing to make an impression when Valdo finally saw him.

The door was flung open and a dishevelled troubadour appeared, staring in horror at the mess that was his living space.

“What in the name of –“

His eyes fell on Jaskier first, then he saw the witcher still leaning against the wall, pointedly casual. Realisation dawned on Valdo’s face, followed briefly by a flash of triumph, that instantly turned into regret when Jaskier began hacking at the notebooks with more glee than before, preening under the horrified attention of his new audience.

“Witcher,” Valdo said breathlessly. “Put a stop to this, this instant!”

Geralt lifted a brow. “You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”

“Yes, yes, I proved Julian is a coward.” He waved his hands through the air, his voice turning shrill with every second that his panic grew. “I get to see him anxious and he’s reacting very poorly and I have to face the consequences. I get it. I shouldn’t have hired that mage. Is that what you want to hear?”

Geralt let out a low hum, drawing it out longer than necessary, simply because he knew how much Jaskier enjoyed witnessing Valdo’s growing despair.

“You’re right, you’re the one who has to face the consequences for cursing him.”

Relief flooded Valdo’s face. “Great. Now make him stop!”

Jaskier looked Valdo directly in the eyes as he fluttered onto the table and ruined the remaining notes the troubadour had carefully arranged in neat piles on his desk in the least dignified way a bird could ruin something. Though Jaskier’s voice was stolen from him, the mess he left on the notes couldn’t have been a more obvious statement: Valdo’s songs were shit.

The slighted troubadour’s face turned red with fury.

“How dare you!” Valdo took a step towards the destructive rooster but thought better of it almost immediately. He settled on pointing an accusatory finger at Jaskier instead of risking coming anywhere near him. “You’re a cad and a coward! I should have known how poorly you’d react to being cursed – becoming panicked and being unable to control yourself!”

Geralt tilted his head to the side. “See, that’s the thing,” he said slowly, his voice even enough that only Jaskier would be able to tell how much he enjoyed this as well, “That’s where you are wrong. Jaskier isn’t a coward. His fluttering around and destroying things right now? He’s not having anxiety. He just has a god complex and no opposable thumbs!" Geralt gave Valdo a shit-eating grin. “And he’s got a crow to pluck with you.”

“He-“ Valdo visibly had to restrain himself. “Help me, witcher. You can’t just let this monster destroy my property. He…he-!”

“You want me to get rid of a monster for you?”

Valdo nodded eagerly.

Geralt exchanged a look with Jaskier and shrugged.

“I don’t work for free.”

Valdo spluttered. “You can’t be serious.”

Geralt remained silent and Jaskier took a threatening step towards the open door to Valdo’s bedroom, obviously with the intent of destroying Valdo’s bed in any way he could think of. Panic flashed across Valdo’s face.

“I’ll pay you!” he shouted quickly. “I – I’ll write a sing about you. If you help me, I’ll sing about…” his eyes darted around the room, clearly struggling to come up with something on the spot. His gaze found Jaskier, before he grabbed Geralt’s arm, licking his lips nervously, or perhaps in an attempt to look seductive, “ – about how masterfully you handle cock.”

Jaskier froze and Geralt could see the moment when Valdo realised that he had said the wrong fucking thing.

If cocks could look murderous, Jaskier definitely did in this moment.

Geralt couldn’t tell if his rage came from the prospect of Valdo writing a song about this encounter and making a profit out of it, or if he was indignant because Jaskier had had the exact same idea for a song. Or perhaps he had a problem with Valdo’s barely concealed attempt at compromising Geralt, something Jaskier himself had taken great joy in doing with the worst possible pick-up lines, since the day they had met.

Whatever the reason for his anger, Jaskier took a deliberate pause, in which Valdo had enough time to regret every decision that had led up to this moment, before he charged at the troubadour, fluttering his wings and jumping up into Valdo’s face, clawing at his curls and tearing at his lacy night shirt.

“Witcher!” Valdo screeched, not unlike a rooster himself, and waved his arms to shoo Jaskier off – unsuccessfully. “Make him go away! Break the fucking curse! I – I’ll pay you! Twenty crowns!”

“Seventy,” Geralt deadpanned. No one in their right mind would pay that much coin, but Valdo Marx was evidently desperate and his decision was helped along by the rooster, who’s beak came dangerously close to tugging at the troubadour’s moustache.

“Fine! I’ll pay you seventy crowns.” Valdo’s voice broke in his blind panic. He would likely be unable to sing the next day, from all the shouting he did. “Just get him off of me!”

Geralt waited another heartbeat, granting Jaskier a last moment of rightful – and undoubtedly petty – vengeance, before pushing off the wall, opening his arms invitingly.

“Jaskier?”

Jaskier clucked in disappointment and pecked one last time at Valdo’s hair, before fluttering into Geralt’s arms.

The witcher left the troubadour’s rooms with his best friend, still in the form of a very smug cock in his arms, seventy crows richer and an experience he and Jaskier would laugh about many times over the next years.

--

As Geralt sat the rooster down on the bed at the room they had rented and let himself fall onto the bed next to him, Jaskier looked incredibly pleased with himself, preening and making noises, as if recounting the happenings, though Geralt had witnessed them first- hand.

When Geralt tilted his head in amusement, Jaskier seemed to realise that he still had no voice – or opposable thumbs - and let out a rather loud and obnoxious noise.

“Sorry,” Geralt said with a shit-eating grin, “I have no idea what you want from me. You’ll have to speak more clearly.”

Jaskier glared at him and fluttered closer to tug at Geralt’s hair impatiently.

Geralt chuckled and ran a hand over Jaskier’s soft feathers, making the bird-bard relax under his ministrations, though it was clear that Jaskier did so very reluctantly and would hold a grudge, if Geralt didn’t break the curse in the next five minutes.

Geralt hummed thoughtfully as he petted Jaskier.

“Just for the record, I thought taking revenge on Marx was a terrible idea,” he said, and when Jaskier clucked reproachfully, he added, “but it was quite impressive. And I had a lot of fun watching you.”

Geralt hadn’t known that cocks had the ability to look proud, but Jaskier somehow managed to do just that.

“In fact,” Geralt said slowly, already knowing that Jaskier would agree, once he heard Geralt’s full proposition, “how would you like to wait just a little longer before I break the curse?”

Jaskier pecked at Geralt’s fingers and glared at him.

“Come to Kaer Morhen with me,” Geralt said, flicking his fingers lightly against Jaskier’s beak. At his words, Jaskier perked up, cocking his head to the side curiously.

“Last winter, Lambert destroyed my room with a moon dust bomb. The damn silver shavings are still everywhere.” Geralt’s lips stretched into a wolfish grin. “I’m sure, as my ‘best friend in the whole wide world’, you wouldn’t mind returning the favour and wreaking a little havoc in my brother’s room. I couldn’t imagine anyone would be better suited for that job than you.”

Jaskier fluttered excitedly into Geralt’s lap and the sound he made in response to Geralt’s words could only be described as incredibly cocky.

[battery-forgot]

Now, I come mid-week to give you all of my DSMP/MCYT headcanons because I have many

Don’t mind if these are repeated, misspelt, or has no logic, it is block game things and I am not checking over them-- and some will be organized, and some will be random, some might not have a Enter space because these are all ctrl c + ctrl v’ed from a Discord server I am in :]

Skeppy headcanons: Skeppy is 4 billion years old as scientists have thought that is how long ores and diamonds existed for

Skeppy's species is pretty rare

Every diamond that is broken or damaged causes Skeppy to feel a physical pain in his body

His species has lamp tail as they don't have night vision, some of them also have tiny wings that aren't usable, though they can kinda glide short distances with them

Because of his small height, he has taught himself magic to be able to change size, it can hurt him if he goes taller than 5'3, but he is able to get to Foolish's height if he tried

Sometimes random crystals grow on Skeppy's face, though they look different from normal crystals and can be used for things like explosives, though he doesn't know about it

Techno has seen Kristen but doesn't remember it well, though Kristen gave him his crown as a gift

Techno has a collection of skull masks that he has worn, he wears the skulls because of nostalgia now but he used to wear them because he thought they were cool and made him look threatening

Technoblade, Skeppy, Sam, Ranboo, Michael(the son- not Michaelmcchill), Phil, Bad, and some others really like shiny and golden objects

DreamSMP theme/"timeline" is kind of like a steampunk like thing

Drista is DreamXD's sister and DristaXD is Dream's "sister", though they aren't really siblings as they are robots

Drista and DreamXD are clones of DristaXD and Dream, though they actually look nothing alike

Callahan is a mute mini-god that everyone knows exists but doesn't really understand they are a mini-god. They kind of just chill and do what people ask them to do

Phil: Phil is more into traveling than anything else

Though he doesn't mind being a father figure, he doesn't think he is a good one especially after he killed Wilbur

He is able to turn into the size of a crow, though since his wings are now unusable, he doesn't do it as often as it is basically useless

Phil sometimes takes bird baths, though I guess they are always called that-

He has bird legs/talons,but they aren’t fully noticeable

joke headcanon I thought of is that Phil's handwriting is chicken-scratch because he is half-crow

Phil has really good memory, as a crow would

-DreamXD is actually pretty weak in powers, but he acts like he is the strongest person in the server

-Tommy's eye is just completely gone from when Dream killed him, but he covers it with an eyepatch

-Tubbo talks about things to Ranboo thinking he'll forget them, but some stories Ranboo remembers but doesn't speak about it because he doesn't want to make Tubbo worry too much

-Philza wasn't willing to kill Wilbur so Wilbur forced Phil by grabbing his arm and impaling himself

-Dream and Techno sometimes share stories about having ADHD

-Phil didn't really know about Fundy, he knew he existed but had no idea to how he acted, looked, or his actual name

-Wilbur had a letter written to Fundy about how he was sorry for what he was gonna do during November 16th, but the withers blew it up before Fundy knew about it

-Fundy doesn't let anyone hold his hand because it makes him remember the past where he would hold Wilbur's hand a lot

-Change of headcanons: Schlatt and Puffy are cousins, Tubbo was just a random kid that would follow Schlatt for hours a day, waiting for him to acknowledge him

-Dream jumps into the lava in the prison as it reminds him of Sapnap

-Bad was uncomfortable when Sapnap married Big Q and Karl because he went on a date with Quackity before but he still supported them (Yes I know Big Q basically had a divorce with Sap and Karl--)

-Skeppy knows a lot about other's pasts because of how old he is, even traumatizing facts

-Skeppy has a fear of fire (Pyrophobia) and he is kind of scared of Sapnap

-Dream used the revivebook on the cat Tommy killed, but Sam killed it thinking Dream would use the cat against Sam to escape quicker in the future

-Dream doesn't *fully* know why he is in prison, ever since Tommy and Tubbo killed him, a wire/chip broke in his body which made him forget a lot of things. Dream does get told what he had done a lot, but it makes him almost have a panic attack because he thought he was a pretty good person

-Ghostbur is Callahan, they were commanded by DreamXD to become Ghostbur so that everyone could feel like he was still there (Callahan can change who they are completely, but they don't actually know how they acted when as Ghostbur, though that doesn't mean he didn't know what happened, when Dream killed/revived Ghostbur, Callahan got to see what it felt like to die for the first time)

-Fundy has the habit of picking up things and using them at some sort of fidget (examples: knives, leaves, grass, wood, pencils, berry stems, etc.

