#...should i switch that to 'like a dragon thoughts'??? hmm
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yakuzabrainrotlive · 2 months ago
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I have started Like A Dragon! I've actually already made it to chapter 5.
Why hadn't I made a post already, then?
Well, there's no sugar-coated way to put this so... let's just rip off the bandaid now.
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I haven't really enjoyed myself playing this game this far. Yet. Maybe I will at some point. But for now I honestly just haven't had much to say in terms of what's happened in the plot besides the beginning. I don't hate the game, it's just that it hasn't been able to really hook me in yet.
I'll keep going since I've heard this game is one of the generally more loved ones in the franchise. And I know RGG loves its slow burn.
I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I wanna be totally honest. I doubt y'all would want me to lie about how I feel about the game.
More about all that right at the end of the post. I will list my positives and negatives when it comes to this game (and talk about the battle system) down there.
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I know this type of thing is common in RPGs, but I like it all the same. Neat little game mechanic. There's quite a few different ones here, but it's cool.
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An interesting background for a main character. Yeah, being an orphan is more than common. But being raised by the employess in a soapland and the townsfolk around him? That's really out there - in a good way.
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This was very sad. Ichi lost 15 years of his life to the joint and got nothing in return. The shock and disappointment on his face when he was released and there was just. No one waiting for him.
And after that, all that awaited him was just... betrayal. That's just brutal. I fully understand why Ichiban went into Total Denial Mode for a while; it must have been a totally incomprehensible and shocking situation.
-He got out of prison after 15 years and where he expected to find his family waiting for him, he found nobody. AND he suddenly had the freedom of choosing what to do, when to do it and where to go after 15 years. That can be scary.
-He witnessed how much the world and general society had changed in his absence and probably felt very confused.
-He saw his home totally wrecked and abandoned.
And now his mentor and beloved patriarch, the one who saved his life. The man he would have happily been ready to die for at any moment. That man had changed completely and acted like he didn't know Ichiban.
Yeah... the denial, frustration and desperation are totally valid.
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Oh dear. Well, Kiryu wasn't there anymore, the Tojo upper brass kept changing and there was constant conflict within the clan itself. It was just a matter of time before Omi would take advantage of the situation.
I hope Majima and Daigo are okay. Or at least alive ;-;
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*Faint sounds of Majima cackling in the distance*
Oops. Majima better hope Ichi doesn't find out who the driver was lmao. I feel bad for Ichiban, but I also love how this single random idea of Majima's still has these consequences that are brought up, even after all this time.
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God bless Nanba. He's a sweetheart. That's all I can say about him. I also kinda like Adachi. I'm not attached to these side characters yet, but they're neat. I think they'll grow on me eventually, it's just that I tend to be slow when it comes to becoming attached to new characters.
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Legends say that if you pull this bat out, Shinada will appear in front of you and ask for some money....
I did play through the whole soapland thing and then some. I don't have much to say 😭. We do have a woman fighting with us, finally after all this time! #Girlboss
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I would honestly happily die for Nancy. No questions asked.
OKAY UHH POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES.
Positives:
-Ichiban
-Interesting premise
-The different jobs satisfy my hyper-optimizing, excel-sheet-making, micromanaging self
-Funny enemy titles like "Piss Wizard"
-Free full heal spots my beloveds❤️
-Voice acting (in the Japanese dub at least) is excellent
-Substories have been fun!
Negatives:
-EXP yield is... not optimal; grinding takes FOREVER unless you go fight higher-level people than yourself, but then the battles can take ages. Job exp grinding especially feels about as pleasant as pulling teeth.
Am I supposed to grind in this game?? I've started to wonder about that since it's such a slow process. I have absolutely no idea. Have I missed a thing that helps exp gain??
-Unless you get lucky with the ability to find treasure, money yield can be tight at times, too. Which is rough, considering the cost of gear with 4 team members (and probably backup members later).
-The premise is cool, but the stuff I've played through in terms of the plot after leaving Kamurocho hasn't been very interesting to me this far (early-to-mid chapter 5) :/
-Substories don't give you EXP 😭
How about the elephant in the room - the battle system?
Well. I'll come out with it straight away; I'm very, VERY picky when it comes to turn-based combat. Shin Megami Tensei and Persona have unfortunately spoiled me too much, so this game had some unfairly MASSIVE boots to fill. And it didn't quite fill them. My bar is way too high and I acknowledge that 100%.
I get that they didn't want to make the system completely "passive" by just having to select moves and it all going smoothly from here. But I dislike the timing-based quick time stuff in the middle of attacks and perfect guard. I can pull off the attack dmg boost thing most of the time, but perfect guard is just... it feels way more difficult to pull off than Tiger Drop in any previous game. It's very frustrating. I frankly feel stupid, having this difficult a time with it.
Grinding is further hindered by spread moves being kind of unreliable - if the enemies are spread out, you're only hitting a single foe. For now. Maybe there will be better moves later on.
Idk if it's just me, but characters' MP pools feel very limited compared to the cost of the moves combined with how little damage you do at times? Maybe it's just the fact that I'm in the earlier parts of the game, but I feel like I have to be replenishing MP constantly.
I like how all the different types of gear can have additional special effects. It's neat.
All in all the battle system feels... very laborius. I can work with it! Absolutely. I'm just not the biggest fan.
God, I wish I could just gush about this game and sing its praises, but that's not happening yet by a long shot. This far? Maybe a 6-6.5/10. I hope my opinion changes for the better as I progress; I really wanna love it as much as other fans seem to.
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superprincesspea · 8 months ago
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Courted by the Dragon
Chapter 15 - Forfeit
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Aemond Targaryen is both the cause and witness to the greatest humiliation of your life. You would rather die than see him again. Yet summer at court and the precipice of civil war have other ideas.
Masterlist
~~~
When your mother and sisters break away to join the queen in the wheelhouse, you’re taken to the stable where the horse waiting for you is a chestnut mare with a little white patch between her eyes. 
“Flare,” the groom calls her, and she does not look pleased to see you. 
In fact, she snorts when you offer her your hand, her foot stamping on the hay, and you think the only thing worse than a long ride to the Kingswood, was to do it on a horse that already hated you. 
Still, it wasn’t really the riding you minded so much as the company, Aemond’s company to be precise, though you had not yet seen him. 
“Your saddle, my lady,” the groom says, interrupting your thoughts before presenting you with a fine brown side-saddle, its leather work embossed with dragons and ivy. 
“I shall be riding astride this morning,” you tell him, deciding there was no way you would ride an untested horse without the complete control of both your legs. 
“But this saddle is a gift from the Queen!” The groom retorts, looking completely aghast at your suggestion, his brow knitted and his words curt despite your rank. 
A gift? Surely not.  
Yet , the brass work is all shiny and new, the leather without cracks or marks to sully the pattern. But the most startling detail, which you’re not quite sure how you’d missed before, is the pommel, where the first letter of your name entwines with a dragon. 
For a gift, it’s certainly an extravagant one and hardly fitting for the third daughter of Borros Baratheon.  
You’ve never even had your own saddle before and refusal feels so awfully rude you hardly dare to say it, yet, if Alicent wanted you to travel to the Kingswood with the men, then you should be free to ride like one too.  
“That may be so,” you say, chin up, defiant , “but I shall be riding astride or not at all.”  
And to be perfectly honest, you didn’t want to be riding around on a lavish gift detailed for a Targaryen either.  
What would people think?  
What was Alicent thinking? 
“You heard the Lady,” Aemond’s voice causes you to start as he appears by your side, his presence enough to force the groom to submit to your wishes without another word.  
But you don’t thank him, you’re too busy trying not to think about how he’d asked you to marry him the last time you’d spoke. Yet you can think of little else. 
“This is the horse they have given you?” he says, his foot easing onto the bottom rung of the fence, his tone enough to confirm your fears.   
“Is there something wrong with her?” you ask, a sinking feeling pulling at your stomach. 
“Not if you enjoy unruly beasts.” 
You meet his eye, and a smile twitches at his lips before he glances over your shoulder. 
“Boy ,” he calls to the stable hand hovering in the background, “is there no other horse to saddle for the lady?” 
The boy shrugs, his attention darting around nervously before finally admitting, “the queen requested Flare personally , my prince.” 
“Hmm ,” Aemond’s jaw tightens, his finger drumming on the fence as the groom returns with a new saddle. This one black with yet more dragons.  
“Have my lady saddled on Ōños and I shall ride Flare,” Aemond tells him. 
“But -” the groom half protests, neither wanting to disobey his queen or his prince. 
“You'd rather my lady was thrown from the horse?” Aemond says, and it's not a question, his tone is sharp, commanding.  
Aemond gets what Aemond wants. 
“You need not switch horses with me,” you tell him, when the groom scurries away again, thinking you do not wish to have a prince of the realm thrown from a horse on your account. 
But he shrugs, unconcerned, “I am the superior rider, so it only makes sense for you to have the easier horse.” 
You can’t help but laugh, amused by the utter certainty of the words coming from his mouth and, even if you were quite sure they were true, it was such an arrogant thing to say that you felt compelled to refute it. 
“Tell me,” you say, eyes wide, “is there a reason his grace already considers himself superior when he has never even seen me ride?” 
“You have seen my dragon, yes ?” 
“Briefly , but this is not a dragon, it's a horse.” 
His eye slides to Flare then back to you, “I trained on horseback every day of my childhood before acquiring Vhagar then three times a week after that. How often do you ride, my Lady?” 
"Six times a week, when I am home,” you answer, with so much confidence you almost believe it. But you would not be bested yet again, and you were certainly no novice since your father, who’d always longed for sons, had insisted on frequent practice.  
A fresh smile quivers at Aemond's lips, his brow raised, "is that so? Then perhaps my lady will need to come to my aid when I am struggling to keep up with her?” 
You picture Aemond on a wild bucking horse and can’t help but laugh, “I must say, it shall be difficult to aid his grace if I am too busy making fun of him.” 
“Oh, I have no doubt in that regard, Lady Baratheon,” he says, seeming to almost enjoy the prospect, before the groom returns with the new horse, all saddled and ready, and certainly not what you expected. 
The horse Aemond had ridden at the tourney was a destrier, strong, fierce and entirely black. But this one is smaller, a palfrey perhaps, with a pure white coat and mane, so bright and unblemished, he almost looks as though he cannot be real. 
“What did you say his name was?” you ask, words formed with a gasp. 
“Ōños.” 
“Is that Valyrian?” 
“It means ���Light’,” he answers, his hand pressing to your lower back, guiding you closer, “he was a name day present from my Grandsire when I was a boy.” 
“Hello Ōños,” you whisper, stretching your arm to offer him the scent of your hand and he nuzzles into you, allowing you to stroke the spot right between his big dark eyes.   
“You’re so beautiful,” you tell him, moving to pet his neck and run your fingers through the wiry bristles of his glossy mane. “And such a good boy...” you add, admiring him more with each pet, “so gentle... so calm...” 
“You offer more praise to this horse than you have ever given your prince,” Aemond says and you’re not sure if he’s scolding you or teasing you, as he moves to ensure your saddle is tight around Ōños waist. 
“Are there not ladies enough at court who praise his grace?” 
“None that matter .” 
“Very well ,” you say, clearing your throat as though your heart isn’t fluttering, “I believe my prince has the most wonderful horse.” Then you laugh, petting Ōños again, “or is that just further praise for you, sweet boy?” 
Aemond snorts and you look back at him with yet more laughter. 
“If my lady offers crumbs, I shall eat them heartily,” he says, extending his hand to help you mount. 
“I have no need for assistance,” you decide, thinking you were finding his company unbearable enough without the touch of his hand, as you take the reins and secure your foot in the stirrup. 
But Aemond grasps your waist to help you anyway. Easing you up and over, the skirt of your gown rising to the very top of your thigh with the motion, so you feel the coolness of the air as it hits the bare skin above your stocking. 
Gods . 
You look down, just in time with Aemond, who reaches eagerly for your hem, as though he is a gentleman.  
Yet , as he pulls the skirt back down the length of your leg, his progress is marked with the delicate touch of his fingers in a way that cannot possibly be accidental.  
Gods. Gods. Gods.  
He meets your frozen stare, his eye dark, and you should say something.  
Anything !  
But your breath is trapped in your chest, and you can only give thought to the almost unbearable rush of tingles which have hurried excitedly to some deep, unreachable place in your core. 
Then he smiles, and it's not a wicked smile, its content , satisfied , and you hate it, almost as much as you hate the way he takes hold of Ōños’ bridle, leading you out into the yard as though nothing is amiss.  
Yet, what was the alternative? For him to gloat? Or worse, for him to say one of the thoughts which seemed to race behind the look in his eye?  
You didn’t want that . What you wanted, was for you to say something. To react. To scold him. To remind him you were a Lady of house Baratheon and not to be treated as such.  
With all of this in mind, and the tingles subsided enough for you to breathe,�� you shift forward in the saddle, so your words can reach him despite your hushed tone.  
“Do not imagine you can take such liberties with me again,” you say, and Aemond stops before he turns to look at you, his smile more wicked than you have ever seen it. 
“You give me little credit, Lady Baratheon, my imagination is far more creative than that.” 
You frown, not quite understanding his meaning, then understanding it all at once and your gasp is quickly followed by a glare.  
“If I told my father what you just did, he would have your hand!” 
“If you told your father,” he begins, the wicked look on his face turning decidedly smug, “he would give me your hand, and I’m quite willing to test the theory if you are, my lady?” 
He's right, of course , and that only adds more fuel to your temper, though in a yard brimming with people, you can only seethe in silence. Looking at anything but the prince as the morning sun beams down so pleasantly you could scream. 
Seven Hells!  
You’re beyond grateful when the groom arrives with Flare, providing you momentary relief from Aemond’s unwavering attention, as he moves to inspect his own saddle, before mounting her in one smooth motion which she does not take kindly to.  
She stomps in protest, and Aemond pulls at her reins, his hand on her neck, his words low and inaudible in the busy yard, as he gets her under control. 
“We should leave before everyone else,” he says when she has calmed, reaching for Ōños’ bridle again and pulling him in time with Flare. 
“We should wait,” you insist, glancing to where Ser Maurin is talking with some of the other men, none of them yet mounted on horseback. 
"And get stuck trudging through the droppings of a dozen horses all morning?”  
Your nose crinkles at the idea and, when Aemond smiles, you imagine he’s thinking something along the lines of, ‘that’s what I thought’ , as he continues to lead you towards the open gates. 
When you make it as far as the wheelhouse, you peek in through the slatted windows, catching just a glimpse of your sisters talking excitedly with the queen before Aemond releases your bridle and kicks his horse into a trot. 
But you don’t follow, you pull on the reins, stopping Ōños since you’re in little doubt that following Aemond will be a mistake. 
Yet, you can’t deny the part of you that wants to do it anyway. Because despite what you like to think about yourself, or honour and decorum, there’s a thrill to Aemond’s company that you find irritatingly compelling. 
Why was that? You wonder, thinking how safe and easy a ride would be with Tyland Lannister by your side. But he isn’t even invited, you realise now. It’s only your family, Aemond’s family and the guards.  
Drawing your hand across the reins, you half-heartedly tell yourself to turn back towards Ser Maurin, where you will be safe from any further improprieties or proposals of marriage, but that’s not what you do.  
Perhaps you can blame Ōños, who reacts quickly to even the slightest hint of pressure from your feet. But that would be a lie.  
It's your decision to chase Aemond, and Ōños is only too happy to gallop through the yard, as you were sure he’d done countless times before. And it's reckless to ride like this, with so many people in your path, but you seem to have left all common sense in the stable, so why stop now? 
You jump a cart filled with apples, overtaking Aemond’s lead, and he was right . You didn’t want to spend the morning trudging behind the wheelhouse. You wanted to fly, and the Kings Road stretches ahead with barely an obstacle in your path. 
Ōños, seeming to sense your excitement, picks up speed with little encouragement, dashing through the gates, his hooves pounding the earth so hard you can feel your hair slipping from its pins.  
Your horse at Storms End could never run like this , he’s far too old and far too lazy. But Ōños is so powerful he feels unstoppable, yet you must stop, knowing you will quickly leave the procession behind entirely if you keep going. 
You tighten your legs, pulling at his reins and he comes to a halt quickly, obediently, turning when you pull the rein again, so you can look back, and see that Aemond’s horse has barely run half the length of yours.  
Instead, she’s picking at the brambled hedges which flank part of the path and Aemond is trying desperately to coax her back into his command. 
You stifle your laughter, trotting closer. 
“Does his grace require my aid so soon?” you tease, more than a little pleased by the look of frustration on his face. 
Aemond bites back a grimace, his words laced with exasperation and spoken in High Valyrian as he pulls tightly on the reins. But Flare gives into his insistence at her own pace, taking one last bite of the sun ripened fruits before moving on. 
“Perhaps you should ride at the back of the procession after all?” you tease again, noticing the wheelhouse is now ambling its path through the gate. 
“Or perhaps I should abandon Flare with a squire, and we can ride pillion as I’m sure my mother intended?” 
“Ha ,” you scoff, your eyes narrowing with a dare which should not be coming from your lips, yet you’re feeling so pleased with the situation that it sneaks out anyway, “you’ll have to catch us first.” 
Aemond’s eye darkens, his hand snatching to grab your wrist before missing entirely, “is that a promise?” 
You don’t answer but you enjoy the adrenaline which pumps in your veins. Yet, why not enjoy it? For once, you’re the one with the upper hand and it feels good, you want to toy with him like he always toys with everyone else. 
Unable to contain your smile, you lead Ōños in a circle around Flare, careful to keep just out of reach before you kick him into another gallop which Aemond tries, but fails, to keep up with.  
Yet, as always, Aemond is not interested in losing. So, instead of chasing you for miles of road, he turns, heading back to the gold cloaks who are leading the procession before dismounting to switch horses with what looks like Ser Willis. 
His new horse is a deep hazelnut brown and much more obedient than Flare, so now the chase is really on, as he seems to fly towards you without any hesitation on the horse's part.  
“Come on,” you say excitedly to Ōños, adrenaline still beating in your veins as you kick him into action, charging down the road and leaving Aemond to race through clouds of dust instead of the ones you’re sure he’s more accustomed to. 
You keep your lead, all the way to where the road splits into a fork, and you’re forced to slow into a trot, unsure of which route to take. 
“Caught you,” Aemond says, grabbing Ōños’ bridle so he can pull you both towards him and you roll your eyes. 
“You didn’t catch us,” you tell him, allowing yourself to feel as smug as Aemond usually is, “I stopped.” 
“A promise is a promise, Lady Baratheon,” he tries to remind you, your horses turning in a tight circle to keep you together. 
“I don’t recall promising you anything .” 
His jaw tightens, frustrated, but his eye smiles, “you’ll deny your prince his reward?” 
“I’ll deny a cheater ,” you retort, nodding to the horse between his legs, “you were supposed to be riding Flare.” 
He releases Ōños’ bridle, a long breath blowing through his nose, “I did not wish to lose.” 
“Nor have you won.” 
He laughs, his gaze scraping across your lips, “how about a race then? First to the camp shall choose a forfeit for the loser.” 
You scoff, feeling a little uneasy at the prospect.  
You were already too far ahead of the wheelhouse and feeling quietly certain that there would have been some raised brows at the way you and Aemond had raced ahead of the procession. 
Yet, that’s not what you say, or what’s really holding you back, “I do not know the route.”  
“It’s only one road from here to camp and Ōños has done it a hundred times.” 
You give him a pointed look, “as have you .” 
Aemond bites back whatever expression wants to grace his face, “you’re afraid I’ll win? You have the better horse.” 
If you refuse him, it would be as good as admitting you thought he was the superior rider after all, and you were not about to do that . “I’m not afraid.” 
“Then prove it.” 
“Well...” your heart pounds, “what exactly is the forfeit?” 
His smile fills his cheeks, his eye looking as blue as the sky behind him. 
“When you win, you can tell me,” he says, and you pretend you’re only half considering the bet as you line Ōños up, so it will be a straight shot when you kick him into action. 
“See you there! ” you call over your shoulder, racing ahead and unable to contain the burst of laughter which cackles mischievously from your chest. 
Now was your chance to best him once and for all and you were not going to squander it, except , Aemond doesn’t follow behind. He jumps the farmers fence, racing his horse through the field and you really should have known better.  
In Cyvasse he was always ten steps ahead, so why should this be any different? 
Yet, instead of giving up, you only push harder, pressing Ōños to go faster, leaning into every turn as tightly as possible and trying to keep your eyes ahead instead of searching for a dragon. Perhaps that's what he wanted, for you to lose focus, for you to assume his victory. But he wasn’t the only one who enjoyed winning. 
You can see the clearing in the distance, see white tents and staff already milling around to ensure everything is prepared for the queen’s arrival. But you can’t see Aemond and that makes you nervous. 
You shift your weight forward, almost crouching to gain momentum, just as Aemond’s horse jumps through the trees, landing mere paces ahead of you on the road. 
But, while his horse must slow to right itself after such a jump, you and Ōños are only moving faster.  
You speed ahead and you can feel him tight on your heels as you make it right into the centre of camp. 
“Woah,” you tell Ōños, who seems intent on charging straight through the clearing and beyond, and you're grinning from ear to ear when you circle back to meet the miserable expression on Aemond’s face. 
Victory had never felt sweeter, and you intended to gloat. 
“You look quite unhappy, your grace,” you say, panting as you try to catch your breath. 
