#Some completely unfamiliar black cat | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

preciouslandmermaid · 7 months

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of songbirds, swords, and spice (4)

pairing: Opla!Zoro x Opla!Sanji x Fem! Reader (no use of Y/N or L/N)

tw/cw: violence, blood, spider-creatures, see master post for complete tags

🏴‍☠️ read on AO3 🏴‍☠️

(masterpost)

<- (previous chapter)

Zoro stretched his legs out and folded his hands behind his head. Finally, some peace and quiet. Or however much quiet he could get on the Going Merry anyway. He shut his eyes, preparing to get a few hours of sleep before they arrived in Raven’s Crag.

“Mrrow!” Four paws landed on his thigh.

“What the hell?”

The black cat?! Zoro picked the cat up by the scruff and it narrowed its large, yellow eyes at him. A stowaway.

“Aren’t these things bad luck?” He said to no one before moving the fluffy creature off his lap. The cat, who was undeterred and stupidly stubborn, jumped onto his lap again the second he closed his eyes. “Knock it off.”

Zoro scooped it up this time and carried it to the other end of the room, setting it down on a crate, before he returned to his napping spot. The cat swished its tail, watching him, but didn’t move from its new perch.

“Stay over there,” he said. The ocean waves crashed and lapped against the hull of the Going Merry in swelling, gentle surges. He found the sound of the ocean soothing. He could sleep anywhere, it’s true, but there was something about sleeping near water. The crash and surge, the pull and push, the saltwater tinge to the air, and rush of the wind snapping the sails. It created a natural lullaby.

He sighed, tilting his head back, and listening to the waves rather than the cacophony of voices above. Usually, he didn’t have trouble falling asleep, but your voice was new and unfamiliar. He wasn’t sure why the old lady requested that you come along. You were a performer—not a fighter. Just because you managed one battle without vomiting at the sight of a dismembered arm didn’t make you a warrior. Zoro’s eyebrow twitched. What’s her deal anyway? He rolled his shoulders, struggling to get comfortable.

A soft paw batted the side of his head near his earlobe. What the--! The cat’s paw remained aloft – ready to smack his earring again.

Zoro narrowed his eyes. “You again?”

The cat lowered its paw and yawned, showcasing its large canine teeth and angling its ears back. Zoro wasn’t intimidated if that’s what the creature was trying to do. He had a sword. That was more impressive than two big teeth and some claws.

“What do they call you?” He lifted the charm on the cat’s collar. “Mimi?”

The cat gave no indication that it recognized its name.

“You really are bad luck,” he grumbled, “I never have trouble sleeping.” He got to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. “Stay,” he told the cat before ascending the steps to the main deck.

The sunlight refracted across the rolling blue waves and Zoro lifted his arm to block the harsh light.

“Can you sing a sea shanty?” Luffy asked you.

“Can you write a song about me?” Usopp asked, looking hopeful. Zoro rolled his eyes...These kids.

Sanji said, “What about a love ballad?”

You crossed your arms and pressed your lips into a line. This silence didn’t deter them. The trio of Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp requested different songs simultaneously.

“Would you guys cut it out!” Nami yelled over them, “She already said she doesn’t want to!”

Zoro rested his wrist on Wado Ichimonji and decided he might as well ask the question that’s been eating at him since the night you met.

“Why do the waiters at your grandmother’s bar wear earplugs?” he asked.

Everyone fell silent. Their attention left Zoro and moved toward you, expecting and awaiting your answer. You narrowed your eyes slightly at him. The sails overhead ballooned with a fresh gust of wind and the ropes swung in the breeze casting shadows like long, wiggling snakes on the main deck.

You said, “You noticed that, huh?”

“It was hard to miss.” Zoro deadpanned.

Your smile tugged at your mouth. “And yet I recall having your complete attention.”

Zoro stepped forward. “That’s what I’m still trying to figure out,” he said, “so what’s your deal?”

You shrugged, graceful and casual, like you two were discussing sword forms and not the mystery of your grandmother’s bar.

“The bar gets rowdy,” you replied.

“That’s what I said,” Luffy said, his tone was bright.

The bar gets rowdy? Yeah, right. Zoro stared down at you. The sunlight burned radiance across the planes and slopes of your face. She’s lying. You had to be. Your explanation was lukewarm and it didn’t account for the strange, solitary sensations that consumed him during your performance. Your performance and the earplugs had to be related somehow. He just couldn’t figure out how.

Usopp glanced between you and Zoro.

“Come on, guys,” Usopp said, “let’s stay focused. We’re finding a mysterious lost treasure for someone.”

“I’ll make lunch,” Sanji suggested, before saying your name and adding, “I’d love your help in the kitchen.”

“No thanks. I’m gonna stretch my legs,” you announced and offered Usopp and Sanji a smile. “I’ve gotta get used to being out on the sea again.”

Zoro watched you walk to the other end of the ship. She’s not getting off that easily. He waited about three seconds before following after you.

“Hey,” he began, narrowing his eyes at your back. You sighed, leaning against the railing, but didn’t turn around to face him. “If you double cross our crew…”

You looked over your shoulder. “You’re gonna slice me in half?”

Zoro scoffed. “I was thinking in quarters.”

You turned to face him, though your elbows remained on the railing, your pose was relaxed and wholly nonthreatening. Zoro’s pulse throbbed in his neck.

“You have nothing to worry about, Roronoa Zoro.” The salty air played with the collar of your shirt and Zoro looked away, clenching his jaw. “This crew saved the golden cupid...and if we manage to find Pandora’s puzzle box...then there will always be a warm meal and a cold drink for you at Estella’s.”

He glanced at you from the corner of his eye. Maybe he was being paranoid after their run-in with the Black Cat pirates or their altercation with Arlo’s gang after Nami’s abrupt betrayal. He didn’t want to get double-crossed, although he couldn’t see the benefit of you – or the old hag – trying to betray them.

“Fine,” he said flatly.

Maybe now I can get some shut-eye…The thought reminded him of the cat, Mimi, stalking around in his room.

“By the way,” he said, “that cat is onboard.”

You laughed. “Oh, of course she is.” You shook your head, “I’ll let Sanji know. Maybe he can make her some tuna.”

“Feeding your cat isn’t part of this deal,” he grumbled, annoyed. First, the cat took over his nap spot and ruined his afternoon and now she’d eat some of their supplies? What sort of bullshit was this?

“One,” you said holding up a finger, “she’s Estella’s cat. Two.” You held up a second finger. “It’s not really up to you, is it? I think I’ll take it up with the chef and see what he says.”

Zoro didn’t have a good argument against you, so he settled on rolling his eyes and returning to his bunk to get some well-deserved rest before the Merry reached Raven’s Crag.

The dingy swayed as it pushed through the shallow waves and your stomach followed the roiling, uncertain motions of the waters below. Something didn’t feel right. You would normally chalk it up to your baseline paranoia around strangers—but...your unease went deeper. Maybe all the stories about Raven’s Crag were getting to you. Everyone on the island said Raven’s Crag was dangerous, some even went so far as to call it cursed. ‘That’s why no one lives there’, they’d say before ordering another drink from the bar. What if something happened to Estella back home? Was paranoia or intuition that twisted your stomach into sailor’s knots? You shook your head and tried to clear your mind. One thing at a time...

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Sanji said, sitting beside you and looking pointedly at your bouncing knee. “We’ll find it.”

“If it exists,” you said.

“Madame Estella seemed certain it was here,” he said.

“Yes.” You sighed. “Yes, I know.”

Estella left a rather important detail from her story when she told the Straw Hats about Pandora’s treasure. Over the past five years, it had been you who helped her to find and collect the other boxes. The jade box had been the first and the easiest. You used your devil fruit powers, beguiling the previous owner, and tricking him into giving it to Estella. The onyx box, however, was kept on a marine base within the evidence room under lock and key. You and Estella spent nine months on that island, working your way into the upper echelon of society until General Samuel Bellamy invited several wealthy citizens for brunch. You and Estella had barely made it out after accidentally triggering the alarm when removing Pandora’s box. The last box in her collection, the one made of lapis lazuli, had been underwater in a shipwreck.

Truly, it was a miracle that Estella knew about any of their locations, but that one was especially surprising. You were useless since the ocean sapped all of your strength, but Estella had smiled at you before diving into the waters. Your hands curled into fists on your lap. The current had been strong that day...a storm was on the horizon and the ocean was restless, hungry.

Sanji muttered your name. His gaze burned into your cheek.

“We made it,” Nami announced, shaking you from your reverie.

The tepid saltwater and sand rushed into your shoes and clung to your shins as you leaped from the dingy and helped push the boat onto the shore as best as you could. The palm trees rustled loudly overhead. Your foot snagged against the dry, powdery white sand.

“What’s—” Zoro began one hand on his sword hilt.

“Wait,” you said, snapping your attention from the boat’s edge in your hands and toward the beautiful blue sky. “That’s not—”

Your words were cut off as a hundred screeching calls filled the air and their enormous black wings flapped, upset the palm leaves, and stirred the dry brush at the beachhead. Roughly a dozen, giant ravens descended upon the crew, their beaks open wide to reveal rows of tiny teeth, and their eyes glossy and bright and murderous.

You reached for your kusarigama—a sickle attached to a metal chain with an iron weight at the end — attached to your hip. You hadn’t used the weapon since settling on Nightingale, but you practiced the motions and your continued diligence paid off as you slid into a stance and spun the end of the chain.

A raven opened its’ beak and lunged for Nami, and you launched the weighted end toward the raven. The chain spun around the raven’s beak, closing it, and you tugged—the metal biting into the flesh of your fingers—forcing the beast to bow its head. Nami’s staff cracked the side of the bird’s head and you tugged the chain free, pulling up the slack, after the creature dropped. You could hardly keep track of everyone’s movements through the chaos of undulating black wings and sharp, curved black beaks and curled talons.

Zoro’s sword flashed beneath the sunlight, blood, and dark feathers followed.

Your body ached, familiar with the movements ingrained into the grooves of your muscles, but unfamiliar with fighting things that fought back (your usual enemies were coconut trees and bamboo). You jumped backward through the powdery sand, avoiding a strike of dangerous talons, and you crashed into the hard and warm muscled plane of Zoro’s back.

“Watch where you’re going,” he growled before pivoting on his heel and using his sword to deflect the beak strike coming toward you.

“I was.”

“Didn’t look like it.”

“How” – your fingers tightened around the kusarigama’s grip– “do you manage to fight with that sword shoved so far up your—”

Luffy yelled, “Gum Gum Punch!” His fist launched through the air and landed squarely into the raven’s rib cage sending the bird sprawling into the sand.

“I had it!” You and Zoro shouted simultaneously at Luffy.

“Sorry,” Luffy said, smiling before he turned his attention to a different raven. “Hey, Sanji!” The captain called out to him, “Do you think we could eat these?”

“You’re seriously thinking about food at a time like this?” Nami asked.

You shook your head and were unable to ignore the smile tugging at your lips. This crew is so fucking weird, you thought with a foreign flutter of affection. You brought another raven to eye-level by trapping its beak with your chain and Sanji roundhouse kicked it, knocking your chain free, where it seemed to float in the air for a second before you yanked it back toward you.

The final two ravens squawked, and took flight in a blur of sand and wings, leaving their fallen on the beach scattered among the crew. You wrapped the chain, secured your kusarigama at your hip, and flexed your sore, unpracticed fingers. You scanned the beach and pointed at an outcropping of gray rocks.

“That’s the crag,” you said. You looked at their sweaty faces and bit your lip. “Estella could be wrong,” you warned, “the box might not be there.” She had never been wrong before, but they didn’t need to know that.

“We won’t know until we get there,” said Luffy, walking toward the crag. You wiped the sweat from your face and sighed. There is no swaying Luffy from his destined path, is there? You almost admired his bullheaded tenacity. Almost.

Your hands pulsed, your blood throbbing, your knuckles scraped raw, and nails blunted from climbing up onto the crag. You pulled yourself up the final ledge, each breath laborious, and laid yourself flat against the hot stone. Your salivating mouth tasted metallic and unpleasant. Sanji squatted next to you, and his shadow spilled across your face and blocked the sun.

“Here,” he said, offering you a small flask.

“Water or booze?” you asked.

His lips quirked. “Water.”

“Shame.”

You took a small sip of the water before holding it out to him.

Sanji lifted his hand. “Keep it.”

You raised an eyebrow and bit your tongue to stop yourself from questioning or quipping at him. You were starting to understand that Sanji enjoyed providing for others. He cooked because he believed no one should go hungry, but he also had a true and burning passion for it. He gave you water because you needed it. There was no ulterior motive. No secret to unravel. He was just providing for you as he would provide for anyone on the crew. Not that I’m part of this crew, but the sentiment still counts.

“Thanks,” you finally said, standing.

Luffy stood before the great, black maw of a cave’s entrance with his hands on his hips.

“This is the place, right?” he asked, looking over his shoulder toward you.

“I think so,” you said. In your experience, Pandora’s treasure box locations increased in difficulty over time: a marine base, a shipwreck, and now deep within a cavernous network. You looked at this crew of oddballs, at the scuffs, bruises, and blood they spilled fighting the ravens and climbing the cliffside. I can do it alone. The warm breeze kissed your skin and the bright blue ocean crested with tiny, white waves along the shore below. I’m the one who Estella trusts. They got me here, but they don’t need to see this through.

“We’ve made it this far together, but you can turn back now,” you said, “I don’t want anyone dying for this.”

Luffy frowned. “Only you?”

Your heart dropped. His stark, honest words had momentarily stunned you.

“What?” you breathed.

“Don’t be stupid,” Zoro muttered, “we just fought a bunch of demon birds. There’s no way we’re turning back now.”

“I think she’s got a point,” Usopp said, “one of us should really be waiting on the ship. I volunteer.”

“It’s dangerous,” Luffy continued as if the others hadn’t spoken, “so you’d rather go in there alone and die alone?”

“It’s a wild goose chase, Luffy.” You crossed your arms.

“It’s her dream!” he said, “don’t you have a dream you want to accomplish?”

“My dream is impossible.” You bristled. Your dream wasn’t a treasure hunt, nor was it to become the best of something or the queen of the pirates. Your dream was a fantasy you repeated to keep your nightmares quiet. Your dream would never see fruition. It just couldn’t.

“There’s no such thing,” Luffy said while approaching you. His hand lifted, palm dropping toward your shoulder, and you moved out of the way at the last second. Luffy stumbled at the sudden lack of counter-balance and you grimaced.

You said, “I don’t like being touched.”

Sanji tilted his head to the side.

“Oh, sorry.” Luffy’s tone was earnest. “Whatever your dream is, I think you should go after it.”

You squinted at him rather than answer his statement.

You said, “You’re coming, aren’t you?”

“Yup.” Luffy nodded.

“Me and Nami will guard the entrance in case any more of those birds come back,” Usopp held his slingshot aloft. “We’ll shout if anything happens.”

“Shout loud,” Zoro said as he passed Usopp and entered the cave.

The cave’s cool air was a blessing against your sweaty, sticky skin. You led the crew, even though you didn’t have a map or idea of where the box might be. Estella said ‘Trusting one’s self is the greatest gift’ and you didn’t know if that applied to treasure-hunting, but you decided there was no time like the present to try.

“These caves are odd,” Sanji said, gesturing to the glowing greenish crystals that were embedded into the dark rocks above. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s something with the moon,” you said, watching your shadows play against the stone and crystal walls. “The full moon helps charge them...or so Estella says. She has a book about the caves on Nightingale Island.”

Zoro dug his fingers around one of the lower crystals, yanked it free and it continued to glow in his large hand. He swept his arm across the cavern floor, shining more light on the bits of rubble and dirt, but no treasure box lay waiting for you. His hair brightened beneath the crystals and gave it an almost illusory neon effect.

The cavern curved left, but remained a single, narrow pathway, without any divergences. As odd as that was, since caverns like these usually spilled like a network of threads, you were grateful. You didn’t want to add ‘getting lost in the crystal caves’ to your list of travesties.

“Where’d you learn to fight?” Luffy asked.

“Here and there,” you replied, “Estella needs me to protect her.”

“Did she teach you how to use that chain thing?” He mimed spinning it over his head, as you had done at one point during the battle like the chain was a lasso rope.

You laughed lightly.

“No,” you said, “we spent about nine months on this one island, seeking Pandora’s onyx box, and during that time I trained with a woman named Camilla.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up, emboldened by the viridescent glow of the crystals, and he said, “Cool!” His voice echoed strangely and you stopped suddenly.

“We’re close to something,” you said.

“How do you know?” asked Sanji.

“Our voices sound different here,” Zoro said, sounding bored.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Sanji said, rolling his eyes.

You peered through the muddled darkness tinted by a glowing light. Your heart skipped. Could Estella be right? Was the final box of Pandora’s treasure here? You quickened your pace and followed the path with one hand on your weapon. The crystals sparkled above and mirrored your reflections on their glossy, green surface.

The pathway opened into a cistern with tall glistening edges of slick cave walls, dripping and glowing crystal stalagmites, and shocks of white, thick spider webs running through gaps. Does something live here? You scanned the space.

“Holy shit,” you gasped. At the center of the room was a natural conglomeration of crystals and a bone-white puzzle box nestled at the center, glimmering like a beacon beneath the luminescent light.

You ran forward, kicking aside a bleached-white bone where it went clack-clack-clack into some rocks, and jostled loose golden berry lying around on the ground.

Something grumbled beneath you. No. That wasn’t right. The solid ground gave way, crumbling like a sandcastle devoured by the incoming tide, and your arms windmilled—your scream caught in your throat. The rocks beneath your feet fell to a nest of large, white ropes, and your body tensed—awaiting the inevitable crash and broken bones.

Luffy grabbed your wrist. He pitched into you, the ground unstable, and this time—your scream released—and gravity twisted your body so your spine was to the painful ground below.

“Luffy!” Zoro shouted.

Luffy stretched like saltwater taffy, he clung to your wrists, and both of you dangled above death trap of sharp rocks and rubble. Above, at the very ledge, Zoro’s muscles bulged as he held onto Luffy’s ankles. How is he holding both of us?!