-Ranboo will be writing/saying something about someone and use pronouns instead of their name or just with the person's name (example: "Puffy she/her was--" or "he/him writing down things") [Basically canon-]

-Tubbo used to headbutt people but stopped after around 2 years because he kept hurting people

-Phil used to squawk randomly when he was a kid, but he mainly just squawks when hiccuping now

-Even though Bad used to get really nervous picking people up because he was afraid he was gonna drop and kill them, he now just picks up everyone randomly... except Foolish and Ranboo

-Foolish is able to shrink to around 7ft, and unless he is building a big build, he will shrink so he can get around easier

-Because Ranboo is only half enderman, he isn't the full height of an enderman (He is only 8'5)

-If someone asks Charlie about his pronouns, out of confusion, he just responds with "Bones!" which sometimes leads Las Nevadas members (or just anyone really) calling him by He/it/Bones

-When Bad was being controlled by the egg, it made him get even more flashbacks about how his species was supposed to act which would end up with him panicking because that isn't who he wants to be (bonus: The more a member infected by the egg would panic, the more the egg would be able to take over the person because they can't focus)

-Kristin has taught Phil how to do makeup in their free-time of hanging out

-Kristin is insanely tall, if she shrinks then she turns more transparent, so she ends up looking more like a ghost when at average height

-Skeppy can't cry, though he still can feel sad

-Bad and Eret talk to eachother quite a lot

-When Tubbo was around 11-14, he would make redstone contraptions, though he doesn't remember how to make most of them now

Ranboo doesn't like photoshoots because he feels like everyone is staring at him, though this does mean he just doesn't have a passport photo, his alternative was to draw what he looked like on the passport but they didn't allow it, as well as Ranboo doesn't really remember what he looks like anyway because they don't like looking in mirrors--

I think this is half-canon but another headcanon is where every SMP is just an island far away from others. In this case, Hermitcraft, 30 day SMP, and other SMPs are all linked up, as for people who are in multiple SMPs, they travel around by boat for awhile, now, the thing I've just not figured out is how tf their look magically changes-like- outfit is decently obvious-- but do they magically transform like an anime girl? Idk- 

Skeppy's voice randomly glitches out, is there an actual reason for this? No.

Quackity’s outfit is similar to Sub Urban’s (In Freak)

Skeppy acts as if he is royalty, he doesn't act rude or demanding unless joking- but he does act as if he is the superior person-

-Skeppy and Slime are the only "people" that don't have steampunk styled clothing because of how old they are

-Skeppy's hair grows insanely quickly and no one knows why, he honestly hates it

-Most of Skeppy's outfits have been made by Bad or Puffy

-Skeppy knows DreamXD as if he is a brother, but he despises him because of something that has happened around 3,000 years ago

-Skeppy has a lot of different shades in their hair on the "inside"(like- the side where his neck is is what I mean, I don't remember if it has a name or not-)

-Like I've said before, Skeppy's eyes are crystallized, but they are somewhat transparent, not enough to where you'd be able to see the inside of his head, but they are still transparent

-In the past, Skeppy didn't like their name which is why they called himself "Skeppy"

-He has an attachment to caves

-When Skeppy was a kid, they had the dream of him filling cave walls with houses of their own

-Skeppy goes by it/they/he

-Skeppy joke flirts with Bad all the time to confuse everyone, Bad doesn't like it because then everyone thinks they are dating which makes him feel a little uncomfortable

-Out of boredom, in the past, Skeppy would climb on the roofs of caves, hang upside down, and try and sleep like a bat

-They have no blood in his body, it is literally just a diamond covered with a thin layer of skin and hair

-Skeppy gets stressed out easily when it comes to learning because it just reminds him of everything he had to get used to as the billion of years he lived went by

-Skeppy used to not be allowed out into the open world, the first time it experienced going outside was when it was 2 billion years old

-Skeppy has accidentally caught things on fire during the day because of the reflecting of the sun, but even then, they are nocturnal so they don't really have to worry about it

-Wilbur adapted to hanging out with Sally in the water, he has some gills, but he can only breathe underwater for a bit longer with them

-Skeppy always has the equivalent of Diamond (armor) except when he was infected by the egg, he was equivalent to the strength of a Ruby

-Infected Skeppy has a redstone glow when touched, so when hugged(or hive fived- or- yeah you get the point), he would give a subtle glow around him until let go

-The Eggpire still can be controlled, but they are able to control it unless angered/upset

-Skeppy was 6ft when infected, now he is 3′9 un-infected

-At this point, Dream likes the prison because he sometimes feels safe there, like no one can hurt him

-DristaXD is more of a ghost robot than an actual robot

-DristaXD's hobby is murdering people and has basically been in some sort of jail before, she has broken chains around their ankles and hands, it seems to have been made of a really strong material as wel

-Sapnap used to have fire wings, but when he had to get extinguished, they disappeared, they are still there, they just aren't visible until dunked in lava and Sapnap can't use them anymore

-Infected Bad still took care of Sapnap, but Sapnap never cared

-Sapnap takes the name "lava cake" too seriously... though he thinks the literal lava cakes he makes taste good

-Puffy's hair has been dyed blue by Ghostbur before because he wanted people to remember Friend if they ever disappeared

-Going with my Ghostbur as Callahan hc, when Ghostbur was killed, Callahan kind of glitched between realities and so Ghostburs body glitched from Callahan's body and Ghostbur's then just disappeared. Callahan is still alive but they randomly glitch into different realities, he has glitched into places Karl has gone, including The Inbetween.

-When Ghostbur was glitching back into Callahan after killed, it shocked and concerned Dream

There you go :]

[ladyxrawr]

Wings

Soft Miranda and Alcina. "Miranda's wings are more honest than Miranda herself/her wings are sensitive."

When she first saw the wings flutter, Alcina's attention was drawn towards it. She watched, enraptured by the many black feathers swaying up and down in excitement that Miranda would never show. This made her intrigued to study them a bit more carefully. She found out it happened whenever Miranda recieved a hug or a kiss from her. A praise or when they met eyes.

On Miranda's bad days, Alcina observed her wings were droopy, lower than normal. They weren't held with the authority as per usual. Those days, Alcina made sure to be on her best behavior where Heisenberg would get into trouble. A delightful show that brought a smile to her face. One she swears the priestess glared at. As if jealous.

Tonight, Alcina took note of how to tell when Miranda was stressed. Her daily visit to the castle where everything had to be perfect, the countess noticed a few feathers falling out as she walked.

She didn't acknowledge it or let on that she even knew it was happening. Daniela wanted to collect them which Alcina immediately put a stop to. Bela promptly dragged her siblings away from causing a ruckus.

And Alcina is forever grateful for her daughter being able to read her mind during these visits. After Miranda's expection and Alcina telling her news that might be of use came dinner.

The former didn't eat but through the mask, the latter could see the stress clouding those pale eyes. Wings shudder and a couple feathers fall, littering the table mat before the deity. Alcina thought best to speak up.

"Mother Miranda..." She starts, waiting until the mentioned woman raised her head. "I know it's not my place to say but when's the last break you had? Away from your obsession or ruling over us. Perhaps you should-"

"Enough!" Miranda cuts her off, those gorgeous wings flying open. The amount of feathers that fell made her shut them again, realizing there's no hiding it anymore.

She stands, chair screeching against the floor, and she turns, leaving towards the balcony for fresh air. Alcina hesitates before going after the deity. She pushes the heavy doors and sighs at the cool breeze that greets her. Miranda stood at the railing, hands griping tightly around the cement, and those golden claws digging in.

Alcina glances behind, making sure the two were alone, and wraps her arms around Miranda, squeezing lightly. Miranda jumped at the sudden contact but leaned back, her body slumping and relaxing at the familiarity.

"I'm right, you know. You're working yourself too hard. Striving for so much in such little time."

Miranda rolls her eyes stubbornly. "You also know the reasoning to why I am doing this. I will not stop until I get her back."

"I only wish for a day to allow yourself, your body, to rest."

The smaller woman scoffs, wings clamping tightly to her frame. Alcina chuckles, slipping the metal crow mask off.

"I have been watching you. Your wings specifically. They give a lot away." She says, loosening her hug to run a hand over said wings. They were extremely soft to the touch. "You're losing a lot of feathers. That's how I knew you were stressed."

Miranda shivers, still acting as if she didn't like the pets. Alcina knows better, judging by the way all eight limbs began to rise up and down happily. It started to feel really nice eventually and Miranda felt something build in her throat. She leaned her head to the side, resting it upon Alcina's arm.

Then to both of their shock, a small coo escapes Miranda's mouth, similar to that of a crow. A deep blush spreads across the priestess' face, covering her mouth instantly. Alcina halts all movements, bewilderment across her features as Miranda moves away.

A silence between them lasts a few moments before Miranda gives in, looking back to face the vampire. She sees a huge grin and her blush only darkens, those darn wings shifting to hide her face self-consciously. Something her mask would do if she had it. Alcina shakes her head slowly and kisses Miranda's forehead.

"Honestly Miranda. You never cease to amaze me by how adorable you really are under that facade you put on."

Miranda curses Alcina for making her soft and hides her face by burying her head into the taller woman's stomach. She's supposed to be menacing, not blushing like a simple human. She's the symbol of power and here she is, submitting. She hates feeling so vulnerable yet safe within these arms. As if nothing will happen to her. She glances up to meet gold eyes. Slit pupils now dilated and full of adoration.

Alcina rubs Miranda's back, soothing ruffled feathers. "Care to stay the night?"

The blonde stays quiet but Alcina already knew the answer, scooping her up into her arms and exiting the balcony. Miranda prays that no one was present to witness this but on the other hand, she wanted people to see. To see who Alcina belonged to. Her wings twitch in happiness, letting the countess know of this

Soft bird noises

[mirinda03]

A MURDER OF CROWS

@inkytrinket-irii

Or, a fic about Phil’s crows/chat and the resulting effects on his family

Philza Minecraft.

Many tales were known about the man. Some said he was an immortal, nicknamed the Angel of death, who spread death throughout the lands. Others argued that actually served death as the most fateful of angels. Some suggested he was just a really old man, while others knew better. With black wings spanning on his back that carried him across both earth and sea.

People knew a lot about Philza, be it because of legends or tales.

What was not as well known about Phil was his murder.

And no, not as in Phil was secretly a murderer who got away with a crime in the middle of the night by escaping out of the third floor window and taking flight so as to not be seen by any passerby.

… anyways

Murder as in a group of crows, reminiscent of Phil’s crow-like black wings, that followed the Angel in mass.

Not many people knew about the crows, not from a want of secrecy but rather a lack of asking. If you were to ask Phil, he’d simply tell you that’s ‘chat’, but if you were to remain silent and assume Phil just.. had a bunch of domesticated birds then that was what you were left with.

There were only three people who really knew about Phil’s crow.

The second best kept secret of the angel.

His children.

————

Crows were a constant in the Minecraft Household.

Wherever you walked, it was almost a given that you’d come across a crow sitting by the window or on the beds.

Sometimes they brought trinkets of coins (which Tommy was more than happy to try to steal) and even though they couldn't communicate with the three younger members of the family, they all knew they were Phil's.

If they were ever in trouble, they could know their dad was watching by simply spotting one of the crows from the murder flying high.

However, it was almost impossible to discern the difference between Phil’s crows and normal crow’s.

Not only that but most people were unaware of the crows, or even that the angel of death was a father to three kids (two of which he found inside a refrigerator. Don't ask)

As expected, chaos ensued

———-

Tommy was almost outside his window, ready to sneak out of the house. He’d been grounded after he’d tried to claim one of the birds as his own and named it ‘Puss Boy’ (resulting in the bird now being permanently tagged as such.)

The murder, bunch of snitches they were, hadn’t been very happy about it and they snitched to Phil about it which earned Tommy a scolding and a grounding.

Which, fuck that. He’d promised Tubbo the two would go explore the nearby cave to try and find some bats. He wanted to name one Bartholomew, it was a pogchamp name for a bat after all.

How was he supposed to get a bat named Bartholomew if he was fucking grounded huh? It made, in his oh so humble opinion, no fucking sense.

So, he decided on the most obvious choice of course.

