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myfitnessblog0086 · 2 years

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The following are first impressions of the new Fist of the North Star Fitness Boxing game based on the DEMO, and not the final version. The final version will be available on March the 2nd and I will be more than happy to give an updated version of these opinions and how everything works by the 1st of April.

Again these reflect my opinions and my assumptions on how this game works. In the demo version I was cut off from a lot of features of the game and I was able to find what I could on the internet to give me a better idea. My opinions are based on personal experience and does not mean that you need to do the same.

We have our own reasons for doing Fitness. Me? I was already labeled as pre-diabetic, and my doctor made it pretty clear if I didn't start changing my life then there was going to be life-altering consequences.

We also discussed about how sometimes diabetes can lead to leg amputation. Or not being able to get around. My experience is with gout let me have a small preview of that and I was having none of it.

So I looked into what might be a good workout. PlayStation 4 had a really good Rocky workout. VR headset and the light and my computer just wasn't up to snuff to try the steam version.

I tried the demo of Fitness Boxing and for whatever reason it clicked. After the pandemic came.. working out at home became extremely popular.. they even had a Fight Camp that became popular during the pandemic as well as the Peloton bike system.

Getting to the meat of it: Fitness Boxing Fist of the North Star is the latest version of the Fitness Boxing franchise. In some ways it feels like a combination of both games. Nintendo themselves stated on their web page that they took what was popular from both games. Like the alarm clock feature that's exclusive for the second game until now.

The only reason that you're getting this game is because you're either a fan of the manga or Anime. Perhaps you want something that looks a little bit more serious? This world is post-apocalyptic. To some that's a very weird or even a silly concept. Various YouTubers have mentioned it as a kind of a silly concept.

Taking the silliness, weirdness, and putting it aside it's built on the foundation of very decent game. It's built on the foundation of Fitness Boxing One. Even Fitness Boxing 2 is built on that foundation and they just expand upon it, and revamp the energy.

Because the tone has changed, because the energy has changed you're not going to find songs by Pink or Bananarama. Trying to get into the tone mentality.. you're being trained by somebody who IS stronger so that you can survive.

So they take that foundation and then they add this new battle mode. Battle mode and achievements are essential for this game because it is how you're going to be unlocking everything. Battle mode is where you going to be taking everything that you learned and you're going to be putting it to use. There's also a lot of pressure to get everything right in the battle mode because one miss.. and you're going to pay for it..

So is this game adding anything new or adding anything fresh? Yes and no.

Yes: You're getting a brand new ESRB rating of T for Teen. You're getting the new battle mode. You're getting this post-apocalyptic world, a more serious tone, and serious music to match. You're making progress in more than just exercises. There's a progression system that will allow you to unlock more and more content. You're not just given the new music like in the previous game. The outfits are preselected, there's no customization and choice on this top goes better with this bottom. I was able to see in the demo there's only five outfits. Most of instructors are locked instead of given to you freely at the beginning. You have to work for the rest and they're mostly male.

No: During the exercises and training you're still getting the same dialogue but it's in somebody else's voice with a different instructor. (Kenshiro Tells you "Boom Boom Boom" like the rest. Which is just really weird considering the game itself is not light-hearted and friendly. I mean there's a city destroyed in the background but he's keeping the exercises light-hearted and fun. Lol.) The only new dialogue is in the battle mode. The transforming screens from Fitness Boxing 2 are exclusive for the battle mode and it's usually while you're trying to dodge a flurry of fists during the special attack. You're getting the patented "Fitness Boxing 2 Alarm" as well as a way to keep track of your weight and stretch. In some ways it just feels more like a cheap reskin in the fitness part of the game. Like they just re-skinned everything and retooled the voices and left the training mode pretty much alone. In some ways it feels forgotten about.. but battle mode is where they pour their heart and soul into the game. Is this an Unholy fusion of both One and Two?

Bottom line:

You're getting the core game experience included. Basically you're getting Fitness Boxing One with some bells and whistles added on. In some ways the training mode is a little bit more restrictive because you don't have everything unlocked and there's not a lot of music.

Fitness Boxing One retailed for about $40.

I would say that this cheap reskin of the core game, (no added dialogue, only two trainers right at the beginning and you have to use achievements unlock more outfits that offer LESS customization than previous games..)

I say maybe if it was just the core game.. Maybe worth $25 or $30?

But you're not getting the core game are you? You're getting the extended battle mode, which is where the game really shines. Even the tone shifts. Going from a bleak post-apocalyptic wasteland during the training mode to something that's a little bit more energized by taking down foes. Double it when you're taking down a boss. I also like that you can separate these into individual workouts especially if you want to focus on something in particular or give yourself a challenge.

So is it worth $40 for the core gaming experience and the expanded battle mode? Most definitely. Is it worth $50?

Fitness Boxing 1 sold over a million copies in little over a year. Fitness Boxing 2 came out in 2021 and I snatched up a copy right away. $50 for Fitness Boxing 2 Rhythm and Exercise.

Basically you're getting Fitness Boxing one and Fitness Boxing two in the same package. You're getting the well animated backgrounds in battle mode. You're getting a sometimes silly, and sometimes weird experience but it's unique for the fitness boxing games. Plus.. it's fucking Fist of the North Star BITCH!

Worth $50? It's a different experience but you're still going to be enjoying the heck out of it. And it's going to be different then the other two which would hold my attention enough to replay the entire game again. Because that's basically what I had to do with Fitness Boxing 2. I had to go through every exercise and unlock every song again and the only thing that really imported over was my Fitness data from the previous game but didn't give me access to everything right off the bat which I thought was the point of it.

I could also see myself going back and forth between Fitness Boxing two Rhythm and exercise and this game.

The longer explanation:

What I did notice was almost like a mobile gaming experience. Very reminiscent of Fitness Boxing One. It had none of the flash, substance and vibrancy from Fitness Boxing Two Rhythm and Exercise. One gives you a basic game. As far as I know there is never been any updates to Fitness Boxing number one. (I hope that's not the case with this game. I hope that they continue to create and add content.) Fitness Boxing number 2 attempts to amp up the energy, and amp up the excitement. They have a meter that fills up and when that meter fills up you get a score doubler and the background images begin to change. With some stages you'll have cakes dancing in the background and bouncing like it's a party.

However considering the tone of the game that's probably a little bit more appropriate they didn't go with the Fitness Boxing Two feature I mentioned above. (It will be missed.) However it was a feature that I still enjoy with Fitness Boxing 2.

The 3D models are stellar. The locations are limited, but very well detailed and animated. The locations are very still, and very serious. Like one of them is a mountain top. You can clearly see piles of Bones as two torches are lit and the flames are going. There's also fun and entertaining moments and references in the game. Sometimes it feels a little bit silly as well. It's serious about being a boxing game and being used as a training tool but it also doesn't take its help too seriously with how you're being trained in a post-apocalyptic world.

Also they didn't change the dialogue at all. At least not in the regular training modes. For all that they did cut, they added new modes and things to do. The progression system is something that is certainly new. Unlocking new trainers (all the trainers are not given to you at the beginning) you will have to defeat them in combat first. Once you defeat them in combat, you'll unlock some additional achievements to be able to earn money and buy them outfits. Eventually giving you more money to unlock additional music. You may also be able to unlock additional locations once you defeat the boss.

Battle mode is where you are going to be finding yourself if you're not in the training modes. Battle mode is where this game really shines because you get the animated backgrounds changing like in Fitness Boxing Two here. There's a video below that gives you a better explanation of a boss battle. Regular levels are just going to be "Do the punches correctly and make no mistakes" and down yourself a thug. Collect a certain number of thugs Before Time runs out. If you find yourself at the quota what time remaining just keep going.

Their battle mode is sort of designed as a mastery mode. You can train and train and train into your heart's content. When you enter battle mode, as silly as it is it also gets pretty darn serious. You have the No Mercy mode included (relabeled as hard and available for all modes.) and it focuses on different workouts. So world one is considered to be the novice level.

Fitness Boxing has always had three different levels of of accomplished boxing levels. You have the beginner, intermediate and advanced. However.. let's say that world one is the beginner and two and three are the intermediate. Four and five are the advanced. What is world Six?!

It's also kind of silly that you can block by punching. Now you have to remember that this is a boxing game.. but this world that it takes place in is a martial arts world.. so it's teaching you something that you wouldn't learn in boxing in the battle mode which is blocking by using your hands or fists.

Mr Miyagi from The karate kid would be the first to tell us "Remember? For best block, no be there." or for you to dodge it. So for future boxing reference, putting your fists up to create yourself a shield, or just dodging it like they teach you in the Fitness Boxing training is the best.

So you can only play the first level of the Battle Mode in the demo but I set it to hard because I'm considered an advanced user with the Fitness Boxing series. Level one was just straight punches. You do a series of punches at the proper time and after the set the thug is defeated. You need to defeat a certain amount of them before time is up. If you make a mistake and miss, or do the wrong action you don't get to claim that thug.

So in hard mode it basically wanted me to defeat 28 of them and once I hit my number that I needed it kept you going. So continuing moving forward it gave me another 20 for a total of 48 out of 28.

The demo also did offer up an explanation on how the boss battles work. However YouTube videos are better.

https://youtu.be/YU4QnK5g-Qs

As you can see it's a back and forth. You block his attacks and then you punch him. You have a health bar and everything. The explanation in the game is if you can manage to fill up your spirit bar all the way up.. you can unleash a special attack of your own as a finishing blow.

If you get the American version you're going to have English dialogue and it's not going to be in Japanese. I don't know if you're able to change that. (which is a feature from Fitness Boxing 2) I am glad to see that you actually have something to work for. In the original two games, the only thing that you were working for was working for exercise, to beat achievements to unlock costume pieces. Unlocking music as well as new workouts was an automatic process. Just play the song that you played you just unlocked to unlock another one. Same concept with the exercises.

WHAT?! MY EXTRAS ARE ON LOCKDOWN?!

Yes your extras are on lockdown. You have two songs to choose from at the very beginning and as you earn achievements you'll earn a currency that you can use to unlock more stuff to listen to. You also use that same currency to unlock additional costumes. You don't start off with all the trainers available. You can earn a second one. Almost all the trainers are very manly looking men. So far I've only noticed one female. However the available trainers that are locked only have their silhouettes available and I believe them to be bosses.

Again this is the demo so I don't know for sure. But since they have similar silhouettes to the bosses and I am familiar with some of the names.. I believe that you can unlock the majority of the bosses (except for the first one and the final one which is an unknown.)

It also contains none of the over the top violence that you'd see in the show or Manga. However the world in which it takes place (post-apocalypse) and the fact that you're beating up on people (battle mode or placing a stamp.) Increases the rating from E to T, but doesn't go as far as the PlayStation 4 M rating from 2018.

The anime in the manga is very old and has been reprinted many times. Very seldom a game. The last time Fist the North Star had a game it was back in PlayStation 4 in 2018. Published by SEGA, the game was made by and contained many of the gameplay mechanics found in the Yakuza series. A brawler type or beat em up type game.

Also the other reason why I think this crossover happened is because currently Namco bandai has a big hold on all the big anime right now. So it would be My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, bleach?, and One Piece. The property is very old but still profitable. Listed at number 21 of the most profitable franchises on Wikipedia, not that far from Toy Story. The manga debuted in the early '80s and it's just so old.. it's older than I am.. so because Imagineer would have to work with nemco bandai for something like "Fitness Boxing Dragon Ball Z" I believe that's another reason that this series was chosen. Plus it would attract an older demographic? To remember it fondly when you were old enough to buy it brand new you would have to be born in 1965 Japan.

Another reason why Manga like Fist of the North Star is important is because it inspired many of the martial arts animes and also was in shonen jump alongside Dragon Ball Z. In fact the creator of the Berserk manga.. (damn it we're getting into the origins of anime here!) Had come out and said that Fist of the North Star was instrumental for his inspiration with his series.

If you're interested in getting into the manga (which any anime fan would highly recommend because it usually offers more. Anime is kind of like a condensed version of a manga and doesn't always faithfully do the manga Justice. Plus the manga is shown in the game as well as the characters from the manga.) A good place to start would be Fist of the Blue Sky.

It's a prequel to Fist of the North Star. It's set in an alternate 1930s Japan. It centers around a different Kenshiro, the predecessor to the one that has the power of the North Star now.

It will give you an introduction to the world that you're about to enter before the Apocalypse. Of course the anime regenesis is a popular choice. As well as the original Fist of the North Star anime or Movie. (No not to live action movie with Gary Daniels and Malcolm McDowell.) The anime movie which gives you a condensed version of his adventure and includes practically all the characters you're going to be seeing in this game.

I personally can vouch for the anime movie because that's what started me down this path. I'm not much of a comic guy.. EXCEPT TMNT BITCH!

I know my opinion won't be shared here because there's a lot of hate for early dubbed works of anime. But until the anime movie I had a really limited exposure to Fist of the North Star. In fact because I heard of Fist of the North Star having a game on PlayStation 4.. I think that's what attracted me to the movie in the first place.. in fact I saw it on October 2nd 2018 which is the same day that the world got the release of the game for Playstation 4..

Eventually I noticed that there was an anime and I put it on my Amazon wish list with the intention to buy it. BUT! It wasn't dubbed like the movie was. Yes they changed a whole bunch of minor words in the anime dub version of the movie. On some occasions they change that classic line by adding "I know! BUT! You're already dead."

Of course the anime series made me aware of the live-action movie. Eventually I got full exposure to the anime series on Crunchyroll. There you can watch Fist of the Blue Sky, the original series and DD.

To be honest I don't think I'm going to be interested in DD too much. I'm not a huge fan of the chibi art style. (Yes I PASSED on RWBY Chibi.) But the comedic elements and the change of story might be worth a watch.

Fist of the Blue Sky is completely 3D animated. Until I watched Berserk (2016) on Crunchyroll I had never known an entire anime series to be 3D animated. Of course both of them have parts where it's not 3D animated. Especially Berserk. There are times when they stop using the 3D models and go back to a flatter animation.

I have to say cuz I'm watching it right now.. Fist of the Blue Sky just feels better animated in 3D. It's almost like I'm watching a top-notch video game. The 3D models don't feel stiff and stagnant.

#fitspiration #fit #fitness #fitness boxing #boxing #nintendo #nintendo switch #rocky #rocky balboa #cobra kai #90s anime #fist of the north star #berserk

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todomochi-uwu · 4 years

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Of Unspoken Troubles & Sudden Worries (2/3)

Pairing: Ushijima Wakatoshi x reader

Warnings: Angst

Author’s Notes: Finally! The amount of time this took is stupid, but I hope you enjoy it :) Also I´m trying to cope with Jongdae leaving, so please stream “Hello” to understand my pain.

“Hey Crybaby.”

Previous Part: First Next: Second&Half Third

The same eyes who found were now expecting an answer out of you, they were comforting, soothing but also serious and demanding; words simply didn´t come out of your mouth and you avoided looking at him, choosing to focus on the scratches on your hands and knees.

“Know I won’t tell anyone what just happened, I just want to be able to help you.” He said.

Your voice was trapped in your throat; how ridiculous would you sound if you told him your boyfriend was a piece of shit?

“Did anyone hurt? Is someone harassing you?” He tried again.

This time you shook your head.

“Okay, then did you fight with your team?” You stayed silent this team. “I see, maybe we could try talking to your captain? You are from Shiratorizawa, so your captain is Ushijima, right? Let me just…” When he turned around in an attempt to grab his phone you quickly held onto his jacket sleeve, preventing him from going any further.

To this, he gave you a confused look, “Okay now you need to tell me what´s going on.” He was firm, his tone had changed drastically and his tone was lower.

Sigh, “I made something stupid, and now I can’t face them.”

“And what exactly is something “stupid”?” He air-quoted.

You knew you just had to tell him at this point.

…

Kuroo had his head in between his hands, trying to understand what you were trying to say. “Manager not girlfriend, what the fuck does that even mean?” He mumbled.

“So you managed to catch Ushiwaka’s attention, and even though HE was the one to ask you out, he’s being a fucking asshole.” You simply nodded, “Okay, it’s good to know he’s bad at something, to be honest.”

“Wakatoshi is not the monster everyone makes him look, he’s just weird.”

Kuroo giggled, “Well let me tell you he does have the kind of face that says ‘I’m going to punch if you so much look my way’ You know?” To this you giggled, “Would you like at that? Crybaby can actually smile.”

“Stop it, I’m not in the mood.”

“I know, just trying to cheer you up.” He sighed, before looking at you straight in the eyes, “Do you want my advice or were you just looking for someone to bent?”

“Apparently my rational thinking is not good, because I just keep going to back to him.”

“Because you are not being rational, you are just thinking about how much you love him and how much you wish for him to change, even though he´s not going to.” He was direct, no tenderness, making you flinch “Thinking rational would be to tell you to dump him, he’s not worth it. You are here trying to make it work while he´s just establishing rules as if it was a business contract.” Small tears threaten to come out of your eyes, another knot forming at the bottom of your stomach, “But… I completely understand what you are going through, so you are not letting him go that easily. So I’m going to do something that worked for me in the past, okay?”

You nodded.

“Have you tried talking to him?” Yes. “Did things change in some way?” No. “Okay. Has it been getting worse?” Yes. “Do you sometimes question his love?” Yes. “Are you genuinely happy?” No. “Is this what you thought it would be?” No.

Kuroo sighed, before taking your face in between his hands “Is he’s not loving you the way he should; if he’s not cherishing you; if he’s not trying his best for you; if he´s not fulfilling the compromise he made to you. Then it’s not there. There´s no other way to put it.”

A loud sob escaped your lips, things you already knew were now coming out of someone else’s mouth, making it seem real, making it hurt even worse.

“However, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say his intention is not that, he’s not trying to hurt you, he’s just… an idiot.” He looked away, “But everything and everyone has their limit, including you, no matter how much you love him.”

