#I’m going feral with these moths and butterflies | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cloudninetonine · 3 years ago

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A past that still haunts me

A/N: Hey guys, it's me (ya boi) I'm back with my still current hyper fixation Genshin Impact and a vent fic because I've been really stressed and well, it's hard living in my house :) It's a hurt/comfort fic because they always get to me and I needed to make something for myself

I am willing to do aftermath where the boys confront the abuser or do scenario but with different characters

Synopsis: You’re not a damsel in distress, you never have been and you never will be, but, well, sometimes you need a hero to rely on and that’s okay

Characters: Diluc, Kaeya, Zhongli and Childe

Warnings: Hints to past abuse, confrontation of abuser, violence, mentions of blood, threats, foul language

It had meant to be like any other menial day of an adventurer: sign in with Katheryne, complete your commissions, sign out with Katheryne with your payments - done and dusted.

But that wasn’t how it went, no, far from it - archons, so damn far from it.

“Thank you once again, (Name)” Katheryne’s smile was kind like usual, holding that familiar feeling of gratitude as she handed over your remission within a marked package, hand returning to the desk’s polished surface once you had taken it graciously, sending her a beaming grin back. “The Guild really appreciates your work ethic when it comes to the Ruin machines, it’s hard to come across adventurers who want to handle them anymore”

You sent her a shrug as you placed away the box “Can’t blame them really, they’re a hard bunch to handle- I was terrified of them when I first started too, but I had my vision to help me out, a lot of these folk only use there pure determination to eradicate them, gotta admire that!”

She laughed along with you politely “Have a good evening, (Name), I’ll see you again tomorrow?”

“Of course you will!” You backpedalled away from the guild reception, throwing the woman a polite double fingered salute as you did “Ad astra abyssoque as they say, my fair lady!”

She parrotted back her usual phrase before disappearing into the building, you walking further down the path of the city for your final activity for that day.

Of course, you didn’t reach that far, after all, it wasn’t that menial day you had expected, that you had wanted. Life was cruel sometimes, so incredibly cruel for no justified reason just for the sake of it all and you wished, archons, you wished you could rewind the clock and stop yourself from bumping into the body, to save yourself from all the repressed trauma bursting forth like a flurry of butterflies, well, more like moths, disgusting, ungodly, monster moths that aimed straight for the face.

“Sorry!” You yelped, too preoccupied with gathering your pocketwatch you had dropped in the stumble to see who it had been, after all, you were on a schedule and you didn’t want to be-

“(Name)?”

...late.

All of a sudden, time didn’t seem to exist, or maybe it was moving way too slowly from that horrid spike of adrenaline that shot into your bloodstream as soon as the voice registered.

You hoped to the Archons that it wasn’t, that it couldn’t, but did the gods hear your prayers?

“Oh Archons, it is you! It’s been such a long time!”

Of course, they did, they just didn’t care to listen. Ignoring the cries of your people were in fashion to them these days.

They stood there with a smile so excited it almost seemed to tear their face in half, with eyes sparkling with recognition after so many years away from them, they opened their arms welcoming you into their embrace like it was something just so normal for the two of you like you would come bounding to them like a lost puppy who had finally found their master.

The fear of your abuser dwarfed in comparison the pure feral rage and loathing to think that they even deserved to be breathing in the same space as you.

People were looking, of course, they were looking, you knew what they were doing, being bright and jovial, bringing others attention towards you both so that whatever scene you caused would be your fault like you were the bad guy. It was old tactics, of course, you wouldn’t dare do anything when you were younger, you’d just push through it, but this wasn’t old times, this wasn’t younger you, scared, smaller you afraid them, this was you now, a warrior, unwavering in battle, a person who smiled in the face of danger, who laughed at the pitiful fights that 2- no- 4 abyss mages brought to you!

To hell what other people thought, you’d stomp their head into the cobblestone if they had so much as poked you.

“Come here and give me a-”

You took a step back, mustering the deadliest face you could, but you wavered, it was only natural, no matter how much you could try to hype yourself up, this person was your first true experience of real-life nightmares, the first person to bring you true pain, no matter how many ruin guards, hunters, millachurls, mages- anything you faced, nothing could prepare you to face your first fear:

The fear of your older sibling.

“If you fucking touch me I’ll stab you-” The growl cracked nearing the end, you were always an angry crier but you were not about to fall back to this- this monster. “In front of all these people, I won’t hesitate”

Their face dropped followed by your stomach, though, the food you had for lunch sure did feel its way up your gullet.

“What’s with your language? We haven’t seen each other in four years and this is how you treat me? Your older sibling?” They laughed in disbelief because onlookers would think they were shocked, I mean, how could you speak to family like that? But they didn’t know, they didn’t know the words they had told you, the insults, the threats, those tight grabs, those beatings- they didn’t know, so they obviously didn’t know that the shock came from the fact that you had stood up to them.

You licked your lips to get rid of the dryness, but the problem you faced was that your mouth had dried out along with them, as did your throat.

Don’t let them turn this on you, don’t let them get the upper hand, you were better than them, so much better.

“You’re not my fucking sibling” You spat, feeling the air vibrate around you, a sudden shine from your cloak hinted you to the cause “You haven’t been for a long time, don’t fucking try that shit with me”

There it was, that familiar enraged spark, that look of hatred on their face, the thing that warned you about what you said had been the right thing to set them off, that they were just as easily triggered by the smallest act of rebellion just like when you were kids.

Of course, they hadn’t changed.

Evil never did.

They took a step forward but you didn’t back off, just hardened your resolve as they leaned in menacingly, as though their stupid little intimidation tactic still worked after all these years.

You told yourself it didn’t but you knew deep down that wasn’t completely true.

“Don’t speak to me like that, (Name)” Facade gone, they showed you what they really were, what they were really like after all, “Don’t you ever speak to me like that, you show me fucking respect”

Respect?

RESPECT!?

Oh Archons, you were angry, no, seething from the thought that they ever deserved respect.

That pathetic piece of shit, that gruelling pleb, mere gum on the bottom of your damn shoe-

You’d kill them, right here, right now.

You felt the familiar materialisation begin to form in your hand when another voice called out, a familiar loving one that nearly made your throat swell from relief.

“(Name)?”

Diluc

He could sense the tension. Of course, he could sense the tension, Diluc had faced this tension so many times before, he was practically the one that owned such a vibe anytime Kaeya even breathed near him for a second longer than necessary.

But being the one to witness it, to see you, the usual awkward, goofy sweetheart stare at another with such overbearing malice made him uneasy, caused his stomach to churn in ways he didn’t like, set him off in a way that was only reserved for the most chilling on moments.

Diluc wondered what exactly this stranger had done to warrant such a reaction from you.

“(Name)?” The redhead called, glancing around the many citizens of Mondstadt that watched the exchange with intrigue, guard and worry, eyes focused on the scene of this foreign stranger and fuming you, hand poised by your side with weapon particles dancing on your palm.

When Diluc finally made it over, his form seemed to curl protectively around you, hand landing on the small of your back delicately while keeping face with the person, eyes narrowed dangerously but still holding an air of civilness.

A true gentleman, even when you were close to merking some rando.

“Is there a problem?”

The stranger straightened immediately, backing up a few steps with their hands up in defence, sending Diluc a charming smile that the man could see through crystal clear.

“No problem, no problem at all” They glanced back at you, seemingly friendly despite his partner’s obvious ill intent that radiated off you in waves “Isn’t that right, (Name)?”

Diluc saw you tense up once again, the buzz from your Vision rising in volume with your obvious anger as you tightened your first, ready to just screw your weapon and go for the throat.

“If that is the case” The noble’s hand softly pressed against your back, gently but coaxing, knowing that conflict in the middle of the town centre would just bring the knights to meddle in affairs that they had no business attending “Then we shall be going”

“There’s no need to leave, after all, my sibling and I were just chatting”

He paused, shouldering a questioning glance your way but at the sight of your unruly expression, he pushed down his enquiries and once again began coaxing you away from the scene. Angel’s Share had already been open for a while, meaning the usual folk would already be settled in, but the storage room was sure to be a good place to chat and to calm you down, all he needed to do was get you away.

“We already had plans” The side glance had the stranger- your sibling, biting their tongue, brows furrowing in a known annoyance as the two of you began your way towards the pub, you still vibrating in anger. “Good day to you”

The two of you had made it a few feet when they called out once again “Don’t worry, (Name), I’ll see you again real soon”

Diluc’s arm tightened around you faster than you could react, tugging you away quickly “Diluc-”

“No, (Name)”

“Stay out-”

“Not here” Sharing a look, he softened at the shine in your eyes. “You’ll just attract the knights' attention”

You didn’t care, no, not one bit. If the knights had dared to interfere at that moment, they too would have been caught up in your blinded revenge, thrown aside or slashed down without single care just to finally eradicate the bane of your existence and you didn’t care about what consequences you brought about, you just didn’t and you made sure to tell Diluc that, as soon as you had the privacy of Angel’s Share’s storeroom, pacing up and down while he stood off to the side against the wall, watching silently.

“You had no right to get in my way!” You snapped, voice shaking from the pure emotions you were releasing “I finally had my chance, I was finally going to do it! They deserve to end by my hand, by my decision, after the years of torture they put me through! They deserved it! And you got in my way! How could you get in my way! I-”

Pushing off the wall, he slowly advanced towards you, carefully, hands out like he was approaching a wounded animal.

“I understand you’re upset-”

“I’m not upset!” You cried at him, stopping mid-step before dropping your head and tightly, grabbing your hair in your hands “I’m not upset! I’m angry! I’m so fucking angry! And I deserve to be fucking angry! I-”

The sob ripped through your throat despite you trying to hold it back, tears finally gathering in your eyes and rapidly falling down your cheeks “You should have let me kill them! I should have had the chance to rid the world of their evil! It’s not fair! It’s not- it’s not fair, I-”

You didn’t bother to fight him when his arms finally wrapped around you, just fell against him as you wept. The pent up rage, fear and sadness from years of repression taking its toll as you cried, your partner whispering sweet words as he raked his hand through your hair gently and leaned his head against yours.

“I’m sorry” His hand held your cheek fondly, ruby red staring back into your own eyes with a softness that made you melt “I didn’t know this meant so much to you, but if you’re willing to tell me, I’ll listen. I’ll always listen”

With another choked sob, you leaned into his hold “Please just hold me for now”

And he did just that.

Kaeya

The captain had promised to meet you at his office, a simple task really but with the lingering presence of Jean and the words ‘There’s so much work that needs to be done’ leaving her lips he bolted, hoping to catch you by the Guild and drag you to Angel Share for your date. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help her, it was just he had already promised you this night and Eula could have always taken his place with paperwork, her threat of “vengeance” as she liked to call it could wait for another day.

It was also due to the fact he had no intentions of filing any paperwork for as long as he could avoid it, but that was his secret to be kept.

Being the perspective man he was, he could tell straight away he had walked into something tense, surveying the surrounding people of Mondstadt who looked on in concern, the unbridled rage upon your face, the obviously intimidating lean that the stranger held over you- something was wrong and he knew he had to put a stop to it.

“(Name)?” You glanced for a single moment before your furious glare had returned to the stranger, another flag waving right in his face as he approached, “My dear? Who might this be?”

Before you could snap, lip curling in disgust, the stranger stood back to their full height, switching quickly with a fake charming smile that practically mirrored his own, holding out their hand towards him “(S/N) (Last), (Name)’s older sibling. it’s nice to meet you”

Kaeya’s smile widened and despite the glare from you that was now focused on him, he shook your sibling's hand in-kind “Kaeya Alberich, (Name)’s partner-”

He made sure to tighten his grip with his last words “And Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius”

Successfully, as he always was, Kaeya held back the smug, mocking grin that itched to climb onto his face when the neck of your sibling bobbed nervously, forehead reflecting the afternoon light as sweat gathered on their brow.

The man hadn’t obviously threatened them, surely, Kaeya was smarter than that, but then again, he could still present himself as a threat, a good one and well, his title was a menacing one when it came to the right moment. ‘Try anything and not only do I have the authority to kick your arse but the power to put you in a place many didn’t dare even step’ shortened into an innocent sentence with only 8 words.

“Cavalry Captain? That’s quite impressive” They laughed off, tugging away their hand awkwardly when Kaeya continued to keep a firm grip, his present eye focused solely on your siblings face. They glanced over to you “Quite an achievement for you, aye (Name)?”

You growled, “I’ll show you an achievement-”

Kaeya’s arm had wrapped around your waist not a second later, tugging you tighter to his side as the two of you turned, the man throwing your sibling a smile over his shoulder.

“As nice as it was to meet you, (S/B), we must be going”

And then without another word Kaeya dragged you away, heading in the direction of your home instead of Angel Share tavern, feeling your pure, unfiltered anger the whole way along with the citizens as they parted ways, rushing off from your rage.

It was only when you had returned to the sanctuary of your abode did you snap, jerking away from your boyfriend with angered strides and beginning your seething lecture towards him, moving up and down through the living room while he ventured off into the kitchen, grabbing 2 glasses and a bottle of wine.

“How dare you Kaeya! How fucking dare you! Do you have any idea what you were doing back there!? What was even happening back there!? So much for being the most observant man in Mondstadt because you seemed pretty dense to me the whole fucking time!” Your hands raked through your hair as you yelled, trying so hard to hold back the tears “I didn’t need your damn help, Kaeya! Nor did I fucking want it! Know to stay out of someone's business when it isn’t wanted!”

