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dndeceit · 1 month ago

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Based on this fic prompt from @monkeythefander:

An AU where Janus adopts a baby or child naga. Whether the naga is from the imagination and needs a parent, or you imagine a completely different alternate universe for the setting is up to you.

(I will most likely post this to AO3 later, but for now I'm not letting myself post anything new there until I've finished the 100k word monstrosity of a WIP I currently have sitting on its last chapter...)

Title: Accidental Noodle Acquisition Category: Gen Rating: T Characters: Janus, Roman. Warnings: Canon-typical alcohol mention, off-screen violence and monster death, mention of the "baby orc dilemma", minor blood drinking (but it's cute). Wordcount: 1,831

Janus didn't know what he might have expected when he heard the knock at his door. If it had come earlier in the evening, he might have thought it was Patton, possibly coming to cajole him into more bonding. Or Logan, perhaps, with some possibly important matter that might conceivably require his attention. Remus could appear at any hour, of course, but Remus never knocked. And Virgil-

Well. Once upon a time, a late night visit from Virgil had been something he might possibly have looked forward to. But it had been a very long time...

And Roman, notably, hadn't even been on his list of guesses. If someone had asked Janus, just that morning, he would have confidently told them that Roman would no doubt have nobly bled to death rather than seek Janus's input, advice, or aid for anything (save, perhaps, in the unlikely scenario in which Thomas's life might have depended on it). And yet here he was, nearing midnight, standing at his door, looking into the (admittedly harried-looking) face of the prince himself.

So, quite naturally, his first impulse was to simply shut the door again.

"No, wait-"

Roman shoved back against the door, wedging his foot in the doorway to keep him from closing it. Janus glanced down at it, then back up at the prince. Their eyes met, and Janus raised an eyebrow, an unspoken challenge, as if to say 'Do you think that will stop me?' And for a moment Roman's eyes widened into something hilariously close to panic. And Janus slowly, slowly began to push back—just in case Roman actually thought he wouldn't—only for Roman to bring him up short with a single, unexpected word.

"Please."

(Because, again, if he had been asked just that morning, Janus would have confidently said that Roman would rather cut out his own tongue than ever ask him for anything, much less say please.)

And Janus was stunned, but he did his level best not to show it. Looking over the prince once again he took in the other's state, which he had noted only briefly before. He had assumed, at first glance, that it was simply the signs of tiredness—the result of the breakneck overwork that both twins were prone to when strongly inspired, or else the rakishly applied signs of heroic wear that the prince often wore like a badge of honor after a successful stint of adventuresome brainstorming in the depths of Thomas's imagination. But, upon closer inspection, Janus realized that Roman was not merely mussed, but noticeably disheveled. His clothes were not their typically pristine white, marred by far more dirt and damage than was usual from his returns, nor his hair styled to the other's usual standards. His jacket hung oddly on his shoulders, as if his arm was behind held close to his chest beneath it and-

And there was blood on his boots...

Which...Janus could hardly say that was a sight he considered particularly shocking (dealing with Remus for so long had served to make him impressively difficult to shock), but it was certainly surprising coming from the usually pressed and presentable prince.

Janus was, he could admit to himself, mildly concerned. But more importantly, now he was also curious.

"You have one minute," Janus said, letting up his pressure on the door.

He was...only appropriately amused watching Roman sag with relief.

"Thank you, I-" he cut himself off, his relief suddenly hidden behind a frown as if he were only just remembering who he was talking to.

And he might have taken further time to collect himself for whatever it was he had actually meant to say, but the tense silence that had hardly even had the chance to settle was abruptly shattered by...a noise. One which, Janus was alarmed to realize, was coming from the misshapen bundle pushing out the fabric of Roman's coat beneath his sash.

And now Janus was shocked, because that sounded like-

"Is that-" Janus stared hard, actually squinting, but that didn't make the lump vanish, nor did it make the sound go away. "Do you have a baby?"

"Will you please let me explain?"

And there was that word again, fairly dripping with frantic desperation. Resigned, Janus let out a sigh, opening the door slightly.

"Alright," Janus said, finally. "You now have five minutes. And this is definitely a conversation we should be having in the hallway."

From the gratitude he saw on Roman's face as he slipped through the door, Janus might almost have been deluded into forgetting that the two of them despised each other.

Once the door was shut, Roman pulled his jacket open, clearly so that he could hold the...child more comfortably. And Janus found himself staring, more disarmed than he could ever recall feeling in his life, as he took in the form of the very small infant nestled in the prince's arms. The soft, round cheeks dusted with small, dark scales, the tiny squinting eyes hiding a golden glimmer-

And the long, black-scaled coils, flecked with green, wound tightly around Roman's arm.

"What-"

"Logan talked Remus and I into collaborating in the imagination," Roman put out in a rush, apparently taking Janus at his word regarding the time limit. "And everything was going great—I mean, it was a bit...rougher, than it usually is—but we finally triumphed over the monster and then-"

And Roman was staring down at the small creature curled up in his arms, looking so lost that Janus could almost laugh. He could almost picture it...

"Yes, a suddenly orphaned baby monster does sound like the sort of twist Remus would be amused to add," Janus reasoned.

"Anyway, we kind of got into an argument about it?" Roman continued. "About monsters, and...something he called the 'Baby Orc Dilemma'? And he said that if I really felt that strongly about vanquishing beasts, then I should just- Um. Kill it. But then he pointed out that even if I didn't, it was just going to die if we left it behind, and I-"

"But why bring it to me?" Janus asked, not particularly liking the direction in which all of this was going.

"You know why," Roman said. "Do you think I know anything about raising snakes?"

"Do you think I know anything about raising a baby?" Janus asked in return. "Most reptiles don't even rear their young."

"Please?" Roman asked him again.

Janus's eye twitched. This time, it wasn't going to work.

"It's your orphan," Janus said, watching Roman wince. "Shouldn't this be your responsibility?"

"What am I going to do if Patton finds out that I orphaned a baby?"

He sounded terrified. And Janus supposed he couldn't blame him. While he would hardly admit it to anyone, he wasn't quite as impervious to Patton's disappointment as he used to be.

"One of the others, then?"

"Logan would refuse to keep it a secret," Roman argued, "which would mean still having to tell Patton where the baby came from. And if I tried to pass something like this off on Virgil he'd probably explode just from the stress."

Which Janus had to admit was fair enough.

"What about Remus?" Janus tried. "It was his plot twist, after all."

Roman just looked at him, and Janus didn't bother to argue further. It had been a hopeless attempt anyway. He doubted that Remus would hurt the child. On purpose. But he might easily let the responsibility slip his mind in favor of something else more exciting. To say nothing of what Remus might think was appropriate to feed the little thing...

Which brought to mind the question of what the infant would even eat this young. Examining it closely, he decided they were almost certainly too young to be chewing solid foods...and probably too small to be swallowing any sort of prey whole. On the other hand, it wasn't as if a snake was going to be able to give milk...

And then there was the related question of how long it had been since it had last eaten. The baby seemed to be growing increasingly fussy during their discussion.

"Janus, please," Roman tried a final time. "You won't even have to take care of it forever. Just give me...maybe a week. Just one week to come up with some kind of solution, then we can send them back to the imagination. Okay?"

Janus tried to hold firm, but Roman grit his teeth.

"And we both know this is the best blackmail material you're ever going to get out me," Roman added flatly.