Sneaking out of the house.

He waited until his family members were asleep to climb down his window and across the roof of the porch, getting ready to jump and make a run for it when he heard a ruffle from behind him.

Slowly, he turned around to look at the big tree which leaves covered part of the roof.

Crow eyes stared back, a name tag around its neck standing out from its silvery color.

‘Puss boy’

. Ah fuck

He’d ended up getting ANOTHER scolding from Phil for trying to sneak out and even more days grounded. However apparently Puss Boy had spammed hit Phil with small pebbles on his head so it was grounded too, and alongside tommy to top it off.

“You are the most annoying fucking bird in the world” Tommy said, trying to get the crow to stop picking up his stuff from its bookshelves “Fucking DIE already”

The crow squawked, dropping yet another small object on Tommy’s head.

“I fucking hate you you fucking pussy bird i am going to get phil to cook you for dinner” Tommy warned as he tried to swat off the bird by jumping high.

The crow squawked again

“Dont you say that to me you absolute fucking bitchass bird— i dont actually know what you say BUT IM SURE IT WAS FUCKING STUPID”

Puss boy ended up sticking around Tommy even after the grounding was over, for some fucking reason.

Tommy, despite his increasing protests and remarks against it, kept the bird.

——-

The day the spirits appeared, Techno was actually having a pretty normal day. He’d woken up, tried not to step on too many crows and ended up stepping into some anyway, had stolen the last piece of bread right before Tommy could eat it and he’d started up with reading a brand new book from the family library.

Then, the spirits came.

It wasn’t a gradual thing that he realized as hours passed, no.

The voices were loud and sudden and brash

‘BLOODFORTHEBLOODGODBLOODFORTHEBLOODGODBLOODFORTHEBLOODGOD’

Who the fuck was the Blood God?

Techno shrugged, flipping another page on his book

‘EEEEEEEBLOODFORTHEBLOODGODETECHNOTECHNOBLADETECHN—‘

Techno ignored the spirits currently crowding him that demanded blood and focused on his book.

He didn't find this all that weird anyway. After all, Phil had birds that also spoke to him right?

Same thing

—————

Wilbur smiled as people came forward to praise him for his singing. The young 12 year old had just gotten done with his first recital.

His music teacher frowned

“Oh Wilbur, i’m sorry your dad didn't show up” The teacher said, patting him on the shoulder as the other kids excitedly talked to their parents.

Wilbur simply shrugged, a ‘what can you do about it’ gesture. His dad, as the angel of death, was honestly busy.

However, he certainly noticed the almost dozen crows watching the recital from the rooftops.

His dad wasn’t here physically, but he was certainly gonna hear all about it.

—————

“What the fuck are you doing?” Tubbo called out from the ground, staring at the level of altitude Tommy was up on “Are you planning to jump up from the branch? Cause if so, do a backflip!”

“No, you bitch, i’m not” Tommy said like it was the most ridiculous thing before turning back to where he was trying to hold a conversation with a bluebird.

“Call philllllll you stupid pussy” Tommy said “Cmon go fly back to dadza, you little snitch. Ill even give you something to gift him so hell pay attention to you”

Tommy threw a small coin at the bird, watching as it stared at the coin in confusion before ruffling its feathers and flying away coinless.

“OII. YOU FUCKER. ANSWER TO ME, CALL PHILLLL. PHILLLLLLL”

Tubbo stared at his friend in the tree, rolling his eyes and beginning to shake the tree

“Will you get down already, Tommy? Its almost curfew!”

“STOP SHAKING THE TREE IM GOING IM GOING—“

——————

Wilbur was having a staring contest with a crow.

Well, to be exact, Wilbur was planning to win a bet thanks to this crow.

“Wilbur just give up” Techno said boredly from his place on the ground “You’re never gonna guess it, can i go back to reading?”

The twins were sitting in their shared bedroom, sitting on the carpet floor.

One of them was being a ridiculously obstinate bastard wanting to win a stupid bet.

The other just wanted to read his book, thank you very much.

Neither of them were getting what they wanted it seemed.

Wilbur tired his gaze from the crow, glaring at his twin

“I’m telling you techno, I can guess whether it's one of dad’s or not. Just give me a couple of minutes”

He went back to his staring contest.

Techno sighed, putting his hands over his face

“Bruhhhhhhhhh”

————

The crows were a constant in the boy’s lives, following them around and telling them that no matter what their father was there. They just had to look for a crow nearby.

They were also very fucking annoying, in the youngest opinion.

However, he found himself looking for the familiarity of the crows as he walked into the new SMP Land. He found a trio of crows sitting on the branches of the tree and rolled his eyes, keeping eye of the following crows.

“Come on Puss boy” Tommy said to the crow, which was smuggled inside his backpack because of course it fucking was. The annoying bird was so clingy, ender “We’re gonna dominate this fucking Dream Smp Land!”

[pupandangelscoffee]

SWEET LIKE SUGAR, DANGEROUS LIKE SNAKES

Eddie Diaz x Evan Buckley x Reader

Genre: Action, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: alcohol, mentions of drugs, mentions of being shot, mentions of being attacked, jumping out of window (no death), mentions of deaths in the past, inappropriate language

Synopsis: When Buck and Eddie agreed to do an undercover job for Athena, they didnt expect to meet someone like you

Wordcount: 2387

Taglist: @enterprise-medical

When Athena had come to Bobby with the request to allow two of his firefighters go undercover to a rather inclusive underground dance club, he had been against the idea. For one, he didn’t want to put Eddie or Buck in danger, but most importantly, he knew how reckless those two could be and he didn’t want them to risk being caught up in anything more dangerous than their everyday work. But after some persuading from both his wife and the two men in question, he had given in.

That is exactly why they are now standing in the door of your dance studio, eyes following your every move as you lead the group choreo, believing that you had yet to take notice of them and Athena. However, when you send them a smile through the mirror, Buck feels his breath get stuck in his throat. Eddie chuckles between his friend, feeling how the other stopped breathing for a moment while Athena shoots the young male a quick glare. “Remember, Buck, this mission is extremely important. Do not compromise it by sticking your slong where it does not belong,” she hisses as you finish up the dance and make your way over to them. “So, these two are the ones I am supposed to take with me?” You ask with a rather hushed voice, looking them over before raising a brow at Athena. “Listen, Athena, I respect you but with those clothes, they will stick out like a pink elephant in a black room.” You state blankly, earning an offended scoff from the two men and a small chuckle from Athena. Before any of the three could even reply, another girl walks up behind you and wraps her arm around your waist. “Hey babe, who are these two flamingos?” She asked, studying the men from head to toe before chuckling at their appearance. “Did you pick them up at the circus?” She added, making you giggle and shake your head before retorting “nah, I found them outside the clown school. Apparently, they got kicked out for looking too much like a giraffe that drank too much paint.” While the two men look incredibly offended at your comments, Athena tried to bite back her laughter. “Do we have to work with them? They are mean.” Buck whines softly, looking at Athena like a puppy that was just kicked.

Shaking your head a bit, you turn to look at your friend. “Okay, Marie, you will help these two gentlemen find some new clothes, okay? Afterwards Marcel and I will see how well they can dance and help them learn some moves, so they won’t stick out like a wedding dress at a funeral at the party tonight.” You instruct her, earning a small nod before she rushes off, dragging the two dumbfounded men along. “You will take good care of them, right? Otherwise I may lose my husband, they are like sons to him.” Athena explains causing you to nod with a soft smile playing on your lips. “Don’t worry, Athena. I will watch over them like my life depends on them. I just hope that Travis won’t figure out what we are trying to do. I would prefer not getting shot again.” You state before sending her off with a wave.

An hour later, Marie returns with Eddie and Buck, both looking more like they would belong to your scene than being model citizens. At this point, you had discarded your shirt and Buck had to do everything in his willpower not to stare at your chest. “We are back, and they finally don’t look like tropical birds in a crowd of crows.” Marie informs you, smiling at you through the mirror before grabbing her bag and waving goodbye to you, rushing out of the practice room. Turning to the men, you introduce them to Marcel before instructing them to show you some of their dance moves. To your surprise, Eddie was rather good at an assortment of dance styles, whether it was just basic salsa or some sort of break dancing, he was doing well enough that you didn’t have to fear for him to stick out unnecessarily. Buck, however, well he was a completely different story. You wouldn’t say he couldn’t dance, he could, but The Sprinkler and The Carlton would not be received well in any club, especially not one as exclusive as the one you were planning to take them tonight. While you managed not to burst out laughing, Marcel was on the ground, crying from the laughter that was ripping through his body. “Please, please do not do that when we are out tonight.” You beg gently, trying to not let the laughter get out that you were trying to keep down, eyes flicking over to Eddie, who is very amused by his friend’s interesting dance style.

You end up taking some mercy on the poor man, stepping closer to him, and placing his hands on your waist. “Just follow my lead, darling.” You say softly right as the music starts before starting to lead him, giving him a gentle smile as he stumbles a few times. After a few hours of showing him random dance moves that would be acceptable in the club, you hum in succeed. “Great, imma go shower and then we can head out.” You state before grabbing your bag before heading to the shower.

The smell of sweat and alcohol are the first things that hit Eddie and Buck when they finally get to enter the club. You had introduced Eddie as your boyfriend and Buck as your friend from a few states over to get them access to the club and Buck would be lying if he said he didn’t feel his heart sting when you introduced Eddie as your boyfriend instead of him. Weaseling your way through all the bodies, you lead the two boys over to the table where your friends are sitting and to sell the illusion of dating Eddie, you sit down on his lap. Buck quickly averts his eyes as he feels jealousy raise in him, though it dies down as soon as the waitress brings over a tray of shots. Quickly, all of you grab one and down it before your friends stand up as your group’s name gets called out by another group of people. Frowning a bit, you get up as well, whispering a threatening “stay here or I will make sure neither of you have sex ever again” to the two men before following your group to the middle of the dance floor. Of course, the one night you bring in firefighters to a club that has seen more deaths than necessary, is the night your group gets challenged to a dance battle. You figure that they must be new around the club, because your group had a reputation build up about how you didn’t come to play. “Basic rules, whoever gets the loudest cheers gets to stay, the losers leave.” You state, smiling at what you assume the leader to be as you reach your hand out for a handshake. Your opponent nods and takes your hand, shaking it before both of you resume to your positions in your groups.

Meanwhile, Buck and Eddie both stood up, trying to see exactly what was happening. Buck is the first of the duo to end up climbing onto the table to get a better view, becoming completely entranced as he watches your group – especially you – start to dance. Holding his breath, he watches as the crowd goes wild for your group after the battle is over, only releasing the breath once you are back safely at your table and on Eddie’s lap. Eddie quickly wraps his arm around your waist, smiling and pressing a gentle kiss to your sweaty shoulder, clearly enjoying the fact that he got to play your boyfriend for the night.

Both of the men nearly forgot why they were with you and your group of friends in the first place, having a wonderful time and probably a bit more alcohol as they initially planned, though making sure that they were sober in case anything happened. And sure enough, after dancing, drinking, and talking for nearly two hours, three rather big men came up to you three. “Travis wishes to see you.” One of them states, motioning for you three to follow them, which you do. Once you enter the room where Travis is waiting, the bodyguards leave as Travis waves them off. “I see you brought some new friends, Y/N and you didn’t even bother introducing them to me. That is rather rude, ya know?” Travis states as he pulls out a clear bag of some white pills. “Why don’t we show them what real fun is?” he adds, mistaking your smirk for an agreement though quickly frowning as you take a picture of him holding out the pills. “You see, Travis, I don’t think the police would be very happy if I allowed their men to take some of your shit.” You state with a hum as you walk over to him and pat his cheek while Eddie takes out the handcuffs that he had hidden in his pocket. However, before he could get close enough to arrest Travis, the man dropped the bag and ran off. Sighing a bit, you take your heels off before chasing after him, knowing the club like the back of your hand.