There was nothing much you could say, he was right, you love Ushijima, but it was becoming too much.

“So tonight we are going to go sleep because my god am I tired from trying to block his fucking spikes, I know you say he´s not a monster, but he sure does spike-like one.” You giggled, “Tomorrow you will fulfil your duties as a manager, but nothing else. You will take notes, refill water bottles and give out towels, what you normally do as a manager. No cheering him, no lovey-dovey looks, no midnight escapades, no girlfriend stuff. If he wants you to act like a manager you will, but he will also experiment what losing someone who loves you feels like.”

“Why are you doing this?” You questioned, you knew he didn´t have any malice intentions, but still, you were the crazy person who appeared crying in front of the gym at one a.m.

“Because I know exactly what it feels like to give out love and receive absolutely nothing, and I’m not letting you continue this destructive cycle; it’s what I wish someone had done for me.”

You didn´t ask any further questions, believing every word he said. You turned around to leave, needing to catch some sleep.

“Hey, Crybaby. You forgot something.”

…

It was now morning, your eyes felt heavy and were swollen, fingers bleeding from all the biting and your body kept trembling from the anxiety, but you had to reaffirm yourself, put yourself first.

And so, you made your way into the kitchen, getting ready to prepare breakfast along with the others managers, who could only give you a sympathy smile and a pat in the back, clearly having heard you cry.

Before you even noticed, the teams were already making their way into the cafeteria, the noise filling the entire building. You started serving plates, placing them in the table for the boys to come and collect them.

“Hey, manager-chan.” A familiar voice said. Tendou.

“Hey, Sato. Did you get a good sleep? You need to be prepared to be able to block some of those quick attacks from Karasuno” You smiled, taking him by surprise.

“Yeah… Um, I didn´t know you got along with Nekoma?” His eyes were looking straight into the piece of clothing in which you were currently drowning in.

“Oh yeah, their captain was nice and gave it to me, he said I looked cold.” Shit, you completely forgot about that. Well, fake it ‘till you make it.

“Okay…” He said while returning to his table, Ushijima was already sitting there looking over the notes from yesterday’s practice. “Hey, Wakatoshi-kun?”

“Yes, Tendou?”

“Have we ever had any other training camp with Nekoma?”

“Not that I remember.”

“Huh.” Tendou was confused but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. There was no need to worry just for a silly thing, right?

It wasn´t until he turned around to have another look at you did he notice your eyes were positioned on another table, another team, Nekoma. Then Tendou noticed their captain looking directly at you, intensely and without even blinking, before he gave you his signature smirk and a quick wink, then sitting down next to his libero.

Tendou´s eyes once again returned to you, and this time it shook him, the peachy pink in your cheeks and the shy look in your eyes incriminating you.

…

Tendou didn´t like it one bit, not when you and Ushijima had something, but after last night´s events, he didn’t know what to think, were you two still together, or was that the final straw?

He saw it during breakfast, he saw during their practice match, he saw it during breaks, Kuroo and you, looking at each other, laughing, talking, a relationship he had never seen before.

When in the fuck had you met Kuroo Tetsurou? And what in the fuck had happened for you to look at him that way?

…

“Wakatoshi-kun” He whispered, careful of not raising anyone´s attention.

He hummed in response.

“Are you and Y/N still together?”

“Tendou, I already told you…”

“No, Ushijima. This time I´m serious, are you and her still together?

Ushijima´s eyebrows were furrowed, there was no point in denying it any more, he guessed. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because for one, she´s wearing Nekoma’s jacket, two she hasn´t even bother looking your way, which I don´t blame her after what you did last night, and third the looks Kuroo has been giving her aren´t exactly friendly.”

“What do you mean?”

Goddammit are you fucking blunt, Ushijima, “I mean, she disappears for the entire night, no one in the team knows where she is, and all of a sudden she is friends with Kuroo?”

“I don´t get your point.”

“What I mean…” He raised his voice, clearly exasperated, he tries again calming himself. “What I mean is, this morning she was wearing his jacket, she has spent all of her breaks with him and she hasn´t even come to greet you.” He hoped this would wake up something in Ushijima, but he simply stared at him, clearly not connecting the dots.

Well, fuck.

This time, Tendou pointed your way, Ushijima was confused, what was so bad? And then, everything made sense.

Kuroo had taken your phone away, keeping it at a height impossible for you to reach, you were jumping trying to get it back, it wasn´t long before his arm was around your waist hugging you while laughing, you pouting.

And to this Ushijima couldn´t help but wonder.

What was this strange feeling? And why did he all of a sudden had the urge to punch Kuroo Tetsurou?

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freebooter4ever · 3 years

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A fic inspired by @kanhatomame 's Lovely Drawing of Eugene dreaming about Snafu ^_^ Set in Mobile after the war, Eugene deals with pining and memories, and that wordless connection to another person that never really leaves you. (angst ish with happy ending)

__________

There are so many ghosts in Eugene's head it's quite crowded there. But the only one he clings to is Snafu's. Naturally, this also means it's the one that feels most nebulous and impossible to chase down. Sometimes, when Eugene sees other couples together, touching each other, looking at each other, the connections to his own vivid memories feel stronger.

But he and Snafu were never a couple, should never have been a couple. Their few kisses were stolen behind doors and in the shadows. They could never have danced hand in hand like the boys and girls are doing now at the OMM ball.

Eugene stares at the dancers, himself half hidden behind a potted plant. A silly form of camouflage, and one that wouldn't even work if someone looked his way. It certainly fails to hide him from his brother. He can see Edward eyeing him disapprovingly from across the room. Edward's arm is wrapped lovingly around his wife's waist. She leans into his shoulder slightly - Martha is small and petite and fits perfectly.

Eugene takes a deep breath and refocuses his eyes to the center of the dance floor. He slowly allows himself to relax, concentrating on one memory of a touch. Snafu was never one to lovingly cradle Eugene, but whenever they would sit down around camp - at the slop shoot, or the movies, or when naked on the beach after a swim - Snafu would sling his arm behind Gene's back and angle his whole body in Gene's direction. He kept it casual, usually joking and laughing as if using humor to distract the rest of the guys from this habit of his. Except there were always times when Snaf would make a particularly ridiculous wisecrack and Eugene would feel compelled to turn his neck to roll his eyes at Snafu, and the minute his eyes would meet Snafu's, the other guy's face would be glowing with joy. Joy reserved only for one person - Eugene.

There's a specific shine in Snafu's eyes that he saves solely for Gene. And those delicate bits of eye contact were more intimate than all the loving touches in the world. And often they preceded Snafu pulling Eugene into some dark hideaway, and pressing his full body up against Gene, still teasing him, tempting him with no kisses, no gentle lover's touch until Eugene finally got fed up and molded their mouths together.

Eugene will never forget the shape of Snafu's hands.

"Eugene? Baby brother?" Edward is snapping his fingers in front of Eugene's face.

Eugene blinks rapidly, comes back to himself, completely loses the relaxation in his body, and glares at Edward.

"Thought you were in a trance or something," Edward grins lopsided.

"I was thinking," Eugene sighs.

"No duh," Edward says, "You do too much of that, little brother."

"What else is there to do?" Eugene sighs continuously. He shouldn't have opened his mouth because the next thing he knows Edward tells him 'don't move' and disappears further into the house to find some poor victim to foist awkwardly on Gene.

It's been like this all evening. Eugene's talked to more girls in the past hour than he ever has in his life. All of them brought to him by Edward, eagerly introducing the girls to his younger, naive brother.

This latest one is named Victoria, and she's got long curly brown hair that looks soft to touch, and a porcelain face like a doll.

"She's very pretty," Eugene says truthfully when Edward corners him and demands to know what he thought after Victoria is called away by friends.

"Gene, I don't understand you," Edward shakes his head, "You're the son of the city's best doctor, you've got all your limbs intact, you're a war hero… why I'll bet you're the most eligible bachelor here. If you just learn to play it up a little bit…"

"I'm going outside to smoke," Eugene interrupts flatly, "Come get me when it's time to leave."

His voice brooks no argument, and he promptly ducks out of the house with only one direction in mind. He fills his pipe, lights it, and slowly lets the smoke start to relax him again. His lips suck on the wood between them, and the ghost of Snafu seeps in with the nicotine. The memory of the first time when Eugene sucked Snafu's finger clean (of mashed potatoes) - after Snafu tried (and failed) to start a food fight. It pairs well with the memory of sucking off other parts of Snafu too… certain parts he doesn't have a clear picture of in his mind. He sort of blurred the image as it happened, out of embarrassment or sheer awkwardness. If he ever got the chance to do it again, he'd memorize every square inch.

"Eugene, your brother asked me to come find you," his mother breaks his reverie, "Your father is having the car brought around."

Eugene nods, his shame from his thoughts bright red on his face, but luckily hidden in the dark. He follows his mother to the driveway and wordlessly climbs into the backseat. Martha and Edward are taking their own car. So Eugene has plenty of room to forego seatbelts and lie down across the back. His head is swimming a little bit, from that punch he kept drinking. He couldn't taste it, but he suspects it was spiked.

The car starts up, and starts rumbling, shaking his entire body. The seat is warm - the heat from the engine flows through the entire undercarriage. Eugene closes his eyes. He listens to the sound of the road under the wheels, a smooth wash like constantly crashing waves.

Waves lapping at the toes of his feet, and bathing half of Snafu's entire leg in water up to his knees. Snafu lying naked on his back in the sand, with Eugene straddled on top of him bouncing vigorously. All Eugene remembers is the intensity, the sounds, and the feeling. Half weird gritty discomfort, half absolute pleasure.

The car turns and rolls Eugene against the back of the car. He turns his face to the smooth leather, seeking that pressure of something - anything - against his skin.

Eugene recognizes when they reach their house's street because he can feel the jittering rumble as the car crosses the wooden bridge. The jitter shakes him to his bones, and he shivers although the night is hot and sticky. He closes his eyes and counts the streetlights behind his eyelids until they reach the driveway.

Had Eugene been paying attention at all, looking out the window of the car instead of losing himself to ghosts, he might have noticed the beat-up rusted brown truck parked just outside his family's gate at the end of Georgia House's long private drive. Though truthfully, even if Eugene had been looking he might not have seen it. The cloud cover darkens the sky until the only light source is the single lamp marking the start of the Sledge's driveway. And the truck is parked under a tree, throwing even more shadow over it. The only hint that someone is there is the soft glow of a cigarette luminating a haunted face and skinny legs dangling over the truck bed where he sits.

Snafu arrived in town hours ago - just in time to watch Eugene leave. He's been sitting on top his parked truck ever since. Judging from their fancy clothes, Snafu knew they'd likely return that night from an outing and sure enough. Here they are. He wedges the cigarette tighter in his mouth and jumps down from the truck bed.

Eugene's window is on the first floor, so it shouldn't be hard to reach except for the damn kudzu covering a mass of bushes and thorny plants underneath. Snafu suspects they might have been roses at one point. They're dead now. There's live ones elsewhere in the garden, but the ones under Eugene's window are long gone.

Fucking symbolic maybe.

Snafu shoves the window open unceremoniously and throws his leg in. He sits on the sil and stares down at Gene in the bed. Eugene didn't bother to change, he's still in that same expensive looking suit, his tie askew and his shoes kicked off with one sock missing. Snafu settles himself comfortably against the window frame, puffs on his cigarette, and watches Eugene sleep.

He doesn't get to watch for long - Eugene sleeps fitfully, just as Snafu remembers, and ends up kicking and thrashing in his bed. Snafu watches him with intense regret. When Eugene fell asleep peacefully on the train, for the first time since that initial week on Pavuvu, Snafu thought maybe civilization had kicked Eugene's nightmares. That maybe Eugene was gonna be able to go back to 'normal'. Clearly Snafu was wrong.

He waits a few more seconds, till Eugene's fit is at its peak, and whispers sharply, "Sledgehammer."

Gene sits bolt upright immediately and silently. He stares blankly for a split second, till his eyes snap to Snafu's. Then he stares silently at Snafu.

Snafu takes his half finished cigarette and grinds it into the wood of Eugene's window. It leaves a mark. Eugene watches this without expression.

"You're real," Eugene whispers.

Snafu shrugs.

"I mean you're not a dream… for once," Eugene says.

"You've been dreaming about me?" Snafu grins.

Eugene lunges forward, grabs Snafu's forearms and drags him onto the bed. Snafu falls awkwardly on top of Eugene, but it's easy to shift their positions and overpower Eugene to pin him to the bed. "I really hope those nightmares of yours wasn't you dreaming of me, cause if they were we might have to figure out a way to give you better ones."

"My dreams of you only come during the day," Eugene says, much more serious in tone than Snafu.

"Good ones?"

Eugene nods.

"It isn't enough… is it?" Snafu asks. He already knows the correct answer. That's why he's here.

In response Eugene pulls him down into a kiss.

#Sledgefu #Bad germs

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incorrectsdkquotes · 3 years

Text

Youtuber AU (warning: some spoilers)

(requested by @ladyofthelake13)

AU in which all (or most) of our favorite characters make a living as famous/semi-famous Youtubers/vloggers.

Yuya is a True Crime vlogger a la Buzzfeed Unsolved. Each week she researches old crimes and cold cases, adding in her own thoughts on the case and her thoughts on who really committed them. She started out the channel first as an extra credit project when she was still in pre-law but grew so popular that she started creating videos full time. She earns most of her money through merchandizing rights and by creating her own brand. Every now and then she delves into supernatural-type videos with her adopted sister Sakuya as co-host. Her adopted brother Nozomu helps out behind the scenes with editing videos and doing some camera work. One of the more popular aspects of her channel is when she brings her friends, other popular Youtubers, in as guests. There are even shipping wars among her followers on who she has the most chemistry with.

Benitora is a travel vlogger who travels all around the country trying out different local and specialized food/snacks, showing off various features in the geography and chatting with friendly locals. His prestigious family only allows his ‘frivolities’ under the excuse that he’s going out and building goodwill with the populace he will eventually be in charge of. Tora’s father is the leader of the country, something that Tora himself tries to keep quiet about. To finance his travels, other than the Patreon page he set up, Tora made a deal with his father Ieyasu: he can keep up a steady and consistent view count Tora can keep making his videos. As soon as viewership drops below a certain amount, he has to stop and resume his training to take over leadership. So far he’s been able to keep up his end of the bargain, but the looming future ahead of him is something that he’s never quite able to forget.

Okuni is a beauty vlogger who has inside access to some of the newest products about to hit the market. She regularly reviews the new and upcoming products, shares tutorials for both beginners and those who’ve been using makeup for a while on how to apply the perfect foundation, get expert wingtips, and how to match their particular color pallet for their skin tone. Okuni will bring in her friends, both women and men, to give them makeovers as well as to have them compete in different makeup challenges. So far, the most popular video on her channel is from when she let Hotaru and Shinrei give each other makeovers.

Yukimura’s channel comes across as half family drama and shenanigans and half prank channel. Saizo is largely his go-to camera man, but other members of his family take turns as well, lending to some...interesting footage that almost always ends up in the videos released to the public. Every now and then Yukimura will drop his own political takes into conversation, only to immediately start talking about something else as a distraction. There are rumors that he’s going to be running for public office as a bid to overthrow the current political power. There are also others who discount this theory stating that Yukimura’s not serious enough for the role and actually doesn’t have any interest in politics beyond his ‘hot takes.’ It’s goofy, fun-loving Yukimura, there’s no way. Yukimura himself loves to obfuscate this even further by going on regular shopping trips where he shows off the newest gifts he’s planning to get for his family...usually specifically for whoever’s holding the camera at the time, leading to a lot of back and forth with the cameraperson on exactly why they deserve these gifts in the first place.

Sasuke’s channel is largely an unboxing channel for various toys and other gadgets, usually ones he gets from Yukimura. He’ll also review the items based on how engaging or mentally stimulating he finds them. When Sasuke isn’t reviewing items he’s usually filming himself out in the woods exploring with his childhood friend Kotaro. The two friends run a side vlog documenting skateboarding, biking, and rollerblading tricks and stunts or hiking and camping trips they go on together. A popular series of videos the two friends have that has boosted their viewership considerably involves them showing off various sword stunts and tricks. Every now and then Benitora sneaks his way onto Sasuke’s channel, sharing travel tips and stories. Despite Sasuke repeatedly mentioning how annoying he finds the older man, viewers can’t help but notice that Tora’s never actually cut out of any videos he appears in. Every now and then Sasuke will post gaming videos that he plays with Kotaro and occasionally Tora; despite several requests, he insists he’s not a gaming channel.

Bontenmaru’s channel is almost exclusively dedicated to bodybuilding and workout techniques. Usually these videos include him trying to get his friends involved in working out or acting as their personal trainer. Some of his friends are more receptive to this than others. Whenever a new workout ‘challenge’ comes out, Bon will immediately make a video about it, either criticizing the challenge or pointing out the different ways that the challenge helps develop certain muscle groups. When he’s not making workout and bodybuilding videos, Bon can be found filming drunk hangouts with his friends. There’s a small subsection of his videos dedicated to reviewing workout clothes while trying to promote his own personal brand or workout clothing and accessories.

Akira’s videos are full of DIY tips and tricks as well as testing to see if other DIY videos hold up. More often than not the DIY videos he reviews are hilariously wrong, something he goes out of his way to prove and mock. When he’s not reviewing DIYs, he’s posting Let’s Plays to his channel. Akira is also a popular Twitch streamer, usually co-opting his friends into playing either Team Death Matches or pvps together. He likes to consider himself a cool and collected gamer, which admittedly he is to a degree. Whenever he has to be on the same team as certain ‘friends’ of his, though (Benitora, Hotaru and Akari, namely) he tends to lose his cool. If his friends annoy him too much, though, he’ll just bring them on as guests to try out the end results of his DIY videos.

