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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years ago

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The Voyage So Far: Alabasta (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

crocodile is one of my favorite villains in one piece for a number of reasons, and one of them is because he’s such a threat, the first real one faced in the grand line and one of the toughest in all of paradise. the villains from the arcs before this, like wapol or the agents from little garden, could barely even land a hit on luffy in actual combat. so crocodile is introduced here as an absolute force of nature, a complete contrast to recent villains and a very tangible threat.

it’s an impression he very much lives up to later in the arc by crushing luffy not once but twice, which only makes luffy’s ultimate hard-won triumph feel all the better. luffy closes a huge gap over the course of alabasta in order to be able to beat crocodile, and giving us a sense of just how strong he is from the very start gives luffy clawing his way up to that level a lot more weight.

the successive reveals of luffy’s family never fail to absolutely delight me, because in any other series they would almost certainly feel contrived, but knowing luffy, it is absolutely unsurprising he just never happened to mention his relatives. nobody asked! luffy’s unique brand of honesty is one of my favorite character quirks, because he’s very straightforward and in fact can’t lie for shit, but his priorities are so completely off the wall that he winds up omitting highly relevant information completely by accident.

ace’s scene in alabasta really does impress me. oda’s said in an sbs that he knew ace’s fate from his introduction, which i find absolutely unsurprising given the intricacy of his story planning. that means he needed ace’s introduction to make him both likable and memorable enough in the space of just a couple chapters that the audience would be engaged when he became the focus of the story a couple hundred chapters on despite barely appearing at all in the intervening time, and he really succeeded.

kohza is one of my favorite minor characters in the whole series, and i think he’s a big part of why alabasta’s civil war plotline works so well and feels so real. nobody on either side of the war actually wants to fight, but everyone has been driven to such desperation that they feel they have no other choice in order to save their country; and kohza exemplifies that. he's a good person who loves his country a lot, and who genuinely likes and cares about the royal family and vivi especially, and the only option he can see to save alabasta is terrible, but there’s nothing else he can do.

it’s just fun for me to think about the fact that if crocodile was literally anything other than a very skilled logia, vivi would have ended the whole entire arc right here.

i really like civil war storylines when they’re well-done, and i think alabasta is one of the best ones i’ve seen in media. most of it is down to what i mentioned earlier, about how nobody on either side actually wants to fight but feels like they have no choice but to. nobody here is actually in the wrong except for crocodile, and so until crocodile is defeated, nothing can be fixed- which is what luffy, of all people, is the one to realize.

sanji’s mr. prince gambit is probably my single favorite part of alabasta, and i think one of the reasons i like it so much is because he basically beats crocodile at his own game. crocodile is terrifying in battle, but before anything else he’s a manipulator. he’s always working from the shadows, always deceiving people doing what he wants, and sanji manages to turn the tables on him and do the exact same back to him, twice.

also sanji looks great in glasses

smoker and tashigi both get kind of unfortunately sidelined after this saga, but they’re both really great characters in alabasta. (tashigi especially; i’ll get to her later.) much like the rebel army, they’re good people trying to do the right thing in the tangled mess of tension and politics and resentment that is alabasta- and when that means working with pirates, they’ll buckle down and do it, despite how much it might contradict their worldviews.

i love when events align in one piece so that people who don’t particularly like the strawhats wind up working with them for some common goal (as seen most prominently in impel down), and smoker and tashigi in alabasta are the first and still one of the best examples of that.

the entirety of luffy versus crocodile round one is so well done. we’re a hundred and fifty chapters in, and although luffy has struggled in fights before now and then, we get the sense he hasn’t ever really been pushed to the brink, and he’s certainly never lost.

and then he does, completely and absolutely, without ever even landing a hit on his opponent, and it hits like a punch.

oda seems to be a fan of characters just barely missing each other- the similar panel of robin and olvia running past each other from robin’s flashback comes to mind.

i’ve always liked that of all the strawhats, it’s usopp who gets the first “luffy is going to be king of the pirates” moment. they’ve all said it by the current chapters in wano (with the sole exception of robin, i believe), but usopp said it first, and that feels significant to me. he’s always been the one who feels the least secure in his place on the crew, but even so, he has so much faith in luffy.

nami’s fight with miss doublefinger is pretty silly in places and i think it gets frequently (understandably, it must be said) overshadowed by zoro’s fight with mr. 1 directly afterwards, but i really like it nonetheless. it’s nami’s first real solo fight in the whole series, and once she finds her feet she kicks ass, and i really like that. it feels like a very satisfying development for her, to stand up and risk her life in direct combat for vivi’s sake.

we’re now almost a thousand chapters in and its my firm belief that zoro versus mr. 1 is still one of the best fights in the entire series. i definitely think it’s probably zoro’s best fight- only his match with kaku compares. the narrative build over the course of the fight, from zoro struggling just to match mr. 1 (and getting shredded to pieces in the process) to cutting him down in one final stroke, is incredibly cool and satisfying to watch. it feels like a very tangible step forward for zoro in terms of ability, like a massive obstacle has been surmounted and, as he himself says, he’s now stronger for it.

its also very cool that this is, i believe, the first appearance of what is probably observation haki, though it isn’t named or recognized as such. i’m always endlessly impressed by all the little moments of internal consistency that oda manages to sprinkle into his story.

there’s barely any dialogue on these entire two pages, from crocodile dropping vivi to luffy and pell swooping in- the story is briefly told entirely through visuals- and i love that. it gives the impression of a single tense, frozen moment as vivi falls, which is then broken in spectacular fashion when luffy catches her.

i really, really like the progression that runs through all three of luffy’s fights with crocodile. the gap between them goes from being impossible, with luffy unable to even land a hit and crocodile basically toying with him; to surmountable but still huge, with luffy able to land some hits but still outclassed; to finally putting them on basically even ground. and every inch of that growth on luffy’s part is hard-fought and hard-won and well-deserved.

crocodile’s confidence in his abilities isn’t misplaced- he genuinely is that powerful. but if there’s anything we know about luffy by now, it’s that he doesn’t ever give up. it’s very fun to watch crocodile’s dismissiveness turn into disbelief turn into rage and frustration when luffy just won’t die.

luffy is, additionally, pretty clearly a better brawler than crocodile (which makes sense, crocodile is clearly used to devastating long-range attacks with his powers while luffy grew up fighting giant wildlife with his bare hands), which means that by the time of their last fight, where they’re just whaling on each other in the catacombs and crocodile is starting to get sloppy and desperate and lose control, if anything it’s luffy who has the upper hand.

zoro and sanji’s dynamic is always a favorite of mine, and one of the things i like best about them is how perfectly in sync they always manage to be when it comes to things that actually matter, despite fighting like cats and dogs pretty much every other time. i’ll never understand people who think they genuinely aren’t friends.

tashigi is really good in alabasta, okay. she essentially has her own entire character growth arc. she goes from her stance in loguetown, where she isn’t even tolerant of (fully legal!) bounty hunters, to here, where she’s forced to confront that the world isn’t nearly as black and white as she’s always believed it to be, that sometimes pirates are good and allies of the government are bad, and ultimately makes the right choice to help the strawhats even though it clearly pains and frustrates her that she can’t do anything more herself.

i’ll be forever mad that her only really significant appearance after this in punk hazard didn’t really live up to what her character deserved.

i really like how the countdown sequence is done. the tension is ratcheting up and up and up as the clock ticks down in the final seconds, panels cutting all over the city to show all the different characters, everyone who’s caught up in this conflict and everyone who’ll die if the cannon fires-

and then the clock hits zero, and we get this panel that’s just... quiet, after all the madness, as we see how vivi stopped the detonation. i think oda is very good at setting up his pages so they have a flow to them, so no matter how quickly you actually read sometimes things feel like they’re going very fast and all happening at once and then it slows down and gives the reader a chance to breathe, if only to speed up again later. i think oda is really good at pacing in general, really, both on a micro level like this and on a larger scale.

luffy’s greatest strength isn’t really his strength. he’s strong, absolutely, but that’s not really why he wins the fights he shouldn’t win. he wins because he just doesn’t fucking stay down. his fight with katakuri is probably the best example of this, because katakuri has him beat in pretty much every category except sheer endurance, and there as here, it’s that endurance that winds up getting luffy the win in the end.

i do love that it’s the rain that ends the war. not the explosion and pell’s sacrifice, not vivi’s pleading, not even luffy kicking crocodile into the stratosphere, but the rain, the thing alabasta’s been missing for too long, the thing crocodile stole, the only thing all these people are fighting over.

it’s crocodile’s symbolic defeat- at the same moment his power is broken by luffy, the stranglehold of dehydration he’s been using to foment war and rebellion is all at once gone, and he’s left with nothing at all, and alabasta can finally find peace and start to heal again.

i always love the little moments that show, usually without words, just how much the strawhats love each other, and all of them unanimously waiting until vivi is out of sight to collapse so that she won’t worry, won’t see how ragged they ran themselves for their sake, is definitely one of them.

i adore vivi’s sendoff, because while its sad she has to go, the certainty that someday they’ll meet again and that even if not they’ll always be crew manages to make this scene endlessly hopeful instead (which, i think, is also a good summary of one piece’s tone as a whole, at least in its more serious moments). luffy never says goodbye, after all, and nobody ever really leaves the strawhat pirates.

i’m really looking forward to vivi’s re-entry to the story. i really, really want to see her reunion with the strawhats.

hey look, it’s the panel my profile picture is from!

the mystery surrounding robin and her past is built up in little ways long before enies lobby, from her harsh reaction when confronted with by tashigi to her aversion to being called by her given name to this flashback, of her talking to cobra about her dream. of them, the latter is my favorite, because i think it’s probably the most sincere she is until enies lobby- which makes sense, given she thinks she’s about to die.

like many things about robin in alabasta, this gets cast in a new light by her backstory. if she dies here, so too does the entire legacy of ohara- but she’s so beaten down and hopeless that she really doesn’t see any light ahead to strive for. there’s no hope left, for her, and the whole world against her.

and then there’s luffy, who creates hope everywhere he goes, who makes her live anyways.

this is a hell of a spread to hook us very effectively right into the sky island saga. it’s a perfect reminder of just how much we still don’t know about all the endless mysteries of the grand line, and just how many adventures are still yet to be had.

#the voyage so far #arc: alabasta #one piece #opmeta #not japanese #long post

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formenis · 4 years ago

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Likeness

Anon asked: "I really love your one shots 💖 and was wondering if you could make a one shot for Matsuda? 😅"

*slams hands on the table* OF COURSE!

(and thank you, Anon-san~♥)

pairing: Touta Matsuda x gn!reader

warning: fluff floof maybe

requested: yes

D/N: dog name

A/N: as I always say, English is not my first language so you’ll find some mistakes in my stories. I’m sorry! ><

«The total amount is 6600¥» (A/N: something like US$ 60 or 50€ with the current exchange rate)

«Alright»

Y/N searched for their wallet and payed their groceries. That evening they wanted to prepare a magnificent dinner so Y/N needed many things to buy.

They left the konbini (A/N: a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items, they're also called "convenience store") with two large shopping bags. They were not much heavy but Y/N could already sense a slight pain on their hands.

It stopped raining few minutes ago, everything was wet and shining: cars, buildings and even the road. There was not much people around them due to the weather but the streets were congested, filled with vehicles. A freezing air hit Y/N's face and once outside the konbini they took a deep breath before leading back home.

During the walk, Y/N thought at the menu for the dinner: rice, soup and three side dishes for sure. Yes, but which side dishes? Tempura, grilled fish, hamburger steaks or something like salads and boiled veggies? Luckily Y/N brought everything in case they were unsure once at home.

Cooking was a sort of "ceremony" for Y/N. Why? First, because they liked it (A/N: sorry if you don't); and secondly, because that was how they met their s/o Touta Matsuda. But he was a detective, how could they meet? Simple (and rather cliché, Y/N admitted it): they bumped into each other in one of the aisles inside a konbini. The two of them were doing their grocery shopping when both of them aimed at the same bag of seaweed.

«A-Ah! I'm terribly sorry!» he immediately apologised.

«Omusubi I guess?» (A/N: it's another name for onigiri, a food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes and often wrapped in seaweed).

«Yeah…I always bring them at work»

A normal conversation with a stranger would end there, they would come back at their normal life and maybe forgetting about each other the next day. But not with someone as Matsuda: he was so outgoing, chatty and…somehow cute. Y/N got along with him immediately: the initial simple acquaintance changed into friendship; and friendship turned into love. And cooking helped a lot: they would exchange recipes and tricks every time they would meet.

«Gee, I took too many Mentsuyu bottles» (A/N: it's a noodle soup base)

But back to the present. During their way back home, Y/N felt a set of steps behind her. At first they thought it was some weirdo who was following her but when they turned they didn’t see anybody. So they kept walking; after five minutes the steps became four.

When Y/N turned again, they were ready to use the shopping bags to beat whoever was following them but they saw something else instead: a puppy. Very thick, pure white double coat, two large black eyes and cute tiny ears (and no collar). Y/N opened the mouth in disbelief.

«Oh my-a white cloud fell from the sky! Come here, cutie» Y/N kneeled down and the puppy walked closer right away. It must be hungry, it was a bit skinny…poor floof.

«Do you wanna come with me? I'm a rather talented chef, you know» Y/N asked the dog with a hint of presumption. The puppy wagged its tail in response, it must love that idea. «Then, jump in» Y/N opened one of the largest pockets of their jacket and the white floof stepped closer to it: it sniffed the cloth and once it verified there were no dangers, it jumped inside. Once it found a comfortable position, its head popped out from the pocket.

«You're so cute, just like Matsu~» Y/N took the shopping bags again and walked back home. The few people on the streets looked with cute awe at that pocket.

♰ TIME SKIP ♰

At home, the same apartment they shared with Matsuda, Y/N was cooking peacefully when a sudden thought appeared in their mind: «What if Matsu is allergic to dog fur?»

They never asked him since none of them never talked about pets. Y/N's gazed moved from the tempura to the floof: the puppy was drinking from the bowl still wigging its tail. They smiled, everything about that dog reminded them of Matsuda.

Y/N was so focused on the floof that they almost didn’t hear the front door open. «I'm home!»

In a rush, Y/N took the dog and hid it behind the armchair and put the bowl in the sink. Then they pretended to cook again. «I-In the kitchen!»

Few moments later Matsuda appeared in front of them: tired face, messy black hair and loosened dark tie. When he smelled the air his lips curved in a smile.

«Welcome back, Matsu. How was work?»

«I'm so tiiiired» he sighed walking closer to his Y/N and kissed their cheek. «Is that tempura?»

«Good nose, dear» Y/N chuckled and let him taste a piece.

Matsuda yummed in bliss and tried to steal another piece but Y/N hit him softly with the chopsticks. «You have to wait»

Touta complained but didn’t say anything else. Instead, his gaze moved to the sink. «Why did you use the bowl?»

Y/N froze. Damn, they forgot to hid it. «Uhm…I was trying a new recipe but I failed…eheh» they laughed nervously.

Matsuda could be naïve sometimes but he was a detective after all. «And you used the bowl…and nothing else? Nor a pot or a ladle?» he asked with suspect.

«As I said, new recipe» Y/N kept cooking the tempura playing it cool. However, this didn’t convince Matsuda and continued analysing the "crime scene".

He was walking closer to the armchair, Y/N was sweating cold. He almost reached the point where the floof was hiding but then, as to save the situation, someone knocked at the door. «Coming!» Matsuda yelled and ran towards the front door.

Y/N ran towards the armchair and took the little floof. It started wigging its tail when it saw them, its ears were all up. Y/N went towards the bedroom and put it down half-hidden under the bed.

«Stay here cutie, I'll come back soon» and with that, they ran back in the kitchen. In that exact moment, Matsuda appeared again.

«Who was it, dear?»

«Uhm…it was Ogawa-san. She gave us some cookies she did today»

«Really? So gentle of her» was Y/N's reply. They were mentally hoping the floof would not do noises.

After dinner, as usual, Matsuda was relaxing on the couch watching TV with Y/N beside him. They were watching a documentary about rainforests around the world when Matsuda started giggling quietly.

«Pff Y-Y/N…please stop»

«Uh?» they looked at him in confusion. Soon enough that giggling became a proper laugh.

«You know I'm ticklish, please~»

«I'm not doing anything-» Y/N stopped talking when, despite the slight darkness, they could recognise the floof's white fur: it was playing with the hem of Matsuda's pants and the fur was tickling his feet.

Y/N started panicking was going to grab the dog but Matsuda was faster. «A dog?» he said in disbelief. «Y/N? Why there's…a dog here?»

«Uhm…ah…well…I-» Y/N wanted to explain but no words (or good excuses) came out from their throat.

A loud sigh marked their defeat. «It was following me when I went at the konbini…I couldn’t leave it there! Just…look at it, Matsu!» they took gently the puppy in their hands so it was looking directly at the detective: tiny ears up, soft white fur and large dark eyes. The dog tilted the head in confusion and so did Matsuda.

«See? You two are so similar, so cute! Can we please keep it?»

The initial confusion of the young detective soon turned into a gentle smile: in that moment Y/N was doing the cutest "puppy eyes" he ever saw. So he was not the only one who looked like that dog. It was the main reason that made him smile.

«Did you choose a name yet?»

«Hmm…what about D/N?»

«It sounds perfect»

«This means we can keep it?!» Y/N asked happily and D/N wigged swiftly its tail as if it was even happier. A series of cute barks could be heard as Matsuda said yes.

#death note #death note headcanons #death note scenario #death note request #touta matsuda #matsuda death note #matsuda x reader #gender neutral y/n #gender neutral reader #fluff

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energyanon · 3 years ago

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Henry Reading Part II

As always, I wrote this in real time, and edited punctuation after. I’ve italicised all of the “placements” names so hopefully it makes more sense for you guys to know what placement i’m talking about. Also keep in mind everytime i move to a next placement its because the energy has said all it needs to with the last person. And also note everytime that anything in the field moves, I have to check in with everything else cause movement means change in the dynamic, and so it’s always good to check in to see what the placements think about that. Guys... it’s a long one but... Im cautiously hopeful at the moment omg.

Placing HC, body, image/status and fans.

HC, body and I/S are standing beside each other in a line. Body was close to HC, then I/S wanted to be on top of him, for energetic reasons I put image next to him instead, wedged between him and body.

Immediately HC just wanted to sit down and relax but felt claustrophobic with everything so close to him. A little anxious, very hot, and off kilter. He wanted to move away from the other two, so I moved him. He’s now in the furthest part of the field, but he is SMOKING hot like I’m BOILING.

Image/status also is feeling a bit off kilter, it keeps swaying one way to the next but heavily leaning towards Body now. Like as if it’s entire gravity is based off of “body”s orbit.

When Image/Status looks at Henry it doesn’t even seem to recognise him. Kind of like a “what are you doing here” and it’s heavily leaning towards body, it has no regard for HC as a human whatsoever.

Body is also a little off kilter but feels like it can’t move or feel anything, and it’s only swaying to each side slightly. There’s a lot of pressure in the throat/lungs. But otherwise body is numb. It doesn’t feel like a living organism it feels like a statue.

Body will not look anywhere besides in front of it and down.

You know what it feels like, it feels like Body is standing in those lines in the military where a captain is walking down and assessing every person there and you have to stand still and silent and wait for this person to assess you and then leave. It’s a very obedient feeling like “I have to stay here and do what I’m told”

It doesn’t feel like it has any freedom whatsoever.

So I’m gonna add Body IMAGE, instead of just Body and see how they interact.

Oh I just remembered I have placed fans but literally none of them are paying any attention to it. So we move on.

Body image is directly in front of Henry. If it could be apart of him it would, but it’s standing in front of him, noses touching.

It feels like a mother (yikes)

It’s telling him he’s not good enough

Hands on hips, it’s very stern.

100% a mother energy. Not a MOTHERLY energy it feels like a stocky woman shorter, has authority over him and he respects it.

I know that sounds like DG, but this is just the “energy” I’m feeling so it could be actual mother or another woman in his life that has this kind of energy. It could also be that females are a heavy influence on his life.

Body Image is Disappointed “you can do better”. it’s looking him straight in the eyes. It’s not happy with him at all, it doesn’t seem to have any compassion for him, it almost feels disgusted, like it shouldn’t have to be wasting it’s time but it is. It also feels like a bit of a bully like if he wants to move it moves with him going “where are you going huh. You stay right here you can’t walk away from me”

Henry

Surprisingly, he isn’t crippled by body image being there it’s more like it’s a nuisance.

Body Image to him feels very military once again, “this is my superior, I have to listen I have to do what it wants, but I’m tired of listening to it. But I’m just gonna stand here and shut up and be as invisible as possible until it does.” Feels very “sir yes sir” to him.

He feels very stuck here but he WANTS to move (that’s great news) he just feels like he can’t while body image is in the way and he’s not gonna try until it’s gone.

When he looks at BODY he’s looking at it forlorn. Like he wants to be United with body, but body is listening to whatever it’s being commanded by and so is he, so neither of them can move.

I got him to look at fans cause I wasn’t feeling anything for them. When he looks at fans he gets instant anxiety but also doesn’t believe he has the time to deal with that right now and he just wants to look over at Body. Anxiety leaves as soon as he stops looking at fans.

There’s a sadness when he looks at Body, almost like he misses a lover. He wants it back. He wants to hug it and tell it that it’s ok, he wants to comfort it. He feels like Body is in a worse place than he is. He thinks Body is struggling. When he looks at status/image he actually has 0 concern he’s just worried about Body.

I moved to fans. Fans feels nothing for the field. Makes sense cause it seems like no one is paying attention to it. I’m taking that to mean that fans doesn’t need to be here. It’s not the issue being dealt with. I’m taking fans out.

Taking note that HC doesn’t seem as unbelievably depressed as he was in the last one but we also have a different set up. But still interesting.

Body:

Body still an absolute statue will not look anywhere but ahead

Status/Image The only movement status wants is to be CLOSER to Body so that they are almost one. I’ve got status/image behind Body, but hugging it from behind. Not in a loving way but it feels connected it feels like that’s where it’s meant to be

Body:

Body immediately feels hot with S/I there behind it. It’s falling back a little but eyes still ahead. Still a statue. Feels… almost comfort with S/I there but it’s not comfort it’s like.. it feels… more stable.. like body doesn’t WANT it there but it’s not going to move and if S/I moved it would almost feel like a loss. It wouldn’t know what to do with itself.

Henry

Now that S/I has moved behind body and is hugging it, HC is panicked, still not moving, still blocked by body image but he’s looking at S/I now, S/I has his full attention.

His first thought was “no please don’t move there” and now he’s just staring at S/I knowing he can do nothing

Ok INTERESTING. He felt the need to draw his attention back to Body and get its attention by YELLING (almost like there’s a chasm between them but they’re actually really close in this constellation) he’s yelling “know your worth” and just that over and over again.

(Which frankly, I’m impressed by).

But Body isn’t listening to him so he just keeps yelling almost desperately? Body image is trying to get his attention but he won’t give it to it.

Body image:

Is annoyed, wants to grab his face and get HC’s eyes back on it. “I own you.”