“Climb up,” Luffy said, “climb over me like I’m a rope.” He smiled like this was an ordinary occurrence and you both weren’t a few hundred feet away from certain death.

“I’ll drop,” you said, “I’m closer to the ground. I’ll survive it.”

You glanced at your feet swinging through the empty, dark air. You actually couldn’t tell how close the ground was. The strange, white ropes glowed eerily beneath the muted crystal light, and pockets of it were disturbed and quivering from the fallen rocks. Is that--? Your brow furrowed.

“I can pull you both up,” Zoro announced, his face pinched tight with effort. “Just – just hold on.”

“I already am.” Luffy tightened his grip around your wrists and a wave of nausea coursed through you. Your skin prickled with a clammy, uncomfortable sensation. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, you reminded yourself, using every ounce of self-control not to vomit.

Zoro pulled, grunting as he did, and Luffy’s legs disappeared over the ledge.

Although you couldn’t see Zoro, you heard him shout; “I don’t need your help, stupid cook!”

“I’m not trusting an idiot swordsman with her life,” Sanji yelled, “or with Luffy’s.”

You clenched your eyes shut, squeezing Luffy’s thin wrists, feeling his rapid pulse beneath your fingertips as your heartbeat rushed in your ears and your mouth filled with saliva.

Luffy said your name and your eyes re-opened, “I’m not going to drop you,” he said softly.

He said these words like a stalwart, unwavering promise. He said them in the same way he said ‘I’m going to be king of the pirates’ and despite your past, your ingrained paranoia, and your reasons to distrust him—you believed him, and something sharp prickled behind your eyes.

Luffy’s midsection was yanked over the ledge and Zoro finished pulling the both of you onto the overhanging ledge. As you brushed the cave dirt from your legs, Sanji hunched his shoulders and met your gaze.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Fine.” You looked toward the chasm that separated Pandora’s box from you. You hadn’t brought rope or grappling hooks and you were ill-prepared to vault or climb onto the other side. “How are we going to get over there?”

Zoro pointed and said, “Hug the wall and maneuver around the chasm.”

Your mouth opened to tell him about the risk, but a sudden scuttling noise drew everyone’s attention to the ceiling.

“My web caught a tasty treat,” it said before lowering itself, a web attached to the crystals hung from its spinnerets. The creature was a human from the waist up, her breasts pale and nippleless, and her straight, long, black hair framed her pale face and six, red slit eyes.

Sanji blanched.

“This is your cavern?” You said. You knew grabbing the box wouldn’t be easy, but a giant spider-woman was extreme.

“My cavern,” she said, tilting her head, “and my food.” She clicked the mandibles on the sides of her jaw.

“Luffy, can you reach the box?” You unclasped your kusarigama and extended the chain between your hands.

Luffy cracked his knuckles. “I want to fight this thing.”

“I’ll get the box,” Sanji said, “I don’t fight women.”

He inched closer to the walls which had narrow ledges to precariously climb across. Your heart fell into your shoes. Sanji...You recalled the smiling, overjoyed faces of the children from the orphanage after Sanji made them breakfast, his fond and thoughtful expression when he talked about Zeff, his kindness in the kitchen, and his concerned gaze when Zoro pulled you and Luffy from the ledge. You couldn’t let him risk his life for Estella’s dream. You couldn’t. He’s going to fall if he tries to get it.

Zoro scoffed. “She’s not a woman.”

“I am Arachne,” the creature said.

“Sanji, wait—” you said.

The Arachne swung from her webbing towards the group. A warm, large muscled body collided with yours, sending you sideways into rubble and rock. Your skin smarted and burned where it hit the stones and jagged crystals. You blinked, stunned, as your mind lagged to piece together the details.

Zoro rolled off of you, blade drawn, and jumped to his feet. He saved me? You understood his earlier rescue because Luffy had been involved. He wouldn’t let his captain die—he was protective of him, cared about him even. But saving you didn’t add up. It didn’t make sense. Pirates weren’t loyal to people who weren’t their crew. You shook your head. Roronoa Zoro had saved your life twice. You adjusted your grip on the hilt of your kusarigama.

Time to repay the favor, you thought before charging the Arachne. You slid on your knees, ignoring the pain as the tiny rocks dug into your skin, and ducked beneath the creature’s large, hairy legs. Your chain whipped out, wrapping one leg at the joint before you rolled out from beneath her and jerked the chain over your shoulder for leverage.

The Arachne screeched in indignation, wobbling, although she remained steady on her other legs.

“Hold it steady,” Zoro shouted as his sword flashed in a quick, upward arc as he ran beneath the tied-up leg.

You stumbled forward as the leg was dismembered from its body and flung off in another direction.

The Arachne hissed, scrambling up the wall, and toward the ceiling. You spun your kusarigama, feeling safer with the weight in your hands, and the glowing steel beneath the crystalline fragments.

“Hey!” Luffy yelled, “where are you going?”

You spared a glance to Sanji. He was about halfway, his arms spread akimbo, his back to the wall and his feet crossing carefully over the ridge.

Luffy’s hands shot toward the Arachne and grabbed its rear legs, pulling her back, and the Arachne fired several sticky ropes of webbing at Luffy. He jumped, dodging the first splatter of webbing with impressive speed, and used his momentum to launch himself toward the Arachne.

Luffy landed on her back. They were halfway up the wall, closer to the ceiling than the floor, and your palms dampened as your adrenaline transmuted to fear. What if he falls? You weren’t sure if his Gum-Gum powers made him invincible to gravity and you didn’t want to find out.

You shouted, “Luffy, be careful!”

It’s part human, you worried your lip between your teeth, by that logic, my devil fruit powers should work on it. However, Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro weren’t safe. They didn’t have earplugs or headphones. You couldn’t risk using your voice on the Arachne and hurting them and you didn’t want to distract Sanji from his treacherous and focused climb to Pandora’s box.

Luffy wrestled with the creature, his legs were wrapped around the Arachne’s torso, and his fists moved too fast for your eyes to follow.

Zoro snapped your name and followed with, “Give me a boost.” His eyes were above, focused on Luffy, his green hair hidden by a black bandanna.

“You can’t reach him,” you said, interlacing your fingers, lowering yourself into a crouch, and bracing your back against the cavern’s wall.

Zoro said nothing and smirked. He ran toward you, planting his foot in your cupped hands, before launching himself up towards Arachne and Luffy. His boot scuffed against the wall and he grabbed the hanging webbing that swung from the Arachne. The creature slid downward but remained on the vertical wall. Her balance was affected by Luffy’s attacks and the weight of Zoro on her ‘tail’.

His muscles strained as he climbed the web, shedding pieces of webbing that fell like strange, spindly fluffs of white.

Sanji called your name and you looked. He held the box above his head, victorious and smiling, and your heart swelled. All this trouble for such a small thing, you thought.

“That’s mine!” The Arachne hissed, her face gushed blood, and half of her eyes were swollen shut from Luffy’s onslaught.

She reared back, bucking Luffy from her, and scuttled downward carrying Zoro with her. Luffy landed as a heap of limbs next to you, but his head popped back up, a little dazed but otherwise okay.

The Arachne’s intention was clear. She meant to attack Sanji—to punish him for stealing. Well, you weren’t going to let that happen. You planted your feet, your eyes narrowed and focused on the angles, the speed of her long, spider-legs, and the shape of her long, pale neck.

Kusarigama flew from your hand, its’ sickle-side cut through the air, and the cold chain unraveled through your fingers. The sickle zipped past her head and you tugged the chain, quick and forced, and the blade reversed direction and its’ curved edge sliced clean through her neck. A second passed. The Arachne’s head seemed to float through the air as it was rendered from her body with an arching spray of crimson that appeared black in the verdant pale light of the cave.

Her head hit the ground with a soft and rolling ‘thump’.

“That went well,” you said, breaking the silence, and a hysteric smile threatened to take hold of your lips. None of the children are going to believe this.

“Do you think anyone will believe that we fought a giant spider-lady?” asked Luffy.

Sanji said, “It’s no less believable than defeating Arlong’s crew.”

Your eyebrows raised. “You beat Arlong?” You thought Usopp had been lying when he shared that story.

Zoro sheathed his sword. “It was easy.”

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Luffy said before smiling, though you assumed the question was rhetorical and didn’t answer him. You nudged the Arachne’s head with your foot and it rolled off the ledge and into the darkness below. It was eerie how easily you slipped into this crew’s dynamic. You didn’t fit in with them—you didn’t, but you could. And that was the scary part. However, you wouldn’t entertain ideas or dreams of leaving Nightingale Island. Your place was next to Estella and your future and fate were tied to hers.

You owed her after everything she did for you, after everything you’ve gone through together. No matter how easy it was to fight alongside the Straw Hats—you had your place in this world and it wasn’t with these pirates.

(author's note:

I'm sorry this took a while to post. I hope the length makes up for it <3 also happy belated birthday to Sanji !! xoxo )

#one piece fanfiction #reader insert #zoro x reader #zoro roronoa x reader #zoro x you #sanji x reader #sanji x you #vinsmoke sanji x reader #zoro x sanji #sanzoro #zoro x sanji x reader #zoro x sanji x you #sanji x zoro x reader #ot3 #opla fanfic #one piece live action fanfic #wip

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narrans · 2 months

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Stellar Allies | Part Three

GT July | Stellar Allies | Part Three

They looked down, and he looked back. Jax and Cliff both felt their eyes widen as they looked down at the little alien’s face for the first time. To their surprise, there were more humanistic elements to their strange house guest’s features than they anticipated, but there were others that were unfamiliar and fascinating.

For one, the alien’s eyes were completely black. There was flickering in his eyes, indicating some kind of iris within it. He had two little pointed ears, like that of an elf or pixie, that stuck out from a mess of what looked like midnight blue hair that looked like elements of it were under water or being blown by a wind machine by the way the ends moved even while the alien was motionless. There were also what looked like two antennae or possibly horns on the top of his head erupting out of that mess of dark hair.

A nose and mouth were set in between two slightly sunken cheeks, like that of a human face, but the alien’s skin was a misty blue color which shifted to a darker blue by his cheeks and blended with what almost looked like a metallic teal color on his neck, which looked like it was ridged and scaled all the way down into his black flight suit.

What the boys thought was a covering for the alien’s tail was simply the tail itself. Shiney, spiked, and ridged all the rest of the way down, the alien’s tail ended in a jagged point and was about the length of his body. It also seemed like it functioned like a cat’s tail, being an extension of the alien’s spine because of where it connected to him and by the fact that it was twitching back and forth as the alien stood and watched them right back.

His little eyes flicked back and forth between Jax and Cliff, as if taking a measure of the boys, before raising his hands slightly in a surrendering motion, his four fingered hands splaying cautiously while his eyes evaluated them. As he did so, Cliff and Jax noticed that the blue complexion of the alien’s features shifted to shades of black and gray.

“Woah,” breathed Jax. “This… is… freakin’… awesome. Did you see that?”

“Yeah,” Cliff breathed right back. As each boy muttered, the alien’s eyes flicked to the boy who was speaking. “Do you think it’s camouflage for his surroundings?”

“Maybe,” hypothesized Jax. “It might also be a reaction to the light. He was mostly in darkness before.”

“True,” agreed Cliff.

Here it goes. Ol’oih took a breath and concentrated on each and every word, attempting to make it as clear and concise as possible. He understood their language, and now he was going to attempt to use it.

“Hello, my name is Ensign Ol’oih Namniels. I am on an informational expedition to learn more about humanity, specifically language analysis. I… assume you found me and my ship, and I have to say thank y-”

“Okay, so we should think about communication basics. Do you think he understands body language? I mean, his hands are raised like that, but is that out of instinct or intent?” asked Cliff.

“I’m inclined to think intent, but I have no basis for it,” remarked Jax.

Wait… what? Ol’oih wondered silently. They’re talking about communication. Is that not what I’m doing? He decided to try again.

“I do understand some of your language, at least what you are saying now. My hands are raised as a sign of ‘good faith’ as you humans may say. I do not want to fight and want to establish peaceful tal-”

“Are we going to have to establish basic linguistics and physical signs to communicate? Like how you would with a little kid? Or maybe like a sign language thing?” wondered Cliff. “If so, we might need to have a quick aside to look up some basics that we can both use.”

“Woah, look! There’s a shock of yellow with the grays and blacks,” said Jax as he pointed at the little alien. Cliff had just noticed too, and his mind started working through what all of these new colors could mean.

At the same time, Ol’oih’s mind was working through their interactions.

Why can’t they hear me? I’m speaking their language. I can understand them. That much I’m sure of. I don’t think they’re ignoring me. They’ve expressed desire to communicate. I don’t understand! There’s nothing that should impede my pathing to them unless…

The realization hit Ol’oih all at once, hollowing his insides and making him feel sick. It wasn’t confirmed until now, but there were dozens of theories on his home world about whether or not earthers could path – speak directly to one another without the use of vocal cords in the throat.

Now he knew for certain which was making him panic.

They can’t hear me. They can’t path! What am I going to do?

“Did you see that?” asked Cliff as he looked over at Jax. “His eyes widened.”

“Yeah, I did. Is he trying to figure out what we’re saying?” asked Jax.

“No! I’m not! I can hear you. It’s you who can’t hear me!” Ol’oih tried pathing to them again, concentrating as hard as he could on the connection and getting his words to them. Sadly, the boys continued their conversation with one another.

“Are we scaring him? I mean, we’re kind of looming,” pointed out Jax. “Plus, there’s two of us and we have him in a hard plastic container that he probably can’t get out of. Putting myself in his shoes, he’s taking this well.”

I don’t know whether to be offended or flattered. No! Focus! This is bad! If they leave, I don’t have a way to contact them. They can’t path. Does this mean they’re like the Mel’ol?

Ol’oih recalled the information from his various courses and remembered that the Mel’ol, another interstellar species, couldn’t hear thoughts projected into the air. After many attempts, both species realized that communication required a physical connection directly to the Mel’ol nervous system.

He suddenly realized what he needed to do, and it was risky. More than that. It was dangerous. These boys didn’t seem like “proper scientists” unless their survey teams were completely wrong about the human race, in which case they horribly overestimated human intelligence.

This is not what Ol’oih was going to go with. Based on his observations, these kids seemed logical, cautious, and curious. They hadn’t hurt him and obviously wanted to communicate.

Ol’oih knew he had one chance, and he was terrified. His entire body thrumming nervously, he recalled his lessons in body language and communication and began backing away, hands still raised in submission.

“Oh, shoot. Cliff, look. He’s backing up.” Jax glanced nervously over at Cliff, unsure of what to do.

“Yeah, I see that, but I don’t kn-” Cliff quieted when he saw the little alien looking directly at him and make a gesturing motion with his hand directly in front of him. It almost looked like the alien was miming lowing his hand into the container before raising his hand back into an open palm surrendering gesture. His eyes flicked over to Jax as he repeated the motion, even crouching a little to emphasize the hand lowering to the ground.

I hope they understand. I don’t have much else I can do to get them closer. They won’t understand, but it’s the only way.

Ol’oih felt the thrumming in his body intensifying. This was going to be tricky, and he knew it. These two human boys were just going to have to trust him, something which he knew was going to be next to impossible if they decided to err on the side of caution and shut him away in the container once more.

If that were to happen, he feared his energy might run too low to make a second attempt.

One shot. I’ve got to make it count.

“Do… you think he wants us to put our hands in the container closer to him?” asked Jax, leaning over to direct his question quietly to his friend. Cliff’s heart was pounding hard and fast, but he nodded without breaking eye-contact with the alien.

“I think so,” he muttered. “The real question is why.”

“Who knows,” mumbled Jax. “Do you… think it’s a trick? Like he’s going to scurry up our arms or try to splice off our fingers?”

What? No! I mean, it’s going to be a little painful, but nothing permanent. I can fix that. It’s no trick. I can explain everything. Please! Trust me! Ol’oih’s silent plea was only for him, and he could only hope these two would take a chance.

“Only one way to find out,” Cliff muttered. Jax’s eyes went wide as he watched Cliff slowly raise his left hand in the same kind of surrendering motion that the alien was making before slowly turning it and lowering it into the container until the tips of his fingers were nearly touching the bottom.

Thank Ove! Now… I just have to not mess this up. Just bear with me.

Keeping eye-contact with the human boy, Ol’oih carefully took one slow step forward. His entire body was thrumming, threatening to make him shake. Ol’oih knew his emotions weren’t in check, but his priorities were elsewhere. He took another step, and then another.

Cliff watched, body shaking, as the alien slowly took several steps toward him. The human teen took controlled, shallow breaths as his excitement and nerves spun like tops in his mind. A thousand possibilities were running through his head and waiting in anticipation was killing him.

Another step.

Then another.

The alien was only a few inches from him when Cliff watched the alien’s tail slowly curve around his body and carefully press against his skin along his thenar, which was the fleshy mound at the base of his thumb. It was cold, thick, and sharp like a freshly sharpened number two pencil. It was also the color of graphite, which brought the imagery full circle in Cliff’s mind.

This is it. Nice and slow. I’m already here, and he’s letting me touch him. Ol’oih thought as he lowered his right hand and rested it onto the base of his tail. Here it goes.

In one quick motion, Ol’oih pierced the tip of his tail into the boy’s hand along the fleshy part below his thumb, following the ridges along his tail and twisting as he did so. Before Ol’oih could even begin to attempt to establish a connection, there was an ear piercing shriek.

For a moment, just a moment, Cliff was absolutely entranced by possibly being the first human making physical contact with an alien when, all of a sudden, the alien jabbed and twisted the end of his tail into the base of his thumb. Pain shocked him out of the moment, and he cried out purely by instinct.

“OW! AH! It latched on! It latched on!” Cliff jerked his hand and, to his alarm, the alien jerked along with him. Panic began to take over as he grabbed at his wrist and began constricting it. If this thing was trying to poison him like a scorpion, he didn’t want the venom to infiltrate his entire circulatory system.

Meanwhile, the base of Ol’oih’s addon tugged him harshly to the point he was actually lifted off of the ground as the human boy lifted his hand. Ol’oih was slammed back onto the ground as he listened to the boy he was attached to shout about “latching on.”

