#TO BE FAIR I made the deck in question so I am more excited about the accuracy than I might otherwise be

[friend-crow]

Unsure of how to react when somebody tells you that the super negative reading you did for them was accurate...

[sourlemonsprout]

𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖 ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥

Seth, Alphonse, and Boo play Just Dance.

Word Count: 871

♫⋆｡♪₊˚♬゚。♫⋆｡♪₊˚♬゚。♫⋆｡♪₊˚♬゚。˚♬゚。♫⋆｡

It was a bit of an understatement to say that Seth was excited when Sugar invited him over for game night at their place. It had been ages since he'd sat down and played any sort of video or board game. When Seth arrived at the house, he was greeted by Alphonse who answered the door. Al informed him that Sugar was still busy in the kitchen, but they should be done shortly. As he entered the warm house, Seth could smell the sweet aroma of baked goods and spices that wafted around the air.

"Heya Seth! Make yourself at home!" a small voice called out from the kitchen.

"Oh, wow Sugar, you really went all out, didn't you?" Seth said stepping into the living room, noticing the makeshift bar area they’d set up next to a platter of what looked like mini tapas. He looked up to see Sugar across the house, carefully carrying a deep dished tray.

"You betcha, and desserts are in the oven. I made little crème brûlés for later!" They beamed, taking off apron her and joining the boys in the living area.

Al met them with a drink and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer, "What should we do first?" he asked looking between the two.

"Well let's see, I have a regular deck of cards, Clue, Spot It, Uno, Life, Apples to Apples, and Monopoly." Sugar rattled off.

"I'm sure as hell not playing Monopoly with Seth," Al laughed.

"Yeah, I think the last time we played that game things almost ended in a fistfight." Seth snorted.

He leaned over and loudly whispered, "It's cause that pink-haired boy of yours is a sore loser Sugar."

"Ugh, am not," Al smirked, rolling his eyes.

"ok ok fine," Sugar laughed.

"What about Uno? Or will that start a fight too?" They questioned.

"No that should be fine" the boys agreed.

After a few rounds of drinks, food, and some Uno, Sugar pulled the tray out of the oven and placed the custard-filled ramekins in the fridge to chill. On their way back, an idea shot into their head. They suggested that they boot up the Switch and play some Just Dance.

"Sure thing, I was gettin' tired of beatin' you two at this card game anyway," Seth boasted.

"Ok ok, calm down there 'hot shot'," Al said dumping his hand of cards in the middle of the table.

"Let's see if you can keep up at this game." He said with a smirk as he stood up to stretch.

Seth had never played Just Dance before, and it was fair to say that dancing was not his forte. But why ruin all the fun? The other two seemed excited, so he stood up and helped move the coffee table full of Uno cards off to the side while Sugar and Al set up.

Seth had greatly underestimated how much of a workout this was going to be. After the first few songs, he was feeling the heat and had to take his jacket off. Nevertheless, he was having fun, and it was clear that Al and his Boo were in their element.

"Don't Stop Me Now " was the straw that broke the camel's back. Seth, exhausted and embarrassingly sweaty, retired to the couch. He continued to watch as the couple in front of him continued to kill it song after song.

How the hell are they able to play this long? He thought with a small chuckle

"HA, MEGASTAR! TAKE THAT BOO." Alphonse yelled triumphantly throwing his hands up in the air.

"Nice to see you catching up after such a long losing streak," they replied smugly, jabbing at his side playfully.

"I promise that won't last long, prepare to say goodbye to your crown after this one." They said, readying up the next song.

Before the song even started, Sugar was posed and ready, Al following not too far behind once the characters fazed onto the screen.

Seth's eyebrows furrowed as Sugar effortlessly struck a "perfect" on every move while Al struggled to regain his lead.

"Uhh Sugar… how often do you play this game?" he laughed. With a quick jump and spin, they were facing Seth. He sat up in his seat a little more, shocked (and honestly a little concerned) as he watched the screen while Sugar continued to hit every move on the mark.

"There's a solid chance you could beat me in just about any other video game, but Just Dance is my shit. I can't tell you how many of these I have memorized!" They smiled sweetly, striking a golden "YEAH" pose, before jumping back around to finish off the song as normal.

"It's not fair, you had that song completely memorized," Al complained as he plopped onto the couch next to Seth.

"Alright alright you two, haven't those crème brulés chilled long enough? I think it's time for dessert!" Seth said eagerly.

"Oh yeah! I wanna burn the sugar on the top of mine!" Al said scrambling for the blowtorch on the kitchen counter.

"Ugh we better go watch him before he sets something on fire," Sugar smiled as they followed Alphonse into the kitchen.

♫⋆｡♪₊˚♬゚。♫⋆｡♪₊˚♬゚。♫⋆｡♪₊˚♬゚。˚♬゚。♫⋆｡

The End <3

[huntingteeth]

hello, i’m huntingteeth, also known as deerie on ao3, and you can call me claire! i’ve gotten a fair amount of followers here so i thought it was about time to do another intro post.

i write strictly for fun, and my main stomping ground in fandom right now is sleep token. the goal is to write so much sleep token fic that it eclipses the 33 fics that i wrote for teen wolf lmao. sometimes i even mention the original stories i’m working on uh but don’t get too excited i’m much more tender and precious about it than i am with fic

a fun fact about me is that my masters degree is in literacy! that probably answers a few questions and raises some as well

i like crafting! i’m currently in the process of teaching myself to crochet, but i like to knit and cross stitch as well.

my fave genre of book is nonfiction. i like science nonfiction and micro-histories through the lens of food. i read fewer fiction stories lol but i like spooky ones.

here i made you a playlist, it’s still growing put it on shuffle i guess

i have an extensive tarot deck collection. i also have an extensive crystal collection lmao. another thing i collect is teapots, the real round boys.

my birthday is soon-ish (sept 1, the best day in september) and i’ll be 35 which does mean i’m an actual adult so please temper your expectations accordingly

my toxic trait is that i don’t watch movies ahahaha. i do watch movie recaps on youtube though so please infer from that whatever you want. i also like to watch ttrpgs, anything that has to do with high strangeness, and compilation videos lol

as of may 2025, i’ll have been vegetarian for 10 years which is another wild concept. i also have extensive food allergies so sometimes you’ll catch me bemoaning that fact. despite that, i’m definitely into food and cooking, so i post about that often too.

i’m not scary, come talk to me. ask box is generally open and i love being tagged in things 😌

[awesomerextyphoon]

Speculum Cupido

Summary: You’ve been Dr. Strange’s apprentice for some time now and you wanted to prove your best friend wrong. It goes awry and both of you find yourselves in a ‘dark mirror’ universe where the Captain, the Asset, the Kraken, and the Fallen Angel want to make both of you theirs.