It’s doing everything it can to get HC to pay attention when his eyes aren’t on it it wants to get abusive.

Like real abusive. Beating him to the ground.

I’ve followed the movement, and HC is on the ground.

It’s crouched over HC now and it’s just belittling him, it’s hammering into him. “Disgusting Pig”. “No one will ever love you what worth do you have.” It’s just laying it on him it’s not kind in anyway, it’s so horrible.

Henry:

Ok this is interesting cause I go back to Henry and I assumed he would be absolutely hurt by this but he’s not.

The feeling is that of an abused kid whose just had enough but can’t leave their parents just yet. like it hurts him emotionally but it’s more of a wince, he’s used to it, and he’s numb to the rest of it. He’s saying to Body image “let me go. Please.” “Please leave me alone you’ve made your point”

There again is almost that feeling of crying but it’s just the base of the emotion it’s not enough to get watery eyes.

Oh. That would make sense.

The good news is that HC doesn’t feel absolutely crippled by this.. he just feels like he’s stuck in an abusive relationship and he knows that he’s stronger than it, and whenever it says he’s disgusting he knows that he’s not. He keeps reiterating that to himself and saying that to body image, but it’s conflicting because he’s also too tired to get up and leave and fully believe it. It’s like eventually the abuse from Body Image wears him down and he knows even if he gets up and fights back it’s just gonna be there the next day wearing him down again.

Ah.

That energy has passed now, he’s sitting back up. He’s still blocked by Body image which is now sitting in front of him, still so close its touching. But Henry is breathing heavy as if he was just in a fight. And this feeling is similar to the last reading, the absolute hopelessness not knowing what to do, deep sighs feeling lost. Disassociating. Just.. over it.

Body:

Ok now body is looking at Henry and it feels so sad over what just transpired and it wants to comfort him but it doesn’t want to piss off body image.

It’s now looking forlorn at HC. And Body finally wants to move away from status/image.

I moved it to where it wanted to be - the edge of the field. And it’s turned around facing status/image and it’s defiant. “You don’t own me”

Body isn’t angry, it’s just defiant and protective. If S/I takes one more step body will bark at it like a ferocious dog. That’s the feeling.

Body is staring S/I down.

Status/Image

S/I didn’t feel anything about Body doing that it just went “ok. I’ll move myself somewhere else then” with a bitchy little smirk.

And placed itself in front of Body image and in between it and HC.

And now status is sitting too. All three of them. Sitting.

Status/image feels like it’s good friends with Body Image.

Henry: With that move, Henry now feels like he’s behind a wall.

A giant Ass brick wall and he can’t see anything beyond it.

Another deep sigh. He’s sick of it.

He’s so tired.

Body Image: Body image feels like S/I is almost like a daughter to it. It’s much younger but it likes status/image there.. in a really mean way, like it keeps looking at HC like 😏 see? How are you going to escape us. And wants to pat S/I’s head.

Body:

Body can’t seem to notice anything around it it’s almost like everything has vanished now because the other three are behind a brick wall and that wall is absolutely invisible to body. Body is just looking around like “well fuck.”

It feels like it has nothing to do now.

(Controversial……. I’m going to place HC’s younger self..)

Younger Self HC

HC’s younger self has placed himself in front of body but further away, he’s shaking and anxious looking at Body. Body feels like it is looming and intimidating but little HC still wants to be friends but not sure how. He’s holding himself like a shy little boy. Head is kind of ducked. And he can’t quite look at Body in the eye. Body needs to make the first move

Body: Body very hesitantly made the first move and knelt in front of little HC. It was kind to him but in a pitying kind of way. It said “hello little one”

And just knelt there. Little HC gave body a hug, and body couldn’t reciprocate its the feeling of when an adult has something devastating and sad to tell the child but hasn’t told him just yet.

Little Henry

Hesitantly hugging Body. Very awkward it’s taking a while to get used to being this close to body.

But when he does get used to it, body feels very warm, very motherly. It feels like a motherly hug.

Still even then the crying feeling is BASE level, not getting watery eyes or anything.

(I need to find where the basis of where this lack of crying is or it’s going to drive me insane.)

I’m leaving it there, as HC has accepted where he is atm, even if it’s behind a wall, he has the same feelings as he did in the last reading, I can’t get those to go away without a constellation, but I felt like there was movement with young HC and body bonding and having a little cuddle.

That’s some healing movement right there

OOO actually let me check how HC feels about young him and body making a nice little movement like that.

Henry:

OH!!!!!?

Ok the brick wall feels like glass now, he can see through it. But he’s got a little smile on his face seeing little him and body having a hug.

He feels like he may be stuck here but at least that happened?

He feels a lot more hopeful and alive than he did the last time I checked on him in this reading.

Awake too.

He doesn’t feel like the two in front of him are even blocking him anymore. Like they are but he feels like he could sneak away..

but he just doesn’t want to just yet he’s too tired he can’t be bothered, but he’s feeling MUCH better now.

He feels hopeful

And that makes him happy. And that’s finally where I will end it.

Guys OMG. POSITIVE MOVEMENT!!!! WE GOT IT!! Note: Ok, I didn’t move tiny henry. tiny henry moved HIMSELF. That’s HC’s little inner self making MOVEMENT. I didn’t facilitate that, that was where the energy wanted to go all on it’s own.

Which is PHENOMENAL AND WONDERFUL NEWS?!?!? Also I have left little HC and Body hugging for the moment cause I feel like that needs to fully integrate. Small movements but HUGE.

#HC #reading

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drunkserval · 4 years ago

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A Fresh Canvas: Incomplete Preview

Quite some time ago I did a silly little thread on Twitter, and I’ve always wanted to take that and actually make something out of it. Well it was a little harder than expected, but it’s coming along!

When I have the entire thing done I will be uploading it to AO3, but for now it seemed seasonally appropriate to at least drop this.

I wanted to have this posted yesterday but festivities kept me busier than expected! Story is below the cut. Keep in mind that this is still technically a rough draft, and will receive its final beta pass before the full story hits AO3.

(Tentative) Title: A Fresh Canvas Fandom: Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System by MXTX Rating: G, No Warnings Apply Summary: Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan are neighbors in the same modern apartment complex who, despite looking similar enough to be mistaken for each other, couldn’t be any more different. Or so they think.

----------------

Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan were neighbors in the same apartment complex. They lived on the same floor, in the same hall, and were often mistaken for one another due to this proximity combined with how similar their appearances were.

But there were key differences, as both would readily point out to their neighbors. Shen Jiu’s hair hung shy of his shoulders while Shen Yuan’s was shorter and lighter in tone.

And still the mix-ups kept happening, particularly if they were at some distance or facing away. The misunderstanding would very rarely last past the first glance since Shen Jiu would snap and take immediate offense, and Shen Yuan would just sigh and say, "Sorry, wrong one."

Shen Yuan had no idea why Shen Jiu got so offended over it. Surely he didn’t look that bad, come on!

The neighbors eventually started learning to look at the clothes first--or to at least look for Shen Yuan’s thick-rimmed glasses.

Both men carried and dressed themselves so differently. Shen Yuan dressed in hoodies and jeans--well, if he was planning on going any further than the mailbox, that was. Otherwise why bother changing out of pajamas or sweatpants?

On the other hand, Shen Jiu didn’t touch anything that wasn’t from a known designer.

Shen Jiu spent proudly--and why shouldn’t he? Because he at least earned his money!

That Shen Yuan kid down the hall? Rumor was that his parents were paying his rent and he'd never had a real job in his life.

But because he never went out, Shen Yuan was one of the only people still hanging around the apartment complex when Shen Jiu went around knocking during a major holiday.

In Shen Jiu’s arms was a box containing two fluffy black pups.

Shen Yuan’s eyes widened at the sight of them and he completely forgot to greet his neighbor until Shen Jiu cleared his throat. The dogs were like little storm clouds with feet and stubby tails, staring back at him with big black eyes. One started wagging its tail with such vigor that its whole back end wiggled about.

It took Shen Jiu a moment to find his voice as he followed, such was the state that his neighbor had chosen to answer the door in. Hideous cucumber-print pajama pants, a tacky anime shirt covered in snack crumbs, and unkempt hair had greeted him. But the continuous movement of the box in his arms reminded him of his mission.

“I found... ” Shen Jiu shifted the box in indication as Shen Yuan shut the door behind them, “these, out by the garbage.”

Shen Yuan blinked as the other passed by him, “Have you tried calling any nearby shelters?”

“Of course I have,” Shen Jiu scoffed at the implication that he was so simple. “You try getting a real person on the phone today, though. It’s impossible. I could only leave messages.”

Shen Yuan put a finger to his lips, “Oh, right. Today is…” Glancing at a wall calendar almost as ugly as his shirt he nodded, “Right. Right.”

Did this kid ever so much as leave the building? Shen Jiu was starting to wonder. Shen Yuan dressed like he’d just rolled out of bed in the latter part of the daytime. And he hadn’t realized it was a major holiday. And then there were the countless odorous takeout boxes covering every available surface in his apartment.

Shen Jiu wrinkled his nose but still asked in spite of his rapidly growing doubts, “You don’t know anyone who can take these little mutts in for a day or two, do you?”

Shen Yuan shook his head and heard Shen Jiu sigh. His neighbor set the box down to give his arms a rest… but Shen Yuan couldn’t seem to rip his attention away from one of the pups. It hadn’t stopped staring at him, or shaking its fluffy little behind, for a moment.

“What if we take them in?”

Shen Jiu’s tone was flat, “What.”

Shen Yuan picked up the excited little pup and it immediately started wiggling in his grasp. Not struggling, however--just trying to get closer to his face, paws waving in the air and its little pink tongue darting out to reach for him even though it was still well outside of range. He had to fight back the urge to laugh at the silly little storm cloud.

“The building allows us to have one animal per unit, right?” Shen Yuan shrugged, “so what if we each took one, even just long enough to find them new homes?”

Shen Jiu frowned. Taking in a dog, or really any animal, had never been on his agenda. He liked his nice clean apartment and intact furniture unlike a certain someone. Plus he was more partial to cats. He moved his gaze from the overexcited animal back to the box. Though the pups looked identical on the surface this one was clearly the calmer one. It looked up at his scowling face but put forth no such ridiculous display… thank goodness.

Who knew? Maybe Shen Yuan’s idea wasn’t so bad. And if it was, it was only a temporary arrangement, in the end. He might be able to get rid of the animal as soon as tomorrow if it was truly intolerable.

Tentatively, Shen Jiu reached out to pick up the dog…

And felt tiny teeth close around his fingers.

Jerking his hand backwards, Shen Jiu sneered down at the animal. “What, you ungrateful little beast!”

Shen Yuan finally stopped cooing at his own pup to look over and said, “Maybe he doesn’t like your cologne?”

“And what’s wrong with my cologne?” Shen Jiu snapped, voice raising.

Stepping back, “Nothing, nothing!”

“It was a gift, you know!”

Shen Yuan barely avoided tripping over a haphazard stack of game cases as he kept moving away. “P-perhaps it’s just too strong for a dog’s nose, that’s all!”

This time Shen Jiu moved quickly, snatching up the dog by its middle before it could get its ridiculously tiny muzzle around anything, and he stared directly into the animal’s eyes.

“Do that again, and I’ll put you back out in the cold where I found you. Understood?”

The dog stared back at him, placid and indifferent… until its tongue darted out and licked the end of his nose.

“...good enough.”

----------------------

It was a few days before the two of them crossed paths again.

It’d seem they both had decided to keep their newfound pets and they were both out that day to take the dogs for walks.

The air in the park was warm, so they sat themselves on a bench to enjoy it for a bit longer and soak up some of the sunlight that was so rare that time of year. Shen Jiu’s pup sat like a sentry at his feet while Shen Yuan’s pup curled up on his lap the moment he sat down.

It was through the ensuing conversation they realized they both gave their dog the same name by sheer coincidence.

One was too lazy and the other was too stubborn, so neither changed it. At least they’d bought different-colored collars. But this brought to light a new revelation, and Shen Yuan just had to ask…

“How did you come up with it?”

“It was just the first thing to come to mind,” Shen Jiu had explained, “from something I’ve been reading, probably.”

"Wait, you read that too!?"

As he suspected! That name was from one of the top-rated web novels that year, from its stallion protagonist: Luo Binghe!

Shen Yuan couldn’t imagine someone as outwardly prim as Shen Jiu reading trashy webnovels, but it turned out to be true. It was just a quick, easy way for him to kill a few minutes of downtime at work, Shen Jiu reasoned in his defense.

Whenever they met up from that point forward, Shen Yuan talked his ear off about his various grievances with Proud Immortal Demon Way.

‘Villains that dig their own graves but don’t bother finishing! Women that lead the protagonist on a three-chapter long subplot just to get to their lewd scenes, only to never see them again! And every single character lost all of their intelligence when the protagonist came around!’

And yet he had nothing but praise for said protagonist… almost excessive praise.

Shen Jiu is annoyed at first but he starts enjoying the company. Which is good because the dog turns out to be a menace.

Well, both dogs could be counted as menaces, just in different ways.

Bing-mei (as they come to call him) would start whining so pitifully when Shen Yuan shut the door between them, thus he often just gave up and took the dog with him whenever it was feasible.

Bing-ge, on the other hand, broke his toys within days, climbed around on furniture he wasn’t allowed on--sometimes when Shen Jiu was looking right at him, too--he barked, he scratched furniture, he tore up pillows.

Despite all the trouble he was causing for his master, Shen Jiu would no longer entertain the idea of giving him up. Not after Bing-ge tore up three separate muggers on three separate occasions and growled at the person who kept taking his parking space until it never happened again.

But the biggest takeaway from their conversations, for Shen Jiu, wasn’t webnovels or dogs. It made him start to realize how lonely he'd been.

The only other person he really spoke to was halfway around the world for their work and they only spoke a couple of times a month. Now that Shen Yuan was around, Shen Jiu actually started to have things to look forward to besides the monotony of work--knocks on the door, long walks with the dogs, the occasional cup of tea afterward on colder days...

Shen Jiu was never the sort to be up-front with his feelings, so he found a way to show his gratitude by helping Shen Yuan with his confidence issues. He started encouraging him to go out more, and to put a little more effort into his looks when he did. This morphed into helping clean up his squalid apartment since Shen Jiu could barely stand to look at it when he came over.

Months later, Shen Jiu’s recommendation had helped Shen Yuan to land an entry-level job. That, and a steady habit of going out once a week, gave them something else to do and talk about.

Progress was slow, but visible. Shen Yuan seemed a little less awkward in public with each passing week.

One night they were leaning on Shen Yuan’s balcony. It was a night of celebration, for he’d just earned his very first promotion, and Shen Jiu had brought over wine for the occasion.

He found himself leaning closer to Shen Jiu, telling himself it was just to get a better look at him in the dim light of the city night. His focus wasn’t the best even when he was sober after all. Yet Shen Yuan didn’t stop. And when Shen Jiu turned to look at him in confusion, and their lips met, he didn’t withdraw for several seconds.

Neither did Shen Jiu.

Shen Yuan tried to flee as soon as he realized what he’d done only for Shen Jiu to pull him back saying:

"Don't run, take responsibility. We talked about this."

#svsss #svsss fic #mxtx #modern au #bingpup #shen jiu #shen yuan #jiuyuan

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the-final-sif · 5 years ago

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Per the anons in my inbox’s requests, I give you my sad ‘Katsuki is a dog person headcanon. Fair warning, this is a sad headcanon about Katsuki having a childhood dog. You know where this is going.

Now if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you probably know about my Katsuki getting kidnapped headcanon. Basically, the story goes that Katsuki was kidnapped and/or had multiple groups try to kidnap him for his quirk throughout his childhood, he just managed to escape and then never told anyone, because he's Katsuki and the day he willingly volunteers information about himself and/or the problems he’s struggling with is never.

At some point, someone in class 1-A asks Izuku whether Katsuki is a cat person or a dog person, because a group of them had been arguing about it. By this point most people have learned that it's much easier to ask Izuku for information about Katsuki than it is to ask Katsuki for information about Katsuki.

Lucky them, Izuku knows the answer! Kacchan's a dog person. Or at least, he was when they were growing up. He's not so sure that Kacchan's still a dog person. Kacchan doesn't like to talk about his dog or any dogs these days. Everyone is intrigued by that and asks for details, but turns out that surprisingly, Izuku doesn't know what happened. Not the whole story anyways. He does remember some stuff though.

Kacchan's dog was a big Tibetan Mastiff named Mamoru. Izuku can only remember three things about him.

First and foremost, Mamoru was mean as hell to almost everyone. He barely put up with Izuku, he didn't like either of Kacchan's parents, he hated strangers. If they were alive odds are this dog hated them. Mamoru wasn't afraid to show that he hated someone either. He would get bitey/growly the moment someone got in his space and given his size and appearance, most people would back off quick.

Second, Mamoru loved Kacchan with all his heart. Even if he was a jerk to almost everyone else, this dog adored Kacchan. Every time he was around Kacchan's his tail was wagging like he was a puppy. While he basically never listened to anyone else's commands, he'd follow Kacchan's in an instant and picked up new tricks like it was nothing. When they were little he would even let Kacchan ride on his back. Kacchan was why that Mamoru put up with Izuku (or anyone for that matter), and also probably the only reason Mamoru wasn't put down.

The last thing Izuku knew about Mamoru was that passed away very suddenly when Izuku was 10 years old. He never found out how the dog died. Kacchan didn't want to talk about it at all, and his parents dodged the subject when it was brought up. Not even Izuku’s mom could get the story out of them. Mamoru was an older dog when he passed away, but he'd been fairly healthy, so it must’ve been something bad.

After telling them this, Izuku warns his classmates not to bring it up. Whatever happened is a sore subject for Katsuki. All of them can understand pet's death being hard, particularly such a sudden one, so they leave it alone.

They think that's that... only at some point, there's someone with a weird quirk that the class meets while out on a field trip. The person can let you speak to a loved one that passed away for a short period, although it only works once for each person. You can't pick who you speak to/see, it's whoever you miss most.

Most of the class is excited and gets some heartfelt words from their dead relatives, but Katsuki wants nothing to do with it. The person accidentally activates their quirk on him anyways, and everyone is expecting a relative or someone similar to show up.

Instead, in bounds in a giant, overjoyed dog; tail wagging, eyes shining and tongue out. Katsuki is totally frozen up. Everyone expects him to be happy, but he's not. He stares at the dog for a solid 4-5 seconds as the dog wanders over to him, whining for attention and trying to play. Then Katsuki turns on his heel and runs.

None of them are supposed to be out on their own, so his classmates try to follow him only to lose Katsuki, who doesn't seem to be able to hear them in his upset state.The whole class is super freaked out, and the ghost dog is getting really aggressive and upset at the class as they search.

Aizawa is called over, and now he's panicking because his kid whose been kidnapped before is off on his own and not answering his cell phone. Lucky him, when he starts trying to figure out how to find Katsuki, Ghost Mamoru barks at him, runs off a little ways, then runs back. He's been hostile towards everyone else, but he seems okay with Aizawa. He also seems increasingly agitated about something.

Taking the hint, Aizawa tells the rest of the class to head back to their meeting point and follows Mamoru, who leads him to Katsuki. Katsuki's curled himself into a small hiding spot, which was why he was so hard to find. Mamoru obviously wants to go comfort his kid, everything about him is drooping and he lets out a whine, but seems to think better of it. Instead, he takes a long look at Katsuki, and then shoots a pleading look towards Aizawa before he lets out a quiet huff and fades away.

That leaves Aizawa alone with Katsuki, a kid whose hard to understand on the best of days, and who is currently having a panic attack.

There's not much else he can do, so Aizawa waits it out. He sits beside Katsuki's hiding place and keeps things calm and quiet, waving off the rest of the class, and letting the other teachers know Katsuki's been found.

It takes quite awhile, but finally Katsuki recovers enough to speak. He still doesn't want to come out of his hiding spot though, and Aizawa doesn't ask him to. At this point it's obvious something serious happened, he just wants to know what.

Katsuki takes several tries to start, this story is hard for him to tell, but eventually he manages to force out a "It was my fault." and after that, everything comes tumbling out.

He'd been heading back to his house all alone in the early evening one day. He was 10 years old, and he hadn't been paying attention to the people around him. He should've been paying more attention. He should've known better. But he didn't, and some goons got the jump on him. There hadn't been time for him to do anything. The men had been on him too quickly and gotten his hands locked behind him. Katsuki had tried to fight, but he hadn't been strong enough.

It was only a block or two from his house and if he'd just walked faster or not stopped to look at things, everything would've been fine. But he hadn't, so the men caught him. He was pretty sure he'd been attacked by those guys before too, so he should've recognized them. They'd already gotten his hands restrained, and they'd stuck him with a needle.

There was nobody else around, and Katsuki thought that was it. This was the time that they got him.

The men thought so too, he couldn't remember their exact words, but they were gloating. Going slower than they probably should've. They hadn't been expecting anyone to come help Katsuki. They hadn't expected anyone to care enough to help him. And they were sort of right, there weren't any people coming to help Katsuki, but there was a very loyal dog who heard Katsuki's muffled cries.

Mamoru didn't hesitate for even one goddamn second; he was on the man holding Katsuki like in flash, dagger like teeth digging deep into the man's shoulder. He went for the goddamn throat of the other one, the one who had some of Katsuki's blood on him.

Despite his best efforts, the dog didn't manage to kill either man, but he drove both of them off. He fought like a goddamn hell hound, as if he was made of nothing but of fury and muscle. Maybe in that moment he was.

Mamoru was so vicious and strong, that Katsuki didn't even realize the dog was hurt in the fight. Not until he'd managed to wiggle his way out of the cuffs and thrown his arms around his dog, only to jerk back at the wet feeling of blood soaking through his shirt.

The injury was bad. One of the men had had a knife and must've caught the edge of it on Mamoru's throat. Katsuki was drugged out, but he knew he needed to do something. Mamoru was somehow still on his feet, so he helped Katsuki get home, his condition getting worse and worse as they pressed on.

When Katsuki got home, there was nobody there, but he was able to call his father and through his sobs communicate the important parts of what happened. That some guys had bothered him and they'd hurt Mamoru. His dad said he'd be home as soon as he could, and to put pressure on the wound until then.

And here's the thing. That's good advice. Stopping the blood loss is really important when you have an injured animal.

But Katsuki was a 10 year old, he was on drugs, he was completely panicked and distraught.

And he forgot what was always coming out of his hands.

Nitroglycerin is toxic under the best of circumstances, but when an animal is already bleeding out, it's a death sentence.

The veterinarian tried to tell him afterwards that it probably wouldn't have changed anything. Mamoru was heavily injured and he would've bled out no matter what. He hadn't known, he'd been trying his best to help. It wasn't his fault. But Katsuki knew better, and his mother reminded him of that much.

On the drive back from the vet's office, his mother told him they weren't getting another goddamn dog to replace Mamoru because he'd probably kill that one too.