Hotaru’s channel is about as chaotic and disfunctional as the man himself. His videos are almost completely unedited, excepting for a few special effects for when his brother appears on screen. He tends to get stuck with the label of ‘Travel Vlogger’ flor lack of a better description for his videos, which usually document the various places he finds himself whenever he gets lost. It’s become an in-joke and even a betting pool among his followers on where he’ll end up next with his videos. If he’s not out getting lost, he’s posting videos about random things that he’ll find interesting--various stray cats, an interesting bug he found, or even a few attempted prank videos on his brother Shinrei. For those who don’t get enough humor out of his videos, Hotaru’s twitter account is open and well documented, usually with various out of context posts or sporadic updates on where he is. He is well recognized on the Internet, if by name only, as a living cryptid.

Akari is well known as an influencer, posting her own beauty tips and tricks, local restaurant reviews, and even some humorous videos of her friends doing silly, stupid, and humiliating videos as a result of some kind of blackmail that she has on them. Every now and then her videos turn educational when she offers medical advice on how to treat certain wounds and injuries, usually because one of her dumb friends has that specific injury that she demonstrates with. Akari also has certain Opinions on a certain pharmaceutical company that she absolutely in no way has any connections with. She certainly never worked there at one point, and you can’t prove that she ever did.

Kyoshiro’s mostly known for his editing skills, being the go-to editor for his girlfriend’s sister Yuya’s channel. He has a few tutorials on how to edit videos together, though there are a few videos that are light skits that he does with his girlfriend Sakuya. He did a series at one point that was part tea-review and part gushing about Sakuya. He tries to stay out of the spotlight for the most part, but he’s not opposed to appearing on Yuya’s channel as a guest host...as long as Kyo’s not also guest hosting at the same time. He has a unique relationship with Kyo, where sometimes they appear to be best friends and in other videos as mortal enemies. No one’s quite sure what the relationship is between them, though there have been a few rumors floating around that the two are siblings. These rumors have yet to be acknowledged either way, however.

Kyo’s channel isn’t actually run by him. Every video that appears on his channel is something that one of his friends made and then uploaded for him. These videos usually take the form of boasting Kyo’s skills (usually made by Akira or Akari) or as group hangouts with his friend group. There are a few that were made by Yuya that are typically along the lines of “look what this guy did now” that are pretty popular and technically give Kyo the title of ‘influencer.’ Kyo is also known on the Internet as a type of cryptid, though not to the levels of Hotaru. Instead, he’s known as the kind of person you want to emulate, who men either hate or want to be like and who several women wish to date. There’s some speculation that Kyo may already be in a relationship with someone (typically Yuya, though she refuses to say anything about the subject). There’s some talk that there may be open warrants out for his arrest, but so far nothing about his alleged crimes or the man’s whereabouts has come to light.

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faulty-writes · 4 years

Text

Warning: None.

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Pairing: Tenya Iida x Reader

[ I present to you another prompt from MHA & Readers. This month’s theme was dessert. I hope you enjoy. This was sitting in my drafts for almost a month. Haha. ]

[Tenya Iida is a neat freak of sorts, he enjoys things organized and clean. But what happens you insist he eat a s’more?]

Tenya was many things. The class president, a neat freak, a clean freak, teacher’s pet, bookworm, emergency exit, etc. But the most important title he held, besides Hero was your boyfriend. Your significant other, as he’d so often phrase it. It was strange, someone like you dating someone like Tenya. You were disorganized, messy and your bed was never made which Tenya often scolded you for. You sat on top of your school desk which he also scolded you for and you had a bad habit of laughing at serious moments which once more, he would scold you for.

Some people asked how you even put up with Tenya, but in all honesty, you loved him. He was responsible, organized, and perfect husband material. Somehow it just worked between you two and as the saying goes, “Opposites attract.” which was very true in the case of your relationship. In fact, you were busy making a mess in the kitchen. For some odd reason you had a craving for chocolate, but then you gave it more thought. Marshmallows sounded good as well, but you knew hot chocolate with marshmallows wouldn’t satisfy you.

So you thought a little more and the answer finally came, s’mores. Though it would be messy, you didn’t care. You ran to the store to get the graham crackers, chocolate, and fluff. You placed everything on the counter and proceeded to make your delicious treat. You added the square of chocolate and smeared the fluff across the top of the graham cracker before smashing it together and popping it into the microwave. You bounced on your feet as you waited for it to melt before taking it out.

The chocolate dripped onto your fingers, but you licked it off and took a bite. The fluff ran down the sides of the graham cracker which you quickly lapped up, bits of chocolate and marshmallow stained your lips. But you didn’t mind and continued to munch on your treat, licking your fingers clean or as clean as you could get them. You hummed as you went to make another one and Tenya walked into the kitchen. “What are you doing, my love?” he questioned, adjusting his glasses as he focused on what you were holding.

More importantly, he focused on how dirty your hands were and immediately grabbed your wrist. Looking closer, “What is this? Have you washed your hands at all today, y/n?” he questioned in his normal scolding manner before he noticed that your mouth was smeared with chocolate and marshmallow. He blinked and leaned closer, which made you blush. “Uh w-what?” you questioned, “What is on your mouth?” he asked, “Uh ...s’more?” you replied, unsure of what type of answer he was looking for.

He released your wrist and reached up to grab his chin. “S’more?” he repeated as if the word was foreign to him and knowing his need for cleanliness, it probably was. Tenya never ate anything messy, unless he had a utensil to use. But there wasn't exactly a utensil you could use for a s’more unless you wanted to cut it in half and use a spoon or fork. But that was just silly. Still, you nodded. “Yeah, you want one?” you said as you waved the one you had just put together in front of his face. He shook his head and put his hands up, “Oh no, no, no!” he replied.

“That’s far too messy, your hands and face are covered with it. Come, let’s clean you up.” he insisted as he stepped behind you and grabbed your shoulders, but you quickly shrugged away from him. “Awe, come on Tenya!” you whined, something you knew he didn’t particularly like. “Just try one, just one! I bet you never have and I want you to experience certain things as well, please try one ...just one,” you said, almost pouting as you stared at him. He looked annoyed, his eyebrow twitching and he eventually let out a sigh.

“Fine, if it would please you to watch me eat that rather ...messy concoction, I will,” he said and you smiled, you always loved when you won an argument against Tenya. Though he’d always be a little grumpy about it, you just knew he would love the s’more if he gave it a chance. Still, you leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, baby,” you said with a smile before rushing to the microwave, missing the way Tenya wiped your kiss off his cheek. You hummed as you made another s’more, feeling rather excited that Tenya was going to eat it.

After all, it was hard to get him to do anything out of his comfort zone so this was a big accomplishment on your end. When the microwave finally beeped, you smiled and took the melted treat out before handing it to Tenya. “Uh, do you have a napkin I could use perhaps?” he questioned and you frowned, “Tenya, you’re not supposed to eat it with a napkin. It’s meant to be eaten with your hands, now come on. Take it.” you insisted with a pout.

He cringed and hesitantly took it, his fingers trembling as he seemed too afraid to make a mess or apply too much pressure to make the inside of the s’more slip out. You hummed and finished the s’more you had, licking the fluff off your fingers. Tenya just stared at you, a little horrified you could just make a mess and try to clean yourself up like that. He hadn’t touched his s’more.

“Come on, take a bite babe!” you insisted, Tenya pressed his lips together, though he normally would do anything to make you happy. This was a tad extreme, “But it’ll make a mess.” he said and you rolled your eyes before reaching up to grab his wrist. “Ah! Your hands are covered in chocolate and marshmallow! Let go!” he insisted as he tried to jerk his wrist away from you, sometimes Tenya was too much.

Though you loved him and decided to give him mercy by releasing his wrist. He looked panicked noticing that you had indeed smeared a mess across his wrist. “Sorry,” you said as he glared at you, though you knew his anger didn’t last long when it came to you. He let out a sigh, perhaps he could wash it along with his hands after he was done eating this ...strange treat, this s’more. He recalled his brother speaking about having s’mores on some camping trip he had taken, but Tenya hadn’t imagined they’d be this messy and sticky.

What if that sticky substance landed on his clothing or somehow got in his hair, how would he get it out? Most wouldn’t think about such things, but Tenya didn’t enjoy the thought of anything staining his clothes. “Tenya ...sometime today,” you commented as you tapped your foot against the floor, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “Give me some time! I’m afraid I shudder to think of the mess I will create when I take a bite,” he replied before focusing his attention back on the s’more.

He took a deep breath, bringing the treat to his mouth. You smiled as you watched his teeth sink into it, though much like he had feared. The melted chocolate and marshmallow splattered onto his fingers and it caused him to tremble. He groaned and smears of chocolate were on his lips. But he chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth. “There I ...I believe I’ve done it.” he said before placing the bitten s’more onto the counter.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to wash my hands of this sticky sensation.” he huffed as he tried to walk over to the sink, but you quickly stepped in front of him and blocked his path. A mischievous grin on your face and Tenya took a step back, “Please ...step aside, I would like to wash my hands.” he repeated and looked at you with a stern expression. You giggled, “I know a way you can clean that mess off your fingers.” you said in a flirty tone.

But, Tenya was often oblivious to your advances and looked at you with a confused expression. “I’m afraid I do not understand what you mean, water and soup is the only way I know how to clean a mess,” he said and you giggled once more, seeing Tenya so clueless was adorable. “Why don’t I show my way then?” you said with a purr as you reached to grab his wrist again. Tenya raised his eyebrow, but soon a gasp came when he felt your tongue lap over his fingers.

You smiled and continued licking the sweet substance off. You glanced up at him before wrapping your lips around one finger and slowly taking it into your mouth. “Ah …” Tenya’s face was bright red and for once, it seemed as though he had nothing to say. But you were enjoying the indistinguishable noises he was creating as you moved onto the next finger. Playfully swirling your tongue around the digit, making sure it was clean as Tenya wanted.

When you moved onto his next hand, he covered his mouth with his ‘clean’ one. His face was still glowing red and you were feeling just the slightest bit turned on. Of course, you wouldn’t take advantage of Tenya. But teasing him this way was an exception. Once you were finished, you licked your own lips. “Better?” Tenya swallowed and parted his lips to speak but you cut his words off.

“Wait, there’s one more thing to clean.” you insisted as you grabbed his shirt and leaned up to swipe your tongue across his lips. You felt him tremble, but your tongue continued to work. Once you made sure there was no mess left, you pressed your lips against his. Sighing in content, you wrapped your arms around his neck. You could feel his chest rise and fall before his hands came to rest on your hips.

He pulled away from the kiss, his glasses slightly foggy, and his cheeks still red. You smirked at the sight and laid your head in the crook of his neck. “So ...how was your first s’more experience?” you questioned, letting your fingers trace along his chest. “U-Uh well it…” he paused, trying to think of an appropriate response. “It was r-rather...interesting. I believe I...enjoyed it.” you giggled and leaned up to peck his lips once more.

“Do you want another one?” you asked innocently and Tenya’s eyebrow twitched, his hands tightening on your hips. “No…,” he said before he leaned down, smiling as he looked into your eyes. “I believe you have made me quite famished for another type of dessert. Especially with the way you...cleaned my fingers. I believe you could put such skills to use elsewhere.” he spoke in a deep voice and a shiver ran down your spine. But Tenya was sugar sweet and you’d happily eat him up.

#tenya x reader #iida x reader #bnha reader insert #bnha x reader

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helpinghanikan · 4 years

Text

Logan Howlette A-Z

Logan Howlette (the Wolverine) A-Z NSFW

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

He’s not an overly sensual or ‘romantic’ person after the deed, or really ever. Instead he just goes about the room like any other time. Going into the bathroom and getting a cloth, wiping down anything left over on either of your bodies.

The conversation that happens after is nothing different then other times. Anything new happening? How are the kids doing? Do you wanna get something to eat? All things that can be talked about over dinner, can also be talked about while naked.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He’s an ass man, there’s no other way to say it.

It’s like the pen you fiddle with without thinking. His hand just naturally goes to your butt when you get close enough. Sliding into your back pocket or cupping under it without even thinking during the conversation.

Taking your hand when he’s already seated in the room. Pulling you into his lap without taking a second thought, or even pausing in the conversation.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Logan has reached that magical age where nothing that comes out of a human really bothers him anymore. War in trenches and fields have made him numb to vomit and shit. Blood just came with the territory of his life. And cum? There was nothing special about it.

It was just another thing to wipe off with a warm towel. Part of the clean-up that happens during conversation. Like another breed of pillow talk. Wipe-down talk.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He’s had fantasies, but only fantasies, of doing it on a motorcycle. Like in bad music videos he absolutely didn’t watch over one of the kid’s shoulders.

The only reason he hasn’t told you was because you might actually want to do it. And, no matter how romanticized bikes are shown in movies and everything, balancing is a bitch sometimes. Especially with a woman on his lap or while over top that same woman.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Logan is an old, old bastard. From women to sometimes men he’s experienced almost everything. There is nothing you can do, suggest or be ashamed of that he hasn’t seen the worst version of.

F = Favorite Position

Logan has always given off this vibe of being feral. That’s he’s walked the line between wild and city for so long that he just doesn’t care what kinda vibe he gives off anymore.

This could be why he likes to take you from behind. Sometimes your shirt wouldn’t even be off when the strong, but with gentle pressure, pushing on the back of your neck. Pressing your torso down into the bed, the floor or the grass. The fabric of a bra or shirt protecting your breasts from the rubbing against the surface.

Of course he’s always willing to change it up if the situation calls for it. But there is nothing prettier in this world then watching you like this. When your legs starts to quiver and hands are searching for anything to hang onto, there’s no mercy for you.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

He only really jokes around in his dry humor sort of way. When you ask if the door is locked, worried between kisses, he’ll go: “if they come in, we’ll see if they wanna join.”

“Wait, really?”

“Hell no.” He’ll say, moving things along to keep you from making an actual joke out of it.

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Logan has stopped caring about body grooming before you were born. After finding his preferred style of beard, hair and carpet of chest hair there’s been no point in trying out anything else.

The first few times together your hand would slide through his chest hair. He never asked whether you liked it or not. He wasn’t some teenager who would examine his jaw for any new bits of facial hair. But he watched as you toyed with his hair, trying to decipher whether or not you approved of it.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Romance and sex are almost two entirely different areas to Logan. Being dragged through a hike in the woods to a beautiful view, camping and then kissing under the stars are one thing. Sliding into the same sleeping bag because it’s just “super cold” and hands leading to other places was a whole other thing.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Masturbating is the equivalent of a cooking show to Logan. It’s something to entertain you while the stuff you actually wants to do isn’t available.

Sure, he’d rather having you going up and down instead of himself, but his hand is a decent enough replacement. At least until you get back from…whatever.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Logan is one of the few people on earth with next to zero prejudices. After years fighting, living and just existing with all kinds of people there’s too much difference to make any stereotypes. That being said, almost every woman he’s met has been a strong woman. As tough and take no shit as any man he’s met.

Feminine things; pink lipstick and panties with garter belts. Dresses that twirl and high heels. These were things that were for a special occasion. When everything and everyone is safe.

That’s why he was quiet when he entered your shared room. Closing the door behind him while you showed off the amazing prize on sale. Light pink garter belt attached to white stockings.

“It was my size and more than half off, isn’t it the greatest?” You asked, sticking white foot out towards Logan.

He gently held your ankle. Thumb rubbing over the soft fabric. “Yeah, greatest.” He says, trying to remember if he closed the door.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

He prefers a more secluded places. Not specifically your room but just away from people. Really it’s any room that happens to have a lock on it will be fine.

All that matters is the sex itself, not the location. So long as there’s no kids around, or anything poking everywhere that’s not supposed to be poked. This entirely based on one experienced in a supply closet chosen in the heat of the moment.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

The only time motivation really hits him is in the morning. When he presses against you, either on purpose or not, and the only thing between were the blankets and PJs. By the time he’s fully awake your already all over him, waking to the lovely sight of breasts moving freely under a sleeping shirt.

The rest of the time it’s all up to you, Baby. Give him a few seconds, a few kisses and touches, and he’s ready to go.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Pain play, on himself or you, absolutely not.

Memories of scream from horror and pain has made worse scars then any knife could ever make. He has yet to go deep into why he won’t do anything near that area. Instead just giving a sold “No”, in a tone of voice that stops any other mention of it.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He prefers to give rather than to get. No offense to your skills but it takes direction and time to teach his partners what he exactly likes and how to do so. By the time you get a hang of it he’s had finished, not the best ever but it’s still an orgasm.

It’s not that he’s an expert of going down on women. The first time he just went at it without thinking. Only slowing down to listen when you tried to suffocate him with your thighs. Although, that wouldn’t be a terrible way to go.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

It’s starts quickly before slowing down when your together. Most of your clothing has some sort of stretch or small tear in them from his too fast pace. Usually the clothing had to removed just enough to get to the good stuff. Other times he wouldn’t slow until there was nothing between either of you.

He go slowly after that. Putting more power behind the thrusts and touching, making you come from skill rather then constant friction over and over until the end.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

The thing about Logan is that he really doesn’t have a definition for quickie. It’s to make both of you reach the end as quick as possible, right? That’s what you do with regular sex, so what’s the difference?

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He’s game to get a little kinky, really just boiling down to difference positions and maybe some tying up. But serious danger like intense bondage or choking or anything like that is a no go.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

His stamina is like his size, something that he doesn’t really pay attention to. Only really noticing when you had mentioned it. After finishing twice you were weak and sweaty and the only thing making slapping noises was Logan continuing to go on.