Aemond doesn’t reply, and you suspect he is a sore loser of the worst variety, as he kicks his leg over the horse with a frown, before handing the reins to a groom whose probably been standing around since dawn. 
“I only wish everyone was here to see how I beat you,” you add, determined to salt the wound but Aemond’s frown is soon smoothed into a reluctant smile. 
"Congratulations,” he says, taking your waist and pulling you from the horse so you’re securely in his embrace.  
“Though I must admit,” he whispers, still holding you tightly, “I would much prefer my lady to be the one doing the forfeiting.” 
You’d forgotten about that part, winning had been pleasure enough alone but a fresh smile brightens your face before you push his arms away. 
“Hmm ,” you say teasingly, strolling through the small stretch of camp with Aemond as your shadow, “what's a good forfeit for the most repugnant man in the world?”  
He coughs out a laugh, and you already know precisely what his forfeit needs to be, if you are to make it through this picnic with any sense of decorum, but you don’t say it, not yet .  
You keep walking, and quickly make your way past the clearing, to where the forest grows beautifully lush and dense, and if you were to choose a picnic spot, it would be this . Not the cover of a tent with servants to bend to your every whim, but here, where the trees tangle with the undergrowth and the only thing you can hear is the unmistakable chorus of the woodland.  
“Are you going to tell me or not?” he says, and his impatience makes you want to hold your tongue for as long as possible, but you take small comfort in knowing you’re just about to annoy him. 
“Your forfeit,” you say, turning to look at him, “shall be to stay at least 20 paces away from me for the duration of the picnic.”  
It might not be very exciting, but it was the only forfeit which made any sense if you didn’t want to spend the entire day wrapped up in his company. 
His eye narrows, his head tilting, “and if I don’t?” 
You laugh, half amused, half annoyed, "then you shall be obliged to complete an even more humiliating feat!” 
Aemond’s jaw ticks, “such as?”  
You glance to where the river rolls lazily in the distance and think of all the times he’s mocked you for that day on the beach, “how about a dip in the water, since you like suggesting it so much?” 
Aemond snorts, moving closer, “my lady only wishes to punish me when I think she would have found her forfeit very enjoyable indeed.” 
Now it's your turn to snort, “if my forfeit was to marry you, then you are mistaken.” 
He grins, his eye meeting yours, “I cannot marry you in the Kingswood, but I do find it interesting that you would conjure the idea so readily.”
“I -” you start, your cheeks reddening but he was right. He hadn't said anything about marriage, that was all you .  
Seeming to eat up yet another portion of your embarrassment, he unclasps his cloak, letting it fall to a pile on the forest floor.  
“What are you doing?” you say, confused , though your gaze holds a keen interest in the way his long fingers begin loosening the buttons on his doublet. 
“You said so yourself, if I cannot stay away from you, then I must take a dip in the river.” 
The blood drains from your face, your heart stopping just as you meet the determined look in his eye.  
“Because I didn’t think you would do it!” you gasp, and the smile that fills his face is made up entirely of mischief. 
“Do you not take your bets seriously, Lady Baratheon?” 
“Apparently not as seriously as his grace!” you exclaim, reaching to swat his hands away from his chest and dissuade any further progress along the buttons.  
But Aemond is resolute and, as each button comes loose, he steps closer, forcing you to back away. 
“My lady must believe I would have ensured she took her forfeit very seriously indeed,” he says, his doublet falling open to reveal the stark white linen of his tunic, the strings bound tightly at his neck. 
You take another step away from him, your back colliding with the rough bark of a large tree. 
“Do you want to know what it was? Your forfeit?” he asks, slowly loosening the long strings with a single pull. 
“No.”  
A smile quivers at the edges of his lips, and he inches right into your personal space, while the tree holds you still. And you can’t move, only watch, as his tunic unravels enough for you to see there are no bandages across his chest, only the bruise. Faded to a bloom of green instead of purple and so striking against his alabaster skin that you inhale a sharp breath.  
Yet, you’re not looking at that . At least not for too long. You're staring at his hands, as they sink downwards to slide the end of his belt through its loops, each click of his buckle making your heart jump. 
“This is absurd,” you whisper, your body tensing. 
"Really ?” Aemond’s voice is low, seductive . “When I watched you undress, I found it quite mesmerizing.” 
Your eyes flick to meet his and he must see the puzzled look on your face.  
He had found you in the water, had he not?  
“I was on the clifftop, resting Vhagar,” he says, answering the question which had not yet left your lips, “and just before I turned to leave, there you were. Wearing the black and yellow of house Baratheon.”  
He pauses, letting the information sink into your bones, and you can hear the tightness in his breath before he laughs softly and continues, “I already thought it unusual for a high-born lady to be alone, so imagine my surprise when you began to take off all your clothes.” 
He watched you. From the very first moment. He watched you.   
You remember the way your chemise had billowed from your hands, forcing you to chase it down the beach. On the cliffs, he had certainly not been close enough to see every detail, but he had seen you. Your freedom, a moment that had felt so pure, so private . 
Your temper burns and you push him with all your might, the action not surmounting to much considering the man you’re trying to repel, and his strength only serves to frustrate you further.   
“You really are the worst man that ever lived!” You say and you mean it, but Aemond only smiles, enjoying the suggestion and possessing not an ounce of shame in his actions, past or present.  
“I'd say there’s hardly a man alive who could have resisted watching you.” 
Perhaps he was right. But he was the man who had been there that day and, though he could have left without saying a single word, he chose to fly closer, to stand where you could see him. To humiliate you.  
Still, that is the least of your concerns as his belt comes free and his hand moves to rest beside your head on the tree, the hairs on the back of your neck pricking to attention. 
“You’re out of your mind!” you tell him, thinking there was no way you were going to stand around while he took off all his clothes, and when you push him again, he doesn’t budge. He inches closer, his other hand tangling in your hair. 
“From the moment I saw you on that beach, yes, ” he concedes, a spark of warmth flickering across your chest, but you ignore it.  
“I hope you jump in the river, and it carries you out to sea!”  
Aemond bites back his laughter yet he’s so close you can feel the echo of it rippling across his chest, and smell that all too familiar scent of his skin.  
“It would be most unfortunate if I were to die without first kissing my lady, do you not agree?” 
“I am not your lady.” 
“But you have no objection to the kiss?” he shifts slightly, his nose brushing with yours. 
“Yes ,” you’re barely breathing, “I have an objection. I- ” 
But Aemond doesn’t want to hear what you’re about to say, he wants to kiss you, and you anticipate the touch of his lips with more desperation than you thought yourself capable of.  
Yet , as his head tilts, and you feel the heat of his lips searching for yours, you come to your senses and turn away, his kiss landing on your cheek with a low groan.  
Still, it is a kiss, Aemond’s kiss, and even if it hadn’t intended to land as such, it was still warm and delicate on your skin, and you couldn’t ignore the way your body reacted. Wanting more, wanting so much more that you were afraid of your own desires.  
“I think his grace is forgetting himself,” you scold, your words no louder than the flutter of a butterfly wing, but really, it is you who is forgetting yourself . 
“If I am forgetting anything,�� he argues, his breath hot on your cheek, “it is why I did not kiss you sooner.” 
“I'd say it’s because I do not want you!”  
“Need I remind my lady that she has the most terrible face for deception?” His voice is strained, a single finger pushing along your jaw, forcing you to look at him. 
"Need I remind his grace that I still find him the most repugnant man in the entire world?”  
Or was that just another lie to crumble under his scrutiny? Surely not. No, you find his behaviour mostly smug and sometimes downright appalling. Yet that didn’t stop the way your skin ached for his touch; it didn't stop it for a heartbeat. 
“You can remind me every day when we are married,” he promises with a slow, easy smile and, just as you think he might try to kiss you again, you hear a noise. Both of your heads flicking towards the sound. 
It’s the wheelhouse, you realise, innocently ambling its way towards the clearing, while you’re standing hot and breathless, pushed up against a tree with Aemond’s clothes half undone and decorum fully discarded. 
This was madness! Complete and utter madness! And you only had yourself to blame. 
“I’m never marrying you!” you say, resolute , before his gaze returns to yours and he stares at you for a long moment. 
“Then my lady must allow me the honour of proving her wrong,” he vows, stepping back so he has room to refasten the strings on his tunic. 
You scoff, trying not to look at anything but his face, “I have quite made up my mind on the matter.” 
“As have I.” 
“This is not a game Aemond, you will not win.” 
He pauses, surprised, delighted , “ what did you say?” 
His name, you realise. You said his name. Not his grace or my prince or even Prince Aemond, just Aemond.  
Your fingers press across your traitorous lips but it's too late to take it back now. So you don’t try. You don’t even dare to say another word.  
You’re free to move and you do so assuredly, hurrying back towards camp with your hands brushing through your hair to hide any evidence from your little misadventure in the woods.  
Seven Hells!  
If Alicent had contrived to force you into Aemond’s company, then she had succeeded entirely.  
You’d made one bad decision after another from the moment you’d laid eyes on him in the stable, and if you were being completely honest, you didn't trust yourself not to make another one. 
No, what you needed to do was find Cassandra and stick to her ladylike manners for the rest of the day. Perhaps she would even switch places with you in the wheelhouse? Yet, as you think this, you remember how you’d insisted on riding without a side-saddle. Of course you had, because you were just as Septa Orella had always told you. A defiant, ill-tempered girl.  
~~~
Thank you for reading! Let me know if you want to be added to my tag list.
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writingsofwesteros · 2 years ago
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So Sorry I really got carried away. I'm not sure if I send this, you'll still accept this request.
But can I also ask for Oberyn Martell x Targaryen reader, who works in a brothel to survive.
Her beauty attracts many people, both women and men.
She is finally handed over to Oberyn, and upon seeing the Valyrian princess, he's not sure if he wants to kill her or take her in every corner of the room.
AN: Hi, no, it was a great request! I hope you like it x
NSFW
You had heard the whispers; a prince of the sand was visiting the capitol. One with desires far out weighing even the little Lannister. You knew your history well; it was why you had chosen a veil over your hair. From the distance; you would look like a Lannister bastard as long as nobody saw your eyes…as long as he didn’t see them.
The see through slip of a material was placed over your washed and scented body. Thankfully, after the many years of being here; there was money that could be spent on you. Pearls were dotted around your neck and wrists; even in your hair as you were guided towards the room for presentation. 
The sound of your heart was pounding in your ears as you placed your hands behind your back and clasped them. The nerves were rolling off you in waves and you prayed for any Gods that still had mercy on you that they would answer. “Prince Oberyn has arrived.” The words seemed to seal your fate.
You slowly ducked your head; not realising the shyness you were projecting out would be all the more tempting. “Hmm, you have a stunning collection.” You heard his voice. So deep..gods, it sounded like wine. Shivers ran down your spine and you couldn’t choose if it was fear or something else.
“I am wanting only one on one action…I know it's surprising.” You heard the laughter at his words. Still, you were nervous and you began to play with your pearl ring fingers. A Goddess of purity; it was laughable. It seemed your laughter was not as silent as you had hoped it would be. Soon, the bright orange colours were in front of you.
“And who are you?” Oberyn hummed; amusement in his tone as he gently reached for your face. The silence moved through the room as you only stared at both of your feet. “Leave us.” Relief flooded you as you slowly backed away. A chuckle sounded out and his hold only tightened. “Not you.”
You gulped as you heard the sounds of feet moving and then were soon becoming quieter and quieter. “Hmm, are you shy, little one..is that it?” Oberyn purred and gods, you wished that was it. “No…No, my prince.” You remembered your politeness and slowly stepped back. In that movement; he tugged at your veil.
The gasp that escaped the both of you was almost comical if the fear gripping you was not so tight. “Targaryen…” Obern snapped. His deep, dark eyes so cold as you stepped back once more. “You are supposed to be dead.” His cold words continued and you fought against the whimper rising inside you but soon; it fell out.
It was as if a switch went off in the Prince and his eyes were slowly moving over your body. The sight alone had you shivering. Fuck, you were stunning, the Prince thought once the shock had worn off. His heart twitched for a moment at the thought of such a Princess in a place like this. He imagined you had been here for years.
“I will not hurt you.” Oberyn whispered; surprising himself with his words and the truth behind them. As much as you wanted to; you could not trust his words even as his touch stayed gentle. It could all be a trap, you thought. Still, like a doe instead of a dragon; all you could do was stand still.
He scolded himself at the feel of his fat cock throbbing. Gods, he should not be feeling this way for a dragon. No matter how pretty she was. The slip of a dress hardly covered you and Oberyn feasted. “I promise.” Oberyn continued as he stepped closer and this time you remembered your place and stayed still.
He couldn’t help himself; the Prince found himself reaching for your hair. His fingers brushed through it. A near flinch came over you as you tried to fight it but the Prince noticed and for a moment he became sympathetic. It did not last long as the hunger he had felt only built inside him.
Oberyn could not help himself. He leaned in and soon his lips were attached to your own. Your eyes widened before you remembered this was your job; your existence. Of course he would be no better. His hand slowly moved down your side as he brought you against his chest. “Oberyn..” You whimpered out.
The Princes’ eyes flashed and his already dark eyes moved even darker. The kiss only became more passionate. His tongue brushed over your bottom lip as the whimpers continued to escape you some more. His hand moved to the back of your neck as he gently guided you towards the wall.
His touch was only becoming greedier now as his mind flashed with memories; darker ones coming forth. “Gods, you are stunning.” Oberyn whispered and hated himself for it as his hands slowly palmed your breasts. “I might just have to steal you away.” The prince continued as his hand moved to his own pants.
Your eyes widened and he nearly groaned as his cock was bouncing free. He was not going to take any chances of this being ruined. Your heart was racing in your ears as you subtly rubbed your thighs together. It was not subtle enough as Oberyn’s smirk only widened. “Hmm, it seems I really did find a whore.”
His chuckle turned dark as he watched you blush. It was only a moment later with you gasping out as he pushed his fat, leaking cock inside you. “Still so tight.” He taunted. He stretched you deliciously as your whines of pleasure escaped. Usually, the sounds you made were fake and obscene but your eyes were rolling with true pleasure now.
Oberyn pushed deeper and you were wrapping your legs around his waist before you knew it; pulling him close. His hips slowly began to rock now as he burrowed into your neck; it was as if he could pretend it was someone else he was fucking. Those thoughts alone had him quickening his pace.
Your face prettily began to screw up in pleasure; thanking all the Gods he had not decided on killing you. His groans of pleasure had your fingers moving through his locks as your bodies clashed so prettily against each other. “Too deep..so..” You gasped out; head falling back onto the wall.
Oberyn only hummed; his thrusts becoming harder as his stomach tightened in pleasure. Fuck, he’d claim you here and now. Your soft, ample breasts bounced as you began to clamp around his cock. “Are you going to cum so quickly?” Oberyn hummed; nibbling on your neck as he marked you. Your climax easily came over you then.
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ab--n · 1 year ago
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Chapter 1: Shifting and Moping for Lost Hope part 1
After having less than the recommended number of hours of sleep, I went to tell DK my conversation with Chocomonio. Him obviously being concerned.
“So what you’re saying is that this ‘Chocomonio’ person told you that two rooms have vents that connect to each other. I supposed that makes sense. Dero and Celeernyx did mention a way of transportation…”
“Okay I’m getting tired DK, Who are these people?”
“Verin, calm down. They're also Participants.”
“Ugh, Yeah sorry. I just feel like absolute trash.”
So one day until the poison kicks in and kills everybody but us four…. Wait.. didn’t Monodoo say that two rooms will be unaffected?
“DK… are you aware of how many rooms there are?”
“At least four.”
“Two rooms will be spared of poison.”
“And we were put in groups of four… 16 in total”
As silence falls between me and DK. we’ve come to a horrible realization.
What if Monodoo makes us continue killing each other?
“HEY!!! Archie found something. Looks like a key! Come here, Dolly and Archie will be waiting!!” Dolly yelled, thank god she was here. Morale would have dropped much quicker if she wasn't.
“We’re coming!!... Come on DK”
“... I’ll be following.”
Without DK I ran to where Archie and Dolly were. As I looked over them I saw a red key. It looks off though, Like it was taken straight out of a children's book.
“I found it near the monitor, It appeared overnight.”
“Dolly can see that. It wasn't here yesterday.”
Maybe Monodoo put it there? But how can he get in here? I have too many questions and no answers.
 “Let's use the key already! Dolly wants out of here!”
“Dolly, please wait! For all we know it could be a trap!” Archie pleaded.
“Well we don't know if we dont try!!”  
“Fine… let's go to the door first.”
Archie,Dolly and Me went to the door locking us here. It really doesn't make sense, I mean a key looking like it was stolen from a cartoon can open an attack proof metal door?-
*CREAK*
“….What?! How did it open?” I yelled.
“Look, Verin I don’t know either! The key looked really fake so I thought it was a trap!” Archie tried to explain
“Yay, The door opened! Wait for Dolly, Dolly will get Sir Dragon Knight!”
.....
So… we are out? 
.....
“DOTTY, I SWEAR TO NOVA, OR VOID OR WHOEVER, JUST STOP BOTHERING BLOSSOM DEE!!”
I turned my head as I saw 12? Maybe 10 more people come out of metal doors like ours, they must be the other participants.
“Okay! Dolly is back with DK! Hmm? Who are they?”
Suddenly DK pops out behind her.
“Those are the other participants Dolly, now if you will excuse me, I need to talk to somebody.”
"DK... Are you ok?" I questioned
"Yes, Now please leave me alone..."
I don’t know for sure… but DK is acting weird, I should leave him alone for now though. Maybe one of those guys that he mentioned wanted to talk?
Can I talk to Chocomoinio? I can see what it looks like now.
“Dolly, Archie. I also got places to be- Dolly, where’s Archie?”
“Archie went to Fylass, Dolly also wants to talk to someone soooo… Buh bye Verin!!”
And Dolly ran off, I wonder who does she want to talk to. But now’s not the time, I got to find Chocomonio!
As I traversed through the small crowd, then I heard a shout..
“Yo Veri! Where are you?” A familiar voice
“Choco? Is that you?” 
“Yep, and I’m right behind ya!”
Excited, I turned around quickly to see… a Yellow cat-like lady in a royal looking kimono, Not really what I expected…
“HI!!!!!!..Hmm? Oh ya fell for my facade? Wait let me turn back.”
Suddenly a blackish goo covered the lady and transformed into a small puffball with pink hair and lots of eyes…that are also pink.
“Here I am in all my glory! Sooo.. how’s it been going?”
“Not the best. I’m also confused… I mean did everyone get those weird keys?”
“Yeah, Techno found ours when she was on night watch. I have no idea where she is. I think she also switched ‘bodies’ with Lyx”
Man, there are so many names to keep track of. And why did Choco do air quotes when referring to those two guys switching bodies?
“Hey! while the more mature guys find out whatever is happening, wanna explore and talk to the others?”
“What about you Choco?”
“I’ma annoy Blossom with Dotty. Those two seem to hate each other, Weeeellll maybe only Blossom hates Dotty. Welp, I’ll be taking my leave now. See you later Verin.”
Okay, I’m a bit far behind the social game. I should introduce myself to the rest of the group-
“Hey! Rotten orange peel!” A girl a bit shorter than me ran up to me out of breath. She looks like Knuckle Joe. I wonder what he's doing right now.
“Have you seen a blind purple bat-like girl with a broken leg?” She seems desperate…
“Jill, please don't refer to the girl as ‘Rotten orange peel’!”
“I Don’t Give A Shit, Vibrato! I’m trying to find Bliees!”
I.. should leave these two to argue, I’ll go find others to introduce myself to.
______________________________________________________________
Oof, sorry if this seems rushed. its been a stressful two months. part two will be coming soon I hope.
@monsterhatdoodles
@moon-mage
@loaflovesdoodling
@george228732
@ceoofmetagala
@cauliarty
@smaaenart
@ilikesillythingswooo
I think thats everyone, if I didnt tag you and your character is in this part then please dm me!
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zeydaan-isabella · 2 years ago
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28 Izzys Later
Commission for and story by GreyHawk89 - where a favour of transformation spirals out of control.