Which...Janus could have debated. He thought that Roman was underestimating his own ability to get himself into predicaments, but he decided not to say so out loud. And he certainly couldn't say he wasn't tempted by the possibilities that having this kind of dirt on Roman might offer down the line. Rather than respond, he instead looked down to where the baby was trying, with surprising single-mindedness, to pull Roman' fingers into their mouth. With a sigh, he reached out and lifted the child into his own arms.

"You said this was one of Remus's monsters, yes?" Janus asked.

"Yes? Why-"

Janus gently lifted the baby's lip, revealing a pair of tiny, pearly fangs sticking out from their gums. Not quite the sort that you would find on a viper, not the kind meant for injecting venom, but they were definitely sharp. If he allowed himself to think like Remus for just a moment, he thought he had the answer figured out. Holding the child securely he brought out his spare arms and, with a free hand, he pulled off one of his many gloves. He offered his finger to the fussing child, which promptly pulled it into their mouth...

And promptly bit down.

Though he was expecting the pain Janus let out a soft hiss. But the child at last began to quiet as they started to suckle happily. Roman, meanwhile, seemed much more phased than he was. In fact, he looked rather pale.

"Oh, what the f-"

"You have one week," Janus said, shoving the prince toward the door.

And Roman was still so off-balance that he let him.

Once the door was shut, Janus took the child and sat down in his chair. He glanced at the glass of wine he had poured earlier with some amount of longing.

"You're just lucky you're so devilishly handsome," he informed the child solemnly.

He gave the infant a soft boop on the nose with one finger while another hand dismissed the beverage from his glass with a wave, replacing the contents with cranberry juice instead. Between the loss of his wine and the sleep he was about to lose caring for a child, he was about to be so irritable, and the other sides would deserve every minute of it.

This was fine, though. After all, it was only for a week.

#sanders sides #janus sanders #roman sanders #sanders sides fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #short fic #my fanfiction #misc fic #post to ao3 later

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afrotumble · 2 months ago

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August 2, 1967, "In the Heat of the Night" was released. Sidney Poitier insisted that the movie be filmed in the North because of an incident in which he and Harry Belafonte were almost killed by Ku Klux Klansmen during a visit to Mississippi. That is why Sparta, Illinois, was chosen for location filming. Nevertheless, the filmmakers and actors did venture briefly into Tennessee for the outdoor scenes at the cotton plantation, because there was no similar cotton plantation in Illinois that could be used. Poitier slept with a gun under his pillow during production in Tennessee. He did receive threats from local racist thugs, so the shoot was cut short and production returned to Illinois.

The story was set in a hot Mississippi summer, but filmed during autumn in Illinois, many of the actors had to keep ice chips in their mouths (and spit them out before takes) to prevent their breath from appearing on camera during the night scenes.

Several scenes in the film of Virgil and Gillespie facing each other were shot over Sidney Poitier''s shoulder, looking down at Rod Steiger, emphasizing the 4 1/2 inch difference in their heights, and giving Virgil a subtle feeling of superiority.

This was the first major Hollywood film in color that was lit with proper consideration for an actor with dark skin. Haskell Wexler recognized that standard lighting used in filming produced too much glare on most black actors and others of dark complexion. He toned down the lighting to feature Poitier with better results.

#sidney poitier #film #race #north #south #usa

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the-siphonophore · 2 months ago

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Small rant:

One of the most frustrating things about being transmasc is the infantilization. I'm below 25yrs of age, and pre-everything. Everyone older than me talks down to me, half my peers do as well, I'm kind of tall but even so, everyone who's said something about it has said I'm like a kid or younger sibling to them. 90% of appearance compliments are that I'm "cute" even from all the folk that genuinely support me as trans. I'm everyone's sweet baby boy and tbh I'm sick of it. It's not that I think I'm big and scary, or super super charismatic, I'm just a guy and I want to be treated like one. It makes it hard to want to show my (very copious) delight and affection towards the world when it's met with an example of equivellent of "awww you have such a cute button nose!!"

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the-siphonophore · 5 days ago

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Our body was born with several folks in. Systemhood can be innate

yall correct me if I'm wrong but isn't syspunk/punk in general like accept ppl if they aren't hurting anyone?

SO WHAT IS THIS:

(I'm not gonna do a image ID for all of the tags, but some notable ones are #syspunk and #anti endo are like right next to eachother...? and the last one is "#endos are ableist" like WHAT)

#tw syscourse #cw syscourse #pro endo #plurality #system stuff #pluralgang #punk #oh and yes #punk IS about being kind to people who aren't hurting others #i am punk and can confirm that excluding people is not the movement #pluralpunk #endo safe #🌇#🌑#virgil appears briefly

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halfhissandwich · 7 months ago

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@analoginceweek Day One: Library/Theater

“Oh c’mon, please?”

“I’ll be honest, the confidence in ‘the scariest of all the scary stories’ is intriguing.” The prince nods along with Virgil, somewhat interested in the book the emo is holding, despite his usual distaste in the horror genre.

Logan cringes slightly. “I don’t know…” He begins nervously, clenching his fists. “It doesn’t make sense to read a book designed to distress the reader…”

Roman and Virgil smile widely at Logan’s reaction. Seeing Logan express this much emotion is rare, but not at all unwelcome. Roman places his hand on Logan’s shoulder with a smile, unable to resist the temptation to tease him. “It’s okay if you’re scared, Logan. Your strong knight will protect you, you know that right?” Logan’s face flushes at the half-teasing half-genuine reminder, gently shoving the prince away while Virgil laughs.

“Come on! I listened to you two yap about fairy tales and textbooks, please just throw me a bone!” Virgil asks pleadingly, leading Logan to briefly consult his notecards before nodding with understanding.

“Oh, alright. Fine.” Logan agrees, enjoying the look of glee that appears on Virgil’s face as the latter quickly gets comfortable beside the others and opens the book. Roman also smiles at the sight of Virgil being so excited to share his interest with them… until Logan is clutching his hand in nervous anticipation. Roman rolls his eyes with a smile, holding Logan’s hand as the two of them listen to Virgil read.

#sanders sides #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #analogical #logince #prinxiety #analogince #analoginceweek2024 #I’m not a fan of writing #but I tried!

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gumnut-logic · 7 months ago

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Talk No.1 (Bit 2)

Alexander Sweetapple series | Talk - No. 1 - Bit 1 , Bit 2

Here is some more :D I was willing and ready to keep writing but I have work today ::pouts::

I hope you enjoy.

-o-o-o-

The morning sunlight was glaring but warming in the cold brisk air. Around him the Māhia facility was a buzz of activity, mostly workmen hammering and hollering at each other as the new labs facility emerged where his former workspace had crumbled. It was an energising atmosphere. Change, for good or bad, was still change, and it offered new points of view and new inspiration.

And, of course, it didn’t hurt to return to Māhia with such a big change in his own life.

In all honesty, he was just really happy.

He trotted across the grounds towards the main offices, at one point glancing off in the direction of the landing strip to see if he could spot a Thunderbird.

No such luck, so he guessed Mr Tracy…Scott…had arrived in one of their private jets. He briefly wondered why he had dropped in and why he wanted to see Alex. Virgil had called him last night, with only a hint of checking up on him. He was learning that Tracys were much like Tracy Industries, a bunch of caring people who did their best to look after those close to them.

Close.

He grinned a little goofily.

He was close to Virgil Tracy.