Pairing: Dark!Steve x Female Reader x Dark!Ransom, minor Dark!Bucky x OFC x Dark!Sam

Rating: 18+ / Explicit

Word Count: 3,072

Warning: Dub/Non-Con Smut, Oral (m & f receiving), Daddy Kink, MMF Threesome, Double Penetration, Spit Roasting, Non-Con Drugging, Breeding Kink, and Artistic License w/Biology

A/N: This is my gift to @labella420​ for @drabblewithfrannybarnes​, @chrissquares​ , and @amythedvdhoarder​’s Happy Hoelentine’s Day Challenge.  Dividers are by the lovely @firefly-graphics​. Shout out to @saiyanprincessswanie​ for letting me borrow an idea of hers for this fic. Thanks to @the-soulofdevil​ for the beta.

Back to Masterlist

Another Valentine’s Day, another day for the world to mock me being single.

You were having enough of a ‘meh’ week as it is. Dr. Strange had to return to Kamar-Taj for an in-person meeting and Wong was who knows where. They had instructed you to work on your portal and transfiguration spells while they were away which was fair since you’ve been lacking in that department.

It’s just that you longed for some excitement.

Luckily you wouldn’t be spending Valentine’s completely alone; Isabeau, your best friend, was coming over due to as she put it, ‘no one cares about a day where all one gets is somewhat good sex’.

Fast Forward two hours and you’re getting your room ready for Galentine’s Day Movie Night. You had decked out your room with homemade baked goods, drinks, best friend movies, all the good shit.

“I have wonderful news!” Isabeau burst in with gusto yet again.

You shot her a bemused smile, “What is it this time?”

“I have a new crush! It’s Eric from IT!”

“Are you sure this won’t end up like last time?” you queried in reference to the time when Isabeau’s crush turned out to be a complete asshole.

“Oh hush! This won’t be like that at all,” Isabeau retorted, “Now how about you? Have you had any luck with a hot sorcerer?”

“If only I’d be so lucky,” you muttered as Isabeau started on the Toffee Crunch Cookies you made.

A few minutes later, Isabeau’s eyes narrowed and her full lips curved upward in a mischievous smirk.

She had one of her ideas again.

“Hey, why don’t you try an ambiance spell. They’re harmless and you always feel better afterward.”

You didn’t like casting them due to something always going awry, but you relented once Isabeau broke out her puppy dog eyes.

“Alright, alright, I give,” you submitted, “I’ll try a simple floating star spell. Let me find the book.”

 Both of you went to the library for the book but it was nowhere to be found. All of the ambiance and illusion books were blank.

“Is this a sorcerer thing? I’m not seeing any words or illustrations,” puzzled Isabeau as you went through book after book in the library only to find them blank.

“No. Maybe we should just go back to my room,” you suggested as you made your way to the exit.

“Wait! There’s one book left. You could try that one.” Isabeau pointed to the last book on the shelf. It was a little worn like many of the books that resided in the library, but the inscriptions seemed odd; like it wasn’t supposed to be there.

Yet it was the only book that had anything in it.

“Fine,” you relented as you took the book back to your room.

  The spells in the book weren’t anything out of the ordinary, but one spell seemed to stand out to both of you.

“Speculum Mundus?” Isabeau wondered.

“It means Mirror World in Latin.”

“Oh,” her eyes got a mischievous glint to them again, “I bet you can’t cast the spell.”

“Not this again.”

“Oh come on,” Isabeau goaded, “It’s a simple mirror world spell. You’ve done it before. What’s the worse that can happen?”

“I don’t know…”

“Are you gonna chicken out again?”

“No! Just give me a minute,” you mumbled as your hands got into the starting position and recited the incantation.

  The room changed instantly.

It was filled with prism-like structures and kaleidoscope imagery giving the space a surreal ambiance.

It wasn’t unlike the last time you went into the Quantum Realm with Dr. Strange and Wong, and yet the hair on the back of your neck stood straight, and a chill shot through your spine.

You heard a gasp and turned around to see Isabeau with her protruding eyes opened wide and her mouth gaping. Following her line of sight, you saw four of the hottest men you’ve ever seen.

Though something was amiss.

For one thing, there were two Steve Rogers; one with a beard and one clean-shaven. Bucky Barnes’ arm was silver and not dark gray with gold highlights. All of them were in black uniforms with sections of vermillion and/or maroon. Clean-shaven Steve had a black tactical suit with a vermillion Kraken on his chest. Bearded Steve had a skull with tentacles on it. Sam had three vermillion stripes and one maroon stripe across his chest and shoulders with a falcon’s head in red surrounded by a black circle between his pecs.

But the thing that set off all your alarms was the fact that Bucky’s outfit was a dead ringer of his Winter Soldier days.

Instinctively, you grabbed Isabeau’s hand and made a mad dash for the hallway. You needed to get some distance so you could ground yourself.

You tried breaking the spell but to no avail. Not only did the spell not break, but your hands also burned at each attempt.

“We won’t lose you again!” one of the Steves yelled as you and Isabeau turned a corner.

“Come here, mici prințese!” another voice, probably Bucky’s shouted as the two of you made your way into a closet.

“I think we’re okay for now,” you breathed telepathically as the four Adonises crept past your hiding place.

“What’s the plan now?” Isabeau asked fearfully as her heartbeat started to rise in terror.

“I don’t know but-” you were cut off by a strike to the back of your head and your vision rapidly fading to black.

  Muffled voices and the beeping of medical equipment brought you from the void.

“Nothing is wrong….they’re…good, sir.”

“Be sure that they are. We can’t leave anything up to chance.”

Groggily, you open your eyes to find yourself in a sleek hospital room lightly chained to a bed. Several other people were monitoring your vitals. One of them is Dr. Bruce Banner, or what seems to be Dr. Banner.

Bruce turned to see you looking around with a slightly confused expression, “Ah, you’re awake,” he turned to one of his aides, “Contact the Captain and Lieutenant. Tell them to come to get their bride.”

You blinked. Bride?

“Where is Isabeau, my friend?” you inquired as one of the aides brought you some water.

Bruce scowled, “Don’t think about her. You might be able to see her if the Captain and/or Lieutenant wills it.” he remarked while eyeing you up and down in a condescending almost lecherous manner, “Hmm, looks great for breeding,” Bruce noted as he fondled and prodded your curves.

You’ve always been proud of how you looked, but at that moment you wanted to shrink in the corner after giving this Bruce a roundhouse kick to the groin.