Isabella's shift in the café kitchen was almost over, they carefully dried the last plate and put it away. "Ha, finally!" Blaze, at the other end of the kitchen, nodded. "Rough day." Izzy giggled a little. "Well, we're had worse. Time for me to go home and spend the rest of the night catching up on my She-Ra binge. Just lemme sign out and get 'changed' and go." The valstrax caught the emphasis on a certain word and rolled her eyes. The yellow Fey Dragon fiddled with the little computer hanging on the wall that had been designed to resemble a retro punch-clock device. "All done being Izzy for today." Isabella took a step back and closed their eyes. They concentrated, focusing on the the magic core deep within themself. The 'gathered' it, preparing it. Izzy imagined their body's original shape, the sensations that came with having it, moving in it, living with it. Then they released the power they'd built up. Somewhere within them, where magic energy and physical matter merged, a switch was flipped. All the little genetic and mystical 'codes' Isabella was composed of went from 'reading' Fey Dragon to 'reading' Werewolf. In a matter of seconds, all of the tiny velvety yellow fur coating their body coarsened and elongated, re-coloring into shades of black and grey. Their human hair on the top of their scalp remained the same length, but, except for the red tips, darkened from pink to black. Izzy's long dragon tail thinned and retracted as the growing fur turned it into a canine brush. The pink moth-like wings dispelled as the process of magic neared its completion. The nostrils moved slightly closer together as the skin around them grew black, moist, and bumpy, distinct from the rest of the snout. At the rear of the head golden horns retracted back into the skull. The little cartilage ridges covering hearing membranes lengthened and expanded greatly, growing into fuzzy wolf ears. Zeydaan stood where Isabella had been seconds ago, yawning a canine yawn. In fact, Zeydaan's jaws opened so wide as they yawned that they let out a cute little squeak in the manner of canines who yawn too wide. Despite being an armored dragon from another dimension who could shoot lasers from her wings, Blaze gave a coo of delight akin to an ordinary human woman, reached over and gently dug her clawed fingers into the fur and hair at the base of Zeydaan's eras, scritching away. Zey gave a surprised happy noise and leaned into the scritches. A random person just walking up to a furry anthro and starting petting them without consent was considered inappropriate at best and mild assault at worst, but Blaze was a friend. After a moment, Zey broke contact by pulling their had away. "Heh. nice. Probably should get going now though." They took a step and a half towards the door before spotting a curious expression on Blaze's face. "What is it?" "Oh! Uh." Despite having scales, the magic that had originally transformed Blaze from a feral dragon the size of a private plane into one of a more human size and shape both physically and mentally allowed her to blush. "What's it like?" "'It' what?" "Shapeshifting like that. Changing your body however you want. I mean, the one time it happened to me, I wasn't in a proper mental place to fully appreciate it. too busy panicking and falling out of the sky as my brain overflowed with all these new abstract thoughts of greater existence and personal identity." Blaze tapped her forefingers together nervously. "Oh, it's a-" Zeydaan paused, realizing this was going to be like trying to explain the color red to a blind person. "Hmm.." Then, Zeydaan had an idea! Zeydaan had a wonderful, awful idea! I'll dress up as Santa Claus and steal all the decorations in Whoville! No, wait, that's not it... "It's hard to use words to explain it. But if you trust me, I can show you. Err, your shift is almost over too, right?" "Oh? Yea?" Blaze's wings flickered on and off. "I'm gonna turn you into me!" "You wot now mate!?" The wolfish smile on Zeydaan's face was confident-perhaps a little too confident. "Ever since my dragon-side came out, I've been training myself extensively to help me use it better. I'm pretty sure I can infuse enough of my magical essence-pattern-thing into you to temporarily make you a copy of me." Blaze shuffled with nervous excitement. "That sounds cool, but are you sure it's safe? Just temporary?" Zeydaan's confidence wavered slightly. "I think so... my other friends have also been helping me train, so I do have some practice with this sort of stuff. Some. so far. I'll give you an extra 'charge' my energy so that you can change back to yourself at a time of your choosing, rather than just wait for the change to wear off on it's own at some random, possibly inconvenient time, okay?" The valstrax was growing slightly less nervous-excited and slightly more nervous-nervous but still nodded after a pause. It was nice to see Zeydaan so giddy about themself, so unlike the shy, almost mopey wolf who they'd first met a couple of years ago. "O-okay!" "Alright, just stand still and think about me, really, really, hard! I think it'll help!" Zeydaan reached out and placed a hand on Blaze's shoulder. They concentrated on the magic inside them, much as they had just a few minutes ago to switch between their two forms, but this time focusing on Blaze's draconic body instead of their own 'Isabella' body. They felt the little tendrils of they magic extending out of themself and into Blaze, threading itself though and into the other dragon's morphic field. When they thought it was 'enough', they 'expended' the charge. Their arm spasmed and glowed an odd blue color, black veins appearing on it. A flash of pink-grey light blinded Zey for a moment, and when they opened their eyes, they found themself looking at... themself. But, the wrong themself! Zeydaan boggled at a slightly befuddled Isabella. "Uh... only half-successful. I did make you me at least!" The new Isabella blinked, pink moth-like wings fluttering open and close. "Wuzza whent wrung?" Her snout was now longer and broader than her previous short beak-like snout, making speaking slightly trickier. She raised her hands and pulled the white gloves off, revealing yellow instead of lavender, but otherwise not so different. Zeydaan deflated with the shame of failure. What had gone wrong? "I dunno. Chalk it up to my inexperience I guess. I did turn you into a me, just not the me I was aiming for. Hmm, you should take a moment to focus yourself; maybe sit down? The much smaller wings are probably the biggest difference." The 'new' Blaze wobbled on her feet, but managed to keep standing. She lifted a finger up and stroked it along her snout, feeling the velvety yellow fur. "Softer, not scaly," she said with only a mild slurring. Zeydaan contemplated their semi-duplicate's newfound fuzziness and grinned. "One good scritch deserves another! It's not quite the same as my wolf-body, but Izzy has her senseative spots too." They reached out and started scrtiching away between Blaze's horns, then under her throat. Blaze found herself making a rumbling noise in the depths of her throat, almost like a purr. Wolf or dragon, Scritches Good! Amrin chose that moment to step into the kitchen. "Hey, now that we're all closed up we need to- Um, Zey, why are there two of you?" The real Zeydaan waved. "Oh, I'm me! That one is Blaze!" They quickly noted that that was clearly not enough of an answer for their boss. "Uh, I changed after work was over, and Blaze asked me what it was like being able to be something other than a dragon, so.... I tried to show her. Manually. With her permission! I, um, sorta failed."
"Clearly," Amrin stated dryly. She made little hand motions that indicated a strong need to commit some strangulations. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay then... and you're SURE everything will be back to normal in time for work tomorrow? Blue is still hibernating for a few more days. If Blaze is gonna be late for work because she still doesn't have to laser-wings to rocket herself here on time!..." Zeydaan gave a very canine yelp of fear and nodded vigorously. Blaze, unfortunately, was not paying as much attention. This wasn't so bad. She could feel what she guessed was the 'charge' of magic Zeydaan had mentioned, like a bubble somewhere inside her that could be 'popped' with a strong enough mental 'poke'. Then, Blaze had an idea! Blaze had a wonderful, awful idea!* I'll dress up as Santa Claus and- no, wait, not that. I wonder, how close a copy of Izzy am I now? Do I have their powers? Could I use this charge is a different way? Like, say, turning another person into yet another Isabella? Maybe my parkour friend Eli would be interested in what it's like to be a dragon!* Fortunately or unfortunately, she chose not to vocalize her plan to the others, merely watched them. They were too distracted to pay her any mind at the moment anyway.
Zey licked their wolf-chops hungrily. "Saaay..." they slobbered, "is there any chance you could let me have a couple of the unsold snacks from the fridge? I could use an energy boost for the recent use of my magic." Amrin raised an eyebrow but acquiesced to her worker's request. "Sure, why not." she grumbled. "Mind you, I'll watch to make sure you don't go into another feeding frenzy like LAST time." Just as the others walked over towards the big refrigerator Amrin waved her other employee off home for the night. Blaze waved back "Okay! See you both later!" As she went out the door, she vaguely heard a shout of "Wait, stop! Not the whole chocolate cake! No, not all the pies! Just one!" In her enthusiasm, Blaze failed to consider two things- Firstly, while she did in deed have a copy of Zeydaan's powers to a small degree, she had no training in using them whatsoever. Secondly, that sometimes, when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as well, sharp, as the original...
28 IZZYS LATER... It was mid-afternoon when Sapphira Azula Cerulea 'Blue' MacGregor woke up from her long winter nap with a mighty dragon-yawn. "Has it been almost month already? Ugh, morning mouth! Bad enough after one day, but after twenty-eight or so!? ...I need mouthwash. Strong mouthwash!" The Scottish Flood dragon pulled herself out of the bed she'd been dozing in in a near-coma. Despite the name for it, she only needed to go into 'Winter Hibernation once every five or six years, during especially cold weather. Or due to sheer laziness building up to near toxic levels if she ignored it for too long. She walked into her bathroom and spend a great deal of time catching up on various toiletries and grooming that she needed for feeling and looking her best. By the time she was ready to go out in public again, it was late afternoon. Fortunately, work was not far at all, less if she flew, but she swore that local air laws had been designed for bias against winged people. Oh well! She stepped outside in her glorious French Maid style outfit and strutted her stuff. As she was walking to work, she vaguely noted that the streets of Mailor City were oddly empty today, but she put it out of her mind by humming a cute song she'd heard on the radio before going to sleep. Then, when she was still a few blocks away from the café something yellow and pink wearing black and white stepped out onto the sidewalk right in front of her, finally grabbing her attention. It was Isabella, wearing their Maiden Menagerie uniform, walking slowly and awkwardly, a spaced-out expression on their face. Blue blinked. Usually, Zeydaan transformed into Isabella before starting work, then changed back into werewolf once their shift was over, but there was no actual rule about what form they needed to assume while on or off the clock. "Hey Izzy! How's it going? Is your shift over already today?" She glanced at the orange sunset sky. "Seems early." Isabella perked up upon realizing they'd been noticed. "Scritches?" they practically begged, tail wagging like the canine they sometimes were. "Huh..." Blue was confused. IzZey was not usually a touchy-feely person. Still, as a werewolf they'd always looked sooo fluffy, and she'd been curious what their fur felt like. Where did you scritch on a dragon though? "Uh, okay?" Guessing, she reached forward and stuck her claws into the mass of pink hair around the horns near the back of the head and began scritching away. It was very pleasant, if kinda weird to be scratching another dragon like that, but Izzy was making happy little whimpering noises. Just then, a second Iabella walked up to them. They were wearing a slightly torn pink t-shirt, ripped up sneakers, and the rear of their blue jeans had a tail bursting out of a hole. "Scritches?' they asked hopefully, seeing their twin on the receiving end of some. "What?" Blue said confusedly. "Why are there two of you?" "Scritches," the two Isabellas moaned in unison. Blue yanked her hand free from the first Izzy's hair and backed away nervously. "What!?" Her fingers were all itchy, they flexed under their own power. She pulled them closer to her face, eyes flicking back and forth between her them and the approaching Zeys. Her hands spasmed, fur was sprouting out from her scales. "What's going on!?" The itchiness was spreading all over her body. Her hands, now covered with tiny patches of fine yellow hairs just like the ones on the Isabella's hands. "Argh, soo itchy!" Her wings and tail flexed wildly; they were no longer fully under her control. A mass of pink hair was sprouting from the tip of her tail-spade. Likewise, little pink holes were painlessly appearing in her wing membranes, as though she was being eaten by invisible moths. The tip of her snout felt itchy as it changed from blue to yellow. She furiously clawed at herself, ripping her clothes. "OH! I need, I need... SCRITCHES!"
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nemesis-is-my-middle-name · 5 months ago
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For the ask game: Every odd number in the fibonacci sequence.
whwjhwj ok (gaming ask meme)
1. Platform of choice when gaming?
im a pc gamer until i DIE 👍 sucks ass for my hips and back tho so second choice is the switch/other handheld so i can be Lying Down. i should probably get a steamdeck at some point...
3. Favorite boss?
HMMMMMM fuck. favorite boss Ever this is hard. gameplay-wise i think the NKG fight from hollow knight might be it? that one feels really really good to get right, it's extremely satisfying.
5. Most memorable gaming moment?
oof hmm. idk if this is in terms of like, emergent gameplay moments that were really cool, or in terms of planned story beats that really stuck with you, but. none of the former are coming to mind, so going with the latter. i think it might be In From The Cold from ff14 endwalker. that quest may be permanently etched on my brain. the way it uses gameplay mechanics against you and to enforce a sense of desperate urgency... everything happening with the story... really good
also, the end of little nightmares. i love when you suddenly realize what a game is FORCING you to do and you can't back out and little nightmares is really really good at that. mmmmm bite.
13. Coolest enemy/boss design?
kalameet or gaping dragon from ds1. they're tied. i think i audibly gasped the first time i saw both of them. i like... funky dragon... yeah...
21. A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving?
ffxiv lmao i'm not a huge mmo person! but that one Got Me
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astrxealis · 2 years ago
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i really want to play dragon age origins again ngl...
#⋯ ꒰ა starry thoughts ໒꒱ *·˚#i only ever played for a few hours but#last night i saw that uhh MOREIFAN#hi i made this post last night but i wanted to post it in the morning but forgot. i now remembered just now#MORRIGAN !! <3 i saw a gifset of her n i didn't perceive her that much back then but wow she is so pretty#alistair was my fave! he's still cool (i think) but i think i'd like morrigan more now ^___^ but also idk. hmm.#it's on the xbox and i barely use it nowadays bcs Playstation and Mobile ya. i should use the switch more. i miss my gaymes there#i was a human noble iirc. idk what i want to be now if i return to the game bcs i'll likely restart!#i actually played dragon age origins before ffxiv . i remember this fact bcs i played xiv and was like WOA i think#dragon age origins helped prepare me for this kind of gameplay (mostly involving clicking ?? iirc)#ya... also idk if i want to be a human noble anymore bcs ever since xiv yeah. faves are miqo'te and viera and lala yk ^___^#tbh i like both miqo'tes but mostly just male viera I LOVE FEMALES don't get me wrong but there's smth abt them that is Less now#lalas i general i super love they are such lil cute funny guys. female voice 1 is best btw <3 uhh i prefer females w lalas#so it is a BALANCE ... i lov other races like elezens (they are PRETTY. fuck people who don't like elezens)#and auri. plural of aura. i forgot if there was a space. i think there was. so yeah idk which i prefer w male female (male i think)#but it is a balance yes bcs other friends like em more !! uhh mostly femras. sorry elezens. also i like the other races too okay#but i prefer TWINKS over MOMMIES /lh both are great fr tho#wow... i think if ever i were to fantasia (kinda scared of becoming a fantasia addict lmaoo /lh) i want to be male miqo most#bcs i envy male viera gender sm but ?!?!?!??! male miqo seems most fun to play. but also i'm attached to my fem miqo so.#this turned from dragon age to ffxiv. why is this inevitable. why does this always happen#also this is so far into the tags of this post now and this post has strayed so far so small yeah#WAH. sometimes i get all jhdsghjb ?!?! whenever someone is like omg hi you followed me. omg hi i yeah yeah yeah#admiration/indimitation/wrong spelling ik but my shoulders hurt rn IDC. ookay it is hsdbgj??!??! in a VERY /pos way#but also i'm shy i don't really get it (i mean i could if i analyzed it properly. but i'm shy w this okay)#but also i realize i GET THAT WAY TOO !! sometimes i'm kinda woa w some people and when they follow me back it's like hi............#this is me w my fav writer following me back. and someone from twt i followed w/o realizing i followed them on their tumblr sb#and other people. and yeah. it's like wah hi..... <3 interesting I CAN'T THINK ANYMORE#time to do homework (or roulettes... or dailies.........)#interesting to think abt how i know the games ik. most of the games like cod and dragon age ik bcs of xbox#and they are blizzard stuff iirc !! but i grew up w square enix and a wii aside from a ps2/3 ?? so that is that
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sirthisisa-wendys · 3 years ago
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C-Can I request some with Draken and Mitsuya with reader?? I have a lot of thoughts with the Twin Dragons, i mean 😳 Mitsuya being so sweet and caring, and Draken being rude. The soft dom and the hard dom 😳
Twin Dragons: Mitsuya Takashi x Ken Ryuguji x Fem!Reader
wc: 264
tw: NSFW
masterlist
song recommendation:
One dragon is at your back, the other is at your front. They're whispering, chiding, chastising, urging you... all while their hands and lips snake around your body like serpents of lust.
"Such a sweet girl," Mitsuya murmurs, kissing down the left side of your neck from behind.
"I think you mean slut," Draken mumbles, fiddling with your clit and teasing you with quick and gentle flicks of his tongue with yours. "She's wide open and wet."
"Can feel it," Mitsuya replies.
When you're on your knees, both men offer their cocks to you, Mitsuya's fingers in your hair and Draken's moving your hand as you suck Mitsuya off. You switch back and forth, trying your best to keep them both pleased.
That's the thing about twin dragons, though. They're fickle, and easily get jealous if their plaything is distracted.
"Mitsuya," Draken huffs, pumping into your cunt from behind with fevered strokes. "I bet you won't last as long as me."
"You shouldn't be worried about that." The sounds of Mitsuya's dick hitting the back of your throat make him harder than a rock, and it spurs Draken to fuck you even faster so you can moan his name around the lavender-haired man's cock. "You should worry about her tapping out."
"Tap out?" His laugh is harsh, almost like a bark. "She wouldn't. Not while I'm this deep inside. She'll feel every stroke, right, princess?"
But what Draken doesn't see is the flush cheeked, the drowsy-eyed way you're looking at Mitsuya, drool pooling in your mouth as he slides past your lush lips.
"Mmm-hmm..."
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sly-merlin · 4 years ago
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okey dokey! I'm gonna be a father!
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Requesting pregnant reader scenarios, wanna see more of the guys’ duality balancing domesticity and impending fatherhood, and running the world, ya know 🙏🏾😎🤔😀 Just throwing the idea out there since you said we could. Y’know things like ‘I’m trying to leave to set up a meeting but her back is sore & she wants ice cream so one of u needs to suddenly be available. now’ & other things ig. I imagined Ty Kun, John Jae or Kun in as leader & probably hc or jaemin as the wife-sitters (lol)
Since you didn’t specify the unit,I did this with the few members from hyung line. This got so long that I ran out of ideas so let me know if you want me to write for some other members.  though j incorporated your ideas but i based it on the concept of them managing the treats in both hands. This is my first time doing reactions so leave some feedback if you wish! Have a nice day everybody.
(7 members) Ft. Taeil, johnny, taeyong, yuta, ten, jaehyun + kun
TAEIL 
"Let me message you back!" Taeil whispered into the phone and raised his body to observe your sleeping form. Your head was securely resting on his arm and he let out a relieved sigh as it was one of the few Lucky days when you were not thrashing around in your sleep. Day after day, you were getting uncomfortable with your heavy belly and all he could ever do was keep you company in your frustrations. He couldn't risk waking you up so he tried his best to complete the task in the painful position. He fidgeted with the phone for it was impossible to handle a 6 inch of metal device with one hand. Struggling with the grip for a few more seconds, he finally managed to send johnny a message regarding the inquiry.
Ask tae He has ab eztra key 2 my ofice.
Maybe he should turn his autocorrect on for situations like this!
Thinking his work was done, he locked the phone. just when he was about to put it on the nightstand on a blind guess, it vibrated again! 
John: He is out! You need to come asap.
He stopped to watch out for any movement from your side and when there was none, he shifted to his phone again.
Nt my pblm. 
He couldn't understand why johnny was being so persistent when everyone was under strict orders to not call him after 10 p.m unless someone was dying!
John: Jungwoo is in trouble with police. I need his fake ID!
Taeil’s scoffed a bit too loudly causing you to stir.  He paused in his actions only to continue when he noticed your even breathing. Weighing the options, he concluded that Jungwoo must have forgotten to pay for the food again or something like that otherwise if it was work related then johnny would have been screaming at his door and not through the phone.
Not his 1st time. dw too much. Jst send him some food so he wont cry like last tym.
He deserved that much punishment! With that he switched the device off and wrapped his arm around your waist, returning to the warmth he got to experience only at night times.
JOHNNY
You were on edge since the day you got yourself tested. You could blame it on the suddenly changing hormones or the never present johnny but one thing was sure that you were missing him more than ever. Johnny on the other hand, avoided going back home for the sole reason of finding himself incapable of taking care of you and his dangerous job. That’s why he had assigned hendery to be at your beck and call. He was a medic and since the other medical emergencies could be handled by xiaojun and renjun, hendery had no problem in spending some time with you. His company was full of funny stories of other members and silly jokes. Despite his endless efforts to distract you, the thought that your daughter’s father was missing the growth of his own child always remained at the back of your head. You couldn’t understand how all of a sudden his workload had increased so much that he barely had any time to even see your face let alone talk to you for a few minutes. But all your worries vanished the day he returned and sarcastically ordered hendery to show his donkey self out of his house to never come back again.
“I managed to prepone some important weapon deals”, he bowed gracefully to acknowledge his own achievements, making you chuckle at him, “and I’ve been rewarded with three months of holidays so I shall be spending these months making up for the lost time and creating new memories” he completed, kissing your forehead.
"I never said I need you 24/7. A few hours at most would do John" you said, knowing how his absence would affect the black neos. 
"Yeah. But then I realised what if my baby girl mistakes hendery for her father. Can't let that happen now yeah!" 
Masked under jokes, you were very well aware of the real reasons behind the toil he had subjected himself to! It was all for you and your baby girl and you knew he would do it again and again even if it meant the end of his life!
TAEYONG
 From sharp cold deadly glare to the dragon tattoo that adorned his neck and arms, fellow criminals had every reason to fear this man. His name, in the underworld, screamed  cursed royalty. But that was Lee taeyong, leader of black neos.
The taeyong standing right in front of you, struggling with multiple boxes of boards was anything but scary. Cladded in baby blue hoodie and black boxers, he was reading the manual, knocking down the structure again and again as he repeatedly found something missing from it. 
"Leave it tae. I can complete this later on. Come and eat now." You whined and suggested while taking bites from the creamy pasta he had prepared earlier. 
"what do you mean i can complete this later on. Do you find me incapable of making a crib?"
Yes you did!
But that was not the answer you could give when he was clearly trying his hardest. It was indeed baffling as to why the man who could assemble a weapon with his left hand was unable to join the pieces of a crib with both!
"No tae. You were out for three days so maybe you are just too tired to concentrate!" You explained in the politest way possible that clearly didn't reach him properly. He let out an audible gasp at what felt for him to be the accusatory tone.