On the bright side, his hypothesis was correct. Humans were like Mel’ol, requiring a physical connection to the nervous system to communicate. Already, he was feeling the boy’s panic, fear, and, oddly enough, betrayal.

He had only a moment to try and get the situation under control, and he had to make the most of it. He concentrated hard and said the first thing that came to mind.

“It is not latching, it is pathing. And please do not jerk around like that. You might fracture my addon and hurt yourself!”

Immediately, Cliff felt his heart stop as he heard a male voice in the back of his head. He knew he didn’t imagine it. It was too distinct – too direct – for it to be a mistake. The teen looked down at the alien and saw him staring back, desperation and intelligence in those dark orbs for eyes.

“Hang on!” Jax, before Cliff could utter a word, boldly reached into the container and grabbed the alien, his fingers pinning the alien’s arms to his sides. Jax lifted the alien off of the ground as he began thrashing against the grip, grabbed the base of the tail that was imbedded into Cliff’s hand, and tugged.

Cliff winced and cried out in pain as the tip of the tail tugged at his flesh, and then the voice returned.

“Ow! Wait! Please! I just want to talk! I am Ensign…”

Cliff’s hand seized as Jax tugged again. To his horror, the tail pulled free from his flesh, taking a chunk of skin with it. Blood spattered onto the base of the container. Cliff could feel his pulse in his hand as he instinctually retracted it from the container, clutching it tight to his chest while continuing to try and keep pressure around his wrist.

Jax gave the alien a little toss back onto the ground and quickly locked the lid back on, missing how the six inch tall alien had turned and reached out toward the narrow beam of light as the lid encased him once again in darkness. Jax immediately grabbed the first thing he could find, which was a t-shirt from Cliff’s laundry pile, and pressed it against the oozing wound.

“Come on!” Jax urged as he tugged his friend away from his room and to the bathroom. He cranked on the warm water and shoved Cliff’s hand under the faucet as he darted around to the supply closet, filling his arms up with every medical bag he could find.

As he worked on his friend’s hand by splashing alcohol into the open wound and snagging gauze to wrap it, he continuously muttered under his breath various curses to the miniscule alien in the other room.

“That little twerp! I knew we couldn’t trust it. It’s no better than a creepy face hugger. Hopefully that thing isn’t poisonous. That turned bad fast! Holy smokes!”

Cliff, on the other hand, finally came back to his senses. His mind had been reeling with the experience as he replayed the incident over and over in his mind. Of all the sensations rolling around in his mind, Cliff finally pinpointed the emotion that he believed the alien was experiencing.

Genuineness.

There was nothing malicious in the jab. Everything leading up to that moment indicated that the alien was peaceful. His body posture, if it indicated anything at all, showed surrender and caution. There were also all of those colors shifting in the alien’s skin. Did that really mean something?

At the same time, Jax continued to ramble on.

“I can’t believe this. I shouldn’t have let you do it. How could I be so stupid?! Both of us! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I mean, did you see what it did?”

“Did you hear what he said?” Cliff’s question made Jax’s blood run cold. He turned to his friend, gauze comically dropping out of his hand and hitting the ground, as his mouth hung agape.

“What… did… you… just… say?” Jax asked.

Cliff pulled his hand out from under the water now that the wound wasn’t bleeding as much and, while applying pressure, looked at his friend in awe and repeated, “Did you hear what he said?”

Jax went from crouching by the medical packs that were strewn all around him like a girl prepping for a two week vacation overseas to standing, backing away a couple of steps toward the door while eying his friend suspiciously.

“You’re joking, right? It didn’t talk,” Jax stated firmly.

“No… he did,” Cliff said just as firmly to match his friend’s tone. “He said a few things actually. I… can’t explain it, but I know I heard him.”

Jax looked genuinely torn. It was like he was straddling the barrier between adrenaline fueled excitement and gut-wrenching worry for his friend.

“W-what… did he say to you, Cliff?” asked Jax. It was clear he was being cautiously optimistic based on his tone alone. Cliff reached over and put down the toilet seat and sat down on top as he gathered his thoughts.

“Well, first he said that it wasn’t latching, it was pathing. I guess that’s referring to this,” stated Cliff as he lifted his injured left hand while keeping pressure on it. “He also asked for me not to jerk around because I might fracture his addon and hurt myself. I guess the ‘addon’ thing is his tail; and, obviously, jerking around earned me this gash.”

“You actually heard him? The alien? But… how? Was this just a feeling? Or did you hear actual words?” probed Jax. “Well, first and foremost, are you okay? Do you feel weird or anything? Do you still hear the alien?”

“I feel fine. A bit shaken, but I still feel like me. No burning sensation in my hand and no streaks. If he was going to poison me or something like that, I would probably feel the effects now. We’d see evidence. If science taught me anything, it’s that stuff like this takes affect pretty quick,” replied Cliff. “And no, I don’t hear him anymore.”

“Weird,” mumbled Jax. He still looked uncertainly at his friend and then back to the gauze he dropped. “Well, I guess if you’re infected I probably am too.”

“I doubt it, b-”

“Shush! Otherwise I won’t help you. Gotta be in this together or not at all, dude. Always how it’s worked. Now, I’m bandaging up your hand and you’re telling me anything else the alien said,” stated Jax. He was obviously unnerved, but he took a few deep breaths and approached his friend, snagging the gauze from the ground and cutting off the segment that touched the ground before applying the ointment onto it.

“Not much else. Just that he was in pain and that he just wanted to talk. He started saying something about ensign, but I couldn’t tell if that was his name or, like, the position. You know? Like how they have ensigns on naval ships and stuff like that?” said Cliff while Jax wrapped his hand.

“So, we were right? That thing he was on was just a pod and there’s a bigger ship; or, rather, was a bigger ship?” Jax asked as he fastened the bandage tightly.

“I think so,” mumbled Cliff, thumb absently rubbing the injured part of his hand as if it were some kind of fidget spinner. “And there’s something else too. His coloration. It was changing. Did you notice?”

“Hard not to notice,” stated Jax as he sat down in front of his friend and began packing away the rest of the medical equipment. “You think it means something? Like, he was trying to communicate with it like a mood ring?”

“Maybe. It’s just an idea, but maybe that’s what he was feeling. I mean, blacks and grays are stress, tension, and anxiety. Then there was that flash of yellow, which could be nervousness,” rattled of Cliff. Jax rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Of course you’d know something like that,” he teased.

“Hey! I have an older sister who’s into that spiritual stuff. Her tarot card set is still in her room with all of those crystals and stuff too. She was always talking about these weird things. Hopefully college will straighten her out,” Cliff grinned, knowing this was one of his main teasing points for his older sister.

Jax’s eyes widened as he asked, “Oh, shoot! Will she be home soon? It’s summer. I totally forgot.”

“No. She’s got an internship that helps with her college tuition stuff, so she has to plan her visits. We’ve got the place to ourselves until eight tonight.” Cliff’s news eased the tension in the air between the two boys.

Their pulses were finally easing and their minds were now kicking into high gear to solve their communication problems with the alien in the other room. It took close to twenty minutes for either boy to say anything, but what Cliff had to say made Jax’s pulse spike once again.

“We need to try it again.”

“Excuse me, what?” Jax demanded.

“We need to try it again. We need to start from square one and try the Ensign’s method again,” stated Cliff. “It’s only logical.”

“No! Nu-uh! No way. I’m not getting a plug taken out of my hand because of him, and neither are you. We’re already going to have a hard enough time explaining the wound on your hand to your parents because you promised no science experiments. There’s got to be another way,” argued Jax.

“It’s the only way I can think of. We don’t have any kind of tech for him to use as a speaker to just plug into, if that’s what his tail is for. Also, did you see that look of surprise. Taking a leap in logic and assuming our expressions for certain emotions are the same between his species and ours, he looked confused and then shocked right before he made that whole gesturing motion, leading to my hand injury,” explained Cliff as he held up his hand.

“So, you want to put your hand back next to the alien, have the same thing happen, but this time possibly talk to him?” asked Jax disbelievingly. His friend gave a half-hearted shrug as he nodded.

“Something like that. He responded with the whole ‘latching’ comment by correcting us, and when you went to pull him off he asked us to wait since he wanted to talk.” Jax listened to Cliff’s words and contemplated them for a solid two minutes before nodding, a look of resignation on his brow.

“Okay, then I have something I want to add. If we’re going to try again, he might not want to. I did yank him off of you pretty hard, and honestly I’ve been worried here for a minute that I really hurt him,” stated Jax. “I propose we have some kind of peace offering. I mean, he probably needs food and water and it seems like he understands what we’re saying, so his ears work. We give him some supplies, offer an apology, and then see if he still wants to talk.”

Cliff nodded in agreement. “My sentiments exactly. Now, I don’t know what he can eat so let’s get a bit of a spread with some water and give it all a try.”

It took another minute for the boys to push themselves to their feet before walking past Cliff’s room toward the kitchen to begin preparing a meal for their alien guest.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

Beginning

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

@gianttol #gtjuly #gtjuly2024

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mysteriesmuse · 1 year

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Last night you’d gone out drinking with your best friend Fuyumi. She’d gotten a long holiday weekend and immediately begged you to come over to the Todoroki mansion so you could doll up for a girls night on the town together. Naturally, you dropped everything and scrambled over there with your makeup bag and outfit — because girls night with your bestie comes before everything else. And you’d showed up in record time and been greeted at the door by the baby brother Shoto himself. He’d waved you in without the same practiced ceremony that Natsuo had accrued. Shoto was still a little unpracticed of the normal comings and goings of the household. And instead of the normal shouting for Fuyumi that Natsuo did; Shoto preferred choosing to chirp a friendly hello with that young teenage heartthrob smile and shut the door behind you before pointing you in Fuyumi’s direction. To which you found her already curling her lashes at the vanity. Yelling to her brothers that they were in charge of dinner — to which the whole house filled with groans as you giggled and embraced her by the door. “It’s been too long since we’ve hung out outside of work!!” She squealed, holding you tight. you choked on air in her surprisingly tight grip and then got to work doing each others hair and makeup — only to be smudged all over your face and forearm this morning as you fended off a massively pounding headache. you awoke, sliding off the Todoroki family couch in the living room and tripping over the pair of stilettos that you must have managed to toe-off and set up neatly on the floor. And you wiggled your way to the bathroom door — shimmering black outfit still tightly clutched to your body, and even more so by having a chance to dry against your figure. You sat down and shimmied the skinny fabric up your plush thighs and sat down taking care of the piss that woke you up.

And in your hangover haze you must have missed the sight coming in because there was no toilet paper in here. You whined, your bruised toes cold against the tile of the bathroom floor — you stomped your equally bruised heels — and like a toddler shouted for Fuyumi to grab you more toilet paper. You huffed tapping your fingers against your knees until only a few minutes later the door creaked open and a large hand brandished a fresh roll of toilet paper. “Here ya’ go.” Called the voice of decidedly not Fuyumi. you studied the hand: the black wrinkles like one of those naked cats with no fur. Completely unfamiliar! “uh thank you,” you replied. Carefully grabbing the toilet paper by the top like a donut from the stranger. And just like that the door was swiftly closed shut again. A few minutes later with the flushing and draining of the pipes behind you, you walked out to see Fuyumi looking an equal amount of terrible — toilet paper in hand. “Ew girl,” she whined, “I was on my way. It took me a second to get out of bed.” You watched as she slouched even more with her messy layered white hair. The toilet paper dangling by her side. You waved your hands, “No! I didn’t not wipe. Someone else got me toilet paper . . .” Fuyumi noticed you trail off as you tapped a manicured finger against your slightly chapped lips streaked in a cakey, craggily layer of lipstick. “Oh my god,” she exclaimed hitting herself in the forehead with the hand still holding the roll of toilet paper. Whirling around she stomped back down the hallway a whirlwind of sibling fury. “Touya! You can’t just go helping my girlfriends by offering them toliet paper! Don’t you know that’s rude? Even in our house!”

Some more sibling shouts and another appearance of Fuyuming up the stairs led you into the kitchen where you got to see the rest of the man who got you toilet paper from the bathroom. He stood leaning against the fridge with a bowl of cereal in hand the spoon hanging partway out of his mouth. You waved a hand as his peeked brows, slipping over the the counter to grab a glass from the cabinets so you could water down this hangover. Your headache was too pounding and you were too tired to deal with this. You filled the glass quickly and you two gulped and munched in silence as Natsuo was woken up in Fuyumi’s raid. As soon as the steps turned back down the stairs this other housemate, brother you assumed, took off out the back with a wink. You glanced at Fuyumi who’d clenched her fist to her side and in an exasperated sigh said, “that’s my older brother, Touya. He’s a recovering convict,” she turned to face out the back garden door where he stood caught in his sneaky escape. She glared daggers at him through the glass pane, “ so he’s back home again now — but that’s no reason for him to be opening doors while you’ve got your panties down.” She turned back to you, “that’s no excuse, but — he’s still working on his social skills.” You shrugged, seeing the white haired and pierced male sneaking around the back garden of rose bushes. “He wasn’t so bad. Didn’t sneak a peak in the mirror — just a little odd that he answered my call.” You hummed tilting your head to the side. Fuyumi pinched the bridge of her nose, chest and forearms completely slouched on the kitchen island, muttering incoherently.

#mysteriesmusing #touya todoroki #touya x reader #bnha dabi #dabi x reader #dabi todoroki #This is honestly slightly a well written crack-fic #but I kinda love this whole thing!!#And Fuyumi is muttering about how her big brother is NOT allowed to make moves on her best friends #hes obvi going to anyway 🤣

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sizeysage · 2 months

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A pov/self-insert story I’ve been working on about a couple of OCs!! A human girl and an anthro catboy stumble across a borrower in their home…

(Posting it on this account because even if this start is sfw I wanted to have it lean into more suggestive stuff later—)

Aches ran through your body, stinging you back to wakefulness. The sickness had taken its toll on you, you’d been needing more rest every day, to the point you had to take naps during borrowing trips…

…but your surroundings were unfamiliar. Not at all the hard, cold surfaces you’d become accustomed to sleeping on. This was bedding, soft fabric, kept warm by your own body temperature.

Had you wandered back home in a fatigued daze and forgotten about it? Completely possible, illness does terrible things for reason and memory. Just drift back to sleep, you thought. Nothing worth agonizing over…

“I think it’s awake,” a voice whispered.

“It’s shuffling in its sleep,” another replied, just as hushed. “I’ve seen it do that a few times now, just let it be…”

Had they used any term besides “it”, you would’ve expected to open your eyes to see another borrower having stumbled across your home. But no. “It.”

You felt idly around the cloth, pretending to still be asleep, eyes shut tight.

“Do you think it’s having a bad dream?” The first voice asked. “Looks so tense…”

“It was burning hot when I picked it up,” the second answered. “Fever dreams aren’t great, that can’t be good for rest.”

“…shall I wake it up, then..?”

A brief moment of silence. And then, the feeling of touch: a gentle stroke across your arm. On instinct, your eyes opened wide, letting you finally see the duo talking about you.

The first voice belonged to a human: her cold finger recoiling from you as you jolted to alertness from her touch. Her eyes were a deep brown, full of concern. Black hair fell like soft fabric down to her shoulders, flowing across her shirt as water flows across stone.

The second belonged to a type of giant you hadn’t seen much of before: one of the beast people. Some type of cat person, coated in fluffy white fur with patches of grey. Yellow eyes gleamed at you from above, curiously staring down.

“Hey…” the human muttered, in a voice so quiet you almost couldn’t make out what she was saying. “We found you on the countertop behind the coffeemaker, are you okay?”

Your gaze wandered to the “bed” they’d placed you in. It was a bundle of cloth from various sources: towels, a shirt, what appeared to be boxers… all set on the seat of a couch, with the two giants sitting on the floor so as not to tower over you as much.

“Aches,” you stammered out. “I ache so much…”

“You’re definitely sick,” the human replied. “Pepper said you were burning up while he was holding you.” The beastly cat person, now identified as Pepper, raised a handpaw briefly in greeting.

“We’ll take care of you as long as you need, alright? No need to hide…” the human extended her hand once again as she spoke, resting it palm upright, her index finger about an inch from you, perhaps as a show of respect? Not crossing the threshold of your personal space? Or to ask you to reach out in return?

You assumed the last one, resting your hand on her fingertip. It was still so cold, but it was comforting. Soft, dark, cool skin to take away the pain of your body incinerating the disease festering inside you.

Without thinking, you tugged her finger closer, resting your face against it. You felt like a fiery torch submerged in water. The heat faded from your face, and you let out a deep, pained sigh of relief. All that tension began to fade.

“Thank you, thank you…” you murmured, any fear of the giants giving way to the desperate craving you had for comfort after spending so much time alone.

With her other hand, she gently pushed you onto her palm, idly running her fingers across you as she examined your comparatively minuscule form.

“I’ll bet you need water… shall we get some for you?”

You nodded in reply, too fatigued to question the giants’ kindness. The human turned to Pepper, and he nodded, standing up to hurry over to the kitchen.

The human stood up moments after, before sitting down on the couch beside the “bed” they’d both made for you. She shifted her grasp on you as carefully as she could, leaving you sitting on her lap.

#aaaand end of part one!! gotta write the rest #macro/micro #sizetumblr #unsure if I should tag as g/t? I know that tag’s for sfw specifically #I just wanna be sure I tag stuff right while still giving the story an audience #OC: snow-pepper #OC: Sunny

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teabutmakeitazure · 1 year

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The Lover's Threnody

>Chrollo x Fem! Reader

>Word count: 1.6k

>Warnings: none that are noteworthy (still, proceed with caution I am not putting a warning to avoid spoiling)

>a/n: Saya translates to shadow

Chrollo comes home to a promised candlelit dinner.

The door hinges squeak loudly when Chrollo closes the door behind him. He grimaces at the sound, mentally berating himself for not oiling the hinges when you had first asked him to. With a dejected sigh, he hangs his coat on the rack, turning to face the dark apartment.

A faint meow calls him from the bedroom, and Chrollo follows after the sound, almost desperate but equal parts surprised. He reaches the source just to see Saya, the one-eyed black street cat you had adopted about half a year ago lounging around on the bed.