When you mentioned it he had to take a second to think. Trying to understand whether or not you were saying this to ask him to take it easier or if it was a compliment. Until you said it again, this time laughing and mentioning that it was better than others before him he was still unsure.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Really the only toy he’s willing to ‘play’ with was something to tie up with. Either you or himself. The only constant was aa spreader bar that you had showed him with a silly grin and a closing door. (That grin on you was quickly gone after Logan realized how much he really liked it).

Everything else was just not something that could get him in a mood or keep it there.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Teasing and toying around just wasn’t Logan. Be it a lack of patience or that it just wasn’t fun for him, he never really teased you. Only accidently keeping you over the edge because, like a lot of times, he wasn’t listening when you were giving him directions.

It’s like the car all over again.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

His noises come from his throat; groans and moans that he tries to suppress with a closed mouth. Only coming out louder when you make that then whole point of the sex. Keeping him down and moving over him, kissing around his jaw and tugging at his chest.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He’s had anal before, with both genders, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. But just outright saying “Hey Babe, can I stick it in your ass?” isn’t even mildly a romantic way to ask. And he wasn’t the kind of guy to play the “wrong hole” game with you.

This left him with one choice. To wait for you to bring it up instead of trying himself. But, if you’re just as unsure as he was it just wasn’t going to happen.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

He’s definitely bigger than the average man. Only knowing this because it’s been mentioned by a few of his partners but wasn’t something he really cared about.

The only difference it made was the cute faces it forced on you. Watching you try to laugh the stretch off while settling onto him. Speaking in a different tone after taking it all in and groaning a little when he begins to groan.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It, like everything in his life, is just another feeling that controls his life. The same that when he has to take a piss will take him to a tree, or hunger takes him to the kitchen, horniness takes him to you.

It’s only when he finds you alone that he does anything to let you know. Pressing up against you while you’re bending over or at the sink. Leading you into a kiss and making it deeper when you think it’s just a simple one. Or he just outright asks if you’re up for a quick fuck.

The last one only works if you’re especially stressed or angry at something other than him. Otherwise you always laugh it off or tell him to try and be more romantic.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He only falls asleep when he successfully has you trapped against him. His eyes stay closed almost every time, as if he was already pretending to be asleep and was trying to trick you.

Unless your voice changes into that tone he’ll still be holding tight. No matter if you argued or tried to wiggle free he’ll be on his own time. His breathing will get slower, and heavier, until he’s snoring against you.

It’s only when he starts smacking his lips in his sleep that you have a chance to sneak out from him. Usually he’ll stir a bit but fall back when you settle his arm down. But sometimes he’ll snap awake, an impossible grip on you and look of panic in his eyes. Giving that same look back only results in an awkward apology. But being calm, telling him that it’ll be okay in a soft voice, and he’ll be back to sleep.

#reader insert #logan howlett #logan x reader #ABCs list #a-z headcannons #the wolverine #the wolverine x reader #xmen #marvel imagine

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tangent101 · 4 years

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Pricefield Dabbles

I found this list of “send me a ship idea” from @writsgrimmyblog and realized I could answer most of these for Pricefield! So... here we go! =^-^=

1. Who makes the first move and how?

Max Caulfield after being dared by Chloe to kiss her now.

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

It would be easy to claim Max, but to be honest both are equally insecure. Chloe is just better at hiding it except when things really start to pile up. What used to make Max feel more secure was taking photographs, at least before someone went and fucked that all up for Max. Now? Chloe helps Max feel better. As for Chloe... sappy as it sounds, Max helps her feel better. When you play LiS you see her slowly calm down and heal over the five days you see them together. Max is very much the catalyst for Chloe’s growth and healing.

3. Who is the most romantic?

That depends on how you define “romantic.” But the person most likely to indulge on a whim to show the other how she feels is Chloe. Max is more likely to show her affection through physical actions - little kisses, spontaneous hugs, and the like... but Chloe loves the more sweeping gestures. Dragging Max out to a club to go dancing, making her dinner, or even bringing her to an art museum because Max commented on some artist who’s being exhibited there.

4. Who can’t keep their hands to themselves?

It’s about equal. Chloe has no sense of personal space and is very bouncy. If she gets excited and enthusiastic she’s all over Max. But it’s Max who is more spontaneous and physically romantic with hugs and eventually kisses. Seriously, in LiS it’s Max who initiates the kisses we see, and I suspect that never truly changes for these two.

5. Who says ‘I love you’ first?

Chloe. But it’s casual. The first person to say it in a tone that gets the other to blush and bite her lip is Max.

6. Who would they ask if they ever had a threesome?

Steph. Max never met her as far as we know, but she was likely in college when the events of LiS happened. (Damn it, now I have another idea for a fanfic! Not a threesome, but for where Max and Chloe end up soon after the end of LiS....) Steph is very much a geek and Chloe likes and even trusts her. I could easily see Max becoming good friends with her as well.

While there are a lot of folk who’s want to see Rachel with them... well, even if Rachel were available, Max would feel entirely too self-conscious and feel that Chloe would be better off with Rachel. It wouldn’t work out without something to initially draw Max and Rachel together and then the two of them reaching out to Chloe. So with an existing Pricefield dynamic? Amberpricefield isn’t happening.

7. What do they get up to on a night out?

They probably relax and enjoy each other’s company, helping each other in the kitchen cooking after a hard day working crappy jobs while trying to get Max’s pictures out there.

8. What do they like in bed?

Cuddling. Sex is great and all that but just being together, touching each other gently, looking in each other’s eyes... realizing they’re together on a grand adventure called life and yeah it sucks at times and they miss those they left behind but... they’re together. That’s what’s important.

9. What's the most embarrassing thing they've done in front of each other?

Deliberately or accidentally?

Max would say the time she tried to do a striptease in front of Chloe and ended up falling on her ass because she had trouble getting out of the tummy-control nylons she picked up rather than stockings which you can take off one leg at a time.

Chloe would claim she has no sense of shame but she probably feels rather wretched about some of the times Max ended up holding Chloe’s hair out of her face when she got shitfaced drunk and was worshiping the porcelain throne (and that’s one reason why she used to cut her hair short, damn it!)

As for accidentally? Walking in on each other when someone was... scratching an itch in the shower, shall we say? Though there was also a certain thrill to that so it might have become a game at times....

10. What two songs, two books and two luxury items do they take to a desert island?

For Songs? Syd Matters "Obstacles" (Max absolutely loves this song), and oddly enough “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf (for Chloe at least, Max hates the ending of that song).

For Books? Chloe loves the Lord of the Rings. Max is amusingly enough into Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice.

And luxury items? A solar-powered laptop with a huge screen and hundreds of movies downloaded into it, and a solar-powered fridge stuffed full of food and booze (Chloe said the second part. Actually she mentioned the laptop as well and even added “solar-powered” seeing she’s a bit of a geek under her at-times punk exterior).

11. What do they hide from one another?

Chloe hides the fact that at times she wishes Max could have saved Rachel, somehow. But she’s never going to ask as she doesn’t want Max to get hurt. As for Max? She hides that she still hears that bastard’s comment of “always take the shot” when she takes a picture and that at times it fucks up an otherwise perfectly fine photograph even though that bastard is rotting in jail.

12. What first changes when it starts getting serious?

Max loses her nervousness. Seriously, when things get tough she suddenly hardens and becomes “SuperMax” and pushes up her sleeves. Chloe is very impressed with her and loves her to pieces, but also doesn’t want to see Max go through something like that again as afterward Max does fall to pieces and Chloe doesn’t like seeing her hurt. As for Chloe? She actually takes a backseat and does whatever Max tells her to. She trusts Max.

13. When do they realize they should get together?

They realized it when swimming in Blackwell’s swimming pool after the school was shut down for the night. But neither thought the other felt the same way. When Chloe watched Max strip down to jump into the pool she had to look away as she realized she was enjoying watching Max undress and Max... Max was talking in the pool and just... realized. She wants Chloe to remain by her side. Always. The kiss the next day in Chloe’s bedroom just was icing on the cake, even if it took them a couple more days to become “official” in each other’s eyes.

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

Chloe makes a homemade soup for Max. She’s actually gotten fairly decent with her soups and experiments with various recipes. She then babies Max even as Max is all surly and insisting she doesn’t need to do this.

When Chloe inevitably gets ill afterward, Max repays the favor with the rest of the soup (Chloe’s realized that she usually gets sick afterward and has taken to making enough for a week at that point) while hiding her own symptoms as she’s still suffering a bit from her cold. But she’s not going to let Chloe know that because otherwise Chloe will push herself too hard!

15. When they watch a film what do they choose and why? Who gets the final vote?

Bladerunner (the director’s cut). It’s their favorite. And it’s always unanimous. Though sometimes they indulge themselves with lighter fare like Princess Bride or Labyrinth. Or even Lord of the Rings because Chloe is a secret Tolkien fangirl

16. When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?

Max warns Chloe a couple days ahead of time and they get as much canned goods and the like as they can and then “go camping” - they end up far outside of the cities and someplace defensible until the military or cold weather ends up taking care of the zombies.

17. When they find a time machine, where do they go?

Yeah... no. No playing with time. Not anymore. Well, unless they met the Doctor at which point they go wherever the Doctor suggests because it’s the freaking Doctor, of course they’re going to go with her!

18. When they fight, how do they make up?

Max shrinks in on herself and looks all hurt and Chloe just... she gets flustered and starts apologizing and then they start apologizing to each other and finally start laughing as the silliness of apologizing for “making” the other apologize just gets to them.

19. Where do they go on their first date?

That depends on what you consider a “date” - I mean, that Blackwell swimming pool could have been a “date” after all. But their first real date after leaving Arcadia Bay? Chloe saw a little restaurant on the side of the road and then smiled, looked at Max, said “hey, how’d you like to go out for dinner? Just the two of us, and our stolen Blackwell money...” and Max blushed and said “we really shouldn’t spend it unless we have to” and Chloe just sweet-talked her into it and the food was only halfway decent but it was being together that just made it work for each other.

20. Where do they go on holiday?

They’re kind of working retail and the like in hopes of getting Max’s photographs to various galleries. So there’s no actual holidays per say. But they have plans for Paris, one day. And they visited Chloe’s step-dad in Arizona and that went surprisingly well, David stopped being a step-douche and has kind of become a second dad for Chloe, and loves both Chloe and Max. Oh, it wasn’t all roses and the like, but it was David who reached out to them, and Max helped talk Chloe into visiting and giving David a chance. It worked out.

21. Where do they get nervous about going with one another?

Chloe always gets nervous about going to a gallery with Max. She tried bleaching the blue out of her hair but... well, that just turned it into a mottled pale blue-green that she’s now just growing out and she’d have hacked it off by now but Max actually likes her hair longer so Chloe’s been putting it off. She still feels nervous going into art galleries and the like, she’s blacked out her sleeve tattoo with a black sharpy and is dressing less punk these days while trying to fit in with Max. But she still feels like an outsider at times.

As for Max? She’s nervous whenever they go into a club or go dancing. She thinks she can’t dance and that there are lots of girls better than her but... Chloe loves her. So she goes outside her comfort zone for Chloe. And enjoys herself.

22. Where does their first kiss happen?

Chloe and Max were in Chloe’s old bedroom and Chloe double-dog-dared Max to kiss her. Max did so. Chloe was very shocked and pulled away (useless lesbian that she is). Their next kiss (multiple kisses) was a couple days after they left Arcadia Bay.

23. Where is their favourite place to be together?

To be honest? The place doesn’t matter. What matters is just... being together.

24. Where do they first have sex?

In Chloe’s truck a couple weeks after having left Arcadia Bay, and then finding a motel room because a truck isn’t exactly the most comfortable of places to have sex in, especially an older truck like Chloe’s was.

25. Why do they fight?

Chloe thinks Max is pushing herself too hard and refuses to accept that she is talented. Max gets annoyed because Chloe just stacks dirty dishes in the sink rather than on the counter because if they’re all in the sink then you can’t wash them you have to take them out and Chloe just stacks more dishes on the counter next and... yeah.

26. Why do they need to have a serious chat?

It was about Chloe’s step-dad. Chloe wanted nothing to do with him after they left Arcadia Bay. It didn’t matter that David helped in dealing with the Dark Room situation, Chloe had too many memories of David hitting her, and blaming herself for instigating David at times though that doesn’t forgive David’s actions damn it! But... Max insisted. She talked to Chloe about David, and about how Chloe’s mom allowed this to happen and blamed Chloe instead... and even about how she should forgive David and move on.

In the end? Chloe feels a lot better about listening to Max. David will never replace William. But he’s kind of stopped being her step-dad and is more her real dad now. Enough at least that Chloe’s the one who calls David.

27. Why do their friends get annoyed with them?

Chloe will blow off plans to get together because she doesn’t want to. Sometimes it’s because Chloe is exhausted after working retail and they are trying to make ends meet but... yeah. And Max? Oh Max, we love you dearly but will you start actually believing in yourself more? You’re a talented photographer and when Victoria or Steph tell you you’re good, just accept it rather than try to insist they’re wrong. *shakes head*

28. Why do they get jealous?

Max remains jealous of Rachel to this day. And she does get a bit miffed when Chloe compares Max to Rachel because Rachel was so much more awesome than Max is and is Chloe wanting Rachel by her side instead of Max?

As for Chloe? She’s scared that Max regrets her choices and will leave. She is so scared of being abandoned. Max left for five years... yeah, it wasn’t Max’s choice, her parents moved away when she was only 13, but part of her feels that Max could have made more of an effort to remain in touch even as she realizes she in turn could have. And she’s scared Max will find someone else.

29. Why do they fall a little bit more in love?

Chloe sees Max doing something, be it suddenly geeking out over a perfect photography opportunity or a bit of art or even just a computer game, and her heart just... contracts. At times she has to restrain herself from spontaneously hugging Max, especially if Max was geeking out while taking photographs as she doesn’t want to ruin a perfect shot.

As for Max? Waking up and seeing Chloe sleeping next to her... she falls in love deeper and deeper every day.

30. Why does it work (or not work) between them?

Because they’re Max and Chloe. And they’ll always be together. Always.

#life is strange #max and chloe #pricefield #max caulfield #chloe price #lis #after the storm #bae over bay #happily ever after

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yukayjei · 4 years

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Linked Universe FanFic: No Courage Without Fear

Hi! I’ve been a fan of @jojo56830’s @linkeduniverse for a while, and I’ve been dying to contribute my own fan work to this incredible series! I’ve worked on this fic since July (2019), and it’s finally finished (May 2020), so I really hope you enjoy it! I’ll upload it in separate chapters.

While in hot pursuit of an infected monster, two Heroes face fears they battled long ago.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

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It was just before midnight, and a luminous full moon shone silver rays through the trees. The Heroes were all sound asleep under a large rocky overhang, save for two who sat keeping watch from a large, flat boulder sticking out of the ground a short distance away.

Today’s weather had been cursed with a brutal downpour. It was just their luck that all the rain drained into the valley they were traveling through, so the group had spent the day trudging against a frigid, unforgiving gale and slogging through knee-deep mud. Understandably, their relief was euphoric when they happened upon their natural shelter perched on a higher ridge, and they built a roaring fire at once.

Once the Heroes were sufficiently dried out and warmed up, the sun had already set, so they settled in. Miraculously, the clouds cleared up, and since Hyrule felt the least tired, he offered to take first watch. After a silent-yet-furious argument exchanged through indignant glares and avoiding eye contact, Sky volunteered to join him, despite being a hair’s breadth away from snoozing off.

Still, the two Heroes managed to keep each other awake through a constant stream of chatter, jokes, and (quiet) songs. Hyrule played a rather soulful tune on his flute; the notes produced were slow, yet smooth. They flowed through the air without haste, almost like a lullaby. Yet when Sky closed his eyes, instead of falling asleep, he felt his heart soar like it had grown wings, and an almost weightless sensation stole into his body.

It reminded him of a time he and Zelda snuck out of Knight Academy in the middle of the night and gone for a flight. The atmosphere was perfect. The quiet stillness in the air, the twinkling of a million stars. No clouds, just a light mist. The moon had been full, just like this night, and cast a beautiful silver glow over them and their Loftwings. He could still picture Zelda, lovelier than all of these elements combined, illuminated in the heavenly light. She looked like the goddess Hylia herself, which he’d later learned she was. The memory ebbed all the day’s stress and soreness from his body, but left a little ache inside his heart.

“That was incredible,” he sighed happily when Hyrule finished. “Where did you learn that song?”

Bashful at the praise, the brown-haired boy looked away. “I’m not sure, actually. It’s an old tune. Some say it’s been around since the dawn of Hyrule.”

“Really?” Sky leaned forward. “I never heard it until just now.”

Hyrule flashed him a quizzical look. “Well, maybe my flute doesn’t convey it as well. Sometimes, I think it sounds better on my recorder.”

Sky cocked his head to one side. “Then why not play the recorder?”

“Because I don’t want to summon a whirlwind in the first six notes!”

Sky blinked, not fully grasping what he just heard. “You don’t want to what?”

“You heard me! It would carry me off to who-knows-where!” Hyrule stood up, gesturing dramatically to the wilderness. Though his tone was serious, it also carried a hint of exaggeration.

“Seeing as you’re prone to getting lost, I’d say it suits you,” Sky joked.

Hyrule faced him now, a jolly glint in his eye. “Oh, but you don’t know half of it! It can also warp me right back where I started! In fact,” The glint turned mischievous, and he began slowly advancing toward Sky. “I could be gone for hours…”

Sky chuckled as he edged away. Exhaustion, combined with the late-night hours, must have caught up with Hyrule; delirium had taken hold, the kind that makes anything and everything downright hilarious, and Sky grinned as he felt it creeping up on himself, too.

