#I missed his extra sword that he never uses because well

[catacosmo]

I love Clive

[pumpkin-bats]

When They Miss You- OP Boys Headcanons

Since the last one did so- bafflingly- well, here's another one!

Law:

He's chill for a while and for the most part he's calmed by the thought that you'll be back soon enough.

After a while he gets fidgety. Tapping his foot or finger, bouncing his leg, pacing, eyes occasionally darting to the door.

He sighs a lot and gets minutely more irritable. Only those who really know him notice the difference.

Throws himself into work to distract himself.

Spends more time standing next to the bed and staring at it than he does sleeping in it, and frowning every time he sees how the indent on your side of the bed lessens.

Zoro:

He doesn't wait like a dog... but he waits like a dog. On more than one occasion you returned to find him at the door.

Doesn't say a single word about missing you ever, but puts in every effort to stay in touch while you're gone.

There is a picture of you near him at all times that he hides when someone almost catches sight of it.

He holds his swords just a bit tighter.

Unconsciously flexes his hand a lot while he wonders if you're doing alright

Sanji:

Over does it with shopping for ingredients for the feast he plans to prepare for when you get back.

Casual keeping in touch with little calls or letters.

Surprisingly less bothered by your absence than most expect him to be, but that's because he doesn't want to worry you pointlessly by being a nuisance about it.

Quietly listens to music at night while daydreaming about you or remembering good memories to comfort himself.

The thought of you coming back keeps him too excited to be sad. He likes thinking about how he can surprise you each time you open the door and it occupies him thoroughly while he waits.

Ace:

He is obnoxious to everyone who is not you. That is to say, he won't shut up, ever, about you.

He talks about what you're up to, how much he likes you in general, and all the things he can't wait to do with you when you get back.

He'll lay awake in bed at night for a little bit, just smiling to himself and thinking of you.

There's an annoying number of phone calls, not to tell you that he misses you, but just to tell you he saw something weird. What he doesn't tell you is that he just likes getting to hear your voice.

He tries to keep the place clean while waiting for you to come back and always ends up breaking something.

Mihawk:

"I slept terribly." That is the start of every single phone call.

He will never tell you that he does this; but he gets an old pillow from the closet, stuffs it into one of your shirts and sleeps with it. It does not help and it makes him angrier in the morning than he would if he just stopped using it. But he likes that it smells like you so he keeps doing it.

Zones out a lot in the middle of a task or conversation thinking about how you're doing.

Accidentally makes an extra plate of food for breakfast and a cup of coffee/tea in the morning and pouts about it every time.

End of the day phone calls about your day and a gentle 'goodnight' before going to sleep.

Buggy:

Gets a bit more drunk than he usually does and spends his drunken stupor mumbling about how you are a traitor who abandoned him while fiddling with his cup.

The silence without you makes him frown a lot.

Every time he comes up with a good (or bad) joke that he thinks you'd like, he writes it down for when you get back.

Lies in bed like a sad puppy, staring at your side of the bed with a pout.

Only calls you when his people have had enough of his sulking and call you on his behalf before forcing him to talk to you. He cheers up significantly and is giddy for the rest of the day.

Crocodile:

He's minorly grumpy because half the time he tries convincing you to let him go with you and fails every time.

He spends significantly less while you're gone because literally everything reminds him of you and even he knows he can't buy everything in sight.

Calls you after lunch, of all times, to ask if you've eaten, tells you to take care of yourself, then promptly hangs up.

He's not particularly upset that you're gone because he has other things to occupy him, but also because the second he starts really missing you it makes him feel like you two are newlyweds separated for the first time and he's immediately soothed.

He does get a lot of things for when you return, planning to treat you to a relaxing day and sensual dinner. There's too many things for said day because he can't decide on what he thinks you'd enjoy best.

[runerapier]

With FS 2 finally out I wanted to share some of my thoughts, I think it would be fun to talk about the possible mental state Angeal is in around this time in his life and subsequently how it reflects Sephiroth, as well as the meaning behind Angeal's dream sequence.

Since a lot of the details of Angeal’s backstory are hidden in external material, I’m going to use it as a point of reference. Crisis Core has a lot of content they were not able to include at the time of it’s release, so it will be fun to see if they follow up on these things they wrote about but couldn’t include in game.

We already see from the get go that Angeal is serving as a contrast to Sephiroth’s outlook, demeanor, and manners. Angeal’s energy and passion he has for teamwork, his comrades, and genuine care he has for doing his job all directly contrast Sephiroth’s whatever attitude. Even small acts of chivalry are made to highlight this, showing Angeal going the extra mile to help Alissa across the bridge vs Sephiroth’s refusal to engage with anyone socially. Sephiroth was brought up to function independently, made to be a one man army, no use for friends, families, or allies. Especially with the recent loss of friends, he is going to be distant.

This is extremely important for contrast with Angeal, who has likely recently left home and is missing his family, not to mention he is someone he deeply values his connection to others. There is no set age for when Angeal left home, but it is likely within the last 2~ years. His sword in game is listed as type 90, this is comparable to Zack’s sword in CC which is type 99, the type number likely reflects the year the sword was created or the year of when that model was created. Assuming that it's updated every year, leans towards the fact they've been in SOLDIER since at least that year. Meaning Angeal likely left home at 14~, which is closer to around the age Zack and Cloud left home for SOLDIER anyways.

Angeal is someone very sentimental, he is very defensive of his home and his family. CC showed us he was quite nostalgic about Banora on several occasions. This is another contrast to Sephiroth, who doesn't have a hometown or a family. According to the CC ultimania, Genesis was one of the motivators for Angeal to leave and find a better way of living. The new chapter confirmed Angeal left home because he wanted to help pull his family out of poverty. In CC, Angeal's father was said to fall sick from overwork to pay off debt from the buster sword; however, the ultimania mentions an important detail: his father has always been weak and sickly. It’s partly due to his father being chronically ill/disabled that they aren’t able to make a lot of money. The buster sword isn’t the sole cause of his death but rather an extension of working in a system that likely exploits disabled people. Genesis might have been the push Angeal needed to leave far away from home rather than staying and trying to take care of his sick father.

Which gets us to Angeal’s dream, there is debate on how much of it is real because Sephiroth’s wasn’t real. In my personal opinion, the dream being real is a very important contrast to Sephiroth. We know that whatever Alissa is, she is preying on the desires of them. Especially in the case of her being Jenova, who uses memories of her victims to her advantage. Angeal doesn’t need to make up a scenario of his family loving him or being proud of him, because it’s already a reality, Sephiroth doesn’t have this luxury. Angeal's father pushed himself to the brink just so he could support his son in his endeavor, there is no doubt his family loved and supported him. So, what is Angeal's actual desire then? In CC it is never really specified when Angeal's father died, but in Gillian’s profile in the ultimania, it mentions his father died shortly after Angeal left for SOLDIER, even the dream is hinting towards something bad happening on the horizon. Angeal's dad is probably already dead and it is mirroring Sephiroth wanting to see his mother. Possibly reinforced by the fact he is already refusing to use the buster, while it's not confirmed if he didn’t use it all because of his cheapness, I think his father's death added significant value to the sword, making it irreplaceable. They are two kids who just want to be with their parents again, one's desire being entirely fictional and the other's being in the past. It is another contrast between them with their dreams: Sephiroth's being all he lacks, and Angeal's is all he had, but left behind. Both unattainable but in a different sense.

This dream is likely some of the last stability Angeal had before leaving home, along with possibly being one of the last times he saw his father alive which is probably why he is yearning for it. I think if the dream itself symbolized only wanting stability Angeal wouldn’t mention leaving for SOLDIER, I don’t think he wanted to leave home to provide for his family if given the choice. Instead "Jenova" is preying on something that is tangible. However, there is still a possibility it is exaggerated a bit with Angeal having the money for donations and plenty of food. I don't think this is true either, the dream implies Angeal was already working at this age to support his family, so it’s not entirely out of the question he uses what little he has to give back or that he helped with saving for Gillian's birthday party. In contrast nothing in Sephiroth's dream was real besides the fact he lives in the Shinra building, we know Angeal has loving parents, we know he is a hard worker, we know he left for soldier, and we know he loves his village and his family, more was real than just the setting. Also, I think there's a point that this is a special occasion, they could've opted to save up for her birthday. It really didn’t feel too wild to me that one day in particular they had extra food, especially considering they live in a farm village. When and the exact reason why Angeal stole when he was younger is honestly not clarified at all. He could have been afraid of asking for extra food, it could have been during droughts, or even when his father was too sick to work. It is very common for poor families in remote villages to grow their own crops, we even see people in Gongaga growing their own supply, so these things are not really out of the question. I think if any of these details were fake Angeal would be confused or surprised by having these things like how Sephiroth did to make it clear to us as the viewer, but that didn’t happen. The dream closes with remarking his desire to provide for his family so they live happy and healthy… and we know that didn’t happen, which is the point. I think it's also worth mentioning there are some small discrepancies in the localization. He isn't just giving out expensive equipment to multiple people individually, instead, it's a donation that is meant to be shared by everyone. Angeal is building community with farmers who might also be struggling, and I feel like this is an important detail that's missing.

(small disclaimer: I'm not fluent, I only know basics, but I did my best to break down the sentences to make sure these were accurate)

I think it’s clear Angeal isn’t yearning to be rich (or someone else that’s not even relevant in the current narrative… especially when their focus currently is to compare and contrast him with Sephiroth). If Angeal wanted to be rich or famous why isn't he chatting up the PR guy to hope it gets him more attention to the point of promotion? Instead Angeal cares about doing his job and making sure it’s done right, he even gets angry at Bachman and tells him his priority is the rescue mission. Angeal cares deeply about protecting and caring for the people around him, especially those important to him. The dream is only reinforcing this. They even made his gameplay reflect his narrative by being the one to provoke and tank damage for his team, which shows how he views his role as a leader. I want to preface this with there being nothing wrong if the dream ends up being exaggerated, I think regardless it is a good insight on Angeal's character. He loves his family and friends, he wants to support them and make them happy. It shows how they were a positive influence on his life and how they affected his motivations. I think narratively speaking though, Angeal having something that is at very least somewhat more real is another important contrast with Sephiroth, especially when a point of contention between them is how they grew up in different worlds. I think the turmoil of Angeal’s father being most likely dead is going to carry a lot of weight for this story and is meant to parallel Sephiroth's desires for wanting family, it possibly being how they find common ground. While Angeal did grow up in a loving household, he is going through a lot right now with his father's passing. The focus on the Buster sword is incredibly important since it is going to represent why Angeal fights. To protect and to care for what he couldn’t back home, for what his father wanted for him. A dream of a better future and to not lose sight of his morals.

In my personal opinion, it makes a lot of sense that Genesis might not be joining for this section of the story. It's shining a light on some of two most iconic swords in gaming history, and how Angeal’s outlook related to his struggles is going to shape Sephiroth. Angeal’s character and his trauma shape the foundation of the Buster sword and future wielders, and it shaping the Masamune too will be an extension of that. He is the heart of SOLDIER, and I am excited to see this story continue to reinforce that.