Logically you knew what he had done, you were smart like that and you knew Kaeya long enough to know what he was doing but your rage, fear and sadness blocked out everything in that moment, made you blind to reality, made you only think irrationally and Kaeya didn’t blame you for that. He could never blame you for that.

Though, it did hurt him to see you in this state.

“Wine?”

You gawked at him for a moment, staring at him with shock and confusion as he held out a wine glass towards you, another held in his other hand and a sweet smile plastered on his face, before your moment morphed into rage, grabbing the drink from his hand and tossing it towards the wall, the red wine splattering over the wallpaper and glass shards falling to the floor.

“Well, that was a waste-”

“Do you think I’m an idiot, Kaeya!?” You cried, not even bothering to hold back anymore as the tears fell and your voice cracked, hand pointing accusingly in his face “Is this some kind of joke to you!? Huh!? Am I a fool in your eyes!? Some sort of blubbering idiot!? Why must you- why do you-”

The second glass was placed on the dresser by you both, Kaeya’s hand coming to hold your cheek fondly while the other came to grab your hand that dangled in the air, still poised at him “I don’t think you're either of those, my dear, in fact, I think you’re one of the brightest in the whole of Teyvat, nevermind Mondstadt”

You hiccuped “Then why-”

Brushing away the wetness from your cheek, he brought your hand to his mouth to place a fond kiss on your palm “Because you mustn’t cry, (Name), don’t waste your tears on someone like them”

“I’m not crying, I’m-”

He shushed you gently and you finally relaxed, falling into his embrace with a heavy heart “-I’m not, I swear-”

Within the familiarity of your home, you wept in his arms, exhausted from the whirlwind of emotions and the scenes that had transpired that day, ready to just curl into yourself and try to block the flooding memories of history. Although, having Kaeya at that moment helped more than he could ever know, having him to rely on made it all so much easier to cope with that day.

“Tell me what ails you and I’ll listen” Brushing back some hair, he pressed a kiss to your head.

“Can..can we just stay like this for a while?”

“Of course, my dear”

Zhongli

He had sensed the incoming danger like it had been revealed in some sort of premonition. Maybe it had been a skill he had acquired after his long, eventful life, maybe it was his connection to Liyue and his citizens, but for some reason, as he sat before Iron Tongue Tian as the man recalled his tales of ancient Liyue like usual, Zhongli knew that the crowd that was forming around Wamin Restaurant had something that he need urgently attend, especially when even Tian paused his story to glance around the corner of the restaurant building to see the commotion.

When the archon had finally borne witness to the scene, he paused within the crowd, surveying the surroundings carefully. You were the centre of attention, along with another stranger, both glaring at one another with anger and disgust, though your own anger seemed to double compared to the other’s, seeing as your weapon was slowly materialising in your grip. Zhongli could also see Guild Master Lan making her way down the steps leading to the Guild reception, a worried expression on her face glancing between you and the approaching Millelith.

Zhongli made his decision, politely pushing through the crowd until he had finally made it by your side, hand being placed gently on your arm “(Name)?”

Both you and the stranger glanced at him, but he paid no mind to them, only held eye contact with you when Lan appeared by your other side, glaring at the stranger with a hardened gaze.

“Are you harassing my guild member?”

Before the stranger could respond, the Millelith had also popped in, glancing between you and them “Is there a problem?”

Zhongli had taken up your view when Lan began her take, she had borne witness for much longer than he had of course and he was certain that you were in no state to talk to the guards. Your eyes were glazed with hatred, pupils pinpricks in a sea of (E/C) and your hands were shaking, balled into fists.

If anything, he needed to try and calm you down first.

“Get the hell out of my way, Zhongli” Your teeth ground together, words shaking with anger “Don’t push yourself into my business”

“I’m sorry, my love, but I can’t do that” He tried brushing your cheek but you jerked away, glaring at his hand before glaring back at him, in no mood to be coddled “I don’t want you to do something you’d regret”

“Trust me, I won’t regret this one bit”

Zhongli held his tongue for the question that almost rolled out, knowing now wasn’t the time for inquiries when the stranger’s voice rang out, condescending and snarky as they addressed you.

“Still need people to protect you, aye (Name)? Of course, you’re still the same pathetic bitch from years ago”

You were lucky for your reputation around Liyue, for the picture of the kind and caring adventurer that had swept through the town from your years of living here because had it not been for that, you pushing aside your boyfriend and materialising your weapon to aim it at your sibling’s throat would have had you in cuffs that instant.

Lan grabbed you, tugging you away as you screamed “I’ll show you pathetic you fucker! Let me go!”

The Millelith didn’t wait to drag your sibling away, much to their cries of dismay, one sending Lan a nod while you continued to fight against her, crying out in frustration.

“Kid, you have to calm down-”

“Calm down!? No! Get the hell off me!”

Zhongli watched as you finally broke away, huffing and puffing up a storm before glancing amongst the crowd, staring at their worried and concerned faces, your own eyes tearing up before you looked away pushing past the crowd to find somewhere to be alone.

When Lan went to call out for you, Zhongli raised his hand, the two sharing a look before the archon made his way after you, his longer legs keeping a steady pace to which he could catch up to you, just beyond the bridge that led into Liyue Harbour. There were no people where you stood, just the lush green plants and great mountains of nature, a perfect place for you to let out your frustration without the prying eyes of the citizens.

“(Name)-”

“Leave me alone!” You cried, curling into yourself with your back turned to him “I don’t want you here, Zhongli! Nor did I want you back there! I didn’t need your or anyone else's help!”

You knew he was here from a place of concern, and deep down you begged that your words didn’t harm him in any way, but currently, you didn’t care, you didn’t want to care, you just wanted to be numb, numb to the flashbacks of your horrid past and numb to the feelings that were dragged along with them.

“My love, please, return with me to our home, I will brew some calming tea-”

“Tea? Tea!? Does it look like I want any fucking tea?! I couldn’t care any less about some fucking tea, Zhongli!” Spinning around on your heels, you scowled at him, not bothering to hide your rushing tears “Don’t you get it!? I want to be left alone, I-”

Two gloved hands gently encased your face, your angered expression morphing into one of shock as your partner stared down at you with glowing eyes filled with a deep-rooted love, affection, worry and so much more that you couldn’t put into mere mortal words. At that moment, everything felt as if it had melted away, only you and him were in this world, nothing else, just the two of you.

And you felt as though your heart had been lifted from the pressures of this life.

“I do not think it is best for you to be left alone” His baritone voice was always so calming, so serene and in your sane moment, you finally felt its effects “I wish to stay with you, so please, let me stay”

With a whimper, you grabbed onto his forearms and leaned your face into his hands, tears continuing to fall as your eyes fluttered shut “Okay…”

“They have hurt you deeply, haven’t they?”

Hesitantly, you nodded.

“Would you be so kind as to tell me the details?”

“I-...” Sharing eye contact once again, you whispered “Can- can you just...hold me for now? Please”

Moving his hands from your face, he engulfed you in his arms, leaning his head against yours “Of course”

Childe

The Harbinger had just left the Northland Bank, hell, he was just about to make his way down the spiral staircase but when hearing the commotion, he paused, something in his gut telling him to check just before and he was glad he did.

Glancing over the elevated walkway, he felt a fiery pit roar in the depths of his stomach, eyes narrowing dangerously at the scene; you were snarling in some other person’s face, their own face nothing short of disgust and a crowd that only seemed to grow by the minute.

Who the hell did this person think they were? Did they even know who you were? To stand so close to you, with a look of threat on their face like you weren’t about to kick their arse? Like he wasn’t about to kick their arse? How did this insignificant speck of dross not know your connections with him, the 11th Harbinger? Or did he know and was just trying his luck?

“Seems like someone has a death wish” And a death wish they had indeed.

Ignoring the perplexed glance from his subordinate stationed outside the building's entrance, Childe made his way down the steps, murderous look stitched on the whole way to the circle of civilians, the mass parting ways for the man that was Tartaglia and continuing to watch the moment in silence.

“Who the hell are you-” You both turned towards him, you in shock while the stranger stared in confusion until Childe’s hand wrapped around their collar, tugging them closer to look down at them with a deep-rooted disgust “-And why the hell are you harassing my partner?”

They fought against him, obviously, they did, but the surprise came when you saddled up next to him, grabbing his arm “Stay out of this, Tartaglia”

What? It hadn't been your request, no, you were always one to finish your whole fights you weren't "A damsel in distress after all!" no, you were so much more, so much greater but that look on your face, murderous and downright cruel- he just couldn't believe his ears.

Childe stared at you in shock while the stranger struggled, throwing him a dirty look in their attempts “Yeah, this is between my sibling and I”

Childe straightened in surprise, feeling embarrassment flood his system. Had he seriously just grabbed and threatened his lover’s family member? Oh, Archons, his judgement had been clouded by anger at the look of the scene, I mean, why would your sibling look at you that way-

“But it’s really no surprise that you still need to be babied, (Name), how shameful”

His eyes widened but not a moment later had you tackled your sibling, the crowd crying out in alarm as you threw back your fist and crushed their nose under the weight of your punch. “I’ll show you fucking shameful, bastard!”

There was shouting and a glance showed the oncoming Millelith marching towards the circle.

Being Fatui always did garner the attention of the guards nowadays, especially for him, who had tried to lure out the attention of their Archon by summoning an ancient god that nearly drowned the entirety of the harbour, so it was no surprise that they seemed to hurry in the pursuit when they noticed his appearance at the scene. However, lucky for him, your reputation as a great adventurer preceded you and throughout Liyue you were seen as a trusted and well-liked individual, meaning whatever trouble you got in, containing his meddling or not, was usually waved away due to the trust of the people.

So, without another thought, Childe tugged you off of your bloodied sibling and held you close, even as you thrashed violently, shouting at him to let you go.

“What is going on here?” A guard called, slamming the hilt of his polearm into the ground as he surveyed the area, eyes landing on the sibling before following the small trail of blood to you, still fighting against your boyfriend with threats falling from your lips “Was there a reason for this brawl? Who started it?”

As your sibling raised themselves on their forearms, they scowled and opened their mouth to respond, only for Childe to put in. “It was them, sir, they were the one that started it, (Name) was merely acting in self-defence”

The Millelith scowled at him, raising a brow and once again looking you over “Is that so?”

He addressed the crowd soon after “Is this what happened?”

And as expected, they all glanced over the sibling, then to you and piped up in agreement. It paid to be a hero, it seemed, the whole harbour returning the favour of years of helping out the community.

“If that’s the case, please come with us” The sibling cried out, anger and fear laced into their voice, trying to argue for their innocence only for the guards to grab them, hauling them away to archons know where while Childe did the same with you, slowly dragging you away from the scene and back into the bank, you screaming and cursing the whole way until you had made it to his office, finally managing to push him off and storming to the opposite side of the room practically seething.

“Who the hell do you think you are, Tartaglia!?” You cried, throwing out your arms in exaggeration “I didn’t need your fucking help! And why the fuck would you pull me off them!? I had them right where I wanted them and you fucking did that! Are you a moron!?”

“You had a sibling” He breathed, watching as you began to pace, muttering in an angered state “And you didn’t tell me”

“-after all these years I finally had the chance to end their pathetic excuse of a life and you just got in my fucking way! I’d waited too long for this moment and you fucking ruined it! How dare you, how fucking dare you-”

“(Name), why didn’t you tell me you had a sibling!?” He cried, walking up to you and grabbing your wrist to stop you “I was ready to kill them right there! And why are you talking about them like this!? They’re your family aren’t they-”

“They are not my fucking family!”

The scream echoed through the room, chilling Childe to the core as you ripped your arm from his grasp, running your hands through your hair before gripping it so tightly it felt close to being ripped from your head. But you didn’t care, no, you couldn’t, you were so angry and you needed something to keep you grounded, to keep yourself from losing yourself and getting lost in those haunting past memories.

The Harbinger felt his chest squeeze painfully as the tears fell down your face, red rimming your eyes and cheeks wet as you sobbed, chest heaving from trying to breathe “Family takes care of you! Family thinks of you in the highest light possible! They love you for who you are and they love you no matter what! That bastard hurt me, made me feel worthless and they refuse to believe they could do no wrong and I hate them! They are the bane of my existence! They are not my fucking family! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I-”

Arms were around you instantly, Childe’s face pressed into your hair as you wept, grasping onto the lapels of his suit and shoving your face into his chest to muffle your cries.

“I’m sorry” He whispered, his own eyes shining slightly “I’m sorry, I was being insensitive. Please, don’t cry”

“No, I’m not crying, I promised myself I wouldn’t-” You hiccuped “I wouldn’t waste any more tears on them-”

Then you broke off into more wails, your boyfriend holding you close and letting you continue to cry in his arms, warm and comforting until you were finally reduced to whimpers, leaning into him heavily as the remaining adrenaline in your body began to wear thin when he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Will...will you tell me about it?”

You sniffed “Later...just hold me for now, please, Ajax...”