A small scream, courtesy of Buck, could be heard when you jump out of the second story window, as he fears. Though when Eddie starts laughing while looking out of the window, he slowly walks closer and the scene in front of him was rather amusing. Not only were you absolutely fine, but you had also managed to catch a very bewildered looking Travis, who did not understand how you were able to cut him off and pin him against the metal fence, since he had been so far ahead. “Oh, this is Julie,” you whisper before slamming his head against the fence again before looking up at the boys. “Are you gonna come arrest him or do you want to continue playing pretty creepy dolls?” You yell up to them, causing the two to spring into action.

Soon enough, Athena shows up and takes Travis off your hands, not even questioning why he has a cut on his face. “He deserved it.” You state with a shrug before turning to Eddie and Buck to thank them and wish them a goodnight. “So, you think we are pretty, huh?” Buck teases before you can even say a word, causing you to giggle. “I said pretty creepy if I remember correctly, but whatever helps you sleep at night, Evan.” You reply before giving him and Eddie each a soft hug and a kiss on the cheek before grabbing your heels and walking off into the night.

It has been a few weeks since the boys last saw you and even if they didn’t want to admit it, they actually missed you. So much actually, that they drove past the place that you took them to, only to find it completely abandoned. Through a stranger, they found out that after Travis was arrested, the whole place fell apart and people just stopped showing up.

So, the surprise was real, when they hear your voice after coming back from a call. Racing up the stairs, they find you and Chris dancing with one another. “Well, what is going on here?” Eddie asks, immediately regretting that his voice came out a little more on the hostile side, but it was his father instinct kicking in as soon as he saw Chris standing without his crutches and only holding onto you. “Well hello to you too, Edmundo.” You state, quickly handing Chris his crutches before grinning and leaning down to his eyelevel. “You wanna show your dad what you learned?” You ask softly, getting an eager nod in return. So you step back and turn on the song that Chris had requested, watching Chris take the “stage” and showing off the dance moves that you had managed to teach him while the 118 was at the call. Meanwhile, the whole team joined you, all of them watching the young boy enjoy himself. “You have a very cute and sweet son.” You whisper to Eddie before walking over to the kitchen to grab two bottles of water, one for you and one for the young boy. “Dad, what do you think of my moves?” Chris asks innocently as he sips from the water bottle that you hand to him opened already, allowing you to pick him up and set him on the couch besides his father. “They were really good.” Eddie smiles, looking at you in amazement before ruffling Chris’s hair. “What are you even doing here?” Buck asks you, the smile on your face faltering. “Athena said it would be the safest if I change back to being a paramedic instead of a dance instructor, especially since I was attacked twice last week.” You add the last part in a whisper, not wanting the kid to hear.

Though you couldn’t help but giggle at the shocked faces of everyone except Bobby, who had been informed by Athena that you would be joining his team, because somehow none of them expected you to be a paramedic. “I finished the training 3 years ago, right after High School. However, I preferred dancing and it paid very well, so I never actually went to the firehouse.” You explain quickly before Bobby added “they will be joining us starting next week”. Huge smiles break out on Buck’s and Eddie’s face as they realize that this means they get to spend more time with you, almost like their wishful thinking has actually worked. A definite bonus was that Chris also seemed to really like you, so perhaps they could make things work.

But with your past? Would it come haunt them as well? Would it bring any of them into danger? Would it put Chris in the line of danger? Could they actually win your heart though? Only the future can tell, but the two men hope that their future is with you by their side.

[writerfae]

The Brooch - part one

“I have something for you.” Talon said, voice soft as to not disturb the pleasant quiet between them.

Aiden looked up from where he rested his head on his lover’s chest, eyes wide.

“Really?” He sat up.

Talon chuckled. “Yes.” Gently he nudged Aiden aside so he could stand up.

Aiden watched him curiously as he got something from his bag and sat back down on the bed, right in front of him, hands closed around a small object.

As he revealed what he was holding, Aiden gasped.

It was a golden brooch, portraying a hawk, the patron bird of Talon’s family, the finest piece of jewelry Aiden had ever seen.

“It is beautiful,” he whispered, still in awe. When he looked up to Talon, he could see the other boy eyeing him fondly.

Sometimes Aiden still couldn’t believe that this was real. That this was his. He never wanted Talon to stop looking at him like that.

Not trusting himself to find the right words- he still wasn’t too good at talking- he leaned forward to kiss his lover, trying to pour all he was feeling into this one gesture.

Talon, smiling into the kiss, wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist, pulling him closer, and Aiden knew, he understood.

When he pulled back, he smiled, cradling the small brooch in his hand to admire it once again. As his fingers brushed over the golden hawk at the centerpiece, he realized something.

“But isn’t this a family piece? It must be very valuable.”

Too valuable for someone like me, he thought, but didn’t say it, because he knew Talon didn’t like it when he talked like this.

“Yes,” Talon said, “it is. That’s why I want you to have it.”

He lifted Aiden’s chin to get the other to look at him. “Remember what you said when you gave me your necklace?”

Of course Aiden remembered. He had gifted his leather necklace with the crow pendant to Talon for his birthday not too long ago.

He closed his eyes. “I said I wanted you to have it, so you have something that reminds you of me when I’m not around.”

And when I’m no longer with you, were the words he left unsaid on that day. So you will never forget me. He left them unsaid still.

“Exactly.” Talon let his hand wander until it rested on the other’s cheek. “That’s why I want you to have this. And I want you to know that… that where ever you are, my heart is with you.”

He blushed when he realized his own words, looking away. Aiden smiled. He took the hand that still cupped his cheek and kissed it. “And mine with you,” he said, because it was the truth.

༺ ༻

Tears were running down Aiden’s cheeks and Talon couldn’t stand to look at it, couldn’t stand seeing the person he loved the most crying. Couldn’t stand seeing the person he loved the most leaving him.

He didn’t want any of this and he knew Aiden didn’t want it either. It was wrong, so wrong. They shouldn’t be saying goodbye to each other. They should be together. That girl shouldn’t be the one Talon was gonna marry tomorrow.

A small sob escaped him as Aiden held out a small object to him, hands trembling. “I think… I think you might want it back. Give it to… give it to her.”

Talon realized that it was the brooch he gifted him years ago. The one that Aiden hadn’t taken off ever since.

Seeing him without it felt wrong. It was wrong. It was supposed to be his. Only his. Just like Talon’s heart.

“No,” he shook his head violently. “I don’t want it back. It was always supposed to be for you... Just for you.”

Talon took a step towards the other boy’s outstretched hand. He closed Aiden’s fingers around the brooch with his own, squeezing the other’s hands gently but firmly.

“Keep it,” he said and he could hear his voice shaking. “Keep it and don’t forget why I gave it to you.”

He still meant what he said all this time ago, after all.

Despite the sadness painfully visible on his face, a relieved smile showed on Aiden’s face.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

He pressed the brooch firmly to his heart, visibly glad he didn’t have to let go of it. The sight made Talon’s heart clench.

Without much thinking, he pulled Aiden close. The shorter man hid his face in the crook of the other’s neck, like he had many times before.

They remained like that for a while, quiet.

Talon buried his face in Aiden’s dark hair, inhaling his scent, trying to memorize it.

Memorize his smell, the beating of his heart, the way his body fit against Talon’s so perfectly.

Then Aiden pulled away. One hand was still clenched around the small brooch, he rested the other right on Talon’s heart.

Talon felt like if he took his hand away, his heart might stop to beat forever, so he held on to it with his own.

“Don’t go,” he whispered, leaning their foreheads together. “Please.”

Aiden didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned up and kissed him. Just one last time.

༺ ༻

“Ash, dear, come here.” Ashlynn looked up from her work at the call of her father’s hoarse voice.

She made her way over to where he lay in his bed, looking at her with soft eyes.

He looked tired. So so tired.

She took his hand. “What is it, papa? Do you need something? Are you in pain?”

Aiden shook his head. “No,” he said, squeezing Ash’s hand weakly.

The cold had afflicted him pretty much this year. Years of living and hard work had taken a toll on him, making him less resistant than he used to be against the cruelness of the winter cold.

Ash had hoped he would start to feel better once the first warmth of spring would come to the land, but he didn’t.

There was a fear lingering deep inside her that this might be his last spring. She tried to push that thought away every day, not wanting to even think of the possibility of it, because it scared her incredibly.

But her father, too, seemed to think that his time would soon be up. She could see it in his eyes.

She hoped he was wrong.

Her father pushed himself up in a sitting position. Ash rushed forward to help him. He only shook his head, chuckling.

“You worry too much, little fox.” He patted her hand gently.

She smiled. “You’re my father, I’m allowed to be worried about you. Now, what do you need?”

Aiden’s expression turned serious. “There’s something I want to show you.”

He reached under the pillow and pulled out a small object. As he placed it in her hand, Ashlynn saw what it was.

She gasped. “Your brooch.” It was a pretty piece of jewelry. And a prized one.

Ash had seen it on her father many times before. If he didn’t wear it on his cloak, it was usually tugged under his pillow.

She knew it was dear to him, though she didn’t know why. Ash had always wondered what might be the story behind the beautiful brooch.

“I never told, did I?” her father asked suddenly, eyes fixed on the jewelry in his daughter’s hand. “Where I got this brooch from?”

Ashlynn shook her head. She had asked him about it once when she was little. He didn’t want to answer her back then and he looked so sad when she asked that she never dared to ask him again.

“It is from faerie,” Aiden started to explain.

Ash’s eyes went wide. “From faerie? Really?”

Her father nodded.

He had told her a lot about faerie, the magic realm that was home to the gods, fae and wood creatures. He had taught her everything he knew about it and told her about his own experience with the fair folk.

Ashlynn had always loved those stories, her father’s adventures, how she used to call them, and she loved them still.

Excited to learn something new, something her father had never told her before, she leaned forward.

It made the man laugh, a laugh that turned into a cough shortly after.

Ash stood up to bring her father some water. The brooch she gently rested on his covered up lap.

When she returned with the water, Aiden held the brooch in his hands, looking down at it with a mixture of sadness and longing, a sight that made her heart hurt for him.

“Here,” she said, giving him the water. Aiden took it, silently thanking her.

Then he started talking again.

“I… I never told you, but when I was there, at court...”

Ashlynn knew that with court he meant the Willow court, one of the faerie kingdoms. It was the home of her uncle and her father used to spent a lot of time there, too.

But that was already before Ash was born.

“There was this boy,” her father continued. “A fae.” He took a deep breath, Ash could see that talking about this wasn’t easy for her father.

His grip on the brooch tightened.

“We were together, him and me. And I… I loved him. A lot. He was the one who gave me the brooch.”

Ash couldn’t help the small gasp escaping her. So the brooch was a gift of his lover. No wonder that it was so precious to her father.

She wondered who that person was. Why did she never met him? Why did her father never talk of him?

“What happened?” she asked, grabbing her father’s hands gently. Because there had to be a reason why it hurt him so to talk about this to her.

“I left him.” Aiden looked away, eyes staring into the distance. His lip trembled slightly.

“I loved him so much and still I left him,” he sobbed and Ashlynn leaned forward to hug her father.

“Oh papa,” she whispered. “Why?”

“Because sometimes, love isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to let go of those you love, for their own best. I would’ve only caused him sorrow.

“He was nobility. And I... I was just me. No fae nor nobility, not really a suitable match for a future high lord. His father thought the same. He arranged an engagement with another noble’s daughter.

“She was a way better fit. I didn’t want to stand in the way. Being with me, it would’ve only caused problems. With his duty, his family, my mortality...”

Ash didn’t know what to say, she just squeezed her father tighter. “I am so sorry father.”