You were about to tell Dark!Bruce to fuck off when Tony Stark, fuck it, Dark!Tony entered the room. This Tony looked a lot more sinister with his silver, gray, light, and steel navy blue armor. His face and hair were mostly uncovered with his facial expression positively predatory.

“Cap’s one lucky bastard. He gets a sexy bunny along with Lieutenant Smart Ass.”

Recalling how some megalomaniacs liked shows of submissiveness, you lowered your head and asked where you were.

Whether it be out of pity, spite, or malice, Tony answered your question, “You’re in another earth, another universe.”

You nearly swiveled to look outside the window. NYC’s skyline was radically different. There were fewer buildings and HYDRA insignias everywhere.

“HYDRA took over this world.” You deadpanned. FUUUUCK!

“Sexy and smart.” Tony praised sardonically.

It didn’t take time for HYDRA to regroup after WWII. Zola and his associates were able to convince Howard Stark to give them the Tesseract with the promise of great renown, riches, and no longer being bound by the laws of weaker men. They were able to create a superweapon with the help of Dr. Whitney Frost and have been ruling the planet ever since.

It could be worse. HYDRA knew they had to offer the people comforts in exchange for their obedience. They eradicated all diseases, created a good standard of living, and ended all petty conflicts under the new world order.

Though Tony didn’t feel the need to tell you. You’ll figure it out on your own.

The doors opened to reveal Steve Rogers and his younger, clean-shaven counterpart in all their masculine glory.

“Good, you’re here.” Bruce welcomed smirking at your silent pleas.

Both soldiers walked over and inspected you.

“Hello, kitten. Name’s Ransom.” The clean-shaven soldier drawled as he moaned from your scent, “Nice set of lips you’ve got there.”

“We’ll definitely have some fun with her,” Steve noted as licked his lips ogling your curves.

You had to use all of your restraint not to spit in their faces.

“We’ll take her.” Ransom decided while Steve nodded.

Several of the aides breathed a sigh of relief as Steve broke the chains on your bed like they were nothing.

“Don’t have too much fun now!” Tony called as Steve picked you up bridal style.

“Who am I kidding? they’ll breed her like a Catholic rabbit!”

  “Um, where are you taking me?” you queried, your voice barely above a whisper.

“You will address us as ‘Sir’ in public unless instructed otherwise. Is that understood?” It took all that Steve had not to push against the wall and pound your pussy with his cock he was so enraged.

No, he needed to wait. No one was to see what’s theirs.

Ransom, for his part, chuckled and shook his head, “Best not to anger this one, kitten. He hasn’t been in the best of moods.”

  You gasped once the doors to their living quarters opened.

The place was huge!

It had a modern yet retro design; it should’ve been confusing, but it worked. Grand windows showcased the skyline with a balcony in the middle with a huge kitchen next to what looked to be a restaurant-style fridge and a huge living room with a TV and a fireplace.

Yet there seemed to be something missing.

“Place needs a woman’s touch,” Ransom commented sending a smirk your way.

“I’ll see you in the guest quarters Ransom” Steve deadpanned as he led you down a hall.

  The bedroom was enormous yet sparse like they didn’t know what to do with it.

You were about to say something when Steve dropped you onto the incredibly soft mattress. His eyes darkened with lust and you knew what he wanted. You couldn’t think of a way out of this, not with the magic inhibitors Bruce placed on your wrists.

Maybe you could give escape one last try; you just had to wait for the right opening.

Steve smirked upon seeing you removing your clothes. He liked that you knew your place, his pretty little princess.

You could only gasp when Steve removed his uniform top. He had an incredibly defined musculature: broad shoulders, beefy biceps, chiseled pecs and abs, and a seriously drool-worthy Adonis Belt. The light shining behind him made his body appear even more glorious.

Steve looked like an ancient god brought to modern times.

With a predatory smirk, Steve slowly crawled to you loving the smell of your arousal. “Let me lay out a few rules, sweetheart. You will make our meals, clean our rooms, bear our children, and be our good little whore. You must earn the right to wear a bra; panties are out of the question.”

Each rule was emphasized by a kiss or a love bite to your jaw, neck, collarbone, and shoulders.

Finally, you are to address us as Sir in public and Daddy in private. Say it.”

“Yes, Daddy,” you muttered with your eyes downcast.

Steve lifted your chin up with his forefinger, “That’s a good girl,” and brought you in for a kiss on the lips.

The kiss was demanding yet soft. You were surprised he was capable of such gentleness.

Steve was about to push his tongue into his mouth when Ransom strolled into the room.

“Does she know the drill?”

Steve broke the kiss with a smirk,” Just finished explaining it.”

Ransom shot you a sardonic smirk, “You got the rules, kitten? Good. Now if you misbehave, I’m gonna send you to the dungeons for a few days.”

Steve started up again, “But...if you’re good-”

“A good little wifey,” Ransom interjected caressing your right cheek and leaning in for a kiss.

This kiss started off soft then intensified (really know how to lure a girl) into one filled with passion and dominance. Ransom forced his tongue into and moaned at your taste. A few seconds later he was pushing what felt like a small tablet past your tongue forcing you to swallow.

“Did you do it yet?”

“Cool it, grandpa! I did, don’t you worry. She’s gonna feel it. Aren’t ya, kitten.”

You started to feel strange. Your body temperature skyrocketed, your mind was in a deep haze, your thighs were clenching on overtime you were so turned on. You needed relief and fast.

“Please Daddies!” you begged as you tried your best not to touch yourself.

“See grandpa? She’s ready.” Ransom purred as he grabbed your thighs and placed them over his shoulders. He planted a few kisses near your entrance and groaned at the smell of your arousal.

It only took one long, slow lick to your slit to turn you into a moaning mess. You couldn’t believe the pleasure you were feeling. It was like a bolt of lightning shot through you.

Ransom groaned at the taste of your juices. Not even Stark’s overpriced chefs could compare. “Fuck, she tastes divine,” he groaned and dove in for more. Ransom attacked your folds and swollen clit with insane intensity and precision alternating between his tongue and fingers.

You were on cloud nine. Each motion took you further to the precipice of an orgasm. Ransom kept bringing you back from the edge only thrust you back into his level of tumultuous.

Steve got in on the action by covering your moans with a kiss of all-consuming passion and started playing with your breasts.

“Fuck, these tits are amazing! Can’t wait until these are filled with milk” Steve purred as he took one of your nipples into his mouth and the other between his big and forefingers.

After twenty minutes of teasing, Ransom finally let you come. A volcanic eruption of ecstasy erupted from your core and Ransom lapped up all of your juices.

“Rogers, you’re in for a treat!” Ransom exclaimed as he hopped off the edge of the mattress.

“I get her pussy first since you got to eat her out,” Steve uttered as grinned at your blissed-out state.