[woozisguitar]

love your work and congratulations on your milestone! hope to see more of those come : )

I have an ask for chan and reader!

an argument that turns into a confession of I love you for the first time and reader just straight up blushes unable to hide that behind her anger and he just taunts her lol

not sure if I like this but I hope I did justice to your ask anon! 😭

requests for 200 celebration post: open (but slow updates!)

when you signed up for an extra credit psychology class, the last thing you expected was a stupid project. the curriculum never specified any projects, but apparently, the professor decided to add it at the last minute, and to make things worse, it was worth 90 percent of your grade. so much for extra credit… on the first day of your class, you cursed your stars when you walked in and saw chan. now, chan was an alright guy. well, he was a bit of a nerd, sure, and a little dramatic sometimes, but everyone liked him. everyone but you. you knew chan since middle school. the two of you were always fighting for the first spot in class, which ended with him winning, much to your disappointment. when this same rivalry carried on through high school, everyone assumed the two of you would have some kind of weird rivals-to-lovers confession, but you knew better. under chan’s sweet and shy persona was a complete asshole who would spite and contempt you any chance he’d get. chan moved away during sophomore year—something to do with his dad getting a promotion abroad—and you were finally able to secure that number one spot you always wanted. you couldn’t be happier that your nemesis was gone, but your heart still sent pangs of sadness at the thought of never crossing swords with him again. that was until now. chan sat there on the third bench of the middle row (something about it being the optimal seat in class, he used to always say), with his books in a neat pile next to him, reading the latest assigned reading. you scanned the room for an empty seat and almost, as if the fates were taunting you, the only empty seat was behind him. which meant you’d have to walk past him and risk getting noticed. or you could go back, ghost this class, and lose your shot at extra credit. you weighed your options and decided to bite the bullet as you trudged across the room to take the seat as inconspicuously as possible. chan looked up from his book to stretch his neck, and when his eyes locked with yours, they flashed with recognition. a slow smirk spread across his pretty face, and you realized his features were a lot more defined now. his jaw was sharper, and his glasses framed his face better. his hair, which was always neatly combed, now laid in a mess on his head, as if he had purposely done that. the cute, annoying guy you knew was gone and replaced with this. this beautiful man you knew was going to annoy the hell out of you. “done staring?” he asked, leaning back and crossing his arms across his chest. “and why would i stare at you?” you rolled your eyes and took a seat behind him. “hmm, i don’t know y/n. i thought you missed my pretty face after all these years,” chan fake-pouted. “oh, and who are you?” you said, feigning innocence and curiosity, as if you didn’t recognize him the second you walked in. you saw a flash of something in chan’s eyes, and he dramatically clutched his chest, “you wound me, y/n. you really do.” “have you always been this annoying, chan?” you asked, shaking your head at his antics. for a second, you felt like you’d been transported back to middle school, always bantering with chan. but this time, there was a calm to it. a soft sense of warmth, like old friends meeting again. or, in your case, rivals. “only to you, my dear y/n,” he grinned and turned back to the professor who entered.

you were so sure the fates were out to get you because, by some cruel sense of the universe or destiny or whatever, the professor paired you up with chan. now, the one person you were planning to avoid throughout the rest of the term was the one you’d be spending most of your time with. fucking great. the next few weeks were spent deciding the project topic, planning and writing proposals, and arguing with chan on every stupid thing, like whether the citation style should be apa or mla. but beneath all of this, you were glad to have chan back in your life. he was a weird kind of thrill, a driving force one might say, in your life. you asked him about his life after he left, and he told you about how he was oceans away. three cups of coffee and a bunch of cakes later, you now knew that chan hated his new school. apparently, no one cared enough to compete with him, and his nerd-like tendencies, along with him joining in the middle of the year, made him a bit of an outcast. a small, tiny, deranged part of you was glad that he couldn’t find anyone else who’d stand up to him like you did. you also discovered that chan decided to go against his parents' wishes to carry forward the legacy and become a lawyer, instead opting to study psychology. you knew how strict and brutal his dad was—everyone at your old school did—which made you wonder how much chan must have suffered to choose a degree of his own. your meetings with him started to consist of more than just project work. sometimes you’d tell each other about your day, a funny incident that happened, or simply talk about the past. the more you learned about him, the more you realized that your hatred was perhaps something else. something softer that existed below all that layer of ice. and that terrified you. everything was fine until a petty argument about survey interviews turned into a full-blown screaming match. you weren’t even sure what happened—one second you were excitedly telling him about how you got some amazing data, albeit having to go to the shadier parts of town, and the next, chan was telling you off for not asking him to join. you were just glad your roommate was out for the night. “i still don’t understand why you’re mad. i got the data, good data, and it’s going to boost our project results,” you yelled, starting to get frustrated. “because you didn’t tell me you were going there!” “well, i’m sorry chan, but you’re not always the smartest person in the room!” “this has nothing to do with being smart, it’s like you don’t even try to understand!” “understand what?! you’re the one who started screaming first!” “because—” chan stopped himself, looking away. “because what, chan? hmm? you think i did a bad job? that i didn’t know what i was doing?” you said, getting all up in his face. “god, no,” chan dragged a hand down his face, “it’s not that—” “then what is it? i thought we were starting to be friends! but you don’t even—” you started to ramble, but chan cut you off. “because i love you!” he yelled, taking deep breaths, “since middle school,” he added quietly. “w-what? what are you talking about?” you asked in surprise, your face heating up at his sudden confession. he saw your blush and a slow smirk started to form on his face, “you know damn well what i’m talking about.” “no, i don’t.” “yes, you do. your face says it all.” “no, it doesn’t,” you tried to pat your face to calm your blush, “it’s, it’s hot in here.” “y/n, the ac is on full blast. just say you have feelings for me too, baby,” he leaned in to tuck a stray hair behind your ear. “you’re so annoying.” “yet you love me, darling.” “sadly, i do,” you mumbled, suppressing your smile, and a grin spread across chan’s pretty face. guess that rivals-to-lovers trope did come true, huh.

[luc-obsession]

Taken

Diluc sat in his office chair, skimming over his monthly stack of vendor contracts and trade agreements. He signed about half the ones he read.

He no longer sat besides his lawyer - he knew enough legal jargon to read these papers alone. He also knew the tricks of the trade, which half of his customers tried to pull.

It seemed they were hoping he’d miss a word or two, or forgive the typos of an extra 0 they’d make.

He had no problems from his older, more experienced clients; it was the newer ones who typically made these exploitative “mistakes”.

He’d teach them that he maintained the upper hand - or at least equal footing - in all his dealings.

And you were no exception.

His door opened.

Two of his maids, holding you by your wrists, brought you inside.

Diluc thanked them; they nodded in response.

They left, closing the door behind them. A click followed.

You shrunk back from him.

Diluc knew you were hurt - betrayed, even. He had taken you for his own gain.

He brought you here to deal with the aftermath.

“Have a seat.”

You sat down, avoiding his eyes. There were dried tears on your face.

“Ask me anything. I know you have questions.”

You remained silent. This wouldn’t do.

“Answer me.”

A string of obscenities left your lips. This also wouldn’t do.

“Play nice, or I’ll cut your portions.”

Again, you fell silent. Then you started singing his tune.

“I trusted you, Diluc! So why did you betray me?”

“Sumeru is quite dangerous. I hear the enemies there are twice as harmful as Liyue’s.”

Diluc needed back your trust. What better way to earn it than a few well-crafted lies?

“But I know my way around a fight!”

“Not enough to defeat a Level 90 Terrorshroom with only Hydro and a sword.”

Both of which he’d taken from you.

“I’m keeping you here for your protection, and you were eager to go.”

You sighed.

“If you went and never returned…I don’t think I could bear it.”

“Look, I think it’s great you care about my safety and all, but adventuring is who I am.”

You were right. The light in your eyes had dimmed - because of him.

If he let you indulge yourself and explore Sumeru, you’d leave him for over a month, and possibly never return.

If you stay with him, you’d never leave Mondstadt again. You’d lose the thing that made you, you. The very reason he loved you.

It was already beginning to fade.

Still, he wouldn’t be Diluc if the only person keeping him sane left for so long.

He couldn’t go back to being a shadow of his former self.

“I understand, but I need you.”

Your eyes widened.

“Is that the actual reason you kidnapped me?”

“Yes, my love.”

“But I don’t return your feelings,” you spat. “I only love good men!”

“I am a good man. I’m keeping you safe, aren’t I?”

“I’d rather die than live with you!”

That hurt. But he wasn’t surprised.

Diluc clapped his hands twice. There was nothing more he could say.

His maids opened the door again.

“Come, we’re going back to your room.”

“Back to your room.”

They grabbed your wrists and marched you out of the door.

You longed for Teyvat’s treasures, but Diluc couldn’t let you have them. So he’d do the next best thing: spoil you into longing for him instead.

. . .

Every morning, Diluc laid a massive breakfast on your dresser.

Whenever he made steak, you’d get stacks of four, with cheese slices sandwiched in between. He’d give you enough hash browns to fill your plate, piled high enough to reach the jelly bowl in the center.

The night after your discussion, he’d gotten his maids to test every soap on the market. They wouldn’t stop until they found the one that made their hands gentlest, hair smoothest, and faces clearest. Then they picked that brand in the scent you loved most, all on Diluc’s dime.

You bathed in that daily. When you came out, you were dressed in the finest silk robes and dresses, doubly as soft as the ones you used to wear.

He’d ordered you a copy of each of Mondstadt’s and Inazuma’s most popular book series, up to the latest volumes. He knew how much you loved Yae’s tales.

But not Sumeru’s. That would remind you of his transgression, and Diluc was determined to make you forget.

He gave you bottles of your favorite wines. Let you play games of Invocation TCG with his maids, or even him, if you’d like.

He even let your old friends visit, once he’d made clear that you weren’t going anywhere.

But nothing he did brought back your old smile. Nothing revived the light that once shone in your eyes.

He’d turned you into the very thing he was afraid to become.

Now he couldn’t stand the sight of his own reflection.

[staratie]

Do you mind writing a Zoro touch expansion headcanon?

touch starved zoro

i don’t mind! i hope you enjoy it (:

sfw-ish. some angst, sensual touching, a little spice at the end but nothing too graphic wc: 703 summary: luffy and usopp couldn’t help but playfully make fun of zoro after they overheard his interaction with you at the harbor. extra info: zoro x f!reader, you are a waitress with sword fighting skills.

“I missed you...” Luffy laughed jokingly, imitating Zoro’s tone. “I wish you went with us soooo badly ’cause we were gone for soooo long.”

“Y’know that’s not how it went.” Usopp corrected. “You forgot the big heart eyes he had when we were at the harbor. Zoro’s in looovvve.”

Zoro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “You two are overdoing it.” He neither denied or agreed to Usopp’s last statement, so that left the two male Straw Hat Pirates wondering exactly how he felt about you.

“So correct them!” Nami exclaimed. “They’ve been doing nothing but this for the past hour.” She rolled her eyes and slumped against her chair.

“He doesn’t owe any of us an explanation, my friends.” Sanji replied. He and Zoro exchanged nods. “Now, let’s order from this restaurant and act like adults for the sake of our visit.”

“Welcome to—” the waitress started.

“You’re new.” Zoro observed, giving her a judging stare.

“Um. Yes…how can I serve you all today?” She asked quietly.

“Does a waitress that carries a sword still work here?” Sanji inquired.

“Yeah! And she likes to hang out at the harbor?” Usopp added.

“Stop interrogating her.” Nami defended. “We’ll take one of everything.”

The poor thing nodded her head and hurried away from their table. Nami gave Sanji and Zorro her typical “what the hell” stare. Usopp shrugged his shoulders when he wasn’t acknowledged. At least he wasn’t in trouble.

- - -

Dinner was delicious. The Straw Hats had full stomachs as they walked back to their ship. Zoro walked slowly, hoping to find a glimpse of you in the crowd.

“Damn it.” He murmured quietly.

“What?” Luffy asked curiously.

“She had today off.”

“So?”

“We agreed to meet at the fountain. And I missed it.” Zoro replied, irritated at his forgetfulness.

“And…?” Luffy motioned for him to continue.

“I told her I wanted her to join the crew.”

“Well, she is very skilled. Probably the world’s second greatest swordswoman.” Luffy felt tension between him and his first mate. He had never seen Zoro like this. “Why did she say no?”

“Because she didn’t want to.” Zoro replied defensively. He clutched the hilt of his katana tightly.

“Want to? Or couldn’t?” Luffy suggested.

Zoro pushed him aside and trudged to the Go Merry. He went to his cabin, shut the door, and grumbled a string of negative self talk. When he turned around, he was surprised to see you on his bed.

“You’re here?” He whispered. You playfully nodded your head, hopped off, and walked to him, gently taking his hands in yours.

“Yes, Zoro, I am.” You replied, looking into his eyes.