It was with that wonderful thought that had him almost skipping into the offices and down the hall to Tia’s.

He was brought up short, however, when instead of finding Tia’s PA seated outside, another familiar and efficient woman sat there instead.

“Hello, Mr Sweetapple. It is nice to see you again.” Carly, Mr Tracy’s PA, smiled at him knowingly.

Well, it seemed knowingly. There was a sparkle in her eye that just said, ‘I know what you’ve been up to, Mr Sweetapple’. Whether she approved or not was not clear, but she knew.

Everything.

“Hi.”

“Mr Tracy is finishing up with the Director. Please take a seat and he’ll be with you in a moment.”

Alex blinked. This was the first time he’d seen Mr Tracy in a formal setting since leaving Tracy Island. On Tracy Island, Scott appeared to shed the ‘Mr Tracy’ persona and relaxed.

Alex had seen him joking and laughing, messing with his youngest brother’s hair, and there may have been a prank involving blue shampoo and Gordon.

To be honest, Alex wasn’t sure if Scott had been the victim or the perpetrator. After all, Gordon had also ended up with blue hair and because he was blond, the blue stood out much more than what had taken to the few silver hairs Scott sported.

That morning had been interesting. A little eye opening to see both brothers running around in towels yelling at each other - the athleticism had definitely been an eyeful. It had taken Mrs Tracy to bring the ruckus to a halt. Alex’s mum had been giggling so much, a presence the two Tracy men had obviously forgotten and there was a lot of red face to match the blue hair.

Alex himself had been curled up on the sofa with both his breakfast and Virgil, and had kept quiet in order to not remind them of his existence. Though his eyes had nearly fallen out of his head in the process.

The situation was not one he thought he would ever encounter.

Virgil had just rolled his eyes and smiled at Alex, probably at Alex’s expression, and kept on eating.

Let’s just say that Scott Tracy at home was vastly different to Scott Tracy in a professional capacity.

He swallowed and settled into the chair as Carly returned to doing whatever it was she was doing with her tablet.

Alex tried his best not to wear the corner of his tablet cover off with his fidgeting.

TBC

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #alexander sweetapple #scott tracy #nuttyfic #he gets there eventually :D

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i-t-guy-in-the-sky · 9 months ago

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Tracy Log: 03/08/2066

RESCUE REPORT:

Call received at 13:26, reports of a rambler trapped in an abandoned missile silo some 8 meters below ground.

Call sent by companion (uninjured) stating that the victim had climbed to the apex of the hill- created after the covering of the shelter entrance- in order to film a segment for their YouTube channel.

Upon reaching the top they started filming but the ground they were standing on began to shift, having become unstable due to nearby building work causing heavy flooding in the area.

The platform upon which they were standing -which doubled as a the lid to the silo- crumbled and they fell straight down into the silo.

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 deployed with Scott, Virgil, and Gordon aboard.

Victim knocked unconscious on impact, and didn't regain consciousness until Scott reached the danger zone.

Scott used our jetpack technology to lower himself down in order to assess the victim and secure them for transport.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the fall and the subsequent injuries, although victim regained consciousness briefly, they were in too much pain. Scott issued painkillers to make them more comfortable, but they succumbed to their injuries before Scott or the team on Thunderbird 2 were able to help.

Reports will be sent, along with our video footage, to the local police force for processing and our standard letter of condolence, as well as resources, has been sent to the bereaved.

END REPORT.

John leaned back, allowing the freedom of Zero-G to support his body as he pressed save on his screen and swiped it away.

He could still hear, could still see, the devastation on his brother's face as he reported that their mission had not been successful. Scott had tried to stay businesslike, to report the facts as they appeared, but John knew it was never that easy.

He watched every rescue as standard, ready to help in any way he could, and he had heard the laboured breathing of the victim, their pain filled crying and the wheezing, rattle in their chest.

They had asked Scott for help and he had promised them he would get them out of there. And he had, he'd helped the only way he could, by making them comfortable and holding their hand as their life had slipped away. And then he'd done his job and gotten them out as promised, just not in the way any of them would have wished.

Losses were inevitable, and they were lucky enough that they didn't have to deal with them that often, but that just made it all the harder when it did.

He wanted to be down there to support his brother, knowing he would be beating himself up about it even though there was nothing anyone could have done, but he still had to file the report with the local authorities and alert the bereavement counsellor they kept on retainer in case the victim's family were in need and couldn't provide their own.

Still, he had a secret weapon that he was merciless in deploying when a situation called for it, and this was definitely that situation.

He pulled up his screen again and touched the little symbol of a witch’s hat.

-x-

Scott’s eyes flew open as the first pounding notes of a song blasted through the speaker system of the lounge.

There went his peace and quiet. Couldn't a man brood alone in this house without some idiot feeling the need to disturb him?

“Why am I not surprised?” he bitched when his sister-in-law slid into the room and struck a dramatic pose. Please don't let her start to sing. He loved her but his temples were already throbbing and he didn't think his nerves could take it.

Thankfully -if you could count that- she stuck to lip syncing along as Tina Turner blasted out her most famous number.

“I call you when I need you, my heart's on fire,” Selene mimed, holding her hands over her heart as she rocked back and forth on the spot. “You come to me, come to me wild and wild.” She gestured to him to stand up and join her, but he folded his arms and resolutely refused, he wasn't in the mood for such silliness. A man had just died, did she not understand that?

“When you come to me, give me everything I need,” Selene continued as if he wasn't glaring a hole into her, she just gyrated on the spot, her head bobbing. “Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams, speak a language of love like you know what it means.”

She settled into a power pose stance and prepared for the first big moment of the song.

“Mmm, and it can't be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, baby…” She paused in her bouncing sway to make sure he was paying attention before she belted out the words along with Tina.

“You're simply the best!” She pointed her finger directly in his face. “Better than all the rest.” Powerful head pumping. “Better than anyone.” Arms swaying above her head. “Anyone I've ever met.”

She clutched her hands to her heart as she swayed along to the words, miming along for all she was worth. She knew how to give a rousing performance and he deserved it.

“I'm stuck on your heart

I hang on every word you say.”

“No you don't,” Scott argued, but he was beginning to feel a little amused.

“Tear us apart,” Selene mimed then stuck her tongue out at him. “Baby, I would rather be dead.”

Scott's lips twitched, just a tiny bit, but she saw it and knew that she'd got him. He was hers now.

She moved closer until she was directly in front of him and carried on lip syncing along, pantoming the moves.

“In your heart, I see the star of every night and every day.”

She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to his feet, ignoring his protests.

“In your eyes, I get lost, I get washed away.”

She kept hold of his hand, but stretched out their arms so that she could spin herself in against his chest in what she thought was the slickest move ever. He automatically grabbed on, holding her in case she fell.

“Just as long as I'm here in your arms, I could be in no better place…”

She wound up to the next line, tipped her head back onto his shoulder, eyes closed as she belted out the words like a woman possessed. “You're simply the best.”

She swayed from side to side, forcing him to move with her or lose his balance. “Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met.”

She felt the shaking of his shoulders as he started to laugh, but she couldn't hear much over the music. Not that that mattered, she knew her plan was working.

“Ooh, I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say.”

She wound her way out of his arms again in true ballroom dancing fashion but kept hold of his hand.

"Don't tear us apart,no, no, no. Baby, I would rather be dead!”

Scott span her again and she latched her arms around his neck, moving together now. This time he joined in, actually singing, which she now joined in with, uncaring as to how bad she sounded.