With a tsk, both of them got you into position with Steve’s thick, muscular thighs on either side of your hips and Ransom standing in front of you taking off his pants.

He was huge! His cock was long, thick, and veiny. It wobbled against his masterfully sculpted abs with each step he took. You wondered how that was going to fit in your mouth. Turns out Steve’s was no smaller if his tip being coated with your slick is any indication.

“This won’t hurt, kitten. You were made for us.” Ransom cooed.

You didn’t know how right he was.

Steve made his move by pushing into you inch by delicious inch and moaned at the sensation. “Fuck, she fits like a dream.”

“Don’t take forever, grandpa.” Ransom chided.

“Shut up, ya punk!” Steve retorted as he began thrusting into you loving the way your pussy clenched around him like a vice’s grip.

“Open wide, kitten,” Ransom started to push his throbbing cock into your mouth.

It took a bit of time and effort to loosen your jaw enough for him to fully enter you. He started fucking your mouth before you were ready. You tried not to gag he was so rough.

What happened to the man from earlier?

“Fuckin’ perfect.” Ransom breathed as he was approaching his climax.

Steve came with a primal roar that reverberated throughout the room after making you come two more times.

“Swallow it, kitten” Ransom ordered.

Funny thing is, you didn’t need the order. You delighted in the salty, tangy, and slightly sweet flavor.

Two minutes after you swallowed all of Ransom’s spent, both men decided it was time to move. Ransom got onto the mattress and pulled you on top of him with his tip nudging your entrance. Steve got behind you and placed kisses along the juncture between your neck and shoulders while positioning himself at your ass.

“Please...please don’t do this!” you pleaded, the pill’s effect slipping for the tiniest of moments.

Steve grabbed your neck with just enough force to pause, not hurt.” Best be a good girl now, sweetheart,” he warned.

Ransom slid in first, “Holy fucking shit!” he moaned, “Sam owes me $40.

“That depends on how well their bride is taking to them,” Steve pointed out.

“Eh, we’ll say ours is better.”

Ransom moaned again once he bottomed out and grabbed the globes of your blessed backside. He couldn’t wait to grab and smack it around in their quarters.

Steve moved slowly causing both of your breathing to hitch, his from pleasure and yours from slight pain.

With a grin and smirk, they started moving in tandem. Your body almost couldn’t take the immense pleasure you were feeling.

“I could get used to this,” Ransom remarked.

“Well, we have the week,” Steve breathed past your ear.

Both kept at it until they came in you twice. You nearly passed out after your twelfth orgasm.

“Rest kitten,” Ransom purred as you finally gave in to your exhaustion.

  “The bride took to our seed,” Steve reported to Director Pierce.

“Good. We found their parents along with the rest of the resistance.” Pierce imparted.

Steve scowled at the information.

You and your friend, Isabeau, were the only ones to survive the Eve Project. HYDRA wanted to genetically groom compatible brides for their top soldiers. You were promised to Steve and Ransom and your friend to Bucky and Sam. Both of you were whisked away to another Earth by the resistance and your treacherous parents.

Now you were back where you belong.

“When do we leave?” Ransom growled.

“Once Strange and Wanda crack the protection spell. In the meantime, enjoy your bride.” Pierce turned to leave, but stopped before turning off the screen,” I want to see some little ones soon.”

[flutter-hot-butter]

Fire meets Water

Portgas D. Ace X Reader

Warning! Smut under the cut~

"What do you mean you won't let a woman fight on your crew?!" You stare in disbelief at the bare chested pirate captain. The second division leader of Whitebeards following was towering a little above you, but looked at you straight nonetheless, grinning apologetically. "No can do lass. The old man doesn't allow woman figters on his deck and I live by his example. I made an exception for my old crew, but I'll have to turn you down..." You bald your fists. "Yeah sure, turn down my offer right after I helped saving your mates, ship and hide from that Sea King." You point at the boat just off the coast of the remote island you crashed on after the recent battle. "Real fair of you!" "Now now, don't get all pouty, princess. Sure, you've shown some admirable strength, but fighting a creature whose brain is as dense as the sea it resides in is something else than just randomly joining one of the elite crews of the sea. Still... If you insist..." Ace shifts, taking a battle stance. "I suppose I could arrange something, if you can beat me, that is." You smile, dropping your bag. "Bring it on!"

Ace coughs. The steam is still thick in the air as you kneel down beside him, barely capable of containing your excitement. He was on the ground, which means you've won against the Fire Fist Ace! You reach out a hand. "Let me help you." Ace scowls at you. "You could have told me you had a Mizu Mizu (read: water water) fruit." You retract your hand. "And reveal my tactics? Seems unwise." "Yeah sure you can keep it from an enemy. But a friend? Your possible crewmates? We're elemental opposities. You could've seriously hurt me if I didn't react in time." Ace gets up and sighs. "You're welcome to be a part of the crew, but you've got a long way to go to earn some trust." And with that, Ace and the other members of the division head for the ship.

You stare at the black water, your head and arms resting on the railing of the ship. Today had been a disaster. Sure you managed to get on Ace's crew, but you somehow still felt humiliated. You sniff as the merry sounds of your newfound crewmates drift off to the stars from the other side of the deck. You don't feel particulary cheery. You're lost in thought about how you can make it up to your captain, when his voice startles you from behind. "You look cold." You snap your head to the left, where Ace took a seat on the railing without you noticing. He nods towards your arms, which indeed have chilly goosebumps. "Oh sorry, I didn't-" "No need to apologize for being cold," Ace laughs. You feel silly. "I am sorry though. For what happened this afternoon, captain." Ace waves his hand through the air. "Bygones be bygones. You've learned and you're a part of the Whitebeard pirates now. Besides, I might have been a bit sultry too. You're pretty strong, for a girl," Ace jokes. You both laugh. You're about to say something in retortion, when a gust of wind blows by, making you shiver. Ace slides from the railing and wraps his arms around you. you're surprised by his action, but then realise how warm he is for someone who walks around with a bare upper body at this time of night. "You're... Warm..." You whisper "Yeah... A side-effect from the Devil Fruit..." Ace mumbles. He then buries his face in your hair. "Hmmm, you smell good..." You chuckle. "I doubt it will last out here on the sea." "Then I'll be sure to treasure this moment." You stand there in his embrace for a while, a little flustered, when Ace starts talking again. "Let's make tonight even more memorable..." He removes his arms around you and grabs your hands. You gaze into his eyes. The harsh, combative look of that afternoon had gone. Like a blazing fire turning into a kindling flame, Ace now looks at you with a soft smile, his eyes twinkling in the light of the moon. He tugs you towards the doors and pulls you inside. After a bit of a walk through the wooden hallway, he pulls you through another set of doors. You enter a room which you recognize as a captain's cabin. What was he planning? Before you could ask any questions, however, Ace had shut the door, and cloased all space between the two of you. You feel his chapped lips move against yours as he kisses you passionately. You place your hands against his muscular chest in a weak attempt to push him away. He puts his hands on your hips. You can't help it. The intense battle this afternoon, that moment you shared on the deck... He had been pulling you in completely all day, and you were genuinely starting to fall for the rather handsome, black haired captain. Your captain. With a jolt, you jump back. You can see Ace furrowing his brows in the dim light of the cabin. "Didn't like it?" "N-No.. It's just that... Well... You're the captain, and..." Ace sniggers. "There's no law on Whitebeard's crew preventing us from doing this. But if you really don't want to... You know where the door is," Ace says, while putting his signature hat on the coat rack next to the door and removing his shoes, not breaking eye contact. You don't move a muscle. Your mind is still racing in all directions, but it seems your body has already made a choice. Carefully regarding your actions, Ace makes his way over to you. Slowly, he leans in. Detecting that you're not going to retract, he carefully closes the gap between you again. As his nose softly brushes against yours, all thoughts in your head go silent, and you lean in as well. You slide your hands over his shoulders, resting them at the back of his neck. He wraps his arms around you. As the kiss becomes rougher, Ace urges you to slowly walk backwards, until you're up against the wall. he pins your arms to the side and breaks loose. You look at him. His gaze has changed once again. From combatant to soft, and now to an expression laced with lust. He strats trailing kisses down your cheek towards your neck. You softly moan as he sucks down on a delicate spot. He quickly releases