The man leaned back and smiled at his daughter. It was a sad smile.

“It’s alright,” he said. But Ash didn’t miss the tears in his eyes.

“I learned to live with it. There’s no turning back the time. He has a family now, I’m sure he is happy. He has probably long forgotten about me. And me, well, I still have my memory of him. And this,” he held up the brooch still clutched in his hand.

He put the brooch in Ashlynn’s hands again, closing them around the small object.

“I want you to have it.”

Ashlynn stared at him in disbelieve. “But father…”

After all that he had just told her about the brooch and its story, she couldn’t believe that he was willing to give it away.

“I want you to take care of it for me, once I’m gone. I want you to look at it and remember what it is like to be loved by me, just like it reminded me what it was like to be loved by him.”

He looked at her, all kind eyes and fond smile, and she couldn’t help but to smile back, blinking away tears in her eyes.

“Thank you, father. I promise I’ll always take good care of it.”

༺ ༻

(a/n: the next part is less angsty I swear)

read part two here

general tag list: @deadlycupid @writing-is-a-martial-art @writingamongther0ses @blueinkblot @wildswrites @abiandwriting @theroyalcoven @7devills @myhusbandsasemni @authortango @sleepy-night-child @charleeyy @formulatingfiction @shiishki @shattered-starrs

AU masterpost

[jhoudiey]

Inspired by a convo in the writing server and by Mamo's salty Jade, I wrote some fluffy-ish Yoru and Floyd mountain "date" nonsense. No warnings except bad grammar.

_______________________________________________________

“Hey Fugu-chan do you wanna come fight a monster with me?” Floyd had pulled himself through Yoru’s window as usual to interrupt her studies.

“Floyd, it’s 1pm, don’t you have class?”

“Ehhh I don’t wanna go, its the same boring stuff every day anyway” He perched in her windowsill urging her to follow him.

“Where’s this monster?” She grinned and put her books down, Floyd had a point. Fighting was always more fun than studying.

“In the mines where we went camping! I wanna see if I can find another one!” he insistently waved for her to hurry up.

“Still mad you didn’t get to go all out last time, huh?” She stretched out her shoulders and joined him at the window.

“Mhmmm~ Now that I have my magical pen back I want to play some more ehe!” She laughed and hopped out the window behind him.

*

They landed at the mouth of the caves, Yoru letting him down from her talons before touching down on the ground beside him. He sprinted into the tunnels with a grin on his face, shouting for any monsters to show up to play. Yoru flew behind him trying to stifle her laughter, he looked like a kid on a sugar high.

“Eeeeehhhh Fugu-chan this is taking foreverrrrrrr” He whined after half an hour in the caves with no appearance of any monsters. “Can’t you use your magic and find one?” he begged. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“That's not how my magic works Floyd, I can only see through crows, not through rocks. I’m the only bird in these caves so unless there’s a hidden crows nest somewhere I can’t help”

“Huh? Then what good is your unique magic then?” he complained, crossing his arms

“Says the guy who can only deflect magic, wouldn’t stop me taking your head off-” They were interrupted by a low rumbling coming from the path behind them. They turned to the sound, another Overblot monster materializing from the darkness. Floyd cheered, happy that his foe had finally appeared.

“Awe maaaaaan, Floooooyd, you never said it was an overblot monster! I can’t fight this!” Yoru complained as the monster descended on them.

“Eeeh? Why not? This is fun!” Floyd danced out of the way of the monster, hitting it with some magic of his own to keep it away from them.

“I can’t do magic, remember? All I can do is see. My hands and feet won’t do shit to that thing” She pouted, sitting on the ground with a huff, resigned to watch Floyd fight it on his own. He was clearly enjoying himself, hitting it with spell after spell. Yoru watched on in envy, how amazing would it be to be able to do magic like that. She watched him dance around the monster, attacking with reckless abandon, his own unique magic deflecting the attacks thrown at him.

Yoru sighed resting with her head in her hands, eyes following the battle. Floyd really was incredible, so much so it pissed her off. He made it seem so effortless. Fire, grass, water, ice, wind, dark… every kind of magic she’d dreamed of having Floyd was throwing out without a care in the world, this level of effort was nothing to him, when she couldn't even change the colour of a single flower petal. After what seemed like hours the glass head on the monster cracked, it’s ink splashing to the ground. It roared and the walls around them shook.

“Hey Floyd, you should finish up, if this thing collapses the cave around us we’re screwed” she said flatly, watching small rocks fall from the ceiling.

“Okay Fugu-chaaaaan~ Let me show you my special move, just look at how amazing I am!” He unleashed his strongest attack yet, Yoru wasn’t able to conceal her admiration for him. Her jaw dropped.

“Holy shit… you’re actually incredible…” she muttered, more annoyed than ever at how talented he was. The monster crumbled before them, disappearing into ink and sinking back into the ground. Floyd cheered.

“Yaaaayyyy!! That was fun!” he looked exhausted. His hair was a mess and he drenched in sweat, but the grin he wore was one of the biggest Yoru had ever seen. It was quite cute. She nodded at him and held out her arm in case he needed to lean on her, she wasn’t sure how he was still standing after expending so much magic in such a short time. He stretched his arms behind his head, not needing her assistance.

“We should have a fire too! Come on Fugu-chan!” He grabbed her hand and ran from the cave, staggering when they got outside and saw that the sun had already begun to set. “Uwaaahhh I’m tired all of a sudden, carry me Fugu-chan” She laughed. It seemed Floyd wasn’t invincible after all.

She flew to the shore of the lake, setting him down near an old decaying log. Somewhere along their flight he’d fallen asleep. She set to work gathering firewood, setting the wood in a way that would be easy to ignite once he woke up. When that was ready she wandered over to the lake to grab some fish, no sense not eating while they were out. They didn’t have any spices, but grilled fish was simple enough and delicious on it’s own. She wasn’t as proficient as catching fish with her bare hands as Floyd, but it still didn’t take her long before she’d caught half a dozen and brought them back to their impromptu base camp. The sun had fully set by the time she’d gotten the fish onto their skewers and shook Floyd awake so he could start the fire.

“Hmmm? When did I fall asleep?” He whined, confused by his surroundings

“When we were flying over here, you went limp almost immediately after we took off, I almost dropped you” Yoru grinned at him “Now can you get the fire going, I’m starving.” He nodded, using his magic to light the fire as she arranged the fish around it to cook.

“Wait, lemme see your pen” She said suddenly, able to see the once white gem clouded over with black ink in the firelight. She grabbed at it but he snatched it out of reach and shoved it back into his pocket. “Floyd, let me see it” Yoru growled at him, he pouted and handed it to her, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it from her if she fought him for it.

“Floyd… that’s a lot of blot… you need to be more careful. If you overblotted I��d have you kill you, I wouldn't be able to stop you with magic”

“Haaaah like you could, you saw how strong I am! Ahaha! What do you know about overblotting anyway, you can barely do magic!” He argued, turning the fish to roast their other sides.

“Hmmm? Didn’t I tell you? I overblotted once as a kid. It sucked”

“As a kid? Did you have magic when you were younger? What happened to it ehe~” He raised an eyebrow at her, curious at how she had lost her magic. She snorted

“No. I got my unique magic really young but I didn’t know what it was so I used it all the time since I didn’t know any better. Dad found me screaming in bed, said I had all these shadowy birds walking over and pecking at me, he still talks about it like it’s the worst thing he’s ever seen.” She rolled her eyes, thinking about Crowley's overly theatrical reactions to the lamest things.

Floyd cringed away from her, throwing his hands up. “Eugh that sounds so gross!” He sat forward again with a smile “But it’s funny knowing even without a lot of magic you can overblot”

“Yea, really funny” She glared at him. “How are you not ranked higher at school though? You’re so amazing it pisses me off”. He smirked at her

“Doing everything I’m supposed to is boring so I just do whatever I want and fail sometimes cause I don’t feel like doing it” He grabbed one of the fish, happily biting into it.

“That must be nice. I wish I could say I’m not jealous of your talent” She bit into her own fish, chewing it more fiercely than was necessary.

“Hmmmm why are you jealous though? You’re really smart too, Fugu-chan” He smiled and chowed down, very much enjoying his meal. Yoru groaned, she wasn't used to compliments.

“...Thanks. ...By the way, didn’t Jade say he wanted to come out here with you next time? Isn’t he going to be mad we came without him?” Floyd's eyes grew wide before settling back to normal

“Eeeehhhh probably, but I wanted to find that monster and Jade wouldn't come with me so it’s his fault anyway” he shrugged, carefully selecting his last fish.

“Maybe he won’t be that mad, it’s not like we really did much mountaineering up here anyway” Yoru shrugged, finishing her meal and throwing sand on the fire. “We should get back though, unlike you, I do have some homework I need to hand in because I’m not allowed to fail”

*

They landed back in the mirror chamber full of fish and tired from adventure.

“Hey, next time you find a monster make sure it's one I can fight too. I can’t help but want to show off what I can do without magic”

“Kaaaaay~!” Floyd sang, hopping through the mirror that would take him back to Octavinelle.

*

“Ahh Floyd, you’re back late, did you enjoy your date? You missed dinner, Azul was worried sick about you” Jade smirked at him from across their bedroom. Floyd flopped into his bed, exhausted. Fugu-chan was right, he’d used too much magic today and was still tired despite his earlier nap.

“Aha! Azul wouldn’t worry about something thing like that, besides he would have been mad at me for going to fight a monster and getting my uniform all dirty”

“Oya? A monster? You never mentioned there was a monster on campus” Jade chuckled

“Ehhhh? It wasn’t on campus, me and Fugu-chan went back to Mount Dwarf to fight with the overblot monster in the caves! It was really fun!” Jade slowly turned to glare at Floyd.

“Floyd… you returned to the mountains once again without me” He exhaled dramatically. “You found yourself a girlfriend and completely forgot about little old me, all alone and mountainless” He let out an exaggerated sigh “I can’t believe my own twin would discard me so carelessly, how cruel” Floyd sat up in bed, a frown painted on his face.

“haaaaaaaaahhhh you said you didn’t want to come! You can’t complain about it now”

“Perhaps it is for the best, I wouldn’t want to be a third-wheel after all... I’ll just make you come with me next time I go...” he muttered to himself under his breath

“Ehhh what are you even talking about Jade?” Floyd laid back down and stretched out into his blankets.

“While crashing a date seems like it would be a lot of fun, I don’t believe Yoru-san is very fond of me, and she does have a habit of getting violent when she’s angry. I wouldn’t care to be on the receiving end of those talons.”

“It wasn’t even a date” he complained, rolling away to face the wall. He hadn’t told Jade about his failed confession at Vargas’s weekend camp so the insinuations he and Yoru were dating stung. “...and she’s not even my girlfriend” he muttered into his pillow.

“Fufufu not yet” Jade chuckled to himself as Floyd started snoring.

[trickstersteve]

Flowers of Fate

Loki x Reader

Author: Mel @trickstersteve 

This was written for the @captain-rogers-beard​ Flex Your Writing Muscles Challenge 

Prompt: June 1st (prompts used are in bold)

Summary: Loki finds himself back on Midgard.

Warnings: Angst, some fluff. Think that’s it but do let me know if I’ve missed any.

Words: 2367

A/N: Kjæresta is an old Norse term of endearment. While the literal translation means girlfriend, it can also mean “darling” or “beloved”. The other terms kjæren min, and kjære are variations that mean “my dear/my love”, and “dear” respectively.

Stepping uncertainly through the portal, Loki braced himself for what lay beyond. The instant he touched solid ground, the doorway behind him closed, sucking the air from around him and making his ears pop. Wincing, he looked around. Instead of bright lights and deafening sounds like the last place, he found himself in a sunny golden field with nothing but the sounds of birds in the distance.