Katsuki didn't want another dog. He was too scared that someone would try to kidnap him again, and the dog would die again. Or he'd forget himself and end up killing the dog more directly. After that, he didn't even let himself go near animals. He wouldn't be near them, and he wouldn't touch them at all. Hell, he hardly even let himself touch other people after that.

When Katsuki finishes up his story, he looks ashamed and Aizawa is silent out of pure shock for several long seconds. First and foremost, he cannot believe that this was just something that happened that he had no idea about. Katsuki mentioned getting attacked by strangers at least once before he was 10 years old?? What the hell had happened in his student's childhood??? All of the implications of all of this are concerning him.

But in that same moment, he's suddenly rethinking Katsuki with this new information. Awhile ago Mic had made a joke about how Izuku follows Katsuki around like a puppy and all the teachers had laughed about it. Katsuki had gotten strangely angry about it, and suddenly it seems a whole lot less funny. Not only that, but how Katsuki reacted to All-Might's downfall after his kidnapping has a whole new light to it now. As do so many other little things.

It's hard for him to get any words out, but he manages a strangled "Kid..." and gently coaxes Katsuki out of his hiding place so Aizawa can just give him a goddamn hug for once in his life. And Katsuki is confused by this because he was expecting Aizawa to agree that he fucked up, but instead he's getting hugged and he really doesn't want to cry again but he's not sure he has a choice.

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tentendeservedbetter · 4 years ago

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home is where my team is - Chapter 4

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Read also here: AO3 | FFNET

Concentrate.

He swiftly hopped over a gigantic tree root on the path with ease, catching a better momentum through the uneven terrain made by the trees as he followed the white puppy that hopped alongside him.

Concentrate.

Kiba pushed his heel into the dirt once he reached flatter land between the trees, screeching to a halt, forcing Akamaru to stop a few centimeters ahead of him and looking back to him, waiting for Kiba to relay a command.

I gotta find her before the others do, Kiba thought as he inhaled sharply, twisting his head around. Her scent now muddles with the surrounding trees that he encountered as he reached deeper and deeper into the training grounds, away from the forest reached into his beige pack and pulled out the petal he took from the pile of Kurenai's petals that left behind.

The petal was real, alright. Kurenai said it was a Genjutsu - but does Genjutsu leave behind physical remnants?

Why didn’t Kiba pay attention to that section of class closely? The Academy teachers downplayed the art, saying it required specialized training to be able to be competent in the art, and he thinks he only had one Academy teacher who actually used Genjutsu, but only to demonstrate the effects.

Even that demonstration wouldn’t have prepared him for how Genjutsu would translate out in the shinobi world. The only thing Kiba remembered was how to expel a genjutsu when you were trapped in one and when a comrade had fallen for one; either you determining that you’re in a Genjutsu, expelling the illusion itelse, physically harm yourself forcing yourself out of the spell through pain, or a simple Tiger sign and concentrating the chakra to the tips of your index and middle fingers before tapping it on your fallen comrade’s forehead, disrupting their chakra flow and waking them up.

Without even thinking much of it, Genjutsu was complicated to use, going beyond his own abilities as a straight-from-the-Academy ninja, and much more complicated to understand compared to the two other arts.

The lectures they would have on Genjutsu always consisted of learning the ins and outs of the human brain and the nervous system, having to study systems within systems and how they were different from each other, and how Genjutsu works.

None of which Kiba absorbed, only remembering that the hippocampus had something to do with learning and it sounded really close to hippopotamus (which you have to admit, is a funny word), and Naruto must have cracked a joke about not having one in the middle of class and...

Can’t worry about the details now, Kiba thought as he lifted the pink petal up to his nose. I need to follow her scent.

Regardless of whether the petals were an after effect of Kurenai’s jutsu or not, Kiba knew one thing for sure; where there is something physical, there is a scent attached to it, and since the petals were from Kurenai, Kurenai must either smell like the flowers or vice versa.

Either way, it should link back to her.

It was like using the Substitution Jutsu; you substitute yourself with an object nearby, but your traces would still be on the item because you touched it yourself when you switched with the item.

Makes sense right?

Kiba won’t claim that he’s exceptional with his sense of smell compared to others within his clan, no, he still had a long way to go before he can have the type of chakra control they had, with a longer range and a stronger sense of smell, but he knew how to pick apart various overlapping scents, given that he had a guide that would enable him to pick up the scent he wanted to follow.

And with these petals that were found, they had a scent that led down a specific path; almost like a single invisible string connecting between the petals towards the Training Ground 1, the training ground closest to the Hokage Rock. The petals were similar to cherry blossoms, yet their scent was more like a garden of roses from what he could discern. Maybe there was more to it that he couldn’t determine at the moment, but the rosy scent was evident and stood out against the various scents found in the training ground, from the dirt underneath their sandals to the various trees that populated the land.

“Alright Akamaru,” Kiba said, squatting and holding the petal towards. Even if he managed to lose her scent, Akamaru had a sharper nose, being an actual dog and all, so if Kiba's underdeveloped sense of smell leads them astray or he can’t capture the scent anymore, Akamaru would be able to take the lead.

That’s what ninken - ninja hounds - were mostly used for, after all; they’re an asset for any ninja, especially for any ninja specializing in tracking. And with the Inuzuka clan, tracking is a must-have skill that all shinobi within the clan must possess.

That and, well, the ability to assault an enemy with said ninken.

Hopefully Kiba would be able to demonstrate his and Akamaru’s teamwork together; they may not have had that much time developing their ninja skills together, but Akamaru listened to Kiba and knew how he moved, which was more than enough at the moment.

“I got her scent, Master!” Akamaru barked, wagging his tail as he lifted his nose further through the trees to their left, further away from the river that broke through the training ground they were in and further with the trees. Kiba could smell the roses going deeper that direction as well, and nodded, giving Akamaru an affirmative grin while patting his head.

“Good job,” Kiba said in a more direct and deeper voice, trying to stop himself from sounding like he was cooing at his puppy (even thought, dammit, Akamaru looked really cute when he got excited and happy over doing something right), before standing up, facing the direction Akamaru had pointed out. “Let’s go!”

With Akamaru taking the lead, Kiba followed him with equal speed. They continued through the trees until Kiba could see a clearing in the distance where they were heading, the rosy scent he had lost earlier becoming suddenly clear as they approached it.

“Akamaru, stop,” Kiba commanded as he quickly halted, letting out a low whistle immediately to get Akamaru’s attention when they were a few meters away from the clearing.

“Be ready for anything, boy,” Kiba continued, his voice dropping, as he reached to the pack that sat on his waist, feeling his way around it, making sure he had everything he needed.

Kunais? Check.

Shurikens? Check.

Smoke bombs? Check.

Paper bombs? Check.

The four main items that a shinobi must have at all times on them - also known, in his head, as: Keep Shit (together) and Smoke Paper (Bombs). Iruka had probably taught them a more appropriate mnemonics, but this was the only one that stuck in his brain.

He then reached to the blue holster wrapped around his right thigh, an easy access point for the most pertinent items he would need to defend himself, having at least one of each item inside. When he made sure he had everything set, he glanced down to Akamaru, who was waiting patiently for his next command.

“Alright Akamaru, you know what we have to do,” Kiba replied. “She probably has that headband tight on her forehead, so we’re going to have to pull it all the way back. You think you can yank it off with one pull?”

“Yessir!” Akamaru barked with intense determination, sitting down and staring at Kiba with intent as Kiba explained their plan of action.

He wasn’t as a rash as he may appear to be- he knew that in order to achieve your goal, you have to have a complete plan to back it up. You especially needed to make sure everyone in your team knew what their job is.

And his team right now is himself and Akamaru.

“Alright...I’m counting on you buddy,” Kiba finished up as he lifted up his hand towards Akamaru in a high-five. Akamaru immediately tapped his hand with his own paw, his soft, padded soles light and small against Kiba’s palm.

C-Cute, the thought slipped into his mind for a moment, feeling his hand gravitating towards Akamaru’s head, fingers itching to pet him, but he held himself back. He shouldn’t be praising Akamaru too much. Kiba is trying to be a full-fledged shinobi; and a shinobi are not the coddling type, no sirree.

And he will especially not coddle his ninken, who’s supposed to obey what he has to say to begin with.

...okay maybe this once, Kiba finally thought, giving in and gave Akamaru a quick ruffle on his head, receiving a happy whine from his ninken as he closed his eyes, enjoying the massage.

“Let’s go,” Kiba said as he retracted his hand, standing up quickly as Akamaru barked a ‘yessir!’.

They silently walked towards the clearing, each step cautiously avoiding any twigs and leaves that would make any sort of sharp sound that would indicate they were nearby. The closer they got towards the last set of trees before the clearing, the louder Kiba could hear his heartbeat against his chest.

He wasn’t nervous, no way! ...Well, maybe a little, he never had to actually fight like this before, those sparring matches at the Academy definitely didn’t help...No, wait he can’t think this way! A shinobi should never be nervous! He just needed to calm down- just take a deep breath and focus on his objective...forget about the shame of returning to the Academy, if he comes home after failing an important test like this, imagine how hard his Mom would kick his ass in front of the whole neighbourhood! She’d be more strict than she already was, he didn’t need to have her on his case more than she already was! There’s no way he’s gonna go back to being treated as some little runt who had to be watched over and babied, no way-

“You found me.”

Kiba felt his heart skip a beat as he stared directly to the source of the voice, to find Kurenai standing on the opposite side of the clearing, her jet black hair and deep red dress sticking out like a sore thumb against the green around them.

Kurenai seemed to have been waiting by the tree just for Kiba to make his appearance. She stood up straight as she usually does, arms crossed over her chest, her hands empty - no kunai, no shuriken.

She just stood there.

Kiba’s eyes shifted around the clearing quickly, looking from the flat, ground relatively worn down, likely from the amount of people training on this surface, trying to look for anything that could tip off that it was a trap; some invisible thread, that might trigger a net trap and hoist both him and Akamaru up off from the ground and swinging on a tree branch. Or, maybe some dirt that looked freshly patted back on, hiding a deep hole in the ground.

“Kiba Inuzuka, was it?” Kurenai’s smooth voice broke through the silence, still standing straight, barely moving an inch as Kiba approached her. He stopped a few good meters away to allow him to see her and her immediate area. She paused as the wind started to blow sharply against his left cheek, her long black tresses swaying to the left. “From the great Inuzuka clan.”

“Damn right I am,” Kiba grinned at the mention of his clan, a sense of pride swelling in his chest, his voice loud and confident.

“And you’re Hana Inuzuka’s younger brother, correct?” Kurenai continued without missing a beat, unbothered by his confidence, watching him carefully. Kiba could feel the atmosphere still for a moment at the mention of his sister’s name, almost out of the blue.

“Yeah, I am,” Kiba replied, now a bit forceful with his words, trying not to appear hesitant at her question as he maintained his fighting stance. “What about it.”

“I’ve worked with her before,” Kurenai said, eyes never leaving the young boy. “She’s quite a brilliant girl; incredibly perceptive, amazing tracking abilities...I was surprised when she decided to pursue being a medic- a veterinarian at that- but, that job requires incredible finesse in many skills, so her abilities aren’t going to waste.”

“She does what she wants to do,” Kiba said courtly, squinting his eyes slightly, scanning around Kurenai, trying to discern anything out of the ordinary.

“Your clan is indispensable to Konoha; and those within your family have quite the presence within the shinobi force,” Kurenai continued with a soft smile. “I wonder if you’ll live up to their precedence.”

Kurenai lifted her arms with a quick motion, triggering Kiba to pull out a shuriken from his blue holster, holding it tightly in his right hand in front of him, positioning himself. Kurenai had her hands in front of her and quickly started to create hand signs, so fast that Kiba would have missed the sequence if he had blinked for a second too long.

Tiger. Boar. Ox. Dog.

A clone jutsu? Figures started to cleave out of Kurenai’s body, smoke appearing as clouds in front of them and as it slowly started to settle, revealing three Kurenais in a line, taking a slight forward leaning stance. Kiba's eyes trailed down, noticing her legs barely splitting far enough to take a proper stance in her dress, an arm in front of her chest, while the other arm was extended, parallel over her leg that was placed forward.

How is she going to fight like that? He never saw his mother or sister wearing a dress when they left for work, opting for the typical dark cargo pants and maybe the standard navy blue long sleeve shirt, with the spiral symbols on the side.

“Your Academy profile said that your strong suit was Taijutsu,” all three Kurenai replied, synchronically waving the hand that was outstretched, beckoning him to come towards her. “And you even said it yourself yesterday. Now...let’s see what you got.”

“Akamaru, to your left,” Kiba ordered immediately as all three Kurenais started to rush in towards him, one straight through the middle, while the other two looped around. Akamaru let out a bark of acknowledgment, already digging his paws into the ground, ready to pounce.

I already know that clones are useless and they can’t do anything, Kiba thought, glancing to the left. “So…”

Kiba stepped back as he did a roundhouse kick with his right leg to one of the Kurenais, who didn’t bother moving out of the way and dissipated as his leg swung through, flicking his right wrist to send the shuriken in his right hand flying straight towards the Kurenai heading towards him.

The centre Kurenai produced a kunai in her hand, slipping out of her left sleeve, and used it to deflect the shuriken away, sending it rocking towards the side and onto the ground.

So she’s the real one! Kiba thought, as he pulled out a kunai from his blue leg holster, throwing it so it landed a meter before Kurenai, slightly to the right of her running projection from his perspective.

“You missed,” Kurenai said, continuing to run, never straying from her path.

Kiba smirked at this, a crooked smirk with his fangs bearing, saying with a scoff, “No I didn’t.”

A hiss emitted from the spot that his kunai had just landed, the smell of burning paper suddenly infiltrated the air. Light grey smoke formed strings wafting upwards towards the atmosphere from the kunai, and if you looked closely, there was a piece of paper, the size of his hand with red borders, flapping around as it was slowly being eaten by a flame.

Kiba bent backwards, pushing his hands off the ground hard to get further back from the kunai’s site, taking a stance as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, bracing himself. Kurenai quickly halted to a stop, looking straight at the kunai, piercing eyes glancing at the kunai as she side-stepped to the left, but it was too small of a step to escape from the blast zone.

A flash of bright white light engulfed the surrounding ground, before a loud blast emitted, the heavy sounds of crumbling dirt and debris being pushed out and haphazardly slamming the ground, the shrubs, the trees. Big puffs of brown dust had engulfed the smoke, slanting and drifting with the direction of the wind.

Did we get her? Kiba thought, eyebrows furrowed as he wafted away the dust that had made its way towards him, shifting his eyes around as he blinked a few times. The sound of something skidding across the ground could be heard for a moment, before Kiba could see Kurenai emerge from the smoke, sliding directly opposite to where the bomb exploded, a hand on the ground to hasten her stop.

The dust started to settle more than before, and Kiba can see how scuffed her dress looked now with a layer of dust covering over it, the edges of the white stripes that zig zagged across her body looking frayed, stinging from the bomb. The explosion didn’t seem to have left much damage to her, though, just making her look like she rolled across the ground, her skin unscathed.

Once she stopped, Kurenai let out a hasty sigh, and looked up towards Kiba, who watched her for a moment. Her face was no longer the calm one that she had on earlier; her eyebrows were pulled in slightly, her eyes narrower.

Now she’ll take him seriously.

“That was a close one,” she said, maintaining her cool tone. “I admit, I underestimated your ability to strategize. If I had hesitated, I would’ve gotten hurt just now. Good thing your plan didn’t work-”

“That wasn’t my plan to begin with.”

Kiba didn’t think twice- he quickly put his thumb and index finger into his mouth, pushing it to the sides and onto his tongue as he let out a sharp whistle. Kurenai stared at him, eyes widening as she glanced around. There was a quick rasping sound that started to get louder.

CHE-CHE-CHE-CHE.

“What the-” Kurenai let out a gasp when she glanced towards the ground around her, the sounds from there, and before she could step away in time, the dirt beneath her crumpled and collapsed, crashing deeper into the earth.

Half a meter away from her, something bursted out from underneath the ground, a small figure popping out, it’s white fur covered in a layer of brown dirt.

“Akamaru!” Kiba cheered as the small figure that had popped out of the ground let out a bark in confirmation, shaking his body quickly to dissipate the dirt off his coat.

Kurenai’s feet disappeared into the ground, then her legs, her torso, until the tip of her black hair disappeared, a loud thump being emitted right afterwards and a grunt following suit.

“Alright!” Kiba continued victoriously, clenching his fist as he punched the air, running towards where Akamaru stood. “You did it, buddy!”

“Just as you planned!” Akamaru barked, panting as Kiba gave him a pat on the head.

And he was right. Kiba wasn’t trying to hurt Kurenai at all with that paper bomb. They didn’t want to fight.

The name of the game was to get the headband. While displaying his physical prowess would be on the top of his list of things to show off to his teacher, it wouldn’t matter how good he was unless he got that damn headband off her head.

Kiba’s eyes strayed from his face to the tip of Akamaru’s nose, the dirt still stuck, before continuing down to his paws. Some parts of Akamaru’s nails had chipped from digging into the soil, the hard dirt leaving scratches on what's left.

“I’ll make sure we get all that dirt out of your nails and everything tonight, alright boy?”

"Alright!" Akamaru barked, and Kiba started towards the hole, a kunai his hand, ready to get the headband from Kurenai.

He peered through the hole to find Kurenai sitting on the ground, and he grinned as he called out, "I guess that means I win sensei! Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking that headband of yours!"

Kurenai stared back up at him, saying nothing at first. Kiba could see, however, a ghost of a smile on her lips, and before he could say anything, white smoke emerged out of Kurenai's body, engulfing her.

A clone? Kiba though in disbelief, watching as the puffs of white smoke started to settle to the ground. In the place where Kurenai had just sat in was now a log about his size. No…A substitution jutsu!

“You really are full of surprises,” a voice hummed from behind him, so close to his body that he jolted forward, strangling the small yelp that was about to escape his mouth from being spooked so suddenly.

He didn’t have time to think- a new rush of adrenaline surged through his body, his heart beating quickly as he twisted his head back around, before spinning his whole body back with his heels, swinging a hooked punch directly towards Kurenai. Unwittingly, despite his reactionary swing being fast, his fist was caught by and hit a bandaged hand, causing a surge of back that held onto his fist, squeezing it hard suddenly as her sharp, red finger dug into the back of his hand, cutting into his skin, a sharp pain coming

Kiba lifted his leg, kicking downwards at an angle towards Kurenai’s shin, forcing her to step to the side, as he did a high back kick to where she stood. She quickly let go of his fist, jumping back to avoid his heel to her chin.

Gotta push her back and make her waste her energy! Kiba thought as he felt his breathing hitch up as he threw a punch, rotating his hip to maximize its force as Kurenai rotated her body sideways, his fist barely touching her stomach. He managed to take a step forward, making his body face towards her, and did an uppercut punch with his other hand towards her chin, however, Kurenai reacted quickly and stepped backwards, away from him.

“You’re using your fists,” Kurenai noted while she took a step back. “I thought your clan likes to gouge their enemies?”

“You want me to fight like that?” Kiba growled as he loosened his fists immediately. “I’ll fight like that!”

He flexed the top parts of his fingers in, as he swiped out across Kurenai’s face as she blocked it with an arm. His clan’s fighting style - Juujin Taijutsu or Man Beast Technique - was the Inuzuka technique that was known for being.. well...more ferocious and wild compared to other fighting styles. They continued to spar as Kiba continued to swipe his hand around, trying to claw at Kurenai, but she was too fast - she either dodged or blocked, circling around him to avoid getting hit.

He could feel his arms starting to ache slightly, the lactic acid building up and making his muscles feel stiff. There was a sharp cramp in his stomach, but he had to break Kurenai down.

“Akamaru, jump!” Kiba commanded.

“On it!”

He can feel the light step of Akamaru’s paws jumped on top of Kiba’s shoulder and running along his extended arm towards Kurenai, mouth open, fangs baring. Akamaru did a quick snap of the teeth against the side of her headband, ripping it off her forehead and yanking it through her hair, making her head snap back from the force of his bite.

“Nice one Akamaru!” Kiba said as he pulled away, Kurenai stumbled backwards from being tugged back, but planted her feet quickly and maintained her stance.

“Alright!” Kiba whooped, punching the air triumphantly as Akamaru bounced up and down around his feet. “We got it! We passed the test!”

“Yay!” Akamaru yipped with excitement. Kiba glanced down to his companion, grinning, and gave a satisfied pat on his head.

Alright! Now time to take the prize-

“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”

Kiba felt his heart skip suddenly, the atmosphere frozen at the coldness of her voice, distant and an echo. Kiba glanced back towards her, her torso bent forward as she stood up, facing his direction, her long black tresses covering her face. She stood up straight as she ran a bandaged hand through the middle of her hair, pushing it aside.

"What are you on about-"

“The flower petal,” Kurenai replied, barely moving an inch as her eyes trailed down to his pack. “You used it to find me, didn’t you?”

“What d’ya mean?” Kiba snapped back immediately, not understanding as he followed her gaze and glanced down. Kurenai’s silent stare made his hand slip into the pack hesitantly.

A glitch jolted through the pink petal within a fraction of a second, breaking the petal in half, before it dissolved and dissipated into his hand, disappearing without a trace.

“What the-” Kiba gasped as he lifted his hand up to his eye level, squeezing his fingers against his palm as he opened and closed it a few times, flipping his palm down to look at the back of his hand. “Where’d it go!”

“Master, the headband!” Akamaru exclaimed quickly, making Kiba whip his head back down towards his other hand that held Kurenai’s headband. He stared with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in shock as the handband started to have jolts of empty space punctured along the headband, before becoming fuzzy and melting into his hand, leaving no traces of its behind.

“What the hell!? What’s going on?”

“I thought you would at least figure it out by now,” Kurenai replied, her voice light and airy, as if genuinely mystified by Kiba’s behaviour. “I even left a hint before we fought-”

“What hint?! What are you on about!” Kiba barked back, feeling a combination of annoyed and confused anger at what was happening before his eyes.

“...Your teammate, Shino,” Kurenai continued cautiously, and Kiba could feel his teeth grinding at the mention of his teammate. “Figured out they weren’t real immediately. Before we began, I did mention that everything was a genjutsu, after all.”

A..a genjutsu?

“So...am I even in the training grounds,” Kiba replied hesitantly. “Or am I...still at the Hokage Rock? No wait, but...everything felt normal until I got here...it was the usual distance...Hold on... wait I’m confused...shit-”

“Language,” Kurenai interrupted, eyebrows pulling in slightly. “This is something they taught you in class. Genjutsu is all about manipulation. Sometimes, it’s the little things...the things you think are there, but are actually not there.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Kurenai continued, her face softening slightly. “I’ll leave you alone for now. But next time we face each other...I won’t be so easy on you. Think before you move.”

With that, Kurenai disappeared into the backdrop, leaving not a single trace of her behind as Kiba watched with wide eyes and gritted teeth.

He was confused.

And he was pissed off.

How did he manage to get himself into a genjutsu? When did he get himself into a genjutsu?

Kiba lifted his left hand up, grimacing, inhaling deeply.