“Each time you leave me, I start losing control,

You're walking away with my heart and my soul.

I can feel you even when I'm alone, oh baby, don't let go!”

They danced a haphazard path around the coffee table and up the steps to a clear spot of floor just in time for the next part. They bounced around, Scott mimed playing a saxophone as Selene did her best Tina Turner gyrations -if the woman herself could move like that in her 70s Selene had no excuse to let the said down.

“Ooh, you're the best, ooh.”

Arms were waved as they sang. Selene had managed to grab Kayo's discarded hairbrush off a side table and was using it in her best teenage girl sleepover fashion.

“Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met.”

Scott took her outstretched hand and wound his fingers through hers, allowing her to swing his arm around as they sang the next lines.

“Ooh, I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say. Don't tear us apart, no, no, Baby, I would rather be dead!”

She let go of his hand and threw her head back to scream the next line.

“You're the best!”

They broke apart to dance on their own as the music pumped winding up for the finale. Scott was fully in the grove now, his face losing the haggard sadness she'd seen when she'd first entered the room. They were karaoke masters, they knew how to match actions to the words and they did it with style.

"Ooh, you're simply the best. Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, Anyone I've ever met!”

They bounced on the spot, singing at the top of their lungs, heads thrown back as they let the music and the fun of the moment wash away the disappointment and sadness of the day.

“I'm stuck on your heart, baby. I hang on every word you say.” Heads bobbed, fingers clicked, booties shimmied, hips gyrated as they let themselves go. “Don't tear us apart, no, no, no. Baby, I would rather be dead!”

Selene was very out of breath now, and why shouldn't she be, she been carrying this performance after all, but he was worth it. They bounced back together again, and she grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight to make sure he was fully understanding the reason behind her song choice.

“Oh, you're the best. You're better than all the rest

Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met.”

She locked eyes with him as the song wound down and spoke the last words directly to her very best friend in the entire world, and thankfully he was right there with her. “Ooh, you're the best.”

She was there to catch him in a huge hug as the music died away, leaving them panting for breath. The man could run the length of the island but make him dance and he'd be puffing like an old steam train in minutes.

“Beer?” she offered, kissing the top of his head where he'd faceplanted her shoulder.

It took him a moment, but finally he mumbled, “Yeah, that’d be good. Thanks.” That last word meant everything to her and told her that he appreciated her efforts more than he would probably admit.

She nodded and gave him another squeezy hug before she let him go, confident that she'd made her point. He was the best, the best brother, the best friend and the best rescuer out there. And whenever he doubted himself she'd be there to kick his arse until he realised the error of his ways.

-x-

John smiled to himself as he watched the live lounge feed. His wife was certainly unconventional in her approach but she got the job done.

And, until he could get home he knew his brother was in the best hands now. She'd make sure that he remembered that he was the best.

#thunderbirds are go #john tracy #thunderbirds 2015 #thunderbirdsarego #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #selene tempest #scott tracy #international rescue #bad day #you cant save everyone

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ro-valerius · 2 months ago

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Virgil is Fucking Stupid

What? He is...

Collab write with @ffxiv-f13ndish [Virgil and Miyu] and @sorrel-haven [Odetta and Luluci]

Virgil didn’t get to talking about what he came over for right away, giving Tofu more time to readjust – not that he believed that Tofu was fragile enough where he needed the time to rest. Really, it was difficult to discuss business with someone when his sister was fawning over him the whole time. Though she didn’t quite seem as he knew her… This must be the voidsent woman she housed.

Once Tofu was settled, Virgil took a seat across from him, Fa-el beginning to make her way to the stairs now that she was no longer needed.

“Now then, I’m sure you’re aware of Nhagi’s association with voidsents. I have a proposal on hunting it down. I have a method of tracking the voidsent within her – the same which may consume it from her being entirely,” Virgil began, sitting back in his chair as he awaited Tofu’s response.

Fa-el paused, then turned, making her way back over with slow, calculated footsteps. Seemed something Virgil said had caught her attention. There was something akin to fury in the pools of abyss that were her eyes, and her shrouded hands clenched into fists briefly. She kept her gaze steadily on the deteriorating elezen, a cold expression on her face. She hopped up to sit on the dining table between them, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back on her hands.

“I cannot allow you to let that voidsent be consumed by anyone but me. Nor do I appreciate the implication that you do not believe me capable of tracking down my own… subordinate,” she said, leaning over and hooking a finger under Virgil’s chin to bring his gaze to her eyes.

“Ah, Fa-el, so nice of you to deign to speak to us,” Tofu remarked dryly. “Do try not to antagonize our guest.” Fa-el turned an impish grin towards Tofu with a shrug, removing her hand from Virgil’s proximity.

“If you insist, pretty boy,” she said.

Virgil tilted his head in interest.

“So you can speak, then. I hadn’t been certain of the nature of your… development,” the elezen remarked. “And it seems you are quite acquainted with the mage’s own little shadow. I cast no disregard to your abilities, though it does beg the question of why you haven’t made your mark yet. Fa-el, yes? A pleasure to speak with you directly.”

Fa-el scowled at him with a near-bored expression.

“Cannot say it is a pleasure to speak with you. As for why I have done nothing so far, Vira is quite adept at hiding her own aether, and I’m sure that woman that has consumed her has figured out how to use it to her own advantage. The question that I have is how that wretch managed to merge with my beloved so easily… Though that pixie’s revelation gives me something to ponder on that matter,” she said, though most of it was her own thinking out loud, while part of it was ‘I can go on and on, too, rat’.

“Yes, as far as she presents herself – it appears to be an efficient merge,” Virgil said, voice falling flat just a tad.

“Aw, jealous~?” she cooed lightly before Tofu smacked her in the arm.

“Behave.”

“No,” Virgil stated, a pause soon following. “I consider it to be more akin to an inpatient apprehension. I wish to understand her fully. Unfortunately, to dissect her would mean to catch her. As you have mentioned, she is adept at hiding her aether.”

Virgil leaned forward just a bit.

“You wish to consume your beloved. A lover’s spat? Or mere carnal hunger which your type tends to exhibit?”

Fa-el leaned towards him as well, her bored expression remaining.

“It is a mutual desire. We wish to become one, we were merely interrupted when those mages locked me inside this woman,” she corrected, leaning back.

“And it is good that you are not jealous, you should not be. Their joining… Either Vira will consume that woman, or I will consume Vira, the only uncertainty is which will happen first. While I have come to an accord with Fiora, a mutual understanding, Vira and that woman would not be able to come to a similar accord.”

A quick glance at Tofu could almost be overlooked, if she didn’t have to turn her head slightly to do so.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, his expression clearly indicating that he was done with her shit.

“Nothing~” she purred.

“A mutual understanding? And what would that be?” Virgil inquired, unconsciously tilting his head in the opposite direction now. Fa-el held a finger to her lips and winked, a hushed ‘later~’ barely audible.

Virgil stared back with a blank expression.

“You behave as if it is some sort of secret, but your stare at Tofu and this… cheeky response with him in the room infers that he has something to do with it. And from what I presume, there may not be many later conversations to be had, hm?” Virgil responded in an aloof manner.

Fa-el rolled her eyes; really, stuffy men were just no fun.

“Oh, his involvement is no secret, but the nature of it is between me and Fiora. And what makes you presume that there may not be many later conversations? I do hope you don’t think I’m going anywhere when all of this is over. Unless it is you who might not make it to the other side of this?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head.