“Why?” He asked, leaning his forehead on yours. You slowly kissed his lips, making him stiffen. It was gentle, but sent intense feelings of desire in him. He crushed his lips against yours and wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you closer. You led him to his bed, giving him the choice of how to handle the situation. He plopped you on the mattress and hovered over you, meeting your intense gaze. “Why?” He asked again.

“Because, Zoro,” you said, dancing your fingers down his face. They went down his cheeks, neck, chest, and stopped in front his pants. “I want to give you a proper goodbye.”

“So it is a no…” he closed his eyes as he felt you run your fingers up and down his bulge.

“But not yet.” You added, slowly removing his pants down. “Not tonight.”

Zoro grabbed your wrists and held them on the sides of your face. He gave out an animalistic growl and started to kiss the side of your neck, slowly going down until he reached the neckline of your top.

“You’re the captain tonight.” You whispered as he took off your shirt. You sat up and sighed as he greedily kissed you and brought his hands under your skirt to rub you right there, right where it felt so good.

You positioned yourself where he can easily slide in, and he does.

“Would a captain really do this?” He asked hoarsely, readying to enter. You closed your eyes and let him take you.

“The one in this cabin does.”

[autumnslance]

Clive's Outfit in FF14!

Since we had the PAX East Panel for FF16 today, and we know it's coming in "early April" (FF16 Producer Naoki Yoshida didn't want to say more than that, as tomorrow there is a panel with FF14 Producer/Director Yoshi-P, who might get mad if Yoshida revealed more than he was supposed to and no, he is never getting tired of this bit) I hopped into Crime to check out Clive's outfit on various characters.

FF14-only players will likely raise brows at the set's name, "Metian", because "Metia" is used as a name for something in FF16's world, with a lot of significance to Clive and Jill from the very start. So this set's name (despite the clothes' origin in FF16's story) ties back to his lady.

I started off with Dalamud dye cuz that's what Aeryn happens to have on her jacket, hands, and feet at the moment:

Unfortunately, hyuran men at present do not get quite the bulky chests Clive and his comrades sport in Valisthea. Maybe the update will make them look more filled out.

Meanwhile, if C'oretta doesn't look she won't have to see it's not pink.

This also really pulls in Punchy's bust; she's maxed on the slider, while Aeryn and Dark are mid-ranged, and Iyna minimal. But in this, they're all looking pretty similar. And similar to the guys, actually...

Finally added color for Iyna; Celeste, and the pants are Deepwood. She doesn't want to be here today. Also yes I put Thancred in this outfit, what of it?

(Now if only they also gave us Jill's amazing outfit, then I could really cosplay...Uh, nevermind. Moving on!)

I dunno if it's the angle I used that makes the legs look funny on Iron Summer (more on the legs/feet in a moment). But Roe men do, in fact, have the chests to make this outfit work like a Valisthean gentleman. And I shamelessly used @driftward's Zoissette as an elezen example.

Now, Clive is obviously wearing long boots, right? Well...

Have to click the legs pic, but it's plated pants and ankle shoe things (in Celeste Green here). Blergh.

Extra Details!

Clive famously fights with giant swords, but also carries a short blade for a backup weapon; very historical of these nerds. The other side of the belt shows his pouches. The back cloak is missing any kind of device or hold for his giant swords, which is very video game of these nerds.

The belts are part of the vest.

[rebornologist]

♡ Misc. Varia Headcanons ✧ 2 of 2

I'm finally finishing what I started.

♡ Xanxus smells like whisky in a wood smoked glass, a recently snuffed candle, leather, iron, and pomade.

He has really fast metabolism, which is why he seems to always be hungry. Just as quickly as he gets tipsy off of a few drinks, him standing around, drinking some water, or eating something tends to make him sober up. He's built up some impressive tolerance for alcohol through the years and would absolutely body a drinking contest if he ever stooped to such a level.

He likes a lot of cracked black pepper in his steak and isn't as much of a fan of garlic and onions. He appreciates herby notes like thyme, bay leaves, and rosemary, especially with a gamey meat like lamb. He hates vegetables. Partially because he's a hypermasculine weirdo, and partially because they leave him hungry soon after eating, and he just gets ridiculously hangry.

Speaking of hangry, it's because he often suffered from hunger pains as a child. His mother was not well-off, and they only had just enough to get by. That changed when he was taken in by Timoteo. He doesn't remember much of his time with his birth mother because he was so young, but the pain of a ghrelin spike just makes him feel absolutely awful and sets him off.

Xanxus isn't a huge desserts guy but appreciates a good chocolate mousse or a homemade flan. He has a soft spot for a very boozy tiramisu. He learned the base recipe from Timoteo, but the extra rum is his own personal touch. He doesn't drink coffee (it makes his hands shake and it bothers him a lot) but will tolerate it when it's in dessert.

୨୧ ⁺˳₊

♡ Mammon smells like dust, an incoming thunderstorm, baby powder, and refrigerant. They use mild, unscented, sensitive (baby) soap by choice, because it's cheap and it works.

They enjoy playing mahjong because of the sensory component. Cards comes close in second, but they aren't as good at cards and unwilling it gamble with cards as much as they do with mahjong. It's pretty easy for an illusionist to create multiplier tiles out of nothing, so they’re somewhat of a mahjong master.

Mammon gets more easily stressed than they let on. They always have a million thoughts running through their mind, and they are fairly bad at mindfulness or meditation, surprisingly. Their vivid visualization abilities make it extremely difficult to clear their mind. They are prone of stress nightmares, and do not sleep as much as they should as a result. They absolutely are a night owl and make up for it through occasional midday naps.

୨୧ ⁺˳₊

♡ Squalo is a fairly good driver, never mind the road rage and always being in a rush. I didn't say he wasn't reckless, but he has fast reaction speed and knows how to handle his vehicle on the road. He prefers manual to automatic transmission and was caught off guard by the automatic cars that were popular in Japan. He would catch himself habitually moving his foot to the nonexistent clutch, or trying to pull the stick in a way that it simply wouldn't go. Anyone pointing that out will just piss him off and he will drive even more aggressively.

He always eats just enough to sustain himself and supply his body with the energy to build the muscle he needs, almost with efficiency as more of a priority than enjoying the food. A result of the fast pace, physical demands, and immense pressures of his work. He also has a fast metabolism, so he's always been fairly lean, but he runs cold. Something about the long limbs and poor circulation. He appreciates a good hearty soup and misses the cooking from his childhood no matter how much he tries to deny himself that yearning.

Squalo definitely gives "grew up too fast", in part through his family's expectations on him, and himself being extremely ambitious in his youth and choosing to fly the coop and shoulder so much more than the average teenage boy. He chose to pursue the sword and made the bold decision to dedicate his life to it from early on. He does not regret it one bit, but it comes up in times of high stress. Sometimes he almost wishes that he could be as emotionally unhinged as Xanxus, and to just be irresponsible and destructive when overwhelmed by emotions... but someone has to be collected enough to lead around here.

Not to get off topic here, but I really don't feel right thinking and writing about Xanxus going hungry as a child without thinking about children who are starving in real life.

I know this is just a fandom blog, but I cannot post this without flagging this post for d0nation matches to people currently having their food, water, families, homes, land, and lives taken from them. Sorry to end on something so grim, but if y'all want to support my blog, please support what I care about as a human being. From river to sea,

[mariaofdoranelle]

Look at Us Now — Ch. 4

Fic Masterlist

I couldn’t wait until Thursday to post under a prompt for Aelin Week, so be ready for a surprise by then hehe

P.S. this chapter is my baby be nice to it

Edit: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THIS HELLSITE ILY @aelinchocolatelover [plays parabéns da xuxa softly in the background] ❤️💛💕💓❤️

Warnings: light NSFW, language, swords, let me know if I missed something

Word count: 6,1k (Oops!… I did it again)

The only sound Aelin could hear was their heavy breaths and the AC running.

Rowan was draped over the couch by her side, head tilted up and naked as the day he was born. The way his pecs flexed and glistened because of his post-orgasm heavy breathing and sweat was absolutely maddening.

Aelin’s fingertips were about to become calloused from the amount of times she ran them over his rock-hard abs.

It became a routine, pretending she was leaving base like everyone else at the end of the day, then turning around when no one would notice. She didn’t know if Rowan was always waiting for her or if he just enjoyed working until late. Aelin didn’t care. What mattered is that he was always at his office right after her classes were done, and she would always take advantage of it.

Aelin darted a glance at the watch Rowan kept on his wall. It was almost 11 pm.

She should’ve gone home to rest after having classes until nine, but Aelin was attached to this office like a magnet. Or to the man who stayed here. Rowan always had her so lost in his current Aelin often forgot she has a boyfriend waiting for her most days. Dorian didn’t seem to mind, though. With them having an open relationship, he was never lonely.

Around the third time Aelin came to Rowan’s office, there was a drawer with a lock and condoms inside. A short while after, he brought a small, but extra comfy couch, perfect for a post-orgasmic haze.

Aelin didn’t mind having sex on desks and walls for 10 weeks if it was with Rowan, but she liked this additional little touch.

It would be still the best sex she’s ever had, Aelin thought.

She hummed in delight, thinking about the way he tore her apart minutes ago in this couch.

Rowan lazily turned his head, making his gaze fall on her. What’re you thinking? His curious green eyes seemed to ask her.

“We still have time for a round three.”

He chuckled. “Insatiable.”

That single word sent a spark through her spine. Aelin had never been shy in bed, but things with Rowan were different. More intense. Something about him made her absolutely unleashed between these four walls, like wind spreading a wildfire.

They didn’t talk much, though. Too hungry for each other in the beginning and too tired from the day in the end, the only time they’d talk was between rounds.

“You’re not gonna wish me good luck?”

Every recruit needs to do a physical test by the end of their basic training, and Aelin’s would be tomorrow morning.

“You don’t need it.”

She grinned. “Because you trained me so well?”

Rowan did that thing where he tried not to smile, but the left corner of his lip tilted up anyway. “I think that goes without saying.”

“I disagree.” Aelin bit her lip, eyes full of mischief.

“Is that so?”

She nodded. “I need more cardio.”

Rowan said nothing, but his eyes sparkled with the challenge. He got up from the couch, then laid on the ground for a second before bending his knees and elbows to raise his shoulders and hips.

In less than 10 seconds, the bastard got into a perfect yoga wheel pose.

“Show off,” Aelin grunted. His grin was so smug she wanted to punch it.

“Hop on.”

Aelin’s eyes widened. “You want me to ride your dick like this?”

“You said you needed cardio.”

The squat work she’d have to do fuck him like this. With nothing around for her to support herself. After fourteen hours of boot camp and two orgasms.

“Absolutely not!” She shrieked.

One look at her face was enough for Rowan to chuckle, the echos of his amusement not stopping while he smoothly landed on the floor.

Aelin’s shoulders relaxed in relief, but something dawned on her. Was Rowan Whitethorn teasing her?

“Not funny.” She crossed her arms. “Get back here. And stop showing off. You’re not even the yoga type!’”

“That’s prejudiced. Why am I not the yoga type?”

She squinted her eyes at him, but the bastard was still grinning. He knew she thought he wasn’t the yoga type because he’s a burly brute.

He shrugged and sat back on the couch by her side. “I go to a class on Sunday mornings. My roommate joins me when he’s not too hangover.”

I could go with you. The words were in the tip of her tongue, but Aelin held back.

She knew her place in a man’s life after fucking for 10 weeks without even being asked on a date. And she was happy with it. Rowan was an incredible fuck buddy, and she had a boyfriend already to take to yoga classes. But like Rowan’s roommate, she didn’t know if Dorian could stay a single Sunday morning without being hangover, either. Or still at a party.

Who liked yoga, anyway?

Trying to erase her own thoughts, Aelin turned to straddle Rowan in one swift motion. She did her best to not let her self-consciousness show. She had been exercising like crazy, but didn’t seem to lose any weight. In fact, she’s been feeling bloated for a while now.

Fuck, Aelin really needed to stop thinking.