"Eat your pasta and watch me complete this in half an hour! You'd regret saying that to me!"
Why was he the one with mood swings?
Just like other bubbling thoughts, you gulped down this one too and nodded enthusiastically, giving him a thumbs up as if you would never doubt his capabilities.
But you knew, he might have started the task but he was surely not going to be the one to complete it!
YUTA
“How about sakura?” hyuck suggested. Looks of disapproval were exchanged across the room and sound of mark hitting hyuck’s arm resonated in the living room.
“Cliche!” jaehyun laughed.
“Yes. We aren't naming our daughter sakura and that is final. She’s one of a kind and her name should also be!” you announced your arrival in the room and sat on the floor, making yourself comfortable between yuta’s legs. He wrapped his arms around your belly before leaning his neck to greet you with a sweet cheek kiss.
“Yes. What y/n wants, y/n gets. No sakura!” he held his one hand up in the air, forbidding any further discussion on the name.
"That's not fair!" Hyuck whined only to be dismissed by a wave from you.
"Just because it's not hyuck's choice doesn't mean that you have got right to choose by yourself. The baby is a part of this family so we get to decide what's best for her!" Ten exclaimed loudly getting everyone’s attention.
“How about ayaka?” kun suggested, entering the room with a trolley full of snacks. As the recommendations poured in, the snacks were passed to everyone. Days like these were rare and from the past two months, these rare days were spent daydreaming about the very first child in the black neos house.
“Akira? It’s quite universal you know.” mark joined in, reading the meaning of the name in different cultures and languages.
“Haru”
“No kai!” 
Somewhere in the conversation, yuta’s hands had travelled from your tummy to your sides. He knew the little brushes of his fingers had started to work on you as you swatted his hand away with yours. It only encouraged him and he tickled you on your sides more and more, getting the desired reaction. Your body being more sensitive and responsive than usual, you wiggled in his arms and squealed loudly enough to get everyone’s attention. Suddenly his hands stopped as he heard a whiny shout.
“Why are you bugging her?” hyuck hollered, “can’t you sit still for once? Let her breathe for a freaking second. You wanna tickle! Tickle me. Come tickle me but Don’t bother her!” 
You were aware of hyuck’s sudden outbursts of protection for you but this was truly something new! And you new tickles were not the reasoning behind his irritation. Sakura was!
“Le-let’s play a game”, kun interrupted before haechan’s frustration would land him into some trouble with the elder, “we’ll write all the suggestions into paper and whichever y/n chooses would be final. How does it sound?” 
Everyone hummed along to the idea. Looking over at Hyuck, you noticed a sudden glint in his eyes that spoke trouble. He was clearly planning something evil and until it was all fun and games, you had no trouble for his intentions.
“Since when did you get a bodyguard hmm?” yuta whispered, planting another wet kiss on your right cheek. 
“Yua.” you said.
“What?”
“We are naming her yua! When are you gonna tell them that i’ve already decided!” leaning backwards, you said in a hushed voice meant only for his ears.
“When they are tired enough to play any more games. Till then, let’s have fun. Look at hyuck, he’s surely gonna cheat and mark and renjun are going to strangle him.” yuta chuckled against your ear, making you laugh again. Life was good!
TEN
“Xiaojun! Xiaojun! Show yourself you good for nothing potato!” you winced at the volume of ten’s voice. Even though he was outside the room, his vocals were irritating. But you held your tongue from scolding him as he was the only one you could rely on at the moment. 
“Xia-
“Did bella bite you again? why are you shouting at-” xiaojun squinted at the wall clock and adjusted his glasses, “at 5:30a.m?”
“Half of the world is up you hibernating bear! y/n is craving ice-cream. You know better than to refuse her so go to her. Your service starts right now.” 
Xiaojun scoffed and remained glued to the stairs. Ten raised a brow questioning him but instead of answering him xiaojun came up with one of his own.
“And why aren’t you going?” 
“Switchblade prince is called so I gotta go. I don’t think you want her to wait!.”
Xiaojun groaned when ten shot him a wink and left the living room. Of course he had no trouble in tending to your demands which as a medic, he understood very well but ten’s cockiness wasn’t something he was ever ready to handle.
“y/n! What does our prince wanted to eat this early in the morning?” he smiled at you, plopping down on the edge of the bed.
“Apples and bananas.” 
“I meant what ice cream flavour do you want?”
“Ice cream? Who said ice cream? I want bananas.” you answered him, confused at his confusion!
It was only then that xiaojun realised that switchblade prince was never called in the first place. Ten had fled. Due to fruits! He was contemplating as to what extent he should be manipulating ten’s words while telling you about his betrayal when you spoke up.
“Umm. i guess we can eat mint chocolate as well. I’ll eat a banana chocolate sandwich first then we can both watch a movie and finish the ice cream. What do you say?”
Ok!  Maybe revenge could wait. Ice cream would be a priority here! 
JAEHYUN
If your husband was cocky, you were seriously too many steps ahead of him and it has taken only 10 days for jaemin to realise that you were just jae's cup of tea and no one else's, at least not as a 4 months pregnant woman. 
"Why are you sitting on the floor?" Jaehyun laughed at jaemin sprawled on the floor like a toddler. 
"Noona screamed at me" jaemin mumbled, hiding his face in his neck.
"Oh jaemin! Why did she do it? Were you teasing her again. You know that she doesn't take sarcasm too we-
"No. She threw up the food i made for her and that too thrice since yesterday. I got angry so i told her to eat up or else i won't be making anymore for her. She threw the pillow at me and ordered me to never talk to her again! I mean it's not like i was showing real anger! She's hungry since yesterday. If she won't eat up then she'd be sick. What did I do wrong! Now I made her favourite pasta and she won't open the door for me."
Jaehyun sighed and crouched down to jaemin's level. He knew your emotions weren't in your control anymore but jaemin wasn't wrong either. He was just doing what was right for you and unintentionally, you had ended up hurting the poor boy. Jaehyun patted jaemin's hair before he told him to inform taeyong about his possible absence from the upcoming meetings and activities.
"You can't do that." Jaemin said the obvious.
"Do you want her to eat or not!" Jaemin frantically nodded at him before running off to the main office.
Heating up the pasta, jaehyun made his way to your shared bedroom in black neos. 
"Baby open up it's me!" He knocked at the door and hearing his voice,you immediately opened it. 
"You are here!" You exclaimed, feeling beads of moisture in the corner of your eyes.
"Aww. Now is not the time to cry." He cooed, entering the room with the tray. Placing it on the coffee table, he turned around and hugged you just the way he missed you.
"I'm sorry for being occupied and only coming back at night. But I'm here for a few days so let's get you all happy like a seal!" He laughed, ruffling your hair.
"I-i yelled at jaemin for no reason." You confessed not being aware that he was already filled in by the younger boy. 
"You wanna apologize?" You nodded as he squished your cheeks in his hands and leaned in to kiss your pouty lips. 
"Later on! Now's the time for evening lunch and getting this food in your tummy without it backfiring!" 
You laughed at how smoothly he eased your worries. After eating properly, you apologised to jaemin which he accepted but not before crying like a little boy he was!
Bonus :
KUN
"Yangyang what the heck are you doing near y/n. I told you to keep your meaningless books away from her!" Kun felt like his blood pressure would shot up anytime soon.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh really? What's the book that you are reading to her?"
"How to walk like a pro when you are only 2 months old! I want the baby to be high class like me."
Kun's hands found refuge in his hair as he groaned at the boy. Now he needed to read all the books that could possibly reverse yangyang's teachings.
"There is no such book available."
"Yeah that's why i wrote it by myself. Pulled an all nighter but when the baby would start walking at only 2 months of age, you'd thank me!"
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kasey-writes-stuff · 4 years ago
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Wooo first fic of the four I’ve been talking about!
You were visiting Niki for a few weeks and you guys had decided it would be fun to do a little media share you laugh you lose stream! It was about an hour in and things were going okay you hadn’t cracked once and Niki had only cracked twice! You guys had five lives and with it already being an hour in and still having three left you considered this a win already! Everything was going smoothly until suddenly a tickle scene from dragon tales showed up, your eyes widened as you felt butterflies swarming your stomach! A bright red blush danced across your face as your hands twitched desperately wishing you had something to fiddle with to help distract you from the scene before you. Niki’s eyebrow raised as she turned to look at you
“what the heck is-“ she cut herself off noticing your blush and fidgeting hands “y/n are you alright?” You suddenly snap your head over “w-what? What? Oh yea I’m fine it’s nothing” she looks at you curiously “Did that almost make you laugh? Because your face is really red, I wonder who would send something like that in probably just some really random fan” suddenly discord started going off, Niki quickly paused the media shares and switched to discord to see who was calling… you felt more and more butterflies swarming already having a good idea of who it probably was… and suddenly you heard the voice and your face went even redder… it was none other than your brother like best friend Quackity…
“NIKI! Y/N!” He excitedly shouted as he smiled happily but the smile quickly turning into a more devious smile as he looked at the two of you, Niki smiled happily with some surprise as she titled her head slightly “Hi Quackity! What’s up?” He glanced towards you as he spoke “oh nothing just came to tell Y/N they’re welcome for that little video I sent in” he giggled slightly as he saw your head fall into your hands as more embarrassment over took you, you staying silent for now not trusting your voice to properly from words. Niki’s mouth gaped slightly in surprise “you sent that?! What was it about anyways? Is it some kind of inside joke or something?”
Quackity smirked slightly “I’m sure you could call it something like that right Y/N?” You whined slightly “Alex if you don’t shut up right now-“ he snickered softly “what if I don’t shut up what you gonna do?” You whined again “I’ll figure something out I don’t know what but something” Niki looked from you to Alex “Would one of you please explain the joke” though he’s been teasing you he was carefully watching your body language for any signs of discomfort or need for him to stop the entire time and he only looked harder and longer before deciding on his next move with this specific request, despite him seeing no discomfort or distress he decided to wait “well it’s not really an inside joke but more so of a secret, so I’ll wait until streams over I don’t wanna go spreading her secrets in front of the whole internet” Niki nodded in understanding “that’s understandable, do you wanna stay on and do the challenge with us or do you want us to call you after stream?”
Quackity shook his head “no no it’s fine I’ve caused enough chaos for now, you guys call back after stream and I can explain everything” your blush stayed there same as your mind swirled with thoughts stomach filled with butterflies, you smiled slightly though very appreciative of Alex for not wanting to fully share your secret to everyone and instead just having some light fun! Niki nodded excitedly smiling “Sounds good! Bye Quackity!” He nodded as he smiled back “bye Niki! Bye y/n!” You nodded softly smiling as well, and so stream went on about another hour before Niki and you had broken twice and Niki broke the final time
Niki and you ended stream as your stomach still swarmed with anticipatory butterflies which only increased as Niki turned to you smiling excitedly “Ready to call back Quackity?” You nodded shyly as you covered your face and brought your knees to your chest curling up in flusterdness already, Niki excitedly clapped a small bit before quickly pulling up discord and calling Alex! He answered in almost no time at all “hi again Niki! Hi y/n!”
Niki giggled excitedly “hi Quackity! So what is it?! What’s the big secret!? If y/n’s okay with you telling it of course, don’t feel like you have to let him say it if you don’t want him to!” You lifted your head a bit as you smiled gingerly at her “It’s okay I trust you Niki he can say it I don’t mind it’s just… it’s just flustering is all” she smiled brightly as she awed and placed her hand delicately on your leg in a comforting manner “Awweee y/n I’m so glad you trust me that much it truly means a lot!”
You nod softly and motion for Alex to continue “Okay so why I sent that video is because I knew it would fluster y/n and why it flustered them is because they like being tickled” he smiled as he waited for Niki’s reply, her face broke into the biggest smile as she says “wait really?! That’s so cute! Y/n why did you never tell me?!” You shrug softly “it’s flustering and embarrassing and some people find it weird so it’s not exactly the kind of thing I’m open with often…” she pouted softly nodding understandingly “That’s understandable dear just know I think it’s very adorable and great”
You look at her with soft eyes as you smile tenderly at her “T-thank you…” you were never good with knowing how to respond to things like this, she nodded softly as she says “so is there any specifics I should know about this?” She turned towards Alex for answers not wanting to make you explain anymore than you have to, he nodded smiling happily “okay I can give you a small run down, the terms you need to know are a lee is a person who likes being tickled and ler is someone who likes tickling people, now y/n here is a switch! A switch is someone who likes tickling people and being tickled, they lean lee though usually preferring to be tickled but they’re usually fine with either.”
She nods carefully taking in all the information “Okay it’ll probably take me a little bit but I think I got that, anything else?” He continues smiling as he says “Hmm not really besides she likes using the stop light system when both being tickled and tickling, green means go,yellow means slow down and red means stop” she nods “That sounds easy enough to remember, okay so any tips on spots to go for?” He smirks slightly “well if I told you that would take away half the fun wouldn’t it y/n?”
You whine softly “shut up” he raises an eyebrow “oh you know I was thinking about leaving and just letting Niki handle everything on her own but maybe I do stay, maybe I stay around and help Niki out with the verbal side of things… the teasing side of things” your eyes widened as you shook your head no but you couldn’t help the excited and anticipatory grin that overtook your face, Niki nodded happily “I would love to have you stay an help!” “Well then let’s get started”
You smiled nervously as Niki slowly approached you “so what do I do first?” Alex shrugs a bit and says “Well usually I get them either when they’re standing or easily in a position where I can make them lay down so I’d say having them lay would be easiest way to do it and you can either sit on their waist or beside them whatever you guys would prefer” Niki nods as you slowly lay down on the floor, she takes a seat beside you “Anywhere you’d prefer me to start or not to start dear?”
You shake your head softly “no you can start anywhere…” you turn your head to the side feeling more and more giggles bubbling up and nearly spilling out, Niki carefully pokes your side making you jump and squeak softly she smiles as she does it again and again beginning to alternate sides making you squirm back and forth Alex laughs softly “yea poking their sides is always a good one especially when they’re working because they turn to you after about the third poke and they try and act all upset and annoyed but their cheeks are all puffed up and their nose all scrunched as they have the biggest smile and there face is a really nice pink and they just look so cute” Niki awes softly as you whine “ahahlleehexxx shuhush”
He shakes his head “nah that’s my whole point of being here is to tease you so I’m not gonna shush! Anyways poking is great I love it a lot because of what I just said but also all the squeaks they make! Squeezing is really great to and just normal scratching type motions just everything is great really” Niki nods as she begins squeezing your sides making you burst into non stop giggles “aaah nihihikkiii hehehehhahahahhahahah!” She tilts her head softly as she smiles at you “what I thought you liked this? Is it too ticklish hmm? Are you too ticklish I’m barely even doing anything I mean just imagine if I went” she paused her movements as she thought for a moment quickly scanning your body before deciding on her next target… that target just so happened to be one of your sweet spots your hips “here!”
You squealed and broke into loud laughter “EEP NOOHOHOTTT THEHHEERRRHEHHWHW NNIHIHIKKIHIHIHI” Alex smiled from where he watched nodding approvingly “Good job Niki you already found one of their sweet spots!” Niki smiled proudly but also curiously “How many do they have?” Alex thought for a moment “hmm well I think about three maybe five? Definitely three though but there’s two that are borderline sweet spots depending on the techniques”
You were blushing like mad as you laughed through his whole explanation, once his explanation finished Niki slowed to gently tapping your hips leaving you to giggle residually as you gratefully took in air “hehehahahahah” Niki smiled happily as one hand slowly ran through your hair “you doing alright dear?” You nodded shyly “yehehaha ihihimm gohohood” “that’s good I’m glad you’re having fun i’m having fun as well” Alex nodded softly “so am I, who knew I didn’t even have to be there to be able to affect you so much ” he smirked softly knowing very well he knew ages before now that he can very easily affect you despite not even being with you in person
Your giggles finally stopped as you groaned softly “oh shut up you’ve known this for ages don’t act like it’s some new knowledgeEEE” you suddenly squeal feeling Niki’s nails experimentally beginning to scratch at your stomach, having never felt such long nails on your stomach was a new feeling and much more ticklish than you expected! Niki’s eyes widened as she turned to Alex “Is this a sweet spot?” He looks at her as he says “It’s a semi sweet one usually depends on the technique you use, I guess long nails must tickle a lot more than short ones because usually tummy scratches just make them all melty and really softly giggly”
Niki nods softly “Awe that’s adorable, and yea I guess they do” You lay there giggling loudly suddenly squeaking when you feel one of her finger nails nearing your tum button “hahhahaHahhahahHheHEHHEhhahahahahahEEK nohohottt theHEHHE buhuhutohohonnn!” Niki grins softly “Awe why not? It looks so cute I just wanna poke it a little bit! And maybe scratch the knot at the bottom” Your blush is now beginning to spread to your ears as you shake your head “noohhoooo dohohhohonnttt ihihittlll ttihihihahhahahehe yyoouuu knohohoww whahahhattt” she nods “And that’s exactly why I wanna do it!” Alex nods “I think you should definitely do it Niki!” She smiles softly at him “I think I will!” You shake your head giggles already increasing at the mere thought… slowly she begins tracing a nail around your button making your giggles near soft laughter… and suddenly before you can even prepare yourself her finger dips in! Swirling around as her nail gently scratches the knot at the bottom!
You shriek before falling into full laughter “aAHh HAHAHHAHA NIHIHIKKIHIHI NOOHOHOHO AHAHHAA” Niki and Alex smile happily watching your squirm and laugh carelessly and joyfully, not wanting to fully tire you out just yet she stops after a few seconds. You lay there giggling residually as you catch your breathe “hohohoollyy cohohowww nnahahaiillss ahahhreehhe sohoho bahahaddd” Alex smirks slightly as he says “Well maybe I should grow mine out then or get one of those fake nail kits for when I tickle you” You whine softly as you say “shut up you wouldn’t do that” he snickers “watch me just wait and see next time we meet up” Niki giggles softly “I can message you later telling you what brand works the best!” Alex nods smiling “Thank you Niki I would very much appreciate that!” She nods, as you groan softly “I hate you both”
She gasps softly as she reaches out and squeezes the upper part of your side just below your bottom most ribs “Hey! That wasn’t nice I think you should apologize to us!” You squeal as your body jerks instinctively trying to curl up “EEP NO! Ihihi dohohonnttt whahahannnhahah!” Niki turns to Alex “Okay what’s the quickest way to make them apologize? We’ve been at this for a bit so I don’t wanna go too much longer seeing as we both know how they like to push themselves so much in everything else they do I can only imagine that that same mentality would carry over to this”
Alex nods “It definitely does carry over, well definitely I would say target that area you just squeezed, either squeeze some more or vibrations work really well there too also nibbles and raspberries there or there stomach just combining it all would probably be best, target one side with your hand and then the other and their stomach just nibble and raspberry and they’ll be apologizing and probably calling red very quickly” You grumbled softly about how you could take it and how Alex always underestimated you
Niki nodded taking everything in “Got it! Ready y/n?” You nod trying to seem unphased though your bright red cheeks and ears and your messy hair told a very different story “I’m ready!” Niki shakes her head “I don’t think you are but let’s go” she quickly leans down wasting not time starting to nibble and raspberry your left side as one of her hands vibrates into your right side and the other vibrates and squeezes your tummy! You scream before falling into your loudest laughter yet which after a hiccup eventually turns silent
“AAAHH AHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHHEHHEHEHEHAHHAHAHAHA *hic* …………….” Niki continues for only a few moments after your silent laughter began before stopping “Are you ready to apologize now?” You nod giggling and hiccuping softly “yehehhesss *hic* ihihihimmm sohohorryyy ihihihi *hic* dohohohnnttt hahah thehehe yoouuu *hic* guhuhyysss” Niki ruffles your hair softly “Well good because I don’t know what I would do if you did hate me”
Alex smiles softly “Yea if you hated me then who would I tease endlessly about their music taste and how terrible of a cook they are” he snickers softly as he says it and you shake your head smiling and rolling your eyes “I’m sure you could find someone, but no one would be able to live up to the same expectations so I guess I won’t hate you… for now” you giggle softly as he now rolls his eyes “yea yea whatever nerd, I gotta go but have fun okay? And come see me next!” You smile as you say
“Dude I haven’t even left yet and I would like to go home first before going anywhere else” he says “I know I know I just miss you is all, oh and Niki they’re a person of revenge so watch out!” You sigh softly “I miss you too, and he’s right you know” you turn to Niki grinning softly, her cheeks dust pink as she says “t-thanks for the warning” he nods “bye guys!” You and Niki wave as you tell him bye
And so with that the day ends
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oftachancer · 3 years ago
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Ao3 Questions
Tagged by @midnightprelude and @johaeryslavellan - my two trusty co-writers; thank you for the tags! And tagging on @onionjuggler @fandomn00blr  @dismalzelenka @blarrghe @faerieavalon @in-arlathan @suliswrites @leafylost @serial-chillr @tessa1972 anyone else who would like to do this!
How many works do you have on Ao3?
32
What’s your total Ao3 wordcount?