Where have you brought me this time? he wondered, looking down at the Tesseract between his hands before sending it into his pocket dimension.

Such as it had been since he took the cube from under everyone’s noses and escaped. Since then, he’d traveled, wandering aimlessly wherever the Tesseract deemed fit, passing through distant planets and far off galaxies. Whether it had been only weeks or years was difficult to tell. He’d lost track of time somewhere along the way.

He just knew he was tired of running.

A croak drew him from his thoughts. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he looked towards the source of the sound. A crow was perched on one of the extended arms of some kind of effigy. Arching a brow, he studied the sight. It stood at least two heads taller than him - to be seen over the ears of corn beyond it, Loki gathered - and hung from a post protruding from the ground. The clothes were somewhat familiar, albeit ill fitting and worn judging by the straw exposed by a tear in the fabric.

Midgard.

I am back within the Nine.

That knowledge filled him both with dread and relief. With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he transformed from his usual attire into something more appropriate for the realm.

A gasp drew his attention back to the straw effigy. Narrowing his eyes, he passed them over the mannequin until they landed on a small wide-eyed child partially hidden by the post. How had he managed to sneak up on him?

“Hello.”

“You glowed,” the child stated as pressed himself closer to the post. Loki frowned as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“I did.”

“With magic?” Loki nodded, a smirk pulling at his lips. The boy’s eyes sparkled as he gave Loki a tooth-gapped smile. “Are you a wizard?” he asked, his voice an awed whisper.

Loki chuckled softly at the Midgardian term. He took the few steps needed bridge the gap between them, kneeling so he could be level with the child. “I suppose I am,” he answered, draping an arm over his knee. “What is your name little one?”

“Manni,” the boy replied as he rubbed his nose, leaving behind a trace of dirt.

Loki looked around them, wondering why the child was alone. “What are you doing out here?”

The boy shrugged. “I live here.” He turned and pointed behind him at the cornfield. “That way. Mom says I can’t go past the scarecrow though,” he added as he looked up at the effigy.

“Scarecrow?”

“Yeah, you know, to scare birds and stuff,” Manni explained with a half-shrug.

Loki arched a brow as he observed a second crow land on the scarecrow’s head and begin pruning. “It does not seem to be working,” he stated making Manni giggle.

A voice called from not too far off and they both looked towards the source. Manni turned and faced Loki with a dramatic sigh.

“That’s my mom,” he said. “I have to go ‘cause my aunt Y/N’s coming over for supper.” He pushed himself away from the scarecrow and walked towards the cornfield. “Bye Mr. Wizard,” Manni added with a wave before disappearing between the stalks.

Loki remained kneeling, his mind reeling at the name the boy had uttered. A name he’d not heard for what felt like a lifetime. Surely that couldn’t be his Y/N. Could it?

He stood, brushing off the dirt from his knee. Closing his eyes, he summoned an object into his hand. Unclenching his fist after the green shimmer encompassing it vanished, Loki unwrapped a small fabric bundle, revealing a dried lily, its scent long gone from centuries hidden away.

A flower she had given him.

He could still remember her laugh, a melody that could rival any birdsong. Her rose and honeysuckle scented hair that tickled his face as she lay against him. He could still recall every inch of her skin as it shivered under his touch. How her fingers seared him with desire as she absently traced patterns on his chest afterwards. Her eyes, filled with such love only for him. His kjæresta.

Loki’s fingers ghosted over the faded petals as he choked back a sob threatening at the back of his throat.

“Forever and always,” she’d told him when she’d placed her token of affection in his hand.

A promise.

A lie.

The Allfather had seen to that.

A minor slight and Y/N’s father had been sentenced to death and she and her family banished. A slight that proved to be a misunderstanding.

Loki had bargained. Pleaded. Had all but begged his father to reconsider the banishment. All to bring her back.

In vain.

He’d gone to the Norns then. He wanted - no, needed - answers as to why they made it happen. Loki had demanded that of them. Why give him something so precious and tear it from him.

He’d expected them to send him away, to ignore him. To do anything other than what they did. With expressionless faces, they instead beckoned him closer. A silver light - a shimmer really - appeared between them, floating like a reflection on the waves, and they let him into their circle. He stood there among the Norns. One of them nodded and he reached out. He twisted his fate between his fingers. Not to manipulate or change. They would not allow that. Merely to see. To understand.

But he hadn’t then. The privilege had only led to more questions. Above all, would he ever see her again?

Wordlessly, they had taken it back and with a wave of a hand, dismissed him. The knowledge of his future and all that would happen, faded from his mind with every step he took away from those women. All but one image.

A glimpse. Nothing more.

A glimpse of light and of hope.

A glimpse that he’d clung to through everything thereafter.

A glimpse that taunted him. Mocked him every time he closed his eyes.

A glimpse that almost broke him when his life had become nothing more than darkness and despair.

Another lie. Just one more amidst of a lifetime of lies and betrayals.

Silently cursing the Norns, Loki stared down at the lily in his hand. Oh how he’d wanted above everything to be rid of it. To toss it into the void and be done clinging to false hopes and childish loves.

But he never could. Not when it was all he had left of her.

“Forever and always,” he whispered to the ancient token as he delicately wrapped it back in the worn fabric before placing it in his breast pocket.

He looked back towards where the child had disappeared. He hesitated. Dare he hope after all these years?

There was only one way to find out for sure.

Smoothing his hands over his suit, Loki took a deep breath, and followed after the boy. ------ “Auntie Y/N!” Manni greeted, running to wrap his little arms around her waist. Y/N laughed as she brushed back his hair, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“How is my favorite nephew?” she asked, then licked her thumb to clean the dirt from his nose. Manni scrunched up his face in protest making Y/N chuckle.

“I’m good.”

Y/N gently untangled Manni’s arms from around her torso, instead clasping his hand in hers as they made their way through the yard. Her sister came around the house, her worried face changing to relief when she spotted her son with his aunt.

“There you are,” she said as she strode towards them, stopping only a short distance, her hands on her hips. “Where did you disappear to?”

“Out there,” he answered, pointing to the fields.

“Manni.”

“I stopped at the scarecrow!” he protested. Manni looked up at Y/N. “I met a wizard! Like in your stories.”

“A wizard?” Y/N asked in mock surprise, shooting an amused glance at her sister who shook her head with a chuckle. “What did he look like?”

“Tall.” Manni lifted his arm over his head and jumped to emphasize his point.

“That tall?” his mother chimed in. “He must have been a giant.”

Manni giggled. “Nooo. Not that tall mom,” he replied, letting go of Y/N’s hand and running to his mother.

“My mistake,” she teased as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing his back to her. He looked up at her.

“He glowed too!”

Y/N arched a brow as a smile pulled at the corner of her lips. Her nephew did have quite the imagination and she loved that of him.

“Where is he now?” she asked him, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes.

Manni shrugged. “Still by the scarecrow I guess.”

Y/N and her sister looked at each other and her sister rolled her eyes. Movement in behind them drew their attention to the man emerging from between the corn stalks.

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat as she suddenly laid her eyes on a face she’d not seen in centuries. His raven hair was longer and he was paler than she remembered but it was the intensity in his eyes that drew her. Those piercing green eyes that stared at her as though he couldn’t believe she was there. Those were the same.

It can’t be!

“That’s him! That’s the wizard!” Manni exclaimed to his mother, pointing to the newcomer.

His eyes flitted to the boy before coming back to rest on her. “Y/N?”

The low, velvety voice, full of doubt and longing was unmistakeable. It was him! She blinked back the tears welling in her eyes because she couldn’t believe that the man standing before her was the same who had whispered in her ear, had teased her and had cherished her a lifetime ago.

But it couldn’t be him. Not after all those years she stopped searching for him in the crowds. Not after she’d abandoned her dreams of seeing him again. Of hearing her name spoken from his lips like she was his everything.

And yet, there he stood. In a suit that fit his lithe frame like a glove. A suit so black, it looked almost green the way the light hit it.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Y/N took a shaky breath lest her voice betray her.

“Loki?”

-----

Loki stood there frozen, his legs seemingly planted in the ground.She had not changed since the last time he saw her. She walked towards him. Slowly. Tentatively. When she was just a hair’s breath away, she lifted her hand. He tensed as his breathing became laboured, his gaze following her every movement. She cupped his face in her hand and he closed his eyes, leaning into the touch.

“You’re real,” she whispered. “I never thought -”

He mirrored her gesture as his free hand came up and clasped hers still resting on his cheek. She was there. Centuries believing he would never see her again. Centuries losing hope of hearing his name on her lips once more.

“Kjæren min,” he breathed.

A sob escaped her lips at the old endearment. In that moment he wanted to crumbled to his knees, beg her forgiveness anything and everything. Instead, he wrapped her in a hug, burying his face in her hair, breathing in the faint smell of honeysuckle that was so familiar and yet not. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly, each fearing that if they let go, the other would disappear. Loki’s hand came up and gently grasped Y/N’s chin between his thumb and forefinger, drawing her face up to meet his. Leaning in, his lips brushed hers. Rising up on her toes, she met him, gently at first, then deepening the kiss with a desperation and a yearning neither anticipated.

“Does this mean the wizard is going to stay with Aunt Y/N now?” Manni asked his mother.

Breaking from the kiss with a laugh, Loki pressed his forehead to Y/N’s. “Only if she will have me little one,” he answered softly as he reached into his breast pocket. He unwrapped the small parcel and Y/N’s eyes widened when she saw what it contained.

“You kept it?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she brushed the wilted flower with shaky fingers.

“Forever and always kjære.” She stared up at him, her eyes shining before looking away and wiping away a stray tear as she choked out a laugh.

“Forever and always,” she echoed turning back to him.

Loki let out a sigh of relief as he secured the flower back in his pocket and then claimed her lips once more. Breaking for air, she clung to him, resting her face against his chest. He held her, with one hand entwining in her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

He blinked back the tears brimming his eyes and that’s when he saw it. The glimpse of fate that had followed and haunted him for ages. Right there in front of him. And it was then that he realized.

It had not been a taunt, nor a mockery. It had not been some cruel joke by the Norns at his expense.

It had been the answer to his unspoken question.

It had been a beacon. A light in his darkness.

Leading him back to her.

Forever and always.

Y/N gently pushed herself away and stared up at him with softness in her eyes. “Come,” she said with a smile as she took his hand. “Let’s go home.”

Home. The Norns have led me home.

Loki chanced one last look as he and Y/N walked hand in hand towards the house before turning his attention to his kjæresta, leaving behind the lone sunflower to sway gently with the breeze in the light of the setting sun.

[doodleimprovement]

Working drafts and designs for “A Heart in Time” - The AHIT KH AU! 

If you have any questions or suggestions I am 110% open to ideas! None of this is finalized and there’s a lot of wiggle room - i’ve only got Subcon mostly ironed out tbh

A good chunk of this was brainstormed with help from the ever wonderful @cyndersquall / @cynderarts

Story notes under the “Keep Reading” 

(Keep in mind that i’ll be using “you” to refer to hypothetical in game actions as if this is a game that you can play) 

The start of the story is Hat kid waking up in their GummiShip (aka the ship from the game which honestly reminds me a lot of a gummi ship anyway), not remembering who they are or why they’re there, but seeing that the ship is going “home” and decides to wait. 