Rowan began trailing kissed down her neck, making her softly moan and search with her hips for his hardened bulge.

“I want to fuck you here. No yoga shit.”

Aelin didn’t see it coming, his hand slapping her ass so hard it sent shivers through her body. The hand on her hair slid to her throat, gently squeezing it again when he commanded, “You take what I give you, and you’ll like it. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” Aelin whimpered, and then moaned when he slid his cock between her folds to press against her clit.

It was so good it could be a crime, the way Rowan made her feel. How he knew exactly what to say in bed and every trick to make her scream.

Right now, this was exactly what she needed.

˜˜

Aelin kept telling herself that today’s test was a given, and that she could endure worse than this. Dorian kept telling her that it’s okay to be and act nervous before her test.

Truth was, fighting him and insisting she wasn’t edgy was very effective at distracting her from the real thing. Now that her boyfriend was waiting outside while she waited for her second physical test in the Air Force, it felt a lot more real.

It consisted of two parts, some bureaucratic blood tests and tox screens and then being cleared to do the actual test.

Aelin was on a row with the other people from her class, entering the room where it was going to happen, when someone stopped her.

“Wait there. Galathynius, right?” The flat and rough voice came from Captain Salvaterre, the coordinator of her program. He frowned at the clipboard and wrote something down before looking back at her. “You’re not cleared to do the physical test. You’ll get more info via email later.”

Aelin didn’t move. Eyes widened, mind blank. What the fuck just happened?

“Bye, Galathynius,” Salvaterre dismissed her.

“Wait,” Aelin blurted, mind still short-circuiting. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Don’t care either. The doctor didn’t clear you to do the exam, and now you’re holding up the line.”

Her eyebrows squished together. Why would the doctor do that? “Can I at least talk to them?”

“Look, I won’t let you bother the doctor just because you smoked some weed or whatever and got caught.”

“Excuse me?” Aelin hissed.

Salvaterre sighed. “Most people that fail this step do it because of the tox screen. I don’t give a fuck about what you do on your free time, just don’t bother the doctor over this shit. It’s done.”

“What? I don’t do drugs!”

He didn’t look convinced.

“I mean it.” Aelin raised an eyebrow. “I could be dying. I could die right now without knowing what’s wrong.”

Salvaterre rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

She followed his instructions to where to find the doctor, her mind racing all the time. Since it was their mistake, maybe she could reschedule the test. Sure, Aelin had been feeling tired and drained all the time, but it was because of her exhausting training. Apart from that, she knew she was on her prime. This was surely a mistake.

Aelin knocked three times at the door and went inside before the doctor could tell her to come in. If she did it fast enough, maybe there could be time for her to rejoin her class and do the test.

The doctor was a kind-looking older woman. Files, probably everyone’s exams surrounded her, but she looked calm in the middle of that chaos.

“Oh, hello, there!” She grinned. “How can I help you?”

She shook the doctor’s hand and rushed to sit on the chair in front of her. “Hi. My name’s Aelin Galathynius. I didn’t get cleared to do the physical test, so—“

“I’m on it.” She quickly found Aelin’s file and smiled when she opened it.

Aelin frowned. What was she smiling at?

”I couldn’t let you go in there, dear,” the doctor explained, “These tests are ruthless, especially when you’re new. All your exams look great, but it’s too physically straining and risky for any pregnant woman.“ She smiled. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“Wait. No. I’m going there. What in—“

Wait a fucking minute

Did she say pregnant?

Aelin cleared her throat. “There must be something wrong. You’re sure this exam isn’t someone else’s?”

The woman handed her the paper, jaw dropped. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know—“

“Holy shit,” Aelin interrupted, not really caring about anything else right now. Too stunned to remember that she was cursing at her soon-to-be workplace.

Her eyes were frozen on the same few lines.

PATIENT: AELIN ASHRYVER GALATHYNIUS

BETA HCG QUANTITATIVE

TEST VALUE: 91350 mIU/mL

P.S. POSITIVE

What the actual fuck?

Aelin just stared with a slack jaw, eyes glued to the paper.

Dorian had a vasectomy, and she only had unprotected sex once this year. Way more than once actually, but all on the same evening. Does Rowan have a vasectomy? Is he the vasectomy type?

For the first time of her life, Aelin cursed herself for not keeping good track of her period. She just marked the first day she bled on the app and forgot it existed until the next month.

Aelin snatched her phone from the purse, frantically opening the period app.

She felt the ground falling underneath her feet.

There were signs everywhere telling her period was late. Months late. The most neglected app on her phone had been trying to tell her the most important thing of her life for months.

Aelin sighed and held her head in her hands, trying to make sense of something she already knew was true. Her last period had been almost three months ago, a little before her unprotected sex with Rowan, at the very beginning of her training.

She cursed math for never lying.

Getting up, Aelin snapped a picture of the exam and gave it back to the doctor, mumbling a thick “Thanks, good morning.”

She walked that familiar path with no destination in mind. Aelin had nowhere to go now that she wasn’t doing the test. She tried to process this, but wasn’t processing nothing at all.

She was pregnant. Baby. Diapers. Cries. Big, big belly. Milk. Milk and money, actually. Babies required milk as much as they required money.

Money wasn’t an issue. At least Aelin was a doctor.

If she was keeping the baby, Aelin thought, but soon brushed it off. She wanted this. Twenty-seven isn’t too young to be a mom, right?

Fuck, she’s going to be a mom. No, not fuck. Good. This was good news. Scary too.

She also needed to move out. Uncle Orlon and Darrow never wanted kids, raising her and Aedion after Aelin’s parents died was enough on them. She didn’t want her kid to be a burden.

Her and Rowan’s. Way to go, being knocked up by a brute she barely knew.

Rowan did not look like the nurturing dad type, at least not by the way he acted around his students. Aelin cringed. Would he be too hard on her kid?

If he wanted the kid, she couldn’t forget. There was a good chance he won’t want the baby, considering that: (a) he’s a man, (b) their history, or lack thereof.

A hand wrapped around her elbow, making her jerk and go stiff.

It was just Dorian, though. Looking around, it looked like her aimless wandering led her to the room she left him in.

“That was quick,” her boyfriend said. “How was it?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“We need to talk,” Aelin blurted.

She pulled a confused-looking Dorian to his car until they were seated with the doors closed. She showed him the picture of the exam and waited for his answer. And waited. And waited until she was wriggling in her seat, trying to get a better look at his dumbfounded face.

“Wow,” he breathed, and turned to face her. “What are we doing about this?”

We.

That word alone almost broke her heart.

“You know it’s not yours, Dor.”

“It’s Hot Lieutenant’s?”

Aelin nodded.

He had a small, sad smile on his face. “But we’re a team, remember?”

She swallowed, chest constricting. God, this was hard. Aelin already knew what she had to do, but it didn’t make it any easy.

“We are, but this isn’t a quick fix. It’d mean no quiet time, no free time, vomit all over your expensive furniture…”

Dorian took a deep breath. “You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

Aelin nodded, clamping her lips together. “You don’t want to change your entire lifestyle for a kid that isn’t even yours, Dor.”

He didn’t answer. Just nodded, resigned. They knew they weren’t the one for each other, but that didn’t mean they wanted to break up now. The situation required, though. Aelin’s relationship with Dorian was based on fun and friendship, and throwing a baby in the mix wasn’t a good fit. Besides, he didn’t want a kid. He has a vasectomy for a reason.

Dorian cradled her face with both hands, looking her deep into her eyes. “I might not be your baby daddy, but I’m going to be the best damn uncle this kid will ever have, okay? I promise.” He brushed off a few rogue tears from her face. ”I love you, Aelin. Whatever happens, you’re not alone.”

Her hands wrapped around his torso, not caring that she was dampening his designer shirt with tears. “I love you, Your Magnanimous Holiness.” She felt his chest faintly shake with what would’ve been a full laugh any other time. “You’re still my best friend.”

Dorian kissed the crown of her head. “I better be. You’ll always be my best friend, Ace.”

They stayed a long time like this, Aelin taking deep breaths while he hugged her and played with her hair. It was nice, even with the bittersweet mood that lingered.

˜˜

Aelin woke up at her actual house this Saturday morning, which was odd. She usually spent weekends at Dorian’s, and even if they decided to stay friends after the breakup, she needed time alone to think.

She was pregnant.

Her first trimester flew by, and she had missed every single sign of it. Sure, she was feeling tired and had some cramps, but these were a few of the things she was shrugging off and assuming it meant something else. But Aelin knew better now.

She had so much to figure out it was making her dizzy, so her only goal this weekend was to not freak out completely.

One thing at a time, like her old therapist taught her.

On Monday, she’d make an appointment at the OBGYN and tell Rowan. Just find him on base during lunch or after work and rip the band-aid off, no expectations.

Aelin was giving her damn best to calm her heartbeat and not think about what would happen after that.

The smell of barbecue dragged Aelin out of her room, and hopefully it’d be a good distraction from all this.

Everyone was chatting in the backyard. She didn’t know when Aedion got here, but he was sitting with Uncle Orlon and Philippa, the housekeeper, while Darrow manned the grill.

Her heart squeezed to see her family like this. She wondered how much it’d change, after Little One was here.

“There she is!” Aedion beamed. “I thought I’d only see you at dinnertime, Ace.”

“Overslept.” She shrugged, feeling her stomach getting queasy just to think of the reason she stayed in bed more than usual.

“Is Dorian coming today?” Philippa asked. “I made that berry pie he likes.”

Aelin swallowed. It’d be easier to get this over with, so she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and announced, “Dorian and I broke up.”

The uncomfortable silence and everyone looking at each other without knowing what to say didn’t last long.

“Oh, thank God.” Uncle Orlon’s shoulders dropped and he sighed in relief. Aelin gaped, mind blank for a second. When he read her expression, he continued, “What? I like the kid, but he’s too unserious for you, Fireheart.”

She sagged back in her chair. Aelin wanted to argue, but her uncle was right. She always knew Dorian wasn’t the one, even if she enjoyed their relationship.

“What did he do?” Aedion snarled, arms crossed while he carefully studied his cousin.

“He didn’t do anything.” Aelin took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to drop. “We broke up because I’m pregnant.”

The only sound was her cousin squeezing his beer can with his hand until it was completely crushed, its contents spilling onto the table.

“He did what?” Aedion hissed through his teeth, and it was only then that she noticed everyone was intently looking at her, their faces somewhere between concern and something murderous.

Oh, fuck. Aelin really had a way of putting her foot in her mouth sometimes, didn’t she?

“It’s not his!” She blurted before anyone started overreacting. “Dorian’s not the father.”

“Oh, honey.” Philippa’s eyes were soft, understanding. “Did you cheat on him?”

“No. Hmm.” Aelin scratched the back of her head, feeling her whole face flush. God, this wasn’t a conversation she’d like to have in a room full of old people. “We weren’t exclusive. We could see other people while dating each other.”

Aedion didn’t seem impressed, but Orlon’s eyes were bulging out. Darrow was carefully silent.

“Is it a new kink?” Philipps wrinkled her nose. “Being cheated on.”

“It’s not like that!” Aelin groaned while holding her face with both hands.

“Honey…” Orlon took her hand, brows furrowed with concern while he struggled to say whatever he was thinking. “Do you at least know who the father is?”

“Of course I do!” She blurted, cheeks flaming as she dropped his hand. Aelin wasn’t easily embarrassed, but discussing her sex life with her great-uncle was not on her bucket list.

Everyone was silent, waiting for her to drop this piece of information.

“I haven’t told him yet. I’m not sure you know him, but promise you won’t say anything?”

Everyone nodded. She took a deep breath.

“It’s Lieutenant Whitethorn.”

“WHITETHORN?” Darrow screeched. “ROWAN WHITETHORN?”

Aelin froze. They did know him, after all.

Darrow ran inside the house and Orlon went after him, always the peacemaker. All things considered, she was thankful they didn’t have any guns, even though they could for being in the military.

“At least he’s hot,” Aedion acknowledged around a bite of garlic bread after a small stretch of silence.