He closed his eyes, to prevent his mind psyching himself out. Drawing a kunai from his pack with his right hand, he placed his left palm to face sideways, and quickly pushed the sharp tip of the kunai in, beyond the epidermis into the tissue, a sharp pain immediately following as gushes of blood slowly leaking from the parameter of the kunai, down to his wrist.

His eyes shot open as he immediately sat up with a sharp breath, wincing while pulling the kunai out of his palm. All the endurance training, physical and mental, during his Academy years and his mom’s ass kicking might have helped him with his higher pain tolerance, making the pain comparable to a slight sting, but the action of stabbing himself made him cringe in slight fright - it’s something he still needs to work on.

“Dammit,” Kiba muttered as he quickly scrunched his bleeding palm against his sleeve, putting a slight pressure against it, trying to stop the bleeding. He was sure he didn’t push too deep and hit any veins, but he didn’t want to lose more blood than he needed too. And he especially did not need to get an infection from having an open wound - he would never hear the end of it for both his mom and sister.

He levelled out his breathing, glancing around. He was alone in the same place where he was with Kurenai before - the same landing, the same ground, the same trees…everything was in place except for Kurenai’s presence.

He sniffed, concentrating on trying to capture Kurenai’s scent- but all that he could smell were the trees around him, the green leaves and the water from a stream nearby where he sat. The rosy scent was nothing more than a memory, barely a trace in the air.

But how?

A scent never disappears. Even if you cover it up, there will always be a trail that is left behind…

From the corner of his eyes he could see a small, tuff of white curled up beside, and he glanced down to find Akamaru, eyes closed, sound asleep under the genjutsu Kurenai had placed on them.

“Akamaru, wake up,” Kiba croaked out, tapping the puppy with his non bleeding hand, but Akamaru kept snoring away, barely reacting to Kiba’s touch. Kiba had to use pain to bypass the genjutsu and escape it; if it can be avoided, he could also disturb the genjutsu if he pulsed a bit of his chakra into the affected person's...or, in this case, dog's...chakra system.

Letting go off the pressure on his hand, Kiba lifted both hands up in front of him, intertwining both of his ring and baby fingers together, leaving his middle, index, and thumb to press together, as he concentrated his chakra to flow towards his hands. At least he picked up something from his lessons that he could use.

Kai! He tapped his right fingers over Akamaru’s forehead.

“What happened?” Akamaru asked with a light bark, moving his head around, surveying the area around them. “Where is Kurenai-sensei?”

“We got trapped in her genjutsu,” Kiba replied, crossing his arms, his eyebrows automatically pulled in as he replayed everything that had happened, from the moment Kurenai disappeared while they were on top of the Hokage Rock all the way until he came down to the Training Grounds and supposedly confronted her.

A genjutsu within a genjutsu…

It all started with those petals...Touching had triggered the genjutsu to start and lead him down to Training Ground 1...but those were definitely not real, they were illusions, so how was he able to follow the scent?

What did Iruka-sensei teach us, Kiba scrunched up his face as he recollected his memories, shifting through all the classes he sat in, all those times he sat in those goddamned uncomfortable benches. Think...Think…

“Besides taijutsu and ninjutsu, another ninja art that a shinobi must learn and understand is genjutsu. Learning genjutsu is quite hard compared to the other two arts, though; it requires time and practice. At the Academy, we won’t teach you any genjutsus, but we still want you to know what it is and how to prepare for it, ” Iruka’s voice rang into Kiba's mind, as he tried to recollect his teacher's words. They were in class, just like any other day at the Academy; though it was at the beginning of his shinobi Academy years and they were covering basic theory about the different shinobi arts. “First, we need to understand what Genjutsu means. It literally means ‘Illusionary Technique’- therefore, we can refer to it as the Art of Illusion.”

He remembered Iruka walking towards the board, notes in hand as he picked up a piece of chalk and started to write on the chalkboard, writing down the symbols of the word and his short definition. Iruka then turned towards the class, and continued.

“Illusions. What is the definition of illusions?”

“Illusions are things that you think are there but are not actually there. Like a mirage; it’s an optical illusion that is created by refraction of light from the sky when it’s really hot,” a different voice piped up further away from where Kiba sat, closer to the front row, a girl’s voice...it must have been Sakura Haruno, his pink haired classmate; she was always the first one to raise her hand. Smart girl, for sure, but man, was she annoying as hell.

“That’s correct, Sakura,” Iruka said with a smile. “But there is a key component that you are missing. That definition implies that it’s only illusions that we are able to see that can occur; but that’s not accurate.”

Iruka quickly jotted a word on the board that Kiba couldn’t bring himself to remember, before etching 5 lines branching out of the word he wrote, jotting down a word by each of these lines.

“I want you guys to remember this: illusions are anything that can be perceived wrong by ⬛⬛⬛⬛,” Iruka said as he returned to face the class, the words barely reaching Kiba’s ears, as Iruka tapped underneath the word that was centred between the lines. “⬛⬛⬛⬛ are manipulated and influenced by Genjutsu, either together or separately. Now, we’ll get into the intricacies of how exactly genjutsu affects our bodies. I assume you all read the assigned readings? All of this and the readings are a part of your first test, after all.”

Grumbled responses filled immediately out, as students shuffled around to pick out their notebooks and textbooks, Kiba kept staring at the board, already having everything out but not bothering to write it down, knowing that he would just cram everything and purge out the memory of Genjutsu by the time he left the Academy. Like Iruka said, they had to know about it, but how useful is it if most shinobi don’t use it?

He was such an idiot. Why didn’t he write any of this down? He remembers cramming for this test but...the moment he finished the test and handed it in, his head went back to being empty and blank.

Genjutsu is the art of illusion, Kiba repeated in his head. And illusions are anything that can be perceived wrong by...by what? Was it...was it senses?

It sounded right. Optical illusions, like a mirage, are what affects your sight and your other senses.

“She said she gave me a hint before we started fighting,” Kiba muttered to himself. “What was it?"

He looked around at his surroundings. A gust of wind, cold and dry, came through, hitting Kiba on his left cheek once again, making his head turn away slightly like he had to do earlier…

Her hair blew to my left, Kiba realised, remembering the way Kurenai’s hair sway. But the wind…

An optical illusion. That should’ve hinted that he was in her genjutsu immediately. How could he not realise that something was off right away?! Looking back at it, it was obviously an error in what he saw- how could he let that slide?!

Alright, but those are not the only senses humans have, Kiba continued his train of thought.

Sight is a major sense, for sure, but there’s also sound, touch, taste…and...

Smell.

And if Genjutsu can affect them all together or separately...

“Nooo,” Kiba groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, scrunching up his face.

“What’s wrong?” Akamaru asked, pushing off the ground with his two front legs, balancing on his two rear legs, setting his front paws on top of Kiba’s bare knees, the soft padding of his soles bringing little comfort to Kiba at the moment.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to smell her out that easily, boy,” Kiba said with a huff, glancing up. “The flower petal wasn’t the only thing she manipulated. The scent from the smell and associating it with her...that was part of the manipulation. Makes sense...that petal was a cherry blossom but it smelled like roses…The moment the petal left, so did the scent...”

And if she can manipulate her smell, that means she can easily mislead us and push us away from her, Kiba thought, lifting himself off of the ground, staggering slightly. This is going to be harder than I thought it was gonna be, dammit!

He glanced up to the sky, the sun rising further up, brightening the sky further revealing bluer shades, higher than where it had stood when he left. An hour must have passed since this test started. That means he only has four hours left to find Kurenai, take her headband, and officially be inaugurated as a shinobi like he should be.

But the question is… how is he going to find her?

He's back at square one - he doesn’t have a piece of clothing from her or even a strand of hair; the whole fight occurred in a genjutsu. That Kurenai was far from real, and she was probably watching and controlling the illusion play out from a distance.

For all Kiba knows, she could have left as soon as she set up the genjutsu within the genjutsu...man, this the most he’s actually thought about the word genjutsu before.

“Shit...Shit, what am I gonna do now?” Kiba kicked the dirt with the toe of his sandal, trying not to let his annoyance and anger get the best of him, trying to rack his brain for a solution to this entire mess.

He knew he was wasting time; he probably lost an hour already from getting caught in that genjutsu, from the way the sun was sitting in the sky, and with every second he stands there

Akamaru was sniffing the air, his tail wagging excitedly as he started panting, as he bounced around on his paws, barking, "Master! Master! I smell someone!"

"Who is it, Akamaru?"

"Hinata!" Akamaru barked cheerfully, glancing up to him with excited eyes. "She's in the training grounds!"

"She is?" Kiba asked, lifting his head, sharply inhaling, trying to discern through any of the scents, but he didn’t necessarily know what scent he was looking for. Everything was melding together, a hodgepodge of deep, green, pine bark and moist dirt and dewed grass....He couldn’t catch anything out of place that would indicate that a person was anywhere nearby.

Everything has a scent. Everyone has a scent. That doesn’t mean, however, that Kiba was familiar with all the scents in the world.

And especially not another person’s scent.

Being Hinata’s classmate from a young age, he had a lingering notion of what she would smelled like- but it was not enough for him to recognize it instantaneously compared to how he’s able to recognize his friends’ scent, and it was definitely not enough for him to find it amongst all these other scents around him. He would need something that belonged to her with her scent, like her jacket to have a temporary sense of her smell.

But for him to really understand someone’s scent, to really etch it into your memory, well...it’s more intimate than that.

Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point with them, though.

“Where is she?” Kiba continued to Akamaru, his tongue sticking out, waiting for Kiba’s next command. “How far is she?”

Akamaru circled around a bit as he continued to sniff the air, closing his eyes slightly as he paused for a few seconds, before he sat down, his head facing straight, saying, “She’s on the edge of the area that way. About...2 km away!”

No wonder I couldn’t smell her, Kiba thought, scrunching up his nose slightly. As much as he is embarrassed to admit it, his range in scents is not as mature as it could be...he’s been trying to expand it the past year, but there’s only so many ways to expand one’s sense of smell when you were already familiar with your surroundings and nothing new really shows up to force you to focus.

I can’t let them know that though, Kiba shook his head. He can’t let that distract him. He needs to find Kurenai as soon as he can and get that damn headband off her head!

“Master! I think there’s someone else there!” Akamaru spoke up after a few moments. “There’s an unfamiliar scent in the same direction as Hinata!”

“Unfamiliar scent?” Kiba repeated, piercing eyes widening for a moment as he stared towards the direction that Akamaru was looking at. That must be...

Kiba stared at the trees before him for a moment; judging by how the sun had risen, he can only assume that the dense forest before him would lead them towards the direction of the wall that surrounded the village. Hinata should be directly across from where he was standing...maybe a bit further in, considering how much time he must have spent in that genjutsu.

“They seem to be staying in one place!” Akamaru continued, waiting patiently for Kiba’s next move. “What should we do next?”

Kiba pondered this for a moment, his gaze returning to the ground. What should he do...Should he just follow through and go to where Hinata is? What if he has to fight Hinata for the headband...Well it’s not like he’s worried about wrestling the headband out of her hand.

And it is not like standing around here, thinking too hard about what he should do, is going to make Kurenai come to him- the goal of this game is to hunt her down, no matter what.

Kiba took a step towards Akamaru, determination coursing through his body as he grinned at Akamaru. “We find them.”

She ran through the trees, not at the usual full speed that she would normally take, but quick enough to let her take in her surroundings and be alert for any changes in her environment that felt out of place.

I have to hurry...I have to find Kurenai-sensai and pass!

Hinata wasn’t sure how long she'd been running at this pace, but she knew she couldn’t stop anytime soon. Thankfully, Kiba told her which direction Kurenai was heading, and with that in mind, Hinata was able to make her way through Training Ground 1, using the tracking skills she used from the Academy to follow a clear cut path. Kurenai must’ve laid a few traps along the way- trip wires, nets, you name it- Hinata found a trail of them along the way, hidden by the grass and bushes, that she disarmed so it didn’t hurt anyone else who could have encountered them.

She thought of it as a sort of favour, she guessed, to the others. She knew that they were supposed to be her competition, her rivals in this little test to become a shinobi, but... Kiba didn’t have to tell them where she was. He could have kept it to himself, but he decided to tell Shino and her where Kurenai was heading, saving them time...

Maybe...maybe he’s not so scary after all… Hinata thought, stopped along her tracks at a small clearing between the trees, catching her breath for a while. It’s too bad we can’t be a team...Or, atleast, that’s what Kurenai-sensei said.

That’s all Hinata could really think about as she travelled through the grounds, trying to track Kurenai down, her words echoing in her head. Why would the Hokage put them into teams like this- carefully considering their skills, their backgrounds, their academic performance - only for Kurenai to tell them that she would only accept one? She did believe Kurenai’s words about being sent back to the Academy, and yet…

This felt counter to everything she was taught in the Academy. Throughout her years studying in elementary school and during the Shinobi Academy, there was an underlying emphasis for everyone to collaborate and work together, no matter what. Always trying to make things work, even if you were paired up with people you didn’t necessarily get along with (not that Hinata didn’t get along with anyone...but she wasn’t necessarily friends with anyone).

An elevated patch in the clearing in front of her drew her attention, the obvious height difference making it difficult to ignore. Hinata threw a kunai towards the elevated patch with as much force as she could muster in her arm, hitting it somewhere around the middle, and the patch collapsed from the weight of the kunai, folding into the emptiness inside.

Another trap? Hinata thought, as she carefully walked around. Kurenai must have set these up beforehand, but it was hard for Hinata to believe that Kurenai would actually take the time to dig up so many holes in the ground...

From the fresh dirt pebbles that strayed further ahead beyond the hole, Hinata assumed that Kurenai must have headed even further into the training grounds in the directions the dirt led. For a Jonin, Kurenai was pretty sloppy, in Hinata’s humble opinion...or she must have wanted Hinata to find her to begin with.

Regardless, from this point on, Hinata sensed that she had to be even more careful than before. She pulled out a kunai from her beige pack, holding it close to chin as she started to walk carefully through a pair of bushes. She could see more light coming from beyond a few trees ahead; indicating a larger clearing was nearby. Running water, bubbling and splashing rocks, could be heard distantly as she started to make her way towards the tree; she must have been near the edge of the grounds, where it laid against the wall that guarded the Village. The river fed through from the outside land, carrying fresh water and little minnows along the way, and was a place that she had seen a few students playing hooky when they were practicing their tracking skills.

As she started to reach the open landing, she caught a scent in the air that came out of nowhere, a heavy rosy perfume that filled her nostrils, and she could feel her breath hitch as she paused momentarily. Hinata continued, cautiously, quietly, and she squatted and crawled behind a few bushes when she could see the clearing in its entirety.

There stood Kurenai, her red dress a stark contrast and making her an obvious target, standing as she stared off towards the river to Hinata’s right.

She had to think of a game plan. Quickly. What should she do? What can she do? Kurenai was right in front of her and hadn’t spotted Hinata as of yet...she has the element of surprise on her side. She needs to use that to her advantage!

I have smoke bombs...maybe I could throw it at her and come behind her...no, but it could make a sound if I threw it and would give where I am away… I know! Maybe I could throw a shuriken at an angle and it can come around like a boomerang and can somehow confuse her? No...I’m not really good at throwing shurikens in a straight line anyways, how would I angle it to come around...

The silence was getting the best of Hinata, as did her rising anxiety as she tried to formulate a plan.

She could feel her heart beating louder and louder with every shuffled step she took towards Kurenai, her ears and wrists throbbing from her blood pulsing through her veins. She subconsciously tightened her grip on her kunai, so tight that her hand started to shake slightly as it started to turn pale.

She can’t see me, Hinata told herself, taking a shallow breath. I just have to make sure I don’t make a sound-

SNAP!

Hinata froze as she looked down, biting down on her lip hard to stop herself from yelping at the sight of her foot stepping on a twig - a small, harmless twig. Kurenai’s head snapped immediately towards the direction Hinata stood, eyes immediately meeting hers, unwavering.

“Who’s there?” Kurenai asked, never moving a muscle. Hinata, slightly embarrassed by her amateur mistake, shuffled past the bush into the open landing, keeping the hand that held the kunai in the same place, except her grip was tighter.

“Hinata,” Kurenai said, her tone inflecting, slightly surprised to see the young Hyuuga. “You found me. That was pretty fast. How were you able to do it?”

“I-I-” Hinata stumbled over her words, glancing between Kurenai and the ground, feeling her blood running cold. She could feel Kurenai’s eyes drilling into her, watching her every movement, from the way her hand shakes slightly to the quiver of her lips as she tried to form words.

“If you keep holding your kunai like that, you’re going to drop it.”

Hinata forced herself to look up to stare back at Kurenai, directly into her eyes, flecked with gold specks along the brown of her irises-

Her irises...

"Your eyes," Hinata spoke suddenly, a bit too loudly for even herself, feeling her fingers around the hilt of the kunai loosening as she continued to stare. “Are not brown.”

Within a split second, the tips of Kurenai's lips flicked upwards, a soft smile, and their surroundings melded together, Kurenai disappearing into the surrounding spaces.

“I’m happy that you figured out the genjutsu,” Kurenai's voice came from behind Hinata, and she spun around immediately, keeping her guard up, but not moving immediately to her weapon pouch. Kurenai, red irises and all, walked from behind a tree and towards Hinata, keeping a fair distance as she stopped. “I can’t say that same about your teammate, though.”

“You already faced them?” Hinata asked. Of course, Hinata was already falling behind compared to her peers. How long has it been since the test started? An hour? Two hours? Regardless, Hinata took way longer than she should have to track Kurenai down- especially if she was supposed to be a part of a tracking team.

“One of them,” Kurenai said. “Kiba, I believe his name was. The one with the dog. But he got stuck in another one of my genjutsus, so I doubt he'll wake up anytime soon.”

Wake...up? Hinata repeated, feeling her heartbeat picking up pace, louder and louder, her imagination of what her other genjutsus could have entailed. This one was easy and light; it was a simple perspective illusion, a minute detail that didn’t lead into any sort of injury.

Or, atleast, Hinata was able to get out of it before she could have been injured.

“I know your clan specializes in a unique form of Taijutsu,” Kurenai said as she started to make a few hand signs. Hinata’s eyes automatically traced them, following them, but she was not able to recognize the sequence.

And she didn’t want to find out what it was.

In a split second, she threw the kunai towards Kurenai as a means to distract her, but Kurenai simply stepped aside, the metal whizzing past her at an alarming speed. Kurenai finalized the hand sign, and suddenly puffs of smoke started to surround her, making Hinata take a step back and squinting to peer through the smog.

Once the fog settles, Kurenai stands there with...a few other Kurenais?!

A clone jutsu! Hinata thought, as she took a horse stance, and arm up with the palm of her hand facing outwards, the other hand sitting against her hip and facing downwards, open, readying herself.

The Gentle Fist - the fighting style of her clan - required her to have a more open stance and use her palms and fingers instead of her fists to attack and that more grounded stances that they are usually taught. The Gentle Fist was advantageous with the Byakugan - being able to see the inner working of the chakra network enables her to see the points that would affect the person the most to disarm them, and the Gentle Fist works symbiotically with the Byakugan, making it a dangerous weapon in itself. It was safer for her to use this as well; the style allows for evading most taijutsu attacks. And she definitely needs it; she doesn’t know what kind of fighting style Kurenai uses and she needs to figure it out before she can even think of getting her headband.

“I want to see how good your taijutsu is,” all of the Kurenais, six to be exact, said in unison, taking on a stance with one arm forward and straight, the other one up and in a fist.

One of the Kurenais started to charge towards Hinata; an unusual strategy, usually shinobi would use the clones all at once to confuse the opponent. Hinata could only assume that this was a clone and the real Kurenai was testing her out to see how Hinata would react.

Kurenai came up to her and threw a direct punch, Hinata swinging her back leg around to dodge the move in a circular motion, without ever losing balance. She striked forward with the palm closest to her hip towards Kurenai’s shoulder, who bent backwards, narrowly missing the strike and taking a step back. Hinata kept striking as she stepped forward, finding a rhythm in her strikes as her movements became faster, Kurenai blocking and bending to dodge the attacks. There was a moment where Kurenai’s stomach was exposed, no arms covering the spot, and Hinata bent lower, striking Kurenai with the push of her palm.

Hinata expected the clone to disappear immediately into the palm of her hand, dissipating and phasing into the air, but instead the clones turned into a big puff of smoke, white and thick that floated down to the ground.

I-Illusions? Hinata thought as she spun around and threw a shuriken towards one of the Kurenai clones that came towards her while the others waited and watched. The shuriken hit the clone with a sharp tack to the throat, the clone falling to the ground before a big puff of smoke was released from the clone, engulfing it. Usually the Clone Jutsu would faze out, any objects easily being passed through, but this clone seemed to have a physical, material body.

Another clone appeared through the smoke of the first clone with a punch, Hinata pivoting just in time to avoid contact, before the clone started to throw a few punches at her, pushing her back as she tried to avoid the hits. The clone quickly dropped to the ground and hooked her leg around Hinata’s leg in the middle of her stepping back, sending Hinata’s body swinging upwards in midair, before falling to the ground with a loud THUD.

“Eugh!” Hinata cried out as she fell to the ground onto the side of her hip, a sharp pain stinging through her pelvic bone and muscles, quickly putting her arm up in order to cushion her head from hitting the ground hard.

Using one hand, she waited until a punch came towards her and she lifted her hand gently and guided the clone’s fist, following along the arm pushing it away from her, circumventing the pathway before forming an open knifed hand and karate chopped the clone’s neck as she stood up with a quick flick.

She didn’t think it was as strong of a cut, but it had an intense effect on the clone, and she could hear a thud as her hand connected with the neck, feeling flesh and bone, slightly warm. The clone, just like that last one she had hit, suddenly exploded into white smoke.

Hinata shuffled back further, taken aback from the contact, even more confused than before. What is this thing?

Horse. Tiger. Boar. Hare. Rat. Dog. Horse. Dog. Hare. Rat. Boar. Snake.

Byakugan!

A sudden burst of adrenaline surged through her body, her head tensing slightly as she felt her temples start to flex. She opened her eyes quickly, feeling a slight external release of chakra from her eyes, and her vision cleared as she saw the world, in what she would describe, with an extra layer of film over everything. The colours were the same- the same green trees and the same blue sky -, but she noticed all the fine details suddenly, everything sharpening and contrasting, and within that scope she saw a blue energy spilling out of the peoples in front of her.

A substitution jutsu? Hinata thought, but upon taking a deeper look, she was shocked at the sight that laid before her. All the clones had chakra inside of them, evenly divided, the blue liquid circling around their body, eclectic and sparking with the pace of a pump of the heart.

She has never seen clones having chakra, they were always blank inside; they weren’t supposed to be carrying any type of chakra actually. It’s how she would have been able to discern which Kurenai was the real one. Was this something that she didn't learn about at school?

She didn’t have time to critique the Leaf Village’s academic learning plan; another Kurenai came towards her and she stood up immediately, spared with it a bit before she struck the Kurenai clean in the stomach, right on one of the main chakra points, white smoke cascading around her hand. There were still three more Kurenai's left; two of which should be clones. But which ones were the fakes?