a hand to put a finger over your lips. "Now now, don't alert the rest of the crew, or our fun will be over," he grins, a playful glimmer in his eyes. He kisses you again, sliding his tongue across asking for entrance. You grant him. Meanwhile, his hands trail to your legs. Without any effort, he hoists them around his middle. You hastily grab on to his upper body for balance. Ace starts to grind against you. you can feel his member being rock hard already through his trousers. You let out a muffled moan. Ace grunts in agreement. You wrap your legs around his waist. His hands trail upwards again, towards your breasts. He squeezes them softly, making you break away for air. You bite your lip as he starts to toy around witht hem through the fabric of your shirt. He then tugs on your shirt and murmurs. "These clothes are getting in the way..." He taps your upper legs, signalling you to let go. Once you're firmly back on the ground again, Ace wastes no time pulling your shirt over your head. Your bra befalls the same fate. You are now both bare chested. Ace takes in the view and whistles. "Wow," he breathes. You have to surpress a giggle. Ace pulls you along to the bed, and gestures you to lay down. You quickly remove your sandals. Ace places himself on top of you, at level with your boobs, and takes a hold of both of them again. He rolls your erect nipples around in his fingers. You grab the sheets. Ace then takes a nipple in his mouth, carefully sucking. You can barely hold in a whimper. After a while, Ace relases your boobs ans reaches for your mouth again. During the kiss, he starts removing your skirt and underpants. his own garments accompany yours on the wooden floor. You pop yourself up a bit to take a look at his erect member. "You like what you see?" He grins, as he inches a bit closer. You smile, and open your mouth. Ace thrusts his hips forward, placing his tip on your tongue. You start sucking. Ace places a hand behind your head to hold you up right, and tangles his fingers into your hair. "Oh, that feels good..." He whispers. You slowly start bobbing your head. Ace goes along with your movement. You increase the tempo. You can hear his breath become irregular. Suddenly, he pulls away. You look at him in confusion, but he winks. "Not yet." He repositions himself to sit in between your legs, placed perfectly in front of your entrance. He traces one finger down over the length of your labia. You lean in to his touch. You can see him smile at your natural response. He strokes again, pressing a little harder this time. He then repeats the motion once more, also stroking upward. He stops at your clitoris, and makes a repetitive motion against the spot. Your nails dig into the bed as Ace replaces his finger with his tip, sliding up and down your vulva. You can feel yourself getting wetter. Ace continues until you've become slippery, at which point he places his penis against your opening. "Brace yourself." He pushes himself in. You put a hand over your mouth as he slowly submerges himself fully. Once he is all the way in, he leans over to you, prying your hand away and replacing it with his lips, to distract you. It doesn't take you too long to adjust, and soon you can feel his shaft throb. Ace starts his movement. First slow, but gradually picking up speed. He sits up right again and grabs your breasts, kneading them as he moves in and ou of you. You can feel your body growing more tense as the pleasure increases. As the speed rises to a certain point, Ace lays down and holds on to your shoulders for balance, pressuring them to augment his thrusts. You try not to scream as you feel his member pulsate. "Please Ace..." You moan softly. You want to release so badly. "Almost..." He groans. His breath has become ragged. With one last great impact, you can feel him spill inside you. It pushes you over the edge as well, and your can feel your body relax under the pleasure. Ace collapses on top of you, and you both breathe heavy. When Ace manages to recollect himself, he pulls out, and lays down beside you. You

turn on your side towards him. You can see that he's satisfied with his job. As your sexual high wears off, your chills return. You shift closer to Ace, cuddling up to him. Even now, his body is warm. He skillfully pulls the covers from under your bodies and pulls them over yourselves. He brushes a strand of your hair aside, and pulls up your chin to make you look at him. "You're an amazing girl, depsite the whole no women fighters law, don't you ever forget that. I never knew I'd fall for you so hard." He puts his arms around you. You smile and shrug. "What can I say? Opposites attract." You both laugh exhausted. As you drift off to sleep, Ace has one last thing to say to you. "Oh and (Y/N), now that we share a bedroom... You're not required to call me captain anymore." "Will do, Ace."

[amelialincoln]

We're Still Standing

She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until she was being shaken aggressively out of subconsciousness. Amelia opened her eyes drowsily and realized immediately how cold she was. It took her a minute to adjust to the dim light illuminating from the lantern that hung beside the swing on the porch.

“What the hell are you doing? I was worried sick.” Her boyfriend’s familiar voice rang from above her and she felt his warm, oversized jacket wrap around her shivering frame. Amelia blinked at him, trying to recall why she was on Meredith’s front deck. Oh shit.

“I’m so sorry,” she slurred, shaking her head out of its daze. “I drove to Mer’s out of habit and I must’ve passed out.”

“We’ve been living in the apartment for two weeks.” His tone was firm and he stretched out a hand to pull her off the uncomfortable wooden swing. “Did you--” She knew what he was going to say before he had the chance to finish.