“…And then, pop up right when you least expect it! Raaah!” With a yell, Hyrule lunged and shoved Sky off the boulder, only to slip and fall flat on his stomach where the latter just sat. A most undignified “Oooooof!” spluttered from his mouth, like air escaping a balloon. The Heroes erupted into hysterical laughter, Hyrule’s mixed with groans of pain, and Sky, sprawled on the ground with his legs propped against the boulder, clutching his stomach as he cackled like a Cucco.

“Shhh! We’re gonna wake the others!” Sky tried to sound serious and his voice cracked from the effort.

“You shhh!” came Hyrule’s witty retort before he dissolved into another laughing fit.

They laughed until they were literally gasping for breath, and even then, managed to laugh some more. Loud enough to drown out a third voice, cackling softly in the distance.

“Oh geez,” Hyrule finally wheezed out. “I feel like I cracked a rib.”

Sky rolled over onto his side, gulping in air. “You deserve it,” he croaked. A silly giggle hiccupped out. “I hit my shoulder hard when you pushed me! If it swells up, you owe me fifty Rupees.”

The brown-haired boy snorted. “Don’t exaggerate. Besides, I don’t even have fifty Rupees!”

“Then I’ll give you a matching bruise for payment.”

An empty threat, but Hyrule still offered, “How about some ice instead?”

“Deal!”

Hoisting himself up on his arms, he looked down at Sky. The Chosen Hero had already removed his green tunic and pulled down his undershirt’s left shoulder to examine the damage.

“How bad is it?” Hyrule asked, voice devoid of concern.

“The size of Four’s Octorok.”

“So, puny.”

“Feels worse than it looks,” Sky admitted, poking tentatively at the blackening bruise the size of a grape.

“You still want ice?” Even as he posed the question, Hyrule started to get up, only to lean back down. “Hey, that’s a neat scar!”

“Huh?” Sky flinched like he’d been slapped, hastily covering his shoulder with his hand. “I-I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hyrule rolled his eyes at the atrocious lie. “I already saw it. Looks like you fought a hard battle!” As he spoke, he eagerly leaned in closer.

Sky yanked his sleeve back up. “N-no, no I didn’t,” he stuttered, ears bright red. Deliberately turning his left side away from Hyrule, he added, “It’s none of your business.”

Normally, Hyrule might have let him be, but curiosity overtook him (it wasn’t like he had anything else to do). “What happened?” he pressed. “From what I saw, only a sword could have left that mark.”

“It’s nothing!” Sky growled, glaring daggers at his friend.

“Then why are you getting so defensive?” Hyrule straightened up, taken aback by his friend’s uncharacteristic surge of anger.

“Because you won’t leave me alone!”

“Was it an accident?”

“No.”

“Do you simply hate having your skin permanently disfigured?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t understand what the problem is!” Hyrule threw his arms up in exasperation. “Scars are nothing to be ashamed of.”

“This one is!” Sky snapped. The redness in his ears spread like fire to his face as he realized he’d said more than he wanted.

For a minute, he remained completely silent, refusing to meet Hyrule’s gaze. Then he exhaled heavily. “Look, unlike the rest of you guys’ crazy stories, it’s… it’s not my– my proudest moment, okay? I don’t– I don’t want to– to talk about it.”

A muffled giggle. Sky shot Hyrule a bewildered stare, more surprised than offended. Though not above poking fun at his friends, the Hero of Hyrule was the last to laugh at someone if they were genuinely upset.

“What?” Hyrule stared back, eyes wide.

“Why’d you laugh?”

“I didn’t. I thought it was you.”

He was dead serious. The two Heroes continued to stare at each other, silently posing the next question: Then who did?

A high, cold cackle answered. Further away this time, but loud enough for the Heroes to know they weren’t imagining it. Jumping to their feet, they unsheathed their swords. Instinctively, they put their backs together as they fervently scanned their surroundings for the source.

“Do me a favor,” Hyrule muttered. “Wake the old man. It’s his shift now.”

Rushing back to the camp, Sky shook Time as hard as he could, though this would prove in vain. If the old man did not want to be woken, he would not. He’d sooner sleep for seven years if you let him.

“Hey…! Hey! Wake up!” No response. His leader simply grunted and rolled over.

Sky tried the next-closest person. “Twilight? Can you hear me?”

No response. Not even the slightest twitch.

“Wild?” he tried again, voice rising in desperation. Surely the lightest sleeper would rouse. But there was no answer. “Anyone?” Sky couldn’t keep his voice from shaking. “Wake up!”

But no one answered, let alone stirred. He may as well have whispered.

“What’s wrong with them?” Hyrule demanded, hurrying to Sky’s side.

“They’re…they’re not waking up. It’s like they’re—”

“—Under a spell,” Hyrule finished in a hushed voice, as though his worst fears had been confirmed. “Of course… this must be the work of a Wizzrobe.”

“Wizzrobe?”

Another shrill cackle, like lightning splitting a tree. Immediately, the Heroes snapped back on guard; it sounded close. Too close.

“Robed monsters possessing incredibly powerful sorcery,” Hyrule continued, eyes narrowed as he peered into the shadows, trying to spot their unseen foe. “They typically rely on elemental magic, but stronger ones are known to wield dark magic. But to incapacitate seven people at once…there could be more than one, but it’s more likely one alone that’s beyond exceptional.”

Sky gulped. “You mean, infected?”

Face pinched, Hyrule nodded. “Exactly. We need to locate it as quickly as possible.”

“Would up there be a good place to start?” Unblinking, Sky raised a stiff hand and pointed above Hyrule’s head.

The Hero of Hyrule whirled around and gasped, for there atop the highest hill, the very creature he had described gazed down upon them.

Little more than a silhouette outlined by the moon’s full shine, the only features that could be made out were a tall figure draped in a heavy cloak, and two large bloodred eyes. Before either Hero could react, the Wizzrobe raised its hands and fired a tidal wave of black magic.

“Get back!” Hyrule jumped in front of Sky and raised his shield. The wave struck the shield directly, exploding in a blinding flash. But the shield remained unscathed, and the Heroes unharmed.

Undeterred, the Wizzrobe fired again. A blast twice as large as the last screamed towards them at breakneck speed. Yet the Hero of Hyrule remained poised, and quickly chanted something under his breath.

Bright radiance enveloped his shield a split second before impact, yet the dark magic was not blocked. It was reflected straight back at its source.

The wave’s full might slammed into the Wizzrobe. The monster collapsed, doubled over in shock and pain. For a few glorious seconds, the Hero of Hyrule thought he’d won, but the Wizzrobe rose up. He couldn’t read its expression, but those bloodred eyes looked murderous.

It let out a bone-chilling screech so loud it the Heroes’ ears threatened to bleed. The moon swelled to twice its size and took on a sinister crimson tint. Wind whipped around them like a tornado. Just seconds ago, the sky was clear, yet it now filled with ominous red clouds. Lightning flashed. Thunder reverberated high in the heavens and deep under the earth.

A bolt struck the ground right in front of the Heroes. With a yell, they threw their hands up over their faces, struggling not to fall down. Then the wind died down, leaving eerie silence ringing in their ears. Raising their heads, the boys saw that the sky had miraculously cleared. The moon shone stark white again. All seemed well, but the Wizzrobe had vanished.

“Where did it go?” was the first thing out of Sky’s mouth as he checked all around. Had it snuck up behind them in the confusion? Alas, there was no sign of the sorcerer. Their friends still slept peacefully, much to his relief.

“Was that…an illusion?” Hyrule stared blankly up at the hill, trying to comprehend all he’d just seen. “I sensed its magic was beyond ordinary, but I never imagined…”

“I don’t want to think what would have happened if you didn’t have your shield,” Sky murmured. “Sorry, but how’d you repel it like that? I didn’t see you move an inch!”

“A spell I picked up in my travels,” Hyrule explained shortly. Sweeping his gaze over the camp, he muttered, “No one’s stirring.”

“They aren’t awake?” Sky shot him a worried glance.

“The Wizzrobe only retreated. Temporarily, I’m sure.”

Sky sheathed his sword. “What should we do, then? Prepare for its return?”

“No,” came the Hero of Hyrule’s decisive response. “We’ll pursue it.”

“Hold on a second!” Sky held up his hands. “I’m not against hunting it down, but what about the others?” He gestured to their friends, who still showed no signs of waking up. “We can’t just leave them here, defenseless! Suppose the Wizzrobe doubles back?”

“It won’t,” Hyrule responded forcefully. When Sky stared blankly, he elaborated, “I’m not sure why, but I get the feeling it won’t continue its plan— whatever it is— unless it traps all of us where and how it wants.”

Sky bit his lip, choosing his next words carefully. “Look, I–I trust you. I just don’t trust the Wizzrobe. Maybe one– maybe one of us could find it—”

“No! It’s too dangerous to go alone. We need to confront it together, especially if it’s like all other monsters we’ve fought!”

“But—”

The Hero of the Winds cried out in his sleep. Hyrule and Sky whirled around to see the youngest Hero tossing and turning, his face twisted in pain. His hand stretched out, like he was reaching for something.

Hyrule and Sky rushed to his side, falling to their knees. A desperate, fragile hope clung to them. “Wind? Wind, can you hear me?” Sky called, his voice hoarse.

Wind’s reaching hand seized Sky’s arm. In his feverish state, the young Hero mumbled, “Got you… just… hold on… don’t let go!”

With his free hand, Sky grasped Wind’s. “Everything’s going to be okay, Wind. It’s just a bad dream! Wake up!”

But the youngest Hero only tightened his grip. “Please…hang on…” he whispered. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

The sight was too much to bear. Hyrule felt a huge lump forming in his throat. A choked gasp escaped from his lips and he fought to stifle it. He turned away, but he could not escape the horror that enveloped the rest of the sleeping Heroes. There lay Wild, twitching and shaking like a frightened rabbit. Warriors, curled up into the fetal position and muttering nonstop. Legend, shouting incoherently into the night, each tormented cry more agonizing than the last. Twilight, hands balled into fists and growling “no” through clenched teeth over and over. Time, whose whole body shuddered every few seconds. Four, who lay so still they couldn’t tell if he was breathing.

The Hero of Hyrule was at a loss for what to do. What to say. Their friends’ condition had evolved into something far worse than imagined. Could he and Sky, who were just two people, even consider confronting the Wizzrobe, which he was starting to see more as a demon? Despair welled up inside his heart, weighing down his entire body like heavy iron chains.

As quickly as it had set in, he shook off the invisible shackles. How dare he think like that? Their friends were depending on them! A spark of determination flickered in his heart, spurring him to action.

Standing tall again, Hyrule approached Sky, who still knelt beside Wind, cradling him and clutching the smaller boy’s hand. Hyrule rested his own hand on Sky’s shoulder. “Listen,” he murmured softly, “I don’t want to leave them, either. But even if we wait for it to return, we’re at the bottom of a valley. With the range Wizzrobes have, we’d be at a tremendous disadvantage.”

Sky didn’t meet his gaze, but after a few moments’ silence, he sighed. “You’re right. The only way we can help is if we find and put an end to what’s threatening them.”

As gently as possible, he lay the Hero of Winds down and tucked his blanket over his shoulders. Letting go of his hand earned Sky a heart wrenching sob from the boy, but he managed to push past it and stand up. The same spark glinted in his eyes, too. “Let’s go.”

#linkeduniverse #legend of zelda #loz #the legend of zelda #link #tloz

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avaria-revallier · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: Of family and tea

Bella was feeling miserable. She is wet -drenched- to her very bones. Her hair nothing more than a soppy mess and her soaked clothes glued to her skin. The first few hours the rain had been a comfortable change. It had been refreshing. Well, it wasn't any more. After three days of continuous rain her mood had hit rockbottom. The dwarrows were no better. None of them had talked to her since and even Bofur hadn't told any joke in a while. The only hope Bella had left was the knowledge that the sky would be clear once lunch-time had passed.

Annoyed she brushes another wild curl out of her eyes. This kind of weather was really the worst for her hair. Taming the golden-brown curls was a quest on its own when the weather was good, but the humid air made it almost impossible to keep them in any kind of braid. Frustrated she opens her ponytail for the sixths time this day and redoes her hair. She binds them as tight as she could manage without hurting herself in the progress.

As predicted the sky clears a few hours later. Thorin stops the ponies near a large overhang. All of them were thankful for the break. The rain had washed away their enthusiasm and the cold meals were no joy either. Stiff she walks over to Gloin and Bombur who were starting to lite a fire. Bella wasn't sure how they even managed to produce more than smoke with the wet wood. Shivering she hugs her knees, drawing her legs closer to her body. Something heavy and very, very warm was thrown over her shoulders, covering her entire body.

Peeking out from under the large coat she could see Dwalin. The tattooed warrior was standing to her right side, looking down on her. His arms crossed and a blank expression on his face he just stared at her. Dwalin could stare down almost anyone he wanted. Most people even actively avoided his gaze.

The little hobbit lass on the other hand openly looked at him. She even sometimes searched for him while looking around and smiled as soon as he returned her look. It was confusing. How could such a tiny little creature withstand his stare when even men and steeled warriors avoided him? She was one strange lass. Not complaining, not demanding a break when she obviously was exhausted enough to fall asleep while riding. She did all the tasks Thorin had given her without a word of complain. He had seen her giggling with the young princes, laughing at Bofurs silly jokes and excitedly trade receipts with Bombur. It was strange and fascinating at the same time to observe the many faces she could make, to witness how she laughs in one moment and is serious in the next. Even now she didn't fail to impress him. Shivering next to the fire, looking more miserable than a cat that had been thrown into a river and still, not complaining. Before he himself even knew what was going on his coat was draped around her shoulders. Underneath his clothes she looked even smaller. With big green eyes she stares up at him. He returns the look, carefully not to let his expression slip. He felt better as soon as she stopped shivering, he realised. They looked at each other for a few more awkward moments. Her big honest eyes piercing him, as if she could look into his very soul. Dwalin was the first one to look away. This was a premiere!

"We don't want you to catch a cold." he declared.

"Thank you, master Dwalin. Aren't you cold now?" she replied in a worried tone.

He looked down at her once again. Only true concern was to be found in her eyes. Later on Dwalin would name this particular moment as the start of ‘the whole damn misery’. Bella tilted her head a bit when he didn’t answer.

“No worry, mistress Baggins, we dwarrows run hotter than other races.” And with that the conversation was ended.

Bella separated herself from the group after they had build up their camp for the night and tiptoed to the near tree-line. Bifur was the only one watching her. She signed him to keep quiet about it by holding one finger on her lips. The first few days she hadn’t had any opportunity as there had been no cover. The rain had interrupted her training for the last few days, but now she could finally continue. Yavanna knew she would need it soon enough.

Hanging her waistcoat on a nearby branch she stepped into the clearing. Trees and bushes sheltered her from unwanted spectators. In one hand she holds her walking stick, in the other a smaller branch with the rough shape of a sword. Taking on a stable position she breathes in and out to calm her nerves and heartbeat. First she rehearsed the fundamental steps of blocking an attack from above, below and either sides. Next she changed her strategy from blocking to attacking and then combining those two.

“Where is the hobbit?” Bofur was the first one to notice their burglars absence. A small panic, followed by chaos erupted as all the dwarrows looked around, searching the camp for any usable hints where she could have gone. Bifur and Nori where the only two still sitting by the fire.

Dwalin spotted his cloak neatly folded at the end of his bedroll. He frowned at the sight of it. He hadn’t had the impression that she would reject his offer, maybe he should have clearly declared the coat as a gift, instead of just handing it over to her. Well, he would have to do better next time before one of the other dwarrows would snatch his chance away.

“Her backpack and bedroll are still here. She wouldn’t have wandered off without it, would she?” wondered Bombur.

The cook of the company had grown quite fond of the lass. Dwalin had seen them chatting for hours and hours about food and methods on cooking chicken and lamb and stews and what not. In fact they all had grown quite fond of the gentle little creature. She had been becoming a solid part of their company. Even if Thorin still mutated into a stone-headed idiot as soon as she looked in his direction or came near him. Dwalin could perfectly understand that trusting a stranger was not easy, but she had welcomed the company in her home and left said home to reclaim theirs. She willingly came on a quest to potentially be eaten by a dragon for Mahals sake! He clenches his hands into fists.

“I am going to look for her, she wouldn’t have gone far.” Dwalin grunted, stomping off to the trees.

Bifur abruptly stood up and follows Dwalin into the shady forrest. They hadn’t had to look for too long. Dwalin and Bifur found Bella on a small clearing, performing a fearful dance of destruction. Her staff in one hand and a -very poorly made- wooden sword in the other she spins over the ground. One step back, two forth, her feet barely touching the grass and moss. Jabbing, stabbing and slashing invisible opponents, while blocking attacks from all sides. It was rather beautiful to watch, Dwalin admitted, still frightening at the same time. Bifur next to him seemed to enjoy himself as well. His gaze wasn’t as clouded as on other occasions while he watched their gentle hobbit slashing the air.

Dwalin wasn’t sure how to announce their presence without startling Bella. Bifur took the decision from his hands as he clapped enthusiastically when Bella dodged a low swing by crouching down and forcefully stabbing her sword up.

For a second Bella froze in her very motion. She hadn’t expected any other sounds than the whispering of the trees around. The loud clapping took her by surprise. Before she could even comprehend what was happening her instincts kicked in and she threw the wooden sword in the direction of the sound. Back on her feet she looks over to the two figures in the shadows. With burning cheeks she realises that it had been Dwalin and Bifur who fell victim to her poor attempt of an attack. Bifur had the wooden sword in his hands, examining it. He only grunted at the pathetic try of carving a weapon.

“How long have you been standing there?” Bella asks breathlessly.

“Longer than you’d like I’d imagine.” Dwalin crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking down at her.

Bifur said something in rapid Khuzdul, waving the sword around, before he simply broke it apart and throws the pieces over his shoulder.

“I need that to train!” she argued.