He takes the liberty of seating himself on the bed next to her in the darkness, the curtains drawn and her one green eye staring at him innocently. In truth, if he dared to come any closer, she would hiss and scratch him, a reaction she never gave you.

Unfamiliar nostalgia fills his chest at the thought. He remembers it clearly. The day you brought her home, disrupting his evening reading to help give the cat a bath only to be asked to leave because of her aggressiveness. Truth be told, Chrollo was fond of the feline. Though he absolutely abhorred the way it would curl up around you in his presence, he found the one-eyed fiend kind of cute.

Still, he’d rather not risk anything and try to pet it. The last thing he wants is it to start hissing at him when it’s so peaceful at the moment.

Ah, technicalities.

Giving the cover under his palm one last feel, he gets up and heads to the waiting figure on the dining table.

The heavy silence weighs down his steps, darkness embracing him like snakes winding and curling around his limbs. It slows him down. Limbs get heavier and heavier to move but by the time his conscience is completely overwhelmed, he stands at the dining table.

Wasting absolutely no time at all, Chrollo takes out the lighter from his pocket and holds it against the wick of a candle. It lights up and Chrollo moves on to another until the assortment of candles he left on the table this morning are all burning.

He smiles when he sees your face on the chair opposite to him.

“Good evening, dear. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

No response.

He sighs. “I accept your silent treatment. I’m… deserving of it.”

Glancing towards the dark living room behind him, Chrollo eyes Saya as she roams around. When she misses a jump to the sofa, he takes pity on the cat and opens one of the curtains, letting the light from the busy street below somewhat illuminate the room.

Saya watches him as he walks back to the table but doesn’t come any closer.

Chrollo can feel the emptiness of the apartment seep into the walls and floors by how it lacks warmth. He’s certain that if he wasn’t wearing socks, he’d ask you to lend him some house slippers. Well, nevermind. What he needs to do right now is cook.

Though not a trifling matter, he feels a kind of annoyance. There are no leftovers, so he’s forced to cook and miss out on your cooking. He shouldn’t have promised you this dinner.

“You’re looking as beautiful as ever.”

He smiles as he places a plate full of pasta in front of you. In all honesty, he only made this dish because of how quick it’d be. Chrollo doesn’t want to be away from you for long after all. So, he quickly takes his seat opposite to you, chin resting on his intertwined hands as he keeps staring at the occupant opposite to him with a smile.

“You know, if I could, I would have asked you to make dinner. I’m not fond of the food I make. Though it is edible and not something I would dismiss as ‘bad’, I greatly prefer your home cooked meals.”

The candle flames continue burning in the dark apartment, silence making way for their almost inaudible crackling to be loud and the refrigerator's quiet hum to be equivalent to a scream before it stops, compressor quieting down.

“I know, I know,” he tuts. “Flattery won’t get me anywhere, but what might be so bad about complimenting what I like about my woman?”

A flame briefly flickers amongst the sea of candle wax before it once again becomes steady.

“Yes yes, my dear. No matter how you may object, there is nothing stopping me from flustering you. And besides,” he leans, in voice dropping low, “I find you quite irresistible when you stutter and flush like that. It reminds me of how absolutely alluring you look during our more passionate moments.”

Silence.

A chuckle spills past Chrollo’s lips. Amused, he leans back into his seat. “I understand. No flirting during dinner. However, you are forgetting that these so-called ‘cheap’ dialogues are what procured you as my lady in the first place.”

Chrollo picks up his utensils. The slight clicking sound causes Saya to perk up, and she looks to the dining table with her one eye. Staring at Chrollo’s back, she curiously moves closer, one slow step after the other. The candles are all that are illuminating the apartment and Saya’s purrs all that make up for any sounds.

The black cat stops halfway to the table, stationary and waiting, watching.

The ambience is somewhat off putting. A crime lord and his lover sitting in the dark silently having dinner, nothing but candles lighting up the table and the previous cooking process.

When the silence becomes too much, Chrollo looks up with a smile again.

“I know you would never admit this, but your cooking is far better than my own.” He fidgets with the black dress shirt, unbuttoning the first few buttons in the process. “I’m simply repeating things. I apologise. I do, however, believe that my life has significantly brightened up ever since you became a part of it.”

As he once again rests his elbows on the table, he swallows hard, a smile still maintained on his face and voice perfectly steady. “I could even call you my sun. There’s a reason why I seem to be biassed towards seeing you wear brighter colours. Whenever you wear yellow, I feel like the sun has been removed from the sky and placed right in front of me.”

He chuckles, smile momentarily narrowing his vision from how joyful it is. “Too cheesy? My, I hadn’t realised that my darling [Name] could be so adorable. I’m sorry. I’ll stop teasing.”

Saya tilts her head when he quietly continues eating. She blinks and takes a few steps forward, not a single sound made.

“You taught me this recipe, remember?” Chrollo doesn’t lift his head this time when he speaks. “I still feel guilty for ruining your kitchen in the process, but I did learn it. I suppose that counts as an apology.”

Plate almost empty, Chrollo looks at the remaining food longingly. “You should have written a recipe book. Maybe then I could have recreated something better.”

A candle goes out, leaving a puddle of wax behind. Saya eyes the loss of light curiously and takes a few more steps forward till she’s within a few feet of Chrollo.

“Do you remember the time you chased me with a rolling pin?” He laughs, cheek now resting in his palm while an empty plate sits in front of him. “You threatened to hit my head. Though I was confident that you wouldn't be able to, I couldn’t help but be afraid of the possibility that you may just do it. Ah, I shouldn’t have snooped around your search history. Your wrath… is frankly quite terrifying.”

Silence once again persists when Chrollo stops talking. It pulls down his smile into a frown, but the sensation of something curling against his leg startles him. Luckily, he calms down when he sees the cat that oh so passionately despised him rub its face against his calf.

“She named you Saya for a good reason. You’re quite the shadow.”

Hesitantly, Chrollo reaches to pet her. Inch by inch his hand gets closer and he braces himself to be met with claws but they never come. Instead, he feels her push her head towards his palm, eye blinking up at him innocently.

Chrollo instantly gives in to the sensation and begins petting the cat. Purrs fill the deafening silence of the apartment, and as though on cue, the rest of the candles die out one after the other when Chrollo rests his head on the table. Turning it to the side, he watches the cat purr to his scratches.

It’s the first time she’s let him touch her. Of course he’s surprised.

Saya soon pulls away from his touches and jumps into his lap. Chrollo straightens up at the action, grey eyes meeting a green one as the two stare at each other. Then, she reaches for his face. Despite his suspicions of facing any sort of violence from her, he lets her paws rest on his face, but he stiffens when it rests on his forehead. Right over the tattoo.

Almost pleadingly, the cat meows at him. Sadness drips from her tone and Chrollo can’t help but feel like he’s looking into a mirror. Desperate cries leave the poor feline’s mouth as her paw remains on his forehead, and it takes all the mental strength he has left at the moment to look away when he sees her eye turn glossy.

He turns to you for consolation, for any advice to handle the grieving cat but is met with the reason why both of them share the wretched emotion. This time, Chrollo doesn’t smile. A lump in his throat, a ball of thorns compressed and stuffed into his trachea, is all that he feels when the light from the open curtains falls onto the glass of the picture frame that sits opposite to him.

He was right. The smile on your face looks as beautiful as ever.

#hunter x hunter x reader #hunter x reader #chrollo x reader #chrollo lucifer x reader #chrollo imagine

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nebulabasket · 11 days

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Alterbeings in Paracosm

I realized that I unintentionally normalized ¿alterbeingity? in my paracosm (the place Glow Bright, Star Prince, Specter Warden, Grin Reaper, Anonymous Cryptid, and 000 originate from specifically; the origin of the party's abundance of shape-shifting dragons).

How shape-shifting works for them is that they have to learn how to shape-shift into each form individually; they can't just turn into whatever they want whenever they want. So, for example, if someone would want the ability to shape-shift into a crocodile and a mouse, they would have to spend time learning how to take the shape of both individually through training and practice, often taking weeks or even months to get down properly depending on a few factors. Those more experienced with shape-shifting may get it down faster, and it's easier to learn a form that is similar to a form they've already masters, but each form still has to be individually learned irregardless.

Usually people will learn to take forms that help them in some way, such as blending in, increased mobility, etc, but it's also just completely normal for people to just learn a specific shape because it make them comfortable and happy and they prefer it. For example, BlackFlame is commonly know to just exist as a cat for no reason other that they want to and they feel comfortable as a cat. Black Flame is unfamiliar with the concept of therianthropy, but I'm more than certain they would relate to the experience of therians.

It's interesting picking up on all these little things over a decade later.

~ 🍭 Cyannide Lolypop 🍭

#immersive daydreaming #paracosm #maladaptive daydreaming #madd #paracosm lore #alterbeing #otherkin #therian #therianthropy #alterhuman #alterhumanity #nonhuman

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sunghanne · 1 year

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STAR RACER － ENHYPEN GREASE AU SERIES | PART 4 🚦

racer!enhypen & flaggirl!reader

PARTS: PROLOGUE, PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 5, coming soon...

TITLE: ST★R-RACER : PART 4. THE RUMBLE.

feat. ENHYPEN, TXT, STRAY KIDS?!

PLOT: in a small town during the 1950s, seems the only thing keeping careless teenagers entertained are drag races where only the elite participate. and those elite are known as star racers.

WARNINGS: ooc idols, sexual innuendos, light sexual content, strong language, violence, mild slutshaming, illegal acts, cat calling, sleezy teenagers, tba...

TAGLIST: @lalalalawon , @strvlveera , @kjrcrz comment your @/user to be added!

WORD-COUNT: 10.0k

NOTE: im so sorry this part took so long to write. i burn out easily and ideas were not filling my head. this is my first big series so it is a bit difficult to amount to the number of words each chapter has. but thank you for waiting and i hope you enjoy this long special! i apologise for any typos, its hard to proof read at the moment. likes, reposts and comments are all heavily appreciated, thank you.

your attention has placed the road ahead of you, memorising the familiar landscape as the one you drove past in the evening with yeonjun. from the asphalt road to the street lamps and to the traffic lights, everything was much brighter and clearer this time around. likely due to your vision not being clouded by the raven night sky, or perhaps the regret and guilt tainting your perception of your surroundings that unforgettable night.

"well, i'm not worried. he can have a cow, won't change the fact his turf's in a rut too," you calmly replied while adjusting the collar of your white short-sleeved blouse. a light grin on jake's face humoured your determined attitude, bright eyes laying on your reflection from the rearview mirror.

"you kill me sometimes," your male counterpart complimented before refocusing his attention on the next corner he swerved past. you beamed at his sweet comment, gulping your real intentions down your dry throat. in reality, you were worried. about yeonjun, about going to an unfamiliar school, about heeseung.

definition:'kill'. > to impress.

to even consider the plan of attempting to pact with the clique from the other side of the town meant you were desperate. you yearned to snatch jake's steering wheel and go back the way you came from because an uneasy bundle in your stomach untangled and started to reach every vessel in your body. you thought the pressure of the rumble would ease overnight but instead, it got worse.

someone could end up in the hospital, even inadequately considering the possibility of ending up outnumbered due to the uncertain chance of recruiting yeonjun's crew. so even though you hated it, you had to get the boy on your side, for your friends' sake.

last night's image of riki's untamed berating and thrashing out of sunghoon and jake's grasp was hard to shake off he had never gotten so worked up about another person before. you didn't want to see him in that state again.

the number of stores on the street gradually decreased, replaced by dense trees and bramble bushes, a sign you were nearing the school. "what a load of nerds," jake poked fun at herds of students clad in blazers, jerseys, plaid patterned pants and skirts and the tall rhubarb brick building fenced by tall black metal fencing. it was like some impenetrable fortress with a long moat surrounding it, except it wasn't. it was simply unlike your school. your school was the complete opposite with nothing more but a twisty metal fence surrounding it. students would occasionally hop over the fences just to go get better lunch food or skip unwanted classes, you included.

your eyebrows gradually lifted at the realisation that you hadn't even tackled the first crisis yet, the overbearing fence, "crap," your curse placed under your breath while jake steered into the disbursed car park and came to a gentle halt, not eager to bring unsolicited attention to your arrival. he made sure to park behind a wide tree that's long branches with lax leaves that almost reached the roots on his head.

he quietly wolf-whistled at the amusing sight, taking in the complication you already situated yourself with. you reluctantly revolved your head towards the male beside you in slow motion to find his gaze. and with a suspecting smirk on his face, he inquired you about his nifty scheme.

his hurried hands grasped his elbows as he held his folded forearms in front of him, crouching in an uncomfortable position with knees pressed into the hard pavement.

the corners of your mouth spread outwards as your molars clamped down on one another, too focused on aiming the sole of your shoe on jake's makeshift stepping stool to notice the strain on your jaw.

he huffed out upon your weight's arrival, his arms wavering for a split second before he jolted the platform made with his arms up into the air. you took the sudden elevation as a chance to hold on to the cold metal railings of the fence, concentrating as your wide skirt bunched in the air. with a rigid rattle, you regulated your balance as jake's arms steadied you on top of him.

a gasp of relief vacated your chest as your clenched jaw could relax as your successful stepping stool plan worked. "s'nice view," jake's crude comment blasted below your lengthy skirt and your wide eyes bolted to the male whose head was tilted upwards for anything but the sky. there was only one place his eyes landed upon.

"cut the gas, sim!" you screeched loudly and intentionally kicked the white tip of your sneaker in the male's susceptible nose. he yelped out in pain, eyes squeezing shut while his arms awfully loosened. a mean laugh left your lips in satisfaction while taking the distorted balance as an opportunity to release your foot off of his platform and onto the top of the horizontal railing slab. then, you applied all your weight on the singular foot and extended the rest of your body upwards and over the fence. yet, your landing wasn't as straightforward as the journey over it and you ended up with one of your knees shoved into the damp grass of the school campus.

your partner in crime was rubbing his throbbing red nose after your hostile jab at it, despite him knowingly deserving it. one of his brown eyes opened to peek at your safe drop on the other side of the fence, "sorry. 45 minutes, y/n. js'call out for me if you need," he called out while the hem of your skirt returned around your knees after the velocity of the drop concluded. you were hunched over, a hand dusting your dirt-stamped kneecap that had follicles of grass glued to it.

"i know. don't think i'll need the help of a little boy who can't keep his eyes out of the gutter," you mocked his ogling and spun on your heel away from the car park and the familiar individual with it. jake, the boy who couldn't stand being crowded by girls, confidently announcing the esteem of seeing up your skirt was a bold move. little does he know the minor injury to his nose would be met tenfold by the time you bust out of this unfamiliar school.

45 minutes. all the time you had at your disposal. 45 minutes was the duration of lunch and you needed to be in and out of yeonjun's school as quickly as you could. of course, some constraints were weighing you down other than the time frame. and that was yeonjun's compliance.

it was safe to assume the male you threw a drink at two weeks ago would most likely refuse your proposition. neither did you know the layout of the school and whether the teachers on guard would kick you out upon your arrival. so you had to be equally alert.

you strode forward towards the towering building with the large cross logo built in the middle, a slight increase in heartbeat by the countless pairs of eyes locked onto your unknown self. you could only pray that no tattle tail would report on the girl who just leapt over the fences, breaking precisely why they were implemented. it was lunchtime at this school as well and cliques separated from one another sitting on the field or at lunch tables made you realise just how difficult carrying out this secretive mission of yours would be.

by secretive, only you and jake knew of it. hence the reason he was chauffeuring you to the other side of town and missing out on whatever lunch menu was on at your cafeteria. quite the feat, you thought.

after passing a few outdoor pillars by the side of the main building, you found the lunch block that remained outdoors. girls with rolled-up plaid skirts sat on the collection of bleachers by the soccer pitch in the distance to your right side, indulging in minuscule amounts of cafeteria lunches and the meals running across the soccer field. a mixed handful of preps sat along benches and or on the concrete-covered floors under the shade of the freshly painted veranda to your left. yet, from both ears you could hear the endless pour of gossip about your appearance surface. "that's the chick that went home with choi a couple'a nights back."

your focus on the defaming vocal of opinions suddenly terminated when a large, warm hand on your shoulder cuffed itself around you. your shaken eyes found themselves settled on a face you could put to a name. soobin. "aren't you lost, choi?" his deep voice questioned and a small curl of his lip caught your attention, face inches apart from yours. the hunch in his back signalled he was leaning over your head to meet your eyes from behind. you were speechless, not expecting a target to reveal themselves so easily.

the tall male raised an eyebrow in curiosity at your brief quiet demeanour, standing upright. only at that moment did you realise how much the male towered over you and it caused you to blink profusely out of intimidation. he wore a grey blazer with his school's emblem on it in contrast to the heavy dark jacket he was wearing at the race tracks. you licked your dry pink lips and swiped his hand off your shoulder discretely, "reason you callin' me choi?" you questioned lowly while he towed his hand to his side, shaking it off like it were wet.

"well, you are yeonjun's missus. ain'tcha?" he chirped while his lips protruded outwards and his cheeks huffed meanwhile. your eyebrows dipped low and a side of your lips lifted in a sneer like you'd stepped in rubbish. to even think of the said male as a spouse sounded like a nightmare. yeonjun must have been spreading misinformation around his turf, and a side task was unexpectedly placed upon you.

to prove him wrong.

"that's not true. i think i'd much rather be called my name," you seethed tediously with squinted eyes directly align with the male. he cocked his head to the side in wonder, trying to piece together whether you were joking or not.

"it's not? he was tellin' people you're round heels," he began to chuckle lightly and your hands balled tightly into fists. your yeonjun accusation stood correct. a flare of embarrassment sparked on your face in a blaze at such wording used on you. you groaned in irritation at such cunning stirs and trudged forward, bumping into soobin deliberately to tilt him backwards.

definition:'round heels'. > an easy girl, heels rounded for easy tipping onto a bed.

he staggered for a brief moment before regaining his balance and following behind your careless actions, half amused and half confused. "oh, choi is dead meat," you grumbled while stomping your feet into the lavish grass and heading towards the veranda. meeting numerous gazes of students who sat underneath it, you pondered why they were so judgemental. at first, you thought it was because of yeonjun's rumours, but when your head craned behind, you realised it was because of soobin trailing inches apart from you. it was so unsettling the shift in appearances of the boy who was once chasing after you and sunghoon on a friday night.

soobin was a renowned racer and the students either loved him or hated him, no in between. it wasn't hard to miss the only individual sporting black leather threads and tight blue denim amongst a crowd that didn't. it made you wonder how he even got into such a school in the first place. maybe his parents were filthy rich and threw him into such a populace with the intent to 'right his wrongs'. then they probably explained to the headmaster that 'he's just a boy, he doesn't know any better' when he set the science lab on fire, or something.

nonetheless, his reoccurrence made a palm slap against your face in annoyance, dragging your hand down in disarray, "if you're here to court me, hit the road," you complained while turning around for a brief moment and he shone a crooked smile at your notice of his presence.