“Fa-el, if you have nothing of use to say, stop making my sister’s body do things she would never do, it’s starting to weird me out a little,” Tofu interjected. Fa-el rolled her eyes again, though had the decency to give him a sheepish smile before turning back to Virgil, holding up one hand in a ‘go on’ gesture.

“Fine, then, have you any productive questions for me, elezen?” she asked.

“No. I don’t believe the concern of what is left and what is to survive applies to me in this situation,” Virgil responded with a weighted stare — not directed at Fa-el specifically, but to the individual the voidsent bonded to. “I do look forward to future conversations. It seems I have yet to bore you. I am not one to engage in games, however…”

“Would it not be a fascinating game to see who is consumed first? Be if you and your beloved, or them and the beast mage — or perhaps, between the maws of the artificial voidsent I have created myself?” Virgil drew out his last words intentionally, perhaps to hold the attention of the voidsent whom he spoke with.

“You insist you are very well capable of finding her. It should be no competition, as you insist — and yet you intercede on my suggestion. Do you not enjoy games, Fa-el?”

The laughter that erupted out of her bordered on the insulting, a hearty bellow that sounded odd in Fiora’s voice. She turned a toothy smile to Virgil, amused at the nature of his assumptions.

“Oh, you funny little man. There will be no other outcome. That woman will be eliminated, my beloved and I will be joined. When you brought up consumption before, I thought you had some actual, feasible plan behind it, but an artificial void creation?” she said, her voice light with mirth. She leaned towards him again, a glint even within the shrouded eyes.

“Darling, an insignificant little thing like you lacks the ability and understanding to create any void being strong enough to consume even Vira. And I am stronger than Vira by far. Your toy would do nothing against us, and I do not speak from overconfidence.” She leaned back, expression dropping as she eyed him.

“You would do to learn more of the source of your own endeavors rather than going about under-educated experimentation. That is why you are falling apart at the edges. That is why you are doomed to fail, and watch people like Fiora achieve the things you desire without detriment to themselves. You think your toy a success, but your toy is also doomed to failure.”

Virgil’s expression remained stagnant as the voidsent spoke down on him, his eyes icy and calculative while he observed Fa-el.

“A creature caught in an endless stream of time – knowing no beginning nor end – lest struck down prematurely. This is my beginning. My fall may be my creation… The timing is unfortunate presently, given prior agreements I’ve taken responsibility for. Nevertheless, I do intend to proceed to my next stage. You’ve had quite the stages to scale, Fa-el. After all, powerful as you may be, you’ve had your fall of vulnerability when you were interrupted and contained in a vessel,” Virgil responded.

There was a moment of softness in his gaze as his eyes fell.

“Dante… he grows stronger by the day. I sense no instability in him. All that falters is his mind. He continues to be my success. There’s promise in him, he just needs time.”

The stone cold wall of his gaze hardened once more as he met Fa-el’s own once more.

“Regardless of needless competition, it would benefit Tofu to have more than one hand on deck.”

“Do you not listen? Or do you lack the ability to comprehend? I am trying to help you. The way you are going about your ascension will cause you to lose the very things that make you who you are, you will lose the reason for becoming."

"As for your…Dante, while his body is stable, it is exactly his mind you should worry about. Lest he become a mindless thrall to the darkness, educate yourself so that you might still make a success out of him, educate yourself so that you might recall what it is you’re trying to become one with the void for once you achieve that goal. If you do not, you will both be lost,” she said, her eyes taking on a sad edge as she stood from the table.

She started to walk towards the stairs, but paused to look back at him.

“For someone who is supposed to be learned, you’re brash and reckless. It would be a shame to waste that mind of yours carelessly.” Then she continued up the stairs. Tofu buried his head in his hands.

“You both talk too much…” he grumbled.

Virgil went quiet in consideration of Fa-el’s words. He never fully evaluated Dante’s mind. What is to become of him? And what is to become of himself now? Virgil’s eyes fell to his hands, which appeared to flicker in his lap. He clutched his hands together and gave a faint sigh through his nose.

“Uh, sorry about her, I think… Thousands of years old and still can’t figure out how to play nice with others,” Tofu said with a heavy sigh.

He stood and grabbed a couple of cups and a jug of water, setting a cup in front of Virgil and filling it with water before doing the same for the cup in his spot. He returned the jug to its place and settled back down at the table. Tofu eyed Virgil carefully, but didn’t say anything more.

“If you come to live over a millenia, manners and courtesy tend to become purposeless. No sense in obtaining friends – or enemies, for that matter – if you can simply outlive them all,” Virgil said with a shake of his head. He fidgeted for a moment, snapping his fingers with a tense brow.

He picked up the cup set before him with a nod in thanks, then took a sip. The water spilled from the glass as his hand shook. As he went to set it down, the glass passed through his hand and spilled across the table.

“My apologies. I’ll go get a…cloth,” Virgil apologized as he moved to stand. He took one step from the table before he collapsed.

Tofu was out of his chair and at Virgil’s side in an instant, checking for a fever…or a pulse. The elezen did have a pulse, but he was cold and clammy to the touch. Tofu had to resist the urge to shake his hand as he couldn’t help but compare the feeling to that of a corpse…

With a sigh, he draped one of Virgil’s arms around his own shoulders and half-carried, half-dragged him to the couch, laying him down with a surprising amount of care. The temptation was there to carry Virgil the way Virgil had carried him, but the man was too tall and gangly for that. He tucked a pillow under Virgil’s head then straightened, pulling out the small ceramic bell and giving it a ring.

Daen Lad was, of course, not there. He had forgotten. After their excursion to the Library, the pixie had disappeared, gone off to find someone for answers. With another sigh, he went upstairs to drag Fa-el - no, Fiora was back - back down the stairs. She followed without complaint, though he didn’t explain beforehand. He gestured vaguely at the couch.

“Watch over him a moment, I have to make a run to the Sorrel house to get… one of them, I don’t even care which one at this point…” he asked, a weary edge to his voice.

“Do be careful not to strain yourself, you have two new injuries and I’m not dumb enough to believe that you haven’t exacerbated your older ones,” she said, knowing full well she could not change his mind if she tried. He nodded, then stepped outside.

He took a deep breath to brace himself, then teleported straight to Gridania. The blue glow and the gentle hum greeted him as he staggered into the plaza. Odetta barely caught him from fully stumbling as he appeared right next to her.

“Oh! Welcome to Gridania, Tofu. Are you well enough to be teleporting like this? Dolly was very concerned about your condition, last I heard,” she asked as she looked him over. Tofu offered a sheepish shake of his head.

“Haven’t…been well enough to teleport for several months, but this might qualify as an emergency? I had to find one of you, Virgil’s passed out at the house and feels like a corpse and I can’t get him back to your home by myself…” he murmured, not realizing that he had pressed a hand to his chest.

“Oh dear… Don’t- Uh this will sound weird- but don’t worry about that too much, he feels like a corpse all the time. The passed out thing is a bit concerning! I shall send Luluci ahead of us.” She snapped her fingers and Eos appeared. She looked to the fairy. “Please ask Lulu to go check on Virgil, my dear?”

The fairy nodded and flittered off to find Lulu. Odetta looked back to Tofu.

“We should have you sit a moment, Lulu will get there quickly,” she said as she guided Tofu to a nearby bench. Tofu resisted with another shake of his head.