Aelin groaned. “You know him too?”

“We did basic training together, and I think he went to Darrow’s section right after. Cool dude.”

“You’re not mad?” She eyed him warily.

“I’m happy for you, Ace. I will go for his head depending on what he says to you, though.” Aelin snorted. That sounded like her cousin. He continued, “But I need a cute niece or nephew to impress the ladies.”

“You are not using my kid to pick up women.”

“Not any women.” He leaned back, a lazy grin on his face. “MILFs.”

Aelin was about to say something about how disgusting her cousin was when a loud noise interrupted them.

Through the window, she could see Darrow holding a sword the military required them to have for some special ceremonies. Orlon was holding his own by the door, probably telling his husband to not threaten Rowan with it.

Considering that Rowan most likely also had a sword and definitely lived somewhere in this same village, she wouldn’t put past Darrow to find him and actually start a sword fight.

Aelin got up from her chair, ready to stop this nonsense. That’s the problem with her family, it’s full of overprotective men. They even have the medieval weapons, for Mala’s sake.

˜˜

Aelin clicked on the side button of her phone just once, to stop ringing.

“Do you want to take it? I can come back in a few,” The waitress asked.

“No need. I’ll have two of today’s specials, a diet coke and a non-alcoholic beer, please.” Aelin forced a smile.

On the table, her phone still showed a picture of Rowan and their daughter together, their smiles so big it was almost blinding. On the bottom of the screen, the choice to still take the call or refuse it altogether.

When it went off and he didn’t call again, Aelin let out a long breath.

Her relationship with Rowan got a lot more pacific after his trip to the hospital. It lasted less than two days.

Something eased inside Aelin’s chest when her cousin stomped inside the restaurant while looking for her. Aedion had many skills, but he had never been exactly a graceful person, Aelin mused with a small smile when he accidentally bumped his hip against one table.

They were on their lunch break, and while meeting at the restaurant nearby was nice, doing it for the third time this week was not in Aelin’s plans. At least not when she could eat for free at the Air Force’s mess hall.

But she would never deny lunch to her hurting cousin. Besides, Elide texted her saying they were serving fish today, and it wasn’t good. The food at the mess hall was a box full of surprises. It could be anywhere between unbelievably good and absolute shit.

“I see you’re still avoiding Kyllian,” she prompted.

Aedion didn’t answer, and he was saved by the waitress coming with their drinks. He and his now ex-boyfriend had been on a rough patch these last few months, and Kyllian being called upon to relocate to Mistward was their last straw. Apparently, Aelin would be helping her cousin avoid his ex at base until he moved.

“Seriously, Ace? This tastes like shit.” Aedion grimaced at his non-alcoholic beer.

“I’m not letting you get back at work drunk. And it’s on me today.” Aelin eyed her cousin warily. “Only because you look terrible.”

That damn ringtone started playing again. Her phone was on the table, so both Ashryver cousins stared at the picture of Rowan and Maisie. She pressed the side button again.

“You’re not gonna answer that?” Aedion asked.

Aelin squared her shoulders. “I’m already answering that, by silently telling him to give me space and respect my boundaries.”

“It could be important.”

“It’s really not.”

Aedion rolled his eyes and swiftly snatched her phone from the table. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

He hummed and nodded for a few seconds, then turned to Aelin. “Rowan wants to know what you packed for Maisie’s lunch today. He called in the morning to remind you she had a tummy ache yesterday, but you didn’t answer.”

Aelin ground her teeth together. Like she wouldn’t remember her own daughter was sick. What kind of mom did he think she was?

“Tell him to fuck off,” Aelin spit out.

Aedion sighed. “She told you to fuck off, man.”

Her cousin hummed again, then his eyes lit up and he perked up. “That’s so cool! Wait a second.”

He asked Aelin, “Did you read his texts about soccer classes?”

She gripped her diet coke with a little too much force, trying not to snap at her cousin. Aedion winced before Aelin even opened her mouth, reading her too well.

“I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now, man.” A pause. “Speaking about soccer, do you wanna watch the game on Sunday?” Aedion frowned and leaned back on the chair. “Come on, man, you have to. You know I’m on a post-breakup slump.”

Whatever Rowan told him made Aedion gape. He turned to Aelin. “You didn’t tell him Kyllian and I broke up?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not friends with Rowan, Aed. We only talk about Maisie.”

Aedion sighed, said goodbye and promised to text him about Sunday’s game.

After he gave her the phone back, her cousin said, “I don’t know what happens between you and Rowan that makes your relationship so bad.”

Aelin ground her teeth together, refusing to answer.

He wouldn’t have it, though. “He’s a good man. An even better dad. Your family loves him. For someone who got pregnant out of a hookup, you did pretty great, Ace.”

“Can we change the subject?”

He drew in a long breath and let it go. Anyone close to her knew The Rowan Conversation was absolutely fruitless.

“I vote for soccer.”

Oh, great. He stopped talking about her least favorite subject of all time, introducing this week’s least favorite subject.

“Thank God you’re not her parent, then.”

”Ouch.” Aedion held a hand against his chest in mock-offense. “I’ll be a great dad.”

She snorted. “You’ll be a pain in your kids’ ass.”

“Take it back!” He exclaimed, gaping.

“Don’t you dare forget how you scared away every boyfriend I had in high school!”

“I was saving your sorry ass from those assholes, that is.”

This time, Aelin gave him a full laugh. She was kind of a dipshit magnet during her teenage years, her cousin wasn’t completely wrong about that.

He continued, “I think Rowan is the only guy you dated that I actually like.” Well, that was a way to sober up the nice mood she just got in. Aelin glared at her cousin. Knowing what she was about to say, Aedion rolled his eyes and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, you two never dated. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” A pause. “I promise I’ll drop this, but I’m curious. Is there anything wrong with soccer practice, or you’re just picking a fight?”

“I don’t pick fights for no reason.”

Aedion raised an eyebrow. She frowned at him.

She did not. All of her fights with Rowan were absolutely unavoidable.

Aelin shrugged. “Soccer’s lame.”

“Stop lying.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re not crazy about it, but you like soccer.”

Aelin wanted to punch that know-it-all expression out of his face.

He didn’t move, waiting for her answer.

She squinted her eyes at him.

He looked absolutely unimpressed, keeping eye contact until he won that battle of wills.

“Fine,” Aelin grumbled as she roller her eyes and sagged in her seat.

“And?”

“I’m too cool to be a soccer mom.”

Aedion barked a laugh, head tilted up before he looked her in the eye again. “You’re joking, right?”

“I’m really not. Have you seen those soccer mom tiktoks?” This wasn’t nearly as funny as her cousin thought.

“You’re okay with putting your body through excruciating pain and cleaning explosive diarrhea, but you draw the line at becoming a soccer mom?”

“Yes.”

He guffawed again, now drawing the attention of the people from the surrounding tables. Aelin just sat there, trying not to smile at her cousin’s dramatic reaction and waiting for him to come back.

Her grin widened when the waitress came with their lunch before she got hangry. Aedion could be absolutely insufferable sometimes, but he deserved good company.

Aelin cleared her throat. “Did you buy a new washing machine?”

His broke down this week, and Philippa kept complaining about Aedion’s lack of laundry skills over and over after the one time he washed his clothes at Orlon’s, two days ago.

“Nope, I’m trying to fix it again tomorrow.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Like when you ‘fixed’ your ceiling fan and now it only works with the lights on?”

He stuffed his mouth with food and refused to answer.

Aelin continued, “You need to stop finding random things in your house to fix and find another boyfriend. Or girlfriend, whatever. You’re pathetic when you’re single.”

“YoU’rE pATHeThIc wHeN yOu’RE sinGLe,” Aedion mimicked with a high-pitched voice.

She rolled her eyes and set an alarm for when her lunchtime would need to end. It might be an Ashryver thing, but it was really easy to lose track of time when she had so many things to bicker about with her cousin.

˜˜

The floor was so shiny Aelin could barely believe most of the people inside this building were kids.

It better be, she thought when she remembered the price tag that came with it. Maisie better go straight to college after finishing preschool, because it was really hard to believe Aelin and Rowan were paying that much for their kid to learn letters and count to 20.

She took a deep breath. Aelin would pay as much as she could if it meant her daughter wouldn’t be yelled at. This was better than the Air Force school, even if was a much longer drive from home.

After last week’s incident, Uncle Orlon told them to file a formal complaint and let him deal with the rest. By the look on his face, Lieutenant Valg would not go unpunished, and this was enough. Aelin couldn’t do anything more without facing consequences because of her rank, so now she wanted to focus on the present. Which now meant Maisie’s teacher, that she was about to meet.

She heard hurried footsteps on one side of the hall and thanked Mala it was Rowan.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not too late, am I?”

Her eyes zeroed on what he was wearing, though.

“Seriously? You didn’t even change out of the uniform?”

“I don’t have a whole team of co-workers ready to cover for me,” Rowan sneered.

Yes, he did. He swapped schedules with Fenrys all the time.

Aelin rolled her eyes. “It’s not like your job is hard.”

“Excuse me?” He snarled.

“And you don’t even do it well! There’s so many ways to torture a eighteen-year-old, and you choose push-ups? Seriously?”

They heard a loud throat clearing and whipped towards the sound. It was a brunette holding a binder, wearing a long dress and sneakers.

“You’re Maisie’s parents, right?” She shook both of their hands. “I’m Borte Arcas, her teacher.”

It was like Aelin’s whole face was lighting on fire. Of all the ways this introduction could’ve gone, being caught mid-fight was not one she hoped for.

They didn’t get the chance to properly meet the teacher the day they enrolled Maisie here, this Monday, because her daughter was only supposed to get to know the school. But when Mais saw her cousin through the class’ window, she walked in without asking and decided she was staying. Just like that. Later that day, the teacher sent an email introducing herself, leaving her phone number if they needed anything, and inviting both of them to meet on Friday, after she got to know Maisie a little better.

And there they were, sitting side by side in a large office while Ms. Arcas turned the AC on in front of them.

“Do you need anything?” She asked. “Water, coffee, cappuccino…”

“A cappuccino would be great.” Aelin gave her a small smile.

The teacher turned to Rowan. “You?”

“Just water, thanks.”

After everything was settled, Ms. Arcas spent some time getting to know them before discussing Maisie. She was getting more comfortable with the class each day, loved story time, took part in group games. It was good for the ego, hearing the teacher talk about her daughter this way. Not that Aelin didn’t know already that her daughter is awesome, but her chest was bursting with pride right now.

Mais was only a little behind on reading compared to her classmates, but Ms. Arcas said this isn’t a big concern yet because every kid has their own timing.

She closed the binder with Maisie’s info. “There’s only two more things I wanted to discuss...” she bit her lip. “This week, during one activity, Maisie said that her favorite drink is wine.”

“What?” Aelin blurted, feeling her cheeks redden and Rowan’s shocked gaze on her. “It’s not! It’s…” one deep, long breath followed by a nervous smile. She was going to kill her daughter.

“Sometimes Maisie sees me drinking wine. Not every day, and not too much, really. Just a glass.” She grimaced. “Maybe two. Anyway.”

Aelin scratched the back of her head, wondering if she was digging a hole for herself. She didn’t care about what people thought of her wine habits, but wanted to make a good impression on Maisie’s teacher.

She continued, “Sometimes she asks to drink too, it ends with huge meltdown, so one day I gave her grape juice and told her it’s wine. She loves it. We sip together.”

Rowan’s head whipped towards her, eyes wide. “You lie to her?”

“You give her fruit and tell it’s dessert,” Aelin argued.

The teacher cleared her throat again. Loudly.

“Sorry,” they mumbled under their breaths.

Ms. Arcas looked at her watch. “I just need her to not influence other kids to drink ‘wine’. The last thing I wanted to talk about before we wrap this up…” she took some sheets of paper from the binder and spread them on the desk between them.

“Maisie seems pretty fond of drawing.”

“Especially on my walls,” Rowan said between a small smile. 