His arms tightened protectively “Anything for you, my love”

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact imagine #genshin impact diluc #genshin impact diluc x reader #diluc x reader #genshin impact kaeya #genshin impact kaeya x reader #kaeya x reader #genshin impact zhongli #genshin impact zhongli x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin impact childe #genshin impact childe x reader #childe x reader #genshin impact tartaglia #genshin impact tartaglia x reader #tartaglia x reader

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witchesofferngrove · 3 years ago

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Hi, I hope you're feeling better! If you're still taking prompts, maybe you can do 35 (grabbing the other's hand to pull them back to them) + 13 (frustrated kisses) for C. You're an amazing author and your characters are amazing.

Cora/Colton Calloway + grabbing the other's hand to pull them back to them + frustrated kisses!

"C'mon babe, let me buy you a drink," the person slurs in your ear, leaning far too close to you than your comfort levels allow. You can feel their hot breath on your neck, the stench of alcohol oozing all over your face.

You wrinkle your nose and force a polite smile. "Really, I'm fine. I'm just waiting for a friend."

The person leans in even further, almost knocking their head against yours, and you swing back just in time before collision. You desperately search the bar for C, eyes scanning every single passerby. They must be here soon, right? They text 'almost there' 10 minutes ago. Where are they?

"Clearly they don't appreciate you, babe," they slur again, trying to throw their arm around you, but you expertly manoeuvre your way out of the gesture and put out a careful hand to keep some distance between the two of you. "The name's Riley. Let me take care of you."

You check your phone for the 6th time to see if C has sent a text or anything. Nothing. You look up to face your current leach with another, forced smile. "That was them sending the text, I should really--"

But you don't get a chance to leave the encounter before their hand clamps around your bicep, pulling you back towards them. "C'mon, babe," Riley coos, setting your hair standing on edge.

That's how it's going to be then? You grit your teeth, feeling the familiar tug of magic in your gut. Let's see how you like this.

A definite spark of heat erupts in your free hand, it runs like a fever in your veins, lighting up your insides with a satisfying fire. You raise your hand.

"Let them go," a voice growls, and you twist around to find C towering behind you, something... different in their expression. Something dark. Something you haven't ever seen before.

"Get lost," Riley snarls back, though under the pressure of C's glare, they relent and release their hand from your arm. You jolt back, ripping away from their presence as soon as you're able. "You clearly weren't missing them. Now they're spending the night with me."

"What about any of that exchange before told you they want to spend even a millisecond of time with you?" The smile that stretches across C's pink lips isn't friendly, and it isn't their usual crooked grin, either. No, C smiles and it's feral. A predator staring their prey right in the eye. C takes a step toward Riley, towering over the other, and Riley drops their gaze to the floor, then back to yours, before setting their sights to the bartender.

"Would you like me to point out just exactly how repulsive you are?" C grabs Riley's bicep when they try to walk away from them and yanks them back. Panicked, Riley sends a look your way, a deer caught in the headlights--or more precisely, exactly between C's unhinged jaw--before trying to desperately jerk away from C's steel grip. "Huh, so you don't like it when someone grabs you and won't let go?" C clicks their tongue, and you can see their grip tightening around Riley's arm, their fingers digging into their skin. "Funny, since you were just doing that to my friend."

"They get it, C," you mutter, eager to not let the night end with C getting arrested over a bar fight. You grab their arm to tug them away from Riley, but they remain rigid in place. Damn all that training. "Let's just go. C, let's go."

But C ignores you, leaning closer to Riley's ear. "C'mon babe," they sneer, echoing the words Riley said to you not even 5 minutes ago, "let me take care of you."

Riley's eyes are wide in their head. It seems even the alcohol in their bloodstream doesn't stop them from seeing just how much they fucked up. "I get it, I'm sorry. Look, I'm sorry." They turn to you desperately. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Just--just let me go, alright?"

"C," you say, trying to pull them away from Riley again. "Let them go! They get it. Let's actually enjoy our night and leave that lowlife."

C momentarily meets your eye and sighs, nodding. The smirk drops from their lips as they shove Riley away from them, sending them reeling to the floor. "Get the fuck out of here and never come back."

Riley scurries away, promises falling out of their lips as they rush to the door of the bar, glancing back at you and C every few seconds to make sure you're not following.

You don't. Instead, C turns to the bartender and orders your drinks, knowing all your favourites off by heart. But whereas C returns to wearing their crooked grin, their posture once again relaxed, you can't help but feel... irked.

Folding your arms across your chest, you raise an eyebrow at them when they sneak a glance your way.

"What?" they ask, taking a seat at the bar. "They didn't have your favourite drink, I know. This one's just as good though."

"That is not it," you mutter back, rolling your eyes. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

C pauses, their eyebrows furrowing. "I'm confused."

"What's confusing you?" you ask, feeling the bitterness on your tongue as the words leave your lips. "You just had to stroll in here, my knight in shining armour. You loved scaring that person, loved feeling like you were there for me."

"They were a creep," C says slowly. "I don't understand your problem."

"My problem," you all but shout, "is that you think you can stroll in here after 8 years and we can pick up right where we left off. That you think it's all good between us. That you can come in and protect me like I'm yours. Well I'm not!" You take a deep breath, your heart hammering like war drums against your ribs. You stare into C's pale grey eyes, something like regret shimmering in those stormy depths. But you ignore the butterflies unfolding in your stomach, swallowing hard. "You lost that privilege a long time ago. I'm doing just fine without you. I don't need you protecting me."

There's a long pause as C stares at you and you stare at them. It feels like there's a rope, a noose, tied around both your necks, getting tighter and tighter. It feels like your lives are tied to each other's, even if neither of you want it. Like if one of you chokes, the other will too.

"Well?" you ask finally, unable to stand the silence much longer.

"Well?" they echo back, raising an eyebrow in response.

You groan, throwing your hands in the air in frustration. "Well, say something!"

"What do you want me to say?" they ask, never once breaking eye contact with you. You can feel your heart in your throat, throbbing like it wants to beat out of your body.

"Something!" You exclaim back, feeling the frustration mounting again. "Anything."

"I've already explained to you why I left and why I had to cut contact," they say calmly, as if they have rehearsed this very argument in the mirror every morning. "You know everything. I've said all there is to say. This part's up to you."

You take a deep breath, trying to calm the raging blood in your veins. You can feel electricity humming underneath your skin--the rage in your body responding to the magic like a moth to a flame. They haven't changed, not a single bit. They're still the same unbelievably frustrating, irritating, argumentative little shit they were when you were best friends in high school. Except now they don't even have the decency to get angry during your arguments.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" you say, shaking your head and releasing your arms to stab a finger into their chest.

They take a step towards you, their breathing slow and steady. This close you can smell the mint on their breath, the scent of fresh laundry of their fancy, clean clothes. You didn't even note that they put in effort for tonight, but for some reason, the idea of their freshly pressed shirt and the spritz of perfume in the air suddenly makes your mouth dry.

"Am I?" they ask, their voice surprisingly soft, as they lean in closer so you can hear them over the sound of music and chattering voices in the background. C is close enough now that you can see the specks of blue in their grey eyes, the rough edges of the scar above their top lip.

"Yes," you manage to force through your lips, though you swallow hard as you glance into their eyes again. You're angry at them, you remind yourself, folding your arms across your chest again. "You know exactly what you're doing."

C's lips twitch at the corner into the barest smirk, and they lean even closer towards you. "And what am I doing?"

You're angry, you insist, you're angry, you're angry, you're--

Staring into C's eyes again. Their lips are close enough to yours that if you just tilted your head they would touch, you would taste the mint on their breath, feel the soft press of their mouth on yours, you could tangle your fingers into their blonde curls, tug on them in a way you can't help but think they'd like.

"You're infuriating," you mutter, but there isn't any force behind the words. All you can think about is their arms wrapped around you, their hands on your skin. All you can think about is them. "And utterly unforgiveable."

C tilts their head, their lips brush against yours. "I'm sorry you feel that way," they whisper, and then their mouth is on yours, first soft, slow, but then C's tongue trails along your bottom lip, and you move your lips together. Hard, and fast. You unfold your arms and wrap them around their neck, moving your hands into their hair.

You tug a little harder than you'd like to admit, but C moans softly into your mouth, and you pull them closer. C pushes you against the bar, their hands travelling underneath your top, digging into your skin hungrily.

Because C Calloway truly is infuriating.

And they never like to lose an argument.

Hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for the kind words!

- Tori

#unwanted advances cw #calloway #scenario #prompt #asks #anon #ALSO sorry my writing is hella rusty here i've been writing academic shit for months and i need to get back into the groove of actual #creative writing again #i hope yall enjoy tho #also this has not been proof read or edited love u all xoxo

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lovenona · 4 years ago

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ughghhg artist!sukuna hits the spot in the scam that is higher education. imagine him using reader as a muse and drawing her (maybe smg spicy) and adjusting her body and poses to what he wants 😍

ok the way i let this sit in my inbox for a WEEK because every time i thought about it i simply lost my shit. anyways

it’s the way you’re not even sure what his touches are supposed to mean anymore – is your pose truly off? does he want you to blush harder? why does ryomen sukuna want you of all people to model for his painting final on the theme of ‘eros’? and what does “eros” even look like, anyway?

“seriously? i didn’t even move this time,” you snap. sukuna’s hands – massive, warm – are manhandling you for the tenth time in the last seven minutes. he’s caressing his way across the silk shirt he picked for you to model in, feeling into your waistline more than is necessary for an artist. it burns you, as if he were branding you with his touch alone.

(silk is a good fabric to draw, he’d said, twenty-five minutes ago. it helps embody the theme of “eros.” he definitely not pick it out because it looked sheer in certain lighting.)

“you’re a terrible model,” sukuna retorts, but his fingers, his eyes say differently. there’s no real bitterness in his tone; it would be playful, almost, if playful was a word you could use to describe sukuna. it’s like his hands are drawn to your body like a moth to a flame. it’s like if he looks away from you, he will die.

but it’s sukuna, and he’d rather go to hell and back a thousand times over than admit any real feelings to you.

“you should’ve picked someone else,” you say, but you do not resist him, instead opting to let him shift your position again and again. you hope he never picks anyone else in his life. “if i’m so terrible at this.”

sukuna hums, instead opting to trace the lines of your face: your nose, your eyebrows, your cheekbones, as if making sure that you have not lost your features, as if ensuring that your face has not changed on him too. you fight a blush, but your ears are ringing. you pretend like you do not notice his face is terrifyingly close to yours, that his eyes are picking you apart with an artist’s precision.

“are you horny yet?” it’s a sudden question; it catches you off guard, and there’s butterflies in your vision. fuck. fuck. you’re in your worst nightmare.

“no?” you curse yourself because your strong-willed, indignant response comes out in the lilt of an unsure question. you’re tripping over your words, you think you can’t breathe, you wonder if this is how you will die. “what?”

sukuna is so close that he becomes the universe. everything goes white hot when he kisses you; it’s like you’ve dived headfirst into the sun, like you’ve walked into a raging fire. it’s all him.

you forget your name, you forget how to breathe, how to act: you think your hands are in his hair, but you don’t know, you can’t feel them. you know that sukuna tastes like the strong black tea he was drinking earlier, that his tongue owns you in ways you didn’t think possible, that you will let him do whatever he likes with you. his lips are soft. you feel one large hand digging into your waist, the other musing through your hair, pinning your head to his; there is, blissfully, no escape from the menace that is ryomen sukuna.

and then, to your personal regret, it’s over.��the first thing you recognize is sukuna’s arrogant smirk plastered across his face. he looks like nothing’s happened; you feel hot all over and you know that you must be a mess of swollen lips and dilated eyes and ruffled hair. you breathe heavy and wait for the world to come back to you.

“much better,” sukuna says with a smirk that makes you feral. “much more ‘eros.’ now, stay just like that or i’ll have to fix you again.”

#if this is bad I am sorry I wrote it in like 15 minutes #anyway SUKUNA WRECK MY SHIT CHALLENGE #sukuna #sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna #ryomen sukuna x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #adele writes #artist!jjk #letters to adele #ryomen.sukuna

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pangolin-404 · 3 years ago

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the property of hate chapter 9 + 10 liveblog/thoughttime/somethingsomething I like the character design of this comic a lot

ALSO I’ve noticed a couple people rb-ing or replying to some earlier stuff so for uuuh this onward please don’t spoil anything, don’t explain anything at all even if you think it’s nothing, try not to tag characters whose names haven’t been revealed at that point (or wait a day before going back to it? so my notifs cycle through? idk if that’s too much to ask), and please keep memeing abt chars to a minimum, I like having no idea what’s going on lol (edit: I’ve finished reading wooo)

While this is a late thought, the time between readings made me start to wonder what ability Hero has to bring things to life. I’m assuming she brought Assok to life, based on how RGB worded it, and given his surprise, he’s surprised by her ability. I wonder what about Hero revived the tree.

I worry greatly for TOby; they’re way too close to the edge of that place for my liking. I also like the dead-eyed thousand yard stare they have 90% of the time

more rambling about designs here: The longer I look at Melody’s design the more it hurts my brain; the way she’s put together out of a million instruments, it’s taking me a while to get a visual on what’s analogous to a mouth, eyes, etc., it’s so cool. Also I realized RGB has never fully “shut” his “mouth” yet; there’s always at least some of the color bars showing. I wonder if he even can

I’m endeared by how, despite Hero’s conflicted feelings towards RGB, she still puts his hat back on. he keeps loosing his hat. do not separate them (both RGB and his hat and RGB and Hero)

I wonder how many people RGB’s gotten attached to who convinced him to try taking them home. I doubt anything good happened on those attempts.