924,518
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
tell the angels (DAI, Part two of my Here In This Moment series following my Inquisitor Aran Trevelyan) - 56
it’s the promise you made (DAI, Part one of Here In This Moment) - 55
watching you (DAI, Part 3 of Here In This Moment) - 51
Underneath the Bough (DA AU, Victorian AU, Dorian/Anders/ OC Almila, co-wrote with @midnightprelude) - 42
I... I am (DAI, Part 4 of Here In This Moment) - 37
Pour Forth Thy Soul In Ecstasy (DA AU, Dorian/Ril origin story, co-wrote with @midnightprelude​) - 29
Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Honestly, not as much as I should. I spend so much time writing that I let a lot of the social aspect of things fall by the wayside. Fortunately, I co-write everything except my own little series, and my co-writers are phenomenal communicators who make up for my introversion. I do go through batches at a time and try to answer people when I can think of anything relevant to respond with; sometimes that takes me a while..... But I really appreciate comments! Even if they’re just little “adiubasuidgaibda”. :)
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Ummmmm...... Hmmm. They mostly all have angsty beginnings..... Maybe Pour Forth Thy Soul in Ecstasy. Or Crash (still being posted, but finished writing). 
What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
By The Earnest Stars has a nice ending (spoilers, finished writing, not finished posting). Excess of Joy Would Wake Me is a sweet ending to a one-shot (I actually have accomplished a COUPLE of those!) 
Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I have a few crossovers in the works and mixed into Here In This Moment into other writers’ Dragon Age universes, especially in my continuing series “travels in time” which deals with my time/world hopping Inquisitor. 
Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Hmm. Nope. No hate. And there have been a few things I’ve written where I was a little worried about it, honestly, because I write pretty viscerally about things. But. Yeah. No hate. Just love or silence and some thoughtful constructive criticism. 
Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Yup! All kinds! Mostly M/M, but also M/F and F/F. Lots of kinks, lots of play, all consensual except for one scene for one specific reason and I labeled the heck out of it. 
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not as far as I know.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope.
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes! Many! Lots! Love it! Finding a rhythm with another writer is so fulfilling and I really love it. 
What’s your all time favourite ship?
.......Oof. I mean. Honestly, my favorite ship at any given moment is the one that I’m writing if the flow is good. If I’m looking up fics to read, I usually look for Dorian-centric stories. 
What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
travels in time. I have it all plotted out, but there’s years of it and I’m beginning to think it might be better not to show everything that happened in the missing time interim. Mystery is more interesting. However, if you read it and there’s a particular part of the journey that you’d like to see detailed, let me know. :) 
What are your writing strengths?
Does tenacity count? I’ve been told that I have a knack for creating visceral scenes that evoke the feelings of the characters for the readers really strongly and that is my goal. To bring the reader into the scene. I love sinking deep into a point of view and focusing on the particular lens of the narrator. I also really love building out the bare structures of largely sketched in canon characters, like Rilienus and Karl Thekla. 
What are your writing weaknesses?
One-shots. Getting to the point quickly. Fight scenes - I hate writing them. Arguments, I love, but action sequences are really difficult for me for some reason. Apparently they actually turn out pretty well? But I find them very stressful to build. 
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I do it. I like it. I like reading it. There are some images and ideas that are communicated better in other languages. And when there are characters switching between languages for the sake of privacy/community/shared history/etc, I find it more satisfying to allow them to actually switch languages rather than continuing to point out when they are and are not speaking in a language that might be understood by those around them. I use Polish for Nevarran, French for Orlesian, and Latin for Tevene. I also use the much debated Elvhen Lexicon, in conjunction with other Dalish sources online. 
What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (1995). That’s right! I was and still am a hardcore Trowa/Quatre shipper and I refuse to feel bad about it. My first poly-triad fix was Duo/Trowa/Quatre and it got a lot of good feedback on Livejournal (remember that, back in the day?) and that was before poly was a thing people actually talked about. Still proud of that.
What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?
I cannot possibly answer this adequately. I’m proud of them all in different ways. The series Everything Will Be Okay that I’ve written with @johaeryslavellan has the most original characters and is a modern AU and is basically just our own world with touches of Thedas along the edges and I’m really proud of the relationship between the two original characters; it’s very real and unique and strange and fun and painful. I’m also really proud of Pour Forth Thy Soul In Ecstasy, which I wrote with @midnightprelude, because I feel like we really just caught the sail of what the Tevinter Imperium is like and absorbed and explored that world really well from a single setting, and also we did some killer magic exploration that is still really fun to re-read. And solo-wise, I’m still the most proud of “my window through which nothing hides” which is pure, unadulterated smut from Cole’s POV and I had so much fun working through how he would interpret physical sensation and living in his brain and body for a minute. 
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nalu4emily · 4 years ago
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The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 16
Summary:  Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff
Rated M for a reason!
"Hey, old lady! Open up!" The slayer bellowed through the tiny keyhole, beating the same spot on the large, ornate door repeatedly with his fist. "I know you're in there; I can smell you!"
"Go away, boy! I don't like visitors!" The occupant shouted from the other side, infuriating the dragon further.
He hammered his fist harder, determined to get some answers. There was no way he was turning back, not after running all this way. He'd kick the door in if he had to.
Haru, who was tucked into his arms, didn't seem to mind the small detour, or the loud clattering and yelling. He was perfectly content playing with anything he could get his hands on, namely Natsu's clothing. The occasional "Mama" or "Dada" would escape him but he mostly babbled nonsense to himself.
"At least you're having a good time. Daddy's starting to lose his patience." Natsu muttered the last bit under his breath, grinning at the child through his chagrin. He turned back to the door, "Look, I won't take up much of your time, I just need your advice. It's about Lucy…"
The door swung open with a rush and a thud, crashing into the very tree it was nailed to, causing leaves to fall from their branches. The noise had stunned Natsu into silence as he stared at the very person he'd come to see—Porlyusica. Dressed in her usual attire, she stepped out onto the porch and glowered at the young man, broom in hand, ready to chase him away.
Opening her mouth to scold him for the disruption, she caught sight of the little one he was carrying and closed it again, her hard lines softening. Instead of beating the slayer with her broom, which was the original plan, she held something out in her palm, expecting him to take it.
Eyeing it curiously, he took it from her hand and held it to his face, inspecting it further. It was a small, glass vile with a cork stopper lid, that contained a strange yellow liquid, its consistency was thick and it reminded Natsu, somewhat, of mashed up baby food—the kind Haru loved to eat.
"It's called morning sickness. Give her a few drops of that potion and it should quell its severity." She explained.
The boy accepted her potion and put it into his pocket for safe keeping, "Thanks! Lucy'll be glad of that. Only, it's not just her sickness that I'm-"
"I know why you're here. I could tell when I saw you all the other day, I'm just surprised it's taken you both this long to come knocking. So, where is she?" Porlyusica asked, looking behind Natsu for the blonde.
"At home actually. She… kinda doesn't know I'm here… but, I can't watch her suffer like that, I need to know what to do." Natsu pleaded, hoping the healer would help him.
She sighed, unable to refuse his request, "Has it been confirmed?"
"Not really… How do you do that?" Natsu asked, his knowledge on such things were limited.
"Get Lucy to test it, she'll understand. Then once it's confirmed, come back to me, I'll need to run some checks." She said, turning to go back inside.
"Checks? What checks?" There went his plan! Lucy would have to see her after all.
"You want a healthy child, don't you?" She said, as if it were obvious.
"U-Uh…"
The fire mage didn't get a chance to think too much into that before the door was slammed shut in his face, making him along with the baby jump.
The wind picked up a little as he turned to walk away, looking down at Haru, who was starting to snuggle down against his chest. Natsu smiled again at him, trying to mask his annoyance with the old woman's abruptness, "Sorry for making you wait, Haru, I bet you're super bored?"
"Dada…" The child yawned cutely on cue, making Natsu chuckle.
"Yeah, Dada's gonna take you home." He reiterated, turning to make tracks for home.
Natsu all but crashed through the front door, nearly breaking it off its hinges. "Luce? Lucy? Are ya home?" He yelled out into the house. Out of breath and panting, having just ran all the way back.
"Lucy?" He called out again, but with no answer still, he wondered where she could be, "Hmm… Let's go find Mama; she's around here somewhere."
"Mama…" The infant muttered, before going back to sucking on the ends of Natsu's scarf.
Once reaching the top of the stairs, he heard what he suspected might be the reason for Lucy's silence. A noise that'd become all too common over the last few days. Pushing the bathroom door open, he stood in the doorway, smiling sadly at the girl hunched over the toilet bowl once again. He felt nothing but empathy for her, the feeling of being overwhelmingly sick wasn't exactly foreign to him either, so he understood her pain.
The young man crouched down behind the blonde, cringing as she wretched her guts up. "It's alright, Luce. I'm here with you now." He spoke quietly, as not to alarm her of his presence. Placing Haru down next to him, he reached a hand out to her shoulder, the warm touch spreading over her clammy skin.
With one last cough and spit into the bowl, Lucy leaned back, breathing heavily while her watery eyes streamed down her face. She sniffled and blew her nose with a tissue, wiping her mouth at the same time. She took in a large breath and shifted to the man behind her, clutching hold of his jacket while she cried into his chest.
Enveloping her with his arms and cradling her head to him, he spoke tenderly to her, "Has it eased off now?"
"I-I don't know." Her voice was hoarse; her throat sore, "Please don't leave me again."
That struck a chord with Natsu. Never had he heard Lucy ask for him, not like that. She was always way too proud and independent, but this had really taken it's toll on her, not just physically but mentally also, making her feel vulnerable and it saddened him to see her so.
"I won't, Lucy, I promise." He said lowly into her ear, placing an affectionate peck just behind her lobe.
Nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck, she sniffled again, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, "I don't want this, Natsu. I don't care what's causing it; I just want it gone."
Really her words shouldn't have affected him like they did, yet he still felt a sharp tug on his heart. She didn't know the reason behind her vomiting; how could she? He hadn't told her. And now with her so upset, he really didn't know how he was going to do that. Where did he even start?
He'd been so ready to just blurt it out, never considering how Lucy might react to it. In fact, if memory served him, she'd most likely freak until she combusted, or worse, began to cry. This subject had to be handled sensitively and with care, but the longer he left it, the longer he had to dwell on her reaction.
"I know, Luce. Are you sure you still want to wait for Wendy? Gramps told me she won't be back for a week at least." He explained, hoping she might change her mind about seeing the old dragon woman.
"I don't care who I see, as long as they can get rid of it." She said, finally pulling back and wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm just so tired! It's been so long since I've had any real sleep and the puking just won't let up. My tummy hurts, my back aches and my ribs feel like they're being squashed, I have a constant headache and food-" She placed her hand over her mouth again, feeling that overwhelming nausea return. The mention of food, any food, was enough to set her off.
"Just try and take a deep breath, Luce, think of something else."
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose and let it slowly out through her mouth, turning her attentions to Haru, "Sorry, little man, Mama didn't mean to ignore you, although you seem pretty content sucking on that scarf."
"He's been doing that all afternoon." Natsu answered for the baby, before switching back to Lucy, "Has the feeling gone now?"
"Not yet, it never really does. It just sits there until something triggers it." She explained, trying to breathe through the queasiness.
"That sucks… Oh, that reminds me, I have something for ya!" Remembering the little gift the old woman had given him, he started rummaging through his pockets, pulling out the item he was looking for and handed it to her, "Take it, Luce, it'll help with your, uh…" Wracking his brain for whatever Porlyusica had called it, "…Sickness." Was what he settled for.
Taking it into her hands she stared at it, frowning at the gross substance which could barely be called a liquid. "Um… Are you sure this is fit for human consumption?" She asked, hesitant to put it anywhere near her mouth. "And where'd it even come from?"
"Well, you know you said you didn't want to go to Porlyusica?" He blushed a little, putting his hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly, "I kinda did for ya and she gave me that. She said to take a few drops of it."
"Hmm… If you say so." She popped the cork lid open and let a few small globs dribble out into her mouth, pulling a disgusted face as it slid down her throat and stuck out her tongue. Little Haru found it hysterical and began laughing at his mother, his whole body jiggling up and down, "Well, I'm glad you're finding this funny, because that is repulsive!"
Natsu smiled, "You did look kinda funny, Luce. But at least it'll lessen your morning sickness now." That was it!
Eyes widening, Lucy snapped her head to Natsu, her amusement gone, "Morning sickness?!"
"Yeah, that's what she called it—which is dumb! It's more like all day and night sickness." He chuckled to himself, quickly falling silent when Lucy's expression didn't change at his little joke. He didn't understand; had he said something wrong? "What's up, Luce? I thought it might help."
"You… you think I'm pregnant?" She asked, eyes wide and mouth agape, her stare never leaving him.
Shit!
So morning sickness was a pregnancy thing? He wished he'd known that sooner!
Cursing himself again, he hadn't meant for her to find out like that and what's worse—she looked utterly horrified. Dammit! What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't lie to her; he wouldn't do that. With no other alternative, he did the only thing he could and sighed, nodding his answer and cringing at the sharp inhale he heard pass her lips.
Hoping she wasn't about to blow a fuse, he approached the stunned girl carefully, taking the vile out of her slack grasp and placed it back in his pocket before entwining their fingers together. Quirking one side of his lip into a half smile, he kept quiet and allowed her to process the information she obviously was not expecting.
His eyes dropped from her shocked face to her partially exposed stomach, catching her other hand instinctively come down to cradle it protectively, like an expectant mother would and it made the adrenaline course through his body.
"Pregnant… How did I not think of that?" She muttered under her breath, truly shocked that she hadn't once considered it a possibility. All the signs were there, everything pointed to it—shouted at it in fact, yet it was Natsu who'd realised it first. The boy that once thought humans laid eggs had figured it out before her? Something seemed fishy! "How come you knew? Who've you been speaking to?" Mortified to think that the whole guild knew before she even did.
"Gray, actually." He replied, shrugging, "And Porlyusica helped, obviously."
"Gray?! What does he know about having a baby? Doesn't he usually shy away from that kind of stuff?" She was astounded to find that it was the ice mage of all people. One of the girls from the guild was understandable or even someone like Gajeel who'd experienced it, but Gray?
"You think Juvia gives him a choice? She was crazy before, but now it seems she's on a whole other level." He sniggered a little, feeling kinda sorry for Gray, but kinda not. He'd made his bed and now he'd have to lay in it.
"Oh, so Juvia's pregnant too? How sweet, she's been desperate since… well, since forever!"
Natsu hummed in agreement, his attention focused more on Lucy's calm and collected demeanour, which honestly, he hadn't expected. She seemed happy by the prospect of growing their family, and that filled him with joy.
"Baby fever all 'round, it seems." Chuckling and tapping little Haru's head, the spirit wielder met the slayers eyes, smiling brightly at him with her hand still firmly placed on her lower belly, "I guess being so sick will be worth it, if it's for a baby."
"Our baby, Luce." Wiping the few stray tears away with his thumb, Natsu grinned at her, glad to see that gorgeous smile of hers split her cheeks, "Now we just gotta test it, right? Only, I don't know how you'd do that?"
"Hmm… I do, but… Oh wait! Cana!" She yelled, scrambling to her feet and nearly tripping on the bath mat. Luckily, Natsu was there for her to grab a hold of.
"What's this got to do with Cana?" He asked, confused—nothing good could ever come of her being involved.
"Her 'gifts'." The boy tilted his head; that made even less sense! "You know… ages ago, she pranked us with the condoms and a pregnancy test?" Lucy whispered to him, not wanting to say it out loud in front of Haru.
"Oh yeah! I wondered where they all went!" His eyes lit up when the memory returned to him.
"Please don't remind me…" Happy mumbled under his breath, a look of trauma on his face.
"Oh, hey Happy! I didn't hear ya come in!" Natsu greeted, waving at the exceed hovering in the doorway.
"Why're you guys looking for those things? You mean you're actually gonna use 'em?!" Nearly passing out at the thought, but shut his mouth quickly when he noticed Lucy glaring at him.
Returning to the task at hand, the blonde continued to search through the bathroom cupboards, "I put them away in here somewhere… Aha! Found it!" She cheered, holding and waving it in her hand to show Natsu.
"Awesome!" He cheered, "Now what?"
"Yeah, uh, you're gonna have to wait outside, and I'll let you know when I'm done." Pulling out the stick from its packaging, she crossed her arms and glared at the boy still standing there.
"Wait, what's happening?" The exceed asked, completely lost on their conversation.
"Why do I gotta wait outside? Can't I stay in here while you do it?" Natsu didn't want to be locked out again, it wasn't fair! He wanted to be in on the action!
She deadpanned, "Unless you want to watch me pee on a stick?" He was clueless.
"No, thank you!" Happy was gone in a flash, back down the stairs, no longer caring what they were talking about.
"So what, Luce?" The fire mage shrugged, "I've seen ya do worse."
"Just get out, Natsu, I'll call you back in when I'm done!" Lucy huffed, shooing the idiot out of the bathroom, ignoring his protests and shutting the door behind her.
Natsu exaggerated his huff, chuckling when Haru copied him, "Looks like we gotta wait out here, little guy. Are ya hungry?" The fire mage asked, taking them both down to the kitchen to retrieve some food.
Once returning to the bathroom door, food thoroughly shoved in their pie holes, they waited. When the door finally opened, revealing the girl with the stick in her hand, Natsu could barely contain himself; he wanted to know the results.
"So, what's it say? Are ya, Luce?" He asked, feeling like a kid at Christmas. Upon setting his own eyes on the girl, his face dropped instantly as he watched fresh tears build in her eyes. "Lucy?"
She wiped her snuffling nose and handed the stick to her partner, allowing him to look at the results. "Two lines means positive; one line means negative." Was all she said, using her sleeve to rub at her irritated eyes.
Peering down at the peculiar shaped object in his hand, he knitted his brows together. On the little screen, there was but a singular line—just one. He looked back up to Lucy, confusion still etched into his expression, "Negative?"
"It means, I'm not pregnant." Disappointment flowed out of her very pores; saying it out loud only reaffirmed it; a bitter truth escaping her lips. "Back to the drawing board, I guess. I'm sorry, Natsu, I know that wasn't what you wanted to hear."
Natsu remained silent, processing it all. It was definitely not the result he had been expecting, but it didn't seem to be bothering him as much as it should've. That niggle along with everything else that lead him to that conclusion, surely hadn't been wrong? He should've felt sad, a little disappointed, maybe? Or even a tad guilty for giving Lucy false hope—but he felt none of those things.
It was true that he didn't have well of medical knowledge like Porlyusica or some other doctor. He didn't read a load of books to get his information like Lucy or even Levy, and he certainly had no experience to pull from, and yet his gut still believed there was hope.
He placed the test down and pulled Lucy to him, enveloping her in his warmth to soothe her aching heart. With her nestled into his chest, he nuzzled his head into her hair, breathing in her scent, allowing it to relax him, when an idea struck.
Unexpectedly he pulled away from the sad blonde, passed her the baby and dropped to his knees, much to her embarrassment. He hugged her close, placing his nose on her lower belly and inhaled deeply, ignoring her flustered rants about 'reading the mood'. After several awkward minutes of her whining and his determination to be proven right, he smiled and let go.
"Natsu, you can't just sniff people like that! What were you doing?! I'm not in the mood for jokes." She sighed, watching him hop to his feet.
"Lucy, I think the test is lying."
Perking her head up to meet his eyes, with brows knitted together, she spoke, "Huh? Tests don't lie, Natsu! Don't be so ridiculous! I know it's hard to hear, but we're not having a baby."
"We'll see about that!" He grinned and hoisted her up, carrying her bridal style down the stairs with Haru perched neatly in her lap, ignoring her yells to be put down.
"Right Haru, let's go get some answers! You coming, Happy?" Natsu's usual electric enthusiasm shone brightly through his grin.
"Yeah! Where are we going?" Happy asked, hovering above the slayer's head.
He winked at the Exceed, then proceeded to kick the front door open and walked out into the front garden. "You ready, Luce?" His grin turning mischievous.
"Natsu, put me down! I don't even have any shoes on! Where the heck are we going?!" She screeched into his ear, making him wince, but smile all the same.
"You don't need shoes when I'm carrying you! Hold on tight guys, we're off to see the old dragon woman in the woods. She'll be able to tell us." He said, sprinting off down the path towards their destination, with Happy flying behind.
Eventually, Lucy gave up her struggle. She wasn't going to win; she never did once he'd set his mind on something. That was usually how all of their adventures started off, him dragging her off somewhere new and exciting. Although, she couldn't say going to see the old woman was new or particularly exciting, but if Natsu thought it was the right thing to do, even if the result remained the same, then she had no choice but to tag along.
Finally nearing the tree, Natsu could see from a distance that the door was open, meaning said woman was out and about, probably collecting ingredients for her next potion.
"So you've returned." They heard the gruff voice from behind, swivelling their heads to meet Porlyusica as she walked over to them. "And you've brought the whole cavalry… Well, don't just stand there gawking, in you go!" Natsu quickly made it into the tree, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the cranky woman with a broom. "And put Lucy down, a pregnant woman is more than capable of walking, boy!"
Lucy all but jumped to her feet, mortified and embarrassed by the whole situation and turned to the healer, "That's the thing though, I'm not pregnant, but Natsu insisted on dragging us out here. We're sorry for wasting your time." The flustered blonde seemed a little too eager to leave and tried to make a break for the door; however; the fire breather's quick reflexes caught her wrist before she could reach the door handle.
"Luce, I told you already: the test was lying!" He repeated, eyes pleading with her just to wait and see what the healer might say.
She sighed; feeling a little frustrated by it all, "Tests don't lie, Natsu. I'm not pregnant and that's all there is to it. I'll just have to muddle through whatever this sickness is until it goes away."