The teacher nodded. “Have you tried to analyze them?”

Aelin frowned. “We do that thing where we comment on them so she feels seen.”

“That’s really good.” Ms. Arcas nodded, brows furrowed. “But some drawing of her really brought to my attention—”

“Is this her riding a dog?” Aelin took one sheet of paper from the table to examine it closer.

Rowan scooted closer, frowning. “I think it’s a unicorn. Look at the horn.”

Aelin sighed affectionately, heart warming just to see her daughter’s drawing. “She does have an artist’s soul, doesn’t she?”

Rowan smiled. “She’s a little Picasso.”

Ms. Arcas watched their interruption with a polite smile before continuing, “You know, kids draw about what they see, so sometimes the drawings tell us a lot about what’s going on inside their heads. So I brought these she made this week…” the teacher reorganized the drawings, placing most of them back in a pile and putting another few in evidence.

“These are…” Aelin tilted her head. The sticky figures looked a bit scary in them, but she couldn’t quite place what was wrong with them.

“Every time Maisie draws you two together, you seem angry. This one, for example,” Ms. Arcas explained while showing them, “You both have your mouths open, hands up. And do you see how big you two look? You’re taking most of the page, while Maisie herself looks very tiny here in the corner.” 

Aelin felt like time stopped, her entire world freezing and narrowing down to that drawing.

It couldn’t be.

Maisie knew that she and Rowan weren’t friends, but she wouldn’t have picked up that much, right?

“As you can see, this hostile environment is a recurrent theme. I talked about it with Maisie, though is not uncommon to see kids drawing such things,“ the teacher went on, “But I think this might be a reason to that delay in her reading skills we talked about.”

“You told us it’s normal,” Aelin insisted, defeated yet defensive.

“It is for some kids, but it also could be related,” she softly explained.

“So, you mean…” Rowan looked down, furrowing. He rubbed his likely sweaty hands against the front of his pants before looking back at the teacher. “I’m not sure I’m following.”

She gave him a weak smile before confirming, “I’m just letting you know that Maisie is aware of your hostility towards each other, and it may be affecting her performance at school.”

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[jojosito]

Ok so i nees your thoughts on red hair ascention izou x mori I feel like you'd have the best takes on them!!

Aw, thanks! 💖 I absolutely love red Izou and I think Mori-kun would like him very much too.

Like, even in their friendship stage he would be quick to point out how they're matching and how red suits him well. Meanwhile, Izou would dismiss his comments in an attempt to hide how he's enjoying the attention. He's lucky his face is covered cuz Naga would notice it right away.

In fgo they tend to use second ascension Izou when they want to show he's going all out in a fight, so I think Naga would find him particularly fun to watch when he's like that. My headcanon is that he already has a blast when he see Izou fighting (or when they spar), because of all the tricks he pulls and the sword techniques he replicates. Add the flashy outfit and the extra focus and you'll get Naga mesmerized with every glimpse he can catch.

I'll leave this excerpt from one of the fics I started last year cuz I think it sums up this idea:

At first, he didn't recognize who this 'reinforcement' was, but once the figure sprung into action it became clear. Each movement swift and precise, but at the same time fluid and ever-changing. Unrestricted by a single style of swordplay.

He had been witness to this dance before, but never like this. Never under the moonlight, performed by this shadow, this specter with hair and eyes as red as the blood spilling with each thrust of his blade, blooming around it like spider lilies.

Many would consider it gruesome, he was sure. But for Nagayoshi only one word could describe the scene:

Breathtaking.

Another headcanon I love is Naga noticing Izou's hands also turn red and wanting to take a closer look. Of course he does it and Izou gets flustered about it, but he doesn't pull his hand away (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

I think he would also have fun playing with Izou's kasa, tilting it down to annoy him and such.

In my mind Nagayoshi is very touchy so he won't miss the chance of messing Izou's hair when it's longer and red. He would run his hand through it too, and Izou absolutely melts with that <3

As I said, Izou loves the attention even if he tries to hide it at first, but I also think it would get to him in a deeper level. To me, the ghost of Tosa is an identity that kinda reflects how Izou feels estranged from the world around him. Everything is changing and he can't follow along, there's nothing left for him but to cling to a past where being a skilled swordman is enough, where being good at killing is enough. He got fear and admiration, but in the end the world showed him there's no place for ghosts in it. Cue in Nagayoshi, who praises him when he puts on that mask, who makes him feel like they're on the same page, like he is enough... I don't know if I'm making sense here sgsjvdsj I just feel very strongly about the sense of belonging they would get from each other, from how the other would embrace the aspects of who they are that everyone else has told them are wrong.

Back to silly headcanons (this one is the silliest one I have), I think at some point Naga would start wondering if the carpet matches the curtains when Izou's hair changes color with his ascensions. When he finds out he actually lets out an "It matches :0!!!". Izou wants to kill him cndjxncjx.

Anyways, these are most of my thoughts about them ♥️ thanks for letting me ramble!

[windblume-wishes]

For more TWST Shenanigans please join the Discord Server!

𝕃𝕖𝕥’𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖…

Epel Felmier - Apple Child (Head Canons)

Epel has had more than his fair share of trips to the nurses office due to being rough and rowdy in PE- the amount of times he’s scratched up his elbows and knees or bloodied his little nose is enough to give Vil grey hair and a heart attack.

Despite being a rough and tough country boy, he is genuinely very gentle at heart and befriends animals easily.

He has a special affinity for bunnies, they are practically drawn to him.

Sometimes when he’s all alone he hums a small song from home, his grandmother taught him “I’m Wishing” and he hums it whenever he misses his MeeMaw.

He sleeps looking like a baby, both of his fists are loose by his face with one clutching his poison apple pillow. Do NOT say he looks cute- like a kitten he will bite!

Epel = Spicy Kitten with extra ferocious murder mittens.

The quilt on his bed was made by his grandmum for him when he was younger and he has not parted with it since.

Much like Riddle, he has been called every short person nickname there is.

He is very much like a bunny, he will get all thumpy when he is angry.

Very, and I mean very squishy face!!

He has called Vil “mum” more than once and is absolutely embarrassed by the fact he’s done it without thinking. (Vil takes that as a compliment)

After what happened at STYX, Epel was quite honestly traumatized and never wanted to part from Vil’s side for at least a week or two after the situation. Vil even caught Epel outside his door one morning fast asleep, he could not help but awe at the sight and feel his heart break a bit at the sight knowing how Epel felt.

Epel secretly admires the Fairest Princess (Snow White) and adores how she, like his MeeMaw, can bake amazing pies.

Flexes his muscles in front of the mirror every morning just to see if he got stronger.

Measures himself constantly to see if he’s gotten a growth spurt.

Once he ate so much meat that he got a major stomach ache, he learned his lesson- only for a little while…

Epel has come back to Pomefiore looking like an absolute mess because he decided to be a little rough on his broom and ended up taking a mud bath. Vil was furious with him for that.

Epel calls his grandmother and family before bedtime just so he can hear their voices.

Epel gets along well with Silver, he’s even asked Silver for help in learning to use a sword because he wants to become stronger and manlier. Silver just is happy to have a new training partner.

He is Vil’s favourite whether he likes it or not.

He has accidentally called Rook “dad”.

Epel has a really hard time falling asleep again if he has a nightmare and will suffer eye bags and exhaustion because of it.

His worst nightmare ever was from when he was a child and he ate a poison apple in his dream, that nightmare comes back to haunt him on occasion.

Despite hating his adorableness, Epel is a master of the “puppy eyes” and uses them from time to time if he really, really wants something.

Sometimes he hums a tune when he cleans or does chores.

Ticklish on his feet and underarms. Tickle him and you will hear the wildest laughter in all of Twisted Wonderland.

His Bath and Body Works scent is either Whiskey Reserve or Champagne Apple & Honey (or anything in the fall collection)

He has a candy and beef jerky stash under his bed.

[katyspersonal]

I don't believe I am going to make much SOTE progress today, especially since this traitor @fantomette22 is apparently asleep/busy and can't help me right now -_- So yeah, some extra stuff before bed

1) It is interesting to think of an implication of this item.. damn, apparently there WILL be places where you are stuck but can't teleport or something? :p Okay then.. Sacrificial Twig + this shit it is, then?

2) They continue with the "monkeys are trying to comprehend magic" lore!

! Onze is the Demihuman swordsman I fought in the Belurat Gaol earlier! The sword is dropped by a Demihuman Queen you fight in Cerulean Coast! I mean, yeah, even in the base game there was a Demihuman in Weeping Penunsula who used a Glintstone Staff, but damn..

3) Miyazaki: Yeah DLC area map will be like the size of Limgrave :)

Also Miyazaki:

Me: Girl you ok? 💀💀💀

4) I love the woman with Sulyvahn's blades, but I can't defeat the woman with Sulyvahn's blades ;-;

Maybe eventually.....

5) WAIT gdhyyf it is like, a symbol of moon and flame or something?????

This is adorable gfhgfhgggb I know it makes sense, but aww

6) I already screamed about it at Fantomette, but

HOLY SHIIIIIT SHE WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABOUT DRAGONS FASCISM THIS WHOLE TIME WHEN WE QUESTIONED WHY WOULD DRAGON COMMUNION BE A THING IF GODWYN BEFRIENDED ANCIENT DRAGONS THE ANSWER IS THAT ANCIENT DRAGONS FUCKING HATED GREYOLL-TYPE DRAGONS I REPEAT THEY HATED THE "IMPURE" OFFSPRING OFF THEIR SPECIES WHAT THE FUUUUUCK AAAAAAA

7) There is a new Carian Knight! And it is a big deal since they were "no more than a dozen"! Cool!!!

And it is a girl! However I am curious.. Moongrum, Moonrothyll... why their names start with 'moon'? Are they siblings? Or maybe Carian Knights had ancestry thing going on so those born with expectation to be raised as Carian Knight had 'moon' names in advance? Or they assume 'moon' name as new one upon entering a service (least likely since we already can recall exception)? Arghhhh

8) Okay this was actually an important one for me personally! So basically @jarognieva asked me whether I've met Queelign and I said I had no idea who it was. So greeeat, I've missed an invader -_- She said he was at Belurat and I checked but he never appeared, so I assumed he is one of those invaders that vanish after the boss of the area is defeated. (Who thought it was a good idea? I bet I've missed a cool drop... ;-; ) However, she added that he also invades in another place but she would not tell where! I didn't mind that and continued exploring the DLC as usual. So, after defeating that red bear beast at last (horaaaay!!!), I decided to check a distinct building on that map, and GUESS WHO I'VE MET?????

THE FUCKING GUY HIMSELF LOL!!! OF COURSE HE HAS A FUCKING PETRUS HAIRSTYLE LMAOOOOOOO GGJHJGJJ

So basically bro talked shit (that all 'graceless' shall meet death in Messmer's flame), that already made me REALLY want to kill him as if this cursed hairstyle wasn't enough gghghg . And he also called us 'graceless heathen' upon death lol. But it ACTUALLY clicked when he dropped an item, like:

Okay all 6 of you already had enough of my lunatic ravings about how much I abhor this specific type of attitude, as well as my theories on Messmer's motivations being rooted in purism of religious kind when anon asked about my expectations for him (I haven't met him yet so schhhh). But it is.. more than that. Miyazaki hates this sort of people too, especially he consistenyly bullies clerics in his works. Just.. read this description

Like not only this gave me some STRONG hatred for this character already, but also reminded me of one of the reasons I ended up loving Miyazaki's works so much to begin with. Shit like this just makes me feel understood, and without exagerration, reading this gave me HUMANITY RESTORED effect after I was feeling low because of a certain spoiler 😔 Honestly.. I don't care how many dramatic blonde twinks he will do dirty with a random plot twist, but as long as he addresses his disdain for this kind of people in his works I'll always love his games. Like I know it sounds oddly emotional but you need to be familiar with his other works to understand vfhgjbghb My faith in him as a creator straight up got restored, it is a personal detail for me!