I can’t tell them apart at all! Hinata said as another Kurenai came towards her. She would just have to keep fighting until there was only one left. She continued to parry and spar with the Kurenais, and she could feel her movement starting to slow down, her strikes becoming weaker, and her resorting to circular dodges in order to evade an attack that could leave her in the hospital for a few days. Her hip that she fell on continued to sting, as did her legs from taking a horse stance and sparing for longer than she expected with the Byakugan.

Finally, she managed to strike the last clone, leaving only Kurenai standing.

“I have to admit, I underestimated you Hinata,” Kurenai said suddenly, as she stood up. “I didn’t think you’d be able to endure for this long.”

Hinata could start to feel her eyes becoming wearing, stinging slightly as tears started to form, forcing her to blink a few times. How long had she been using the Byakugan for? The longest she had been able to use the Byakugan continuously was for 5 minutes, and even then, her sight started to blur slightly and her eyes became hurt, forcing her to stop and rest. She must be at that point right now where she couldn’t maintain her Byakugan any longer- if she tries to go on, she might actually cause more harm than good to herself.

I can’t… Hinata started to blink her eyes rapidly, trying to keep her eyes focused, but her eyes became even more watery. I can’t keep it up!

She can feel the veins along her temples relaxing, the sight of the chakra system disappearing, as a pulsing headache started to form. Suddenly, she felt her knees buckle, and she became self aware of how sore her entire body felt. She rarely used the Byakugan while sparring an opponent; it was always test dummies that were set up in the courtyard, and even then, it was exhausting. And Kurenai was a tough opponent to fight against; this was nothing like the Academy fights at all. She did have hands-on practice with Neji during the last year, but he oftentimes went very easy on her while they practiced sparring, avoiding any type of serious injury to Hinata (obviously, Neji was forced to spar with her and not out of his own volition, she had heard her father order him to do so behind closed doors).

She overdid it, more than she intended to; she was careless and used the Byakugan for too long, and now she can barely move. Everything started to spin slightly, and she stumbled a bit forward, closing her eyes, trying to relax herself as she fell to the ground, exhaustion taking over.

Hinata heard footsteps coming towards her, and she mustered up the strength to open one of her eyes and saw Kurenai’s feet right in front of her.

Move...move... Hinata groaned, and tried to push herself up, but she heard Kurenai say, “I’m not going to hurt you...but for now just sleep.”

Hinata felt a wave drowsiness suddenly fall over her head, and before she could say anything, everything went black.

#homeiswheremyteamis #naruto #hinata #kiba #shino #team 8 #naruhina #konoha 12 #hinata hyuuga #shino aburame #kiba inuzuka

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notthatiwilleverwriteit · 5 years ago

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1/2 I do think that he tian approached jian because he was lonely and because he knew of his father. But I also think ox made he tian seem interested in jian to make us root for zhan more it that makes sense? Because he tian called jian a puppy(104) just like he said about mo. and he garbed jian nack(121) like he does to mo. And called him handsome(108) just like he called mo. so he did those things to jian but then to mo someone he really is interested in. I dont think he had interest in him

Hello, dear anon!

Here are my earlier thoughts on JY and HT’s relationship in the beginning:

JY & HT (and ZZX & MGS)

It kind of sounds to me like you’ve already checked out that post but I’ll link it anyway in case someone is interested.

“I also think ox made he tian seem interested in jian to make us root for zhan more”

When HT was starting to become a permanent fixture in the story, I remember being annoyed by him because - as you said - it looked to me like he was interested in JY. I was rooting for Zhanyi and was not looking forward to any kind of love triangle situation or the pace of Zhanyi’s development to slow down even more. So, in a way, I was rooting for Zhanyi more because of HT. However, in retrospect, my interpretations of HT’s early conduct changed. Instead of being romantically interested in JY, I think HT was both keeping an eye on him and also trying to be his friend in his own “HT way”.

Ultimately, OX is the only one who knows what their “purpose” for HT’s character was in the beginning. Maybe they wanted to introduce a new character as a potential love triangle? Maybe they intended HT as a friend instead? It could even be OX’s plans for his character changed somewhere along the way. Our privilege as readers is to make interpretations, and those rarely have anything to do with the author.

So, I can’t really tell “why” OX made HT act the way he did around JY. But you mentioned some things comparing the similarities of how HT treated JY to how he now treats MGS. From what I understood from your question, you brought them up because those details were OX trying to make it look like HT was pursuing JY. I think I see where you’re coming from with them but still found I had read them a bit differently. Also, the instances you brought up are very far away from each other chapter-wise, so I don’t know how accurately you can really compare them.

“he tian called jian a puppy(104) just like he said about mo”

HT has compared JY to a golden retriever and called MGS a puppy. Even though they’re both dog-related remarks, I think their contexts are different which gives them different meanings in my eyes.

This was JY as golden retriever (ch. 104):

HT used JY passing by as a convenient opportunity to joke around and mess with him. JY was “fetching” or “retrieving” a pile of papers on what seems like a task assigned to him by a teacher. In that situation, JY kind of looks like an obedient dog.

Compared to that, HT calling MGS a puppy is different (ch. 241):

MGS is very much the “mad dog” character type - a hostile delinquent with a short fuse and bad reputation. This wasn’t the first time the dog-discourse is connected to MGS (for example, when HT promised to give him dog treats for his hard work). He barks and growls at people, and everyone steers clear of him. To HT, on the other hand, he’s more like an adorable puppy. MGS might have a short temper, but he’s still fluffy and soft in HT’s eyes.

So, yes, HT compared both JY and MGS to dogs, but I didn’t really take them in a similar “romantic interest” way because their contexts are different. To me, HT was messing with JY whereas with MGS, his tone was more endearing.

“he garbed jian nack(121) like he does to mo”

Overall, I would say HT is a rather physical character. He doesn’t have much regard for other’s personal space (pointed out by JY). He likes to physically cling to people and mess with them in general. It’s also a way for him to assert himself and dominate others.

When he grabbed JY’s neck, I see HT just messing with him in his usual manner (ch. 121):

He saw an opportunity to bully him a little and was quick to seize it as always. JY hadn’t wanted to take a shower, so what a better reason to pinch him by the neck and give him one. Especially, when the water out of the hose is probably cold. When JY stopped resisting because it actually felt good, HT lost interest.

The interesting question one might ask at this point is why doesn’t HT mess with ZZX physically like that. I don’t think we’ve ever seen HT directly bully ZZX the same way he does JY and MGS. Whenever the boys are horsing around, someone is usually “between” them. ZZX is involved in the battles by JY and usually ends up with the short end of the stick - or the bottom of the pile. HT messing with ZZX would probably look so weird...I wonder how ZZX would react. (I’ve briefly talked about ZZX and HT in one of my previous answers. For the most part, their relationship is a bit of a mystery to me.) I think JY is just the type that kind of invites HT’s type of people to mess with them a little.

Either way, compared to when HT has grabbed MGS’s neck, I think it’s different than with JY (ch. 200, 210, 282, 301, 318):

HT uses his strength to bully MGS and be frisky with him for sure, but I would say the occasions HT has grabbed MGS’s neck (or otherwise controlled him by touching his neck) are vastly different from when HT bullied JY. In the beginning of their relationship, it was mainly about HT dominating and overpowering MGS. He needed to occasionally remind MGS of who he was to listen. It was a bit crude but it got the message across. MGS’s neck seems to also be essential when HT is demonstrating his strong possessive streak. Lately, HT touching MGS’s neck has also gained endearing and protective vibes. It’s a way for him to show affection and give comfort.

I would say when HT grabbed JY’s neck in the beginning, it lacked those kinds of nuances. Again, the act itself was the same but the contexts were different.

I purposefully excluded all the countless panels of HT hooking his arm around both JY and MGS’s neck. I think that is just how HT is around people whether they are friends or someone he’s romantically interested in. Physically, it’s a really dominating hold and effectively keeps people from escaping him. Well, keeps MGS from escaping him.

“called him handsome(108) just like he called mo”

It’s true that HT complimented JY’s looks and I don’t see why he couldn’t think JY is handsome in his own way. However, I think he had his own agenda when he called JY handsome in that situation (ch. 108):

I would say HT flattered him and leaned closer to him like that to distract JY from HT slipping the note in his pants. Again, HT’s behavior easily comes across as him being interested in JY - and I’m not trying to deny that since I think it’s open to interpretations - but there’s also a strong possibility he was just messing with JY.

However, when HT was calling MGS handsome, I don’t think there was really much room for interpretation as to how he meant by it (ch. 293):

As usual, HT wasn’t shying away from teasing MGS but he also genuinely finds MGS is cute and good-looking. As in “I have a crush on you” rather than “huh, now that I look closer, you’re actually not that bad”. With MGS, people don’t see what HT sees. MGS is always frowning and overall scaring people off with his crude words and hostile behavior. HT, on the other hand, knows the softness and “good” that is buried in MGS if you just give it a chance to come out.

I mean, if you forget about HT trying to prank JY, those two situations are a bit like you can compliment someone’s looks without necessarily being romantically interested in them.

Again, it’s impossible for us to tell for sure if those occasions were HT being romantically interested in JY or just being a friend who likes to prank and mess with others. Or if OX made it look like HT was romantically pursuing JY on purpose. Or even if HT’s character’s objectives changed at some point for OX. But if you compared those occasions with JY to their MGS “counterparts”, I don’t know if they’re entirely comparable. Especially, if you keep them in their respective contexts.

Thank you for your question, dear anon! I hope I answered what you were asking about.

#19 days #he tian #Jian Yi #tianshan #mo guan shan #answered ask

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abalonetea · 3 years ago

Text

Just Keep Breathing: Chapter Three

I was partnered with @the-dot for the @originalfictionbigbang! Thank you for working with me, Dot!

Here is the first chapter! I’ve split the first 10k words between four chapters, and will be posting them all in a masterpost in just a moment!

Summary: It’s the height of storm season and everyone in Hi-Banks, Florida is getting ready for the bad weather. It should be a year like any other - but on the tails of a national pandemic, a new disaster strikes. More than one new disasters. So many disasters that Eddie Carver would like to put some of them back, thanks. He’s just a down on his luck guy living in the local trailer park with his boyfriend. He’s not interested in dealing with the revival of an old murder case - which he knows nothing about, thanks -, the storm season of the century, or…zombies?

Yeah. Absolutely not interested in the zombies.

This black-comedy follows the inner workings of a small town as they band together to survive, and the young man - reckless, mean, angry, written off b the big city folk come to look into a cold case - that might hold all of societies survival in his hands.

Forget about society.Eddie’s only interested in keeping his friends alive.

Chapter Three – The Troubles Begin

“ - the riot appears to have originated inside of an office building in Toledo, where the CEO of Marino Corps was evidently thrown from the top floor window. The cause of the riot is unknown, but it has grown both in number and in scale of violence. The hospitals in the area are overflowing with victims, many of whom are suffering from bite wounds - “

Click.

“ - and if the tropical storm continues on this path, it will run directly in front of Hurricane Beth. The resulting storm will make land fall with Florida - “

Click.

“ - is the streak of violence we’re currently seeing in large cities a result of drugs, a side affect of the vaccine, or something else entirely? Today on The Sooty Orange we’re going to discuss - “

Click.

Carson groans. “Everything sucks. Just hit the radio.”

Eddie stretches over and clicks on the radio instead, oldies crooning into the quiet trailer park. “Man, why is it so hard to just find something fun to watch, huh? What happened to playing movies and stuff?”

“Dunno. It’s a real drag first thing in the morning, though,” says Carson. They’ve got a spread of coffee in mismatched cracked mugs on the little table in front of them, along with a few microwaved breakfast burritos and an open bag of sweet chili pepper flavored chips. “You work today?”

“Yeah, I’ve got to hit up the garage this evening.”

“Ugh. So we still aren’t going to get the truck up?”

“Part might be in today. I’ll check on it,” says Eddie.

They aren’t talking about the news and they aren’t talking about the agents, and that’s just facts. They didn’t need to speak about it. They just both sort of came to that conclusion. No point in discussing something that can’t be changed, and Eddie won’t say a word on the Mulborne case, not even to Carson.

They eat and change and head off on their own separate ways, passing Bonnie Barker and her dog Poncho on the way out of the trailer park. She waves at them and the dog goes nuts barking. It’s cloudy and gross out, and Eddie has a really bad feeling that it’s just going to be a bad damn day.

* * *

The little black car is parked outside of the mechanic shop, and the moment that Eddie gets close to it none other than Agent Russo steps out. He’s got this awful slicked back hair and a stupidly expensive looking suit. The other agent isn’t there.

“Ugh. You again?” Eddie squints at him and sucks on his front teeth. “I told you, man, I don’t know anything about the Mulborne case.”

“Something tells me that’s not the truth. I’ve looked into you, Eddie Burke. In and out of trouble for years. You’ve got a record a mile long, and you were the last recorded person seen speaking to those missing tourists,” says Russo. “I think that the two of us need to have a little talk.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t.” Eddie makes to walk in past him but the agent grabs him by the elbow, wrenching him to the side. “Hey! Get the Hell off of me, man!”

“I don’t know how you people do it out here, but let me tell you this,” says Russo. “When I say we need to have a talk, it’s not something that’s up for debate.”

A sharp whistle splits through the air. “Alright, boys. That’s enough. You want to talk to him, you get here with a warrant or you do it off my property,” says Penny. “That’s how it works around here, boy. And you, Eddie, you get to work. I got a car that needs the tires changed out, pronto.”

Eddie jerks his arm out of Russo’s grip, flips him off, and scurries into the garage. There’s not actually a car needing the tires changed so he mostly just loiters around until Penny comes inside, shaking her head.

“This is a whole lot of bad business that we don’t need to be dealing with right now,” says Penny, clucking her tongue. “I don’t like that man poking around none. You think someone needs to go out and give Benny a heads up?”

Eddie hops up onto one of the counters. “No way. Benny’s on his own.”

Penny purses her lips. “Neighborly.”

“Hey, I ain’t neighbors with him,” says Eddie. “You want to hike all the way out there for this, you be my guest. I’ve got enough that I’m dealing with. You been keeping track of this storm?”

“Yeah,” says Penny. “We’ll have to close up shop if it gets too much closer.”

“Red’s still planning on going out to his cabin. That dumbass.”

“Really? I don’t think I’d want to go out in this kind of weather.”

“You’re telling me,” mutters Eddie. “Hey, do you actually have work for me today?”

Penny gives him another pinched smile. “Yep. You’re gonna work on my boat motor. Put those skinny fingers of yours to good use for a change.”

Eddie groans. He hates working on boats but – cash is cash, he supposes.

* * *

Eddie swings by the gas station on the way home from work to buy a six pack. TJ’s working and Rat’s hanging off him out at the front counter, the door to the beak room blocked open with a tire iron and the grainy box screen style TV showing off the national news; the riots are spreading across the country, hitting every major city. There’s talk of it possibly being related to the vaccine or even a new street drug that’s being passed around, something similar to a hyped up bath salt.

“That’s stupid,” says Rat. “I’ve done those before, and no one out in some big city pent house is going to snort bath salts.”

“Coke,” says TJ.

Rat squints at him. “Coke doesn’t make you bite people.”

“Nah,” says TJ. He lights a cigarette. “But that’s what they do, you know. At those fancy parts. Snort coke.”

“Gimme one of those.” Eddie wiggles his fingers at the pack.

Rat pipes in, “oh, if he’s having one, I want one too!”

TJ grouses and grumbles but passes them each a smoke. “You owe me for that.”

Rat sticks out his tongue. “Join the club. I owe everyone.”

“Man, after the day I had, I deserve one of these. You all seen those feds running around?” Eddie asks. “Can you believe they’re out here about Benny?”

Rat perks up. He’s actually pretty good friends with Benny, even despite everything that’s happened. “What, really?”

The bell above the door chimes and they glance over almost as a group, only for Smith to come walking in. She heads for the back of the store, grabbing a few things from the little center rack where all the pre packaged and over priced sandwiches only tourists buy are at.

And sure, maybe the smart thing to do would be to just shut up, and stay quiet, and let the whole thing blow over, but Eddie’s never been particularly smart. He’s sharp and mean and good with his fists, and he scuttles across the gas station, still clutching his bummed cigarette, just so he can get right up in Smith’s face and tell her, “you need to make that little attack dog of yours back the Hell off. I didn’t do shit, you hear me?”

Smith, clutching a plastic wrapped chunk of carrot cake pulls back. “Excuse me?”

“I said that you need to back off. I don’t care who the Hell you people are. If that asshole shows up at my work again, I’m gonna clock him,” says Eddie, all teeth, and from the other side of the gas station Rat crows with laughter.

“Shit! Did you have the feds sicced on you?” Rat jams his cigarette out against the top of the counter. “That’s a trip!”

“I – have no idea what you’re talking about,” says Smith.

“Yeah, I totally believe that.” Eddie takes a step back, takes a drag off his cigarette. “You people come tearing in here and start shit, but you know what? No one around here is gonna put up with that. We got enough troubles happening. We don’t need you dragging up old ghosts that are already put in the ground.”

“What? No, that’s not – we already discussed that,” says Smith, shaking her head. “I didn’t realize that he was going to try and follow up on a dead lead. I’m very sorry. If there was an issue with your work place because of this, I can – I’ll happily speak with them tomorrow.”

The apology is so out of the blue that it takes Eddie off guard. He freezes, glances over at the counter. TJ shrugs his shoulders.

Smith continues, “we’re not looking to cause issues for anyone. We’re just doing our job, same as anyone else. I’ll speak with Russo. It won’t happen again.”

She steps around Eddie, all neat as can be, pays for her wares, and leaves. Just like that. As if it’s all nothing.

In the wake of it, Eddie sidles back up to the counter and puts out his cigarette in the little fish shaped ash tray. “I’m outta here. Just ring me up for the beer.”

TJ does, the chime of the register, and says, “I don’t know. I think I would’ve spilled the beans already.”

“You say anything to those agents, I’ll break your face,” warns Eddie, the words a sort of harshness that only comes from fear. “You got that?”

Rat cheerfully chimes in, “I’ll totally help.”

#wip jkb #my writing #writeblr #original fiction big bang #zombies

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whitecatindisguise · 4 years ago

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The Sundrop Alchemist (18)

We’re getting close to the end, guys. Just few more chapters. I’m happy and sad at the same time, because I really like writing this story.

Anyway, onwards with this chapter.

Summary: The truth about Varian’s family is finally revealed. Hugo must save his newly-earned brother before it’ll be too late.

AO3 link is here.

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Chapter 18: Truth Revealed

Varian didn’t remember the way back to the tower. He felt like in a daze, blindly following Mother, her hand gripping his wrist a little too hard, the fact he was completely oblivious to. His mind was spinning, reliving the events from the past week.

Meeting Hugo, leaving the tower, the Snuggly Duckling, running from the guards and almost drowning in the cave, wandering through Old Corona, the lanterns, Donella and everything that transpired in her base, escaping with Hugo… and finally those two red-haired brothers and a mad dash through the forest in an attempt to escape. If it wasn’t for Mother… Varian shivered at the thought of what could have happened if they caught him.

He felt a gentle thug on his hair and blinked, emerging from his thoughts. They were back at the tower, the boy didn’t even register how they got inside. He was sat at the chair, Mother unbraiding his hair. It felt familiar, something they did several times throughout the years. Yet, Varian had this feeling inside, something telling him this wasn’t right, that something was off.

The last of his braids came off and Mother hummed in approval, before standing up and brushing off her dress.

“Now, let’s start on the dinner, shall we?” She said, making her way towards the kitchen. “I am starving. Don’t you, Flower?”

Varian stared at Mother’s back, still not exactly out of his daze. There was something he was forgetting, a thug at the back of his mind. Something important, he knew. But he couldn’t quite place what it was about.

“You’re awfully quiet, Flower.” Mother spoke up again, her back turned to him.

“Just… I think I’m forgetting something.” He replied, biting on the inside of his cheek.

“How about helping me with the dinner?” She suggested in a tone not quite the one he remembered. “You don’t really expect me to prepare it all by myself?”

“I don’t think that’s it…” Varian muttered under his breath and the woman huffed in annoyance.

“Varian, how many times should I tell you to speak clearly?” She shot him an angered glare. “You know I hate it when you mumble.”

“I’m sorry…” The word “mother” somehow didn’t sound right and he wondered why.

“I’m sorry, who, Flower?” The woman prompted and Varian suddenly felt strangely annoyed.

“I’m not in the mood right.” He shot back through his teeth. “But I guess being kidnapped, tortured and held hostage for a week doesn’t really give me a right to feel tired, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know what got into you, Flower.” Mother raised one brow and he could see she was getting annoyed too. “Is this the way to speak to your Mother?”

“Maybe I don’t want to speak to you?!” Varian replied, feeling more angry with every second. “Did it ever occur to you?! Or you are so self-absorbed you don’t even care what I feel?!”

“That’s it!!” The woman shouted, face scrunched in anger, its colours almost the same as her dress. “Go to your room, now!!”

“YOU’RE NOT MY MOTHER!!” The blonde cried out, and suddenly, the tower was silent.

They stared at each other, and Varian could swear, the woman stumbled a little at his wording. But, as fast as it happened, her posture was back to its usual regal-like, as if nothing happened at all. She chuckled and smiled at him. For some reason, Varian felt she was nervous and the smile was fake.

“What are you talking about, Flower?” She asked and Varian suddenly remembered.

He remembered the bookstore in Old Corona, the drawing in the history books, all the facts pointing to a single conclusion…

“I am the lost son.” He whispered, eyes widening in shock.

It all made sense now. How he looked so similar to the small boy on the drawing, the lanterns that were sent out on the day of the lost son’s birthday, HIS birthday, the age, the same as the boy’s…

“Varian, I hate it when you-” The woman said and he cut her off almost immediately, brows furrowing in anger.

“I am the lost son of Old Corona’s village leader, aren’t I?” He repeated, this time louder, his gaze staring into the woman in anger. “You stole me from my real parents! You lied to me! You- you kept me in this tower so you could have my powers for yourself!” He threw his hands apart, trembling with anger. “The people you warned me about, the ones who would use my powers for their own benefit. You are just like them!”

Mother- no, not Mother, his kidnapper, stared at him in shock. It seemed she was weighing her options, now that the cards were on the table. Suddenly, her whole posture changed.

She pushed her shoulders back, making herself bigger than normal. Her mouth turned into a malicious smile, eyes glaring at him with such power, he instinctively took a step back.

“Oh.. you think you are so smart, aren’t you?” She sneered, taking a step in his direction, making him move back. “That you figured it out and now you’ll just go back to your parents-” She spat out the word as if it burned her tongue.”-and live happily ever after. With this little friend of yours, what was his name? Henry? Huey? Oh… that’s right…” Her gaze turned malicious and Varian felt a shiver go up his spine. “Hugo…”

“What did you do?!” He cried, trying to not sound terrified. She laughed and he felt another shiver tremble his frame.

“I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s left on a well-deserved holidays. His own room, who cares if the doors are locked and the window has bars?” She replied nonchalantly. “He won’t leave it for at least few years, knowing his crime record.”