"It came out negative, I assume?" Porlyusica intervened, focusing on the blonde huddling close to the door. "Natsu is right, tests can give false negative readings, especially if it's old or hasn't been used properly." The pink haired woman walked closer to the girl, looking her up and down. "I thought that you might be when I saw you last and I'm rarely wrong."
Lucy hadn't expected the woman to actually agree with Natsu. She hadn't thought that there could be something wrong with the test, but then again, it was from Cana and god knows where she'd got it from. She perked her head up a little and was almost reluctant to look at the dragon slayers expression, knowing the smugness of being right would be written all over his face.
"Ha! See, I knew it! There's still a chance, Lucy!" Natsu shone his vibrant, toothy grin at the blonde girl. She could see the hope in his eyes; he really wanted this; to be a father again and her heart all but melted.
"I have other, more thorough ways of testing, if you'd let me?" Porlyusica asked the celestial mage, bringing her back to the present.
Apprehensively, Lucy nodded her head and went to sit on the bed by the window to await further instructions. She was so nervous, hoping for some positive answers, that would prove the test was false. She wasn't sure her heart could take the disappointment a second time, especially if it included Natsu's this time.
"There are a few different ways I can confirm a pregnancy, blood tests and so forth, but the most efficient way is a scan of the area." She said, gathering the instruments she needed whilst awaiting Lucy's approval. "I use a lacrima and it shows an image of your womb."
"O-Okay." Lucy replied, uncertain of what she'd just agreed to.
She laid back on the bed and pulled her top up, revealing her stomach. Taking a deep breath, the celestial mage twisted her head to Natsu, who had knelt down beside her. Her nerves were rattling within her body and was looking for a little reassurance, something to take the edge off of her apprehension.
He smiled at her tenderly and reached out for her hand to hold tight, not entirely convinced it was to ease just her anxiety as opposed to his own. They were about to find out whether or not their own little creation had taken residence in Lucy's womb, and he couldn't describe what an incredibly surreal feeling that was.
Porlyusica first needed to locate where the lacrima should be placed. Using one hand, she pressed firmly just above Lucy's pelvis, then several times around the area. Still tender and overly sensitive, Lucy tried her hardest not to show the discomfort it was causing. It rippled up into her throat, making her feel sick again, only this time she had no choice but to hold it back.
The wincing and quiet gasps didn't go unnoticed by the dragon slayer. He'd been watching the healer like a hawk, making sure nothing hurt Lucy too much. He leant over, understanding how unpleasant it must be and kissed her temple, whilst running his fingers smoothly through her blonde tresses.
The lacrima was a simple looking flat, green crystal that the older woman laid onto the stellar mages bare skin and waited for the image to appear. With a few flashes of light, a picture was formed like a projection hovering just above the lacrima.
"What the heck is that?! It looks like you swallowed a ball!" Happy couldn't take his eyes off of the image.
"That's so cool! I'm totally looking at your insides, Luce!" The fire breather enthused, unable to take his eyes off of the image.
Lucy rolled her eyes at the pair; typical Natsu and Happy, "You're both such idiots…"
"When you're done bickering, I'll explain what you're looking at." Porlyusica cut in. She pointed to the big black oval shape on the projection, that Happy kindly pointed out, and looked at the pair, making sure they were paying attention. "This is the outline of your uterus, Lucy. And from what I can see, it looks perfectly normal and healthy."
"Oh okay, that's good then." She pointed to a smaller, light coloured ball at the bottom of the black oval and knitted her brows together. "So, what's that?"
Moving the lacrima crystal slightly, the healer repositioned it to get a closer look at the small ball and both mages eyes near bulged out of their sockets. Their mouths dropped open and breath hitched simultaneously as the image took on a more human shape, its arms and legs moving rapidly.
"Oh my… Is that…?" Lucy had never seen anything like it, her mouth had gone completely dry and she felt the butterflies in her tummy cause her to quiver, she was in awe.
"Look at what we did, Lucy…" Natsu murmured after a few shocked, silent moments, catching the girl's attention. His eyes were glued to the image, watching it kick out with it's tiny little developing legs and feet. "It's an active little thing…"
"It's a baby, Natsu…" The celestial mages eyes glazed over, unable to control the flood of emotions that entered her system.
For the first time, the fire breather peeled his sights away from the projection and looked to his partner. His own tears peaked at the corners, feeling so overwhelmingly happy to be able to share this with her.
"Mm… it sure is, Luce." His voice sounded airy, sleepy almost, like his body had simply relaxed. His brilliant smile beamed at the blonde, making her heart skip a beat as she turned to face him fully, the sound of their little one's heart beat filling their ears.
"Look Haru, you're gonna have a little brother or sister." Lucy said as Natsu held him up to see, pointing at the even tinier one wriggling around on the projection. "It's a little one, just like you!"
Porlyusica turned the crystal once more, allowing them to see the baby from a different angle, "As you can see, Lucy, you are pregnant and by the looks of it, I'd say you have been for about ten weeks now."
"Ten weeks?! Surely that's not right; I would have noticed long before now!" Lucy was stunned to learn she was that far along already. The symptoms had only just started and she'd menstruated within that time—hadn't she?
"Not necessarily, pregnancy doesn't follow a certain set of rules. When Juvia came to see me regarding the same thing, she'd been suffering with symptoms from around the six week mark. Levy, on the other hand, had no symptoms and she was carrying twins. Some women experience symptoms just at the beginning while others, all the way through. Some later and some sooner, and some none at all."
"Oh… I didn't know. So, what happens now?" Lucy asked, feeling a little bit of disappointment when the healer deactivated the lacrima and removed it from her belly—she could've easily watched it all day.
"Yeah, when will it be born? Is it a long wait?" Natsu butted in, moving to sit next to the girl on the bed.
"And I thought Gray was clueless… A pregnancy takes nine months or approximately forty weeks, meaning Lucy has about thirty weeks left to go."
"That long? But that's ages away!" Natsu whined, turning into a child himself.
"Yeah, why can't it be born now?" Happy joined in, wanting to meet the little one already.
"Quiet, boys, before I kick you out!" She threatened, returning her attentions to the blonde, "Look after yourself, Lucy. A stressed mother is a stressed baby, but so far everything is looking as it should." The woman returned her equipment to their places and snapped her head to the little family still sitting there, "What're you both still doing here? Get out!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Natsu and Lucy jumped to their feet at lightning speed and ran out of the door, making sure they were out of sight of the old woman before slowing to a halt.
"Ugh! Now my feet are all dirty!" Lucy groaned, lifting her bare feet up one by one to inspect them, grimacing at all of the mud now coating them. "This is your fault- Mmph!"
A pair of warm, smooth lips silenced her, pressing urgently to her mouth, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. With him taking the lead, Lucy relaxed into it and enjoyed the feel of his mouth on hers, their tongues interloping, causing butterflies to re-enter her stomach.
Pulling apart, but barely, he stared at her angelic features and couldn't help but smile at the beautiful girl before him. Thanks to her, he was going to be a father again. A father not to just one, but two precious babies and he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
"I love you, Lucy." He grinned, the biggest, widest grin she'd ever seen, so enormous it was almost too much for his face. But it was still heart meltingly cute and to hear him say those words again was enough to turn her into a puddle. It wasn't something he said very often, but she was fine with that. It made times like this all the more special.
"I love you too, Natsu." She could see just how happy he was, his very soul glowing like the fire he wielded. "So, are you going to tell me how you knew?"
He quirked his brow, "Knew what?"
"That the test was wrong." She said, her eyes flickering between his.
"Oh… I, uh, sorta had a feeling, I guess. And I was sure I could smell something." He shrugged, about to lean in for another kiss.
"You could… smell something?" Horrified she pulled her face back; did she smell?!
"Yeah, another scent. I've been able to smell it since I came home the other day, but didn't know what it was until now." The boy explained, bringing her head back to him.
"You can smell the baby?" Lucy's eyes widened in fascination.
"Sure. It's real faint, but if I try hard enough, it's there."
"Wow! That's incredible!" She looked down at herself again and cradled her belly, right where the lacrima had been and pictured their perfect little baby safe and sound in there. "I'm so happy, Natsu."
"Me too, Lucy." Natsu chuckled and finally managed to pull her back in for a loving and tender kiss, relaying all of his own happiness to her in one fluid motion. His hand came up to rest on top of hers, caressing the soft skin of her belly, imagining just how beautiful she was going to look in the months to come, carrying his child.
But their passion was swiftly halted when a certain little fella stopped them in their tracks, placing a hand to where their lips joined and made a cute babble sound, as if he were trying to work out what they were doing. Chuckling, they both turned to Haru, who was still looking at them curiously.
"You two are just nasty!" Happy said, placing himself down on the floor. "Not only do you eat each other, but you're now doing it in front of Haru!"
"We don't eat each other, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lucy defended, shaking her head.
"Yeah you do and other… more explicit things!" Happy shivered at the thought, "Otherwise you wouldn't be in this situation."
"What situation is that then?" Lucy asked, defiance lacing her voice.
"He means the baby, Luce, even I understood that one!" Natsu piped in.
"Really?!" She exclaimed sarcastically, "Ugh! You guys are infuriating! With any luck, this baby will be a girl, then I won't feel so outnumbered!" She huffed, crossing her arms.
"And she'll still end up like Natsu, and you know it!"
Lucy's expression deflated, her arms sinking to her sides ans sighed "You're right…"
"Anyway, with another mouth to feed, you might wanna reconsider that job, Natsu!" The exceed mentioned, not noticing the dragon slayer shoot daggers at him.
"Oh… What job is that then?" The blonde asked, curiously. She didn't remember Natsu mentioning anything about a job.
"It's nothing really, Luce." Natsu shrugged, playing it down.
"You should have seen the reward! I've never seen that many zero's in a number!" Happy chirped, only now noticing the look his friend was giving him, telling him silently to shut up.
"Natsu, what's up? How come you never said anything?" Lucy asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"It's not that big of a deal. Gramps gave me a request yesterday, but I turned it down, that's all." He explained, seeming a little dismissive but otherwise normal. "Why don't we get ya home? It'll be dinner time soon." Seeing the reluctance in Lucy's face to believe him, he sighed and smiled at her, not ready to have that conversation just yet.
Suddenly her feet were whipped out from under her and she and Haru found themselves in the air, with two strong arms holding them up, "Natsu!"
"What? Can't have Mama all pooped out now can we, Haru?" Natsu laughed along with the infant, grinning widely, "'Cause she's still gotta cook us dinner!" He smirked at the young woman in his arms, who's eyes snapped at to him, glaring at his handsome face.
"Hey! How come I gotta slave away in the kitchen?! I'm pregnant now, you should be making me dinner!" She retorted, huffing and turning her head to the side.
"I don't mind cooking, it's whether you mind having a kitchen or not?"
"On second thought, stay out of the kitchen, you're too much of a fire hazard. But you owe me a foot rub, after all, this is your doing!" She smirked back at him.
"Oh… I never remember you complaining, maybe I'll have to get you to jolt my memory later." He chuckled lowly back, rising to the challenge.
"That's it! You two are disgusting! I'm taking Haru and you can both find somewhere else to do your dirty stuff tonight." Happy whizzed down to snatch the giggling baby from Lucy and speedily zoomed off into the distance, leaving the other two behind.
"Hey! That's no fair! You got a head start!" Not willing to be beaten by a flying cat and a baby, Natsu hurtled himself and Lucy in the same direction, her screams of terror echoing throughout the forest.
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darling-i-read-it · 4 years ago
Text
...And the Beast From the Sea
3x11
Hannibal Lecter x reader x Will Graham 
Hannibal Re-Write Series Masterlist
Word Count: 4k 
Warnings: spoilers for hannibal, murder, guns, pregnancy, worries of miscarriage
Author’s Note: Dudes I love this one so much. I  really really liked this one. It’s hella long but the last one was short so I think that’s okay. I am very excited for y’all to read this one because I made some expenitonal changes to the script which I’m excited for you guys to see. Enjoy!
I used some direct quotes from the script so some things may seem familiar 
Official Episode Summary: With a full moon approaching, Jack and Will are certain that Francis Dolarhyde will strike again but they lack a solid lead; Alana gives Hannibal a chance for redemption.
I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director 
Tag List (is always open!) : @llperfectsymmetryll​ @ericacactus​ @vlightning95​ @sweetgoodangel​
(not my gif) (top two @/rocktheholygrail)
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“Nightly news countdown to the next full moon. Chicago and Buffalo police are under a media blitz,” Jack said. You, Will and Alana were all in his office. Will had made it a sport to argue against you going with him anywhere these days but he knew he would lose the fight. 
“Two days left. And he’s not going to kill again in Chicago or Buffalo. He’s moved on,” you muttered. You were sitting beside Alana. Will was standing behind you. 
“Let me fill you in on what’s up for the twenty-fifth.”
“When he does it again?” 
“If we have a problem on the twenty-fifth.”
“Not ‘if’. ‘When,” Will muttered.
“He didn’t kill the docket at the museum. What if he’s trying to stop?” Alana asked. 
“He would’ve been better killing her. And both of you,” Jack suggested. You pursed your lips.
“I know we don’t get along Jack but that’s just cruel,” you teased.
“You think there's a way to push him to be self destructive?” Jack asked, ignoring you completely.
“You mean push him toward suicide?” Alana asked.
“Suicide suits me just fine,” Jack muttered. 
“If he was really trying to stop he’s not going to kill himself. How could he be sure his death would affect whatever's inside him?” Will asked. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, his mind reeling. 
“You must know something about him otherwise you wouldn’t have found him,” Jack leaded. You gave him a look. Will gave him a harder one.
“Jack Crawford. Fisher of men, watching my cork move against the current. You got me again.” Will was bitter. You liked it. “Hannibal told me where to find him. He knows.” 
-
Hannibal and Francis talked to each other. Francis was relying on this conversation to clear some things up. A couple of things. 
“I..put my hand...on her beating heart. Heard the sound of her..living voice. A..living woman. How bizarre,” Francis whispered. Reba flashed in his mind. Beautiful. “I don’t want to give her to the Dragon,” he whispered. 
“The Dragon is in your belly now. The Dragon wants her alive, you don't’ have to worry about feeling love for her,” Hannibal explained. Francis looked at Hannibal.
“Is that how you stayed with Y/N?” At the mention of your name Hannibal tensed. Ever so slightly. If Francis wasn’t paying acute attention he wouldn’t have noticed. He read it as something bad. Something that struck something dark in Hannibal that he wished to be rid of. “And Will Graham. He interests me. Odd looking for an investigator, not very handsome. But purposeful. They’re married aren’t they?” 
Another slight change in attitude. 
Slight.
But there. 
And if he wasn’t going to kill Reba then he had to kill someone else.
-
“Yes, yes. I see.” Your voice was quiet. Will watched you speak, your hand holding your other arm. You were on the phone with the neighbors that were watching your dogs. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Thank you so much for calling.” 
You hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. You looked over at Will. You were both standing in one of the main rooms of Alana's hospital. You finally looked over at him and he grabbed your hand gently, bringing you toward him.
“That was the neighbors girls. They say that the dogs have been sick, all of them. I’m going to go home and see to them, make sure it’s all okay.” Will nodded quickly as he held you in his arms. He was happy about this. He didn’t want you here, in harm's way. The safest place for you was home. “I’ll sleep the night, take the dogs to the vet and return the next day. I’ll bring new doggo with me.” You moved away from him to gauge his reactions.
“This is good,” he whispered, brushing a piece of hair out of your face. “It’s safe at home.” You shrugged.
“I like to keep you safe.” 
“But you have to think of yourself now. You have to keep safe,” he whispered. “Both of you.” You closed your eyes for a moment and took that in. It sounded so pleasant from his voice. A child. His child. You loved the idea of a curly haired little boy running around that had his blue eyes.
“Two days we’ll be away from each other. And I shall call you when I get there and also when I am about to leave. And probably between that.” He nodded.
“Of course.” 
-
“I have to do a little homework,” Francis said. Reba handed him a fresh martini and he took it, sitting on his couch between the projector and screen. Music played softly around them. Reba sat beside him, curious to what he was up to today. 
“Sure. If I’m keeping you from working, I can go,” she suggested. He shook his head quickly and realized she couldn’t see him. It would take some getting used to.
“No. I want you to be here. I do. It’s just some film I need to check. It won’t take long,” he promised.
“Does it have a soundtrack?” Reba asked. 
“No.” 
“May I keep the music?” she asked. 
“Um-hmm.” 
“I think I’ll stretch out for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.” He started to move so that she could lay down but she shook her head gently. “No, don’t move. I have plenty of room. Wake me up if I drop off,” she whispered. She lied down on the couch, holding the glass to her stomach. The tips of her hair touched Francis' hand beside his tight. He flicked the remote switch on and the projector began. Light flickered and whired across both his and Reba’s face. “Are these your nocturnal animals?” she asked quietly.
“Um-hmmm” 
The picture moved down from a bright white moon to find you, smiling and laughing as you moved toward a cabin in the woods, holding a blanket in your hands. A pack of dogs excitedly milled around your feet. 
“They know they’re being filmed?” Reba asked.
“No.” 
-
You stood in the vet anxiously. As the vet came back in you stood up quickly. You had talked to the girls who were taking care of the dogs and they were just as worried as you had been. 
“They may have gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Has there been any change in their diet?” she asked. You took a deep breath and felt the guilt creep in.
“Wi-my husband usually makes their food from scratch. We’ve been out of town with some dog sitters and I told them to just give them canned food,” you explained. 
“Was it canned food made in China?” she asked.
“Is it bad to be made in China?” you asked anxiously.
“If you’re pet food. Dogs get poisoned by Chinese pet food all the time. Pet food safety isn't’ regulated the same way as human food. And it’s barely regulated at all in China. There have been thousands of illnesses and deaths.” 
All of the sudden you thought about having to call Will with the news that, despite the fact you were having a human child, all the dog ones were going to die. That was a call you never want to make. Ever. 
“Are the dogs going to be okay?” you asked, moving the long sleeves of your shirt up to wrap your fingers around it. 
“Yes. You got them here fast and the activated charcoal should soak up whatever’s in their system. But it’d be helpful if you brought me a sample of whatever they’ve been eating so we can run some tests,” the vet said. You nodded quickly. 
“I’ll bring it by tomorrow.” The vet put a hand on your arm with a warm smile.
“We’ll keep the dogs overnight so we can monitor their recovery. They’ll be fine.” 
You nodded with a smile released. 
-
Will walked into Hannibal’s caged room. Hannibal got up from his desk and walked over to the glass.
“I’m not fortune’s fool. I’m yours. ‘Behold the Great Red Dragon’,” Will said. 
“And did you?” Hannibal questioned.
“I had a random encounter.” Hannibal looked behind him as the door shut quietly. He furrowed his eyebrows.
“Where’s Y/N?” 
“The Brooklyn Museum is closed to the public on Tuesdays, but researchers are admitted. You know that’s when we’d both be going,” Will said, ignoring the question. Hannibal tried to push you out of his mind. Likely just toying with him. 
“A sophisticated intelligence can forecast many things. I suppose mine is sophisticated enough. You’re so close to him now. You and the Dragon are doing the same thing at various times of the day,” Hannibal said, allowing his ignorance of you to seep. 
“He’s contacted you.”
“How do you imagine he’s contacted me? Personal ads? Writing notes on admiration on toilet paper?” Hannibal asked. 
“Alana thinks he’s trying to stop,” Will suggested. Hannibal came closer to the glass and Will did not move. 
“To begin to understand the Dragon, to hear the cold drips in his darkness, Dr. Bloom would have to see things she could never see,” Hannibal promised. “She would have to fly through time.” 
“There is a family out there who don’t know he’s coming. We could save them. Tell me who he is.” 
“I don’t know who he is.” Will studied Hannibal’s face and knew he was telling the truth. “And I do not know the next family, before you ask.” He was telling the truth about that too. 
“You’re willing to let them die.” 
“They’re not my family Will. And I’m not letting them die. You are.” 
-
“I’m sorry to interrupt. You have a telephone call. It’s your lawyer. Would you like to take it?” Alana asked. 
“Did he say why he was calling?” Hannibal questioned. 
“I called him. To confirm that he hasn’t called you. Not since you’ve been declared insane,” she stated. Hannibal shrugged.
“I could have told you that.” 
“If only I’d known to ask.”
“If only.” 
“Would you have told me the truth?” she asked.
“In my own way, I always have,” he promised. Alana pressed a button and spoke into the telephone.
 “Mr. Metcalf. That’ll be all for now. Thank you for your time.” She killed the call and now her cold anger showed. The door behind her opened and Jack entered. “You were speaking to the Tooth Fairy.”
“I think he’s earned the right to be known by the name he’s chosen. He is the Great Red Dragon,” Hannibal said. Jack approached the glass wall. 
“You have hubbed hell, Dr. Lecter.” 
“I often do.” 
“You got what you wanted. Suddenly, you’re very relevant. There is one way for you to stay relevant...and comfortable,” Alana said. Hannibal thought about it for a moment.
“You want me to speak with the Dragon. You believe he will seek counsel after the next kill.”
“We’ve got to make your contact work for us. Standing trace order for any time you’re on the phone. When he calls, you keep him on the line.” Hannibal inclined his head.
“I can’t refuse him a sympathetic ear. He no doubt needs it.” 
-
The house seemed so empty. The dogs gone, Will away. You had to pick them up in the morning and then be gone again. In the meantime, you were staying up late to make as much dog food as you could.