I wish I knew what sheet music symbols meant so I can get a vibe on Melody’s tone on things. All I know is that f is Loud

melting over how RGB is knelt to speak at Hero’s level. ik it could be because the “ball and chain” brought him down but let me have this

going feral over this worldbuilding. the tree. the roots and flowers. the market??

Hero.., untying RGB because she’s worried,,,, AUAUAUAUAAAAA WAA

The force of the tone shift in this comic is so powerful. everything’s all happy and lighthearted and I Do Not Like how the waves or whatever swept Julienne and Melody away in pure silence

gonna set that weird little butterfly moth thing on fire. I don’t trust it. it can turn invisible apparently. Unsure if Hero knows it’s there or if it being close made her think about being wise and such. but while she doesn’t trust RGB (or fears Evil Twisted Twin RGB), she trusts everyone else. and she feels they trust him, even if RGB himself doesn’t believe that. her believing this ticks off the butterfly YEEAAAHH. brb catch me crying in the club

I just had a thought. I wonder if the butterfly moth thing is this “her” or an agent/familiar of hers. Hm.

Any critical thinking has gone out of the window RGB GLOWS RGB GLOWS RGB GLOWS UEAAUYAYEYEA YYAAAAEEAAAHH

love this logic where by making the area darker, she can see things in a new way. Hero can hear her own heartbeat so loudly. I don’t think RGB can do this same thing; he doesn’t glow like her (doesn’t even have ears!); and is one of the dullest things there. love her face in this scene. going :D at everything

the way RGB appears in this is so odd. In some panels it looks like there’s a whitish glow in his chest, and in others he seems scratchier, darker. He knows something about Assok; starting to think he didn’t just deduct that when figuring out the tree (or if I knew all that beforehand).

So: A burning light masks itself to protect the world. A voice reveals the world would hate and fear it without the mask. The light shatters its mask. Here, RGB says the sun broke - is the sun the mask? Whichever, 5 trees fell: one fell into a wasteland, one drowned, one sank into a mire, one turned to ice, and the fifth was lost forever.

Tied together by darkness, the forests lifted the sea up to extinguish the fire. The sea of Limen is still there, in case the sky ever catches blaze again, to provide shelter and safety.

Hero, upon hearing of what sounds a lot like a prophecy/start up to a hero’s journey: So we go free the other 4 trees, right? RGB: HA. YOU FOOLISH CHILD, WE ARE SO WEAK COMPARED TO THE TREES. WE COULD NEVER HOPE TO DO SUCH THING. In fact whatever powerful force trapped it in the first place freed it with intent to set us on fire! Hero: oh

I’m going to lose my mind. staring at this image so hard. osmosing the raw power these characters give off they are all perfect in every way. that snake, that bird in the corner, that wiggle giraffe amargasaur thing, that boney bird-fear lookin thing back there, the thing with the snazzy tassels, I am losing it

I will not lose my mind over another object head I will not loose my mind over another object head I will not lose my mind over another object head I will not lose my mind over another object head I will not lose me mind over another object h

all of these character designs are right up my alley.

amazing. incredible. I’ve been staring at these panels for 8 hours now

anyways

uuuh right ending thoughts time: that story is definitely going to return later; I think the other trees have a good chance of showing up, as is that creepy butterfly moth thing, uuuUUUuuh gonna stare at these panels some more goodbye

#thoughts #the property of hate #tpoh liveblog #tpoh posting #ven VEN YOU ARE RIGHT THE MARKET IS SO SO GOOD

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dansnaturepictures · 3 years ago

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23rd September 2021-Buzzard, Tufted Ducks and more at Lakeside and home

I saw the moon which has been one of the ones I’ve photographed most when at its fullest the past few nights I think early on this morning which I took the first picture in this photoset of and the second of some interesting clouds which would go onto to obscure the moon later. I took the third picture in this photoset of a beautiful Goldfinch that was shining in the garden just before going out for my Lakeside lunch time walk, taking a great yellow themed photo of sunflower and some low-hanging of the yellow buddleia which mixed nicely with the sunflowers which are dominating the garden lately which I tweeted a picture of on Dans_Pictures too.

I did a fairly long walk at Lakeside through the eastern meadows then through the lakes and back along the northern path. I saw a Blackbird well something I’m seeing a little bit more of lately and Small White and Speckled Wood made great butterfly sightings, as well as darter dragonflies on the whole walk.

Crossing the steam railway track and going along the path through trees in the field north of the steam railway station and I was thrilled to see a bold Buzzard soaring gently through the air in a circular motion. I was so happy to make out the sweet brown and prominent markings of this big bird of prey. Seeing one of my favourite birds I had a great connection to nature. I took the fourth picture in this photoset of one flying alongside another and on the way out approaching the steps up to the northern path I saw a Buzzard again possibly the same bird and a lady I spoke to pointed it out to a child with her too and she saw me checking with my binoculars and asked if it was a Buzzard I said yes as we all marveled at this enormous bird flying through the sky. After a really good run of Lakeside and home Sparrowhawks in recent weeks, a Red Kite out the back before we went to Richmond and Bushy Park in my week off last week; Kestrel was a star bird of prey and bird generally of my day yesterday and it was Buzzard today. Buzzards are one of the most satisfying subjects for me and I always love it whenever one flying quite low presents a chance for a photo of this wonderful raptor. I took the fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of Kornwestheim lake today.

I then walked through the grassy area between the lakes and with my bridge camera on its once weekly trip whilst the young Great Crested Grebes are around as well as my DSLR and big lens I looked for this another of my favourite birds. I did see one in the end getting some nice views of it at the centre of the lake seeing adults on both Kornwestheim and Concorde the two joined lakes today and it was fascinating to see the humbug youngster dive the famous thing grebes do so it felt a crucial stage in their development. I took the eighth picture in this photoset of this cute bird. But this was not before I spotted a single male Tufted Duck on the lake, this blue and white beauty shown in the seventh picture I took today in this photoset a bridge camera zoom in. This was the first Tufted Duck I’d seen at Lakeside for a few months they disappeared as the spring went on and usually its the months more towards and in winter I regularly see them here so it hinted just a little bit at what’s to come like Black-headed Gulls in winter plumage is doing lately. The Tufted Duck a very welcome sight. I enjoyed seeing and photographing pineappleweed in the grass between the lakes it was nice to see it again this year.

After work as twilight approached it was delightful to see several groups of nearly a dozen Greylag Geese flying past as they do a lot in the time of year outside breeding season (when they are based at Lakeside all the time to breed) so is symbolic of autumn and winter for me too. I got the ninth picture in this photoset of the first group. Its amazing I guess that the amount of times I’ve seen Greylag Geese from the house I’d never got or really tried for a picture. But with the few I took of them today I had a head start in terms of getting the picture hearing them probably about a minute before I first saw them and I happened to have my big lens on at the time still on from the walk I think. It was another great moment with birds flying today, today I took some pictures fitting the “on the move” theme in the photography group I am in on Facebook that has themes. The geese do remind me of Brent Geese at the coast flying by and over which is how I fell in love with that species in autumn and winter when they migrate here one of my favourite parts of the season.

There was then another beautiful set of cloud formations as the evening wound towards sunset, the Greylag Geese were flying against these so the Greylag Geese photos included a good sky and vice versa interestingly. Including some nice bits of orange in the sky at sunset. I took the tenth picture in this photoset of one of the greyer bits of sky this evening.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: Two of my favourite birds the Buzzard and Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Greylag Goose, Back-headed Gull, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Starling, House Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, brilliant views of Jackdaws on the roof visible from my room out the back today, a nice view of a Chiffchaff quickly too, Small White, Speckled Wood, darter dragonflies probably Common Darter and it was interesting to see another moth in the house tonight I believe a Square-spot rustic.

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fishfingersandjellybabies · 4 years ago

Text

Worthy of Everything (Part 3) - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne Summary: “I’ve got you, Damian. Now let’s get you home.” A/N: Location is based on that page in TEC 1029 where they show Damian reading the casebook. Also, can’t tell if Damian’s new uni is black or gray based on the three issues it’s been fully seen in so...have fun with my vague guess haha. Dick sends a picture of Damian sleeping with his pets to only Barbara, the only one that I can see in canon who has given a shit about Damian and his emotional state in the last year, to confirm that he actually found him. Damian still spends a lot of his time apologizing for things that aren’t actually his fault and it breaks Dick’s heart, but he helps as best he can. Purposeful parallels to part one huzzah!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

It was an old observation tower, in the historic district. Disused since the 80s, but not run down. Still owned by the city, if he was remembering correctly, and still got annual inspections, just in case it was ever needed to be reopened.

So the building was stable, just empty. And could see all of Gotham City.

Of course Damian would come here. It was so obvious. They touted that they were the family of the world’s greatest detectives, and it didn’t occur to a single one of them. Didn’t occur to Bruce.

They should all be ashamed.

Dick took a deep inhale, ignored the butterflies in his stomach, and the tears already threatening to mist over his vision.

God, he missed this kid. He missed his kid.

The threat of tears was the joy he wanted to feel, the joy he knew was coming. How long did he have that stupid amnesia? How long was he gone? Too long, no matter the actual number.

The butterflies were the fact that he knew Damian. Knew what he heard on that phone call. Knew Damian was a feral cat on a good day, always ready to run, always halfway gone even if he was standing there.

It’d been a few days since they talked, what if Damian changed his mind? What if he already ran? Dick could be walking into an empty building, abandoned again, and he honestly didn’t know if he could take that. Didn’t know if he could take losing Damian again.

To death, to amnesia, to Bruce – how many times has he lost Damian already? How many times could his boy be ripped from his fingers?

He swallowed the lump in his throat and moved forward.

Damian would be here. He had to be.

He walked up to the door, locked by a numbered keypad, and saw that it was propped open. That was a good sign.

He stepped inside, and stood there for a moment, listening. There was nothing, not even the skittering of rodents. No footsteps. No hints of life at all. That was a bad sign.

The stairs were off in the corner and Dick practically ran to them, taking them two at a time. He huffed as he reached the landing, looking both ways down the expanse of the hallway that curved in front of him. There were doors along the outer walls, ones that clearly went to the rooms that could see out to the city. A few doors on the inner walls, probably closets and bathrooms and the like.

That was fine. He’d search every one if he had to.

So he started with the one closest to him.

But the butterflies turned into moths as he walked, as he checked more rooms that ended up empty. More rooms that had no hints that anyone had been there. No beds or clothes or food wrappers.

Turned into birds as he got halfway around the circle, with sharp beaks and talons, ripping at his insides. He’s not here, his mind began to supply giddily. He’s already gone. Doesn’t trust you like he doesn’t trust Bruce.

No, he tried to fight back. He’s here. He knows I would never-

As he caught first sight of the stairs ahead, stomach dropping knowing he’d done a full lap, he heard a door close. A heavy door, like one to the outside.

He ran, believing it to be the door he’d come in, that Damian had just left. But as he reached the landing that overlooked the lobby, he saw the door was still propped open. He glanced to another set of steps nearby. Smaller ones, that went to a rooftop entrance. He was going to check there last.

“Damian?” He finally called. He’d waited on that, in case there were other squatters here, other villains. But now that there was a sign of life, a sign someone was here, he couldn’t hold back.

No answer.

It must have been him going on the roof, Dick decided, so he rushed to the smaller stairs, and took them just as quickly as he’d taken the first set. As he reached the door, he slammed into it, throwing it open.

But…there was nothing.

Again, no signs that anyone had been up here. But almost worse than that, no signs of someone leaving either. There was no claws of a grapple hooked to the roof. No tied off rope. Not even any potential scorch or tire marks from a potential vehicle, or hookup for a glider.

So…was it Damian coming back in?

He’d never left the doorway, so immediately just twirled back around on his toes.

There.

A door on the inner ring, one of the closets that he’d already checked, was open just a crack, but that was all Dick needed. Because he could see the dim light of the hall bouncing off a pair of eyes, the shadow of a face under a hood.

And just like the phone call: “I know you’re there, kiddo.” He smiled as he started back down the stairs, slower this time. “I can see you.”

Damian blinked, and seemed to almost shrink back, just a little.

“I’m not leaving.” Dick promised. “And if you run, I’m chasing you.”

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the door opened just a little, like it was a twitch, or a hesitation, before pulling open completely.

Damian stood there, in an unrecognizable uniform. All dark grays and blacks, save for an almost white chest plate and silver boots.

But Dick didn’t care about that. He cared more about how tall Damian was now, and how he’d missed that growth. How Damian looked a little thinner than he remembered, and there were the starts of dark bags under his eyes.

“…You came?” Damian asked quietly, stepping forward.

“Of course I did.” Dick laughed. Those joyful tears were beginning to form in his eyes now. “You doubted me?”

He wasn’t hurt by the idea, and frankly didn’t blame Damian if he thought so anyway. He’d been hurt by so many people who claimed to love him before, Bruce and Talia number one on that list, why would Dick be any different?

“No.” Damian said simply. “I just…hoped you’d change your mind.”

Dick blinked, stepped forward. His heart broke as Damian took an immediate step back, but not towards the closet. Towards the steps to the outside.

“You shouldn’t see me like this. Shouldn’t want to see me like this.” Damian murmured, dropping his gaze. “Not after what I’ve done.”

“And what did you do?” Dick asked, already knowing. Bruce had told him. The prison under Mercy Hall. Potentially killing Brother Blood. None of it mattered to him.