“You sent him to jail?!” Varian shouted and the woman sent him a death glare.

“Be thankful I didn’t kill him on the spot.” She sneered and in two large strolls she had him pinned to the wall. “Now, be a good boy and sit still. Mother needs to pack.”

~~~~~~

Hugo’s head lowered and he stared at the cracked floor. How stupid of him to forget about The Stabbingtons. He heard a lot about the two brothers over his years as a thief. He knew they were ruthless and didn’t forgive traitors. Still, he was too confident and proud to think he could trick them, escape with the loot and not face any consequences.

He should be thanking whatever god was up there they only decided to knock him out and give him up to the guards. They could have easily killed him, especially right then, when he was tired from all the running and had no weapons on him. But his fate wasn’t what troubled him, if he was to be honest.

The Stabbingtons knew about Varian. Somehow, they learned of his existence and, what was even worse, about his powers. Sure, the kid was resourceful and could easily knock a head or two with his frying pan, but The Stabbingtons weren’t regular thugs. Varian wouldn’t stand a chance against the two. His blood froze at the thought of the boy on the brothers’ mercy. And he couldn’t do anything from behind those bars.

Suddenly, he heard shouts at the end of the corridor. They were barely audible at the beginning, but soon he was able to distinguish words and, what was even more surprising, the familiarity of the voices. Shocked, he approached the bars to his own cell and looked towards the source of the shouting.

To his surprise, the guards were leading the same two people he was just thinking about. The Stabbingtons were shouting threats and insults at the guards, while trying to somehow escape. All to no avail, and they were quickly shoved inside another cell, directly opposite Hugo’s.

“What are you doing here?” The bespectacled teen questioned, confused by the whole ordeal. It was hard to imagine Varian beat the brothers up and left them for the guards to find.

The brothers were silent, so he decided on a different approach, taking up his usual nonchalant tone.

“What? Did the kid give you a hard time?” He smirked and crossed his arms on his chest.

“Hah, the kid was scared like a baby of the monster under its bed.” Burnsie replied with a huff of annoyance. “It was the damn lady.”

“Lady? What lady?” Hugo questioned, genuinely interested now. “You mean his mother?”

“Mother? What a joke!” Patchy barked a deep laugh. “Gothel would never have a kid of her own. She hates kids like dogs hate cats.”

“She tricked us. First she told us about the kid and his powers, and when we almost got him, she knocked us unconscious and led the guards to us.” Burnsie explained. “She probably wants the powers all to herself. Wrecked witch.”

Hugo felt the gears turning in his brain. If Mother and Gothel were the same person (and, at this point, it was safe to assume they were) then Varian was in deep, deep trouble. Especially, if he really is the lost son. During the time in Donella’s base Hugo not once heard the kid mumble about it, and it seemed very probable at this point. If Varian somehow let it slip to Gothel, then who knew what the witch would do. Hugo wasn’t stupid, he heard about Gothel several times. And none of the things he knew were good.

A sudden chitter made all three of the prisoners jump in surprise. Hugo looked down and his eyes widened at the sight of the familiar raccoon.

“Ruddiger?” He called and the animal chittered in response, coming closer and pushing something inside his cell. He picked it up and noticed it was the key to his cell. The clever raccoon must have stolen it from the guards. But if Ruddiger was here, then that must have meant- “Goggles is in trouble, isn’t he?”

Ruddiger chittered anxiously and pointed at the key and at the door. Hugo wasted not another minute to open the cell and follow the raccoon.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?!” He heard guards calling after him. Crap, he’d have to lose them before he can go after Varian.

Suddenly he heard a loud war cry and the guards were pinned to the wall by one of the pub thugs, Atilla, if he remembered correctly. He stared in shock at the scene, when he was suddenly grabbed by the shirt. With a hook.

“Hook Hand?” He questioned, eyes widening. “How did you guys know-?”

“The raccoon led us here. He was pretty persuasive.” The man explained and set the teen roughly on one side of the plank, the other facing up, leaning against the barrel. Ruddiger scrambled up his shoulders and gripped him tightly with his claws. “Now, head down, arms in, knees apart.” Hook Hand instructed. Hugo, baffled, followed the instructions and then he heard another cry and looked up.

Vladimir was flying through the air, having just jumped down from the second floor, and fell right on the other side of the plank. With a terrified yell, Hugo was shot up and over the prison wall, landing safely on the other side, in the haystack.

“What was THAT?!” He cried, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness.

“Come on, McCoy! Before they open the gates!” Another thug, Toll, called out. Hugo saw he was holding the reins of a horse and he immediately understood the intentions. He jumped up the horse’s back and grabbed the reins, shooting a quick thank you to the man.

“Come on, Ruddiger. Let’s save our princess.” He smirked and urged the horse to run.

#varian #hugo #gothel #the stabbingtons #pub thugs #the sundrop alchemist #the story is almost finished #I am gonna cry #kitty mom writes

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jayxscripta · 4 years ago

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The Mahaigner - Chapter One

A part of her couldn’t believe she was doing this. Barely a month of running and she was already giving in. Not that she had been given much of a choice.

Madeline reflected as she walked, hands shoved into her jacket. It was chilly, low forties, and one of those times when the ground wasn’t dry—just like any other November day in London. The red bus still went around the city, the London Eye went into the sky, and people passed her on the street with a decided indifference. Because here she was normal.

London was just as she had left it, but somehow it didn’t quite feel like the safe haven it used to. England might have been her childhood, but New York was her home. And if she had had a choice, she wouldn’t have left New York. But after what happened, she knew she wasn’t safe there, and where better to go than the place she had been born? The problem was, she was still on edge, because she was running. And every day, it felt more and more like she was running from some part of herself.

Not anymore.

That day, while she was working her shift at a bookstore, her cell phone rang. Which normally wouldn’t have been a big deal, if it weren’t for the fact that she had since changed her number and had yet to give the new one out to anybody. She had recognized the voice on the other end, and while every fiber of her being was against what he was saying, she was tired of always looking over her shoulder.

Madeline glanced at the address on the side of the building and hesitated at the doorway. This was it. She had the distinct feeling that if she went through that door, she wouldn’t be able to walk out as the same person.

She glanced at her companion. “What do you think, Astrid?” she asked, stroking the dog’s soft head. “Huh?”

She let out a quiet boof, her tail wagging slightly. Madeline knew what that meant—Astrid’s version of “don’t worry, I’m here.”

“Then I have nothing to worry about,” Madeline continued confidently, rapping sharply on the imposing double doors. She waited for almost a minute, long enough for the echo of her knocks to fade away, but nobody opened the door. She was just turning away from the door when it slowly creaked open.

Madeline approached cautiously. There was nobody standing behind the door, no good reason for it to have swung open like that. She poked her head around the side of the doorframe as Astrid brushed past her leg and slipped into the house, nose in the air.

The house was tall, with a circular window positioned above the giant door. The floors were carpeted deep red and the walls were a dark wood, trimmed with something that might be gold. The ceilings were high, the halls accented with burning candles, and the ambience Oriental. The whole place looked worthy of a paranormal investigation, but what intrigued her most was how ancient it felt. As if somebody had ripped it straight out of a history book.

There was a whir of wind and a short bark from Astrid. That’s when the door slammed shut behind them with a thud.

“I figured teleporting you wouldn’t be a good idea. Too disconcerting.”

She stumbled back, whirling around to greet the man who had called her here, who was standing only a few feet away. How he got there without her noticing, she wasn’t sure. “Yeah, well, mission failed,” she gasped out, eyes searching for something to defend herself with, just in case. Astrid growled.

The man raised his hands. “Call off your dog,” he commented drily, nodding to Astrid and her glaring, fixed gaze. “Then we can talk.”

“Right,” Madeline scoffed, “what’s your name?” It would be nice to put a name to the face that had haunted her for almost a month.

Still eyeing her dog cautiously, he answered quickly. “My name is Dr. Stephen Strange. And I am trying to help you.”

“Hasn’t really seemed like it,” she shot back.

“I know you don’t know how to control it, because if you did you would use it against me now—” Dr. Strange continued on as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Damn right,” she muttered.

“—And I swear, all I want is to help you understand and control it,” he said earnestly, and as much as she didn’t want to, a part of Madeline believed him. He actually sounded sincere, even though he seemed more interested in Astrid’s bared teeth.

Lips pursed, she nodded slowly. “Astrid, heel.” She could see the relief in the doctor’s eyes when the dog backed away and rejoined her master at her side.

“Alright, let’s get down to business. Do you like tea?”

In the blink of an eye, Madeline was no longer standing in the entry hall of that great house. She wasn’t even standing anymore, rather sitting in a comfortable chair, teacup in hand, with a bewildered Astrid at her side. Madeline felt something similar to seasickness wash over her, and the tea in her cup was sloshing around, dangerously close to spilling over the edge.

“I told you it was disconcerting,” Dr. Strange said, looking a little too amused for her liking.

She attempted to sip her tea and scowled when it splashed over the edge and onto her jeans. Her host, who was sitting directly across from her, seemed indifferent. “Don’t you like tea?”

“Yes, I do like tea,” she responded wryly, “just not when it’s on my clothes.”

“As I was saying,” Doctor Strange continued, ignoring her jab, “I protect the world from mystical threats, and your little incident in New York qualified as one.”

Madeline paused mid sip, and promptly set her teacup onto a nearby table. “Are you calling me a ‘mystical threat’?”

“Not… exactly,” he hesitated, leaning forwards in his chair. “Miss Boudreaux, if my assumption is correct, then you haven’t used your powers since the incident, because you don’t know how. But there are other forces at play here. That’s why it was imperative you come here tonight.”

“Other forces?” she questioned, sinking down into her chair. Her hand slid over the edge of the armrest, and she felt the warm moisture of Astrid’s tongue as the dog licked her hand. Madeline quickly wiped it on the side of her jeans. “What kind of other forces?”

“The Sokovia Accords,” he said, as if it were obvious, “the United Nations keeps a record of every enhanced individual, so when a new one pops up, they’re very interested in finding out who that person is.”

“And you work for them?” Madeline questioned, feeling her stomach drop. The experience had been a frightening one, and she couldn’t blame herself for running, but hindsight was 20/20. Running was far more nerve-wracking now that she knew she had been running from the United Nations, of all things.

Dr. Strange huffed in an amused and somewhat offended way. “Definitely not,” he said, “they don’t know I exist. If they did, they’d probably arrest me too. I tracked you here, do you think I wouldn’t notice if someone else was following you?”

“Someone else was following me?”

“To put it bluntly, yes. You’re not very observant.”

“Lovely,” she muttered, “now that you’ve found me, what’s next?”

“Well, I’d suppose that we attempt to discover what doescause your powers, seeing as you can’t use them at will,” he paused, looking suddenly suspicious, “that is true, isn’t it? You can’t control them?”

“No, I can’t,” she responded, unsure whether she should be relieved or worried by that fact. “But what good will finding the cause of them be? I thought I wasn’t supposed to use them?”

“Your powers are something I’ve never seen before,” Dr. Strange answered bluntly, “and if we find out what’s the root of your abilities, then you can avoid using them. Now, has this—”

Before he could finish, a loud, demanding knock resonated throughout the house, startling all three of them. The doctor stood up abruptly, looking somewhat confused. “That’s odd. I don’t remember ordering pizza.”

Madeline remained frozen as the Doctor’s cape disappeared around the wall corner, and not long after she heard the beginnings of a loud argument. Whoever was at the door was definitely not a pizza delivery guy.

Coming to her sense, she hurried out the door, Astrid at her heels. If someone—say, from the United Nations—had come for her, she couldn’t just sit quietly while somebody else decided her future.

She walked briskly down the carpeted corridor, trying to not get lost in the large, unfamiliar house, following the voices as they grew louder. With every muffled footstep the feeling the knot in her stomach grew. Eventually, she stumbled across an impressive staircase and descended. Strange was nowhere in sight, but she could definitely hear him now.

Cautiously, she pressed her back to the wall and peered around the edge. From here she could make out the door, which was open, but Strange was blocking part of her view. What she was able to see, though, left her both speechless and more than a little confused. Because she had never imagined she would meet the Avengers, especially not like this.

Tony Stark stood closest to the doctor, in a what would be toe-to-toe position if they were the same height. He was dressed like a normal, albeit rich, human being, which was strangely disconcerting. Standing close by on either side of him was Vision and Spider-Man, who was a long way from home. Unlike Stark they were both wearing their respective superhero uniforms.

The small group was talking over each other, forming a jumbled mess that surely nobody could decipher. Stark’s voice finally managed to cut through the clamor. “Look, just hand her over and we’ll be on our way. Then you can get back to doing whatever it is full time wizards do.”

“I’m not a wizard. I’m a doctor, douchebag, and that’s not going to happen.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger.”

Vision’s voice entered the conversation again. “Mr. Strange—”

“Dr. Strange,” he interrupted.

“Dr. Strange,” Vision continued, undeterred, “we’re under direct orders from the United Nations to retrieve Miss Boudreaux. We’re not leaving without her in our custody.”

Strange huffed in frustration. “You’ll wish that you had listened to me when she knocks out your pilot on the flight home.”

“Do you really think you’re the only one who can handle her?”

“Handle me?” she muttered.

“Yes, I do,” the doctor shot back, evidently not hearing her. “You want to know what my job is, Stark? Protecting the world from mystical threats. I’m more than qualified to investigate her abilities. But I can’t very well do that when she’s locked in a maximum-security prison.”

Madeline’s stomach dropped about three feet further than it already had. Prison? Strange had made it seem as if the UN wanted to “catch and release” her—bring her in, catalogue her, and then let her return to her life. Had they been sent to arrest her?

Could she really trust any of them? One party wanted to possibly take her to prison, the other party lied to her and probably viewed her as some sort of mystical threat, or at the very least, a specimen.

Not seeing any way around it, Madeline stepped out from behind the wall, heart beating out of her chest. She pushed an eager Astrid behind her. “Do I get—" she began, but before she could finish, there was a sudden thwip sound. She looked down, startled, only to see her hand glued to the wall, wrapped in some sticky, white, frankly repulsive substance. Her eyes flew up to look at the others. “What the hell is this stuff?” she asked, disgusted.

“Miss Boudreaux,” Vision said immediately, ignoring her question, “you have to come with us.”

“We just established that—”

“Now wait a second,” she said indignantly, “I would like to have some choice here.”

“I’m afraid as the subject in question, you can’t,” Vision said.

“Well, that’s bullshit.”

“If you have to take her because the United Nations says so,” Strange interrupted, “then by all means take her. But don’t think for a second you’re leaving without me.”

Stark pulled off his sunglasses, which really were unnecessary anyways, given that he was indoors, and stared at the doctor incredulously. “And why exactly would you want to come?”

Strange leveled a steady look at the billionaire. “We still have no idea how her powers work. She could kill you, and you’ll have no idea how to stop her.”

“Vision can handle it, right?”

The doctor shook his head. “Not this.”

Stark drew back a few steps, whether voluntary or not. He hesitated, and then sighed in resignation, as if he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Fine. Deal.”

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colorfullfalls · 5 years ago

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Force Knows Best

Summary: after infinity war, life is in shambles, but to make things even more complicated, the first order decides to visit. kylo ren is in search.. for you.

5. Welcome Home

Kylo put his helmet back on, security of his anonymous face and power. The guards surrounded you two as you left the doors, walking up a few step to enter the bigger ship, your apparent new home. People in the halls glanced your way, curious to see the woman that Kylo Ren was hell bent on finding. His glove found your bicep again, pulling you closer, shielding you by the mere size and strength of his being. You felt tiny, like a child compared to the Supreme Leader. Echoing footsteps followed behind you, irritating you. He sensed your discomfort.

"Leave us." Kylo barked, and the white plastic covered men split off without skipping a beat. Commanding people made goose bumps appear on your skin, how could he be so harsh with them? Treat them as dogs rather than human beings- well if they were humans, for all you knew they could be different alien races. The mask allowed for mystery, and you were not a fan.

Hallways turned until you were in front of two tall red doors, contrasting the black vast area of walls, floors, and ceiling. Kylo's chambers were different and more extravagant compared to the rest on the ship, afterall he deserved a treat for ruling planets and the Galaxy. His hand freed itself from the black glove and rested his palm against a glass scanner, it shone red before a click was heard and he was grabbing you, pulling you in behind him. Doors shut with a harsh slam and lights turned on, illuminating the large common room.

It was so.. him, multi shaded grey tile covered the floor beneath your feet, a leather black sectional sat against the wall, which was also painted grey, red stands sat on either side of the sectional with a black coffee table directly in front of it. A tv like screen, bigger than any normal one of Earth, splayed against the left wall facing the sectional. Five different rooms branched away from the one you were in. You kicked your shoes off, shifting the bag in your hands to rest against your legs. Kylo noticed and took it from you, nodding at you to follow him. Furthest right was your bedroom, well Kylo's. A king size black bed sat in the middle of the room, plush red pillows covering by the white headboard. You yearned to lay down and sleep, your day was pretty hectic already and it wasn't even night. Not that you could tell because in space it was always dark. He dropped your bags on the bed and took off his mask.

"All that is here belongs to you now."

Kylo's voice was sturdy, but a sense of anxiety slipped past his teeth and rolled off of his pink tongue. You quirked an eyebrow at the man before you. Weary of him you were, but at the end of the day he was human. You wondered if that mattered, humans on Earth did vicious crimes all the time, cops barely covered providing safety, and even shield wore itself thin at times.

"Thanks, you know freedom once belonged to me.." you sarcastically replied, waving around the space between his large body and your stressed out one. His gaze adverted to the wall, jaw clenched uncomfortably hard, frustration almost besting him in the worst possible moment.

"I can give you anything you desire. Luxurious gowns, jewelry, planets, creatures, plants, all in my grasp. What can I do to please you?" His voice was desperate, a yearning to make you happy above all else. He spent years searching helplessly for you, and now that he had you, you hated him. Hated him for taking the one thing that mattered most to him, what belonged to him in an intricate way. You. Joining your souls together was not a mistake and he certainly would not apologize for doing what the force meant to happen, but your sorrow did guilt him. He loved you, as foolish as it seemed from the outside.

But to him, it made all the sense. Kylo visited your thoughts and body day after day while hunting for you. He knew the type of woman you were, your thought process, how easily your fragile feelings could be hurt, how you fiercely loved those close to you, how you preferred grape jelly over strawberry, how your clumsy manner often left you bruised-much to his disliking, and he memorized all of these in great detail. You were an extension of him and he wanted to know you inside and out, and at this point he did. But now that you were in grasp, he needed you to love him back.

As soon as he had his first dream about you, his gut told him that you were his other half, far far away from him in the most unfortunate way. He vowed to make one complete being, promptly begining his journey to find you. The Force allowed him to visit you, but the touch and occasional dream of him was the only hint you got, not enough information to warn you of your impending future.

"None of that would please me, Kylo. I agreed to come because you weren't going to leave otherwise. War plaques Earth enough without the First Order involved. Gifts will not fix the pain, and you are stupid to think it would."

"I want you to be joyful." Such a phrase could be taken the wrong way, read as he was commanding you to feel an emotion, but he was not, he was vocalizing his goal to you in lame terms, horrible at portraying feelings with spoken sounds.

"Well, I'm not." His eyes saddened and you felt unfair guilt, "Maybe one day, but right now- no, joy isn't a friend of mine."

"I am the Supreme Leader, a powerful man, and I do what I wish without protest. Listening to anyone is not my skill, but with you, I am trying. Trying because of who you are to me," He picked up his helmet and traced the face of it, big fingers coming together to flick it before honey brown eyes met yours, a hard stare, an unapologetic one, "Retrieving what's mine is not apology worthy, it had to be done. Hate me if it makes you feel better, I suppose."

Fire bristled along your arms, blue flames dancing involuntarily. How dare he act like he did you both a favor by snatching you up like a stray dog on the road. Being bound seemed like a different way of saying soulmates. And even if the two of you completed one soul, one half still belonged to you. He didn't own your half, he should be thankful that he has such a connection with another being, but he was acting like a mad man.

His eyes adverted to your arms, new small holes exposed the skin, your shirt burning from the use of powers. Your fireproof suit was in your bag, you had taken it off when you packed your belongings. Usually your powers were in control, but being around Kylo made new levels of emotions, mostly anger, appear.

"My goal from now on is to knock you down a peg. You're human, and I will remind you of it everyday." You mumbled.

"I will remind you, little one, that you are where you belong. With me. By my side. Forever."

"Forever is suddenly my least favorite word." Your heart fluttered at how honest and raw his words were when he spoke to you, but hating him was your angle at the moment and you had to stick with it. His shaggy black hair swept in tuffs over his forehead, strikingly similar to the lines over his long scar on his face that led down to his neck. A well formed neck, you thought. Being so attracted to someone you should hate was foreign to you. Something in books and movies, but not real life. Now it was happening in a space ship in the sky, miles away from home, your life reduced to a romcom movie, a hate to love story.

"Each hateful word you throw my way, my adoration will only increase." Kylo dropped his helmet back on the bed and shrugged at your hazy expression. You were torn between hating him and wanting to accept his words, "Try all you may, you cannot deter me, we are meant to last."

"You've stated that fact multiple times today, look, I don't get why this force picked me to be the one who you're bound with, we are vastly different."

Kylo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance because it seemed that you weren't getting it, "The force would not make a mistake. You make me stronger, and vice versa."

"How do you know I'm the one?"

He grabbed your hand, slotting his large fingers in between your tiny ones in comparison, skin blazing heavenly at the contact. You felt drunk, the best kind where happiness takes over and you feel invincible, on top of the world where nothing can drag you down. Like friends are talking, but it's hard to make out from all the laughing and bubbly dancing to shitty bar songs, but you're happy because it's perfect. You feel giddy but attempt to suppress it because these feelings are not valid, he is a murder. He holds up the intertwined hands, an example of your ridiculous question. Kylo Ren would not lie about his bond with you, never lie to you about anything.

"My body cradles yours in every way because we were born to be one." He rubbed his thumb across your hand, making you blush, pushing him to step closer to get more of a reaction from you.

"Why is there- my body, I just feel like.. like" you tried to explain the intense sensation, but failed miserably. He gave you an understanding gaze, smirking at the fact that you felt a fragment of the bond, the pull to be close.

"Alluring, isn't it, little one? The Force is letting us know that we found eachother. In time it will feel normal."

His fingers left yours to push your hair behind your ear, but you snapped out of the trance. Distraction to move away, suitcases opened and hands shuffled through clothing and items, looking for a new shirt to wear. Burning the current one was embarrassing and changing would wash away the mistake that you just made. Years of training for control over yourself crumbled like bridges during high degree earthquakes, crashing down around the man who you were forever stuck with. A grey hoodie from the bottom was plucked from your hands and into Kylo's. He turned it over in curiosity.

"What is this?"

You rolled your eyes, grabbing it back in defense, the hoodie was the one thing you owned compared to his fleet of ships and planets, "Hoodie. Wear it for warmth.. so where's the bathroom, I need to change."