One the way there, they are stopped by the mafia per how it happens in the game, and gets flung out into Mafia Town - the first world

Mafia town goes very similar to how it goes in the game, except theres no time pieces to collect - Hat kid is just trying to help. Due to her amnesia she knows she’s *supposed* to be able to summon a keyblade, but can’t seem to maintain it or summon it when she wants, so she uses magic instead (she learns that she can slow time with a spell she finds in her hat). At the end of the whole debacle, Mustache girl attempts to steal the keyblade but fails, and vows to get her own keyblade so that she can defeat the mafia once and for all. the “key” is not found in this level (Thats for the finale)

Dead bird studios is also similar, but instead of the time piece both of the birds want to use the keyblade as a prop. The crows are definitely nobodies but the Conductor doesn’t seem to know, care or mind. The end of this one is the same - the winner is the one you fight, but you’re actually freeing them from darkness that’s taken over their heart due to the harsh competitiveness in their hearts that causes them to lash out. The “key” in this one is either one of the Conductor’s knives, or DJ Grooves mic, depending on who you fight. 

As for Subcon, i obviously have a lot more planned for this one. In this level, you encounter both Snatcher (The Prince’s Heartless) and MoonJumper (The Prince’s Nobody). You piece together after the stealth level in Vanessa’s manor that they are connected to the same person and you have to fight snatcher in order to get the prince’s heart and return it to MoonJumper. Once you have beaten snatcher, you have to fight MoonJumper, and return his heart to him, turning him back into the Prince. Once you’ve turned him back, he teams up with you to fight Vanessa, and is actually helpful (unlike say, a certain duck COUGH COUGH). The “key” in this area is Vanessa’s crown. He thanks HK by telling her that she is always welcome in his kingdom. 

HK finds Mustache Girl on her ship, and after berating and beating down HKs spirit with some very cruel words, manages to actually steal the keyblade and uses it to unlock some terrible corner of darkness to use against the mafia. HK has to get herself set, and goes on a final confrontation - getting help from all her friends along the way. At the end of the fight, she forgives Mu, and as it turns out, the medallion around her neck is the final key. She unlocks it and the darkness in the world is chased away by the light - saving the planet from a dark fate. 

They all want her to stay, but rather than chasing them off with a broom, she just says that she has to go home, and they let her go. before leaving however, we learn that Mustache girl *can* wield her own keyblade (#sequel bait)

The end of the story is bittersweet, but i’m still hammering out the details there (They include Bow!) so i’m not posting them just yet. 

[letshaikyuu]

ᑎO ᖴᒪOᗯEᖇᔕ ᗯEᖇE ᗷᒪOOᗰIᑎG (ᗩKᗩᗩᔕᕼI KEIᒍI ᔕᑕEᑎᗩᖇIO)

Synopsis: Akaashi and you were childhood crushes that got separated when you moved away. Social media was never enough to fill the void. What will Akaashi do when you come back and one of his teammates seems to have a crush on you?

A/N: I am not very skilled in writing scenarios so bear with me here. It’s also a female reader insert, sorry boys :(

Word count: 2522

No flowers were blooming in spring anymore for Akaashi Keiji. He was making towards the school grounds like it was just any other day. It was just another dull start to his second year of high school without you by his side. Akaashi would never forget the time you two picked flowers for your flower crowns that one spring day, mere days before school was supposed to start and you were to crouch into new school adventures. It felt like any other ordinary day outside while your mothers were sipping some tea inside the house. But, Keiji was not unfamiliar with emotions and facial expressions, even at a young age he was able to differentiate different emotions even though people tried hiding them. You were nowhere near the happy and cheerful girl that filled the silence with your childish glee and laughter. You were so quiet.

»»---------------------►

"Keiji..."

A whisper that would have been hard to hear for many, but Keiji knew your voice by heart. Looking up, his eyes were fixed on the tears filling up your eyes that were dangerously close to falling. Keiji was never the one to show much emotion or care, but this situation didn't fail to angrily burn his heart. What was going on?

Your next words burned his already aching heart even more as you let your tears freely fall down your face. Keiji didn't move. You didn't have the heart to wait for his reply so Keiji was left alone, eyes locking on your running figure that found comfort into your mother's arms. You two left soon after. Keiji was still sitting on his knees in the garden. Your neatly made flower crown on the ground was beside him and fallen apart. Was this happening?

"Keiji...I'm leaving Japan tomorrow."

»»---------------------►

The first day of school was over and he was already tired. He wanted to go back home and close himself off from the outside world for a few hours. Grab his phone and go through his gallery. Besides the huge amount of Bokuto's selfies on his phone, here and there a screenshot from his social media accounts popped up. Keiji was never the one for social media. It was a waste of time, he would say. What was the point in endlessly scrolling and looking through profiles of people you probably don't even know? But Keiji does have social media. It wasn't his choice. His mother bought him a newer phone shortly after you moved away. "So you can stay in touch even when she's so far away," his mother said to him when she gave him the phone and ruffled his hair, "there's no point in giving up, is there Keiji?"

That is how Keiji tried to stay in contact with you. You easily found each other on social media and he was glad you still wanted to talk to him. At first, your messages were frequent and filled with stories about your new school and friends. There wasn't a moment to put away your phone cause the messages kept coming. Keiji would merely reply with a "that's nice" and "hope you're liking it there", but he always read them all with a sad smile on his face. You seemed to fit in well with the people there. Keiji always admired you for that. It was you who decided to befriend this quiet, little boy in the house beside yours when you were little. He will never admit how much he appreciated you for that.

The worst part is that Keiji started developing a crush on you. He tried to talk himself out of it by seeing it was normal to have such feelings at a young age and that they will evaporate as he grows older. But they never did. You were becoming more and more beautiful as the days and seasons went by and Keiji couldn't wrap his head around what was happening with him. That little crush of his didn't go unnoticed. His mother figured it out very quickly and never failed to embarrass Keiji whenever he announced he was going out to play with you.

"You'll make a fine gentleman one day Keiji. Don't you forget that."

Unconsciously, he smiled at his mother's words as he entered the hot gym. The sounds of volleyball hitting the ground were enough to snap him out of his thoughts and refocus at the task at hand. He had practice. Bokuto Koutarou was loudly yelling at his kouhai and teasing him about how he's late and he was to do extra laps at the end of the training. The rest of the team chuckled at his words because there was no way Bokuto was going to stick to that.

"I apologize Bokuto-san. It won't happen again." Akaashi's words cut through the once cheerful atmosphere like a knife as he walked towards the locker room to change. Bokuto looked at the figure of his best friend that was soon lost with the door closing behind him. He was named captain for a reason. Bokuto Koutarou, no matter the excessive amounts of mood swings he has, knows when something is going on...and in Akaashi's case, he had quite a good guess as to what is bothering him.

When Keiji stepped foot on the court and started playing, there was no doubt in Bokuto's mind that his bad performance was caused by overflowing thoughts in his head. There was no beating around the bush in this situation, especially when the others knew about this.

"Oi Akaashi." His voice was rather serious for someone who's usually so cheerful and filled with positive energy. Keiji knew where this was leading to and he was dreading every second of it. "Isn't Y/N coming back soon?"

There it was. The ever-so sensitive topic to Akaashi Keiji. How Bokuto found out was still a mystery to him, but it was futile to hide anything from his curious senpai. He didn't mind. It was something that was in the past and there was no need to run away from it. Or at least that's how Keiji wanted his feelings to be portrayed. The ball that was being held in his hand was tossed back in with the others in the trolley as Keiji called it a day. The practice was soon to be over anyway. His teammates, especially the senpais, knew him well enough to know when Keiji is done with something so they didn't want to meddle. But meddling was Bokuto Koutarou's middle name.

"Akaashi I'm-"

"There is no need to apologize Bokuto-san. I am doing just fine and there is no guarantee that Y/N is coming back." Keiji knew he was lying, but the way those words effortlessly came out of his mouth made him think otherwise. He has told himself this lie over and over again that it sounded like the truth.

Back home, Keiji took out his phone to scroll through his gallery. He knew by heart where those screenshots of your conversations were. He started looking at them.

»»---------------------► Sept. 12th

"Heeeeey Keiji I just saw this cool painting of flowers the other day! I remember how much you loved hydrangeas! They always made your eyes pop heh"

"That sounds nice Y/N"

"You know I always think of my best friend Keiji ;)"

"Of course I do. I do the same"read 11:17pm

»»---------------------► Dec. 17th

"Hey...is everything alright there? We haven't talked in a while...I know we're both busy, but let's not let that stop us from talking!"

"Don't worry about that, but I have to go now. Sorry."

"Oh...that's okay...Take care Keiji"

"You too."read 10:47pm

»»---------------------►Feb. 8th

"Akaashi guess what! I'm moving back to Japan this year!! I can't wait to see you, I missed you so much..."seen 00:23am

»»---------------------►

Keiji would be lying if he said his heart didn't skip a beat when he saw your last text message. He didn't know how to feel. That childish glee he felt years before, while you were still here, warmed his heart and he didn't know how to react. The memories of your childhood adventures made him smile in remembrance, but was he ready for this? Were flowers blooming again in his heart?

»»---------------------►

The following day had an eerie feeling to it. Keiji wasn't sure what was happening, but it felt odd. He felt odd. Like there was a nest of angry crows battling inside of him. His head was hurting as well. Walking towards the gym, he felt as if he would pass out at any moment. Were you moving back to Japan? In the back of his mind, Keiji knew that neither his heart or his head was ready to see you again and confront you about his feelings. Maybe you were leaving a boyfriend behind. Maybe you even found a loving girlfriend. You were probably heartbroken that you had to leave your friends and move back here at such age. Was it necessary to list all the bad things about mo-

"Keiji?"

Just like a flower's bloom in spring, Keiji's heart fluttered at the sound of such a sweet and loving tone. To some, it was just an everyday voice that you could hear everywhere. To Keiji, it was a bird's chirp, a kid's giggle, a heart's warmth. There was no doubt in his mind that it was you.

"Y/N?" His eyes looked up and in the crowd of tall figures, he easily spots you. You grew up into a beautiful girl. Your face matured and so did your body. But your eyes...your eyes still held that mischievousness and happiness they had years ago when Keiji saw them filled with tears. That was a sight that haunted him for years as it was the last time Keiji saw you before your move. He couldn't have you walking out on him at the airport, your small body growing further and further away. It was a big bite to swallow for little Keiji.

But here you were, looking as beautiful as ever...with Konoha's arm over your shoulder? What even-

"Omg Keiji it's really you!" You smiled widely at the sight of your childhood friend, but your feet were planted firmly to where you were standing. You two kind of drifted apart these past few months, there was no doubt about it. He didn't even read your last message to him and you were so excited about moving back and possibly confessing to him. Would it be too much to run to him and hug him tightly? To feel all the emotions begging to be released on the surface as his arms tighten around you?

"Would it be that bad to feel your love again?"

»»---------------------►

There was no way in hell that Keiji was going to let you date Konoha. There was no problem with him or if he had a girlfriend, but it was not going to be you. It was official. You moved back to Japan for what seems forever, you were in Fukurodani and Konoha Akinori had a crush on you. Akaashi Keiji was jealous. That too was official.

Unfortunately for Keiji, you became close friends with the team so you frequented coming to practice a lot. Although the awkward silence that filled the gym whenever you and Keiji were in the same room wasn't easy to ignore, the team tried to let you two clear the air by yourselves. And no, Konoha did not have a crush on you, but he did have a plan. Make Akaashi so jealous that he has to confess to you to move on! That's right, Fukurodani does not meddle.

Konoha was pushing his limits very much and Keiji's tolerance was reaching a big, fat zero very fast. It wasn't until he bluntly asked you out on a date that Akaashi felt like waiting longer would mean losing you forever. Storming out of the gym with your forearm in his grasp, Keiji left the gym with a smirking Konoha behind.

"Akaashi- What is wrong with you!?" You pulled your arm out of his grip and stood your ground. "Who gave you the right to pull me out of there like that!?"

You were prepared with an onslaught of comments regarding his unusual behavior, but you bit your tongue. Why was he fuming in rage? There could've easily been steam coming out of his ears. But your words made him even angrier and sadder. What happened to calling him Keiji? To teasing him about how much you found his name gorgeous and fitting for such a guy like himself? You always brought a smile on his face whenever his name left your lips. Now, it was nowhere to be heard of.