"why, but you're a firecracker to tease," he jabbed while quickening the pace of his long legs and catching up to you, now side by side. your angry hands pressed onto the male's chest, trying to shove him away only for the male to lean all of his weight atop of you. the heavy force had your steps reversing and reluctantly, you backed against a hard brick wall. you grit your teeth anxiously, eyes glaring into his as the top of his head was against the vacant wall space above yours. "settle, doll face. if you wanted to get your hands on me so bad y'could've just asked."

his shower of flirts repulsed you and your head turned away at such compact contact, hands still driven against his chest as his torso didn't budge even when you started to hook your nails into it.

by the intimate distance, his cologne almost suffocated you, whisked with the scent of tobacco. his bold actions made your head spin and worst of all, everyone's eyes were on you. your hot face combusted with his warm breath, like waving a fan in front of flames.

"get off of me, rag!" you argued with an increase of pressure you placed on him. the corner of his lips cocked upwards and you eventually broke through his overbearing cave. you staggered forward drunkenly, feet pivoting away from the male as he toppled backwards for a split second. you briskly padded away, slapping two of your palms over your soiled burning cheeks.

"he was lyin', clearly," soobin chuckled breathlessly while resuming his follow on your whereabouts. honestly, if he pulled that trick on any other girl you were certain he'd be rejected just the same.

"lay off. if you're not going to help me find choi then you can waste someone elses," you retaliated and pressed the crease out of your white skirt. you hated that his cologne was now rubbed off of you and the scent didn't leave even after you shook out every article of your clothing like you were dusting them off.

"whats the occasion?" he questioned and licked his lips out of habit, loud footsteps echoing yours and acting all innocent like he wasn't pulling that stunt a minute ago, "i can."

"get on with it," you ordered through an eye-roll and endured the painful trip towards yeonjun's whereabouts. the sunlight appeared and disappeared on soobin's face as pillars blocked fragments of light each time you passed one, "i'll tell you when we find the guy."

"if it's another necking, i'd be more than happy to offer my services," he teased and swayed his body closer to yours, almost causing you to crash right into him. you cursed under your breath and pushed the boy away aggressively. you were starting to reconsider whether the problem with your plan was soobin's irritating antics or yeonjun.

definition:'necking'. > make out.

"another? we never did. in fact, he hadn't even laid a hand on me before he was pullin' out," you lied thickly but you didn't care. if it were an opportunity to humiliate the male, you didn't need to be asked twice. soobin's head was thrown back as a chain of laughs sprouted out of him at the correction.

"no snow job," the male teased while shaking his head after his high of laughter disbursed. the edge of the concrete veranda was nearing and soobin took the initiative to pass a corner, leading you towards an area that was much more secluded with taller brick walls. you were a little proud of your fake tales, even more at the reaction of the other male who didn't doubt it one bit. to be honest, you were over the whole situation. the bad date, the manipulative language used on you and the oil spill on heeseung.

well, partly over that last part. but with other concerns shadowing it, it was forced to the back of your cluttered mind. similar to the oversized blazer thrown around your sides and forced over your arms a moment ago. your arms weighed heavily at the large article of clothing and you cluelessly stared at soobin as he held your shoulders gently, only the tips of his fingers against you.

"lid on," he shushed you carefully and lead you in the correct direction, his head only focused on the individual walking past. an old lady, likely in her late 50s, wore sleek red glasses pressed to her face and a tight, knee-length pencil skirt that made her strut look funny. a teacher, a very intimidating looking one at that. she had a returning stern gaze over soobin and her wrinkly lipstick-chapped lips pursed in dismay. your shoulders were hunched like a box, from the tension in the air, or perhaps the heavy jacket over the top of you.

you weren't looking at the teacher, but when her echoing footsteps lowered in volume, you let out a sigh of relief from your chest, shoulders relaxing. the male took his hands off the top of your shoulder blades and left his warm blazer around you, only looking down at you with his dark irises.

"what was that for?" you questioned with a low whisper as if the teacher had super hearing and would've heard you if your voice was amplified another decimal. while adjusting his lengthy grey blazer around you comfortably, soobin shone a quick grin and rubbed an index finger along his smooth philtrum.

"disguise. that broad is the principal. if you weren't in uniform she'dve rocked you," he answered while playing with the hem of the white t-shirt he now resided in. your head tilted at his quick wits and perhaps you'd taken him lesser than he first ought to be.

"well, gentleman," you chirped and the boy licked his lips at the nickname, eyes shaped like crescents merrily. the walk resumed without anymore hindrance, only small talk between you and the tall boy who happened to let down his guard. finally, you came in contact with two large wooden doors at the end of the hallway. you bit on your lip, head checking up to soobin's for a split moment for confirmation. and by the light nod of his head, you padded forward and pushed the pair of doors open with two spread arms.

bright white headlights flashed in the dark ambience and heeseung's hand propped in front of his eyes to shield them from the blinding clash. he was sitting on the alleyway ground, forearms draped over his knees and his fond jacket across his spacious lap.

the bright light illuminated the entire alleyway and heeseung could see from his peripherals just how easily his position was given away by the brick walls of the alleyway lighted. alerted, he peeked through the gaps of his long fingers and cursed out at the reckless decision the other boy made to keep the headlights of his ride turned on. although, that angered fire in him snuffed out when his gaze landed on the longing face of his friend, jay.

the appearance of the younger boy was like a flashback to heeseung. it had been so long with zero contact with one another, it could've easily been another one of his daydreams. but, jay heeded to his call like the loyal service he was.

heeseung stood up straight as the engine of the car halted and the light vibration of the vehicle froze, headlights clicking off like a tv pulled at the plug. he dusted himself off, carefully padding towards the suspecting vehicle and walking along the exterior to the passenger's seat, taking light steps on the coarse rubble foundation.

the silence in the air grew as he opened the passenger seat and inclined his slim frame inside, settling on the vacant seat. no words were exchanged between him and the other male, only the turn of jay's head and the tilt of his sunglasses while he scanned heeseung's appearance like some judge.

"jay," heeseung greeted, nodding his head and keeping a straight face with a raspy voice. the male in question tilted his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, a smug grin on his face.

"heeseung," he responded cooly, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as if it were a normal interaction between the two. nonchalant before the aggressive tug on his shoulders yanked him forward into heeseung's warm embrace. jay's sunglasses tilted crookedly as his face smashed against heeseung's ear, returning the tight hug tenderly.

"you idiot! what's this get up? forgettin' your honorifics and wearin' sunglasses in the middle of the night?" a long, gleeful laugh left heeseung's throat. he hadn't laughed like this in ages. the strong hug came to an end as heeseung disengaged and scanned jay's awfully misplaced glasses. jay bit back a hearty smile, pleased his little gag with sunglasses made the other laugh. he ran his long fingers through his black locks and whisked his head back as though he were in a photo shoot.

"well, y'know. work," he replied, still piling onto the joke. heeseung shook his head, sweaty bangs glued to his forehead after his eventful night of running from the fuzz. jay flicked his sunglasses above his hairline, not being able to see anything in the dark with them on anyway. now able to see clearly, he didn't miss the mass amounts of cash splayed all over heeseung's dirty coveralls, "dude?"

heeseung's orbs traced jay's gaze and peered down at his own body, realising the male was flabbergasted at more than just his arrival. he bit back a proud grin and dug a dirty hand into his side pockets only to return with a handful of papers between his clutches, "dude," he replied and jay's raised eyebrows lowered to a normal slate, realising heeseung's act was true.

"the fuck did i miss?" his counterpart questioned as me of his palms pressed against his sweaty forehead, colliding with his tilted sunglasses unintentionally.

the older male returned the cash to it's rightful place in his pocket and kept that same smile splayed across his cheeks, "robbed this old man's register when he wasn't lookin'. don't worry, i kicked the bucket right after," his remark held no remorse for his criminal act and instead acted as if he were bragging.

a half scoff half laugh left jay's lips and he looked off the to side like heeseung had spoken a terrible joke, "y'crazy, hyung," he remarked whilst a hand kept itself on his leather steering wheel. the elder began to undo the upper clasped buttons of his coveralls and slid the thick navy material off his shoulders, typing the sleeves across his waist in a bulbous knot. he returned his beloved race jacket around him and leaned forward with a finger playing with the sweaty black strands of his hair whilst scanning himself in the rear view mirror.

jay was watching silently, amused by the sudden interest of appearances, "gonna need more than a pampering, y'stinkin' up my chariot. who y'trying to impress anyway?" he questioned next.

"...nobody in particular, park," heeseung cheesed with a flashy reply, adding the finishing touches to his hair and sitting back in his car seat with a satisfied nod.

"not fallin' for that snow job," the other retorted whilst continuing to view heeseung's conflicting mannerisms, "'ts y/n, ain't it?"

there was a cascade of silence that laid the car, only the sound of cars driving meters from the alleyway entrance roaring past. until jay opened his mouth once more, "she'd been down in the dumps since you left," his dark eyes faced forward, tracing the terracotta brick wall heeseung once leaned upon previously, "everybody. jungwon, sunoo, hoon, jake, riki 'nd y/n. we all been bugged. just constant losses-i mean did you know that kid sunoo dropped outta school 'cause he lost a bet on your last race?"

jay's calm tangent caused heeseung's eyebrows to raise slightly. he knew there would be consequences to his careless disappearance, but nothing of this calibre. heeseung wasn't a dickhead like the other greasers you'd categorise him with. he was the eldest of the clique and brought a sense of meaning to that label with reason. and, he definitely knew when he should be held accountable for up and leaving as though that selected group meant nothing to him but a mere memory.

jay's vent furthered, "guess that saying that goes 'you never know what y'got 'til its gone' is true," his vision returned to his eldest and the black haired disheveled individual had his brows real upturned this time, mouth parted slightly in surprise at the sincerity of his pride smitten companion. the boy in question was flustered at the non-responsive behaviour of heeseung and cleared his throat while looking off to the side.

lee simply shook his head, placing a hand on the awkward male and nodded in acknowledgment, "yeah, man. guess i got a few apologies to make," he answered whilst lifting a palm off his friend and instead returning them to his jacket to fully zip it up as the cold night breeze bristled the hairs on his head.

jay tilted his head slightly forward in response, taking the cold wind as a sign that solidified that heeseung wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. now, there was only the future to look forward to-and a group of assholes to prove himself to. the car engine started once more and the automobile began to reverse from the dark alleyway.

a cold curious hand dug into the front pockets of his jacket, only to brush past a crisp wad of paper. heeseung brimmed with confusion for a brief moment as he lifted the paper out of his pocket and held it in front of his eyes. with a squint, he realised it was a collection of numbers written with pencil. heeseung's eyes narrowed further in suspicion, only one person had access to his clothing and he drew a straight line to the culprit.

"y'good?" jay asked to break the sudden silence and the other male immediately crumpled the paper between his fingers and flicked it behind him.

"yeah, keeno," lee nonchalantly responded while jay had fully backed out of the dim alleyway, only now waiting for several cars to pass so he had a clear entrance.

"i got a plan to get you outta juvi," the other appeased with an anticipating grin on his face. the loud screech of tires burned against the asphalt ground as jay forced himself to break a brigade of cars, earning a few ear-piercing honks from other drivers.

heeseung's head was turned towards the rear end of the car, an astonished smile on his face, "surprised y'haven't lost your license yet. shoot," he encouraged the other's question.

jay clicked his tongue at hee's snarky comment and drove towards the direction of a gas station that's bright neon sign was spotted miles away, "dyeing ya 'do," the dark haired male explained while his eyes flicked towards heeseung's raven locks.

the male in question reluctantly lifted a hand to palm the side of his hair, lips pursing in uncertainty, "fracture me, will you? there ain't no way in hell you're touching my hair," heeseung refused almost immediately.

definition:' fracture'. > amuse me.

"'ts either you sportin' a new color, or spending the rest'a senior year with the fuzz," jay reasoned while shaking his head in disapproval. personally, he thought his plan was well thought out and a good cover for his criminal of a friend.

"ain't that a bite, park. think they got ciggies in jail?" the other sighed out while repositioning himself in jay's vehicle, long legs outspread lazily whilst his torso pushed upwards so his head could stay upright.

"get with it, hyung! y'know how hard it's boutta be when you return to school with a felon on y'head?" jay continued while heeseung closed his eyes stubbornly.

"you watch too many damn flicks," he laughed out while jay hadn't changed direction towards the servo at all. it'd take a lot of convincing for heeseung to agree, but jay just couldn't let go of his marvellous idea. and yes, he'd suppose he watched too many movies.

right in front of you were none other but the pack of greasers leaning on bleachers with their thumbs flipped over of their pockets while their other four digits tucked into their skinny jeans. one individual, in particular with their back turned from you had a long hand pressed on the wall that a shorter girl leaned against. the familiar curls of his brunette hair were hard to discard from your memory, so much so that you hesitated to step any closer.

if it weren't for taehyun's quick tap of yeonjun's shoulder, the male would've never turned his head to notice your presence. at first, his foxy eyes were pried in surprise before they relaxed and a cocky smirk replaced his ajar mouth, "i knew you'd be back for more, cherry," he cooed and unhooked his hand from the wall pressed beside his female companion and stood up straight, smug look unwavering.

soobin left your side and travelled up the bleachers to meet his clique, long legs used to skip past two bleachers at a time. he exchanged a hand shake with yeonjun briefly, tugging in the male and dabbing his shoulder before pulling away and settling on the cold spot beside beomgyu. now, only you resided alone as a group of five looked down at you like a feeble insect.

"back for more? more of what?" you spat with raised eyebrows, almost holding back a fake laugh at his outpour if confidence like the night between you two had gone well.

"why, don't act coy. i know you miss me," yeonjun tutted while digging his hands into his pockets, shoulders relaxing as your expression crumbled in agony.

"oh get bent, choi. i'm not here to relive the terrors of friday night," you answered in determination, hands fisting the heavy blazer over your shoulder's you'd almost forgotten soobin left on you. the four other men murmured between each other, one of them patting yeonjun on the shoulder and causing him to stumble forwards slightly.

his calloused hand brushed off the previous spot the hand had touched him and he glared towards the boy in annoyance, "well then, clue me," yeonjun responded while his legs began to extend forward and step down each bleacher seat with a hop in his steps.

you inhaled sharply, watching as yeonjun proceeded to step unwarrantedly close to you with the tip of his shoes nearly budding into yours, "your turf's being threatened by those... stray animals from the next town over, y'know those ones?" you answered with a hesitation as you described the male group in question. yeonjun's lips pouted, an eyebrow crossing in confusion from your unreliable outpour.

"name 'em. i don't know who they are," he demanded while turning his head left so his ear protruded towards you closest. your teeth grit in irritation at his actions potentially mocking you and the sliver of power your position gave away. a girl, left alone in a school full of random people, in front of her sworn enemy.

"felix, hyunjin, chan, those lookers," your eyes decimated off to the side as you recalled a few of their aliases. the boy in front of you rubbed his chin in thought, still missing a few details.

"yeah, them freamers," yeonjun parroted before throwing his head back to repeat the message to his lackeys up on the bleachers. a couple of their faces screwed, a little complacent with their cooperation. you bit down on the insides of your mouth, kneading the soft flesh as a way to pass time as no straight answer was given from the other party.

"listen, uh, we lost star racer to them and since riki struck at them first, they wanna rumble with us," your anecdote retained uncertainty yet you wanted to persevere confidently.

two front teeth bit down on the right side of the boy's bottom lip, biting back an unconvinced smile, "that ankle-biter ought to have at it. well, what exactly would we get out of it?" yeonjun asked with a deliberate whining tone towards the end of his sentence.

"you kiddin'? we're stuck in the mud for your turf and you want something out of it?" you scoffed with narrowed eyes.

"do you's really need us?" his hands outstretched in front of him as his shoulders shrugged, faking unconvinced, "sounds like we should just let em' bash ya' and clean up the mess after."

your eyebrows creased for a split second, eyes strictly trained on your counterpart's imposing face, "your turf won't be lost, you get a good swing on those douchebags and..." your volume lowered while thinking of your next proposition. until yeonjun finished your suggestions for you.

"—how 'bout a proper date. a good one that might end with something else gettin' damp, i'd rather," his condescending voice stifled a laugh at his dirty innuendo. the pack on the bleachers seemed to mirror his reaction, yet they were encouraging.

"another fake out?" your face screwed while weighing the odds. did you really need these guys as backup? the chances of succeeding did increase if they were to defend their own turf. for pete's sake, was defending their own side of the town mean nothing if they didn't get a piece of you out of it? you knew bets never ended well, you knew very well.

but there was an undiscovered surge of eagerness that anticipated you.

yeonjun's head lifted and lowered slowly, nodding for you to continue. your tart fingers bore creases in the oversized jacket slung over your shoulders as you finally responded, "no. see, i don't usually settle for sloppy seconds," you replied while your eyes peered behind his broad shoulder. specifically at the girl leaning against the brick wall with her arms crossed, burning holes into your frame by her stare.

the male whipped his around for a split second before turning back to you with a hand plastered on the back of his warm neck, "that broad's jus'ta rebound. we get comfy, don't we?" he attempted to convince yet this time with a softer voice, most likely lowered so the men behind him couldn't hear his pompous attempt to sway you.