“Yeah and add a little bit of the meat I have in the fridge,” Will said over the phone. His voice was staticy but there. It made you feel safer.
“Alright I think we’re good. Thank you sweetface,” you said, leaning into the phone. 
“Anytime. Have a good night's sleep. Drink water. I love you.” You smiled gently to yourself. 
“I love you too. Sleep tight!” You hung up the phone and then it was empty again. You glanced at the clock. Much too late. You shouldn’t have kept Will up, he needed to sleep. “I suppose I should sleep too,” you said aloud. You convinced yourself you were speaking to your unformed child rather than yourself. That sounded less insane.
You put the dog food in the fridge and finished up the last of the notes for the neighbors teenagers. You took a deep breath and turned around, eyes catching the green of the alarm monitor. 
Caught it just soon enough to see it go dead. 
You didn’t realize what that meant right away. Then it hit you. Fear slammed into you and you tensed up completely. You grabbed your phone and shoved it in your pajama pants pocket. You grabbed a knife from the knife block and quietly walked over to the kitchen table, where your keys were. You peaked out the window and saw a man outside, walking up the front steps.
Your breath caught in your throat.
You tried to control your fear as you quietly walked around back. You heard the door jiggle open. You were suddenly reminded of your second body, Will’s words screaming into your heart. Both of you to keep safe. 
You suddenly missed Will terribly. You opened the back door quietly and stalked around the side of the house. As you ducked underneath windows you felt your heart beating in your ears. You held the knife tightly in your hand as you peaked around the side of the house to see if he was outside. 
The coast from where you were to the car was clear from what you could tell. 
You closed your eyes tightly and then opened them just as quickly. 
You sprinted to the car and unlocked it on your way. You jumped into the driver's seat and struggled to put the keys in the ignition. 
Your attacker had heard the car unlock and he was on the porch now. Gunshots broke your front window and shattered onto your lap. You squealed just as the car started and you were able to pull out. 
You, however, were not able to miss the gunshot that hit you in the shoulder harshly. You let out a harsh surprised noise as your arm pretty much went limp. With your other arm you were able to drive away from your home. Your home. The place you had found so sacred. Will’s and yours first place together.
You focused on driving through the dark, winding roads and hoped that he wasn’t following.
-
Will ran through the hospital. A horrible glare of the hospital fluorescents over his face as he approached Jack Crawford.
“Where is she?” he asked rushingly.
“In surgery now.”
He did not seem to be any more eased at that. 
“You’re both safe here,” Jack said and Will gave him a harsh look. 
“Now is not the time to talk to me Jack. Not the time at all.” Will pushed past him. He didn’t know where he was going. He couldn’t see you. All he could do was pace. He wanted to ask Jack about the baby. He wondered, terribly, if the baby was gone. Two times in a row his child would be ripped from him by the puppeteer strings of Hannibal Lecter he was sure. 
Will couldn’t make it make sense. He thought that Hannibal liked you. He thought for sure that you, if anyone, was safe from his wrath. 
Jack took his turn approaching Will again, now that some time had passed by. The doctors promised you would be okay but made no mention of the baby.
“You think you might lose me after this, Jack? You think I might go back to my family?” Will asked, teeth almost barred. Jack stared at him. 
“For a minute, I did.”
“I want so badly to. If she had died because of this I would have killed you with my bare hands Jack. She warned me against you time and time again. And again. If she had died because of you…” his voice trailed off but Jack got the message. “But then I realized what you realized. I can’t go home, and neither can Y/N, never, until the Red Dragon is out of the way.” Will looked away. 
“As soon as Y/N can be moved we’ll put her at my brother’s house on the chesapeake. Nobody in the world will know where they are but you and-”
“She’s pregnant.” 
Jack stopped. This information hit him and it sunk in, very slowly. He took a deep breath. He was careful speaking.
“Have you asked-”
“No. I’m too scared to,” Will admitted. He looked back at Jack and shook his head. “But if the baby lived or didn’t, if she is able to walk, she’s not going to leave my side now. She’ll put on a brave face and walk with me wherever I’ll go and you will let her.” He paused, thinking. “I’ll let her.” His eyes lightened slightly. “And even if she didn’t, she wouldn’t want anything from you. She’d be glad to see you in hell with your back broken.”
Something about the truth in that made Jack want to smile.
-
Will walked into the room. You had been awake just long enough to talk to the doctor. Will had been in the bathroom when you woke up but now he rushed toward you. 
He practically skidded on the ground to grab your hands. You gave him a weak smile but your face was practically dead. You swallowed and squeezed his hand. Will didn’t say anything for a moment.
“The baby is alright,” you whispered. He let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “The bullet hit my shoulder, far away from anything that could harm them.” Now that that was out of the way, he could apologize for you. You had been hurt. That was impossible.
“The dogs are safe. I’m going to pick them up tomorrow and bring them here.” You nodded.
“Bring the vet the canned food.” He laughed dryly.
“I don’t think that’s a priorit-”
“Bring it,” you stated weakly. He nodded, not willing to argue with you right now. You looked up at the ceiling and then over at him, smiling at his pretty face. “I made the food. You have to bring that too, I’m proud of it.” He nodded, kissing your hands he was holding.
“I will.” There was a beat of silence.
“You aren’t going to get me to leave. The second I can sit up I will be back out there with you.” He nodded lightly.
“I wish you wouldn't. But I know.” You looked into his eyes, hard.
“Hannibal did not advise this.”
“He knows about the killer, things he couldn’t possibly know unless he knew about him. There’s no way that this wasn’t him.” You shook your head.
“He wouldn’t. Not to me.” Will believed that, despite it all. He kissed your hands again and stood up.
“I’m going to ask him.” He waited for you to respond but you just thought about that for a moment. 
“I wanted to be the one to tell him. But I see now that you must.” He nodded. It would add to the effect, whichever way that effect went. 
“I love you,” he said. 
“I love you more.”
-
Will quickly walked up to Hannibal’s cage. Hannibal could tell something was wrong immediately. Will looked like he was about to kill someone with his bare hands. 
“I’m just about worn out with you crazy sons of bitches,” Will stated. Hannibal raised an eyebrow.
“It hasn’t hit the papers yet. Care to enlighten me on the family this time around? Did the dog make it?” Will stared at Hannibal, dumbfounded.
“You really don’t know do you?” Hannibals face scrunched into confusion. 
“I’m sorry, should I?” Hannibal questioned. Will’s lips turned into a bitter smile. He knew that Hannibal had talked to this killer and Will was about to relish in the fact that he got to tell Hannibal his efforts had messed up someone he cared about. 
“Y/N went home to tend to the dogs for the day,” Will started, really milking this out. “Dr. Lecter, the killer went for her.” 
Hannibal’s mind worked quickly. He took a deep breath in and for once, hung off the words that Will was saying. He hadn’t suggested Francis kill you but he should have known he would. He should have known. He was almost angry at himself for not seeing it.
“Is she alright?” 
“Yes.” Hannibal let out a barely audible sigh of relief. For once it was the two men, almost in love with each other but definitely in love with you, just happy you were alive. “She was shot but she’s fine.” Will paused. “She’s pregnant. Still pregnant. You didn’t get this child and you won’t.” 
Hannibal took that in quietly. He would deal with that later.
“I’m happy for her. Happy for you both.” Will turned to leave, finished with this conversation and wanting to return to you but Hannibal did not let him. “Will?” 
He turned.
“Yes?” 
“I didn’t know it was her.” 
-
As the orderly came into the room, Hannibal almost jumped up. But instead, he kept his dignity and walked over to the phone, taking it in his hands. He knew that Jack and Alana were listening. He had to keep this careful. 
“If I’m not as strong as the Dragon, she will die. I know that,” Francis said firstly, bluntly. “I need to think. I need to think. I told her I can’t be with her.” 
“Y/N Graham is not dead,” he pointed out stoutly. Francis did not like that he changed the subject so quickly. 
“I chose Y/N because she rejected you. I chose Y/N and she should be dead.” Hannibal straightened his back. “I’m afraid she will come to the house. To talk. I don't want what will happen in the house.” He was now referring to Reba, not you but Hannibal knew how to steer a conversation. 
“What made you think I wanted Y/N dead?” 
“You insinuated-”
“No. I did not.” Hannibal stared through Jack and Alana, enjoying an audience but wishing these next words were spoken in confidence. “You thought wrongly. You insinuated wrongly.” Hannibal straightened his lips. “Think about how you wanted to hold Y/N in your arms, as she lost blood and her heart quivered like a bird until it went out. Think about it.” He paused, allowing him to think. “Now think about Reba in her place. Because that is what is coming.” 
Francis didn’t know how to react to that.
“They’re listening,” Hannibal said and hung up the phone. 
Alana and Jack looked betrayed but Alana was all too happy for what came next. 
“You’ve just lost your toilet Hannibal,” Alana said.
And Hannibal did not say it but he knew it was worth it.
3x12
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zeydaan-isabella · 2 years ago
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28 Zeys Later
Commission for and story by GreyHawk89 - where a favour of transformation spirals out of control.
Isabella's shift in the café kitchen was almost over, they carefully dried the last plate and put it away. "Ha, finally!" Blaze, at the other end of the kitchen, nodded. "Rough day." Izzy giggled a little. "Well, we're had worse. Time for me to go home and spend the rest of the night catching up on my She-Ra binge. Just lemme sign out and get 'changed' and go." The valstrax caught the emphasis on a certain word and rolled her eyes. The yellow Fey Dragon fiddled with the little computer hanging on the wall that had been designed to resemble a retro punch-clock device. "All done being Izzy for today." Isabella took a step back and closed their eyes. They concentrated, focusing on the the magic core deep within themself. The 'gathered' it, preparing it. Izzy imagined their body's original shape, the sensations that came with having it, moving in it, living with it. Then they released the power they'd built up. Somewhere within them, where magic energy and physical matter merged, a switch was flipped. All the little genetic and mystical 'codes' Isabella was composed of went from 'reading' Fey Dragon to 'reading' Werewolf. In a matter of seconds, all of the tiny velvety yellow fur coating their body coarsened and elongated, re-coloring into shades of black and grey. Their human hair on the top of their scalp remained the same length, but, except for the red tips, darkened from pink to black. Izzy's long dragon tail thinned and retracted as the growing fur turned it into a canine brush. The pink moth-like wings dispelled as the process of magic neared its completion. The nostrils moved slightly closer together as the skin around them grew black, moist, and bumpy, distinct from the rest of the snout. At the rear of the head golden horns retracted back into the skull. The little cartilage ridges covering hearing membranes lengthened and expanded greatly, growing into fuzzy wolf ears. Zeydaan stood where Isabella had been seconds ago, yawning a canine yawn. In fact, Zeydaan's jaws opened so wide as they yawned that they let out a cute little squeak in the manner of canines who yawn too wide. Despite being an armored dragon from another dimension who could shoot lasers from her wings, Blaze gave a coo of delight akin to an ordinary human woman, reached over and gently dug her clawed fingers into the fur and hair at the base of Zeydaan's eras, scritching away. Zey gave a surprised happy noise and leaned into the scritches. A random person just walking up to a furry anthro and starting petting them without consent was considered inappropriate at best and mild assault at worst, but Blaze was a friend. After a moment, Zey broke contact by pulling their had away. "Heh. nice. Probably should get going now though." They took a step and a half towards the door before spotting a curious expression on Blaze's face. "What is it?" "Oh! Uh." Despite having scales, the magic that had originally transformed Blaze from a feral dragon the size of a private plane into one of a more human size and shape both physically and mentally allowed her to blush. "What's it like?" "'It' what?" "Shapeshifting like that. Changing your body however you want. I mean, the one time it happened to me, I wasn't in a proper mental place to fully appreciate it. too busy panicking and falling out of the sky as my brain overflowed with all these new abstract thoughts of greater existence and personal identity." Blaze tapped her forefingers together nervously. "Oh, it's a-" Zeydaan paused, realizing this was going to be like trying to explain the color red to a blind person. "Hmm.." Then, Zeydaan had an idea! Zeydaan had a wonderful, awful idea! I'll dress up as Santa Claus and steal all the decorations in Whoville! No, wait, that's not it... "It's hard to use words to explain it. But if you trust me, I can show you. Err, your shift is almost over too, right?" "Oh? Yea?" Blaze's wings flickered on and off. "I'm gonna turn you into me!" "You wot now mate!?" The wolfish smile on Zeydaan's face was confident-perhaps a little too confident. "Ever since my dragon-side came out, I've been training myself extensively to help me use it better. I'm pretty sure I can infuse enough of my magical essence-pattern-thing into you to temporarily make you a copy of me." Blaze shuffled with nervous excitement. "That sounds cool, but are you sure it's safe? Just temporary?" Zeydaan's confidence wavered slightly. "I think so... my other friends have also been helping me train, so I do have some practice with this sort of stuff. Some. so far. I'll give you an extra 'charge' my energy so that you can change back to yourself at a time of your choosing, rather than just wait for the change to wear off on it's own at some random, possibly inconvenient time, okay?" The valstrax was growing slightly less nervous-excited and slightly more nervous-nervous but still nodded after a pause. It was nice to see Zeydaan so giddy about themself, so unlike the shy, almost mopey wolf who they'd first met a couple of years ago. "O-okay!" "Alright, just stand still and think about me, really, really, hard! I think it'll help!" Zeydaan reached out and placed a hand on Blaze's shoulder. They concentrated on the magic inside them, much as they had just a few minutes ago to switch between their two forms, but this time focusing on Blaze's draconic body instead of their own 'Isabella' body. They felt the little tendrils of they magic extending out of themself and into Blaze, threading itself though and into the other dragon's morphic field. When they thought it was 'enough', they 'expended' the charge. Their arm spasmed and glowed an odd blue color, black veins appearing on it. A flash of pink-grey light blinded Zey for a moment, and when they opened their eyes, they found themself looking at... themself. "Aha! success!" The new 'Zeydaan' blinked too, wolf muzzle opening and closing. "Wuzzle? Awva Wuff mouff nao?" Fuzzy hands poked a fuzzy face curiously. "Yup, you have a wolf mouth now. It worked!" Zeydaan puffed with pride. Nothing had gone wrong! "Just take a moment to focus yourself. I'm been switching between being a werewolf and dragon for awhile now, but you should probably sit down for a bit first." The newly Zeydaanified Blaze wobbled on her wolf-feet, clearly being unbalanced but her lack of wings, shorter tail, and covering of fur instead of scales. The ears twitched wildly, so far different from her old dragon-ears. "Wererf!" she agreed. "Furrfle. Ur merment." the last couple of words sounded more, well, word-like, so she was apparently getting used to her new teeth. She took unsteady steps to the closest chair and sat down awkwardly, not accustomed to doing so without adjusting for having wings and a longer tail. Zeydaan contemplated their duplicate's newfound fluffiness and grinned. "One good scritch deserves another!" They reached out and started scrtiching away behind Blaze's ears just as she'd done to them earlier. Blaze made garbled Happy Wolf Noises. Scritches Good! Amrin chose that moment to step into the kitchen. "Hey, now that we're all closed up we need to- Um, Zey, why are there two of you?" The real Zeydaan waved to identify themself. "Oh, I'm me! That one is Blaze!" They quickly noted that that was clearly not enough of an answer for their boss. "Uh, I changed after work was over, and Blaze asked me what it was like being able to be something other than a dragon, so.... I tried to show her. Manually. With her permission!" Blaze tried to stand. "Zhaysh reyght! Itsh oakey, jussh wered." Amrin was making little hand motions that indicated a strong need to commit some strangulations. She took a deep breath and let it out. "...Oh-kay then... and you're SURE everything will be back to normal in time for work tomorrow? Blue is still hibernating for a few more days. If Blaze is gonna be late for work because she still doesn't have to laser-wings to rocket herself here on time!" Zeydaan gave a very canine yelp of fear and nodded vigorously. Blaze, unfortunately, was not paying as much attention. This wasn't so bad, now that she was beginning to adjust to it. She could feel what she guessed was the 'charge' of magic Zeydaan had mentioned, like a bubble somewhere inside her that could be 'popped' with a strong enough mental 'poke'. Then, Blaze had an idea! Blaze had a wonderful, awful idea! I'll dress up as Santa Claus and- no, wait, not that. I wonder, how close a copy of Zeydaan am I now? Do I have their powers? Could I use this charge is a different way? Like, say, turning another person into yet another Zeydaan? Maybe my parkour friend Eli would be interested in what it's like to be a werewolf and all that... Fortunately or unfortunately, she chose not to vocalize her plan to the others, merely watched them. Talking was tricky right now anyway. They were also too distracted to pay her any mind at the moment. Zey licked their wolf-chops hungrily. "Saaay..." they slobbered, "is there any chance you could let me have a couple of the unsold snacks from the fridge? I could use an energy boost for the recent use of my magic." Amrin raised an eyebrow but acquiesced to her worker's request. "Sure, why not." she grumbled. "Mind you, I'll watch to make sure you don't go into another feeding frenzy like LAST time." Just as the others walked over towards the big refrigerator Amrin waved her other employee off home for the night. Blaze waved back "Rwokay! See you bothk rrater!" She warbled with her increasing mastery of her wolf-mouth. As she went out the door, she vaguely heard a shout of "Wait, stop! Not the whole chocolate cake! No, not all the pies! Just one!" In her enthusiasm, Blaze failed to consider two things- Firstly, while she did in deed have a copy of Zeydaan's powers to a small degree, she had no training in using them whatsoever. Secondly, that sometimes, when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as well, sharp, as the original... 28 ZEYS LATER... It was mid-afternoon when Sapphira Azula Cerulea 'Blue' MacGregor woke up from her long winter nap with a mighty dragon-yawn. "Has it been almost month already? Ugh, morning mouth! Bad enough after one day, but after twenty-eight or so!? ...I need mouthwash. Strong mouthwash!" The Scottish Flood dragon pulled herself out of the bed she'd been dozing in in a near-coma. Despite the name for it, she only needed to go into 'Winter Hibernation once every five or six years, during especially cold weather. Or due to sheer laziness building up to near toxic levels if she ignored it for too long. She walked into her bathroom and spend a great deal of time catching up on various toiletries and grooming that she needed for feeling and looking her best. By the time she was ready to go out in public again, it was late afternoon. Fortunately, work was not far at all, less if she flew, but she swore that local air laws had been designed for bias against winged people. Oh well! She stepped outside in her glorious French Maid style outfit and strutted her stuff. As she was walking to work, she vaguely noted that the streets of Mailor City were oddly empty today, but she put it out of her mind by humming a cute song she'd heard on the radio before going to sleep. Then, when she was still a few blocks away from the café something black, white and grey stepped out onto the sidewalk right in front of her, finally grabbing her attention. It was Zeydaan, wearing their Maiden Menagerie uniform, walking slowly and awkwardly, a spaced-out expression on their face. Blue blinked. Usually, Zey transformed into Isabella before going to work then changed back into werewolf, but there was no actual rule about what form they needed to assume while on the clock. "Hey Zey! How's it going? Is your shift over already today?" She glanced at the orange sunset sky. "Seems early." Zeydaan perked up upon realizing they'd been noticed. "Scritches?" they practically begged, tail wagging like a friendly, mundane canine "Huh..." Blue was confused. Zey was not usually a touchy-feely person. Still, they'd always looked sooo fluffy, and she'd been curious what their fur felt like. "Uh, okay?" She reached forward and stuck her claws into the soft hairs around the ears near the back of the head and began scritching away. It was very pleasant, and Zeydaan was making happy little whimpering noises. Just then, a second Zeydaan walked up to them. They were wearing a slightly torn pink t-shirt, ripped up sneakers, and the rear of their blue jeans had a tail bursting out of a hole. "Scritches?' they asked hopefully, seeing their twin on the receiving end of some. "What?" Blue said confusedly. "Why are there two of you?" "Scritches," the two Zeydaans moaned in unison. Blue yanked her hand free from the first Zeydaan's fur and backed away nervously. "What!?" Her fingers were all itchy, they flexed under their own power. She pulled them closer to her face, eyes flicking back and forth between her them and the approaching Zeydaans. Her hands spasmed, fur was sprouting out from her scales. "What's going on!?" The itchiness was spreading all over her body. Her hands, now covered with grey fur and with black claws just like the ones on the Zeys' hands. "Argh, soo itchy!" Her wings and tail flexed wildly. They no longer fully under her control, and were going slightly numb. There was a wrenching sensation at the base of her long tail like it was starting to pull into her, shrinking down. Long black hairs were sprouting from the tip. Likewise, little holes were painlessly appearing in her wing membranes, as though she was being eaten by invisible moths. The tip of her snout felt cold and wet. She furiously clawed at herself, ripping her clothes. "OH! I need, I need... SCRITCHES!"
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brandstifter-sys · 3 years ago
Text
Crisis Angel 
@dukexietyweek Day 2: Swapping              (Ao3)
Word Count: 2277
Characters: Roman, Virgil, Remus
Pairing: Dukexiety
Rating: T+
Warnings: Blood, death mention, Gore, sex mention, Body Horror, Fire, Criss Angel references
The Dragon Witch causes Remus and Virgil to switch roles because she's tired of listening to them whining about the other, but they manage to fix it
---
It wasn’t everyday that Remus got cursed by the Dragon Witch, in fact it was incredibly rare, since she actually liked him and his antics. But he had to complain and whine about his predicament, no one liked him, and he seemed to scare the shit out of Virgil. All he wanted was cuddles, clothing optional–was that too much to ask!? A duke can fall in love and want to be with the person who had his heart, and he can want without shame! If only he weren’t the embodiment of intrusive thoughts he could win that emo over. The Dragon Witch just had to take his ranting to heart! 