“I agree with Bifur on this, you can hardly call that thing a weapon, neither can you train properly with that.”

Bifur nods furiously, gesturing towards her and Dwalin. Bella could only frown as he once again let loose a wave of Khuzdul.

Dwalin is amazed and utterly confused. She is a hobbit, there was no doubt. From her furry feet to her slightly pointy ears over the beardless face and the golden curls. A hobbit. A gentle creature… Well, sort of.

“Where did you learn to fight, lassie?”suspicious he watched her taking another swig out of her bottle.

Bofur sat beside her, eagerly carving a small wooden sword. Dwalin preferred to stand, arms crossed and starring once again down on the confusing creature. In this moment he realised that he knew close to nothing about her. They had been traveling together for a few month now and he knew her name and well… not much more. He could judge her character by observing her, that he could. She was forgiving, to an extend that he would consider it a weakness. She was fond of food and eating, also of talking about food. He had seen her talking to Ori too, so he could assume that she liked to read and held a great deal of knowledge. Without a doubt she was brave, as she didn’t hesitated to tell the dwarrows if something bothered her, but she never complained about minor things. All in all she was a confusing creature.

“You could say a dear friend taught me.” There was no hint of a lie in her expression, only a shadow of pain and grief over her face.

Bella averted her face from the dwarrows while speaking. Painful memories chased each other. The smell of blood seemed to once again linger in the air while cries of pain and sobs of grief filled the forrest. A shiver ran down her spine.

‘Not this time, definitely not this time. I will save them even if it takes my all!’

A large hand squeezes her shoulder and brings her back into the present. Glancing up she meets Dwalins eyes. In there she could see the same pain that hunted her. Of course the warrior would understand her, even thought she didn’t say any more about it.

In her last life Dwalin had trained her mercilessly after fighting Azog. She never knew if it was a command Thorin gave or if the dwarf pitied her for not being able to fight.

‘Maybe’ a small part whispered ‘maybe he wanted you to be safe?’

“Here, I made it with my own two hands.” He holds up a small dagger, silver vines ranking over the knob. “It will protect you when I cannot.”

“This is beautiful!” she gasped. “I – I don’t even know what to say, master Dwalin.” Gently she brushes over the delicate ornaments.

Bifur next to her stopped carving to watch them both, a knowing grin on his lips.

“Is it not to your liking?”

Was that a small portion of panic in his voice? Startled she looked up. The big dwarf had taken a step back, scratching his neck while studying the ground with extreme interest.

“What? No!” she cried out, “It is beautiful. I have never seen such a fine blade before. Are you sure to give it to me?”

Finally Dwalin looked her into the eyes. Relief and pride in his gaze he stepped closer, placing both hands on her shoulders and knocking their foreheads together. The impact wasn’t that great, yet the world went dark.

The cheered ‘namad’ slowly died. After knocking their heads together the hobbit lass slumped down, eyes closed. Bile rose in his throat, had he killed his sister? With shaking hands he checked her breathing.

“She is a hobbit, you rockhead.” Bifurs gruff voice reminded him in Khuzdul. “Let Oin check her over.”

Gently lifting the hobbit up they both left the clearing. Bifur carrying her waistcoat and the partly finished sword for practice, while Dwalin held his newly won sister, his gift for her and the staff she used earlier. Halfway to the camp they met Bombur and Bofur. Dwalin hurried past them without a word, followed by Bifur who signed ‘Rockhead’ to his family.

“She’ll be fine. Just a bit of rest and sleep and tomorrow she'll be better than new.” The healer assured the gathered dwarrows.

Those words took most of the tension from the company. Bombur excused himself to prepare tea if she should wake. Fili and Kili remembered that she had purchased a rather large sack of dried leaves in Bree and went off to get it off of Bellas pack. Dori fussed over the resting hobbit, bringing another blanket and freshening up the wet piece of fabric on her forehead. Balin drags his brother to the other side of the camp, no doubt to give him an ear full for his recklessness. Bofur volunteering to take first watch took Bifur with him, sitting on a log a few feet from Bombur.

This left Thorin, Ori and Nori sitting by their burglar. Dwalin returned after an uncomfortable moment of silence. He fussed over the lass just like Dori before, adjusting the blankets and improvised cushion to make sure she would lie comfortable. This was the first time Thorin had seen his friend so worried. He notices a small dagger laying at the halflings side. After staring a while at it he recognised it as Dwalins. Nori, who had followed his kings gaze spotted the dagger as well. He knew of all the valuable belongings of the company, how else could he call himself spymaster?

“A very nice gift,” Nori chimed half mocking half serious, “not the best choice if you wanted to court her though.”

Thorins guts froze at the mocking words. He kept his face unmoved although the sheer thought of Bella courting another- wait he didn’t even care for her! There was nothing attractive about that gentle creature. Not her hazelnut curls that looked like rivers of gold in the firelight, not the way she laughed at Bofurs jokes, or slightly frowned while exchanging knowledge with Ori. It wasn’t cute how she smiled in her sleep and most definitely it wasn’t attractive when she stood up to him or scolded his nephews when they pulled another silly prank on Ori.

“Watch your tongue, thief! She is my sister by right, as she accepted my gift. She even said she had never seen a better one.” The warrior snarls at Nori. A silent sight of relief escapes the king while he watches Nori standing up, hands raising in surrender and joining Bombur by the fire.

Thorin watches Dwalin changing the wet cloth with the uttermost care. A small red bump decorated her forehead. He winced at the sight of the injury.

“I am not sure that mistress Bella actually knows what she accepted while accepting your gift, mister Dwalin.” Ori murmured absorbed in his journal.

King and warrior looked at him in confusion. The scribe didn’t seem to notice at first and it took almost all of Thorins composure not to jump at Ori and question him in detail about everything he knew about the hobbit.

“What do you mean?” finally- finally Dwalin asked the question burning like hot coals on Thorins tongue.

“W-well… she is a hobbit after all. From what I l-learned they have a different culture. For example walking barefoot and eating seven meals a day. They don’t know the concept of dwarven courting or receiving a gift to forge - to forge a family bond.” At first Ori had hesitated, fidgeting with his hands and looking everywhere but at Dwalin and Thorin. As he ventured further into his acquired knowledge he straightened himself and continued with a firm voice. “I was quite shaken when I had to explain that stone is not simply stone but that there are quite a few differences. She told me then that dirt is not simply dirt even that could be divided into different sections and classes. – Oh, I am sorry. I am sure you wouldn’t want me to bore you with different methods of farming. Where was I… Ah, right.” He clears his throat. If only to gather his thoughts or to built up tension, he definitely succeeded. “Hobbits are friendly folk. They make friends as easy as breathing and it wouldn’t wonder me if she already considered us to be her friends. She might be still politely addressing us all with ‘master’ nonetheless she might have asked me if it would be considered rude to ask us to call her by her name. One of us should explain her the importance of a self made or crafted gift and the honour it brings the dwarf whose gift was accepted.” For a split second the shy scribe met Thorins gaze. Ori flushed bright red, mumbling an excuse and hurrying of to sit by the fire with Bombur and Nori.

It was the first time that the two of them had heard their scribe talk that much in one go.

Thorin grunted displeased. He wouldn’t mind if the young one would have talked a bit more. He wasn’t quite sure if he could trust the hope that had sparked within him. How could the lass consider him as a friend? They barely talked and when they did he usually wasn’t very polite. Well, she just rubbed him in the wrong places is all. Always challenging him with her looks, speaking up when she was displeased. Thorin simply didn’t know how to react, so he spoke to her only when necessary and even then just the bare minimum.

Bellas eyes fluttered open. Groaning she sits up, on hand pressed against her head, the other rubbing her eyes. How long had she been sleeping? The headache almost felt like a hangover. A distant memory of an evening she spend with Bofur, after they had reclaimed the mountain, flared up. They had found the cellars, full of long forgotten wine and liquor. The feeling was quite similar, even if she couldn’t remember drinking any.

“She’s awake!” the one squeaking excitedly was Kili.

Bella only hissed as the loud voice ringed in her ears. The dulled knock was undoubtedly Filis fist on his brothers head. She looked around their camp. Her dwarrows where still here, each and every one of them. For the better part of their journey she had always feared them gone after waking up. Bella hadn’t slept a single night in peace, never more than a few hours before she would sit up and join whoever was on watch.

Fili came over, handing Oin a steaming mug. Proud the blonde prince looked at Bella.

“We mad you some tea! We assumed it would please you.” Openly he smiled at her, giving her also a mug.

“Thank you, that is very thoughtful of you.”hesitating she smiled back, repressing the urge to ruffle through his blonde hair. It was a habit she had brought with her from her last life.

“What kind of tea did you make me?” she asks instead.

“I noticed that you had purchased quite a big bag of dried leafs while we were in Bree, so I came to the conclusion that you must really like that blend of tea. Kili and I thought of trying it too, so we made some for the whole company. We all enjoyed the tea you gave us back in your home. I hope you don’t mind.”

Bella grew paler with each word the young prince stated. Peeking past Fili she could make out Kili in the process of bringing another steaming cup to his lips. She reached out and grabbed one of Filis hidden knives from beneath his jacket – how could he even move with so many weapons on him? – and threw it at the dark haired dwarf, hitting the mug and forcing it out of Kilis hand.

“Don’t any of you dare to take a sip!” she yelled, while her head roared in pain. Nori was the first one to act. A sharp blade was pressed against her throat, before she could blink. Bella didn’t move. While Fili stood up to look after his brother Oin examined the contend of the tea. He waves over Gloin to bring some dried leafs with him.

“By my beard, did you plan on poisoning the dragon with your tea?” the healer asked in confusion.

“What is in it, Oin?” the low growl from behind made her nearly jump. Noris blade was pressed firmer against her skin as she turned to watch Thorin. “Wolfsbane, Oleander and deadly nightshade, also known as Belladonna.” Oin answered honestly shocked.

For a fact, Bella did know that these herbs are poisonous to most races. She had aimed for these herbs because she knew the effect it would have on, well, any other creature than a hobbit. Her plan had been to poison the trolls or at least disable them long enough for the dwarrows to take care of the matter. It wasn’t the best plan, she had to admit, yet better than the outcome in her last life. She didn’t fancy to be used as a handkerchief twice!

“Let her go, thief! She clearly saved Kili and the rest of us from dying.” Dwalin snapped. He didn’t dare to hit Nori as he feared it would drive the blade further into Bellas flesh.

Nori wasn’t even impressed, only when Thorin nodded sharply he slowly let go of her, backing away. In a split second Dwalin was by her side checking for a possible injury through the blade.

“You had me worried, namad.” He blurted, angrily staring at Nori. The thief in question backed further away.

“Namad? What does that mean?” Bella asked.

Confused she looked around, stopping by Balin. The kings advisor sighted. “One matter at a time, lassie. I guess we all have some explaining to do.” He stated, sitting down again.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the camp. Bella decided that there probably would be no better time to talk with them than now. All eyes on her she reached down and takes a deep sip from the tea.

“I agree with master Balin. I may not have told you everything, but I have never lied to you.”

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kimpossibooty · 4 years

Note

Hi friend, I literally just finished the latest episode of TAZ:G when I saw your post. What's not working for you about this one? Did you like their other arcs?

Okay so I have a lot of thoughts BUT first I want to talk about things that I do like!

1) I love TAZ! I’ve loved every season and every mini arc, I love the boys, I would listen to them play monopoly for ninety minutes every other week!

2) The premise is amazing! A magical school for heroes and villains is ingenious, but adding on the extra layer of an annex for sidekicks and henchmen and having the story based there? Amazing! There could not be a better setting for a story or a concept more directly up my alley!

3) The characters are great! I love all of the PCs and most of the NPCs! Plus, it’s fantastic that Travis is working so hard to include diverse characters in a way that doesn’t feel forced or poorly handled! As a disabled person who uses a mobility aid due to a chronic pain issue, having Rainer be introduced in the way that she was and having her be so badass and funny without her disability being framed as a punchline or a liability has been AMAZING for me!

Buuuuuut there are definitely things that are falling flat for me.

I really want to couch this in positivity though! I listen to every episode and enjoy it, and I plan to listen to the whole season still! Just there are aspects that make it really hard for me to get into, so I really can’t immerse myself in Graduation the way that I’ve been able to in basically every other story they’ve done.

That said though, there are problems I’ve had that have already been improved! I had a lot of trouble keeping track of what was happening in the first few episodes, mostly due to the characters. A ton of NPCs were introduced at once, they didn’t have very distinct voices, they weren’t given enough defining characteristics that I could easily match a name to a character, and the way Travis told the story didn’t really include much in the way of telling which character was speaking. Instead, he mostly just spoke in the character voice, but with the voices not being very different and there not being enough background with the characters to just know who would be speaking in the moment or what character would most make sense to be saying a given line, it was VERY difficult for me to keep track. I had to listen to the first several episodes three times just to actually track the story.

BUT that’s gotten much better! Travis has really developed a lot of the voices used in the story, and he points out who’s speaking most of the time! Whether he got feedback on that or just got more into the role of a storyteller that he picked up the habit naturally, it’s made the show so much better to me!

But there are some other things that haven’t really improved/don’t seem likely to change. But that’s okay! I want to be super explicit that this is ME talking about MY feelings, and not me trying to pass judgement on the show or say that it’s objectively bad. These are just my feelings and they don’t impact or reflect the general quality of the show or the ability for other people to enjoy the show fully or not be bothered by my complaints or anything like that.

1) I feel like there’s not a lot of respect for character backstories? This is a very very specific complaint, but the choice to have Fitzroy’s family not actually be royalty really sits weird with me. Of course, we’re just the listeners at home, it’s very possible this was discussed off air for the sake of the narrative, but it felt really, really weird that it was such a big part of Fitzroy’s character and then Travis just turned his dad into a trucker. I know that [BALANCE SPOILERS] Griffin gave all of the player characters FORGOTTEN LIVES AND LOVED ONES, but it was done in a way that didn’t invalidate a single thing about the stories the others had already told. It feels less “yes, and” and more “no, instead” and it’s just really kind of thrown me off. As a player, I would be less than stoked if a DM made that choice for my character. But again, very possible they discussed this! Or even that it was Griffin’s choice! But there was zero build up (at least that I caught) in the narrative, so it really felt off.

2) The pacing can be... rough. There are some beats that Travis tries to set up that would probably work well for a normal game, but they don’t always offer a lot for a story with an audience. For example, in episode 160, the guys kind of recap everything they know, then go talk to the wizard in the camp. The wizard offers nothing in the way of information, but then asks them to recap everything they know AGAIN, solely for Travis to justify an NPC being up to speed. It didn’t offer anything to the players or to the narrative. The guys pretty much vetoed that in character, so there wasn’t a lot of lost time there or anything, but there have been encounters like this a lot. I just feel like every couple episodes there are conversations or meetings or encounters that Travis sets up that definitely would flesh out a story in a book but really don’t work as a piece of entertainment. In a book, it can be written off as “they caught the wizard up on everything”, but to do it all in character would be very boring and take a lot of time, and it seems like there are points where Travis focuses more on justifying things in-world rather than thinking about the end product. Again, would totally work in a normal game or in a book, but I just don’t enjoy that sort of thing when I’m listening to a podcast, and it seems like the other guys might be aware of it sometimes, too.

3) This one’s my biggest problem, but the inconsistency I feel in the tone really makes it hard for me to take it seriously. I feel like Travis leans into silliness in a fun way, but not enough. He sets up a lot of serious beats, but then there’s a lot of “the spirit of the Scarlet WoOOOODS” followed by some pretty heavy silences. He wants to deliver a serious, meaningful story, which is great, and he wants to do it in a funny way, which is great, but he really hasn’t found a balance in my eyes. The seriousness makes the jokes feel out of place, and the jokes make it difficult to take the serious parts... seriously. The goofiness itself is great, I love it, and a lot of the humor lands and lands well! The dancing squirrel skeletons are arguably the best thing TAZ has ever made! But I feel like if he wants to really play with the humor, he has to lean into it more, and he really hasn’t yet, and when a joke doesn’t land, like the repeated “SpIrIt Of ThE sCaRlEt WoOoOoOoOoDs”, it really stops things up and makes me almost uncomfortable listening to it.

I think also a part of it is that it’s hard to tell what’s supposed to be funny IN the story vs what’s funny ABOUT the story. Like, again, the scarlet woods bit could be objectively funny in its own. Centaurs insisting on pronouncing the name of a deity-adjacent spirit in a dramatic and ridiculous way? That’s great. But it’s hard to tell if the characters in the world are supposed to take it seriously or not. Like, if I was a player, I wouldn’t know if my character thought that it was funny, or if the DM was only doing it for the amusement of the players and not the characters. I feel like as an audience member, it’s a weird place to be.

But all that said, I really want to emphasize that I love what Travis is doing! It’s definitely not about his DM style, because I LOVED Dust! Just there are a lot of things in Graduation that aren’t sticking for me.

Ultimately, I love the show, I will keep listening, I’m very invested and very positive, I just really, really, really hope some changes get made for things like this.