“I should get back before one of the others wakes up, Fiora is already going to give me an earful, I don’t need anyone else getting on my case for- I don’t need them getting on my case,” he said, stopping himself from admitting that this was not the first time he’d teleported in recent times.

“Then we lie! I will take you home in my carriage, my chocobo is very fast. It will not be as fast as teleporting but it will give you a chance to rest and you can tell them that you met me on the road,” Odetta said with a smile. Tofu gave her a surprised look.

“...You’d do that?” he questioned softly.

“What, lie? Oh all the time, sometimes you just gotta lie. But like… Little white lies that don’t actually hurt anyone. I mean… Don’t like lie if you’re like dying or something, but-”

“Yeah okay I get it. Uh, thank you. If it’s all the same to you, can we get going…?” he interrupted, noticing a look in her eyes that reminded him of when Hana was about to go on a rambling tangent.

“Oh! Sure, we’ll have to take the ferry to the Lavender Beds, the one by the Lancer’s guild. This way!” she said as she linked her arm around his, tugging him along. Tofu didn’t have enough fight in him to wrest his arm back from her, begrudgingly allowing himself to be dragged along.

---

Tofu leaned back against the side of the carriage, allowing his eyes to slide closed, though he wasn’t in danger of slipping out of consciousness. He was worn out, but he could keep going just fine. Odetta looked back at him.

“We’ll be passing into Thanalan soon… So… What did you get yourselves into? Virgil collapsing usually follows him exerting himself,” she prodded.

“Virgil did very little, actually. He came over, carried me halfway home until I got out of his grasp, then he talked with Fa-el for too long probably,” he said with a half shrug, not really elaborating on his own adventures of late.

“Wait… Who’s Fa-el?” she asked with a tilt of her head. Tofu lifted his head and looked towards Odetta.

“Oh. Right. The voidsent woman that got sealed inside of Fiora,” he said, realizing that he didn’t actually know how much Odetta knew about Fiora.

“Oh! I vaguely remember something about that… Someone must have mentioned it over a shared meal. Lulu insists on us telling stories at the table whenever we can manage to eat together.” Odetta looked up as she tried to recall.

“Ah, I just don’t keep tabs well on who knows what, got a lot of other things to deal with. If you need clarification on anything, just ask, I’ll do my best to provide it,” he said, leaning back against the side of the carriage again.

“In any case, the most Virgil did in my presence to exert himself was try to carry me back to the house. I…don’t know what caused his collapse.”

Tofu’s hand once more rested against his side as he stared up at the sky from under the canopy of the carriage. Big, billowing clouds drifted lazily across the sky through the last remnants of the boughs of the Shroud. There was something…peaceful about the sight. He could almost get lost in it.

Odetta hung the reins on a hook and turned to look at Tofu fully. She watched him silently for a moment before smiling; a peaceful carriage ride seemed like something he really needed. She spied a moogle coming up to the carriage, probably to chat with her, and put a finger to her lips, shaking her head no. The moogle pouted for a moment before flying off to find someone else to play with.

The Shroud finally gave way to the Thanalan landscape. The chocobo pulling the carriage chirped in distress as the road changed from the soft Shroud soil to the hard Thanalan road. Odetta turned back to the chocobo.

“There there, Squeak, I know you don’t like this road but you’re a big brave boy,” she cooed.

Tofu narrowed his eyes at the more intense sun of Thanalan and pushed himself to an upright position, resting his arms across his thighs. A faint smile flickered at the corners of his mouth at the name she had given her bird. She seemed the sort for cutesy names like that. He was briefly grateful that she was more worried about Virgil than she was him, since she hadn’t pressed him on matters…at least, not yet. But they had a fair bit of distance yet to cover, so he didn’t hold his breath.

“...How’s Lament?” he asked, finally breaking his silence.

“Recovering from their latest job with Rika,” she said as she turned back to him. “Things went a little sideways, as things are wont to do. But they’ll be fine! Mostly just over extended their limits. Rika almost got eaten though… She didn’t seem too fazed by it.”

Tofu tilted his head. Rika… Rika… Ah, the woman with the white hair and cold demeanor.

“No, I don’t think that one would be fazed by much of anything. I am glad that Lament is recovering well from that. They’re not going to be too happy when they find out about Virgil,” he murmured, the last part mostly for himself. “Make Lament carry him back like a princess.”

That wasn’t meant to be out loud.

“Ah, forget I said anything,” he said, looking away sheepishly. Odetta couldn’t help but laugh.

“That’s so specific though! What prompted that?” she said, still giggling. Tofu groaned and rolled his eyes.

“That lanky bastard must have thought it would be so funny, even though I told him I just needed a moment…” he grumbled.

“Ah, hmm.” She sighed lightly. “I’m glad he’s acting his age. He should be goofing off more like that.” She tilted her head as she smiled at him.

“Honestly, it’s good for you too. To goof off. You have a lot of burdens, so I hear. Having little moments to be silly, they’ll help you not break,” she said softly. Tofu’s hands clenched in his lap as he kept his face turned away from her, though he had to relax his bandaged hand as it burned.

“I am not so fragile that I would break so easily,” he said, his voice so quiet that it wasn’t clear if he intended for Odetta to hear him, though there was a hard edge to it.

“Never said you were,” she said with an even tone. “But even the strongest metal breaks with enough pressure. We need to let ourselves be in the moment, let the pressure escape through our laughter. Be with our family in times of levity and times of strife. Stand with our family and not stand alone.”

“Trust me, I know, because I am the strong one for my family. I protect them all the best I can. But my strength does not and should not negate their own. My family picks me up when I falter, and I let them. Because to deny their help is to deny their strength and that’s just insulting.”

“I’m trying,” he all but whispered. “Decades old habits don’t relinquish their hold so quickly. Trust…is hard to give, no matter how much I want to, no matter how much I know that I can, I have spent so long being the only person I could rely on that I don’t know how to…accept anything else.”

He got quiet for a moment, watching the road wind away behind them.

“I-” He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. Odetta smiled softly, not an ounce of judgment in her eyes.

“You don’t need to start with trust, start with acceptance. If someone offers their hand more than once, accept it.” Her ears perked up as she quickly added, “I’m not saying to blindly take the hand either, you can be ready to catch yourself if the hand lets go. But typically if someone really wants to help, they won’t stop holding out their hand after one rejection. Acceptance is the first step in building trust.”

Tofu opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught on a gasp of pain as his chest flared aggressively - he really should not have teleported, though it was impressive that he made it this long without repercussions. He gripped his chest tightly as everything spun around him, dropping to his knees on the carriage floor. Blood dripped heavily between his lips as he struggled to hold himself up.

He had made a string of terrible decisions that day and this was his consequence.

“Squeak, steady ahead!” Odetta prompted the chocobo. She hopped from the driver's seat to the back of the carriage, her expression focused as her maternal instincts took over. She placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him.

She knew better than to try to do anything more than hold him steady, even though it killed her to simply watch. She waited for the worst of it to pass before she pulled a cloth out of her pocket and offered it to him.

As the pain subsided bit by bit, he leaned heavily against the seat he had vacated, still gasping for air as he took the cloth gratefully. His eyes took an extra moment to focus on her concerned expression. One hand kept him propped up as the other went back against his chest.