That wasn’t what Damian confessed to, though.

“I killed Alfred. It was my fault.” Damian said, like it was an actual fact. And Dick instantly wondered how many times he’d been told that, that he believed it. Who told him that, that he believed it.

How many times Bruce told him that, that he believed it?

“No, kiddo. You didn’t.” Dick tried softly. “Bane did, and I know you had to watch. I’m so sorry that those bastards made you watch, but there was nothing you could have done.”

But Damian was shaking his head. “I didn’t try to help you.” He continued. “When…when you rejected us after you woke up, I…I guess I rejected you.”

“Convinced yourself I was gone, so it would hurt less. I get that.” Dick nodded. “I don’t blame you for that. I would have done the same thing. Hell, I did. Or do you forget that after you died, I left the country and pretended to be a spy, instead of confront the fact that you weren’t here and our family was in shambles?”

“I never visited, I never checked in. Even Father did that, in his roundabout way.” Damian sighed, but glanced up. His eyes looked so old. So tired. “I never came after you.”

“So?”

“So why did you come after me?” Damian almost sounded like he was begging, hands laid out in front of him. “Why did you waste your time?”

Dick blinked, then smiled. “Because I love you.”

Damian’s hands instantly balled into fists. “Well, you shouldn’t.”

“And like I told you before, you don’t get to tell me that I can’t.” He took a step forward, and was happily surprised when Damian didn’t step back. “And honestly? At this point, I’m going to love you out of spite. Just to annoy you. Just to be an asshole.”

He took another step forward, and they were only feet apart now. Damian just stared up at him.

“…I don’t deserve it.” Damian whispered. “Not after what I’ve done. I don’t deserve you.”

Dick took another step forward, and now they were chest to chest. Just like he was with Bruce in the kitchen. Only now there was no anger. There was only relief.

“Opposite, actually.” Dick grinned. Damian just stared up at him in wonder. “None of us ever deserved you, Damian.”

Damian blinked, and his eyes were instantly watery, his lip trembling against his will.

“…Grayson?” He breathed. And that was all Dick needed. He reached out and enveloped Damian into his arms. Held him as close and as tightly as physics would allow. Laughed when his tears fell onto Damian’s hood.

“I’m here, kiddo.” He murmured, holding the back of his head as Damian slowly returned the embrace. Squeezed as hard as he could. “I found you.”

Damian nodded, dug his nails into Dick’s back. “Thank you.”

“Titus and your cat are at my apartment waiting for you. So are a warm bed and a hot meal. Probably haven’t seen either of those in a while have you?” Dick asked softly.

“Too busy.” Damian admitted. And that’s why Dick never saw the remnants of food, or a bed. Because he didn’t sleep, didn’t eat. Focused too hard on work that wasn’t his. Just like his goddamn father.

Well, that was going to change.

“Well, not anymore you’re not.” Dick decided. He waited a moment, let them stand in silence for a second, then tightened his grip on Damian’s shoulders, buried his face against his hood. “I’m so glad I found you, kiddo.”

Damian didn’t argue this time. Just locked his hands together behind Dick’s back and repeated, “Thank you.” Another moment, and suddenly Damian tried to lean away. “…Father?”

But Dick didn’t let him. Refused to let go, refused to give Damian even an inch. “Not if you don’t want to.” Dick swore against his head. “We won’t see anyone else, not if you don’t want to.”

And that seemed to be it. Seemed to be the final bit of assurance for Damian to finally accept what was happening, whose arms he was engulfed in. He all but slumped into Dick’s hold then, and let himself cry. Let himself sob like he did on the phone.

Dick only smiled.

“I’ve got you, Damian.” Dick promised. “Now, let’s get you home.” A second, then an amendment. “Let’s get you to our home.”

Dick gathered Damian up in his arms, laughed when Damian grumbled about being carried, relished the feeling of holding his little brother again, of knowing he was never letting go, never losing him again, not this time – and they did.

#dick grayson #Damian Wayne

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tartarusdwelt-a · 3 years ago

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five times kissed / tankswap meeeee 👉👈

five times kissed // accepting | @disaeric In which I completely forsake my regular formatting because this got TOO LONG.

i. you dare to goad the consequence, it devours you. ul’dah, the golden city.

THERE WAS A GIRL ON EITHER ARM — colour her unsurprised. They fluttered in like butterflies, like moths to a flame, and he burned so brightly. Pretty things with pastel dresses and bright eyes; in their whispers and drab flirtations she found herself watching, an alienation that bothered her only when she paused to consider it.

Not of a desire for him. No, no, that would be ludicrous. But that he should be desired and desire in turn — that his waking moments should be defined by the want that another person held for him. She did not know the sensation, nor the touch. A feral, mangy, disgusting thing; she was defined by the word of others, and held their assessments of her in cruel regard.

“aye, who should want you? fucking idiot girl, y’not worth the food I put into your mouth.”

“You know it’s rude to stare.” His tankard of ale clinks against the bar top, and she jumped at the sound. Amber eyes met golden brown, unabashedly unafraid at how she glared, and he grinned.

“I am trying to drink in peace,” she answered, her expression worsening at how he laughed, “Not watch you tongue fuck every available woman in the room —”

"Are you jealous, Koret?” She hated the arrogance in his voice, how it managed to burn colour to her cheeks without conscious thought. In a fool’s attempt, she brought her ale to her lips and hoped it would hide her expression; only to near choke on his next words. “I could kiss you if you want.”

There was a pause. She lowered her drink, smoothed her fingers against the lacquered wood, and turned to look at him only when she was sure she wasn’t pink. “I could think of nothing worse.”

“You wound me,” he answered, though she knew her words inflicted no injury. If anything they were an invitation; a test to see if her bark had any bite. Foolish; he should have known a creature raised on harm would fall to a gentle hand. They found stiffness, but not resistance, and the red of her hair tumbled like blood over his fingers as he drew a soft ascent from her jaw to her cheekbone. He held her — tender, despite his previous teasing — and when he brought his lips to meet hers they were not intense, but gentle. Nothing like she’d seen when he’d kissed the others. She told herself that was what made it worse.

A hand on his collarbone. Her fingers in divot. She pushed him back, incredulous at her own weakness, and embarrassed she let herself entertain the notion. “Stop, go kiss the tavern girls!” she snarled, the back of her palm pressing to the skin of her bottom lip.

He was radiant. She wanted to kiss him again.

ii. there is a poltergeist in your veins, it wants to watch you burn. the castrum, alight.

TWISTED, METALIC ASH FELL LIKE SNOW against her hair, blistering exposed skin as Garlean engineering groaned and melted in the fires wrought by great Ultima. The pain, however, was secondary. There was an animal in place of a girl; an instinct; a desperate claw for life as the inferno wreathed its way down the narrow passage and the cool night air felt distant as oxygen was sucked from the tunnel. Yet even still she carried on; one hand on his back, the other on the control stick, and it was all she could do to push the magitek forward out of that forsaken place.

Thancred — how stupid she was to miss the signs. Lifeless, his body draped over Maggie as they ran, and unlike her as she coughed and spluttered he uttered not a peep. That fact was more frightening than the fire; greater than the ascian she tore from his body: the truth that she had missed the signs, and it might cost him entirely.

Her scream ripped through the air as they burst free, fire spewing behind them like dragon’s breath, and a sudden turn sent them both tumbling from Maggie’s back. Kor landed hard on the wet earth, tasting blood in her mouth and feeling the gashes in her bottom lip. She struggled to push herself up, to drag her body to his even when she could see the blurred vision of her companions and hear them yell at her that she was safe.

“No, he —” Her throat was burning, her voice cracked and horse. He had not moved from the place that he had fallen, splayed a marionette flung by a ruthless child. She reached for him with muddied hands, smearing dirt across his face, and pressed her forehead against his.

Please do not be dead. Please do not be dead. I cannot bear to lose anyone else. Please don’t be dead.

The tickle of breath against her hair. Shallow, barely there, but he was alive. A gasp of relief — a laugh. Without even thinking she leaned up and kissed his forehead, caring not for the bloodstain that remained.

iii. ours are the bodies of graveyards, our hearts a mausoleum. dravania, in grief.

THE SUN. She was the sun. Her gentle light a comfort; her warmth a welcomed friend. How deep the shadows ran when she departed — how cold was the world was in her absence. It reflected in her guardian. It cheated the mirth from behind his eyes and stole the revelry from his teeth. He stared ahead with catatonic dullness, his thoughts a tempest of what if’s and if only, and the dark circles and weighted shoulders were an unintended weakness to the reality of his grief.

Which was worse — the mirror or the reflection? That she should stare into a reality she knew all too well, or that she had once projected it? Grief was intruder who slipped past her doors and made a home at her table; he had stolen her innocence and took more than a pound of flesh. It defined her, the loss of her sister. She could only imagine how Minfilia’s would define him.

Without much thought she came to sit beside him, not minding that he didn’t pause to look. The fire, as it crackled and twirled on charred logs, was a good enough distraction — she was familiar with the disassociation. To speak was to admit. To act was to give in. There was violence in the vulnerability. She knew, she knew.

Her head lay gently against his shoulder, feeling it a pitiful comfort. Yet he reached for her all the same, his hand resting on the top of her head, and they sat in the quiet for a time.

“Thancred.” When she spoke her voice was quiet, thick with an emotion she didn’t fully understand, and when she finally looked up at him she wasn’t even sure what she should say. I’m sorry. I know. It never gets easier. I wanted to die, too. It will live in you — poison you.

Instead, with lips slightly parted and the flutter of her hand against the back of his neck, she leaned in to kiss him. A foolish distraction, one she full expected him to reject, but he did not. His lips moved against hers, his tongue a delving dance, and as he twisted himself to meet her the hand that pressed itself to the small of her back cradled her as he gently lowered her to the grass.

iv. they play requiems in your honour; it is an insult. the rising stones, alone.

SHE HATED THE FLOWERS PLACED BY HIS BED. Dead — he wasn’t fucking dead — but it was as if they had left him to die. Their scent was a mockery; their withering blooms a reminder of the time that ticked idly by while he lay unmoving beneath the oil lanterns of the Scion’s headquarters. Though he breathed he did not wake, and the smooth lines on his face did little to soothe her knowing his last expression was of agony.

Gone. He was gone. Dead, but not gone. How was she supposed to rationalise that? If he were dead at least there would be a funeral, but the flowers that wreathed him shed petals in the coffin of his bed. It was absurd. She picked one from his cheek and let it flutter to the floor.

“Come back to me,” she pleaded. But like every time her voice did not reach, nor did her actions have any effect. She took his hand, curled his fingers around her own, and pressed them to her mouth. “I love you. Please, please come back.”

He was silent.

She did not expect anything less.

Choking back her own despair, she willed herself the gentleness to lower his hand before the anger exploded.

The vase shattered into a thousand pieces against the wall. Wet hands pressed themselves to her cheekbones, hoping the pain would stop her grief, but it ripped itself from her lungs all the same.

She fell to her knees.

v. golden, she burns like atoms. you cannot protect her. the first, sacrosanct.

AH, SO THIS IS HOW SHE WOULD DIE. Not by her own hand, but the light. In holy radiance she would be purified from the inside out. Incinerating her, she would become beautiful and clean.

It burned. Gods, it burned.

She didn’t realise she was screaming until his hands were steady on her shoulders, uttering soothing placations she knew neither of them believed. Five years on his side had changed the man she knew, but even in the depths of his weariness the familiarity remained. He was a fixture; her fingers wrapped around his arms an anchor; and even as she choked and vomited the burning light he did not peel himself from her side.

“It hurts, it hurts.” Kor didn’t mean to sound so vulnerable — so small. She was the Warrior of Darkness, she could not show weakness. But it poured from her like a fount and dripped off her skin like holy water, and as she cried he kissed her head and kept her steady in her fight.

“I’ve got you,” he assured, even know she knew neither of them believed it. Even if it wasn’t enough. “You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

#disaeric #in which i thought this would be like sexy battles and shit #but my brain said #nah #angst #nothing but angst #for like... i don't even want to word count #「 ♛ 」𝙆𝙊𝙍𝙀𝙏 / when you inhale I fill your lungs.

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wirrrp · 3 years ago

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Ferals, Limbs, Pupation, and Skin

So I’m implementing a lot of things I haven’t gotten the chance for with previous drafts of this project. My eventual endgoal is I would like to be able to hand-customize genetics for two trolls from different universes with different biology headcanons, and then see some of the possibilities for what kind of grubs could be produced. Alternately, exploring what kind of weird mutants could pop up in a single-verse situation, and how difficult it would be for the jades to control the output and either encourage or discourage certain morphs.

So, skin. There's skin patterning which is invisible on most trolls, but will presumably effect bioluminescence patterns for rainbow drinkers, psychics, and seadwellers, and possibly coloration for ferals with fur, scale, carapace, or other coverings. I also have it noting whether the skin darkens with age, levels of sun resistance, and Grubscars.

..but grubscars leads me into the subject of pupation, which gets its own gene. Pupation 0 is grub form, pupation 1 is becoming toddler-shaped, and any additional pupations after that are optional headcannon space. I think I'm going to have arms/legs/tails/bipedalism express on pupation 1, and wings will express on pupation 2 or 3. I'm also including a space to decide when the middle limbs turn into grubscars(pupation 1), and when (if ever) the grub scars disappear, because having that occur at the wrong time or in the wrong order is hilarious to me.