“No, no, I’ve actually barely been thinking about it since I started working again. I think my body is just still adjusting to the long hours.” She accepted his hand and glanced at her dim phone screen. It read 2:50am. No wonder he seemed so shaken up. She bit her lip, trying to hide her guilt.

“Oh, really?” He paused, trying to find the right words, cautious as always. “You seemed like you were struggling with it a bit while we were living at Mer’s.”

“I haven’t taken that much time off work since I was an intern, other than when I was using,” she explained as he opened the car door for her. “My sobriety depends on being able to fill my time with things I’m passionate about. I’m just getting back to feeling like myself again.”

“Okay…” Link replied, shutting the door gently and climbing into the driver’s seat. He pulled out of Mer’s driveway and waited until they were on the freeway. “So this has nothing to do with the conversation we had last night?” She was almost taken aback by how well he knew her. After spending almost every second together, over the last couple of months, she could barely keep anything from him without Link somehow noticing when something was wrong.

“It's just kind of a lot to put on someone,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?” He asked, glancing at his girlfriend who was twisting pieces of her chocolate brown hair nervously.

“It’s just that the expectation of me to be popping out your babies all the time is a bit overwhelming,” she glanced out the window as Link merged into their usual exit. “I just got back to work, Link.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. I was just getting excited. I didn’t mean like now.” He placed a soft hand on her thigh and felt her relax slightly. “We talked about having other kids a lot while we were at Meredith’s. I’m sorry if I jumped into the future too quickly.”

“Meredith’s was a different time. I was really hormonal and barely had time to actually process what was happening.” She forced a grin which made him raise an eyebrow.

“Well, how many of our conversations and decisions were made when you were hormonal?” He turned to look at her and watched her gaze fall. “All that stuff about marriage and houses and massive backyards?” He was dancing around the four kids that she had specifically outlined to him as her preference.

“Link, you and Scout are enough for me. I don’t need anything else.”

“Don’t need or don’t want?” He asked as he pulled into his apartment’s parkade. “Those are two very different things, Amelia.”

“Can we talk about this in the morning? I’m not thinking straight right now,” she answered honestly.

“Yeah, whatever you want.”

[][][]

Amelia was awoken the next morning to Scout being placed on her bare chest. Sun streamed in through the shutters of their third story bedroom and the glittering light from the ocean reflected like shards of glass on the white walls of the room. Link’s apartment was utter perfection, with a perfect view of Elliott bay and situated on a central, but not too busy, street close to downtown. It made her question why he was itching to move out so fast and start building the house he’d been fantasizing about for the last couple of weeks.

“Hi baby,” she smiled as Scout’s blue eyes stared up at her sleepily. He was always the most cuddly in the morning and she shifted to a position where he was able to wrap his pudgy arm around her neck. “Where’s your Dadda?” As if on cue Link strolled into the bright room, his long hair was disheveled and his face wore a hint of exhaustion. Probably from being up all night searching for her, she realized. He held two steaming mugs of coffee and the scent hit her forcefully as he held it under her chin for her to take a small sip.

“He’s been missing you a lot lately.” He lowered himself onto their bed gently and placed both of the mugs on the side table. “Ma ma, ma ma, all day long.” She laughed at his decent impression of Scout’s latest attempts at talking. “You think with all the time he’s spent with Dadda,” he spoke the word loudly at his giggling son, “He’d start liking me at least half as much as you,” Link joked.

“Mama’s boy.” Amelia shrugged, pressing a kiss to the top of her baby boy’s head and suppressing a yawn.

“Bailey texted you not to come in because neuro is slow today but she put you on call. I turned off your alarm. Thought you might need the rest.” He explained, his voice free of judgment. “You also got a call from our health insurance place. Our plans are ending in a week and we’ve still got some credit so I called the pharmacy to renew your birth control prescription. I noticed your pack this month was almost finished.”

“Oh,” she turned to face him, suddenly reminded that she needed to take her pill. “Yeah...thank you.”

“No problem.” He shrugged. “I can probably pick it up sometime today.” He handed her the cup of coffee, reading her thoughts before she could even ask for it and watched as she swallowed the tiny pill down.

“Link, it’s--” “Fine,” he shrugged. “I don’t have any expectations of you, Amelia. I know you went through a lot with Owen,” he made a face she didn’t recognize before taking a large gulp out of his own mug and clearing his throat. “I don’t want to make you feel trapped or obligated to fulfill my own selfish desires. It’s your choice and I’m not going anywhere...unless you want me to,” he paused, allowing her space to speak if she wanted to before continuing. “I was an only child and it was tough. It would’ve helped to have a sibling to lean on during my parent’s divorce and I guess that’s my own stuff that I should probably work through instead of pushing you into a situation that you don’t want to be in. I’ve seen you go through hell with your sisters and I understand where you are coming from. Most of all, I’d never want to force you to quit the thing you love doing the most. I also think that would be doing a disservice to the world because my girlfriend is a freaking superhero and she’s got hundreds upon hundreds of people to still save. So can we just pretend that everything I selfishly said to you didn’t happen? Cause I usually don’t like to talk everything out but I was up all night trying to put how I was feeling into words and I still feel like I did a shitty job.” “Now you know how I feel all the time,” she laughed, slipping her hand into his and wishing she could erase the stress that was radiating from him. “Screwing up while trying to get my point across is my specialty.”

“That’s not true, you’re one of the most well spoken people I know.” Link rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his coffee and looking a little bit more relaxed.

“There’s a lot of people who would say otherwise,” Amelia joked, pulling their duvet up to Scout’s shoulders as he began to fall asleep on her chest. “You weren’t being selfish,” she finally sighed. “If anyone’s not being fair it's me. I feel like my mind is switching up on me a hundred times a day. Since I’ve had the tumor I find myself constantly second guessing myself, trying to figure out what I want. Some days all I want is to be a mom. I feel like having Scout has made me become a better person and a better surgeon and I wouldn’t change that for the world. I don’t regret having him for even a second. Every single part of me loves him...and you. To the point where when I am at work, where I am usually at my happiest, I still find myself missing the both of you. Which scares me because there’s never been a doubt in my mind at work that I’m not exactly where I want to be. And I know for a fact that if we were to have another baby, or two or three, that I would find myself not being able to compromise between my love for operating and my love for my family. I know I would have to choose. And I don't think that I can. At least not right now.” Link nodded his head in understanding. “But when I can, you’ll be the first to know,” She laughed, causing him to grin.

“Well, I would hope so.” He rolled his eyes, pulling her closer to him gently, careful not to wake their sleeping son before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere, Mia, and I'm not going to force you into anything. So for the love of god, stop running and just tell me how you feel because it's going to take a whole lot more than not wanting another baby right now to scare me off."