He pointed to a black door left of where you stood and you nodded curtly, entering and getting out of his sight, gaining a second alone. Pitiful holes surrounded what was once cloth covering skin. Pale flesh teased you, a reminder that was gone when you ripped the shirt up over your head, hoodie slipping on instead. Warm, reliable, comfy, home smelling hoodie. A mirror rested above the sink, reflecting you in the bright bathroom lighting. How could you let him hold your hand like that? Knock a wall down that he didn't deserve to witness.. His bond touch was unfair to use, it went went against your mind. Tears that you were unaware of previously dripped down your face, dampening your chin, baby hairs sticking grossly to the area. Crying was a rebirth, a chance to let it all out and restart again. It felt good to sob on the bathroom floor, to lean against the wall for support.

Time passed and you cried, emptying bottled up confusing emotions. Kylo stood outside the door listening, chest tightening at the wretched gasps for air as you bawled, his heart thudding with every sound. Kicking open the door and holding you was his idea, but he was scared to push you even further away. He wasn't stupid, he realized you didn't trust him yet. Crying in the bathroom was a personal thing for you to cope, and intruding would embarrass you. After the hand holding moment he assumed the road ahead was easy but now he was not so sure.

At the same time hiding in there to cry angered him. Why couldn't you melt into his embrace and allow him to ease your pain? No one was more suited for the duty than him, your equal in life, your other half. Kylo did not let people in, he didn't like the attachment and risk, but you were the one who it was acceptable to confide in, to show vulnerability. Dark force was in his genes, and it would never leave, but you would see the better side of him. Not that he wouldn't ever upset you or go against your wishes, but you were going to be the closest to him, his weakness. Reaching out in the only way he could, he closed his eyes and used the force to seek you.

Dry tears crusted your cheeks, despair eating away at your insides, when a swirling feeling rested on your upper arm, sliding up and stroking your chin. The swirling morphed into an invisible hand that wiped moisture away with gentle caresses. Matter of the fact was that Kylo was reaching out to comfort you in the way he had in the past. Grudgingly you pulled away, but a dull pain of struck your heart, leaning more into the invisible hand.

"Open the door." His voice called out. You ignored him, head falling backwards to rest against the wall behind you. The touch vanished and you heard the main door slam. Kylo stalked off, helmet on and anger active heading towards his knights for Intel on Thanos. His knights roamed the galaxies, if anyone knew about the purple titan, it would be them.

Eventually you crawled out of the bathroom and pulled the blankets back on the bed. His pillows surrounded you, shielding you from the air coming from the vents. Dark endless space peeked through the two small windows of his room, allowing it to feel like bed time rather than evening. It was enough because within minutes you were zonked.

Kylo sensed utter tranquility from you, calming him down. His emotions were hard enough to handle, but being so near to you caused all of yours to mix with his, making your crying suffocating, which made him mad, but when you were asleep he could level himself a bit.

"Sweet dreams, little love", Kylo whispered in your mind as he stood in front of his kneeling, ever so loyal, knights.

#starwars #starwars imagine #kylo ren #kylo ren imagine

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choking-on-tae · 6 years ago

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BTS Reaction To: Realizing they love you

Anon asked: “Hi hello hey, how's it going? I went over your BTS reaction masterlist and I don't think I saw it there, but please feel free to ignore this completely if you did something similar and I just missed it- could I possibly request a BTS reaction to them realizing they're in love with you? Like, you get on each other's nerves and you're always bickering or something, and it just hits them one day that they love you? Hopefully this doesn't come across as rude, my apologies if it does”

Author’s note: It’s been a GOOD minute I posted anything, let alone something BTS related so I felt like writing about them again. I hope people who’ve been missing them will like this and appreciate me writing while I’m actually supposed to be studying for my exams, whoops. Anyways gifs aren’t mine. x

Seokjin:

Seokjin loves cooking and when he found out that you did too he would be so excited to start cooking together. He immediately invites you over and would get things ready so you can start as soon as you get there. It of course doesn’t take long before the doorbell rings and Seokjin pretty much runs towards it, opening it with a bright smile on his face. You chuckle at the sight and give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before making your way to the kitchen. Seokjin opens the fridge and gets the ingredients out while you check your phone for the recipe. “Alright, let’s start cooking!” He chuckles at your excitement as he takes the knife and starts cutting up the tomatoes and other vegetables.

After a while you’re stirring in the soup while Seokjin is admiring you. You feel like someone is staring at you and turn around, only to see Seokjin already staring at you. Your cheeks heat up at the sight as you flash him a shy smile. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Because I love you.” His bluntness surprises you but then again it’s Seokjin and he pretty much knows no shame. You hide your face behind your hands as you cheeks flush red. Seokjin giggles as he walks towards you and presses a kiss to your temple. “Yeah I really like you Y/N, a lot.”

Yoongi:

Yoongi lets out a sigh as he keeps staring at the screen. Going over everything once more in his head. He’s pretty much done but as always Yoongi is a perfectionist when it comes to his music and is never satisfied with it, that’s why he asked you to come along. A second opinion is always a good idea. So he turns to you. You’re browsing on your phone and when you don’t hear the typing of the keyboard or the clicking of the mouse you look up, seeing Yoongi already looking at you. Your heart flutters as you ask him why he’s staring at you.

“I just wanted to hear your opinion on this, if that’s okay.” “Yeah of course that’s okay.” You move your chair closer to his as Yoongi clicks on the play button. He watches you nervously and shyly bites down on his bottom lip, his heart fluttering at the sight of seeing you smile.

“It sounds really good. Are you gonna put it on the album?” You ask while turning towards him, giggling when you see him looking at you like you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Like what?” “Like I’m the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen!” Yoongi chuckles as he playfully shakes his head. Turning around so his nose is almost touching yours as he says, “Because you are.”

Hoseok:

“5,6,7,8!” Hoseok counts, watching you move to the beat of the song. The choreography is far from easy and he knew that it would take you while to get it down but he didn’t expect it to take this long. You let out a frustrated sigh when you keep messing up the same part. “Hobi, this part is just impossible. I really don’t think I can do it.” Hoseok can’t help but smile when he sees the pout on your face. You’re just too cute for your own good. Normally Hoseok would be quite frustrated when someone he was teaching kept messing up time after time but he couldn’t bring himself to be mad at you. He gets up from his position on the floor and walks towards you, taking your face in between his hands as your nuzzles his nose against yours, making you blush furiously as you stare into his eyes.

“Aish you’re just too cute Y/N. I can’t even get mad at you for messing up that part over and over again. I’ll help you some more, okay?” “Okay.”

Hoseok moves to stand behind you and asks if it’s okay to touch you, which you give him permission to. He gently places his hands on your hips and guides your body in the right way. “Oh so that’s how I’m supposed to do it. That’s so much easier than I thought.” He chuckles at your words as he shakes his head. “You’re so cute.”

Namjoon:

“So when you see this question, what do you do first? Add up or multiply?” You scratch your head as you let out a deep sigh. Why does maths sucks so much? “I don’t know, add up?” Namjoon flashes you a sympathetic smile as he softly shakes his head. “You multiply first.” You groan in response as you bang your head on the table. “Hey Y/N, it’s okay don’t worry. You’ll get it before your test.” “I don’t know Namjoon. I only have a week left before the test. I’ll have to practice so much every single day and I can’t ask you to help me all the time.” Namjoon moves his chair closer to yours and gently brushes your hair out of your face so your eyes meet his. Namjoon feels his heart flutter as he stares into your eyes. Damn you really have his heart.

“Listen, I’ll gladly help you this week. I’ve plenty of time and I want you to pass this test. Especially when I know it’s something you’re able to do. You just need to believe in yourself.” You flash him a genuine smile as you ask, “You really think I can do it?” “Yes. You just need to believe it too.” “Ugh I’m so sorry for bothering you with this.” “You’re not, I love to help you.” You turn around to give him a tight hug as you bury your face in his neck. “Really, thank you so much.”

Jimin:

Watching movies together was something both you and Jimin love to do, no matter what time it is you’re always down for some cuddles and a good movie. Jimin is curled up underneath a blanket as his head is resting on your chest. Your hands gently running through his hair as you’re watching the movie. Meanwhile Jimin is struggling to keep his eyes open. He’s enjoying the free scalp massage a lot and just loves it when people play with his hair, especially when its you. Suddenly you lean in to press a kiss to his head. Jimin can’t help but smile as he hides his face in your chest, suddenly feeling wide awake and his heart pumping in his chest. “Ah Jimin you’re so cute!” He blushes even more when he finally faces you, making him look impossibly cuter.

You gently brush your thump across his cheek as you press a kiss against his nose. Jimin moves higher up so he can bury his face in your cheek as he makes himself comfortable on top of you. You bring your hand back to his hair and get back to gently running your fingers through it, slowly lulling him back to sleep.

Taehyung:

You’ve always had a soft spot for guys who loves dogs, so when Taehyung got one it was just one more reason to like him. Seeing him play with Yeontan is the cutest thing and you’d love to be part of that little family. So you come over as much as you can and try to bond with Yeontan. You obviously want the little one to like you. Yeontan will never like you as much as he likes Tae but as long as he’s somewhat okay with you you’re good. Taehyung has noticed that you started to come over more often and started to wonder why. He wasn’t stupid and caught you staring at him a lot of times. So many times that he even started to wonder if you like him. He wants to be sure so he asks you to come over again so this time he can just ask you. Taehyung just wants to know because the uncertainty is killing him.

It doesn’t take long before the doorbell rings and Yeontan starts barking immediately. Taehyung chuckles as he opens the door. Yeontan immediately runs to you and jumps up against your legs. You smile brightly as you kneel down to pet the little guy. Once Yeontan goes back to the living room you turn your attention to Taehyung. Who’s smiling brightly as he gives you a warm hug. “Y/N, I wanted to ask you something.” You pull back and look at him expectantly “Yeah?” “Do you like me?” You’re beyond taken back and stare at him with wide eyes. “W-Why do you ask that?” “I’ve seen you staring at me a lot lately and I just wanted to know why.” “I... I do like you, a lot actually.”

Taehyung smiles brightly as he hugs you again, burying his face in your neck as he whispers, “I’m glad because I really like you too.”

Jungkook:

Jungkook is extremely competitive, especially when it comes to video games. He can play them for hours just until he’s beaten someone. He can’t stand losing and always wants to be the best. In particular his favorite video game. You’re a frequent player of the game and Jungkook knows that, which is why he wanted to beat you. Soon you’re sitting next to each other. Game controllers in your hands while you wait for the game to begin. “I’m gonna kick your ass.” Jungkook laughs at your words as he grabs the controller tighter. “We’ll see about that Y/N.” As soon as the game begins you’re off. Getting a head start and Jungkook is caught of guard. He didn’t expect you to be this good. He curses under his breath as he tries his best to catch up to you.

Unfortunately for him that doesn’t happen and soon you’ve passed the finish line, throwing your hands in the air in victory. “Told you I’d kick your ass.” Jungkook laughs as he keeps staring at you. He tilts his head a little as he wonders why he’s not upset. Normally when someone beats him at a game he’ll get frustrated but now he actually feels calm and happy. You notice him staring at you and ask, “What’s wrong?” Jungkook smiles brightly as he moves closer so his face is directly in front of yours. You’re surprised by his sudden confidence but welcome it happily. “Nothing, I just think I like you a lot Y/N.”

Before you can response he leans in a presses a kiss against your cheek. “You can beat me anytime if it means I can spend time with you.”

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kittenfemme27 · 4 years ago

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Magrunner: Dark Pulse

"That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die."

That’s the often misquoted line written by H.P. Lovecraft and spoken by his fictional “mad poet” Abdul Ahazred in “The Call of Cthulhu”, a short story written by the very same author. It’s meant to symbolize the same thing that almost all of Lovecraft’s work was meant to symbolize: That there are things that view us the same way we’d view a simple speck of dust, or an ant. As so tiny and insignificant that we’re practically unnoticed in the eyes of this massive and overwhelming force. Lovecraft had an intense fear and at the same time an intense fascination with the idea of being insignificant, of being forgotten and unworthy, of being completely and utterly impotent in the face of power that was greater than himself. Every “Old God” that he wrote about is so far reaching above humanity and so incomprehensible that even the act of knowing of their existence was incomprehensible for the human mind, and would oft drive those with that forbidden knowledge to complete and utter insanity. This isn’t really a disputed interpretation of Lovecraft's work, it's barely an interpretation at all. It’s considered a simple set of facts of the universe that he created.

So imagine my surprise when I started playing “Magrunner: Dark Pulse”, a fairly mundane and simple futuristic sci-fi puzzle game marketed to have a “Lovecraftian Twist” and the final nine levels have good ol’ Cthulhu himself checking in on me from the skies above, literally one hundred thousand times my size, and simply observing me like I’m his personal favourite little human. As he communicates with me and makes it clear that I am in-fact, his personal favourite little human and he just can’t wait for me to ascend to his level. As far as a piece of lovecraftian work goes, this game was a doozy. But we’ll get back to that. Before we even get there, I’d first like to talk about the game itself.

Gameplay:

Magrunner is a first person physics based puzzle game featuring magnetism as its element in which you interact with the puzzles in each room. Your goal in each puzzle room is to use various platforms, blocks, and other bits of very clearly marked tech in each room that may be magnetized with either a positive polarity or a negative polarity, and combine that with the physics of the Unreal 3 engine to solve challenges and make it to the next room. To be blunt, the game is squarely a Portal rip-off from its design ideals. Your makeshift magnet glove-gun hybrid can fire 2 colors, one being a negative polarity and one being a positive. Like-colors are attracted to themselves, whereas opposite colors reflect each other. The idea of using magnets in a physics based first person puzzler isn’t an awful one, and neither is the fact it clearly wants to ape Portal’s ideas. Where it fails, unfortunately, is execution. The physics aren’t up to snuff with what you do most of the time and it leads a lot of the puzzles to be confusing or simply frustrating, as even when you know what you’re doing you still have to rely on the physics system of the engine to cooperate with you. Early on, you are tasked with getting 4 small magnetizable cubes together to form into a large one. What this actually has you end up doing is fighting with the cubes and the level as they fling themselves wildly off of each other and into unreachable parts of the level itself. The entire game functions this way and it really removes any sense of challenge or control you have over each puzzle, often feeling like you lucked your way into a solution rather than figured out the puzzle yourself in any meaningful way.

Buggy physics in the Unreal engine are not the developers fault entirely though, the game is an indie project that was kickstarted and for that alone i’m willing to give them a pass on engine problems that they likely did not have the programmers to fix. But, unfortunately, I can’t give a pass on the game failing to iteratively teach you how the mechanics work level by level. Whenever you magnetize an object, it creates a field, and you can see this field thankfully by pressing a key. Anything in that field will automatically interact with anything else that is magnetized in it. In general, these fields are wildly inconsistent in how they operate. Usually, they’re spheres centered around the magnetized object and cause objects within the sphere to either attract or repel. On occasion though you’ll find pads that create a cone of magnetism going the direction that it faces, up to what is an arbitrary height. Later on, you’re given the ability to place your own fields on any flat surface, allowing the levels to become more bare-bones as you have to create the magnetism points yourself. All of this combined means that If you learn that something works in a previous level, there is no guarantee that it will work in the next level the exact same way. Experimentation in this game is often fraught with a frustrating sigh of not knowing if the game intended for something to work that way, or if you just broke the physics again. Don’t even get me started on the fact there are multiple combat sections inside a puzzle game, ugh.

Art & Sound:

Magrunners similarities to Portal do not end with the gameplay and design, however. Aesthetically, the first and second half of the three act game are ripped directly from Portal and Portal 2. The first half of the game features sleek interiors inside of a testing facility for yourself and other “Magrunners” where everything is cleanly lit, sparse on color and detail, as space-age and sci-fi as you could imagine. These first set of aperture inspired levels lack any sort of hard edge or detail, with every single element in the room being curved and well lit and as minimalist as possible. The second half of the game takes places in facilities “underneath” the one you were in prior and are dilapidated grey and brown ruins of previous testing facilities, complete with all the same tools and magnetizable pads and tech that you had seen previously but this time a much older and “70’s” style of sci-fi aesthetic, but covered in grime and dirt and dust from the years of abandonment and rot. I cannot understate how unsubtle this is. The first third of the game is Aperture Science bonafide and part right after is Old Aperture from Portal 2. Magrunner’s aesthetic inspirations are worn very clearly on their sleeve, and it makes the game feel very boring and bland by comparison. It’s impossible to play Magrunner: Dark Pulse and not feel as though it was simply a junior developer exclaiming: “What if Portal/Portal 2, but Magnets?!” while the rest of the developers collectively lose their minds from excitement.

The music of the game was provided, as far as i can tell by the credits, by Incomptech AKA Kevin Macleod. A musician known for releasing thousands of free songs for use in any creative project. This isn’t, by default, a bad thing. Most of the music was not things I had heard from his library before and thus I didn’t immediately twig that it was his library, but unfortunately the music selection isn’t enough. As in, there are not enough tracks to fit the game. There are 39 levels in total and each level features a music track, but often and especially in the later parts, the music tracks are entirely re-used. This is most apparent when one of the tracks is a rising piercing noise, like the type you’d hear in a horror movie right before the slasher stabs into someone, but it never ends or pays off. It just loops upon itself and becomes this droning nightmare of a track for however long the physics force you to stay in a level. I counted 6 times this happened and each time it was so loud and obnoxious and frustrating that I had to simply turn off the game audio to be able to bare the level at all.

None of the other sound effects are worth writing home about, either, unfortunately. In something like Portal, there are pretty iconic sounds within its soundscape. The sound of the portal gun firing and portals being created, the soft and child-like speech of the turrets, the chiding and derogatory AI voice of GLaDOS, yet Dark Pulse lacks anything even half as memorable. Aside from the repetitive music, you are only given small bits of dialogue between each level and that’s really it. There’s a lot of character they could have created here, for example: When you gain the ability to create your own magnetic fields at will, the center of them is a dog-robot that your player character created in his spare time as a child. Creating one of these points could’ve been met with an adorable puppy squeak or bark, anything like that. Your character or the various ones that speak to you could’ve chimed in at any point in levels outside of the beginning or end of them, and yet they do not. It’s a big missed opportunity.

Story:

Speaking of characters, whew boy, are there a lot of them

Magrunner takes place in the distant future where a corporation that is effectively Facebook has taken over the planet by connecting every single person to its service essentially from birth and making it as essential to daily life as possible. Because of this, this corporation has become the de-facto richest company in the world. Its founder, Xander Gruckzeber, whose last name is literally an anagram of Zuckerberg, has started a contest in which 7 contestants can compete to become “Magrunners” and take a trip to outer space in a ship that is being powered on experimental magnetic based technology. The contest involves each contestant going through a series of puzzles that prove their aptitude with the magnetic tech that Xander’s company has developed.

Your character, an orphan named Dax C. Ward, is the only one of the 7 contestants that does not have a corporate sponsor. Instead, he’s a boy genius who built his own robotic puppy at age 10 and at age 21 built his own magnetic glove that interacts with the magnetic technology and allows him to compete. Ever the underdog, you’re helped along by your adoptive uncle Gamaji who himself is a six-armed mutant and an outcast among humanity for it.

Sound a little on the nose? Like it may be lacking subtlety in any form? Yeah, the entire game is like that. From Xander’s last name anagram to the fact that your own character’s name is itself a reference to “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” which was a short horror novel written by Lovecraft, the game never really had a chance at subtlety in the first place. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but in between the re-hashed artstyle and the immediate and obvious references, and the fact that It tries to throw a very by the numbers cyber punk aesthetic ripped straight out of Blade Runner at you in an opening cutscene that it immediately abandons afterwards. It all just feels tired from the moment you hit New Game and incredibly confused about its own direction. It can’t decide if it’s a Lovecraftian setting, a Sci-fi setting, if it’s trying to say something about Facebook or if it's just going to be Portal: The Magnetic Spin-off.

As the game progresses and Act 1 ends, you find the corpse of another Magrunner being eaten by an anthropomorphic fish person. You are then told by Gamaji that he’s going to help you escape the facility, but this will require you to go through the older parts of the facility as he slowly hacks into the mainframe and tries to get you out via service elevators. Inside these older puzzle rooms are repeated writings on the wall, ravings of someone gone mad with the knowledge of the Old Ones, and giant sculptures depicting various Cthulhu-esque monsters. This would be bad and scary enough on its own, but Gamaji is quick to let you know that portals to some unknown dimension and fish monsters are being spotted in cities all over the world causing havoc and terror.

About halfway through Act 2, Gamaji drops the bombshell on Dax that his parents didn’t actually die in a car crash like he’s told him all his life, but that they were Old God worshipping cultists and that Dax’s birth in and of itself may somehow be related to that cult and its actions. This tracks, then, because Dax continually receives strange visions in the form of uncovered memories of “The Seven” attempting some ritual to seal off some force from beyond. Act 2 ends with the revelation that Xanders assistant, Kram, is actually behind all the ritual sacrifice and is attempting to summon Cthulhu himself to our world from the Great Beyond. So far, Act 1 and 2 have been rather cliche but haven’t been anything i’d call unremarkable or strange in a Lovecraftian inspired story.

And then Act 3 happens.

Act 3 sees you flung into the far reaches of Actually Literally Space, with various bits of the test chambers around that you must use to get to portals that are marked by a cute little icon of Cthulhu himself that transport you further into space and to the next level. You can quite literally see our pale blue dot to your side if you look, including a gigantic eldritch device that seems to be either siphoning souls to it, or depositing monsters onto the planet. The fact you can breathe in space is just handwaved as “Something Kram must be doing.” and is never brought up again. What really struck me more than anything in these levels, though, is that Cthulhu himself literally appears before you every 2 minutes in each level and simply watches you while repeating “Cthulhu... Fhtagn... R'lyeh...” over and over and over. This was the moment the game honestly lost any credibility from me. Simply seeing a statue in Act 2 caused Dax to go into a screaming panic as he was able to perceive how a human may be turned into a fish person. But seeing the literal Old God himself doesn’t bother him? And why is Cthulhu so interested in you in the first place? Unfortunately, we get an answer to both of those questions and it might be the most insane thing i’ve ever seen in a piece of Lovecraft inspired media.

Dax, somehow through the work of the cult that his parents were part of, is the chosen one. Cthulhu not only cares about him and wants to see him succeed, but even helps him to literally ascend and become an Old God himself. But not, of course, before letting Dax have a heart to heart with Gamaji wherein he tells him that he has seen through Cthulhu’s eyes himself and must now ascend, as he has no other option. Because Cthulhu is a big softie on adoptive relationships, I guess. The game’s final level has you face off against Kram in a boss battle where you fling explosive cubes at each other and attempt to destroy the esoteric relay connected to Earth. During their fight, Dax taunts Kram who tells him that what he is doing is the will of his Master, Cthulhu, and Dax knowingly retorts that what Kram is doing is “Not what He wants.” As if he has a direct line into the Old Gods mind itself.