He tried to calm himself down, but the years of keeping quiet and not having you around were too much for him to keep his usual calm demeanor. Turning around, he took a deep breath before opening his eyes to look at your shocked face. Taking a cautious step forwards, he took hold of your hands before continuing.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted Y/N back there. I'm also sorry for letting us drift apart." His mellow voice sounded out into the quiet, night background. There was no one in sight and Keiji felt it was easier to voice out his thoughts. "You can't imagine how much I missed you and wanted you to come back to me."

Tears were brimming in your eyes again, but this team Keiji was there to handle them when they fall.

"I love you Y/N...I did when we were kids and I...I still do now." His hand moved to wipe the stray tear slowly trickling down your face and he was quick to pull you into a hug. He was not letting you run away from him this time.

"Keiji w-why didn't you say anything before?"

He chuckled and that wonderful sound was music to your ears. "We were just kids back then. Nothing would've changed you moving away, wouldn't it?"

Keiji knew he was right. He may have doubted his decision before, but now it felt like it was the right thing to have waited this long. In the end, you were in his arms as both of you have already wanted and there was no doubt in his mind that this was exactly where you belong.

"You know what Keiji..," you moved away from his chest and lovingly took hold of his face. You couldn't have even dreamed about Keiji growing up into someone this handsome and beautiful. It was better than any painting your eyes saw of hydrangeas that reminded you of him. This in front of you, was a true piece of art. And you were happy to call it yours.

"I love you too Keiji...ever since we were kids."

No flowers were blooming in spring for Akaashi Keiji. Now, flowers were blooming in every season. In spring they were at their peak. In summer they were constantly with him and keeping him company. In autumn they would slowly start falling asleep and in winter there has always been this one flower that survived the harsh weather and snow that keeps blooming only for him. And that flower will always be you.

[changingourdestiny]

Season of the Hunt Finale: A True Hunter

Summary:

It’s finally over. The Celebrant is defeated. Spider no longer has a hold on Crow. The only left question is now what?

Previous Part: Here

Spider let out a small growl as he heard the laughter of the four Guardians outside the lair. He muttered a curse in Eliksni as he sat back in his chair.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Spider’s attention snapped to his left as Marcia decloaked, leaning against a pile of crates that were stacked against the wall. The guards went to raise their spears, but Spider raised a hand, stopping them. “What do you want, Marcia?” Spider growled, “I’m not in the mood for your ‘antics’.”

“I’ll say.” Marcia chuckled, “I just snuck in to see the end result of Paralight’s one-on-one with the Celebrant. Y’know, you always talk about how Drifter and I can’t seem to keep our mouths shut…and yet it was your big mouth that got your ‘little bird’ taken away. “Anything in the lair.” Honestly, how did you think that would end?”

Spider narrowed his eyes at Marcia as she stood up straight, “But if you want me to be honest here…I came here to give you a titbit of advice.”

“And that is…?”

Marcia’s expression turned serious, “Don’t underestimate Rae. She ain’t the same Guardian that walked in here two years ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well first off, she seems to be taking my advice. She’s started making her own rules and is starting to find things out for herself instead of taking the Vanguard’s word for granted. She’s beginning to think for herself. Secondly, and honestly more seriously, she’s got a new trick now.”

“Yes, yes, I’m aware of Stasis.” Spider replied dismissively.

“Not Stasis.”

Spider seemed intrigued as Marcia continued, “She calls it Darknebula. And from what I can tell, it works in the opposite way to Starlight.”

“Explain.”

“Starlight is triggered by the desire to protect and preserve life. Darknebula works in the opposite way: it’s triggered by the desire to kill and destroy it.” Marcia explained, “Basically, if someone was to, oh I don’t know…maybe anger her to the point of her wanting to completely annihilate them – whether she realises it or not – she becomes a feral killing machine that doesn’t stop until the source of that desire is dead. This is a warning, Spider. If she’s done following the Vanguard’s rules and you push her too far, it’s game over for you. I’ve seen that form first-hand when she was up against Eramis. Now the kell of Salvation is an ice sculpture on Europa.”

Spider just hmphed in response, “If she kills me, she loses her best ally on the Shore.”

Marcia laughed, “Oho, really? I look forward to seeing you try to tell that to a feral, acting-on-instinct Rae who has lost all sense of logic and reasoning. Hell, I’ll be impressed if you get more than a word out!” Marcia began to walk out, “Like I said, just a lil’ bit of advice for ya. Take it if ya want. See ya!”

Spider grumbled as he leaned back in his chair, watching the rogue leave.

“I hate that Hunter…”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a few weeks since the High Celebrants defeat. Spider had sent an engineer to remove the explosives from Glint’s shell, officially ending his hold on Crow and his Ghost. However, there were still remaining Wrathborns lurking in the Shore and the Dreaming City, so Crow had remained in the lair to aid Paralight in wiping them out. The last of them had finally been wiped out and the cryptoliths had begun to decay without the Celebrant maintaining them. The hunt had finally come to a close.

Crow leaned on his workbench, deep in thought, but was pulled out by his vision suddenly going dark as two hands covered his eyes from behind.

“Guess who!”

“Rae?” Crow guessed with a smirk, “No, wait. It’s Marcia!”

“I don’t smell that bad!”

“Ha! I know it’s you, Blaze.”

Blaze removed her hands from Crow’s eyes and plopped her head on his shoulder, “Yup!” Crow poked Blaze’s forehead, “Bang.”

“Gah! Crow has killed the Celebrant! Curse you, Guardiaaaaans!” Blaze dramatically sunk to the floor while Crow laughed at her performance before motioning to her armour, “New look?”

Blaze’s usual blue and gold armour had been swapped for red and gold armour, a bit similar to her very first set. Her cloak, gloves and skirt looked like fiery feathers with her boots matching the upper half of her armour. “Yeah. I’d been sticking with blue and gold for a while now.” Blaze replied, “Figured I should switch it up a little.”

“It suits you.” Crow smiled. “Thanks.” Blaze grinned, a small blush appearing on her face, as the two leaned against the table with a sigh. “I suppose this is it.” Crow said with a sense of finality, “Time to say goodbye to the Reef. To the only home I've ever known.”

“Yeah…” Blaze sighed, “It’s weird. It’s been three months, but it feels like only a few days ago we met on the moon. Now it’s over.” The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment before Blaze spoke up again, “So what are you going to do now?”

“I’ve given it some thought.” Crow replied, “Osiris actually came by earlier and we talked for a while about my plans for the future. I told him I'd considered exploring somewhere remote, like Venus, but he suggested a different course."

“What’s that?”

Crow held his head up high, “I’m coming to the Tower.”

Blaze’s eyes widened as she stood up straight, “F-for real?”

Crow nodded with a smile, “People may judge the man I was, but I refuse to cower in the shadow of his legacy. I'm a Guardian. I need to act like one. I also talked to Rae about it. She suggested joining a Fireteam and…I’ve decided to join Paralight.”

Blaze’s eyes lit up at this before lunging at Crow, wrapping her arms around him as she let out a squeal of delight. Crow stumbled back a bit before steadying himself, letting out a chuckle as he returned the hug. “That’s great! You won’t regret it, I promise!”

“I know I won’t. I’m still a bit anxious about showing my face in the Tower, but I think I’ll be okay with you and the others.” Crow cupped Blaze’s cheek and gave her a brief kiss before touching his forehead to hers, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Crow.”

 The two pulled away upon hearing footsteps approach the workshop. A moment later, Rae and Adam entered wearing new armour of their own. Rae had cut her hair, so it looked similar to her Kinderguardian hairstyle. She now wore pink, purple and blue robes with the Stasis symbol on the skirt and metal, layered shoulder pads. She also wore a black and white bond that had a spade projection. Adam wore armour that was several shades of white and blue with a white furry collar. “Looks like you’re not the only one with a new look.” Crow noted as the two Guardians entered. “Yeah.” Rae laughed, rubbing the back of her neck, “I figured since I’m the Stasis Vanguard now, I should look like it.”

Crow turned to Adam, “And you?”

“Everyone was getting new looks, and I didn’t want to feel left out.” Adam shrugged. “Suuuure. It TOTALLY isn’t to impress a certain Awoken in the Dreaming City or anything.” Blaze chuckled. “Hardy har.” Adam rolled his eyes. Rae laughed at the two’s banter before turning to Crow, “So, you ready to go?”

“Almost. Osiris wanted to meet me before I arrive.” Crow replied, “Said he had something to give me.”

Rae nodded in understanding, “We’ll meet you in the Tower courtyard then. See you starside, Guardian.”

“See you starside.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you think Osiris wanted to give Crow?”

Rae stood in the courtyard with her Fireteam and the rest of the Vanguard. “If I had to make a guess…” Ikora gave a small smirk, “A lengthy lecture on the importance of being a Guardian.”

“That tracks!” Rae giggled. “Ikora had to get it from somewhere!” Cayde added, earning a laugh from Blaze. Ikora glared at Cayde and Blaze, who ducked behind Adam for protection from any potential incoming nova bombs.

“Oh helvete nej! I am not being your meat shield!” Adam walked away from the cowering Hunters.

“H-hey! What happened to Titans protecting others?” Cayde stammered.

“Not from angry Ikoras! I doubt even Shaxx would stand in the way of Ikora when she’s angry.”

“VERY TRUE!!” Shaxx yelled from the other side of the courtyard.

As the group continued their banter, Blaze noticed a figure emerge from the hangar entrance walking towards them. There was Crow, now wearing a short black and white cloak with a white crow displayed on it. Under it, his usual black scale-like armour was now white along with matching boots and now wore grey trousers. “How do I look?” Crow asked as he approached Blaze. “Like a true Hunter.” She smiled. Zavala stepped forward, “Welcome to the Tower, Guardian.”

“Thank you. I won’t let you down.” Crow nodded.

“Well before we do anything…” Cayde began, a serious tone to his voice, “There’s one important thing we need to do.”

“True, true.” Blaze agreed. “W-what? What’s wrong?” Crow asked, glancing between the two Hunters with concern.

“…INITIATION!!!” Cayde and Blaze yelled in unison as they both grabbed the arms of a very confused Crow and began leading him towards Tower’s Spicy Ramen. “We better go make sure they don’t cause trouble.” Rae chuckled. “I feel like that’s always a given when it comes to those two.” Ikora replied as she began walking back to her post.

 The rest of the evening was spent at Spicy Ramen, celebrating Crow joining the ranks of the Guardians. Crow still thought the noodles looked like worms but eventually gave in after some peer pressure from Blaze and Cayde and ended up enjoying it. They shared stories of their own embarrassing Kinderguardian moments, from Cayde falling off a cliff moments after his first revival to Paralight getting caught in a Benny Hills-style case with two minotaurs and a flock of harpies on Venus after running out of ammo while their Ghosts continued their scan. They also told stories of their greatest victories such as Adam’s infamous swordfight with Crota after Rae and Blaze were downed. Blaze and Crow joined in by telling them about how they both fended off Savathûn’s forces while trying to restore Hawkmoon. Slowly, Crow felt the anxiety of arriving at the Tower wash away. He knew there would still be Guardians who would hate him for his past self’s mistakes, despite what the Vanguard would say to them. He knew of the possible dangers awaiting him with the Darkness looming throughout the system. He knew of the certain chaos running with this trio of misfits would bring. But right now, he didn’t care. In that moment, he was surrounded by friends – his friends – laughing and sharing stories together. They knew of what his old self did, he could see it in their eyes, yet they still accepted him for who he was now. He knew who he was. And he knew who he would always be.

A Hunter.

A Guardian.

 Crow.

 End of Season of the Hunt.