[catxsnow]

“why aren’t you wearing a costume?” “i am, i came as myself” with wally?

#28 “Why are you wearing a costume?” 

This is it. This is my favourite one. I love Wally West with my entire heart okay? 

Wally West loved Halloween. As in, 'this is my favourite holiday of the year and I'm going all out' kind of love. Free candy, funny costumes, getting to scare people? What more could he ask for? He loved Halloween - and he was going to be damn sure that he got you to love it as well.

The apartment that you shared with him was completely decked out in decorations. fake cobwebs, witches hats, the carved pumpkins that you had done as a date night. He had done a good job of it - even if it was a little bit of an over kill. Nonetheless, if Wally was happy with it, so were you.

The entire months of October he had been raving about the Halloween party that he was going to take you to. You had offered to do a couples costume with him - something you assumed that he would be all for. However, he assured you that he had already come up with something that you were going to love.

However, the night before the party, he had become uneasy. You knew when he was nervous after being with him for so long. Shaky legs, speed talking, using his speed way more than necessary. It was just a party, he shouldn't have been so nervous - yet here he was.

You didn't question him. Odds were, he was just too excited about the supposed 'Halloween Party of the Decade'. Wally got very excited, very easily - something that was so easy to love about him. To no surprise, whenever he was like this, you would feel a gust of wind, a peck on the lips, and another blast of air.

He was gone before you even woke the next morning. Breakfast made and coffee on. Wally left a note for you, saying that he was caught up with the team and would be gone all day. If he was running late, he would just meet you there. Knowing Wally, he would easily be late - even with his speedster abilities.

The day was slow without Wally. You expected him to be dragging you around to all of the Halloween cheesy places for dates. The fall fair, caramel apples, the whole works. However, if he was missing Halloween to be with his team over you, it had to be important. He wouldn't be gone otherwise.

By the time that the evening rolled around, you were antsy to miss Wally. These past few days he had been glued to your side, to have him gone for the whole day made you miss him. A day to a speedster could feel like a month, but a day without Wally felt the same to you - speedster or not.

Wally texted you saying that he was going to meet you at the party so you wouldn't have to wait around. As much as you could have easily waited, it would be nice to see your friends sooner. So, costume on and ready to go, you found yourself at the front steps of the party.

To your surprise, everyone from the team was already there. It was Dick that greeted your first. A smile on his face and a drink in his hand. Halloween was the one night of the year that the whole team let loose to have fun.

"(Y/N)!" Dick slung his arm over your shoulder. His costume was a white sheet tied around his waist that you assumed to be a toga. A fake crown hung off his head. "Where's Wally?"

"I thought he was with you?" Dick furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

"I haven't seen him all day, he said he was going to be with you," he explained. Worry grew on your face - why did he lie to you? What could have been so important that he felt the need to lie to you and his best friend? "I'm sure he has a good reason, Wally's Wally. I never understand what's going on in his head."

"Yeah..." You trailed off. Wally never lied to you. In all your years, he was kept his secret of being a hero and that was it. There was never a need to lie to you - so why now? And the fact that he had been acting so nervous all this week? It might have just been a coincidence but the knowledge didn't settle well with you.

Waiting for Wally to come seemed like forever. Each time the door opened you hoped it to be him, but it never was. Dick and your friends tried to keep your mind off of it until you could find out the truth, but it didn't work. You were worried, very worried.

Arms wrapped around your waist and a kiss left on the spot right below your jaw. Wally spun you around in his arms, the smile that you loved on his face. He dropped as he saw the frown on yours. "What's wrong babe?"

"Where were you today, Wally?" You asked, skipping straight to the point. "You weren't with the team, you weren't with me. Why'd you lie?"

Wally sighed, his hold on you loosened before his arms dropped to his side. He was hoping that you didn't find out about his lie - not before he could show you why. "I was with Barry. I needed his advice and I was kind of embarrassed to tell anyone that I needed it."

You could hear the truth in his voice and the sincerity in his eyes. He had been with Barry all day, but it still didn't explain why he was so hesitant to tell you about it or his his friends. Wally had done a lot of dumb stuff in his day, it must have been quite the dilemma if he was embarrassed to say it.

"Wally you shouldn't have to feel embarrassed to need advice sometimes," You grabbed his hands. There were dozens of times that you went to him for help, it was nothing to be ashamed about. Wally shrugged, leaning down to kiss you.

Whether because he hadn't seen you today or because he caused you to worry, Wally deepened your kiss far more than he should have for being in public. His hand pressed into the small of your back, having your lean into him. You let out a surprised sound as he swiped his tongue against your bottom lip.

The kiss had caught the attention of Dick, who had shouted at the both of you. When you felt the stare of everyone, you pulled away from Wally. Before you could even catch your breath he was kissing you again, this time softer, filled with love not need. As you grasped his shirt to keep you from toppling - you noticed one important factor.

"Wally!" You gasped. "Why are you wearing a costume?"

The nervous twitch that he had all week came back. His eyes darted everywhere in the room before looking at the hand in his pocket. Thankfully, you never looked down to notice why it was there.

"I am wearing a costume, babe," Wally smiled at you. This wasn't his usual grin that he had from being mischievous or knowing that he had a good joke. This one was reserved for you, and only you when you were alone. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, producing a small little box. "I came as your fiancé this year."

The small box in his hand opened to reveal a diamond ring inside. You looked between the ring and Wally to see if this was some Halloween joke. There was a hopeful look in his eyes as he watched your reaction grow more and more excited. Never in a million years would you have guessed this was the reason he was gone today.

Without saying anything your pulled Wally into for a kiss. Emotional tears brimmed your eyes and you couldn't choke out the words yes. Wally understood your head nod and placed the ring on your finger. By now, all of your friends, and strangers you hadn't even known had noticed what had happened.

Celebratory cheers overpowers the music as Wally dipped you, kissing you for the first time as your fiancé. "Told you I had the best costume ever this year, babe."

"I don't know I think I'd like it better on my floor."

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep13: How to Get Away With Cheating in the Card Olympics

It’s been a little while since Pegasus made a card that screwed us years after it was developed...and so it’s time for it to happen again. Good ol Pegasus, screwing us all and not even knowing he’s doing it.

First off, it took me until this episode to realize that Leon and Zigfried are German and Leon is playing a Grimm Brother’s deck. I guess I didn’t notice before now because Leon was hiding his identity. But now that I know his deck is because he’s just German it’s like...well OK. That’s kind of cute. Better than that time they had the American play a deck filled with guns.

And that actually...fully explains why they are all dressed old timey. I didn’t pick up on it until just now...they’re referencing old ass fairy tales. But wtv, I still like my reaching theories of why Zigfried dresses like...that.