But speaking of tails and wings, ferals sure have those sometimes, and there's a lot of space to blend between the most animalistic and the most humanoid -- so there's a chromosome for that now. Some epigenetics to decide how many of the genes actually express, whether stance is digitigrade or plantigrade, and a wide variety of cool wing types. So far I have butterfly/moth, bird, bat, dragonfly, gossamer fish fins, beetle, and tentacles. Debating whether to have a gene that controls whether wing coloration is based on aspect, caste, skin patterning, or other. Now I just need to add some things to control whether feral limbs are bare skin, scaled, furred, or other. Maybe that leads back into the skin gene for that? Probably.

Also seadweller genes are in. There's one for the respiratory tract, and one for fins, ears, and nictating membranes. It can express as land dwellers, seadwellers, and variations I'd describe as Deep Sea, Beachsea, and Riverdwellers -- or as any mix between.

#my programming #my projects

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camarilla-intuition · 4 years ago

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Locked Tomb Daemon AU concept notes.

I’m leaving old concepts in these notes but crossed out, since I considered a couple options for each character. Contains only spoilers for Gideon the ninth, not Harrow. that will be a seperate post some other time!

Gideon: Lion? Strawberry tiger? Eagle? Bearded vulture for its bone Eatin. Big, gold and red, wants sun and space and freedom, Feral ish. He/him. Settles sometime in the normal puberty range, never thinks about it to much, because what is there to think about. but his settling does relate to their internal decision that they gotta get out of the Ninth for the second. Just as vocal with other people as Gideon is, which is odd to other houses where sometimes daemons just don’t address other humans.

Harrow: Cotton mouth? Weasel? Horned sea snake, something that doesn’t know what the sun can do for it, salt water, venomous, slow on land, faster in the water which they don’t know, also wears bone paint. Weird intense eyes. She/her. Spends most of her time coiled around Harrows neck. I might draw a little comic about her settling later? idk but its serious spoilers. She for sure settled early

Ianthe: oriental mini kingfisher? Small, Colorful, easily hidden? Blue headed hummingbird? Grey or Pied Butcherbird, Duller colors, surprising violence, corvid, song bird, makes symbolic sense out of her stabbing Nabs through. She/her

Coronabeth: bird of paradise or golden pheasant, he/him, constantly strutting into room ahead of her, grooming hair and other twos feathers in private.

Naberius: Peahen Demoiselle crane? She’s Spurred and capable of fighting. Viewed as a matching set to the girls, iridescent feathers on neck. Less attention grabbing. Than Coronabeth but still pretty n vain.

Palamedes: wears a moth pin deceptively, long tailed weasel, stoat? Something with clever hands. She/her

Camilla: fisher cat, otter? Monitor lizard or Frill necked lizard? Also wears a moth pin. He/him

Abigail: ram, he/him,

Magnus: mastiff or leonberger dog

Jeannemary: unsettled, Likes being a mimic of others based on the admiration she feels in certain scenes. he/him

Isaac: unsettled for most of book, likes being a hooved animal like Abigails, lots of pack species associated with fourth house. He/him. Settles into something maybe after the murder? uncertain. maybe beagle?

Judith: pony or working horse?

Marta: German Shepard? Gold retriever? Lots of practical working animals in second house

Dulcinea: Orchid mantis

Protesilaus: small Copper butterfly

These are stereotypical for seventh house. Easily mimic-able by Cytherea(will detail in harrow spoiler separate post)

Silas: a leech or tick spider monkey, douc, mangabey, White washed or albino. Freely handles colum’s daemon during soul siphoning. Not vise versa till right at the end maybe?

Colum: lab rat, spaniel type smaller dog?

Ortus: a shy Bull

Aiglamene: one eyed Horned Owl

Crux: a Shaggy Wolf or Coyote

World difference notes:

I’m not following the daemon gender=the gender of your romantic inclinations thing, just going with the feel of the daemons character.

Teacher and other first house constructs just don’t have daemons

People don’t bother identifying their animal species much, there are still the obvious, dogs are dogs and they have meanings like loyalty and companionship, but to most houses the difference between a wolf, a hyena, or a husky seem mostly behavioral that’s relegated to the individuals personality.... the exception is the 6th house who maintain a general knowledge of animal species and symbology of pre resurrection humanity to some extent.

Pal and Cam’s moth pins are not meant to last to long as far as tricks go, but do double as a kind of poker face, giving them a chance to read into the others daemons before people can see theirs. Also pretty common on 6th, where it’s not inappropriate or anything, but also discouraged to blatantly flaunt your daemon.

Sometimes its rumored that if you please God, he’ll tell you all about what your daemon Means. (this is where most of the 6th accounts come from).

There are stereotypes of daemons for each house, second is the most diverse but you’d see a lot of working animals, big ones are less a problem to daily life here than in some of the houses colonies. Third is known for ostentatious, haughty forms to match haughty peoples. Fourth, a lot of pack/schooling/family group animals. Fifth a lot of domesticated types. 6th seems to stay small with less fur or feather, more scales or other. Seventh is bugs, pretty ones esp. Eighth idk but i keep picturing paler colors. Ninth known for big sturdy things or guard dog types from its Cavs, and creepy crawlies from its Necros.

Rumors are that each house has some way to control the types they’ll settle into but its largely false. Eighth and Sixth probably get the most of it.

Dust is not a term used here probably died with Earth or fell out of fashion. Thanergy and Thalergy still the working terms, Sin is less of a prevalent theme, I’m thinking maybe they see Settling as a small death process?

#Gideon the Ninth #locked tomb trilogy #some sketches #long post #read more #Daemon Au #seperated into a list section of just characters with what daemon they'd get #in my opinion at least!#and a world ideas section towards the end #couldn't get this outa my brain so here it is everyone

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squeakyclamart · 4 years ago

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Ayyy nobody asked for my Hollow Knight OCs but here they are! These are my children and I love them greatly

Questions about them are encouraged,, please I am desperate hghdhGKJHS

Short descriptions of each below!

ALRIGHt let’s get this show on the road

General - So, this all takes place in an underdeveloped kingdom far off from Hallownest. The kingdom is stilled unnamed, but it follows a Deck of Cards motif because I’m basic and I like it leave me alone. The kingdom is split into four factions, and each ruler governs their segment differently.

Pestilence - (silverfish) If this were to be its own game in the Hollow Knight series, Pest would be the playable character. He’s a sort of anti-hero protag with only his self-interests in mind! Generally a bastard. Very snarky, sarcastic, and isolated from other bugs. Vagabond thief, travels through different kingdoms just to pillage and ransack. Used to travel alongside Westin until the latter succumbed to Infection whilst the two were in Hallownest; Pest was forced to leave him behind and carry on alone, unknowing that West would be saved. Now, Pest finds himself in this weird four-part kingdom, and lands in deep shit as he has to sort out all the monarch’s problems.

Westin - (earwig) Westin is a good boy! Granted, he’s still a former thief with only his interests in mind, BUT he’s a better boy than Pest is! He’s just an excitable man that’s happy to be here, ready to get into fistfights with the locals. May or may not have had a major crush on Pest but you didn’t hear that from me! Anyway, at some point this idiot willingly takes on the Infection, believing it would strengthen him (think Traitor Lord). This backfires horribly and he goes feral. Luckily for him, he’s rescued by an unnamed bee lady, who was holding onto a buncha infected bugs in hopes that someone would find a cure for them. Ghost does their thing and the Radiance is oof’d, West is free, and he RUNS to try and find Pest again!! They gotta reunite!!

King of Hearts - (purple emperor butterfly) The King of Hearts is a fun-loving party animal that’s here for a good time and not a long time His kingdom is a constant festival! Always partying, always going haywire! Basically, you go here if you just wanna get drunk and get into fights while having a grand old time of it. The King himself often hosts sparring matches for fun, and more often then not will HOP right into the fray and start fighting for himself. Because his sense of self-preservation is nonexistent! Just an extremely flamboyant man that calls you “darling” and “love” while he shanks you in the fighting pit and explodes a party popper

King of Clubs - (emperor scorpion) While the Heart’s kingdom sees fighting as something jolly and fun, the Club kingdom takes it very seriously. In fact, strength is the deciding factor in a bug’s rank. If you’re strong, you’re essentially a “noble” of the kingdom. If you’re weak, you’re outta luck and living on the streets. Riches really have no purpose in this kingdom, because if anyone is stronger than you, they’ll just kill you for it and that’s how it’ll be. The King himself is a stoic big boy who comes across as big, scary and tough (it certainly helps that he’s thrice the size of everyone else)... but in reality, he ended up in this spot on accident. He keeps up the gruff façade but he just really wants to settle down somewhere safe and quiet and be a dad. big sweetheart lowkey is what I’m saying

Queen of Diamonds - (emperor dragonfly) As a stark contrast to the last to, the Queen of Diamonds is all about keeping everything PERFECT. She’s a strict perfectionist, keeping her castle SPOTLESS and TIDY, there better not be a SINGLE spec of dust or she’s going to lose her mind. She’s arguably the most mature (remaining) leader, and her economy is flourishing compared to the prior two. She’s basically like the tired angry mom having to deal with two toddlers But she’s also extremely pretentious, talks to everyone with a condescending tone, and has that haughty noblewoman voice you’ve probably heard in like those victorian-era movies/shows She also has a secret relationship with one of her servants but I’ll never tell

(Former) Queen of Spades - (emperor moth) Sad moth hours. The Queen of Spades originally belonged to the moth tribe in Hallownest, believing solely and totally in the Radiance’s divine light. When her peers turned away from the Radiance to follow the Pale King, she was outraged, gathering up a few other loyal moths and taking off to form her own kingdom. She succeeded, building this kingdom all on her own. She eventually received some help from other bugs, and that’s when the kingdom split into four. All was fine until the Radiance turned infectious, leaving the Spade kingdom to collapse under the affliction in the same way that Hallownest did. The other three segments blocked themselves off entirely, so it wouldn’t spread any further than the Spade kingdom. The Queen was the only survivor. The other monarchs refuse to acknowledge her, seeing as she brought this on herself. She completely agrees with them. Now, the former Queen is forever sulking in the rubble of her destroyed kingdom, wholly depressed and just waiting for death to claim her.

AaaANd that’s all! There’s some other minor characters (lovebug officer/knight and her worried husband, the Diamond Queen’s secret lover, bee lady) but I haven’tt gotten around to drawin’ their refs yet. It is what it is! Thank u for reading this nonsense goodbye

#clamart #OCs #Hollow knight #hollow knight ocs #hollow knight oc #bug ocs #moth oc #original characters #tw swearing #hk ocs #please ask me about my kids #i'm begging

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that-one-girl-behind-you · 5 years ago

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So I went absolutely feral in the LonelyEyes Discord server when someone linked this awesome art of monster!Jon and I sorta laid down the bare bones of a Miraculous Archivist AU?

Jon gets handed the moth miraculous when he gets moved down to the archives.

"It's tradition," says Elias as he gives him the little box with the purple tie pin, and his emerald green cufflinks seem to gleam in agreement "to welcome you into the position of the Archivist"

Jon accepts because well it's a little weird but also? It feels like belonging somewhere.

And of course when he's reading the first statement the little creature pops up and sits on his shoulders like "Oh... So Jonah did find someone new. That's sad" and Jon has a little heart attack, like Martin pokes his head into the office to ask if everything's alright and he has to pretend everything is fine and he's so bad at lying, but eventually Martin does leave and the little creature explains everything.

Jonah Magnus (now Elias Bouchard) is the wielder of the snake miraculous, and his power lays on 'poisoning' people to turn them into 'avatars' that spread fear. Jon as the new Archivist (the little thing suggests he finds a cool name for himself and Jon has a panic attack because he doesn't want to be the Mothman?!?) is meant to find new potential victims for Jonalias to feast on, because he can extract the truth from people and decide which Entity they will be more suited to serve. Jon is of course like "I'm not gonna do that????" And the little thing is like "O good, you're like Gertrude" who never really used the miraculous to transform but used all this information to foil Jonalias' plan until he finally got tired of her running intermittence and killed her.

On Jon's first trip to stop one of Jonalias's snakes, he nearly gets killed by a newly made avatar of the slaughter when the enraged woman is suddenly encased in web. A man glad in a suit similar to Jon swings down from the ceiling and super smoothly introduces himself as "Orbweaver. I know I'm probably the worst person to say this, but try not to get eaten little moth" like he didn't just save Jon's entire life?!!!

Anyways Jon finds out Orbweaver (y'all know who this is) has been trapping Jonalias' avatars for the past few days, but he has no idea how to turn them back. Jon has a certain feeling, and he walks up to the encased woman before asking: "Who are you?"

The woman snarls and shrieks and tells them an absolutely bonkers story about how she has felt possessed by rage her whole life, before ending with a single: "I am Melanie King" and when she opens her eyes, they're not the same acid green as the rest of Elias' victims.

Long story short Martin names Jon something corny like "Truthteller" and they work together from then on. Jon develops the most ridiculous crush on his hero partner who’s so clever and so good at thinking on his feet and so gentle and kind when dealing with Elias’ victims?

Elias catches on and tries to get rid of his second rogue archivist, but there always seems to be something that goes wrong when he tries, like someone is controlling everything so Jon is alright (of course he thinks this is a calculated move by someone trying to protect the Archivist and foil his plans instead of just Martin subconsciously using his powers so his crush has a nice day) and he has to find out who in his team has the absolute pain in the ass Web miraculous to get rid of them first.