"i am anything but comfy 'round you. y'know, its fine. we should just back outta this rumble and allow them to take your turf. you've already won, haven't you?" your eyes scaled upwards to the ceiling, checking off an imaginary list in your head, "you've got heeseung's car, you've got star racer, you've got my friends leaving one after another," an uninterested frown grew on your face as your hands outspread outwards in pretend surrender, "i don't see why we should hold onto our pride if someone's already fucked us over, really."

yeonjun's eyebrows raised while he listened to your lost hope, quite unsure of how to appear. his eyes travelled from your long skirt, to your tucked in blouse and even to the stilled palms on display, "so you finally wanna admit we're better than you's?"

"sure, choi," you replied unenthusiastically.

he swiped his tongue on his bottom lip in thought, knowing there were only two ways your encounter could go, "you pushin' the right buttons if thats your goal. but, what do y'mean your goons are leaving one after another?"

his question brought your eyebrows to skyrocket that he was even concerned with the status of your group. one of your palms pressed against your wrist, rubbing it uncomfortably as if there were a stain lingering against it, "...yea. heeseung's gone, jay's on a vacay, sunoo's dropped out. i know you don't care but i guess that's why we need your clique," your voice softened as you opened up to the boy for the first time.

yeonjun's head rotated around to face his group to view if they heard the same thing and there was a sinister smile plastered to his face as he faced you once again, "was wonderin' why i hadn't heard of lee in a while. i'd say too bad, but if that greaser was here you wouldn't be pleadin' to me."

the boy's apparition earned a tilt of your head, slightly confused by his wording, "you lay off. i wasn't pleading, just playing messenger," you argued back. suddenly you remembered the time frame you should have cohered to and flicked down to the boy's cuff of his jacket to see if he was wearing a watch, "what's the time?"

choi blinked a number of times before he brought his hand to run through his hair while bringing his wrist into view. he flicked his sleeve's cuff back while squinting his eyes, actually confining to your request without a fuss for the first time, "it's 1:20, dolly."

you mentally cursed while your feet paced back and forth for a second, only 10 minutes left of lunchtime and to be back at your side of town. there wasn't anymore time to talk so you grasped onto the oversized jacket around your shoulders before quickly spurting out, "it's tonight, same time and place as the races. if you don't show up, tell soobin to kiss his sweet jacket goodbye!" you skimmed through the details with a gleeful laugh leaving your lips.

ignoring the calls and requests behind you, you pivoted back towards the gymnasium doors and hurriedly shoved them apart to make way for your triumphant exit.

you had a clue that yeonjun's clique wouldn't back out of such a contest, especially after you had practically kissed their asses for participation. but regardless of how it occurred,

'snob high' was officially on your side.

the ruptured footsteps of heeseung's converses padded against the white floor of the gas station while his dark eyes analysed the shelving surrounding him. jay was leading him through the limited beauty section of the store, an anticipating smirk of mischief coating one side of his face to the other.

"tellin' ya, give it a chance," jay persuaded whilst one of his hands extended forward to pick up a box of hair dye, an extremely vibrant blue. the eldest boy's eyebrows furrowed, one side of his face hit by the cold toned lighting of the shop. his calloused hands dug into the blue coverall bottom pockets he retained in that's sleeves were still tied around his waist.

"freakin' blue? you tickle me, ha-ha-ha..." the pompous fake laughs excavated heeseung's lips like a robot, not swayed at all.

jay scoffed comically, pursing his lips together to puff the black tuffs of his fringe upwards and out of his eyes. the spikes lay flat back against his tan forehead while he returned the blue box dye and picked up a new one. this one having another vibrant colour and a hair model with the phoniest white smile hee had ever seen.

he slowly craned his head to heeseung who returned the dramatic head turn back before breaking out into an immediate head shake of refusal.

"it was me who picked y'up. do this as a reward to pay me back?" jay bargained with a low snicker.

heeseung didn't want to, of course. not with such a bizarre colour as that. if anything, he wanted to reach out and slam jay's idiotic face into the shelves and collapse every other hair dye box on display with him. but instead he sighed, eyes training on the front design as one of his hands slid down his chest and to a pocket of cash he'd tucked away.

"beat feet, 'fore i change my mind."

tonight was the night. the rumble. the dawning wind blew in your hair as sunghoon steered his roofless car in the direction of the race track. the breeze contorted your hair in all sorts of swiped arrays yet your face stayed stone-still. your eyebrows creased with a firm line shaping your lips. not even the loud roar of music from hoon's aux crossed your mind besides worry.

what if yeonjun and his squad were tellin' fibs just to get a rouse outta you. and if they did show up, theres no telling if all the other boy's would react kindly to their arrival either. you didn't exactly tell them your plan of inviting snob high affiliated other than jake.

it was the six of you, riki, jungwon, sunoo, sunghoon and jake all crammed inside sunghoon's five seater leading to riki being the one on the carpet flooring by your feet. he leaned his tall back against a car door, his neck hindered by the bottom cup holders on the door's inside.

he fought against it at first, of course, but sunghoon told him to suck it up or be left behind because he was clearly still in a bad mood from yesterday. you sat between jungwon and sunoo who were oddly silent while facing the nighttime scenery bleakly whipping past. the entire car ride was silent, all of you knowing the uprising tension to unfold moments ahead.

there it was. the loud bass of music coming from the dried dam's surface that the sloped concrete walls hid from eye view. sunghoon's dark eyes flicked to his rear view mirror for a split second before he veered forward on his pedal and down a slope to meet with the very source of sound. the enemies.

as the group of brute men unfolded in view as your ride came to a screeching halt that was overshadowed by the loud cooing and hoots of bangchan's clique.

"lookie 'ere!" one of their brash voices called out, earning a curdle of your nose in return.

your vision focused on felix who was leaning against the bright blue automobile with a cigarette between two fingers, only snapping out of your unintentional selected vision by the aggravated slams of car doors.

"c'mon y/n, hop out so i can get out too," riki ushered, the first time he'd spoken from the entire car ride. one of his hands placed itself on the driver seat's head, nails digging into the beige leather. you bit down on your bottom lip, clicking open the car door on your left and hopping out of the automobile.

riki followed suit, not leaving through the car door but instead manoeuvring himself in the air and jumping over the other closed side. everyone was already standing around hoon's car, glaring off the mugs across from them.

the tall blonde stood inches from sunghoon who was the closest to the 'stray boys'. clearly he wanted to display no fret the other side exuded since it was basically his fault this rumble was occurring in the first place. jeongin could tell immediately and silently stepped forward as well, his braces shining as his lips parted.

"if it isn't rik-dog, the candy ass," the brunette of the other side taunted, eyes shooting straight to riki who clenched his teeth immediately at the name call.

"and cookin', ain't i? train-tracks," riki ridiculed back, earning a quiet coo from sunoo who couldn't contain his satire encouragement and resulted in an elbow in his ribs by jungwon who knew it wasn't the time for such antics. your white sneakers tapped against the pavement as you situated yourself beside jake who was positioned behind the gap sunghoon and riki had between them.

definition:'cook' or 'cookin''. > doing it/well.

jeongin sputtered, brown eyes glancing towards your appearing figure instead. his gaze flicked up and down your frame before turning back at riki, "i see your classy chassis can still only clothe in her mother's clothes. she ain't been popped yet by you's, has she?" his uncalled insult targeted at you instantly drew a frown on riki's face.

his sick innuendo mixed with the unnecessary comment at your clad attire brought irritation in your veins. but honestly, you had only worn long skirts and blouses since heeseung went missing as well as refusing to be flag girl at race events simply because you weren't comfortable anymore. yet before he could respond, you did, "if we talking mother's i'd assume the only thing popped is your mother loaded before she had you."

definition:'loaded'. > drunk.

jeongin's braces disappeared after that, hiding behind a dropped smile as his lips curved downwards in an outraged pause. jake's giggle rumbled from his throat, unable to stifle it in time and attracted everyone's attention.

"something real funny, huh, sim?" one of the boy's you wouldn't be able to recognise questioned and jake lifted a hand to quickly cover his unserious smile that had arose.

"you lay off now. how 'bout we stop throwing insults and get started in the race," jake began while his hand collapsed from his face and revealed his still toothy smile.

"get on with it," hyunjin gruffly hasted and suddenly began to walk around to the driver's seat of the blue car.

"finally, some fuckin' action," sunghoon boldly responded in the second hyunjin entered his vehicle, mirroring his actions whilst everyone around the car migrated off the side.

"countdown!" one of the slack hooligan's hooted as a countdown of three began. your head was buzzing. events were happening too quickly and yeonjun hadn't even arrived yet. you didn't want him. you just needed him. eyes screwing shut, all you could do was pray for a moment that god was on your side.

but the roaring of engines filled your ears instead.

perhaps things could never go according to plan. you were already quite familiar with that concept. as your eyes pried open as the chatter in the air heightened, you didn't meet with the rear of sunghoon's car. his vehicle was still in place, along with hyunjin's.

it wasn't their revving cars taking off. your brows lifted gently at the realisation it was heeseung's car. except, he wasn't in it, of course. it was yeonjun. the chestnut haired male attracted the attention of everyone, his face contorting into a smug grin.

"what the hell are they doing here...?" you heard jungwon whisper beneath his breath while watching the boy in question kick open his car door. yeonjun's dark derby's trod out from his vehicle while his hands swiped against one another-almost as if he were wiping dust from them.

"well, ain't this a lumpy time to make the scene," familiar foxy eyes danced across the array of people in front of him, all standing in an imperfect line behind the two cars anticipating a race.

definition:'lumpy'. > mediocre.

definition: 'make the scene'. > attend an event/activity.

there was an uproar of confusion and questions creating scores in the air, people from you and bangchan's clique all turning to one another. your white soles collided with the pavement as you stepped forward, "didn't haul ass to get here, did you's?" a stifled laugh erupted in your throat while you eyed the group of five standing around choi's car.

"be grateful we's even showed up, cherry," yeonjun replied with a lower in his tone yet his grin retained on his face. you rolled your eyes in mock annoyance, placing them back on the group beside yours.

"is this every freamer you've kissed together, y/n?" one of the oppositions mocked, a reaction of laughter leeching off of his words. you frowned, hands balling into fists as you stared the boy down.

"y'keepin' count of the amount of boys being kissed wouldn'tya, han?" yeonjun butt in, the sound of a lighter flicking coming from his direction. oddly enough, the boys standing near you stifled laughs at yeonjun's remark. sunghoon's silver hair resembled the moonlight as he whipped his behind around to face us, his dark browns stern.

"explain what these germs are doin' here?" he rasped out, his neck in an uncomfortable twist from his position. jake's head immediately turned to you as you ushered out a curse at the oblivious male's action.

soobin's eyes trained on you with a squint, one side of his lips lifting into an intrigued smile. an uneasy lump in your throat swallowed down, "i invited them. like you said, we were outnumbered," you explained to the puzzled boy.

"yeah well, what'll ya do?" sunghoon raised another question, taking his smoke from his pink lips and tapping it on the edge of his car door, ashes falling to the ground by the gentle force, "i sure don't see any bottles of car oil in y'boot."

the obvious jab towards the oppositions group's wrongdoings towards heeseung altercated the tension in the air. yeonjun extended a leg forward, head cocking towards the side in amusement as he stepped towards sunghoon's idle position.

"you wanna find out, park?" the brunette rhetorically asked, approaching the right door of sunghoon's ride.

"bite-me," sunghoon grit through the fangs of his teeth, lifting his cigarette between two flexed fingers. then, he flicked the lit stick right between yeonjun's eyes, causing the male to abruptly duck forward and grab him by the collar with screwed eyes.

jake and riki were already jumping forward to engage in whatever hand's on experience they could get. soobin, beomgyu, hueningkai and taehyun followed suit, getting into an unnecessary scuffle.

you wanted to face palm at the failure to cooperate between both sides that were originally supposed to bind together.

"we're not supposed to fight you duds, we're on the same side! gods sake, they're like animals," sunoo attempted to persuade, his yells falling flat along with both his palms that he placed on both sides of his mouth.

one of your ears filled with howls of laughter from the sleazy guys you were originally supposed to fight. bangchan was hunched over, slapping his knee while jeongin was pointing and laughing. along with a scrunch in hyunjin's face from the embarrassing display.

you wished jay were here right now. if it were him, he wouldn't let some petty distraction disrupt the goal at hand. you knew that no matter who won between sunghoon and yeonjun, the hooligans would just clean up afterwards and win the turf.

"sunoo, you actually got those salt shakers?" you asked, turning towards the frantic boy with no fret on your face.

he gasped like he had memorised an answer for a test as he reached into one of his jeans pocket's and pulled out a small glass salt shaker, just like he said he would. you licked one corner of your mouth as a lightbulb lit in your mind, "watch this."

you ran towards sunghoon's side of his car and bent down behind the cover of the vehicle. from within you could see sunghoon's toned arm tightly head-locking yeonjun as the said make grunted and tapped his biceps in any way to be loosened. riki had hueningkai's converses roughly planted on the side of his face and jake was letting out girlish squeals from beomgyu and taehyun grasping onto his white shirt to lift him over the bumper of the car.

the most atrocious scuffle you'd seen. but instead of focusing so much on the circus act in front of you, you poured your attention onto your wrist bent at a 90° angle. you were aiming the salt shaker towards bangchan's group and you needed just enough power to throw it over the vehicle beside you.

luckily, salt shakers aren't relatively heavy. with a singular motion, the glass ornament went flying into the air and crashed into jeongin's eyes. the sudden collision staggered the young boy and his feet once keeping his balance toppled one over the other.

the brown haired boy fell backwards onto his tailbone, hands cupping around his eyelids and he let out a groan of pain. you heard a loud cascade of sinister laughter from the group of boys gang fighting in sunghoon's car. it was obviously riki getting the biggest kick outta jeongin being victim to throw.

"haha! was that you sunoo hyung?!" riki laughed abnormally with a wide smile, hands gripping onto the converse sole roughly kicking against him. with his stubborn hold, he bent the shoes back towards hueningkai who groaned at the agonising stretch, "good throw!"

hearing riki's loud banter, jeongin wiped his eyes with the back of his forearm, immediately targeting sunoo across from him, "you askin' for it, fucker," the youngest cursed with a sudden shift of gravity as he stood up and bolted towards sunoo's oblivious self. changbin, han, and a few others followed suit.

your friend squeaked out at the scare, stepping backwards and beginning to run the opposite direction from the newborn crowd, "you just had to say somethin' riki!"

although your plan had sort of backfired, it sparked the interest of jungwon who was standing behind you with his fingers buried tightly in his locks. he had just observed your impressive throw of precision, yet he was still debating on how to include himself in the rumble. his blue coveralls hang loosely around his fit frame, his head turning towards sunoo's quickly paced frame running across the width of the race track.

it wasn't like jungwon offered to fight in rumbles often. he rather be in jay's garage, tweaking any automobile he could get his hands on. with such brute handy work, you'd assume he would pack a somewhat hard punch, kick, or something like that.

"jungwon-if y'don't do somethin' i'll-" sunghoon grunted while scampering his torso up with one of his feet extending himself high on his car seat. using the newfound angle, he slammed one side of yeonjun's head into his steering wheel and sounded an ear-piercing beep of his car.

a few of yeonjun's lackeys who were beating up jake and riki loosened their hold on them to cover their ears at the sudden crack of sound. jungwon's dark round eyes shifted to your crouched position next to sunghoon's car door and bit down on his lip in uncertainty.

just as you were open your lips to say something, a bright flash behind you distracted your train of thought. everyone's heads collectively fwipped around like there was a magnet placed behind an external magnetic field. a flat hand placed itself against your brow bones in hopes to shield your poor eyes from the bright gleam.

the high-beams of the car switched off.

"that couldn't be..."

your eyelids immediately raised at the appearance of jay park behind the steering wheel, "you think a rumble s'gonna happen without me?!" the familiar boy roared over the loud engines of his car. beside him was a figure with reddish-pink tuffs belonging to someone with a flashy smile. you didn't recognise him at first. hell, you wouldn't believe anyone could with the new colour he was sporting.

it was heeseung.

"jay-heeseung!" the masculine voices near you loudly exclaimed in an imperfect harmony. you sputtered on your own breath while watching as jay diagonally parked in front of sunghoon. his ridiculous sunglasses rested atop of his nose bridge as he exited the car, not even waiting another beat before getting his claws onto yeonjun.

"y'gonna miss this," jay laughed out, rough hands digging into yeonjun's shoulders as he dragged the unsuspecting male out of sunghoon's reach. yeonjun landed onto the course pavement, grunting out with a sore cheek from the brutal number sunghoon did on him.

"those shades look ridiculous," were the first words sunghoon exchanged with the make he hadn't seen for a couple of nights. the reunited duo clasped hands, pulling each other into a half handhake-half embrace position.

your pupils dilated, ears cancelling the noise of your surroundings as you watched heeseung leave the car next. his pink hairdo highlighted him in the moonlight and it only made it harder for your eyes to peel off of him.

he wasn't drenched in car oil, or sums of feet away from you on the race track. he was right there. he was wearing his beloved race jacket and navy jeans thats pocket's occupied his thumbs. his remaining fingers rested on his thighs as he skimmed the scenery. seeing him after countless weeks didn't feel real. but another daydream.

"do-something!" sunoo's heightened scream broke your tunnel vision of lee. he ran right towards jay and sunghoon, on the path past jay before the taller man simply reached a finger out to hook onto the back of sunoo's collar. the forceful halt of his marathon had jeongin and the other couple of boys suddenly freeze in confusion of where sunoo had vanished to.

jeongin huffed with a puffed chest rising and falling like a hyperventilation bag, a mean look on his fatigued face.

"and you's would be?" jay questioned, unhooking his finger from sunoo's collar in which the boy collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. jeongin balled his fists staring off jay, never having met him before.

"put a lid on it. y'wearin' sunglasses in the middle of the night," jeongin responded with a foul tongue. jay raised an eyebrow, mouth pursing as a smoulder crept onto his face whilst he pushed his sunglasses upwards smugly.

the display of mock confidence was less than appetising, to say the least, "ts' a handicap for you goons. y'gonna need it," jay remarked, his beady eyes analysing the crowd and positions of everyone surrounding. jake, taehyun, beomgyu, hueningkai, riki, sunghoon and even yeonjun had paused their actions, curious to watch what the exchange of banter would entail in the centre of the floor.