9) So I figured that Ascetics are dropping pieces of their set.. I had suspicions, yeah, but now I am just sad ggjhhhjj I don't want to grind these guys *ends up doing it anyway probably*

10) For some reason I am starting to really like that hornsent guy who drafts maps of Miquella's crosses! Knowing Soulsborne tho I guess I just need to wait for something bad to happen to him -_-

11) Some people (all two of them) legit thank me for showing these item descriptions because they can't play the DLC themselves, but the players they watch don't stop to read items lore! Okay.... I guess I'll continue, heheh;

[lavender-bundle-blithe]

BSD + Pokemon Pt. 2 (Guild + Special Division + Extras)

Yo. I'm back. XD And I have moreeeee as well as some extra folks

Guild

Fitzgerald: Persian (Three words. Rich man vibes. Anyways.)

Louisa: Noctowl (Basic, I know, but it just feels fitting for her. Not to mention, the Pokemon twists its head 180 degrees to increase intellect, similar to Louisa able to use her ability to its fullest as long as she's alone in a private room. That, and owl, and she uses a quill to write. What's more to love? [sidenote, it's actually a pretty big birb, this birb's at least 5". *it's taller than me by an inch or two.*)

Margaret: Altaria (Margaret's ability is basically wind, Altaria might be the closest thing to something related to wind/the sky. And to be honest, I'm kinda proud of this one. I thought Margaret's was gonna be hard, but each time I keep thinking back to flying Pokemon, fluffy cloud birb came to mind and just "done. dusted. stop here, that one.")

Hawthorne: Aegislash (Not my best, once again. Given Hawthorne's ability and his person, I couldn't really find one best suited. Not to mention his ability is quite specific. So I had to go with the fact he could use his ability as bullets and a shield. Offense and defense? Why not change the bullet part to a sword? and boom, Aegislash.)

Twain: Swellow (At first I was gonna go with Talonflame, but then I saw Swellow. And then I keep running into more bird Pokemon. The only reason I stuck with Swellow was because [looks back at bulbapedia] yada yada yada- "It never misses its targets". Compliments his ability well.)

Steinbeck: Arboliva (Terrifying olive tree and the only one I could think of that could fit Steinbeck's ability. Siderant: I ran into these guys when I first played Pokemon Violet, and it was so ANNOYING. I hit it. It hits back. Harder. AND THEN IT SELFHEALS. "But Lavender, you could just run-" It was a trainer battle.)

Lovecraft: Tangrowth (Going with Lovecraft's... [looks at bsdwiki] uh- hm... non-ability, with him able to use his tentacles, Tangrowth does the same with their vines. And similar to the tentacles able to regenerate, Tangrowth losing their arms doesn't trouble them.)

Herman: Wailord (*Gestures at Moby Dick* Need I say more?)

Poe: Corvisquire ([ . . . ] Look it was either going to be a raccoon [Zigzagoon], a cat [none fit the "black cat" aesthetic except maybe Litten], or a bird [Corvisquire or Murkrow]. My guy already has Karl, he could be the Zigzagoon at default, and there are no Pokemon related to books hhhh, so he gets a bird.)

Lucy: Gothorita ([inhalesss] [exhalesss] My first choices was Banette. [looks at Q]. My second choise was Magearna. [looks further down this post]. Then I see Dollive. [Looks at Steinbeck's Arboliva]. Of all that I can manage through skimming serebii's national pokedex, I came across the Gothita line. At first, I felt bad that it was sort of a last ditch plan for Lucy, but looking at the two together, they sort of compliment each other? Maybe? And yes, Gothorita specifically.)

Special Division

Ango: Reuniclus (Just like Mori, I had trouble with this one, but in which aspect. His occupation or his ability. In the end, I grabbed a small aspect of his ability where it does quite the mental strain on him, and this Pokemon line [or rather the second evolution] has that brain aspect. Other than that, though, I have thought of Klefki [for some reason???], Munna/Musharna[what is with these pokemon-?], or just any psychic-type Pokemon.)

Tsujimura: Darkrai (Now I know what you're thinking. "WHY GIVE HER SOMETHING OVERPOWERED?" Well, not only is Tsujimura's ability Yesterday's Shadow Tag something similar when it comes to shadows and Darkrai *is* shadows, but the thought of it comes to the fact that she got her ability through her mother, just like Kyouka with Demon Snow. The idea of someone having such a powerful ability/Pokemon in their hands but is ultimately nerfed due to the fact they're inexperienced, or in Tsujimura's case, unable to control it.)

Taneda: Espeon (Don't know much about the man, but his ability lets him know the nature of another's ability upon its activation. So my guy rolls an active perception check. And of all that I've seen that could "sense intention" were either Raltz/Kirlia, Lucario, and Espeon. And I was tempted in choosing Espeon not by bias, but that they passively have perception check running [odd words there, friend-]. And ye owo)

Extra

Mushitarou: Phantump (Ignoing the Pokemon's pokedex and the implications of a Phantump coming to be, the little guy just keeps reminding me of Mushitarou's little ghost buddies of his Perfect Crime ability. So have the little guy. It he.)

Ayatsuji: Magearna (Yup, pulling these guys up. Again, I don't know much of the other light novels, but I knew enough by the fanwiki. And one thing in particular I noticed besides Ayatsuji being a detective was that he likes ball-jointed dolls. So, Magearna! And to be honest, this Pokemon was what I had in mind to give Lucy but... yeaaaahh that went well-)

Kyogoku: Ghastly (I went all out, 'cos I pulled up articles for this one. Not only is Kyogoku's ability "Possession Drop" said to be of a Yokai Possession, I went to see about Pokemon that are based off on Yokai. And it says here that Ghastly are based off from "Onibi" or just souls that turn into small flames that wander, detached from their bodies. And reading about Kyogoku, it makes sense. Oh, and that generally ghost-type Pokemon are capable in possessing people.)

Next up will likely be DOA and the Hunting Dogs with a few more extras weeeeeeee

[dragonner0]

Leshy - an Understanding

He hadn't quite had the time to think about it, but now he realized. He was near-enough invulnerable to any conventional means of war with his cataphract armor, his footsteps thundered in his wake, he could cut through most light armor with the Champion sword at his hip, and now, he could finally see again. He felt amazing, but there was a part of him that whispered something he couldn't quite discern.

Leshy felt like a god again, and yet something was missing. But what?

He was contemplating that question when he was approached by Emanuel. "May I sit here?" He asked, gesturing to the seat Leshy's legs covered.

Leshy hummed, then grunted and shifted so that he was sitting upright. "Seat's open," he said.

Emanuel didn't like him. He knew that. They tolerated each other, if only because there were only eleven or so people in their settlement, but the fire-loving yellow cat would much rather sit with someone other than Leshy, if the other couch cushions weren't bein replaced after a mold problem. He'd never said why. To be fair, one could easily infer.

Emanuel opened his book, the title reading simply "the Kindly Panda" at the top of a simple cover. There were several bookmarks in it, Emanuel's being a fiery orange-yellow at about the halfway mark.

"Is it good?" Leshy asked absentmindedly. His own bookmark was sitting in one of the tomes on the bookshelf, but he really wasn't a big reader. The tomes were weird, anyways.

Emanuel didn't answer for a second, but eventually said, "it's the best we've got. Which isn't much."

Leshy merely hummed, tapping his foot lightly. The two of them were silent for a long time, then a lifter rolled up next to Emanuel and set a small note in his lap. The worm apparently didn't get to see what the note said, but he was pretty sure he saw a list and some coordinates.

Whatever it was, Emanuel sighed in annoyance and put his bookmark back in the book. "The one time I get to rest," he said, patting the small mechanoid as he stood. "Oh no, we can't just make some vegetarian meals for a while, no. We need to get meat and keep hunting and never stop, not even when we're exhausted, because we're out of steel and we're-"

"Would you like a companion?"

Emanuel stopped in the middle of his spiel. "I- you're offering to accompany me?" He asked, staring bewildered at the worm.

Leshy shrugged. "I don't have much else to do."

Emanuel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, of course you don't. Why would you. You're our friendly neighborhood cataphract, of course."

"I have a champion sword," Leshy offered, patting the grip at his waist. "Plus, a fresh extra pair of eyes has to count for something, doesn't it?"

Emanuel stared for a few seconds, then sighed. "Let me get my gun first. Then you can go mess around in the snow with your blasted sword."

>---

As it turns out, giving a man a sword that can cut through nearly anything without substantial armor is a great way to keep them from shutting up. This was sis fifth - or perhaps it was sixth - time asking Emanuel if he could just run in and use his sword.

"For the last time, no," the yellow cat said, exhausted already. "Your big, heated sword will probably burn up all the good meat. I, on the other hand, intend to be precise with my shots."

"Yes, because your exploding gyrojets will be so much better at preserving your game's condition," Leshy teased, grinning beneath his helmet.

"I have accuracy and well-laid traps on my side," Emanuel said in return, focusing back in on the sights of his LMG. "Gyrojets are instant and deadly, unlike your sword, and I can know exactly how it will affect the victim." As he said that, he let loose a couple rounds, three of which sent wood chips and soil scattered along the snow, and the fourth went straight into it's target - a stallion - exploding in its chest.

"My, such good preservation of meat," Leshy mocked when the sound of small explosions stopped echoing between the mountains. "We could definitely salvage... a couple legs from that. So long as Heket remembers her centuries of practice butchering, at least."

Emanuel growled, but stood to collect his kill anyways. "I was trying to scare it further into the trees," he said, slinging his weapon around his back. "Every time I want to hit something I barely hit my mark, but the moment I'm not shooting to kill... lamb damn it."

"I would've done better with a sword," Leshy mused.

That was Emanuel's snapping point. "Oh, well I'm sorry big guy, but I don't know if you noticed, but I'm the one hunting and you are the one who decided to stick along, so could you please either-" He stopped for a moment. "Actually, why am I offering you to stay? Go back to the temple, worm. And stay there."

"Eh, the temple's noisy," Leshy said simply. "I prefer it out here."

"I did not offer you to go back I told you," Emanuel hissed. "Go do- whatever. I don't care."

Leshy, of course, couldn't quite do whatever. Since Andrea, Damios, Yocum, and Rozzie were all out doing something-or-other in the Mule, they didn't have any new work being qued up, and the hydroponics farming was all that survived for winter. All that needed harvesting was the cotton, for which they happened to have an Agrihand. The last thing that Leshy wanted to do with his new sight was operate some drill or carve stone chunks in the quarry, especially since they also had a Tunneler named "Mr. Krabs" specifically for that.

He, of course, summed all that up as "I'd rather stay."

Emanuel simply hissed, before turning sharply and trudging through the snow to claim her kill. Leshy followed, finding it much easier given his attire weighed several times as much as he did. "Go find the rest of the stallions, and don't talk to me," he growled, kneeling just outside the puddle of blood and burned gore that sank into the snow.

Leshy frowned, but listened to the cat nonetheless. Annoying people was fun, especially getting people to start a fight with him, but for some reason, it felt... different with Emanuel. Sure, it felt different with his siblings and the Lamb, but he understood why. Everyone else usually just ignored it for the most part, which was fair, and he gave them all space.

So why does Emanuel feel different?

Rather than focusing on the odd feeling, which meant tucking it away into a far corner of his mind, and instead stopped to listen for the sounds of hooves on the snow. They would be muffled by the snow, but after more than a millennium of blindness, he had learned to pick up on far softer sounds.

There was a bird somewhere, singing its rather serene song. His branch-like antlers twitched as a gust of wind rattled a few leafless trees, and somewhere he heard a loose branch fall.

He heard something running. Something big - a muffalo or a bear, if he had to guess. Maybe it was chasing Emanuel's game.

...

It was getting closer. Not to him, but to the still-in-the-open Emanuel. He whirled around on the spot and saw that Emanuel had perked up, his ears swiveling as he listened to probably the same thing as Leshy.

Then he jumped up and yelled "Shit!" as he scrambled to get out his gun, only for a maddened megasloth to headbutt him to the ground before he could get his first shots off.