#please don't cancel me

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leenukeath · 4 years

Text

Precious Things

short story featuring V and Hunter

by Leenu for Kawakona

~~~

Crunch crunch

The frozen ground cracked beneath her boots, small clouds of warm breath crystallized in front of her lips as she pulled her coat closer to her shivering back.

V was seriously wondering why she had volunteered to patrol the perimeter for this night, her fingers were starting to go numb as they clutched her cold rifle, begging for the warm radiance of a fireplace or better yet a bed.

The distance laughter of her friends reminded her of the motivation that lead her to step up to the task:

This was the end of the year. 2035 was living its last minutes, making way to 2036 as well as the hope that Xcom brought back to humanity. Her friends, especially the oldest members, were eager to celebrate this upcoming event, to bring back a shred of old time joy from back when Earth was still alone in the universe.

V however wasn’t especially feelling up for the festivity, especially since it spelled reduced surveillance for their haven, so she had been the one to stand up and give away her night so they could celebrate in relative peace.

Her aching cold nose was starting to make her reconsider her choice.

Stopping for a second beneath a tree a little further from camp, she pulled out a thermos bottle of tea, enjoying its warmth between her fingers before taking a slow sip. The steaming liquid briefly burned her mouth before making its way into her body, heating her up from the inside. The moment of what felt like unthawing was spent listening to the silence of the night and the fall of the few snowflakes that dropped from the firmament.

Until a light crack was heard over her head.

Dropping everything in hand, she turned around in a quarter of a second, pointing her rifle to the source of the sound above her head.

For a few seconds, there was nothing.

She slowly turned on the flashlight attached to the barrel of her gun.

And was greeted by the sight of Hunter jumping down over her, making her trip and fall on the snowy floor in surprise.

“Missed me?” he asked with a chuckle as V was trying to stand back up, sputtering away the hair that she had accidentally bit on when she dropped. He extended her a hand, offering to help her get back up. She rolled her eyes at the mocking grin he was giving her, but nonetheless took it as she pulled herself on her feet, dusting off the few snowflakes that had landed on her: “I see you still like being an ass and scaring the life out of me Vallinor.” she sighed as she set the safety back on her gun.

The tall alien laughed: “Well where is the fun in coming announced? Although to be fair, I could maybe send a letter to your home telling I, Vallionr, Second Chosen of the Elders will come visit his beloved V at precisely-” he was cut off by a packet of loose snow getting tossed at his face by a furiously blushing V: “Will you cut it out!” she almost shouted as she prepared a small snowball to shut him up.

“Aw c’mon honey, you’re breaking my heart” he said with an air of faux-drama as he took a slow step closer, “And here I was coming to give you a visit during this cold night so you wouldn’t have to stand alone against the dangers of those vicious aliens ready to ambush you.”. “Need I remind you that you’re the vicious alien who ambushed me?” said V with as much seriousness as she could while raising an eyebrow. “Proof that you need me to keep you company my dearest.” added the Hunter before popping a squat next to her.

Even kneeling like this he was almost at eye level with her. With a sigh, she sat down next to him after taking another look around, making sure ADVENT, or worse yet her companions, were nowhere to see them.

For a few moments, they stood not saying a word, the only sounds reaching them being the fall of the snowflakes and the occasional distant laughter of the haven. Despite it being cloudy, the moon was able to break through the thick layer and occasionally shine on them. It was a serene moment as the two stood in silence.

However at that instant, V felt an odd sense of deja vu. A feeling of familiarity not only in the situation, but also in the person next to her, a person who had left a long time ago after a promise of coming back. One he still hadn’t held up to this day.

“Are you alright?” asked the Hunter, breaking the silence as he took a look at her face. “I’m fine, why?”, “You’re crying.” he said as he pointed to a tear rolling down her face.

V brought her hand over her cheek and felt the droplet wet her fingers, leaving nothing but a salty memory on her digits: “Huh, so I was …” she absentmindedly said as she looked away. It must have displeased Vallinor because she heard him standing back up and taking a few steps, kneeling down so he could see her: “Hey, why the long face? Did I do something too wrong this time?”.

She wasn’t feeling ready to look at him at the moment, not with more tears leaking out of her eyes. She buried her face between her knees to try and hide herself, but when his hand gently came upon her shoulder, she couldn’t hold it in much longer and had to ask: “ Vallinor… do you ever feel like you were left behind by someone you trusted?”.

“No”, he answered bluntly, “I just don’t trust people enough to be ditched by them... But to be perfectly honest…” he added before sitting down next to her, “I sometimes feel like I left behind a very precious thing … like I was supposed to do something, but I just can’t remember what…”

He finished speaking as he took a look at the sky, in what looked like pensive contemplation.

It wasn’t usual for V to see him looking so serious, his love for inopportune comments and never ending teasing had given him a carefree image for everyone he had ever faced. A shame truly since he had the ability to make interesting conversation whenever he actually forced himself to shut up and listen a little. Making the proud Chosen Hunter go quiet had always been a guilty, albeit rare pleasure for V. Maybe it was because she experienced a feeling of both longing and completion whenever he was simply there by her side.

Almost as if he could read her mind, or more likely her soothed expression, Vallinor turned over to her, passing the back of his fingers over her cheek: “You know, every time I’m with you, I feel better. Like you somehow complete me.” he spoke in a tender tone. Before continuing in a joking manner: “Kind of silly I know, I’m perfection incarnate! There’s no way I would be pulled down by anyth-”.

The Hunter was cut off as V moved closer, taking hold of his hood before gently planting a kiss upon his lips, shutting him up with surprise before he closed his eyes and basked in the contact.

The cool clouds of their breaths fused as they exhaled in unison, blue hands passing over strands of white hair, white hands sliding on his dark hood, pulling him closer, yearning to feel the warmth of his life.

He was alive, he was with her.

She survived, she was with him.

Their existences were not making any sense, but they didn’t care. They just wanted to live a few more moments with each other in the silence under the snow.

Laying her head on his chest, she listened to the slow drum of his heart as he set his hand over her back.

A roar of cheer was heard in the distance where the haven stood, the Hunter briefly looked in its direction before turning his gaze back to V. She smiled and leaned in for another kiss: “Happy New Year Vallinor”.

#xcom 2 #xcom 2 war of the chosen #chosen hunter #V #kawakona

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writing-without-time · 4 years

Text

if you can't handle a heart like mine

don't waste your time with me.

read it on ao3

this is peak canon divergence me complaining about minor in game things but make it fluff while i did it

More often than not, Bonnie found herself at the heart of Slumbering Weald.

A beautiful area that was so quiet, so serene, so perfect to just sort out your thoughts. A lot of the time, Bonnie had ran into Hop sitting by the water, contemplating random problems. But today she was alone, as she sat on top of the tombstone belonging to heros. She had come here to think. Not really to solve a problem, no, there's no solving her issue, just to think about it. Calm down, maybe. She breathed deep as she clung her cape close briefly, before letting it drop on the ground behind her. Hopefully Zacian wouldn't mind.

Bonnie was stuck thinking about her adventure. What lead her to now. Not just the adventure itself, and for once, not about Hop, and the shared nights, and camping together under the wild area night sky, and battling together and against each other... She shook the thought from her head. Not the problem right now. She figured she'd have a fucking relationship crisis, 'oh no, i like my childhood best friend!' bullshit later. What bothered her was a common occurrence that also stood out beyond everything. It was this habit her friends way older than her had.

It happened alot. She could recall a few select times: Outside of Spikemuth, when the dynamaxing started happening, when Hop and her had found Lee and Chairman Rose at the top of Rose Tower, and a few other instances that passed through her mind. She was told the same thing, every single time: "Don't worry, let the adults handle this."

She hated it.

She didn't like to admit it, but Bonnie grew up young. She had to. And so it got under her skin, and in a more "adult" term, pissed her the fuck off, every time. She knew there was no hard feelings behind the statement, she and Hop were only sixteen. She supposed some people would still consider that young. She pondered though, how much bullshit would we have avoided if we just let Bonnie and Hop help out for like, 10 fucking seconds? Probably a lot.

When she had left Rose Tower, she had knew, oh she was aware that Chairman Rose would entirely fuck up her match with Lee, but she hadn't told anyone. But look who was right? It was her. She always knew something was wrong, and that Leon and Sonia and all the others couldn't handle it without Hop and her- as conceited as it sounds- but she would be dismissed because she was a kid.

She supposed, in theory, it was nothing to seethe in rage over. One, it was all over now, and two, she had long proved she is more than just a kid. Hell, she's the fucking champion! But it still got under her skin, bothered her. It made the depths of her soul question: Was she ever good enough? Did she still have to prove herself? Is she still just a silly little kid? She sighed, frustrated as ever as she looked to the setting sun and began to hum. Humming and singing helped clear her mind, as she began to sing a song where she couldn't remember where it came from, hands running through her hair as she tried to relax herself.

"..and cut a rug with orphaned girls, now memories are blurred, and their faces are blurred, but I still know the words to this song-" She sings softly, sounding awfully louder than she was in the quiet area.

"I haven't heard you sing in a long time." Hop laughs, causing Bonnie to literally shriek as she falls backwards off the tomb she sat on, only to be caught as she falls back into Hop's chest. "Woah! It's just me." He laughs, shit eating grin on his face as Bonnie looks up at him.

"You're an asshole.." Bonnie mutters, ignoring the small smile that graced her own face while she stood up.

"What a role reversal." Hop laughs, ignoring the comment as he looks at Bonnie with his hands folded behind his head. "Aren't you usually the one running into me?"

Bonnie rolls her eyes. "Not my fault you're late to your scheduled therapy appointment." She snickers, which causes Hop to laugh as well.

"Well, what has you out here?" Hop asks, picking up Bonnie's cape and throwing it around his own shoulders, something he jokingly did often. Bonnie liked it. He sits down where the cape once sat and invites her to join him.

"Just.. frustrated about stupid things." Bonnie sighs. "You?"

He shrugs. "Stressed, a bit." He laughs nervously. "Being a professor is hard. But I'm not giving up!" Hop smiles confidently.

"That's the spirit." Bonnie smiles, messing with his dark purple hair, causing him to swat her hand away, and she laughs as he fixes his hair.

"What's got you frustrated?" Hop asks as their laughter dies down, turning to Bonnie with a more serious tone.

Bonnie sighs. "Something about our..adventure, I guess."

"It's not something I did, is it?" Hop looks worried.

"No, no no, not at all!" Bonnie rushes to clarify. "Quite the opposite, actually.. I just.." Bonnie runs a hand through her hair, effectively messing it up and making it look like shit. "Do you remember, how every time we tried to help Lee and Sonia with things, we were told to 'let the adults handle it'?"

"What do you mean?" Hop asks, tilting his head slightly in an adorable way.

Bonnie thinks of the most easy to remember instance. "Back in the Rose Tower, when we found Lee talking to Chairman Rose." She lists, careful to not bring up their shared kiss, Arceus forbid she decides to have a crisis about that. "When we left with Lee, he just told us not to worry about what we heard. And...well, that went great." She rolls her eyes.

"I.. suppose you're right.."Hop says, seeming to recall the moment Rose had made a bitter remark- 'there are times when adults just cant seem to have an honest discussion with each other. sometimes our pride gets in the way.'

"It just- it's been bothering me. So much shit could've been avoided if someone just listened to us. It felt like we had to run 20 miles and more just to prove we're not just little kids." Bonnie sighs, letting her head roll back and hit the concrete behind her.

"Yeah, I suppose." Hop says, turning to Bonnie. "But that's part of the glory of it. We went from just random kids from a farmer town, and look at us now! Heck, you're the champion!" Hop cheers, only bringing a small smile to Bonnie's face.

"And what about you?" She asks. She had a solid answer to that one. He was her entire world. But she wanted to see his answer.

Hop hesitates. "I-I'm.." He breathes in. "I'm gonna be the best damn professor in all of Galar." He grins confidently.

"Hell yeah." Bon smiles, letting her head rest on Hop's shoulder as she observes the sun has already gone all the way down, and they were now greeted by the stars.

"You're the best champion in all of Galar, Bre." Hop says, quietly. Bon halts. Bre was her real name. She didn't use it much anymore. Not after she moved out of Kalos. Hop was the only one who knew her real name, and he didn't use it a lot. She didn't trust a lot of people to know her real name, cause what was the point? It didn't mean anything good to her. But it meant something good, that through everything, even when her name poured out of his lips, she wouldn't flinch, just for once, and it wouldn't be a reminder of her horrible story.

"..Thank you, Hop.." She sighs, letting her head rest again. Hop lets his own head rest on top of hers, and they're warm and quiet as they watch the sky turn. It's a comfortable silence until Hop breaks it.

"Bon." He calls.

"Yes, Hop?" She asks, quietly.

He hesitates for a couple beats, his face turning as red as it can. "Do you.. you.. I-" He struggles.

"Take your time." Bon laughs softly. He rolls his eyes as he and Bon both pick up their heads to look at each other.

He waits a few more seconds, and she nearly see the gears turning in his head. "You.. Do you know I.. I love you..?" He asks, almost afraid of the answer.

Bon hesitates before nodding her head. Hop holds his breath, waiting for another response. "You should know I love you too, you dense playboy." She grins cheekily, sticking her tongue out briefly. Hop lets go of his breath, if only to laugh before pouting at the nickname. The laughter dies down as their eyes meet and stay there, Hop slowly letting one of his hands cup Bon's cheek. She leans into the touch, seemingly holding her breath as she does, and the two inch closer. And it's a painful amount of time before their lips finally meet, a soft and sweet kiss, leaving the taste of each other on the other's tongue. They pull away slowly, wishing they could stay like that for an eternity, before they let go of each other, and continuing to huddle close against the stone, watching the sky as Bonnie drifted off, and Hop didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, Bon?" Hop asks, again.

"Mh?" She hums, too tired to even open her eyes anymore.

"I like your singing.. you should do it more.." He blushes as he trails off, getting even quieter. She nods, and it's a few beats of silence before she starts humming. Bonnie hadn't sang to hop in a long time, not since they were camping together in the wild area. She had sang to him because as childish as it sounded, he had a nightmare about hurting someone he loved, and it freaked him out, and her singing helped him fall back asleep.

As they both drift off holding each other close, they found comfort in the other, and knew that this was where they would feel okay, and where they could always go for comfort. Into each other's arms.

#pokemon swsh #swsh hop #pokemon #self insert #minor vent #fluff #pokemon trainer oc #pokemon swsh oc #*laughs in too nervous to post this*#*so im procrastinating in the tags*

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i-love-charles · 5 years

Text

[my first Arthur work, an alternative chapter to my Javier fic here and my Charles fic here, hope you enjoy @cupcakecontour]

Body Talks

Notes: Arthur Morgan + Female Reader, Fluff, Slight NSFW, Period Mentions, Request, Mini-Fic

Wordcount: 2,099

His eyes followed your every move as you worked. Each bounce of your feathery hair, the rhythm of your delicate fingers, the swaying of your rounded hips with each step you took towards him. His heart pounded a panicked beat from beneath his prickled skin as you approached, bowl of hot stew perched across your palm, a freshly brewed coffee mug in the other.

He smiled sincerely as you placed the bowl on his lap, returning the genuine smile before sauntering off to serve the others as they completed their mundane chores - always thinking about others: a trait that he had always admired deeply about you, among a catalogue of many others.

Throughout all of this, he simply couldn’t remove his gaze from you as you chopped away at more vegetables; the sharp knife inching uncomfortably close to your delicate skin with each slam down against the wood of the chopping board. The anxiety was unbearable, and he silently prayed your beautiful frail fingers would remain intact before he mentally scolded himself for being so protective over a grown woman, but also for the feelings he had tried, and failed, to suppress.

After all, for the past few months, being so protective towards you became his nature - part of his makeup - and two other men at camp gave him good reason for it. With that thought his eyes sharpened into cautious slits, like the eyes of a sly snake about to catch its scurrying prey, and he drifted his gaze to the men in question. Each had their eyes planted on you, and he followed their line of sight to the curves of your body as his blood began to boil. Unlike him, other men rarely saw you for anything other than your looks. Your empathetic generosity, strong-will, many talents, beauty and charm - he took note of all of them, favouring each moment he caught a glimpse.

His mind wandered briefly as the stew on his lap cooled below him. He secretly liked to pretend you didn’t share a tent because you were close friends, or because you often hunted together and got back to camp late - you shared it because you were meant to be together in one way or another. The possibility that it could lead somewhere so beautiful gave him hope; if only briefly. Whether you even felt the same way back was still unknown. What if he confesses and it pushes you away? Into the arms of one of the others? Was it worth the risk of your friendship? Maybe you’d feel betrayed, like this whole time his aim was to get you in bed with him? No, it wasn’t worth it.

“Friend. Not lover.” He reminded himself under his breath with a solemn sigh, inaudible to those around him. The mantra brought a silent sorrow to his mind as he lifted the spoon to his mouth, pushing the bitter broth to the back of his throat to avoid its taste. Afterwards, he threw the bowl to the side of the fire, along with the other dirtied dishes, before making his way back to your shared tent - praying you’d return soon too.

Arthur

The camp was quiet around you, settled and sleeping. Only you and Arthur remained awake as you sat side by side at the campfire atop a ginger fox skin rug. You watched as your best friends rough hands tested the heat of the burning flames before bringing the grounded yarrow and ginseng up to boil above it. His other hand worked to press down upon the ingredients with his sturdy pestle, grinding it down to a fine liquid in the mortar with the help of the heat. The herbs essence began to waft through the air with each crunch down upon their bodies. Earthy tones and fresh grass filled your nose as his hands worked to create a potent health cure for you.

He would make you these tonics every time your period came to visit, bringing along the dreaded cramps too, and they always worked a charm. Or at the very least made it somewhat bearable. It wasn’t something that was plainly discussed, but having known you for the past few years, Arthur could sense when your mood shifted - even if he was just as clueless as the next man about the female anatomy. Sure, you had the women at camp to confide in, they knew the feeling just as well as yourself, but something about the comfort of this rugged man made you feel entirely secure at such an insecure time. So, maybe it was your confusing hormones, or the fact you felt so safe around him, but your mind got to wondering.