Featuring:

Tim with a wolf miraculous, always able to find his pack, always looking for a way to recover his lost brother (his power is being able to track fear possessed people but he jokes it's actually just being sexy)

Sasha with a butterfly miraculous (created by Gertrude specifically as a counterpart to the moth miraculous because she never expected for someone to actually use the real one for good) that gives her the power to confuse and hypnotize avatars

Because I'm incapable of not thinking about him for five minutes, Gerry Keay with a bat miraculous, able to absorb Elias' venom into himself at the cost of his own sanity/health/wellbeing, he used to work with Gertrude who used his talent happily but the new team is like WHAT ARE YOU DOING NO

Other main avatars like Peter/Simon/Jane/Agnes/etc get miraculouses too but I should go to sleep already

#tma #the magnus archives #tma au #vit writes #i had to get this out of my head

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graglithans-library · 4 years ago

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Welcome to Paris Fur-ance Ch 6: Panic, Rematches, and Comfort

I apologize for the delay. I have the organizational abilities of a newt, and my boss switched up my schedule thanks to Thanksgiving.

NOW ON TO THE STORY!

Ladybug rushed through the air towards where the explosions had been coming from, panic warring its way to making itself known in her eyes. She found it all too convenient that they had stopped so shortly after she’d left to find any comfort in the silence.

She had to figure out what had happened.

She had to know that everyone was okay.

She had to make sure Chat was okay.

Startled a bit by the last thought, Ladybug landed on a rooftop and started running. She didn’t have much time to ponder it, as her worry was somewhat abated by the very same hero leaping up from an alleyway and catching up to her. “Evening, My Lady. You seem to be in a bit of a rush.”

Ladybug scowled for a moment before sighing as she stopped her run. “Chat, now isn’t the time for jokes! There’s an Akuma still out-”

“About that.” Chat pulled out the launcher from behind his back and handed it over to Ladybug. “Friend Finder is currently tied to a light post. All that’s left is to purify the Akuma.”

Ladybug fumbled a bit as she was handed the launcher and blinked in confusion. “R-really?” She just looked between the device and her partner with a look of surprise.

A slightly hurt smile flashed across Chat’s face, but he shrugged it away before she could notice. “Well, My Lady, I did have some help.” Ladybug’s eyebrow rose as she looked at him. “Remember our tanuki friend? She helped me with distracting the Akuma long enough that I was able to subdue them.”

“Wait, did you say she helped you?” Ladybug frowned in thought as she put a hand to her chin. “Interesting.”

Chat looked back to where the fight had been with a frown himself. “I’m starting to wonder if they’re actually being affected by Hawk Moth at all. There’s no way he’d willingly let anyone go against him.”

“You’re right.” Ladybug pondered for a moment as she pulled out her yo-yo. “The wolf from earlier didn’t know who Hawk Moth was either...”

“Wait, you met him?” Chat looked surprised.

“More like he tackled me into a roof.” Ladybug grimaced as she started to twirl the launcher for a moment. “Now, let’s get this over with.” Ladybug took the launcher in both hands and brought it down on her knee. The launcher split in two with a crunch, pieces of hardened foam littering the ground.

And nothing coming out of it.

“It wasn’t the launcher!?” Chat reeled and looked back to where he’d come from with panic.

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder, and his attention snapped to the serious look on her face. “Chat, this isn’t the time to panic. We should head over to where you left Friend Finder to keep them from hurting anyone.” Both heroes rushed off towards where Friend Finder had been left, a sense of urgency bleeding into their movements.

An urgency that affected none more than it did Chat.

________________________________________________________________

Shirou had dealt with many situations across his long life. Terrorists, assassins, muggers, murderers; you name it, he’s probably fought it.

But this... was new.

“So you’re telling me, you’re all guarding someone who’s been possessed by dark magic, and waiting for these superheroes to show up to purify them, with absolutely no means of stopping them should they break free of the only bindings they have?” Shirou asked the four assembled teenagers with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

Michiru and Nazuna both looked a bit sheepish as they shared a glance, and the former started rubbing the back of her head. “Well, when you put it that way...”

Alya just looked confused until Kagami translated, in which confusion transitioned into being a little bit indignant. “Je ne vois pas quel est le problème.”

Shirou felt his eye twitch as he turned to her. “Le problème est qu'ils pourraient se libérer à tout moment et mettre votre vie en danger.”

Michiru’s eyes lit up as she gasped dramatically. “Oh my god, you speak French!?”

Shirou gave her a deadpan stare before sighing and pinching his muzzle again. “Michiru I’m over a thousand years old. Is it that surprising that I know more than one language?” Alya didn’t get a translation for that one, as Kagami’s eyes were about to fall out of her head. Well, as close as they could get with her.

So maybe a centimeter wider than usual.

As they kept talking, Friend Finder was messing with the bindings on their arms. It was as a feral grin started to spread across their face that their arms came free, and they reached a hand into their raggedy cloak and pulled out a blue sphere. Shirou’s ear twitched, and he quickly looked over to see the blue ball landing near his feet.

The explosion sent all five of them flying back. Michiru and Nazuna landed against the brick wall of the building behind them, while Kagami and Alya were sent down the sidewalk. Shirou, however, had been standing practically on top of the ball when it landed, and he was sent flying into the air, landing twenty meters away with a sickening thud.

Friend Finder just laughed and started to walk over to where Nazuna and Michiru were. They pulled out a spray can from behind their back and started making a glob of foam on the ground, before reaching in and pulling out a brand new launcher.

Michiru got ready to fight back but noticed something was off.

She stared into Friend Finder’s uncovered eye, and there was a shift. If only for a moment, burning red was replaced with a terrifying blue. The change even made Friend Finder flinch before they growled and gripped their head. A purple mask in the shape of a butterfly formed over their eyes before the blue changed back into red. “Fille stupides! Tu n’as pas ton mot à dire sur ce que je fais!” Friend Finder hastily shoved the spray can back under their cloak as they turned to the four stunned teenagers.

Alya hesitantly stepped back away from the Akuma, horror in her eyes. “L’akuma... se bat tout seul?”

Nazuna looked at Kagami, and the fencer shook her head. “I’m not sure what is happening.”

Michiru’s eyes moved past Friend Finder and landed on Shirou. His body had a small pool of blood starting to form around it, and she gulped. Come on, Shirou. Get up! The Akuma however, kept their advance, making the four girls back into the building behind them, back to the glass display. “We need to get out of here...”

A snarl from behind Friend Finder made Michiru and Nazuna perk up with a smile.

“Hey.” Shirou’s hand grabbed Friend Finder by the back of the head and lifted them off the ground. “Est-ce le mieux que vous puissiez faire?” Friend Finder kicked and struggled as they dangled in the air. Shirou reached behind them and pulled out the can of spray foam, before dropping the Akuma to the ground. The moment they landed, Shirou’s foot fell onto their back, and His free hand grabbed their arm as he pinned them to the ground. “Rester.”

Michiru’s eyes were filled with smug satisfaction, as was her smile. She leaned forward and got in Friend Finder’s face, relishing in their irritation. “I have no idea what he said, but you’re not going anywhere.”

That was when Friend Finder punched Michiru in the muzzle.

“OW!” Michiru flailed as Nazuna and Kagami grabbed onto her and started to pull the two apart. Alya ran over and stomped on the Akuma’s hand, making them yowl in pain. Michiru glared and scooted away from the villain. “Who does that!?” Friend Finder just snarled in response.

Shirou’s foot got just a touch heavier on the villain’s back, making them wince. “Essayez à nouveau quelque chose comme ça. Je te défie.” He looked to Michiru and frowned. “Are you alright?”

“The only part of me that’s hurt is my pride.” Michiru pouted and hissed a bit as she let go of her nose. A small trickle of blood started to trail down and dripped onto the sidewalk. “And maybe my nose.” Alya reached into her pocket and pulled out some tissues, handing them over. “Thank you.”

“Pas de problème.”

Nazuna frowned as she watched Michiru stuff a tissue up her nostril. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Michiru waved a hand and shot Nazuna a quick smile. “I’m fine! I’ve had worse than this.” Kagami noticed how Nazuna stiffened a bit but didn’t ask.

It wasn’t long after that they all noticed two more teenagers, this time in spandex, land nearby.

________________________________________________________________

Ladybug dropped from her swing and found that she had more surprised faces in stock than she’d known. She had been expecting that she’d have to figure out a way to save a possibly large number of hostages.

She wasn’t expecting the wolfman from earlier to be pinning the Akuma down with his foot. More so, she noticed how there was now a fox girl involved, as was both Kagami and Alya. All three of them were helping the tanuki- Michiru, get to her feet, and there were quickly reddening tissues sticking out of her nose. It just had to be Alya again. Why doesn’t she listen when I say this is going to get her hurt one of these days!?

Chat, equally surprised, looked over at her with a shrug. “Well, I think it’s safe to assume they’re not with Hawkmoth.”

She glanced over at Chat and nodded before the two walked over to where the wolfman was standing. He was still pinning the Akuma with his foot, glowering down at them. His turning to look at her made her stop for a moment before she steeled her nerves. “You never answered my question earlier. Who-?”

“Ladybug!” Alya practically teleported over to where they were, and Ladybug had to blink a bit to shake away the shock. “Where were you during the Akuma attack? Is there a reason you left Chat on his own earlier? Who are these new heroes? Is their appearance a side effect of using a Miraculous?” The last question sounded slightly nervous, but considering she’d been Rena Rouge, it was understandable.

Chat gently put his hand over her phone and pushed it down. “We’ll answer any questions you have after the akuma has been purified.” Blushing a bit, Alya backed away and stepped out of their way. It didn’t stop her eager eyes from locking onto the two the entire time.

The wolfman held up a can of spray foam that was off-colored, before tossing it to Ladybug. “I take it you were looking for this?”

Ladybug looked at the can in her hands with a hint of surprise, before glancing at the Akuma. “I was, but could you please remove your foot from them? Once the Akuma is purified, they’ll go back to normal, and I don’t want a civilian to be injured as a result.”

Lifting his foot off of their back, the wolf nodded before Ladybug handed the can to Chat, who used cataclysm on it. As the can fell into dust, a purple butterfly flew out. “No more evildoing for you, little Akuma.” With a flick of her yo-yo, the Akuma was captured and purified. “Bye Bye, little butterfly.”

A purple cloud of smoke washed over Friend Finder, making Michiru’s group jump slightly. The cloud widened until not one, but two people were left on the ground, rubbing their heads. Both Rose and Juleka were groaning and disoriented.

Rose gasped as she looked around and stared at her hands. “Was... Was I akumatized?”

Juleka put a hand on Rose’s, and when she looked over, the two hugged as Rose started to cry into Juleka’s shoulder.

Ladybug walked over and put a hand on Rose’s shoulder, making Rose look up to her. When she had both of their attention, she gave them a comforting smile. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“We... we were in class when the last Akuma alert had gone off. Everyone was getting worried when Marinette went missing, and... And Lila said something about how suspicious it was, and how she could be working with Hawkmoth.” Juleka’s grip tightened a bit around Rose. “I... I just can’t believe...”

Ladybug shook her head and helped the two stand. “I can guarantee to both of you, Marinette is not working for Hawkmoth.” At their shocked reaction, she continued. “One of the reasons it took me so long to get here was because I had to help Marinette hide somewhere far more reasonable than where she’d managed to squeeze herself.” Ladybug couldn’t tell what she hated more at that moment. How she had to lie or how she was getting better at it. Marinette getting stuck somewhere was something that Rose and Juleka would believe, considering it had happened before when she was ten.

Though she since made them swear never to tell a soul about the Haunted House Incident.

Rose hesitantly looked up from Juleka’s shoulder, “R-really?”

“Really.” Ladybug stepped back a bit and pulled out her yo-yo, before tossing it into the air. “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

Michiru’s eyes widened at the sight of thousands of ladybugs flying through the air. Everywhere they passed, the damages caused by the fight were being repaired. When they passed over her face, she had to blink in surprise at the sudden lack of pain. Pulling the tissue out, she gasped and beamed at the fox. “Nazuna! Hana ga naotta!”

“Hontōni!?” The fox girl (Nazuna?) grabbed Michiru’s head and narrowed her eyes as she inspected for any injuries. “Sugoi...”

Turning away from the two, Ladybug went back to Rose and Juleka. “You two should head back to the school and let them know you’re okay. I’ll go and let Marinette know it’s safe.” As the two walked off, her earrings beeped, as did Chat’s ring.

The wolf raised an eyebrow at the two as they walked off, but his attention mainly fell on Michiru and Nazuna. “Daijōbu?” Nazuna looked over and gave him a nod, making a cute ‘un’ noise as she did.

Chat put a hand on his chest and groaned a bit.

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug lightly smacked him on the arm. “This isn’t an anime. You’re not going to have a cute fox girlfriend. Besides, don’t you already have one now?” As Chat sputtered, Ladybug walked over towards the group and frowned. “I’ll ask one more time. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

The wolf looked at her with a raised eyebrow before facing her. “So you don’t know how we were brought here.” He sighed a bit under his breath before shifting back into human form. “My name is Oogami Shirou. I believe that we have a lot to discuss.” Behind him, Nazuna and Michiru both shifted to human form, with Michiru complaining as she did.