Remus woke up feeling a general unease. He was very much aware that he had to fix his weapon rack or else he could do some serious damage, and there would be blood and broken bones and sprains and he didn’t know how to mend himself! That’s what Janus was for—and for being a friend, like the golden boy he was. He was kinda saddened when he remembered that no one else really liked him or wanted him around. He had a feeling he knew what happened, and he didn’t want to think about the implications of it. He did anyway. It's not like he had much of a choice.
Instead of his usual attire, he threw on a Green Day shirt, leggings, sneakers, and Virgil’s old hoodie. He kept it for the nostalgia and because Virgil didn’t wash it before he got to it, so it smelled nice. It was the only part of his outfit that made him feel comforted and safe. He would need the safety to manage his way through the day and back to the Dragon Witch’s castle. She had to be behind this sudden change! He just hoped he was the only one affected. 
However, when he stepped into the common area, Remus realized that he was not the only one affected. Oh no, he saw more than he bargained for! 
"I can't believe you of all people would suggest such a thing!" Roman huffed from his usual recording spot and crossed his arms. 
"Why not? Just because I hate him doesn't mean I don't think he should be royally fucked into submission!" Virgil jeered from the stairs, where he was spread out and lounging like some kind of rockstar. He definitely dressed the part—tight leather pants covered in zippers, an open spiked leather jacket that showed off his defined torso, and knee-high combat boots.
"I want to vanquish that foul villain, not create a fanfiction worthy scene to deflower him!" 
"You wouldn't, I made sure he was flowerless years ago. You're just making excuses, Princey—we all know you want that snake cake and to tear into that dandy with your second sword—unless you're more interested in a new pony to whip."
"What happened to you? You sound like—" 
"—me," Remus said and announced his presence. Two sets of eyes landed on him and he swore he wanted to disappear at that exact second. 
"Are you saying I sound hot?" Virgil jeered and leaned forward, smirking coyly at Remus. Roman huffed and ignored him, deciding that Remus might be more willing to explain. 
"Do you know why Virgil is acting like this? And what are you doing in that hoodie? You look like death!" 
"I don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure Mille did it," Remus shrugged and leaned against the staircase tiredly, but not letting his guard down, not with the way Virgil was eyeing him. He shivered at the thought that crossed his mind—too much blood he did not want. 
"Millie? Remus, have you been bothering her as of late?" Roman pressed. 
"I don't know if I would say I was bothering her, I visit her at least once a week with snacks and we hangout. I could have been bothering her, though. Maybe I was! Oh god, what if I was and she didn't say anything because she doesn't trust me to listen to her when she's uncomfortable?!" Remus freaked out and tugged the hoodie closer around him to shield his body.
"You know you could have asked me for that hoodie, I would have given it to you, in exchange for a few organs," Virgil mused and licked his lips. Remus winced and curled into himself, uneasy about getting that kind of attention in front of anyone else. 
"You switched," Roman said as it dawned on him, "but why would she do that? Unless—" 
He froze when Virgil casually drank lighter fluid from a flask and then a lit match. The plume of flames that shot from his mouth towards the ceiling made Remus jump back and clutch his chest. At least he wasn't thinking about how he could have made a mistake with the Dragon Witch.
"Hmm the Dragon Witch did this? Do you think she'd make a better pair of boots or a belt? I'm tired of the flood of new parlor tricks," Virgil hummed, "It's agony without any relief—but I know one of you can make me feel better." 
Roman scowled as Remus inched toward the couch. Virgil snapped his fingers and appeared on the couch behind Remus. 
"I'm a better seat than this old thing, Dukey," he teased, getting Remus to yelp and freeze.  
"I'll go see her and save you the heart attack, at least from that journey. I'll see if I can stitch the pieces together since you don't seem to be prepared for that." 
"Need a few needles?" Virgil asked lazily and pulled a string out of his navel, shockingly there were needles threaded along it. Roman sank out with a huff, unwilling to deal with any more nonsense. Remus was more distracted by Virgil's bare skin and toned abdomen to be bothered. So he might have been gawking. 
"You can get a closer look, with your tongue if you're brave enough," Virgil teased before tossing the thread away. Remus turned bright pink and averted his gaze. He kept getting horrible ideas about what he could do to that body.
"You don't want me to do that," he sighed and hugged himself, "No one wants me to get too close, even Janus has his limits. And I know it's for a good reason." 
Virgil sat up and leaned towards Remus, pouting. 
"You really think that, Cuddlefish?" 
"Yeah, everyone else just wants me to get lost, except Janus, why wouldn't I think that?" Remus said bitterly and sat on the arm of the couch. 
"I only want you to get lost in my eyes, or my intestines after I go Dahmer on your ass."
"Come on!" Remus snorted, "I scare you, and you don't like me and my gross ideas. I make you uneasy and I don't know what to say to not do that because everything could go wrong and I don't want that. And now more than ever, I'm terrified of everything that could go wrong!" 
"I usually don't like the thought of you seeing my pants tenting—that's a circus that's not usually in show. But you can get ringside seats whenever you want, if you want."
"What?" Remus questioned, trying not to focus on the image of Virgil wearing Britney Spears' ringmaster outfit from the video—or something more revealing. 
"If I don't keep my distance I'm not gonna be able to let you get away. I like you, so goddamn much I just want to rip your eyes out to stare at them forever." 
"Virgil?" 
"It's a lot easier to say it without the crushing weight of anxiety squeezing my innards out through my pores. I like you, that way, hell, I might even be bold enough to say I love you! And it's usually so terrifying I could drop dead from emotional overload at any second and you'd have a corpse to play with as much as you want!" Virgil raved, jumping to his feet, "You are everything I'm not and I want you to want me the same way but you deserve better than a panicking maniac with anger issues and low self-esteem! And I know that this change won't last so I have to tell you now before I go back to being a pants-shitting basket-case."
"And what are you going to do when we switch back? I don't know if I can take a confession like that just for it to change jack shit, especially when I want you to mean it. I don't wanna be the emotional victim of the resident mind freak," Remus pressed. Virgil stood in front of him and tapped his chin in thought. 
"Actually," he hummed and thrust his hand through his chest, revealing some torn muscle and his broken ribs. Remus' eyes went wide as he grabbed his thundering heart and tore it out, blood spurting on the floor.
"I want you to keep this, keep it safe, and that way I'll know that it's safe to act on these feelings, even when I'm an anxious emo mess again." 
Remus reverently took his heart and cradled it in his hands like a treasure he was afraid to break. He stared up at Virgil in awe before pressing his lips to the gift. 
"There's a different throbbing muscle you can put your mouth on," Virgil teased. Remus scrunched up his nose and stuck out his tongue. 
"Not when you have a hole in your chest, Angel!" 
"Wanna stick something in it?" 
"Kinda," Remus admitted sheepishly. Virgil leaned down and cupped his cheek. 
"First let me show you my greatest trick," he purred, "turning a man into a puddle." Remus' breath caught in his throat and his eyes fluttered shut as Virgil captured his lips and licked into his mouth. Remus melted into the kiss just as expected, his heart racing with his thoughts. 
And then a familiar feeling took over him. The Dragon Witch really went with the biggest cliche to lift the curse.
"I can't believe I just did that," Virgil mumbled as he pulled away. Remus grinned and wiggled in his seat. 
"But you did! And you can do it again!" Remus sang and giggled, "But first—!" He conjured a jar around the heart and set it on the ground gently, then he eyed Virgil's wound. 
"Do you want to fix that or can I stick something in it?" he pressed, getting Virgil to glance down and flinch. 
"No, too many risks, I don't really want you to accidentally mess something up." 
"Accidentally?" 
"I don't think you would do anything like that on purpose with this hole." 
"This hole?" Remus purred, "So there are others I can mess up? Please, do go on!" 
"Maybe later, after I skin the Dragon Witch. I didn't want her to actually get rid of my anxiety so I could tell you—y'know—"
"So you were bemoaning your cruel fate too? Maybe we should thank her! You're really hot when you're confident and having my kind of thoughts!" 
"Give me enough time and somewhere private and you can get more of that," Virgil mumbled and rubbed his neck, "If I'm in a comfortable place, I might be able to relax—but don't get your hopes up, anxiety sucks." 
"It was kinda not that bad being Anxiety," Remus mused, "I didn't feel great but I was a lot more aware of my surroundings and the way my pulse thundered from excitement! Now I know what I need to fix in my room and what really gets me going!"
"Even if I'm not Creativity anymore, I still might have a few ideas worth trying," Virgil said in agreement. 
"Creativity?" 
"Yeah, your role." 
"But I'm an intrusive thot!" 
"You think you're the only one with twisted thoughts?" Virgil scoffed and grabbed the hair at the base of his neck, "You know you were still having them, I could see how you flinched without me doing anything, it's so obvious. That part didn't change for either of us." 
"So you have intrusive thoughts too? You should tell me about them! Over dinner!" 
"I could do that, if you can't come up with a more creative date." 
"You can come to my room to watch a few horror movies and cuddle—but you have to wear that outfit or less because goddamn! I forgot how ripped you are!" 
"Dinner it is," Virgil huffed and loosened his grip. Remus whined and leaned closer with a pout. 
"Movies and cuddles. But jammy pants and no shirt under the hoodie instead," he countered, "I need skin to skin contact no matter how platonic." 
"You mean the mouth to mouth won't be enough for you?" Virgil mumbled and blushed down to his shoulders. Remus' eyes went wide.
"You never said that would be an option! I didn't think you'd want to do too much on the first date!" 
"You have no idea what I want to do with you right now." 
"You can show me!" Remus grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. Virge scoffed and loomed closer, gripping his hair tighter. Remus' breath hitched as those lips brushed against his own. 
"You'll just have to wait for that," Virgil mumbled and pulled away without kissing him. 
"Tease!" Remus whined and crossed his legs. Virgil smirked at him and shook his head. 
"See you tonight at eight—or more like seven since I tend to panic and show up early," he said and pressed a kiss to Remus' forehead before sinking out. 
Remus picked up the jar again and squealed. It was going right above his TV so he could see it while he held its owner close to his. He definitely owed Millie big time!
----
Inspo pic for Virgil’s outfit
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kurodachimagic · 3 years ago
Text
Chocolate and Cherries - Chapter 1
Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.
Rating: Pg 13
Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.
Word count: 6.2k
A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you @hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now. Thank you to @schnaf for being a great friend and beta!
Read on ao3
Adachi dragged his feet on the pavement as he made his way home from work. He was already too exhausted to start his writing day with the best mindset but it would have to do. He’d already skipped four days this week and if he didn’t actually sit down to work on his book, it would never be published. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head slightly.
The situation was not ideal by any means, he was not great at cooking and it was already too late to start dinner, but he definitely needed to eat something or his mind would absolutely quit on him, he knew that much.
Adachi knew he should probably get something healthier but he refused to waste even more time walking to the store, so he decided to stop by the food cart near his flat for his usual emergency menu: two tuna onigiris with mayo - along with a can of soda in the hopes that the caffeine would boost his creativity. He was not too happy about it, but he didn’t have much time to contemplate his choice because as soon as he had paid, the first few droplets of water hit his shoulders. Looking up, he felt the next few drops hit his nose and his forehead. He cursed inwardly and simply took off awkwardly running the last few blocks home, trying his best not to slip and fall, his dress shoes nothing but a hazard in this particular situation.
The building door was so close, he could see it through the pouring rain; just a few meters and he would be home. Adachi rushed, his hand extended already to grab at the door handle when his body collided with something - someone - and fell backwards. It was as if time had slowed down; he could see the face of the person he ran into frozen in shock, his eyes widening as he saw Adachi falling, while Adachi could only think about the pain this would cause him, physical, yes, but mostly emotional. He always managed to get himself in embarrassing situations and now -
His neighbour extended his hand just in time to catch Adachi’s and pulled him upright effortlessly, his expression switching from shock to a relieved smile. “Are you ok? I’m so sorry, I hadn’t seen you.”
“Thank you! I’m so sorry,” Adachi said, feeling the heat rise to his face, partly because of his clumsiness and partly because his neighbour had not let go of him yet. In fact, Adachi could have sworn that the guy was rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand. He didn’t know what to do, so he tried again. “Uh, sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”
“It’s ok, I’m glad that you didn’t get hurt.” The man seemed to suddenly remember they were standing in the pouring rain and pulled Adachi to the door. “Come, you’ll catch a cold in this weather.”
No matter how hard he thought, Adachi couldn't remember ever catching his name but he had seen this man before in the elevator and in some of the common areas. He seemed to be a bit of a recluse, much like himself.
The man opened the door and finally let go of his hand before ushering him in. “After you, Adachi.”
Adachi’s eyes widened; he didn't know how the man knew his name, but he didn’t mention it. He walked inside and called the elevator, followed closely by his saviour. Once the doors opened, he stepped in and turned around, pressing the button for the fifth floor and finally facing the man. "Thank you, again…" he trailed off.
"Kurosawa. My name is Kurosawa." He pressed the fourth-floor button.
Adachi smiled and bowed to him. "It was nice seeing you, Kurosawa. Have a good night."
The elevator dinged and Kurosawa bowed with a smile before exiting. “Good night, Adachi,” he waved.
Adachi hesitantly waved back as the elevator doors closed. Before he knew it he was one floor up, opening the door to his flat, throwing his work bag on the sofa and taking his wet clothes off with a groan before going to the bathroom.
What a day. Not only had he stayed late to finish on that project Urabe had handed to him but he also made himself look like a fool in front of his very cool neighbour, and to add insult to injury now he needed a hot shower to hopefully avoid catching a cold. He shook his head and hopped under the stream, washing himself thoroughly and letting the hot stream relax his muscles.
Feeling in a bit of a better mood, Adachi got out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel and went about getting into a comfy set of pyjamas. He finally sat at his desk and opened the white doc of doom, checking the time and cursing as he realized it was 9 pm already. He slouched in his chair, throwing his head back with a groan. This book was going to take a million years at this rate, he really needed to prioritize his schedule, put on some good hours into it each day, especially during the weekend, he needed to -
Adachi’s stomach growled loudly, reminding him that his emergency dinner laid abandoned in its bag. He got up and stomped over to the sofa, unwrapping the onigiris and eating them without so much as a thought before returning to his spot. He promptly sat down to continue with the daily task of staring at the document while he begged his brain to type something - anything - out. But his mind had other plans though, Kurosawa’s face and gentle smile kept popping in his mind. Maybe it was because of the way he moved, how he had kept him from falling with his sharp reflexes, or maybe it was how elegant he looked even when he was soaking wet, how well his suit fitted him. Kurosawa was like some sort of superhero, or… no, he was more like a Prince Charming from an epic battle world. That was a start - it was not the murder mystery he had thought about, but it was definitely a start.
The sound of Adachi’s footsteps worked like a metronome, helping his mind settle into a rhythm. He was starting to see things in more detail: The brave prince paced in his castle, his sword close by his side, the problems his kingdom was facing were almost too much to bear and with his father on the brink of death, it was all on him. A shadow appeared above the citadel - the… the… ‘kingdom x’ was being attacked by a three-headed dragon. How would he fix this and save his people? Had someone sent the dragon or did it act with free will? Did the soon-to-be king have secret magic powers? Maybe they were a secret even to himself!
With renewed energy and excitement, Adachi sat down to work. This new world just wanted to be written, to become a reality, and he was not going to stop it. Aided by the occasional sip of soda and a few “stretching breaks” that were more like actual pacing, he managed to draft four thousand words by 5 am, effectively breaking his 3 thousand word record from just a few months ago. If he could keep up the pace he could finish the book within the next month and send it to Tsuge for editing and review. He sent a quick text to his friend to tell him the good news and got into bed; he would probably regret staying up so late tomorrow, but now he didn’t have it in him to care. Writing was definitely his call - even if he was very close to missing his goal of being a published author by 30.
---
The commute to work was nothing short of hell. The morning started with Adachi missing his usual train and having to take the next one during rush hour - not that he ever managed to avoid rush hour, but he usually took the first train during it so it wasn’t as crazy as later in the morning. This resulted in him having a very unpleasant ride, squeezed half to death between the sea of people, feeling like a canned sardine with a bad case of insomnia. That was the other issue, the previous writing night ended up being a success but even though he’d been exhausted by the time he was done, it had been impossible to fall asleep. Now he was on his way to a long workday with a pounding headache and a sour mood. If given the opportunity, Adachi would’ve chosen to take the day off to sleep and feel refreshed enough by sundown to continue writing.
His job was definitely a necessary evil, but sometimes he couldn’t help but resent it. On the verge of thirty, Adachi spent most of his day at the office, writing his reports, Urabe’s reports, and occasionally picking up the slack of some of his colleagues. There was barely any time for hobbies or relaxing and least of all to be an aspiring writer. To be completely honest, Adachi had started viewing his day job as his second career in the past year. His heart and soul were focused on his new goal, what he really wanted. In the end, if writing didn’t become his main income, it wouldn’t matter, he was passionate enough about it to continue no matter what. After all, living in the fantasy worlds he created was more than enough for him.
Adachi made it to his desk just on time, but running those last few blocks only served to make his mood even sourer. He pulled at the collar of his shirt with a small huff, still thinking about his writing and leaned back in his chair until it touched Urabe’s shoulder, startling him.
He turned around swiftly, blush already rising to his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Senpai.”
Urabe nodded and waved him off. Then, he cocked his head and looked at Adachi in more detail. “What is going on with you, Adachi? You look tired.”
“I just had trouble sleeping last night, that’s all,” Adachi said with a heavy sigh. He could picture so many things he would rather do than give explanations about his personal life, but he would feel too guilty if he was rude to Urabe when he was only worried about him.
“Hmm, are you sure that’s all?”
“Yes. I’m ok.” He attempted his best smile. “Thank you for asking.”
“Adachi,” Urabe pouted, his brows burrowed into a childish frown, just like every time he would ask Adachi to take on more work, any semblance of concern already gone out the window. “Can you finish this report for tomorrow? The boss is really piling stuff on my shoulders and I already had other plans for today.”
Sometimes Adachi wished he was a bad person, or a bad colleague even, but he couldn’t help taking on the extra work when it was needed, after all, he didn’t have much of a life. He rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Oh, wait. Is your birthday today or tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
“And you’re turning 30, right?”
Adachi nodded once again, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible; he didn’t want to be reminded of the passage of time or how much he hadn’t achieved by now.
Urabe rolled his chair closer and elbowed him. “Aaah, you sly weasel. Do you have a date?”
“Of course not. I’m just looking forward to getting home and sleeping.” That was literally his birthday plan.
Urabe frowned and gave him a quizzical look. “But you have... ‘dated’ before, right?” He winked.
Adachi shook his head slightly and saw the same look many people gave him, a mix of pity and judgement.
“You should ask one of the girls out. I’ve heard Yui is single and she’s very pretty!”
Adachi slowly turned his chair towards the copy machine and saw Yui across the room. She was, in fact, very pretty, but… she didn’t spark anything in him. She looked like a work of art, pleasant to look at, but not for him. “No, I don’t think that would work.”
“Adachi, if you don’t date someone by the time you turn 30, you will turn into a wizard!” He whispered.
“What? That’s ridiculous!”
“It’s true, you’ll see!”
Adachi rolled his eyes and turned back to his desk, finally starting on the reports needed. The sooner he was done with that, the sooner he could return to his writing.
--
The elevator opened its doors for Adachi and the ding that followed made his muscles relax instantly. Only a few more minutes and he would be up in his flat, taking his shoes off and cooking something quick before sitting down to write. He felt inspired by the beginning of this new story and he wasn’t about to let a bad day at work ruin that for him.
Just as the doors started to close, someone put a bag between them to keep them open. The first thing Adachi saw was a girl with a cute and gentle look, a black wispy fringe framing her face and a sweet smile. She nodded at Adachi and he smiled and nodded back. He wondered if he would ever date a girl like her, if sharing his life with a partner and doing things together would be so different than what he did now. The answer was probably not, since he assumed nobody would be supportive of him working all day and writing all night; if he was honest with himself, he didn’t really have time for a relationship, even if he sometimes yearned for a bit of company - theoretically. Adachi blinked repeatedly, suddenly crashing back into reality when he saw the looming presence of Kurosawa behind her, giving him a weird look he couldn’t quite place as he ushered the girl into the elevator.
Out of sheer awkwardness, Adachi nodded and mumbled a quiet hello at him, looking away as a blush crept onto his cheeks. Was that Kurosawa’s girlfriend? He groaned and let his head fall back against the elevator wall. He’d been caught staring at his neighbour’s girlfriend like a creep. He ventured a sideways glance and realized Kurosawa was still looking at him with a weird expression.
Thankfully, the ride was short and only a minute later, Adachi was home, barely paying any attention to his basic needs as per usual. He made some instant ramen and added a bit of egg to it before eating it mindlessly, daydreaming of his new story and the magic system involved.
Perhaps it was quickly becoming a much more ambitious project than he had anticipated but as long as the writing flowed, everything would be ok. What was supposed to be a long writing session soon turned into an early night after Adachi’s brain decided to shut down mid-sentence, putting him to sleep sitting at his desk, his head hanging down and his spine hunched over.
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