Leshy, being quick to respond, charged at the large mammal, his hand going to the hilt of his sword and swinging it at the attacker, the not-yet-solidified living metal leaving a deep gash on its arm. Rather than focus on him, however, it bit into Emanuel's ankle and thrashed, somehow not quite managing to rip the foot off. As its head swung toward Leshy, the worm quickly brought down his now-solid sword on its neck, cutting through the spinal cord. As the body collapsed, lifeless, he passed the blade to his off hand and wedged his foot between the creatures jaws, using his and his free hand to pull them open.

Emanuel's foot... had seen better days. Leshy was sure that, even with Glitterworld medicine, he'd need a prosthetic. He'd live, despite his swearing.

But there were two megasloths in the area. Leshy was violently reminded of that when a two-ton beast tackled him, sending them both rolling into a deep ditch, his sword lost in the process.

With little else to do, Leshy punched at the creature, but Scaria wouldn't let the animal stop, even as his bionic arm broke its rib.

He thought for a moment that he'd be killed there, once it managed to dig its claws in his devilstrand fabric. Pain sprang up in the side of his head as one of his antlers was snapped. He thought he saw something moving at the top of the ditch, before a large paw blocked his sight.

Then he heard gunshots, and he was showered in deep red. The megasloth went still, noticeably lighter than it had been originally. After a moment, he heard Emanuel call down, "Leshy? Fuck, I didn't hit you did I?"

Slowly, Leshy heaved the animal corpse off of himself and got into a sitting position, looking up at the yellow cat. Then he began to laugh as the adrenaline in his system did its work.

"Stop laughing!" Emanuel called down. "I need - fuck, I need help! I-I'm sorry for earlier but- fucking Lamb, my leg!"

Leshy found it quite hard to stop laughing, despite the circumstances.

>---

...

...

Watching Emanuel was boring.

The cat did nothing but read, really. Sometimes he said something, sometimes not. Leshy tried to get him to play a game, no budge. So then he tried getting some spare Smokeleaf(even though Kallamar would probably be very angry to learn his brother got his patient high), just for a reaction, but still almost nothing.

And yet he kept coming back. He didn't know why, it wasn't like Kallamar would have any other patients, but Leshy was almost always with Emanuel.

The only word he got came lust before his injured leg was going to be replaced by the bionic one Lambert got off a caravan.

"Thank you," he said. "For saving me. I just wanted to say that before I went under."

Leshy nodded. "Your welcome," he responded. "I guess you owe me one."

"We're even, at best," Emanuel said before he took his anesthetic. A few seconds of silence passed before Emanuel asked, "what exactly does it feel like... having a bionic limb?"

Leshy thought for a long moment, rolling his mechanical arm and feeling the servos twitch and flex. "It's like... having a part of you that isn't a part of you, I guess. It's... not exactly something I can describe."

Emanuel hummed. "Well, I guess we'll see."

Leshy nodded again, then stood. "I should go. The healroot needs harvesting," he said, despite it already being hours after he perhaps should have gone to harvest it.

There that same feeling was. He still couldn't quite figure out what it was, but Emanuel had something to do with it. Curious. He'd have to ask Shamura about it sometime.

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Pair of Foxes 🦊 | Kira Yukimura Headcanon

Teen Wolf masterlist

Requested 📨 yes/no (rules for requests)

Being a fox shapeshifter (were-fox) and Kira’s best friend would look like:

I guess you can say foxes are drawn to each other because when Kira first moved to Beacon Hills you immediately befriended her—literally walking straight up to her in the library with a beaming grin. “Hi! You’re Kira right? I’m Y/n, mind if I join you?” Not even waiting for her to say yes you dropped your things and began pulling out homework for you history class. She was a little taken aback but polite nonetheless, “U-uh sure. I don’t mind.”

You’d known Scott and Stiles since middle school but hadn’t become friends with them until the whole Alpha fiasco when Peter bit you in hopes of making you a member of his pack. However, the little trickster you naturally are, ended up shifting into a fox instead of wolf—eyes glowing more orange instead of yellow and canines smaller than Scott’s. When Peter discovered this—shortly before his untimely death—he bestowed you with the nickname ‘Little Vixen’. Eventually you managed to fully evolve into a fox like Malia could as a coyote.

When it was revealed Kira was a Kitsune, a Japanese Fox spirit, you couldn’t help but go, “Look at us, Ki, we’re a pair of foxes! Ain’t that neat!” Of course her fox was different from your fox—for example she brought forth her spirit when wielding her sword and you could shift into yours as you came and went. Even when Kira’s fox spirit was thrown out of balance due to the Dread Doctor’s, it was like the Kitsune recognized the fox within you and held some sort of respect.

Basically the Fox didn’t attempt to kill you like it did everyone else. “Maybe it thought we were relatives or something.” “Well whatever it thought from now on you are gonna have to step in whenever I lose control.” “You’re my best friend, of course I’m gonna help you.” From that moment on you and Kira became each other’s anchors. She was there to calm you down on a full moon and you were there to put the Fox in her at ease.

“We’re like platonic soulmates, Ki.” “Platonic soulmates who are a pair of foxes. The best combo if I’ve ever heard.”

Kira always had a pack of extra clothes that fit you in her bag. Shifting into your fox form or fighting to the point your outfits are tarnished enough times had your best friend come prepared to everything.

There are days where Kira will catch you and Malia in your fox & coyote forms chasing each other on the lacrosse field or play fighting. This will have Kira running after y’all because bystanders are calling animal control, “Get back here you two!”

Another time you were stuck in your fox form and unable to shift resulting in you having to stay at Kira’s house until the pack could come up with something to fix you. This also meant Kira had to come up with something to tell your family when you were a no show at home for nearly three days, “the drama club had a competition in Los Angeles—Y/n got the lead role in their production of ‘Wicked’ so she’s there right now.”

In return you always covered for her when she’d be with Scott. “I’ll be your scapegoat, Ki. Just tell them you’re going camping with my family this weekend. They’ll never know.” “You really underestimate how good my mom is at finding things out.” Sure enough, they got the truth pretty quick when Noshiko spotted your parents out to dinner the night ya’ll were ‘camping.’

You two will have girls nights with Malia and Lydia whenever y’all are in need of a break from the world. During the three month period between the shit with the beast and the Wild Hunt you four spent every penny you owned going to concerts, festivals, comic cons, and weekend trips to L.A or San Fran. As you can expect, the boys would get jealous.

When Kira decided to go with the skinwalkers you were devastated to say the least. It felt like a piece of you was missing with the absence of your best friend. But Kira made a promise to check in every once in a while and you’d be the first to know when she was coming back.

After all, there was nothing that could stop the pair of foxes when Beacon Hills was in need of saving.

[shion-yu]

Day 13: “You’ve been very sick”

Continuation of day 9: a Rey and Felix drabble for @medwhumpmay. (Except it’s kinda longer than a drabble, lol!)

Felix goes to the largest town in a five hour radius he can find, asks for the best healer they’ve got, and promises to make it worth their time in gold. The townspeople are naturally suspicious of this questionable knight with a mysterious client for them, but money talks and soon Felix is bringing a doctor on the back of his horse to Rey.

“This patient of yours must be quite important,” the doctor prods him. Felix doesn’t answer; doesn’t want to tempt the greed he can hear in the man’s voice. He can already tell he doesn’t like the fellow much, but the town reassured him that he was the best around and had to trust in that. Importantly, he has some weak healing powers so at the least, Rey won’t be entirely reliant on whatever herbal medicine hasn’t been touching his fever.

They arrive at the inn by evening and Felix opens the door to their room to reveal Rey right where he left him - his body still other than heaving, labored breathing and covered in a sickly sweat. His face is pale and gray, a hue made worse by his jet black hair framing it. The doctor’s casual grin disappears and to Felix’s relief, he seems to know what he’s doing as he diagnoses Rey with his hands over Rey’s chest.

After several seconds, Rey shudders and the doctor steps back with a frown. “This boy has his powerful magic, I can tell,” he says. “It’s an illness from disuse. It’s yearning to stretch out, but has nowhere to go. I could absorb the excess, but it will keep him from being able to use his powers for quite some time.”

“Do it,” Felix says immediately. Rey won’t miss it. To Rey, his magic is a curse. It’s a bastardized version of the real thing, the silvery threads of his power having been extracted, twisted and replaced for the worse during their time in captivity. Without the experiments they’d endured, Rey likely never would have expressed much power naturally without intensive training. Aside from that, healing has brought Rey more pain than anything else. Felix knows that first hand.

The doctor nods and replaces his hands on Rey’s chest. “It’s concentrated in his eyes,” he says thoughtfully. “There’s so much pressure. He must get terrible headaches.”

Felix doesn’t answer, but it’s true. Rey suffers from intense pain for days on end where he needs to be in complete darkness - something extra unpleasant for a man afraid of the dark. Felix had assumed it had to do only with the hypnosis and memory loss, but maybe it’s because of the magic after all. Begging to be released, to be used. It’s a terrible double edged sword, Felix thinks bitterly. Rey’s sick if he doesn’t use it, yet using it tears his body to pieces, too. Is there nothing they can do to simply make it go away?

As if reading Felix’s mind, the doctor says, “If he learned to control his magic, it might be better for him. I can feel how untamed it all is inside of him. And something else, something very strange. Magic usually feels warm, but his feels so cold… artificial.”

The doctor is getting too close to the truth, so Felix clears his throat and says gruffly, “Less talking, more working.” The doctor is intimidated enough by Felix’s steely gaze to comply. He works for nearly an hour before he finally steps back, wiping his sweaty palms on his tunic.

“He may be sick for a while yet as his body regains equilibrium, but he should get better now,” the doctor says. Unlike Rey, he’s nearly glowing with health - a positive side effect on his end of absorbing so much power. “You can give him this to ease the fever and pain until it breaks.” Felix takes the offered flask with a nod and exchanges it for a bag of gold coins.

“This should be more than enough for your services and your silence,” Felix says coldly. “I’ve included the cost of a carriage back to your city as well. Tell no one of what has occurred here.”

“Thank you, sir,” the doctor says, his eyes flashing as he peers into the pouch to confirm the payment is legitimate. “You know, I swear I’ve seen him before, although I can’t place it-“

“It’s better if you don’t,” Felix interrupts him. “You are dismissed. Thank you, doctor.” Somehow, the thank you manages to be threatening too. The doctor scurries off, doubtlessly thinking he hit the lottery, and Felix returns to his seat next to Rey’s bed.

Over the next two days, Rey’s fever slowly breaks. He doesn’t quite know what’s happening, but any panic in his blue eyes is quelled each time he sees Felix. The room smells stale with sickness, but Felix is always there no matter what.

Finally, Rey wakes up with a pounding headache and his mouth dry as the desert but finally conscious enough to question what’s happening. He struggles to sit up, alerting Felix who pushes him back down gently. “Easy, prince. You’ve been very sick.”

“What happened?” Rey croaks, confused. He still looks terrible, but just seeing him alert enough to ask brings a hefty rush of relief through Felix’s body.

“Your magic was overflowing,” Felix says simply. “A doctor took care of it. You’ll be fine now.”

It’s rare for them to even acknowledge Rey’s power, an unspoken rule between them that it’s not to be used. It’s too traumatic, and Rey doesn’t even remember the specifics of how he got it or what it was used for in the past. Felix thinks it’s better not to tell him unless he wants to know, but Rey has never asked.

“Have we been here long?”

Felix nods. “Over a week. So we must get moving as soon as possible. Here, drink your medicine.”

“What’s wrong?” Rey asks, eyeing Felix sharply. Felix is relieved to see that sharpness at all after so many days of dull, glazed staring. “You look…”

“I was worried,” Felix says, a deep and rare honesty. “That’s all.”

Rey looked startled and shakes his head, embarrassed. “I always come out in the end, don’t I?” He asks. “There’s nothing to worry about, now.”

Felix lets out a tired laugh. “You’re right. You always do.” For better or for worse.