Ladybug smiled until her earrings beeped again. “I would love to, but I’m unfortunately running out of time. Can I meet you tonight at the Eiffel Tower?”

Shirou examined her earrings for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

With a nod in return, Ladybug spun her yo-yo, and Chat readied his staff. “Bug out!”

_______________________________________________________________

After they had all left, a gloved hand reached into the garbage and pulled out the bloody tissue. Strikingly red eyes scanned over the blood before a chuckle escaped the individual. “A roundabout way of getting what I needed, but I suppose this works.” The tissue was swiftly placed in a test tube and pocketed as they walked away. “Let’s hope the sample is large enough to make a usable dose.”

#Welcome to Paris Fur-ance #Chapter 6 #miraculous ladybug #brand new animal #BNA #SUSPENSE!

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grump-the-deer · 5 years ago

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great (and meh) things about HDM ep 2

GREAT:

- the FIGHT between PAN and MONKEY was AMAZING!! holy SHIT!

- Pan’s using more forms! moth and wildcat are back! hell yeah!

- the dæmon expressions, particularly Pan’s in his ermine form, are spectacular for real

- the windows look INCREDIBLE, they’ve got little fibers like the strings of the multiverse are torn

- Mrs. Coulter has some really good little moments, really fantastic. we get into her head a little more as far as when she challenges people, and those glassy-eyed looks she gets, like she’s just so removed from reality. she feels like a tiger prowling inside its cage, daring anyone to get too close.

- Roger is such a good boy I love him :C

- Lyra is still so absolutely wild and I adore her. she just tears around the place and I love her using the air vents to get around

- Mrs. Coulter talking about being compelled towards the edge, to fall - HAUNTING REFERENCE TO HER EVENTUAL DEMISE ANYONE?

- the alethiometer only starts working when Lyra begins to think critically about herself - self-awareness. mmmm symbolism.

- some of the parallel shots are STUNNING. especially where Lyra is confiding in Pan after the tense bath scene, and afterwards they cut to Mrs. Coulter dissociating doing her own little distress breakdown and the monkey is concerned for her, but when she sees him instead of confiding in him she rebukes him for wanting to care about her. it’s chilling.

- ALMOST as chilling as the golden monkey prowling around the house WITHOUT HER. I never really got that if it was intended in the books? but it would make sense that he has a longer leash so to speak, considering how far removed she is from herself.

- a lot more dæmon involvement in this one, awesome. really takes it a step up from the last ep, I think, especially with background characters�� dæmons. ESPECIALLY WITH CRUSHING THE BUTTERFLY. HOLY HELL.

- they let Mrs. Coulter do the scene with the gobbled kids! yesssss, perfect, this is what I wanted from the first ep

- adding the “of London” to the Gobblers’ GOB title was clever. very clever. GOBOL.

- I like that Father McPhail is just completely immune to Mrs. Coulter’s charms. it’s a nice touch. and I’m glad Lord Boreal still seems enraptured by her.

- the sets are still stunning, I love the addition of the lift even. has a good trapped-in-a-cage feel. and I love that Lyra climbed out the window instead of waiting for it - makes her own way out.

MEH:

- what.....are they doing with Lord Boreal? he’s already in our world, but it just feels.....weird. like, Asriel was always the first one to make the window their world knows, it was always a grand thing. it just feels cheapened by the fact that Boreal has already crossed over. he feels like more of an antagonist than Asriel, which is just not right at this point. I still don’t like how badass and smooth he feels, he was always supposed to be an admittedly clever but smarmy yucky middle-aged man.

- the golden monkey is feral, don’t get me wrong, but he’s just...not as much. I like what they’re doing with Mrs. Coulter, but he seems like he’s got the moral compass out of the two, and that’s just weird. they’re both supposed to be pretty amoral, and have this weird sickly sweet relationship as if for show, even though she abuses him from time to time. here it just seems like they’re extremely removed, which has its advantages, but also misses the mark in a way.

- still think Billy is boring. and the gyptians are just, lifeless to me. I really miss their original personalities and while the scenes are supposed to be gut-wrenching I just...can’t bring myself to care about these versions. the only scene that actually felt good was John Faa talking to Ma Costa with their foreheads together, promising her that they’d find her son. otherwise, they’re just kind of...bland. and it makes me sad. Ma Costa is just an upset mother, John Faa is just the stoic leader, Farder Coram is......the same thing, a little less serious. where’s the heart??

- the silver fox is SUCH a weird plot point. why did Pan go towards it in the end? does it have some kind of weird power to compel children’s dæmons towards it? why ? ? why not just a surprise attack? Pan is too smart to just wander off alone like that, I don’t get it.

- weird way to introduce Asriel as Lyra’s father. much preferred it given by the gyptians, tying them into her story. right now they seem way too uh parallel but separate. also does Lyra not question how Mrs. Coulter knows so much? ?

#hdm #his dark materials #hdm spoilers

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seasonofthegeek · 6 years ago

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Saving My Life, Part 3

Today’s drabble was requested by the lovely @ming85 with a ko-fi donation. Thank you so much!

Parts 1, 2, 3:

Marinette ran her fingers along the white ribbon with a frown. It’d been three nights since Chat Blanc landed on her balcony and touched the same ribbon. Three nights since she’d coaxed Adrien to sleep beside her in her small bed and watched him have nightmares she knew it would be no good to wake him from.

She missed the days they’d had school together. At least then she would have a reason to go check in on him, but she didn’t want to make Gabriel suspicious. She would try to be patient and trust that he would visit again when he could. He was trying to protect her as much as she was trying to protect him.

She would go to Master Fu tomorrow if Adrien or Chat Blanc didn’t show up before she could get over there. They were running out of time and she knew Hawk Moth would be running out of patience.

__________________________________

“Well?” Hawk Moth walked a wide circle around his son, watching him flex the sharp silver-tipped claws.

“It’s different than I thought it’d be.” Chat Blanc flinched at his voice. It sounded deeper even to his ears and held more of a rolling growl to the tone. His body felt different too. He was taller and broader and...

His tail twitched and he looked back to see it was a thicker white leather now and studded with dangerous spikes. He swallowed hard and stood, feeling it weigh him down, though that could’ve been his imagination. Spikes similar to the silver tips of his claws lined his wrists and his ankles and ran along the front of his body with the wrapped belt.

“You and Ladybug seem to be falling into close combat everytime you fight,” Hawk Moth mused as he studied his handiwork. “It seemed prudent to give you more protection.”

The thought of one of the spikes tearing across Marinette’s skin had him trying to suppress a visible shudder. She’d been so soft and warm against him the other night. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. “I was holding my own before.”

“Yes, but now you’ll actually be able to defeat her.” Hawk Moth held up his hand and one of the white butterflies settled into it easily. “And now that you’ve let me finish the ritual, we’ll be able to communicate much easier to keep you on task.”

And that was the part he’d been dreading the most. “How do I contact you?” Chat Blanc asked, trying to keep his voice light and curious.

“We can speak whenever I’m transformed. You’re the first of your kind so we’ll have to figure out some of the connection issues along the way.”

The proud smile his father gave him would’ve been better suited for the day he’d graduated rather than the day he’d finally lost his will. “But you’ve been able to communicate with all of your akumas, right? How am I any different?”

“The spell I laid on your ring gives you a bit of a power-up,” he explained. “And now that it is complete, it will protect you from the power of other Miraculous so Ladybug shouldn’t be able to effectively use a Lucky Charm against you.”

He frowned and his teeth felt too big for his mouth. He wondered if they were spiked now too. “But you were able to akumatize me.”

“Because you willingly accepted it.”

“Oh.”

Hawk Moth pursed his lips. “Perhaps you should go to your room and get some rest. The ritual may have taken some of your energy and I want you in top shape the next time you face Ladybug. You will take her earrings.” His expression softened as he reached out to touch his son’s shoulder. “We’ll have your mother back soon and everything will be as it should be, I promise.”

Chat Blanc nodded, afraid to speak because he wasn’t sure what he would say. He left the lair, forgoing the extravagant lift system to take the stairs back down to the main part of the house. His steps felt heavy and he knew it was his new akumatized form as much as his heart.

Once in his room, he stood just inside and wished more than anything that Plagg would come out of the ring. He’d been his constant companion for years and it was hard not to have him to talk to anymore. He was tempted to talk just to get it out of his system but he couldn’t know if his father was listening. He wouldn’t chance it.

He trudged across the room to the bathroom and took in a deep breath before going through the door to look into the mirror. His hair had darkened even further and grown out longer and wilder. His eyes were still a glowing magenta and he remembered Marinette’s comment about not liking the color but that they were still his eyes. He hoped she would still be able to say that now. He thought he just looked feral.

He slid down to the cool tile before he could assess his looks anymore and tried to talk himself out of crying. His father would be able to sense his emotions if he wasn’t careful enough. He needed to be strong. He would be strong.

He just had to think. He could be smart about this. His father could only communicate with him as Hawk Moth so he would just have to wait until he wasn’t Hawk Moth anymore and then he could get out and warn Marinette. He couldn’t trust business hours since Nathalie knew about Gabriel’s supervillain activities so it would have to be when his father fell asleep. He could wait him out.

__________________________________

Marinette wasn’t sure what roused her from sleep. Maybe it was the shadow interrupting the moonlight streaming over her bed or maybe it was just intuition. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes and caught a glimpse of glowing pink before it blinked back into darkness.

“Chat?” she whispered, pushing the skylight up and peering out on the balcony with tired eyes. She became more alert as she took in his hunched form, one hand gripping the end of the white ribbon.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and he sounded utterly broken as Marinette climbed the rest of the way out of her room. “I...I had to do this.”

Her breath caught in her throat as he straightened. He’d grown in size, as a lot of akumas did, and silver spikes glinted all over his body. She couldn’t even hug him now. She covered her mouth, trying to hold in the sob she could feel building in her throat.

Chat Blanc wouldn’t meet her eyes, his shoulders hunching in once again to make himself seem smaller. “I have a connection to him now,” he said quietly and it came out in a growling sound. “I don’t know if that helps you, but I thought maybe...I thought maybe it would, I guess.”

“Adrien...” she whispered. She reached up to brush hair from his eyes and he froze when her hand drew near. She cupped his cheek, rubbing her thumb along the edge of the white mask and he melted into her touch.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I’m going to fix this, I promise.”

He audibly swallowed and it was a painful sound. “I don’t have much time. The, uh, the spell he used on my ring, he said it gave me protection against other Miraculous unless I allow them to affect me. At least I think that’s what he meant.”

“So I could use a Lucky Charm on you and it wouldn’t do anything?”

He nodded. “I think so, but anything you try to do to me, I’ll let happen.”

Marinette worried her lip. “Will he know that?”

“Maybe. I don’t know,” he sighed. “I don’t know what to do now.”

“Did he do the spell to his Miraculous?”

Chat Blanc blinked. “I don’t...no, he couldn’t have. He hasn’t changed and he can detransform.”

“And it’d be dangerous,” she muttered with a dark look. “So that means he isn’t protected.”

“That’s not what it means. We’ve fought him hand-to-hand before, my Lady, and he wiped the floor with us. He isn’t helpless. Who do you think taught me fencing before I ever started lessons?”

“But if I can get him as Gabriel--”

“I don’t want you near him,” Chat Blanc growled and a frightening sound rumbled through his chest as his spiked tail lashed out behind him, metal tips clinging against the balcony railing in a menacing staccato.

Marinette tried not to let the fear that his reaction had elicited show through. She rolled her shoulders back and straightened. “You don’t need to protect me, remember? I’m Ladybug. This is my job.”

“And it’s my job to protect you!” he roared, eyes going wide and wild as he loomed over her.

She shrunk back and Chat Blanc stumbled away in shock as Adrien began to peek through again.

“I’m...I’m so sorry,” he whispered, clawed hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Marinette, I don’t...I’m not...”

She swallowed back her anxiety and moved towards him, reaching for his face like she had earlier. He crumpled and shied away from her touch but she kept moving forward until he was huddled against the balcony railing.

“You aren’t going to hurt me,” she said, proud of how calm and confident she sounded when she wasn’t completely certain she knew that for sure. She felt him push against her hand with his cheek and she went down to her knees, keeping a small bubble of safety between herself and the spikes around his waist, ankles, and wrists. “We’re going to beat him and we’re going to fix this,” she assured him. She saw the doubt in eyes that weren’t the right color and very carefully leaned forward and moved the wild dark hair away so she could press a gentle kiss just above his mask. “I promise.”

“I want to believe you.”

“Then you should.”

He finally met her eyes. “I know even alone, you’re strong and capable and the best.” He saw her open her mouth to argue so he quickly continued on. “But I’m not sure you can do this on your own, my Lady, and I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt.”

“I need reinforcements,” she nodded.

“I think that’d be best.” He stiffened and quickly stood, pushing her away roughly so the metal tips didn’t catch against her clothing and skin as he moved quickly. “He’s awake. I have to go.” He lept up onto her railing without a second thought and then was running away.

Marinette watched him leave, feeling her heart crumble. She was tempted to fall apart right there on her balcony but she gathered her pain and resolve like a suit of armor and marched back down to her bedroom. She had a plan to create.

Buy me a cherry coke?

#marichat #mariblanc #marinette dupain-cheng #chat noir #chat blanc #adrien agreste #hawk moth #miraculous ladybug

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