“S-sorry, it’s fine, it’ll pass,” he murmured, trying to offer a comforting smile that was belied by the blood still flecked on his lips. He blinked as he remembered the cloth she had just handed him and attempted to get the blood off his face, at least.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I am a mother by choice, it’s my nature to worry, even for those not my own.” She smiled softly. “That is one nasty curse for sure. I see why Dolly was so concerned.”

Tofu gave a slight tilt of his head. There it was again. The idea that Dolly, who hadn’t cared about him until that point, could get to the point that she was actively worried confused him. Had something changed at the Library? He hadn’t done anything he would consider special.

“Dolly was…?” he asked, sitting up straighter to grip his shoulder tightly. The bullet wound throbbed from all of the commotion. Odetta frowned as she took away Tofu’s hand to look at the wound. She noted there was no exit wound. It must have gotten stuck on bone, or didn’t have enough powder in the round.

“Squeak, pull over boy,” she called over her shoulder. As the chocobo pulled the carriage off to the side of the road, she dug around under the seat for her medical supplies. “I’m going to put a numbing salve on this till we can get you home.”

He offered what he hoped came across as a reassuring smile.

“It's…kind of treated. Blomma and Ro weren't home so Fiora did her best- well, Fa-el had to because Fiora is blind, but that's a long story. I should have let her wake Miyu but I didn't want to worry them…” he tried to assure. But the injury had definitely bled through, he had felt it under his hand. “Blomma should be home shortly after we get there, she should be done with work…sooooon.”

“... Yeah, I’m putting the salve on and then taking a look when we get there.” Her tone made it clear it was best not to argue. Tofu blinked at her.

“R-right,” he agreed reluctantly.

—

Shortly after Luluci had stopped by to examine Virgil, Miyu had stepped away and repositioned themself to wait at the door for Tofu’s arrival. They remained at the entryway, holding a medical kit under their arm, as they tapped their foot and kept their eyes straight ahead. Fiora cast a look at them from across the room.

“...Do try not to bombard him as soon as he gets home, alright?” she prompted softly. She did not think that he would arrive…rested.

While she was also not happy with Tofu’s choices, she also knew that he did not need to be chastised as soon as he set foot through the door. Or by multiple people.

Miyu gave a faint sigh through their nose as they rubbed their shoulder, brow in a tense furrow.

“I’ll behave, promise,” Miyu said with a chuckle. They took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let a slow breath out. Yes, they were prepared now. Luluci looked up from tending to Virgil.

“Fiora, Miyu, please prepare a space for Odetta to dig out that bullet left in Tofu’s arm, I can hear her grumbly thoughts from here,�� Lulu sighed. Fiora gave a flat look.

“Useless fuckin’ voidsent didn’t even-” she started grumbling before doing as instructed. Her eyes flickered black.

“I heard that.” They returned to normal.

“Good.”

Miyu’s gaze lingered on the door as they let out a soft huff, before moving on to prepare the space. They looked to Fiora and opened their mouth to speak, then reconsidered. Nevermind what they just saw.

“They’re here, someone go open the door,” Lulu said without looking up. Miyu promptly sped walked towards the door.

“Odetta, good to see you. Tofu… hello, darling,” Miyu greeted upon opening the door. They stepped to the side to allow them in. “Glad to see there’s enough of us now to carry Virgil’s body to the hole we dug.”

They were attempting to lift the mood. Judging by their tense expression, it wasn’t working. At the sound of Miyu’s voice, Tofu moved to walk slightly behind Odetta as they entered the house. He had been really hoping they’d still be asleep…

“H-hello,” he muttered as he passed them. “I sure hope Virgil isn’t a corpse, would be a waste of effort.”

“Yes yes, Virgil’s like a corpse, very funny. Now get over here so I can get that bullet out properly?” Odetta said with a bit of a huff. The mother’s patience began to wane.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming…” he grumbled, making his way to where Odetta was to treat him. Fiora huffed.

“I thought you got Fa-el because she could see?” she said.

“I did. No one said she was good at medical treatment,” he responded. Fiora shot him a glare before stomping up the stairs, a ‘stupid rabbit…’ making its way down behind her.

Miyu’s hand remained on their shoulder as their gaze lingered on Tofu’s own. They held their tongue and turned their attention to Odetta.

“Everything should be set up now. Let me know if you need anything else,” they said with a nod. They made their way to the kitchen to grab a bowl of water and some extra towels.

On the other side of the room, a corpse-like elezen began to stir. Luluci put a hand on his chest to prevent him from getting up too fast. She watched him open his eyes for a moment.

“Glad to have you back with us. But what were you up to that caused all this, hm?” she asked, peering into his mind as she did so, in case he was disinclined to answer.

Virgil glanced down at the hand on his chest with a small scowl, but nevertheless made no attempt to sit up. He shut his eyes for a long moment as he fought off the pounding headache that had begun to creep in. As he turned his head away to pinch the bridge of his nose, more silvery locks fell before his eyes.

“Ah, of course he alerted you. I-”

“I thought you were dead,” Tofu called from across the room.

“He didn’t even need to alert me! I told you I would be checking in on you.” Luluci rolled her eyes.

Virgil shot Tofu a glare. Upon doing so, he noticed Odetta was present, as well.

“Ah yes, let us call the masses, shall we? I-”

“He didn’t ‘call the masses’, I was at the aetheryte in Gridania. Don’t fret, Lament doesn’t know… Yet,” Odetta interrupted.

“And they won’t have to know. I only had a brief fainting spell after neglecting to grab lunch – it’s fine,” Virgil quickly responded. He turned his attention back to Luluci. “As for what I was doing… I had only come here to speak with Tofu. I found him battered and hopeless on the floor outside and had to carry him back to the house. I suppose I spent much of my energy doing that.”

“Liar.” To Tofu’s surprise, Lulu said the same thing at the same time, though for clearly different reasons. He raised a brow at her.

“That’s not all that you did. You can’t hide your thoughts from me, I am much more practiced at peering than you are at concealing, young man,” Lulu said, crossing her arms.

“And you didn’t have to carry me, you decided to even though I told you I just needed a moment. And I wasn’t hopeless!” Tofu was tired, and perhaps a bit more immature in the face of it. A hiss of pain and a muttered ‘ow’ escaped him as Odetta dug around in his shoulder.

“Well if you wouldn’t fuckin’ move…” Odetta grumbled.

“Well, you certainly appeared so,” Virgil said with a cough. He cleared his throat and turned his gaze back to Luluci. He supposed it was useless to conceal it.

“There was a change… I felt it. I just needed to draw it out somehow. It hasn’t killed me-”

“Don’t you dare say ‘yet’ or anything of the sort like that!” Lulu snapped. “I am not sure you understand exactly what it is you are trying to achieve. Your single minded pursuit is leaving you blind to what you’re actually doing to yourself. You will not live to achieve your goal on this path.”

“May I finish any of my sentences?” Virgil flatly responded.

“Not until you stop being stupid with them,” Lulu scolded.

Virgil closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out.

“My life is not of your responsibility – and before you interrupt me again, I will not be moved from that stance. I know very well what risks come with what I’ve done to myself – I’ve weighed these factors. There is nothing I will stay behind for,” he coldly remarked, voice steady. He opened his eyes again and held his gaze with Luluci’s, but there was a distance in them.