“Arthur, do you ever think about where you’d be if you hadn’t met Dutch and Hosea?” You question softly, fumbling with the edges of your dress. “Its just-I always think about what I could’ve been. A wife, mother - I don’t know. It’s silly.” Your words come out rushed and laced with embarrassment. Although, it wasn’t a word of a lie, it was something you spent hours dreaming about in silence. Your cheeks heated up, only hotter from the flames of the campfire before you.

“It’s not silly, ____.” He coos, his tone serious and comforting. “Nothin’ wrong with dreamin’ a little. I dream myself about what could’ve been with Eliza, and Issac-“ Arthur’s voice cracks suddenly at the mention of his boy’s name, and your heart hurts for him. “This families the only one I got left, so I’m gonna’ do everythin’ I can to keep it. What I shoulda’ done back then. In regards to Dutch and Hosea, well; if it weren’t for them I’d probably be hung for petty theft long ago, or at least still on the streets doin’ it.” His emotions well up suddenly inside of him, even with someone as close to him as yourself, the past is sometimes too shameful to relive, so he urges a change of subject. “This life don’t last forever, ____. When it’s over, you could have a family of your own. You’d be an excellent mother, too.”

Your eyes well up slightly, heart warmed to the core. The weight of his compliment settles in your mind and it wanders off, thinking of the possibilities. You pictures tiny feet tapping against the hardwood floor towards you, their fragile soft hands reaching out for your attention, only to be swept in a tight embrace by Arthur instead, giggling as their father tickled lightly at their sides. The image made you smile, maybe in another life. A life where Arthur loved you back would be a good start.

“Here ya’ go.” He mumbled quietly, spilling the contents into a vial before handing it to you. “For ya’-uh-lady problems.” He said, clearing his throat to shake of his embarrassment.

You giggled at his obvious discomfort whilst lifting the bottle to your lips, downing the bitter fluid in one gulp. It tasted like the rain, earthy and clean. “It’s called a menstrual cycle but thank you, Arthur.” He blushed a nod in response, dipping the brim of his wide hat to oblige you like a true gentleman. “Should help me sleep like a baby.”

He watched as you pulled the bottle from your plump lips as they landed back pursed together. His mind was not usually in the gutter, but his growing desire for you made it almost impossible for such a starved man to resist sometimes thinking a little too much about what you have under your pretty clothes. Of course, he wanted to love you, worship the ground you walked upon, but nights like this alone with you brought out a feral side of his thoughts.

Pink and pouted lips help his gaze. Long had he thought about pressing them against his own, longer had he thought about the consequences that might have on your friendship - but something about the way you smiled tonight brought a new flame to his body. The tight fabric of your silky bodice hugging against your ample breasts, pushing them up above the hem, the way the undercoats clutched at your hips to accentuate your hourglass figure. Your hair fell in tight ringlets around your face, casting curled shadows on your skin from the moonlights reflection. He wanted to tug at the locks as his lips travelled south from yours, further and further until-

“It’s late.” You muttered softly whilst gazing up at the stars, before looking down slowly to meet his beautiful blue eyes.

The moonlight caught his them, alighting an even deeper shade of blue, and you admired them like cool pools on a summers day. He caught your wandering gaze and you exchanged smiles before heading to your shared tent across camp, leaving the roaring fire lit behind you. For Arthur, nighttime was probably his favourite. He got to see you wind down, relax before bed. Often times you’d talk until one of you dozed off, usually you, and those vulnerable talks are what he would look forward to from morning onward. He liked to pretend in his own little world that you were just like any other lovers that curled up close at night and woke up beside one another in the mornings. The truth was a lot more complicated than that, but at least it was him and not Charles or Javier. He knew they could look after you just as well, but Arthur felt no shame in being a little selfish when it came to you. He wanted you all to himself.

Arthur closes the flap of the tent, letting it unravel and fall behind him, sealing off the blue moonlight and light snores from outside. All that’s left is the stuffy confines of your space, lit dimly by a single oil lamp upon the small table between your cots. His own cot creaked slightly at the weight of his body as he sat down upon it, unlacing the thick strings of his black leather boots. His thick rough fingers worked at the ties, a huff of exhaustion and irritability escaping his lips. Arthur was never exactly the pinnacle of patience.

You held back a slight chuckle at his predicament as you reached a hand around to unlace your constricting bodice. It fell to the ground after a few hard tugs and you were left in your sleeping attire, chemise underneath. Most nights you’d remove your underskirt and sleep in your bloomers and chemise since the tent was shut off from your other camp-mates, but what with your period you decide to keep it on as a precaution to protect your cots linen. Arthur’s eyes wandered up from his boots to glimpse at the outline of your breasts from your underclothes, a slight discolouration from under the fabric pinpointed your nipples - not long after he scolded himself for his perversion, looking back down in guilt.

He’d seen you undress your bodice hundreds of times before him, it wasn’t uncommon for him to even help you out. The last few months he’d struggled to even look at the few inches of skin that appeared each time your dress hitched as you bent. The slightest attention from you sent his mind racing uncontrollably, so he lets out a relieved breath quietly that you hadn’t asked for his assistance tonight.

You look back and notice his fingers still struggling against the lacy loops, chuckling under your breath before resting upon your knees before him to help. A sharp cramp resonates from your lower body at the movement of your hips and you wince. “Y-you really don’t have to.” He insists, but lifts his hands from his boots regardless. You smile and effortlessly pull the boots away from his feet, tucking them gently under his cot side by side until the morning. His eyes follow your movements, hyper-aware of your vulnerable position before him and a straining begins to form between his legs involuntarily. Seeing you here, like this, on your knees for him, was just what he’d dreamt of - even if it was just to help him untie his boots. His hips shuffle to camouflage his excitement, bated breaths leaving his chest. You raise a questioning eyebrow at his strange behaviour, quickly travelling to his crotch in your eye-line: a large tent hitched beneath the dark pattern of his jeans.

As soon as you became aware, your thoughts faded out and a thudding pounded from beneath your ribs coupled with the crumbling currents of the river flowing down to your own core in excitement. The man you’d lusted over for months past was here, before you, heated and frazzled at your touch. You’d...did that? That was because of you?

He moves fast to lift his hat over his bulge, clutching the brim in place with a guilty red look. “Shit. I’m sorry.” He explains quickly. “It’s just - you’re on your knees...and it’s been a while since - and you, you’re beau-“ You cut him off unexpectedly, bringing a fragile finger up to his soft lips, hushing him calmly.

“Arthur, be quiet.” You whisper, a pool of unbearable heat forming beneath your bloomers. You push the desire deep down. You’d wanted this for months, for this brooding cowboy you’d called your closest friend to finally make a move on you, intentional or otherwise. It was inevitable, the lingering touches and secret glances made that clear - but you wanted it to be perfect. Curled up with cramps and a shattering headache wasn’t exactly what you’d had in mind. “I really want to Arthur. Sweet Jesus, I really want to.” His eyes practically light up at your confession, corners of his mouth curling upwards slightly. “It’s what I dream about - really it is - but not with this happenin’.” You gesture to your pelvis. His mood seems to dampen slightly, more in disappointment at the situation rather than yourself, but still clutches onto your words in hope for when the time is right.

“I-I don’t mind.” He rushes, quickly blushing over his obvious excitement.

“Sweet Arthur, I know you don’t, but I do. I want it to be perfect, and right now I’m struggling to even bend over without crying like a baby.” Your hips push up from your thighs, your face now par with his, hands resting against the curved skin of his squared jaw. You daintily pulled him closer as your eyelids flickered closed. Soon your lips enveloped his and he shifted in your arms in attempt to become reacquainted with female attention. Finally, he relaxed and let loose, his lips brushing sweetly time with yours as his tongue delved out to taste you. You savoured the musky but faint taste of beef and cigars of his breath, inviting it if anything.

Your body manoeuvred itself upwards, lips still intact even as you stood. His hands came up to grip firmly at you hips, pulling you slightly downward onto his lap. You obliged his invitation, legs resting upon his as he held you upright, your fingers pulling lightly on each other’s hair to deepen the delicious kiss.

Arthur pulled away breathlessly, one large palm coming to the small of your back to pull you closer to his body, the other caressing the side of your neck with soft strokes on your skin. “I swear, I didn’t know you felt the same way, sweetheart.” He whispers against your lips, voice hungry but calm. You plant another lingering kiss in response, assuring him of your hidden feelings. He hums in approval, mumbling something under his breath about how sweet you taste. “No harm in doin’ this all night instead.” He grins against our lips as you both sigh contently in each other’s embrace.

Charles [coming soon]

Javier [here]

#rdr2 #rdr #rdr 2 #Red Dead #red dead 2 #Red Dead Redemption #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #female reader #mini fic #i love charles imagine #fluff #slight smut #period mentions #mutual pining

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moved-builtintripping · 5 years

Text

Watchful

FF.net / AO3

“A minor inconvenience provoked Dorothea to swear, and Ferdinand warns her of the grave consequences of bearing a dirty mouth, whose owner won't wake up with a gift ready to open under the tree on Christmas morning. Dorothea can't place whether her boyfriend wearing a worried pout, his index finger placed on his lips to shush his girlfriend, looked punchable or kissable.”

Modern AU fic for @stag-of-almyra, who requested me to write a fic based on a prompt list i reblogged for shits and giggles~ I mean I only write sometimes, but it’s fun anyway, sooooo i gave it a try for, yet again, shits and giggles uwu

Prompt is “ferdinand/dorothea + “careful, santa’s watching”

Also merry christmas again!!

***

“Oh, shit!”

Dorothea shrieked when her pinky toe hit the leg of one of the kitchen chairs, the incredibly horrible sensation harshly coursing through her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut and repeatedly clicked her tongue as she brought her damaged foot in her hand as a fruitless attempt to ward off the tear-jerking soreness while her other hand gripped the edge of the table to balance herself. She might have bitterly spent her early childhood wandering the streets bare-footed, which meant stepping on the tiny littered glass shards of broken beer bottles and letting it sharply pierce through the sole of your feet had become second-nature to you. However, nothing could rival the indescribable pain of having one’s own pinky toe collide onto a hard surface.

“Be careful.”

A portion of her attention concentrating on her current anguish had redirected to Ferdinand’s worried voice. Had it not been for the unbearable stinging in her toe, she would guffaw and playfully swoon over the boy’s concern. Not that she was that touched by Ferdinand’s every sign of worry (or was she?), but come on, where’s the fun on reassuring your boyfriend on every passing second like in those cliché romantic dramas instead of exaggerating your partially-mock thankfulness for his fear for your safety like in those cliché romantic comedies?

When Dorothea regained enough strength (though she was fully convinced seconds ago that the sting could never recover), she cracked her eyes open to peek at Ferdinand, who’s supposed to be enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate as he sat on the other side of the table. Instead of a mildly panicked look residing his cute face, she was greeted by what seemed to be Ferdinand shushing her, his index finger placed on his lips and his brows knitted so deep it could frighten Bernadetta until she falls for her (possibly literal) death, but never enough to win over Seteth-sensei’s classic disappointed glare.

Dorothea frowned back, her hand still clasping her aching foot. Before she could open her mouth, Ferdinand hissed through gritted teeth, “Santa Claus is watching.”

What?

Santa Claus is... watching?

Hold on a second, what on Earth had she done just now to disappoint Santa Claus? There’s nobody even at fault in this situation. Wasn’t she the one who’s even hurt here? And why was she wondering all of this nonsense and not Ferdinand bringing up that make-believe-

“You do know that he can listen to our every word and observe our every move at this very moment...” Ferdinand carefully said while lowering his finger from his mouth then took another sip of his drink, his amber eyes never leaving Dorothea’s.

Okay, Dorothea knew that Santa Claus watches over the children of the world like some creepy god to decide whether their stocking deserved to store candies or coals, she didn’t need Ferdinand to tell her that twice. That’s basic knowledge, even you wouldn’t catch an adult questioning the... questionable ways of the magical old man in red and white. Still, Ferdinand did not yet clarify her recent wrongdoing; it was starting to irritate her more than it should.

So Dorothea straightened up from her hunched posture, hands still not leaving her foot and the table, and deepened her scowl. On the back of her mind, she was somewhat impressed she managed to keep the scoff threatening to break free from her pouty mouth to herself. “And what did I do to have my name taken away from Santa’s ‘Good Girls’ list, if I may ask?”

“You just swore!” Ferdinand exclaimed with both his hands outstretched, nearly spilling his drink with a thunk at the process. When he caught his mug on time and muttered a small, ‘My bad,’ he continued rather sternly, “Surely you would know that Santa Claus does not appreciate children whose speech is littered with curses.”

Oh.

“Although you may have instinctively cursed out of inconvenience rather than insert one on your daily conversations, which I suppose is excusable, it will be wiser to still keep your language in check. Otherwise, he may not just gift you that chest box of ‘Elice’s Flavored Lip Balms’ you so desire to caress with your dainty hands for the past weeks.”

Oh.

Dorothea blinked and stared at Ferdinand. Judging by the frown (which now loosened a bit) that continued to camp on his stern expression, he didn’t look like the man to back down until his stand prevailed no matter how pointless the argument would transition into.

Was Ferdinand von Aegir seriously correcting her vulgar mouth to retain her name on the nonexistent ‘nice list’ as if the boy never outgrew the lies of the so-called Santa Claus’s miracles and all that make-believe bullshit those greedy adults crafted and tricked him into believing as a child for their personal amusement? After all, the boy carrying his unstained past was known to behave several years apart from her since highschool, emphasis on his boasting eagerness to prove his nobility among the crowd plus his one-sided petty rivalry with Edelgard.

Or was this just his way of playing dumb and teasing his girlfriend? She swore as Ferdinand scolded his girlfriend, she caught glimpse of a glint of endearment passing through his eyes that greatly contrasts his disapproving face and firm tone.

Perhaps it’s the latter. Six years of friendship would be a long enough time to memorize the other’s behavior. Like all boys, Ferdinand might have inherited his dense nature from his father, but his brain size didn’t match that of a dinosaur’s. Although he appeared death serious on the entire childish matter, people could easily pass him as a ten-year-old possessing a twenty-one-year-old man’s (hot) body.

She should feel pissed. The nerve of that boy for shutting her up on her most distressed moment. Idiot sounded like he never removed his stinking boots, let alone his pegasus-themed socks, to experience the agony of your own pinky toe threatening to rip off from your precious foot.

But why wasn’t she? Why couldn’t she snap back? Her head did not even steam one bit... and was that a wide toothy smile creeping up in her face?

While she did earn herself a boyfriend as a means to indulge in his constant love and attention her lonely six-year-old self would starve and die for, it’s these silly moments when she’ll gladly surrender to the big sister instincts taking over. All the disgusting men she testily answered to their attempt on courting the emerald-eyed songstress would always greedily invite her under their covers as soon as possible, but this grown man, who’s currently lecturing his friend just so she could earn the gift they both know well would never arrive, had been the first she found herself fondly pampering over despite the numerous naughty activities they’d nervously engaged in.

The hearty laugh that bubbled out of her mouth raced first before words could make it out first. Despite her overwhelmed emotions, she faintly heard Ferdinand stutter in confusion, “D-Dorothea?”

“Oh, Ferdie,” Dorothea purred and walked around the table to close the distance between both lovers. She raised Ferdinand’s chin with a thumb and silkily said, “I don’t need no present from Santa, you see~ Can’t you tell I’ve got all I need for Christmas right here?”

“Huh?” Ferdinand gawked up at her, not once picking up the signal of her flirty intentions. “Whatever do you mean? All the gifts we prepared for our dear friends are under the tree, isn’t it? But unless there is one hidden in here, surely the kitchen is an odd place to hide a present...”

Oh, Ferdie. So dumb and cute as ever. What a pair.

Holding back was out of the question now; she leaned down to kiss Ferdinand, who stiffened the second their lips touched. He tasted of the remains of his delicious sweet drink with a hint of bitterness mixed in. Without missing another beat, he then reciprocated without question.

Before the kiss could deepen that would lead both lovers shuffling towards the comforts of the sofa a few strides away, she licked the remains of the chocolate staining his upper lip before breaking away, a goofy grin sneaking its way into her features.

“Take a wild guess~” Dorothea winked and turned away, humming and skipping towards the countertop where the thermos stood, ready to serve more sweet sweet hot chocolate for the lovebirds. “Want some more?”

“Y-yes, please,” Ferdinand spluttered from behind, clearly flustered from the intimate gesture. How adorable. They’d lost count of the kisses they shared behind closed doors, yet it still left him awkwardly fumbling for words. If there was one wish Dorothea wanted for Santa to grant for her, it would be for the day her lover could compose himself quickly right after a kiss to never come.

Ferdinand pulled Dorothea out of her wishful thinking when he cleared his throat louder than necessary. “I appreciate your attempt on flattering me, my love. However, don’t kiss me as a distraction from lecturing you! It is my duty to help you maintain correct behavior under Santa Claus’s watchful eyes until the day of Christmas when you and I were to receive our respective gifts from Santa Claus under the tree, and...”

Dorothea sighed. This game wasn’t over for Ferdinand, was it? Oh, how she’d love to shut him up with another kiss and another and then another until he understood truly that the joy a colorfully wrapped box incite could never compare to the warm company of a loved one. For somebody, even just one person, to embrace Dorothea Arnault for who she was behind the flashy songstress title all the way to the scared and lonely child who used to bear the cruel world all by her tiny helpless self with her tiny helpless body, it’s all her she would ever ask for if she was going to be perfectly honest. She would sing for eternity how grateful she truly was, that she would still be able to spend Christmas the way she used to dream as she scraped for leftovers of yesterday’s holiday feast in the nearby trash bin and sulkily curl all on her own in the deepest depth of a snow-covered alleyway, freezing to near death as the festive world carried on.

All that was left forgotten was the pain in her pinky toe. Honestly, how could this boy not only heal her emptiness, but also her physical well-being? His magic surely matches to Santa Claus. Perhaps, she could input a rule where Mrs. Dorothea Claus may swear whenever she pleased without meeting the dire consequences of losing a gift on Christmas morning. Knowing Santa Ferdinand von Claus and his pure outlook on things, he would outright refuse.

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