"rattle your cage, y'not that important," jeongin spat, turning back to the numbers behind him to whisper something. bangchan, felix and hyunjin were the only three not engaging in the festivities but the appearance of heeseung and jay ushered them towards the centre with everyone else in curiosity.

"well ain't this a kick! thats lee, but with pink hair, ey!" felix's deep voice announced as if heeseung wasn't standing there for minutes already.

"either i get my revenge on your crew for what y'did to lee over there, or you get up and take down these mobs here," jay briskly offered towards yeonjun, extending a hand towards the chestnut haired boy. yeonju had a hand holding his stomach, wheezing out at the collision his back suffered against the concrete ground.

yet, he returned the gesture. he'd know exactly where a battle with jay would end up, and he didn't exactly appreciate the steaming smoke of a cigarette fry his eyeballs again. jay grinned with one side of his mouth as yeonjun beckoned something towards the rest of his group, causing them to release jake and riki from their thresholds.

you were unsure of how to react. on one hand you wanted to run to heeseung, vent to him how much you were dying to see him, see a sliver of his presence to calm the storm in your heart. on the other hand, you wanted to avoid him out of all possible chances he loathed your being for what you did.

his head gradually turned towards you, doe eyes following suit as he noticed your hiding figure. as someone called out his name, he straightened his posture and held out a hand while curling his fingers for a split second to gesture you to follow. your shoulders stiffened as your breath hitched for a split second, hesitantly raising in your stature.

you quickly jogged to heeseung as he held out his forearm, your waist being the perfect place to rest it as he walked with you towards the others. there was no 'hello', no 'how are you?', not even a 'where were you?'. you simply craned your head upwards to lock eyes and admit,

"i missed you so much, hot stuff."

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to-myalphonse · 1 year

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"Like a Circus." (Lyney & Steambird!Journalist Reader) Part 2

To anyone named Lianna I am so sorry for your loss in this story/jk

Here's Part One if you haven't seen it yet

I love how the archon quest confirmed a theory I had.

(2/21/24)Next Chapter will be out by next week!

Tag for this series

Hehe gif is a small reference for something else im wriring for the Fontaine siblings 👀

Nighttime hit Fontaine as businesses began to shut down for the night. Most employees were making their way home, a few people were on the streets hanging out around this time.

“Uhm hello?” Lianna, a Knight from Mondstadt drunkenly walked down the streets of Fontaine alone, bottle in hand. She was here on business and ended up getting drunk at the bar she met her client at. The bar kicked her out for getting too rowdy and dancing on tables.

She mumbles angrily to herself, continuing forward, trying to find an inn to sleep in for the night. The clinking of her heels dragged along the street. She slowly inched her way through the road when the lamps lighting her way suddenly went out, leaving her in darkness.

“Huh?”

She stopped taking in her surroundings. The pitch blackness made it difficult for her to navigate a land that she was unfamiliar with. She went to move again when something strange occurred.

The sound of a music box started to play. Lianna stood confused, trying to get her thoughts together. First, the lights now have some weird music box, if she didn’t know better, she would think this was some stupid prank they played on foreigners.

The music suddenly stopped. Silence and sounds of water from the nearby pier filled the background. Light footsteps walked in her direction, the sound of continuous tapping directly in front of her. She waits with a bated breath for something to happen or the lights to turn on. Seconds turn into minutes as she waits.

A small flame flickers as a Fatuus stood before her with a scythe in hand. That was all Lianna needed before taking the initiative to run away.

She ignored the darkness as she took off running. She ran zig-zag, trying to get the person off her trail. Lianna could hear him right on her tail yelling phrases towards her that she didn’t pay mind to. As she kept turning the corner, she heard the ocean waves growing louder. She pushed forward, going forward down the path, running face first into the waters down below.

Her purser stopped in their tracks, standing close to the edge of the pier. A light flashed into the water directly at her, blinding her momentarily. The Fatui member stares at her, not moving to snatch her up. She is still watching their movements. She waited for him to move before she started swimming towards another pier.

As Lianna exited the ocean, darkness filled her vision.

The Steambird was filled with chatter from the other members. Members ran around trying to collect the newspaper printed.

"Mondstadt woman found dead near the pier nearby."

“A young knight who worked for the Knights of Favonius, came here on business regarding trade between Fontaine and Mondstadt, Officers pronounced her dead around 3 Am this morning.”

"Lianna was apparently found with her neck snapped in an awkward direction. The only evidence the police found of the culprit was some pieces of cat hair around her neck."

"Did you find anything?" Charlotte peeks her head in from around the corner.

"Nothing that we don’t already know." She entered with more documents in hand.

"I heard the streetlights were shut off, probably didn’t want the cameras or possible eyewitnesses seeing them.” Charlotte sat the pile of papers neatly to the side.

"Well, that makes things much harder, doesn't it?" Charlotte lets out a small laugh as she enters the cubicle, papers in hand.

"Boss says, "All of those need to be completed by the end of today." She takes her leave as quickly as she entered your cubicle.

Picking up the documents, you spot the Chief of Justice among your list for interviews. Very helpful, leave it to the court to "have all the answers."

You walk along the streets of Fontaine, sweater in hand. Light music filled the streets as you passed by the shops. Everyone is always working, leaving few people in the streets to leisurely roam during the day. Some restaurants had business lunches, others roaming around quickly to their locations.

The head of the court, the young god Furina and her right hand, Neuvillette judged the guilty. The building was the largest in the city almost similar to the roles that the people residing in them had to the people of Fontaine.

You shook your head trying to relieve yourself from the negative thoughts. It was just an interview with the Judge, nothing bad was going to happen. Entering the court, you signed yourself in and waited to be called.

"Yes how can I help you?" A melusine sitting at the desk glances up in your direction.

"An Interview with the steambird for Monsieur Neuvillette?" The melusine sighs, before walking off in the direction of his office. You remain by the desk waiting for the Melusine to return.

"He has time for you." The Melusine returned pointing out the direction of his office to you. You knock on the door before entering his office.

The Judge's office consisted of various articles spread throughout the wall, with dates circled. Neuvillette himself, sat at the desk writing away on a document. The hydro archon, sat on a chair talking to him as he works away.

"You should have seen the people that danced on their partners feet." She recounts a story of one of her outings to the Judge who listens silently.

"Next time, I'll take you." She continues talking as he seemingly listens in on her. Seeing you, her expression changes back into the arrogant stature she carries.

"It appears that we have a guest."

Seeing no place to sit, you stand awkwardly next to the door waiting for his permission.

“For the interview, correct?” He responds still focused on his work, not sparing you a single glance.

“Uhm yes. I’m Y/N.” The Judge sets aside a document, looking up to meet your gaze. Lady Furina sat up listening to the conversation.

“Let’s begin, what are your questions for me?”

“Fontaine wants to know, what are you doing about the disappearances of the foreigners as of recent?”

“We are doing our best to investigate the situation, Clorinde has taken over the case, I would advise talking to her.”

You put away the notebook, as quick as you pulled this out. This wasn't even five moments into the conversation.

"I understand, thank you for your time." You thank him and take your leave to go find her office.

“Furina can show you.” The young girl who was leaning against his desk shot up.

“Huh?"

“She’s not doing her work; she has time to take you.” He sighs hearing her argue more. He stands pushing her out of the office alongside you.

“If you’ll excuse me.” He locks his door leaving you with the young God.

“Neuvi!” She whined banging on the door to no avail. It remains shut with her locked out. She stood at the door annoyed before turning to you.

“As your dear archon, I will graciously help you out.” Her expression taking one of a soft smile as she guides you to Clorinde's office.

"I see thank you Miss Clorinde." You exit her office leaving the Palais Memonia. You checkt the list of other credible sources that was on your agenda.

Miss Navia

Melusine Guardes

Guardes

Monsieur Neuvillette

Mademoiselle Clorinde

You sigh crossing them off one by one. You decide to go with your best bet which is the Guardes. The Guardes during the time that Lianna was walking that time of night, some had to have been stationed in that area. Looking over the information that Mademoiselle Clorinde gave, it appears that none of the Guardes that she had stationed that night, heard any strange noises.

You sigh crossing the Guardes off your list momentarily. You sigh making your way to take care of the other things on your agenda.

"And you're sure that was the only evidence that you left by accident?"

"Yes." The white haired female let out a sigh of irratation as her nails drum along the desk she sat at.

"No more mistakes or do you need more training?" She sends a glare towards the three who raised their heads slightly.

"No sir." She sighs and dismisses the three from the room. The door to the House of the Hearth closing as a certain blonde and his siblings exit.

"We were a bit careless." One mumbled as they pass down the streets of Fontaine.

"I thought that you had them honestly."

"It doesn't matter, next time we'll do better."

“Places in 5 minutes!”

The staff and the performers began getting ready for their acts. Other performers were talking amongst themselves backstage.

The twins were preparing for their final performances for the night.

Lyney sat next to his vanity, preparing for his upcoming act, while his younger brother, Freminet, drew sketches for his next project sitting with him.

Freminet would occasionally assist the siblings with their shows, though mainly he would watch from the crowd. The last show he helped with, was to regulate Lyney so he wouldn’t have another accident.

“Are you helping out with the show again, Frem?”

“What acts are you doing tonight?’’ The youngest looked up from his drawings.

“The usual, tightrope, saw cut, things like that.”

“I don’t think I’ll join this time then.” Lyney frowns, turning to Freminet.

Lyney sighs making the youngest stop his drawing. He puts down the make-up brush, turning to face him. "You know I only do this to get you comfortable with others right?"

"You're always on your own, you barely even talk to Lynette and I, that's not healthy, little brother."

The youngest stops his drawings as he closes the drawing book. He simply nods, not arguing with his older brother.

Their conversation ends short as a staff member peeks his head into the room.

“Lyney, it’s time.” He stands, tying his bow behind his back.

"Will you watch tonight at least?” He sends a glance to Freminet as he puts on his sleeve and gloves.

"I'll be in the audience."

"Then, I'll make sure to put on a hell of a show for you." He ruffles Freminet's hair before leaving the room.

“Wish me luck!” The crowd cheers welcoming Lyney and Lynette to the stage for their performance.

A/N (2/21): Chapter 3 will be out in a few weeks, thank you for your patience.

Taglist: @pochipop @teyvattales @estensity @teyvattales @bluu-m0on @tsukette @estensity @malleuxii(I dunno who wants to be tagged for this series just tell me below.)

#genshin impact #genshin lyney #genshin lynette #genshin freminet #genshin neuvillette #genshin furina #genshin charlotte #the steambird #was fun to write #lyney x reader #lyney and lynette #like a circus #rene genshin fics #adventures with a magician boy from a quiet villiage #genshin arlecchino

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finnban · 7 months

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youtube

Hello, Everyone.

So this video is just based on the original Netflix series, SONIC PRIME. I'm pretty sure everyone has watched it already. I did too. However, I've gotten the word from a viewer telling me the whole story was not as clear as all the Sonic fans think. This Sonic doesn't match with the other Sonic's we knew over his franchise history. Many would probably think whatever they've expected while watching it was gonna be included in, like on the posters for example, but nothing ever went through. Some of us also went sad or ill right after watching the whole thing as well, only mentally in this case.

This version of SONIC PRIME is somewhat of an idea that I made, like I made it as if it were to be a sequel series. I don't think any of you understood what a sequel series is; it's like when like in the Harry Potter series is just based on movie-limited time recordings, but this way is different. This sequel series I'm expressing is based on tv-show-limited time recordings. Or it can just be a two hour 30 minute animated movie. Anyway, this version explains Shadow the Hedgehog's side of the story, but not in the format that follows the original's story. Everything was back to normal, but this time, the adventure takes place all in the Green Hill dimension.

But first, before we get into the little informative synopsis of Shadow's story, I want you to take a look at the cast of characters here:

0:15 Ian Hanlin as Shadow The Hedgehog

Shadow is a black and red striped hedgehog, also known as the ultimate lifeform, whose air shoes allow his speed to rival Sonic's. He wields the Chaos Emerald around to control space and time, and can also use it to drag him up to higher speed. He crosses paths with Rouge The Bat, and hooks up with her, going on day-by-day dates that last very quickly having their bonds form into romance. He suddenly realizes Sonic and his friends were blasted into the sky after a big ground rumbling explosion. All of Sonic and friends were thrown up into the sky out of Green Hill. He assures Rouge, Umbra, Blaze and Omega to join him to save Sonic, his friends and the crystals in various other unfamiliar areas.

1:15 Kazumi Evans as Rouge The Bat

Rouge is a jewel-loving anthropomorphic bat who works as a spy. She crosses paths with Shadow and starts going on day-by-day dates with him until she has completely fallen in love with him. She teams up with him, alongside Umbra, Blaze and Omega to save all the crystals in Greenhill, Sonic and his friends.

1:51 Finn Ban as E-123 Omega

Omega is Eggman’s formally abused red robot whose intent was to annihilate him and his evil schemes. He is given a chip which activates him to interact with others acting and sounding like a regular person would. He joins Shadow, Rouge, Umbra, and Blaze to Sonic, his friend’s and all the stolen crystals. He is considered to be one of the strongest robots he is when fighting all of the other robots he comes across.

2:08 Andrew Francis as Umbra the Wolf

Umbra is an anthropomorphic wolf who has the ability to use red-colored, static electricity to control the strength of any opponents’ powers and weakens them. He can glide in thin air and the sky, wearing a wingsuit, and hover boots to boost controlled speed. He can snap his fingers to stop and start time. He equips with his team with a couple of gadgets he made. His booster items are amethyst crystals, which he plunges them into his chest, and then he grows more strength. He can also use his power to make various electrified weapons, such as, whips, nunchucks, and big red explosive overhead bowling balls, etc.

2:52 Britt McKillip as Blaze the Cat

Blaze is a purple cat princess from an alternate dimension. She has been appointed as guardian of the Sol Emeralds. She ends up, finding herself, not having any other gems left in her dimension and discovers a cloak figure passing through. And into another dimension through a dark purple whole. She travels through to Green Hill and teams up with shadow and the rest of his crew to save them.

And now for the synopsis:

Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Umbra & Blaze bark on an adventure to save all the stolen crystals, Sonic and his friends. All of Sonic and his friends have been blasted into the sky by an explosion and separately land in various unfamiliar areas nobody knows about. All the crystals were stolen by a cloak figure who dimensionally teleports into other worlds, and other land areas.

Furthermore, if any of you guys want to help make more ideas for the story, the link is here:

https://www.icloud.com/notes/065rMcc64djg5j3U7Z_zcu4sA#SHADOW_PRIME:_Team_Dark_Upgraded_(Netflix_Original)

Also, subscribe to my other social media platforms down below:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finnban23?igsh=enp2bnBxcjFoM3Ji&utm_source=qr

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Just remember, have a great day, and good luck finding ways to make your miracles happen. I wish you all the best.

#shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #e 123 omega #blaze the cat #team dark #sonic prime #sonic series #sonic franchise #shadouge #shadow and rouge #amy rose #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #dr eggman #chaos emeralds #green hill zone #Youtube

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aller-geez · 9 months

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Alright so this fic definitely didn’t take me an entire month to write a little more than 4k words…….. hopefully it’s good, if it’s not……………. I’m very sorry 😂😂😂 I maybe got a lil indulgent with Remi’s cat allergies….. 😚 I know it’s Christmas Eve and I should have written a Christmas Fic, but here we are 🙃

You’ve Cat To Be Kitten Me Right Meow…

“God damn, I haven’t had food like that in a minute,” Remi grunted happily from the behind the wheel of his truck as he drove the two home from one of Remi’s favorite restaurants, tossing a satisfied smirk to the smaller male that sat beside him with an equally content grin.

“Definitely a good choice! I’m stuffed.” Levi giggled, rubbing his stomach gently with both hands and relaxing back into the large passenger seat. His blue eyes scanned the dark road in front of their vehicle as Remi drove, the scenery still unfamiliar as they both tried to get used to the new house they had just moved into.

The wolf slowly opened his mouth to release a deafening yawn that even vibrated the rear view mirror, followed by a breathy chuckle.

“Stuffed and ready for bed.” Remi agreed, his toxic green eyes locked on the poorly lit pavement.

“In 500 feet, turn left on Springer Street,” his gps’ voice chimed loudly, making them both cringe a little at the volume. Silently, he slowed the vehicle down and turned down another slightly unfamiliar road that brought them just a little closer to their home, and therefore, their bed.

“You aren’t going to pass out as soon as we get home, are you?” The feline crossed his thin freckled arms over his chest, his bottom lip jutting out slightly with a disappointed pout.

The wolf gasped dramatically, an incredulous expression taking over his features at such accusations, before twisting into his trademark smirk. “No promises, but I guess I’ll try to stay up for a little bit.” The light from his irises momentarily decorated Levi’s face in the dark cab before he returned his gaze to the road.

Admittedly slightly annoyed, the leopard shook his head, pointing his knees towards the door and forcing his focus to the near pitch black surroundings that flew by the trucks window, the road framed by trees that seemed to whisper secrets through their rustling leaves. The two remained silent, although after a few seconds, an object in the distance caught Levi’s attention. He had much better night vision than Remi due to obvious reasons, but due to their speed, it was still only a few seconds of observation he was allowed before it finally came into view.

At first glance, it looked like an average, run of the mill cardboard box that had been soaked by the unforgiving elements, laying haphazardly on the side of the road. But as the truck began to get closer, the cat was able to slightly make out some sort of movement that wasn’t simply buffeting by the wind.

“What the hell is that?” Levi squinted as he sat up straighter in his seat, peering out the expansive windshield to try and get a better look.

Confused, the canine raised an eyebrow, brushing off his mate’s curiosity. “It looks like a cardboard box..”

The leopard furrowed his eyebrows in frustration at the other’s nonchalance, but continued to study the fast approaching box.

Suddenly, a small kitten stumbled from the cardboard refuge, clearly shivering and covered in mud and other debris, and began to wobble into the road in front of them. Levi couldn’t hold back the shocked gasp that made him shoot up from his seat.

“REMI! STOP!!” He shrieked, clapping one of his hands over his mouth with a horrified expression as the truck came barreling down the road, headed right for the helpless creature.