“Man, you really are, stupid, aren’t you?” a voice from the stairs said. Fiora - no, the shrouded eyes and hands indicated that this was Fa-el - sat upside down on the stairs, hands clasped on her chest. “Doesn’t matter if you die, does it? Does it matter if you remember? What even are you doing this for? To be better? But why? For what purpose? Who are you helping by doing any of this, because this course of yours helps absolutely no one. You won’t even be yourself at the end of this road.”

“Godsdammit Fa-el…” Tofu muttered.

“There is nothing about myself I wish to retain,” Virgil snapped back – for once, he was concise with his reasoning.

“Not even your mind? Fool.”

“Lament will be so happy to hear you’re willing to sacrifice your memories of them,” Lulu said, narrowing her eyes.

“Okay! I think that’s enough of that for now,” Odetta said as she finally retrieved the bullet. “Miyu, please hold a cloth to his shoulder while I prepare to stitch it now that the bullet is actually out.” Fa-el shrugged as well as one can while sitting upside down on the stairs.

“I am not medically trained, don’t ask me why he asked me to do it,” she said, no trace of remorse in her tone.

“Could have just woken me up,” Miyu grumbled quietly as they shot Fa-el a look, but they went ahead and held a cloth to Tofu’s shoulder with one hand, while the other fondly smoothed his hair out of his face. They sent a curious glance over to Luluci and Virgil.

Virgil was silent for a long period of time as Luluci’s comment about Lament lingered on his mind.

“...They know what is to occur if they are to be involved with me,” Virgil said, his voice low. He moved to sit up. “Enough of this. I should be heading back now. I’m sure Tofu doesn’t need more of an audience than he already has while being stitched up.”

Luluci rolled her eyes once more.

“Sure, okay. Don’t consider that you are involved with a hopeless romantic that actually hopes for the best,” Lulu said, staring daggers into the elezen. Fa-el sat up, allowing herself to slide down the stairs backwards until she hit the ground floor and stood up.

“Yeah, okay, become a mindless, aether hungry void thrall like the beings that haunt Hawke Manor, I don’t even care anymore. Waste your intelligence, your goals, your aspirations, to become nothing more than a floating eyeball creature with no will of its own outside of ‘consume’. Have fun, moron,” she said as she shrugged and went back up the stairs. Tofu groaned at her as she left.

Virgil held onto the couch as he stood to his feet. He stared straight ahead. Trouble was, he had considered who he was with. And it was the only reason he hasn’t gone away to pursue his experiments on his own. He wouldn’t say this now, though — especially not in front of everyone. He did, however, show hesitance in his body language by remaining still in one spot for a prolonged period of time.

“Fa-el…” Virgil began, only to realize she had gone back up the stairs. Never mind that, then. Another time. He continued out the door. Luluci watched as Virgil left and she shook her head.

Stupid child. Whatever was she to do with him?

Odetta meanwhile finished patching Tofu up, with fresh stitches and bandages. She started to clean up the mess of medical supplies she made as she instructed Miyu, still acting as her second pair of hands.

“Oh, and Tofu,” she said, placing a small jar in his hand, “this is that numbing salve. Give it to Blomma as an apology for using her other supplies. It’s very potent so she’ll only need a little. There’s an applicator in the lid.”

Tofu blinked heavily as he took the jar. Numbing salve or not, having someone root around in your shoulder is not the most comfortable sensation, his eyes were still unfocused. He tried to offer a soft smile, but it came out tense still.

“R-right, thanks,” he murmured.

His hand probably needed to be properly looked at, too, but he would ask Miyu or Blomma to deal with it later, Odetta had done enough already. He made a mental note not to get the voidsent to apply medical treatment in the future.

He brushed his fingers across the bandages around his abdomen; between the incident at the Library and what has transpired today, there was a lot to cover. He couldn't help but think ‘I really am a mess, aren't I?’ as he sighed heavily through his nose.

“Oh don’t think like that,” Lulu said, suddenly by his side, giving his thigh a pat. Tofu jumped a little. “You should have seen the messes Odetta would get in! You would think being a mother might have tempered that, but no.”

“H-hey! Lulu, let's not bring up those stories.” Odetta said quickly, her cheeks a little flushed.

“Well, I’m sure you were able to handle it with a certain grace,” Miyu hummed, though they glanced at Luluci with a raised brow, as if inquiring about what she spoke of.

They absentmindedly reached for Tofu’s hand, but paused upon seeing the bandages — ones which were badly wrapped at that, too. Their brow twisted as they gently took his hand to inspect, though they didn’t unwrap it just yet. They held the back of his hand to their lips for a moment as they gave Tofu a questioning look.

Tofu tilted his head at their look, then realized the hand they held. Ah, they had already noticed. He looked away sheepishly. He didn't know how to answer their questioning look, so he didn't say anything at all, only shrugging dismissively.

Miyu only gave him a small smile. Rather than taking up a seat to get to work, they took a seat on the corner of the table. They unpacked the medical supplies that Odetta had already cleaned up, and then quickly got to work to tend to his hand.

“I know Luluci loves to tell stories… I’d love to hear more of them,” Miyu said as a playful smirk danced across their features. Lulu’s eyes sparkled with mischief, as Odetta buried her face in her hands.

“No…”

“Yes!”

“Shouldn’t you make sure Virgil gets home without collapsing again?” Tofu interjected, hoping to save Odetta some embarrassment. Luluci pouted.

“Fiiiiine.” She stood up and headed towards the door. “But don’t think your stories are only kept by Lament, missy!”

Odetta shook her head as she watched Luluci leave, but said nothing in the hopes of not enticing her to stay. Tofu let out a soft sigh of relief. Mission accomplished.

“I suppose I’ll have to swing by later, then,” Miyu said with a faint giggle, quickly giving a goodbye wiggle of their fingers before returning to stitching Tofu up. Tofu watched for a moment in silence before speaking up.

“You didn’t have to worry about this right away. It would have been fine until everyone went home…” he murmured. Old habits, indeed. He would still rather as few people know about his injuries as possible.

“And leave you opened up like this? No, no. You deserve better than that. And you don’t need a nasty infection,” Miyu said with a tut of their tongue.

They glanced up to him and smiled. For a moment, their eyes lingered on his shoulder again. They averted their gaze back to his hand.

“Besides, I’m almost done here. Keep still for me and maybe I’ll get ya a cookie after.”

“Do I look like Hana to you?” he said with a flat expression. He turned his attention to Odetta briefly. “Thank you, uh, for the ride back.”

“Of course, I’ll be on my way as well. Should uh… get the carriage off your lawn…” She headed towards the door with a sheepish smile. “Take care!” Tofu offered a slight wave goodbye.

“Take care, Odetta!” Miyu chirped back in response. They turned their gaze back to Tofu and gave him a long stare, squinting as they studied him.

“Hm. Nope, not Hana. Just perfectly you,” they said as they finished wrapping up his hand, topping it off with a quick peck on the knuckle. Tofu felt the heat rise to his cheeks and looked away.

The door swung open as Kore rushed in in a panic.

“Tofu! I-” She blinked as she took in the scene, “Y-you’re okay? But Virgil said- … Oh I need to go kill an elezen. Be right back.”

She turned to leave again, Miyu and Tofu barely catching a glimpse of rage in her eyes.

“Hi, love! Bye, love! Have fun!” Miyu called out as Kore turned to go hunt down an elezen.

“Whatever he’s about to get, he deserves.”

#ffxiv #ffxiv character #tofu curry #ffxiv viera #ffxiv oc #ffxiv rp #arc: revenge game

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