I cannot overstate how much of an absolute failure of the mythos itself that this entire story arc is. The Lovecraft mythos was not, and never has been, made for “Chosen One” stories. If you survive an encounter in the first place, you’re often left with horrible scars that never truly leave you because Cthulhu and the Old Gods are in some ways meant to be representative of trauma and a fear of your own trauma. Making Dax suddenly an Old One and a special Chosen One is a complete and utter failure on a scale I've never, ever seen before. It’s been days and I'm honestly still reeling from the fact that was a design decision someone agreed on.

Conclusion:

Magrunner: Dark Pulse is a confusing and often frustrating game with a story that utterly fails its mythos and setting in just about every way possible. But I don’t want to pretend that I didn’t have any fun playing it. I did, and it’s not the worst game I've ever played. It’s not even so much a “so bad it’s good” game, but it’s more of an indie game that clearly tried its hardest and for that I can’t fault it. It’s developers clearly love the Cthulhu and Lovecraftian mythos and really, really, really loved the Portal series and wanted to combine those things into their own spin on it and in that respect, it’s competent enough that I could recommend it to someone who really enjoys those sort of puzzle platformer based games. But... man. That ending. Yikes.

#Magrunner: Dark Pulse #Review #Played on: PC

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raleigh-ocean · 4 years ago

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be mine (with all what’s inside) | bobbi morse x astrid winters

words: 4,782

requested by myself: Bobbi isn’t really good at this but when she start to feel that she wants more, she thinks that she can totally get better at it. And all of that came sprinkled with some of Astrid’s biggest fears on top.

n/a: i want to say I’m not really happy with this one, but I had to finish it and well, it wasn’t that bad...I think? I want to also say a big thanks to @grilledcheeseandguavajelly because she gave me the idea for the end, even when I twisted a bit to fit better in their dynamics.

Bobbi couldn’t help but muffle her chuckle against her fist, giving a quick glance to Astrid in the seat besides her, before making a right.

How many months since they knew each other and she still found herself mesmerized by the other woman that much? The way Astrid showed her nervousness was cute, not gonna lie there, but was getting a bit out of hand as the short trip was coming to an end. Bobbi didn’t know why she was fretting that much, but also kinda had the feeling it would be much worse if they hadn’t Ka-zar with them.

That was a smart move for sure, Morse, good job.

“They’re going to love your pasta salad and the cake,” Bobbi found herself saying, once again, without taking her eyes off the road. “Why are you worrying so much over meeting them? They’re gonna love you too.”

“None ever wanted me to meet their friends,” Astrid scratched Ka-zar’s head to keep herself busy. “Usually when I dated someone, I already knew their friends because they were mutuals as well,” Bobbi glanced again at her, catching the quick hurt expression upon saying that. “So yeah, I think this is the first time for me and you said they are also your coworkers, so…”

“Stop worrying,” Bobbi managed to not let out an exasperated sigh, stopping on a red light, and she leant enough to kiss Astrid, which automatically turned her face to catch the kiss - that was something Bobbi liked about her, she was always ready. “They’re cool, none will ask you weird stuff and you’ll eat to your heart content, but I can’t promise they’ll try to make you drink beer or worse.”

Astrid nodded, seemingly satisfied with that, and gave Bobbi a shy smile back. She was already used to those little smiles, ones that always made her know everything was okay in spite of whatever was going on, and that one affected her the same as all the others: making her chest feel tight, warm and full of unspoken words of love. Who would tell her eight months ago she would find someone that made her feel like Astrid did? It was completely nuts, taking in count how was her last relationship she was trying to take baby steps to not burn themselves like that.

As she was pulling over, Bobbi thought that maybe that’s why she was going slowly but surely with Astrid. Hunter and her were too much alike in the same places, the constant crashing inevitable, but Astrid was different in that sense even when Bobbi recognized some traits in her similar to her own. With Astrid everything was...easy, she loved that for once love was like that, but she still kept herself alert for when it started to get difficult.

But, as slow as she wanted to go, it wasn’t right still not asking Astrid the big question...taking in count they’ve been living together for over three months already.

“Bobbi?” How did Astrid got to her windo-oh yeah, she pulled over at Mack’s house already. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” she smiled at her girl, unbuckling herself and getting out of the car too, taking from Astrid’s hands the salad and the cake so she could put Ka-zar his leash, licking her hand in the process. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Astrid played with the end of the leash in her hands, looking towards the front door. “Were you serious when you said they’ll like me?”

“Of course I was, why wouldn’t they anyway?” Bobbi leant again, this time kissing Astrid’s bare shoulder thanks to the dress she was wearing, and then kissed her cheek and give her a peck on the lips. “You’re really nice, sweet, know a lot about...everything and nothing, which still amazes me; and brought your best dishes, so I only see a win-win situation,” sometimes Bobbi wondered if Astrid’s need of reassurance came from her childhood or her teen days, because it was so engraved in her that it was painful. “That you are the only non-agent here it’s not important, babe.”

“Okay, okay,” Astrid closed her eyes for a second, Bobbi used already to her doing that to calm herself, and then there she went with the soft smile gracing her lips and marking as softly her left dimple. “Are you ready, Ka-zar?”

She couldn’t help but laugh loudly because of how easily Astrid could turn things to the rest, even their dog. Ka-zar barked as loud as Bobbi was laughing, that little perk they learnt soon about him, and sent Astrid into a tiny fit of laughter as well. Yeah, everything was okay for the time being. When did she become such a sap? Bobbi asked herself that while walking towards Mack, who apparently had heard them outside and go check before they got to ring the bell.

The look Mack had when he saw for the very first time Astrid was something Bobbi wouldn’t ever forget. She kept Astrid as hers in that sense for as long as they were together, obviously mentioning her and such, but seeing in the eyes of her friend such surprise was both fun and sweet for a change. Bobbi still remembered his look when she said Hunter and her were going to marry; when way before that she mentioned him that Sharon and her were having a thing; and also when Clint first introduce them, her as his girlfriend at the time and him as agent Mackenzie.

Those looks were ones of ‘are you out of your mind?’.

She wasn’t going to forget either how Izzy looked first at Astrid and then give her a quick glance after her sweet girl greet her with a nervous handshake. It was a look that said everything and at the same time gave her this empty sensation that she wasn’t approving it much but that she will try to play nice. But Isabelle Hartley was like that, so what could she do? Sharon was always all smiles, hard brown eyes judging a bit, but when she commented how Bobbi was getting taller people to date her and Astrid laughed at it, she fell in her special charm.

Natasha and Clint were another story, however, both being polite but still curious about her choice of partner this time. Bobbi didn’t need them to say something, she knew by the way they shared a knowing look and then looked directly at her when Astrid went to see what was Ka-zar doing, since he was barking again as if his bark was supersonic.

“I bought that fancy white wine only for you,” Mack brought her back to Earth, because as the presentations were going she moved to help him in the kitchen, and she hugged him sideways after placing the things they brought over the counter. “Would you want some too, Astrid? Or maybe beer?”

Bobbi saw Astrid’s cheeks flushed a bit and she couldn’t help but bit her own lip. They locked eyes while Astrid walked towards the kitchen and when she replied, it was in the shiest voice Bobbi ever heard coming from her.

“If you have soda or something like that, I rather have it, please,” Mack blinked a bit and nodded, turning around to get whatever he had in the fridge, but Bobbi didn’t think he managed to hear what Astrid said next, her voice merely audible. “As much as I’m getting off my medication, I’m still taking it and I don’t want to mess stuff up.”

She was glad Astrid’s back was facing the living room, because Clint gave her a weird look so when Bobbi put an arm over Astrid’s shoulders, she took advantage to flip him off as hard as she could...giving Astrid a little peck on the lips when she smiled up at her.

…

Astrid felt her head buzzing after hours of socializing, not used to do much talk with more than two people. But her stomach was happy, so her heart was happy, and she got to hear Bobbi’s laugh a lot which made her heart happy as well.

Bobbi’s friends had been nice with her for most of the day, welcoming even, and she felt a bit nostalgic of that sense of having some sort of group around her. Too much time without being in one, she supposed, still she needed a break and that’s why she found herself in the backyard after it got dark.

The swing seat was a good place to rest because she could still see the living room through the open large window, hearing their muffled voices while they were playing some videogame. Astrid closed her eyes for a moment, trying to isolate those sounds to feel the quietness of the night, her mind pulsating softly at her temples like a never ending tentation for using them. Since she was withdrawing more and more from the medication, her powers started to feel too more and more overwhelming as her mental training grew. She already did this when she was younger, but she didn’t remember being so hard find balance.

There were days in which she could hear Bobbi’s thoughts like loud static, mostly because her efforts to not get in her head distorted everything until it was an annoying buzz, and there were days, like today, in which she was able to feel as if she didn’t have to try that at all because the world was in silence for her.

Tricky, right?

That’s why she never really made peace with her mutation. Her telekinesis wasn’t the problem to begin with, that one was always the ‘easiest’ to control but it took a great part of the energy in her. Energy that she needed to keep at bay her telepathy, so it was another never ending battle inside he-

“Hey.”

When Astrid opened her eyes, her train of thoughts interrupted, the view that welcomed her was one she grew fond of as the days and months passed. Bobbi was smiling at her, more a soft smirk than a smile, and this time she had her glass of Chardonnay - Astrid didn’t expect her liking such thing, since they met Astrid always thought she was more of a beer girl - in one hand and a plate with cake on it. Cookie and cream cake, it was the only cake Astrid knew to do but taking in count such simple thing seemed to be the best for Bobbi and her friends...well, she thought she didn’t need to know more.

“Hey yourself,” she replied back, not too loud but not a whisper either, Astrid didn’t want to completely break the peace that she managed to get. “Weren’t you enjoying beating Clint’s ass at the videogame?”

“I always enjoy beating Clint’s ass at everything, that’s for sure,” Bobbi chuckled, taking that as her cue to get closer and sit by Astrid’s side when she scooted over enough. “But I wanted to enjoy the last piece of cake with you, getting some fresh air,” Astrid took the plate from Bobbi’s hand to put it on her lap, letting Bobbi scoot closer and put an arm over the back of the swing seat, right behind Astrid’s shoulders. “I don’t know, have a little time for ourselves in general.”

“I thought our time was breakfast,” Astrid giggled, gaining a tiny pout from Bobbi. “You’re too sweet with me...but I’m glad you came out here with cake, I was getting a bit hungry.”

“Oh wow, now you’re using me as a waitress?” the giggle became a laugh, muffled behind Astrid’s hand and Bobbi used her free hand to tap at her wrist. “Don’t hide your laugh, you know I like it sweetcheeks.”

Astrid felt her cheeks getting warm with the gesture, making her smile a bit shyly before pressing a kiss to Bobbi’s chin before taking a spoonful of cake. Maybe it was too sweet today, but it was still good.

“I’ve been thinking about something today,” Astrid hummed to let her lover know she was being listened, feeding Bobbi some cake at the same time. She waited for her to swallow and lick a bit of cream from her upper lip. “When I first met you, you said what you needed was a time machine, so where would you go if you had one?”

Both remembered how it went they met. Bobbi looking so lost and cold that Astrid had tried to help her as sweet as she could, before Bobbi snapped at her with a bit of ‘really, what do you need that you’re looking at me so much’. Astrid didn’t back at that, rolling her eyes and snapping at her as well...and then everything rolled smoothly once Bobbi was warm and ashamed of how she behaved.

Astrid didn’t think Bobbi would actually keep on chewing such response in the back of her mind, bringing it up after so long.

However she actually found herself thinking about the question, humming again while eating more cake. There were many options in her mind, but one of them stood up as proud as the person that was involved with it. Astrid felt her body sore and her heart hurt, like a ghost pain stabbing her once again, but she was too used to it that she didn’t mind.

Maybe it was a good time to tell Bobbi about it, right?

“Seven years ago,” Bobbi’s fingers played with a loose strand of Astrid’s hair, tucking it behind her ear before she put her hand at her nape, caressing there with her thumb as she grew fond of for some reason. “I think if I had been more clear, more straightforward, even more capable...my brother would be still here with me.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a brother,” Bobbi muttered, leaning in to kiss Astrid’s temple. “It was a dumb question, you don’t have to answer As-”

“No, no, it’s okay Bobbi,” Astrid turned a bit to cup Bobbi’s cheek, smiling at her reassuringly. “I actually wanted to tell you about it, you just helped me to step forward to do it,” she chuckled a bit and then took more cake before keep on talking. “Isaiah always said I needed someone to push me into things, he would had been very surprised knowing I decided to do all of this on my own volition.”

“All of this?”

“Yeah, all of this as in escaping the only safe place for us and then following my guts instead of my head for the last seven years.”

When Astrid said that, Bobbi could see the same pained expression she had in the car hours ago. But there was something more all over her face, like a thin mask of pride...as if she was proud of following her instinct more than whatever her head was telling her. Leaving her glass of wine in the floor along the plate, Bobbi only accommodated her arm over Astrid’s shoulders while her other hand took hers, playing with her fingers slowly so that way she knew she was there for her. And, of course, that everything would go as fast or as slow as she wanted and that Bobbi wasn’t going to rush her into anything.

“What happened then?” Bobbi might be tipsy, but she still held some kind of self-control over both her curiosity and her worry.

“We got into a fight,” since the day Astrid told Bobbi about her, she always wanted to know more of the Astrid before she came like a hurricane into her life, but it was hard to form the questions without feeling she was being too intrusive. “We fought over the silliest things, but a five year gap is enough to take things in perspective, Isaiah and I always found middle ground quickly...but that day we didn’t. He thought I was being childish with what I wanted to do with my life, taking in count...well, this,” when Astrid touched her head with her fingers lightly and then moved them a bit, Bobbi knew that she was talking about her powers. “That I should stop from crying over how hard things were, that I should be out there instead of him,” Bobbi could see how she was getting lost in her memories by the way she was looking at the sky. “He even told me that I was ashaming him, being the way I was.”

Bobbi couldn’t help but put her arms around Astrid better, by instinct, drawing her closer so she could hide in the crook of her neck if she wanted. She couldn’t recall if her own brother ever told her something like that or if he did, she just probably brushed it off; however that Astrid seemed to held that memory so vividly could meant he was really meaning it...or something else.

Her reading skills weren’t of much help with Astrid.

“I was so mad at him, I felt it running through my veins like fire...and then he was crossing the room because I threw him with my powers,” Astrid chuckled darkly but Bobbi felt how she was shivering at this point. “Then all the anger was gone and him too before I could even say sorry…” she sighed deeply and moved so she was sitting again. “The next time I knew about him was the next day, when they notified me that he had an accident while working and he disappeared. They never found his body, but by the way his comrades explained it to me...well he was pretty much dead, falling from a cliff.”

“And what would you had changed there, sweetcheeks? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t your fault.” it was true that there were many things that felt off in the story, but Bobbi couldn’t put her finger in what Astrid could do if she was able to go back then.

“It’s not what would have changed...but more like I would have followed him, told him I was going to join him out there that day,” Astrid tightened her fists the hardest Bobbi had seen her do. “And maybe saved his life like when we were kids.”

…

“She loves her.”

“Hmm?”

Izzy took a deep breath without moving much from her position in the kitchen’s window. She could perfectly see from there the swing seat, where Bobbi and her new girl were. Clint, Natasha and Sharon were completely hammered by that time, so only her and Mack were up to get the house cleaned up a bit.

She had stopped there to spy on Bobbi, just a bit, because she still wasn’t really sure of this new girl she brought over. Mack seemed to like her though, Izzy had to give it to her that she was polite and sweet, but she had something else that she couldn’t put her finger on.

It was a feeling in her gut, and she was sure it wasn’t because what Hunter would say upon learning about this.

“Barbara,” Mack winced at hearing Bobbi’s full name, because only Isabelle could use it without having her head chopped off. “She loves that girl...or at least she’s falling for her really hard.”

“Why do you say that?”

She moved her fingers, indicating Mack to get closer so he could see it himself. From where they were watching, they could see how Bobbi had her hands cupping Astrid’s face, placing too many tiny kisses all over it while Astrid’s hands where settled one in Bobbi’s thigh and the other pressing her knuckles against her abdomen. Then there was a swift move and they were kissing...but Mack didn’t feel the mighty need to look away like when Bobbi and Hunter used to kiss in front of him. The kiss didn’t last long and then Bobbi kissed Astrid’s nose lightly, her laugh muffled by the distance and the window, and they could see how Astrid was telling her something that made Bobbi lean forward. They couldn’t even try to read Astrid’s lips because Bobbi protected her using her hair as a natural curtain, all of that while Astrid seemed to whisper something in her ear.

“Did you ever see her blush like that?”

And Mack could still hear Bobbi’s laugh, but her neck and chest were all flushed, while she tried to hide her embarrassment by being the classic joyful Bobbi. That and how they started to give each other tiny pecks, more needy as the seconds passed by, and then they were leaving the swing seat with their dog - God, they even had a dog together! - following them tiredly.

“You’re right,” Mack muttered, trying to not get caught spying, while Izzy only moved to put the clean dishes away. “Oh damn, you’re right.”

It didn’t take much for the couple to enter the house again, offering to help cleaning what was left in the living room, but once Mack told them to not worry, that he was going to get the other three drunkasses, Bobbi’s smile was widder.

Mack had never seen her smile that wide before, that full of excitement.

Happiness even.

“Then I’ll take milady home,” Bobbi looked at how Astrid took Ka-zar in her arms, giving his sleeping dog a tiny kiss in his head, and her blue eyes shone brighter and not because she was drunk - Mack was pretty sure she wasn’t at this point of the night. “Don’t let the kids choke on their vomit.”

“Barbara, don’t say that!”

Isabelle and Mack had to double check by blinking fast, because Bobbi chuckled in response, kissing her temple and saying ‘sorry, sorry, let’s go’ and then waving them goodbye without an ounce of anger in her. Astrid smiled at them, being a bit more polite than the blonde, and actually shaking their hands before leaving.

Oh yeah, Bobbi was falling so fucking hard for Astrid.

…

Bobbi’s low groan kept Astrid focused, feeling the soft vibration of it in her neck where her lover was marking her.

She knew how to get that reaction out of the blonde, she only had to pull lightly at her hair, strands perfectly fitting in between her fingers, and Bobbi got at it more eager. Fingers going a bit deeper, curling inside of her and drawing moans and words mixed because she wasn’t able to do more aside of trying to keep at bay the buzzing of her brain.

It was her power, trying to push out of its jail because she was starting to let go. Always happening when she was feeling too much, never failing, and today being with Bobbi was proving to be quite different.

Since they had arrived home, everything moved in a beat that neither of them was quite used to. Yeah, they both had felt like that a few times, but tonight it was more intense and when Bobbi had kissed her slow and sweet, pulling her close and then…

God, I love you.

Astrid opened her eyes - when did she close them? - and the first thing she encountered was the bed headboard, then she looked down and Bobbi’s blonde hair seemed to...glow? But Bobbi didn’t seem to have noticed, still pretty much busy with getting her to climax. With each second that passed, Astrid felt herself closer and her mind more clear, the buzzing toning and slowing down at the same time.

“Bee, I’m-”

No, let me, a bit more, there, c’mon.

Astrid wasn’t used to hear Bobbi’s thoughts and it sent her on overdrive, hot white fury dripping down her spine at that point, and not only words but images started to get in her head. She wasn’t in a position right now to stop it, cut the link that was forming between them without Bobbi knowing, and she felt her eyes get full of tears…

...and then the room trembled, as Astrid came all over Bobbi’s hand, and then it all went quiet to her ears.

But that didn’t mean the same for Bobbi.

She got startled by the way everything started to move, drawers getting out from its places, lamps falling to the ground, the window opening and the wardrobe batting its doors. All she could do was to hold Astrid closer to her and moved them fast, so that way she was over her lover in case something fell from the ceiling. Bobbi was pretty sure Astrid was still climbing down her climax, eyes shut tightly and hands clawing at Bobbi’s sides - oh, if she wasn’t spent from earlier, that would for sure put her on the game again -, so the only thing she did was to cover her better and press her lips to her temple.

Her skin was hotter than she expected and...were those tears in Astrid’s eyes? When Astrid’s body seemed to relax and the room stopped from going all bananas, Bobbi pressed her lips again to Astrid’s feverish skin and then her lips, as sweet as she did when their night started.

“Are you okay?” she almost couldn’t feel herself saying that, her voice not wanting to come out for some reason, but she kissed the tiny tears that were rolling down Astrid’s cheeks. “I hope these are happy tears, because if not...well, we have a bit of a problem.”

Astrid shook her head before taking a deep breath, which ended up with her opening her eyes and Bobbi couldn’t help but get lost in those two eyes that were looking at her back.

Golden eyes, almost glowing in the dark, that were looking at her with fear and doubt.

"I love you too Bobbi..." Astrid whispered so tiny and defenceless that Bobbi's heart pressed against her ribcage painfully. "...and I'm sorry I read it before you could say it to me."

Oh.

Bobbi's laughter echoed around the room while she was trying to hug Astrid in the same protecting position they were. Okay, she wanted to say that before the big question but now things were speeding up. She couldn't help but kiss her soon-to-be girlfriend all over her face, feel her relax more and more as she kept pampering her in love.

Was she afraid of what could she say about that?

Bobbi was sure there was something more behind Astrid getting like that.

"Don't worry so much about it, okay?" this time Bobbi pressed her lips to Astrid's forehead, checking that way her temperature at the same time - already regular, her eyes settling slowly to her natural ochre. "It's not like I'm not gonna say it to you anymore, but I'm glad you couldn't get one thing more out of this coconut I have for brain, because this one it's once in a lifetime thing."

"You don't have coconut brain…" Bobbi melted upon hearing Astrid say that with such sweet voice. "But what is it…?"

Neither of them knew what would happen to them months later, a year, two or even thirteen; but right now in that moment, they indulged in the new love blooming between them like a force to be reckoned with.

"I was wondering if well...you would like to make things more, let's say, official," sleep was starting to get into Astrid, but she gave Bobbi a confused look. "As in…I wanted you to meet my friends because I want you to be my girlfriend so...what do you say?"

"Do you realize we have a dog together, we live together and I manage to get blood stains out of your shirts twice every few days?" Bobbi pouted and Astrid kissed it away in that natural way she had, before placing both hands in her cheeks. "How could I even say no?"

"God, I love you…" Bobbi said, kissing her fully on the lips.

"I know, I heard it...along some other remarks about my boobs."

"Only the truth, best tits I've ever seen," she couldn't help but make a cross with her index in her chest, above her heart, to seal that statement. "And also best rocking orgasm I've ever give, didn't expect you to unleash an earthquake on the room."

"Hmm, yeah…" Astrid hummed against Bobbi's lips and then her now not that golden eyes opened again, confused. "Wait, did I do what?"

Oh yeah, Bobbi didn't need to be a telepath to know in that moment that Astrid had no idea of what had happened around them.

And that's why she pulled her in her arms again, saying a soft 'I love you, let's get some sleep and tomorrow we will clean' to ease her girlfriend's anxiety over the reach of her powers when she was overwhelmed.

#bobbi morse #mockingbird #marvel #mcu #agents of shield #astrid winters #bobbi morse x original character #original character

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