Startled by the sudden outburst, Remi slammed his foot on the brake with all of his strength, causing the truck to fishtail slightly on the otherwise empty road and begin to slide diagonally. After what felt like a lifetime, he was finally able to regain control of the vehicle and it lurched to a complete stop.

“Levi! What the fuck!?” Remi growled deeply as his heart still thumped wildly in his throat, his breathing loud and jagged from fear. However, the feline ignored his panicked questions, and as soon as the truck stopped moving he threw the door open and leapt from his seat, slamming the heavy truck door behind him.

“Hey!” The wolf shouted in frustration after him.

Once on the pavement, Levi quickly scooped up the equally as traumatized kitten from only a few feet in front of their vehicle, and the animal began to mewl frantically as it tried to bury itself in the leopard’s warm neck.

“You could have been killed little one! You have to stay out of the road! You’re lucky my mate has good reflexes or you’d be smooshed on the street!” He cried, kissing the top of its head before holding it out in front of him to give the creature a good look. “Are you all alone out here?”

With all of the commotion, the box that the kitten had wobbled from began to shuffle again, and suddenly two more tiny kittens that were more mud than fur scrambled from the shadows and made a bee line towards Levi ankles.

“Oh my god, you poor babies!” The cat whimpered as he scooped up the other two kittens with the first and cradled them in his arms. His heart melted at the sight of them, so fragile and vulnerable. There was no question that the loving and empathetic leopard wasn’t going to be able to just leave such innocent, defenseless creatures out here to die. But he had to clench his teeth tightly as he tried to prepare for Remi’s reaction, as he KNEW his mate would definitely have some choice words.

With a determined breath, Levi finally made his way back to the vehicle and the already fuming wolf inside, and carefully popped the door open.

“Oh hell no..” Remi snarled before the other was even able to slide into his seat.

“I can’t just leave them here Rem, you know that…”

“I definitely can. They aren’t my problem.”

Levi shot a glare at his mate, his icy blue eyes like daggers. “No, Remington. You absolutely don’t get to be an asshole this time. They’re coming home with us tonight, and tomorrow morning I’ll find a rescue for them to go to. But they will not become stains on the road if I have any say in it!” Levi hissed, his words pointed and seemly laced with venom; something that was only used against Remi if he was really serious.

“What the fuck ever..” the wolf reluctantly admitted defeat, cursing under his breath and not make eye contact with the white haired man as he slid into his previous seat, cooing and reassuring the kittens that mewled loudly in his lap.

When the truck’s door slammed forcefully after the leopard, Remi snorted, however his nose already began to prickle. The canine tried to ignore it, quickly flicking off the rhythmic clicking of the hazard lights and slamming the gearshift into Drive. The truck’s tires crunched against the gravel that decorated the wide shoulder that the vehicle had partly slid into. In record time, his emerald eyes began to well up with tears as the tickle within his nose grew substantially, and soon his breath began to catch. The wolf tried desperately to scrub at his overly sensitive nostrils, and the pace of his driving suddenly decreased in order to account for his blurry vision. God, he fucking hated cats. “Hhh—“

Levi definitely noticed Remi’s behavior, and silently fought with the guilt that came from forcing the man he loved to endure being miserable on his account. “I promise,” he squeaked out, “it’ll just be tonight, and I’ll find somewhere for them in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah. W-what— whateve—HHhh! Hiihhh—!! Hh'IISHH! —hd’ISCHhh!! —h’dtTISHh! Hahh— hhh’ISCHih!“ Remi sneezed in rapid succession, the air between them decorated in a fine mist that lingered for a second before dispersing. With a thick sniffle, the wolf drug the back of his wrist against his septum, wiping at his already leaking nose before sighing loudly and quickly looking back up at the road.

“In 500 feet, turn right onto Brookstone Way, and you will arrive at your destination,” the monotonous, robotic voice spoke clearly through his phone.

“Thadnk fuck.” Remi rumbled in annoyance as he slowed down to take the turn, although he was quickly cut short by another onslaught that snapped his eyes closed again. “hdt’ishhhh! Hihh’ISSHh! ihH’ktdSHhh!!! FUCK!” He hissed, barely able to correct the truck in time to turn onto their street.

Gripping the handle on the inside of the door to brace himself, Levi tried to keep his cool while their large vehicle fumbled down the road, but his anxiety was starting to get the better of him. He clasped his bottom lip between two rows of teeth as he glanced at his mate nervously. Just as he was about to intervene, the silhouette of their home began to materialize a short ways in front of them. After a few short moments, the truck’s tires came to a stop on the smooth pavement of their driveway and Levi felt finally able to fully exhale.

With a small, sheepish smile, Levi reached out to run one of his hands tenderly over the irate wolf’s forearm. “Thanks for dinner and driving home, Rem, I really—“

“No problebm.” Remi grumbled quickly, cutting him off as he stuffed the keys into his pocket and threw the trucks door open, angrily exiting the cab and slamming it intentionally behind him as he continued to grumble obscenities under his breath.

The leopard was left in his seat, stunned and speechless as he watched his mate fume up the few stairs to the porch, and jam the key into the front door to unlock it, only to be stopped in his tracks by another fit. This time, the sneezes were more harsh and louder than usual, forcing him to double over towards the bricks below his feet.

“hh—hEhTXSSHhh’ih! Hd’IZTSsHHhhh’ih! Jesus fuck why did it have to be CATS!?”

Remi’s following frustrated sigh and slamming of their front door must have been loud enough to hear from the next block over, making Levi shrink into his seat, his grip tightening slightly around the kittens who were sleeping silently on his lap. The leopard honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his mate so angry at him. Sighing quietly, he unbuckled his seatbelt and shuffled the kittens in his grasp to press gentle kisses against their foreheads, one by one.

“Don’t worry about the big bad wolf, you guys. I’ll make sure you’re safe and comfortable tonight. No more sleeping in the mud and cold~” he reassured the felines with a nervous smile, finally exiting the vehicle and making his way towards the front door with the kittens pressed tightly to his chest to keep them warm.

Slowly as to not make too much noise, the leopard turned the door handle and pulled it towards him to open their heavy door just enough to slip through and gently close it behind him.

Once inside, he could still hear Remi’s deep voice grumbling loudly to himself as he stomped through the house, clearly slamming every door possible as he went. Levi frowned at the childishness of his mate, slinking back into the spare bedroom they had near the back of the house. Once inside, he sat all three kittens gently onto the hardwood floor, and they took no time in stumbling over each other to explore the new space they were in.

The leopard grinned, chuckling softly to himself at such a simple existence. “Okay babies, you guys stay here and I’ll be right back. I’m gonna get you guys everything you’ll need for the night so you don’t even have to worry!” He reassured the kittens who paid him no mind, continuing to pad around the room curiously. Shaking his head and laughing to himself again, he quickly closed the bedroom door behind him and began racing through the house to collect items to use. In his excitement, he didn’t even hear Remi aggressively rip the back door open and go outside for a cigarette on their porch.

Quietly slipping into their shared office, Levi emptied out a plastic tub by tossing the contents on the top of the desk in the corner, and filled it with paper shavings that he fished out of their shredder. See? He knew making Remi buy a shredder would pay off eventually.

Next, he made his way into the kitchen, pulling a few small bowls from the cabinets.

He had almost completely forgotten about Remi’s temper tantrum until their back door slid open, and the wolf loudly made his entrance back into the house, the blinds clattering together as his large body forced its way through. He roughly closed it behind him, and stood just within the doorway, now shirtless with the same slacks he had worn to dinner still perched on his hips. He gripped a bottle of beer that was nearly empty in one of his large hands, and a pack of Camel wides in the other.

Levi managed a glance up to his mate from the dishes he had in his freckled hands. Remi bright green irises no longer glowed as brightly as they had in the car, and they were framed with bloodshot scleras, as well as a slight puffiness to the flesh around them. His nose had a similar pink hue to it, and his jaw hung open just slightly as he was forced to mouth breathe.

He seemed worse for wear, but no longer in a blind rage, which made Levi exhale a sigh of relief. Although, he couldn’t help but wonder when the wolf stood silently for a second, clearly fighting with himself over something. The feline tilted his head in confusion, but just as he was going to open his mouth to ask, Remi’s once stern expression twisted into something else.

His eyebrows shot up just as his reddened nostrils began to twitch, while his lower jaw fell even more slacked than it had earlier. Easily recognizing the expression, the leopard internally braced himself.

Remi’s chest quickly hiked up three times, and any thought that he was previously fighting with seemed to completely leave his mind as the feeling overwhelmed him, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else.

“hdt’ishhhh! Hihh’ISSHh! ihH’ktdSHhh!!!” The wolf’s torso snapped downward towards the floor as every muscle in his abdomen tightened simultaneously, his eyes squeezing shut and saliva misting the floor below him. Immediately after he had managed to regain control of his body, a frustrated growl rumbled from his throat.

“Fuck it, dnevermbind. It doesdnt fuckigg bmatter.” He snarled, running a wrist under his septum and leaving a wet trail against his forearm. He still didn’t make eye contact with Levi as he crossed the kitchen in three strides, storming off into their shared bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

“Oh—kay?” The leopard mumbled to himself under his breath before turning the faucet on and filling one of the bowls he had pulled out. Once it was filled with water, he carefully set it down on the counter, and turned on his heels to rifle through their fridge for anything he could offer the kittens. After a second, he finally settled on a bit of left over chicken that he had baked just the night before and began shredding it into tiny pieces that were distributed among the remaining three bowls.

Once he had finished, Levi clapped his hands together with pride, congratulating himself internally before scooping them up and lining them up carefully on top of the paper shavings within the tub he had prepared. With the tub in one hand, and the bowl of water held firmly in the other, the cat slowly made his way down the hallway again and into the spare bedroom.

All three kittens came running from different corners of the room, mewling happily at the leopard’s return and snaking between his legs.

“Awh, babies!” Levi cooed happily between giggles. “I have things for you!”

Gently slipping between the happy felines, he set the tub on the bed and the bowl of water on the floor in the corner behind him. The kittens all followed his hands, and after a second, all three began to lap loudly in unison at the water they were given.

The leopard giggled again, shaking his head. “If some simple water makes you guys that happy, you’re gonna flip over this!”

With expert dexterity, he maneuvered all three bowls of chicken out of the tub, and spread them out in front of the kittens. They didn’t even need any coaxing to leave the large bowl of water and scramble towards their meals, quickly burying their muzzles into what must have been their first real food in days. After a few seconds, the only sounds that echoed in the quiet room were the furious smacking of the kittens lips, and the almost roar of their combined elated purrs.

Levi watched in wondrous fascination as the three kittens tucked into their meal with fervor, their little pink tongues flicking in and out of their mouths in rapid succession, pulling chunks of chicken into their mouths and chewing eagerly. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of their contentment, his heart melting at the joy on their little faces as they savored the taste of real food for the first time in who knows how long. The aroma of cooked chicken filled the room small bedroom, mixing with the faint scent of cinnamon essential oils from Levi's earlier cleaning efforts, creating a heady blend that made his stomach growl softly.

As they finished up, one by one, each kitten curled up around its bowl, licking any remaining juices and looking up at him with trusting eyes. They were so tiny and helpless…

How could Remi really expect him to just leave them there on the side of the road? The thought in itself made the leopard shutter with disgust.

Levi settled into the corner of the bed, smiling fondly at the adorable kittens as they finished up their meal. He carefully picked up the first one and held it close to his chest, its long whiskers and soft fur tickling his chin.

"You guys are just so precious," he whispered, gently stroking the tiny creature's head. "I can't believe anybody could ever abandon you." He watched as they all began to drift off to sleep, every now and then twitching their little whiskers in their dreams.

As the leopard watched them snooze, his icy blue eyes began to grow heavy too. His mind wandered back to the gruff yet gentle figure of his mate, wondering what could have made him act so coldly earlier.

After a few moments, Levi found himself softly singing a lullaby under his breath; one he hadn't sung in years. It was one his mother used to sing to him when he was their age, and it seemed fitting now. The kittens curled tighter into their respective corners of the guest bed as they fell asleep, exhausted from their meal and from the newfound safety they'd found. They were so small and defenseless that it warmed his heart just watching them sleep.

Just as he absentmindedly let his own vision glaze over while watching over his defenseless house guests, the fattest of the three kittens opened its small, green eyes and stood up slowly before toddling towards the leopard. Levi chuckled breathily, scooping the kitten up in his arms and pressing a kiss to its forehead.

“What’s wrong? Did you just need a cuddle buddy? Don’t worry, you’re safe here with me~” he reassured the small feline, stroking the soft fur between its ears, to which a loud, happy purr suddenly echoed through the otherwise quiet guest room. Leaning back against the headboard, his thoughts began to race around in his head. Even with such healing sounds vibrating against him from all angles, Levi he couldn’t help but think of his mate, and how much he wanted to be buried under the blankets with him right now.

He knew Remi was an ass sometimes, there was no denying that, but Levi knew that deep down he had a good heart. He just kept it hidden most of the time. Most people didn’t get to see the fun, loving, and compassionate Remington that he got to see, so the fact that his actions had caused the wolf to explode like he did really dug at him..

Plus, it’s not like Levi made a habit of picking up strays and bringing them home.. But these little nuggets were different; they needed him. At least for tonight. Then tomorrow, he knew Meeko and Connie could point him in the right direction to find a shelter to take them to. One that would ensure they found the best homes with the most amazing people to spend their life with.

With a saddened sigh, Levi slowly peeled the comforter out from under him, tucking his feet into the warmth of its folds very quietly as to not disturb the sleeping kittens scattered around him. The kitten that had made it a point to come keep him company still purred loudly, kneeling its tiny paws into the blanket around them.

As if the kitten could understand him, Levi smiled brightly, before continuing his thought out loud.

“You know, I bet if he wasn’t allergic to you, Remi would really like you guys.” The leopard stated matter of factly with an equally sure nod. “He might be a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever met once you get him to lower his walls..” Levi’s soft voice took on a sad undertone as he continued to pet the kitten between its ears. It felt wrong to him to be sleeping in the guest room while his mate was probably already asleep in their bed down the hall.

Suddenly, from behind the closed door of the spare room, Levi’s sharp ears caught what sounded like a quick gasp, which was instantly followed by an almost strangled, “Hnkt'KNXTuhh! Huh'GDTS'ue!” And then silence again.

Was that… Remi?

Levi stopped for another second to listen again, and when he was only met with silence, he nimbly leapt from the depths of the comforter around him, and within seconds was already at the bedroom door, flinging it open.

Sitting on the floor on the other side of the bedroom door, Remi sucked in a surprised gasp when he was suddenly face to face with his mate who stood in the doorway with a hand on his hip and a small smirk.

The leopard clicked his tongue a few times, shaking his head. “Remington Connors! Were you spying on us?” Levi couldn’t help but giggle softly as the wolf stumbled over his words trying to defend himself even if he was just caught red handed.

“I- uh—.. I was just.. uhm…” Remi tried, but Levi simply shook his head again with a full laugh this time.

“You should maybe learn to stifle all the way if you’re going to try and be stealthy..” Levi could barely get his full sentence out between his laughter, which only made the corners of Remi’s mouth tug upward into his trademark smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, get your laughs in.” The wolf replied with a chuckle as he slowly made it to his feet next to his mate. Once in a little more light, Levi could easily see that while his emerald irises were still framed with red, bloodshot sclera, they were no longer swollen like they had been, and his consonants no longer sounded rounded out by the congestion packed into his sinuses. Plus, the rage that nearly bubbled out of him earlier was no where to be seen, which made the leopard inwardly sigh with relief.

“You sound a lot better..” Levi offered, reaching out one of his small freckled hands to card it through the other’s thick, raven strands of hair, but the wolf expertly ducked out of the way before he could make contact, which made the leopard visibly pout a little.

Sniffling softly and dragging his nose against his wrist for a brief moment, Remi smirked, although it was much softer this time. “I took a couple allergy meds.. but they aren’t magic, and you have dander all over your hands..” the canine explained as Levi pulled his hand back with an understanding nod of his head.

“I uh.. I couldn’t go to sleep without apologizing to you for my behavior tonight..” Remi stated sheepishly, palming the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have blown up on you like that, especially if your actions were saving lives, and I’m truely sorry.” The wolf’s toxic green eyes drifted up to meet Levi’s, an honest expression written all over his features.

The leopard couldn’t help but melt into a puddle on the floor.

His mate was notorious for making apologies like pulling teeth.. Yet, he offered this up so candidly and without trying to justify his actions. He knew he fucked up, and that meant a lot to him.

Levi smiled brightly, and without thinking, threw his thin arms around Remi’s neck with a delighted squeal. “Thank you for apologizing, Rem, it really makes me so happy that you aren’t upset with me. I forgive you, my love~” The leopard beamed, covering his mate’s cheek with kisses.

Remi didn’t even have a chance to protest before his already raw nose twitched to life again, and almost instantly his large chest began to swell as his breath snagged within his throat.

“L-Levi.. I- ihh- ih’TTSSHH! hih’IIISSHHHuue! heh’ITTSHH’IEW!!” The wolf sneezed harshly against his mate’s shoulder, grimacing outwardly at the raw, itchy feeling in his throat and nose again.

Suddenly aware of his actions, Levi quickly released his grasp around his mate’s neck.

“Fuck, Rem, I’m so sorry!” He whimpered, covering his mouth with both hands as if to hide the surprised expression on his face.

After a few seconds of clarity, Remi attempted a forceful sniff, only to find his nose had become completely clogged again. Despite the sigh that escaped him, his mouth was still pulled up into a small smirk.

“It’s fine, Pesi. I’m going to go take a shower and probably head to bed, but tomorrow I’ll help you call around to find somewhere safe for the kittens, okay? Just get all your snuggles in with them tonight, cause tomorrow, I’ll be taking them back.” With a rather congested chuckle, Remi tousled the leopard’s white faux hawk before sauntering back down the hallway towards their bedroom.

Although before he could even shut their door behind him, one final “hh'IETSH’UE!” rumbled down the hallway, making Levi outwardly laugh a full, genuine laugh.

“This guy has cat to be kitten me right meow…”

Thanks so much for reading 😚😚

As always, @thekinkyleopard owns Levi 💚

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