PS, my twitter just notified me that lots of people are getting a ‘Hime Haircut’, which is exactly the doo that Zigfried wears this season with the cropped side bangs. And like...are we sure? I see Kpop wearing it and Tik Tok kids wearing wigs but...I have yet to see a Hime in the wild. Course I haven’t gone outside in like a year so...maybe tens of thousands of people really did do a Hime Haircut during the Quarantine.

But, damn it, I decided to look at some photos, and a bunch of them looked pretty bad, but a couple looked pretty dope, and now I’m a little bit tempted to get a Hime...but I feel like it took a decade to get out of my bangs phase and like...Do I need two layers of bangs? I have naturally straight hair, I could do this, this haircut was made for me, but...

I just don’t know if I should get a haircut that looks like I’m an anime cosplayer when I can’t back it up. Nope. Cannot get this haircut. I know this haircut was made for teenagers or artists in their 30′s, and literally no one else, but no, this will be a mistake just like the side bangs I gave myself in 2006.

(looks over at scissors)

(read more under the cut)

(get it? Cut?)

Leon recalls that his brother very nicely gave him a card, and he’s so excited to finally do any activity involving his crazy ass family, that he just blindly does it.

This entire episode is about Yami not doing a hellscape when he witnesses cheating, and like...it is S5...it’s been a little while since anyone’s done a real good cheat on him, and he opened the door to darkness, and they got devoured by their own Tamagachi. It’s been a while.

And like the curse of Episode 13 was just a theory I had--but this particular Episode 13 is probably the most tame of all the 13′s (and yet, the most un-tame of this arc, which is a pretty chill arc, overall)

Yet...while this episode still fits in with their universe because the Kaiba’s are very proud so they can’t admit their duel disk has a flaw and therefore can’t forfeit the game, it kind of stretches the imagination a bit for the sake of the plot. Straight up we have a LOT of characters in this arc and they all just stood there and watched it happened.

It could have been also because this is like...televised...that no one wants to start throwing this little boy off the nearest blimp. I just wish that was addressed in the episode, other than “listen...Kaiba must allow this card to be played...or all his Duel Disks are lies.”

His Duel Disk almost caused the end of planet Earth a few weeks back, so I think it’s fine. I think this is a negligible problem to have when your disk shoots projectiles out of each end and has sharp folding edges in the shape of a blade--almost attempting to slice your face off every time you wave that thing around.

Yes, he’s trying to restore his reputation after the whole Dartz thing...but this is like...not that bad in the scale of things that have happened in the past several seasons. Maybe it’s just the last straw that broke the camels back here? One thing too far--’your disk played a broke card, Kaiba, I am pulling my investments and I refuse to go to your theme parks. I was here when you blew up that island. I was here when your company was literally bought out by the illluminati...but if that duel disk can’t play cards correctly--we’re done here.’ And TBH...that’s a very Yugioh mentality to have.

Like remember that time that Elon musk threw a brick at one of his new weird looking cars and the windshield cracked? But he was like “Oh...that was just a...listen the windshields don’t shatter, you saw nothing.” and still released the car anyway? Was kind of reminded of that.

Now...he didn’t actually go into the Dev room, we’ll go into how the hell he got this card, but first, a visit to the Kaiba Dev room.

OOOOOOooooooooh

That’s so bright!

It reminds me of how in the 90′s, the only real thing I knew to do on my computer was change the colors of the UI, so I just used the ugliest ass UI known to man for my family’s computers. I hope these computers have a mouse that leaves a tail behind and I hope that mouse is in the shape of a flying sparkling dragon.

Anyway, Duke speaks what’s on our minds:

Meanwhile, Pegasus, watching this happen over a glass of wine from inside his bathtub at Castle Pegasus, takes one very long sip while sinking into a pile of bubbles.

Seto at first is like “I literally own this tournament so thanks for losing? I don’t know why you threw it out into the trash but thanks?” But Zigfried pressured him so hard that everyone on Earth would judge his ass, and tried so hard to change the definition of what cheating even is, that Seto relented almost as if to shut Zigfried the hell up.

Zigfried explained that, technically, it’s still reads as a legal card on the disk and isn’t reaaally against the rules. Even though the rules say it’s against the rules--what are rules anyway?

Thankfully we have the King of “I dictate what the rules are AKA the rules of the universe, which I would show you, I just don’t feel like it right now, and I’m a little worried about opening that Pandora’s box, but I clearly know the rules of this card game, as stated on this Home Depot plaque that Seto gave me after I won the last tourney.”

Leon gets pretty upset about this--not so much screwing Seto Kaiba, but over the fact his brother stole his only chance at trying to beat Yugi Muto fair and square. So, trying to retain what little card honor he has left, Leon tries to self sabotage so everyone can just go the hell home.

OK so...do you think he put a floppy disk into the paper card? Like straight up how did he do that? Feel free to post your theories because like...how do you hack a paper card? Like do we even have a canon explanation of what these cards are or what they are made out of and how they theoretically work?

Anyway, now that they’ve spent a good portion of this episode discussing if this card should or should not be played, and the ethics and philosophy surrounding that, we find out that none of this matters because Zigfried was actually just stalling.

(He hacked the card so it had a virus like straight up how did he DO that without making a new card?)

Huh.

Y’all, what if I could just delete Google?

Can you imagine?

Like I know this is a kid’s show so it follows kid’s show logic and I will absolutely allow this ridiculous master plan and I will not question it, but think with me for a sec:

What if you could just delete Disney?

Damn. That’s some Y2K scare tactics propaganda right there. That’s some good YA dystopian fiction stuff.

Yo is Zigfried the good guy? He’s not, but if this were a YA novel he would be, right? Good on him.

I...do not know how the logic in Zigfried’s brain works, but if someone deleted all the files in my collaborators company and showed up at my front door and was like “I heard you were looking for a new collaborator?” I’d stick him face first into a blank paper card.

Which is, logically, the next step to Zigfried’s plan that no one has bothered to tell him yet. You just don’t mess with Pegasus, especially after all the stuff he went though with getting murdered by Mai, and Dartz showing up, he’d be so pissed right now. He might not be technically magical anymore--but it’s clear after last season that he’s still magical enough. This is a man who’s let out into the wild maybe a couple of scary cards--but hell knows how many are buried in his huge ass castle just waiting to do a murder.

This is just Zigfried hassling a hornet and the hornets nest is like...right there.

And so next episode we are going to...destroy the card? Hell, next episode might be entirely a card game and I might only have 2 caps.

Anyway, just letting you know that I typed this last night, and then had dreams that I got a Hime Haircut and hella loved it, woke up at 5:30 AM thinking about that haircut, and have since been just...

...I mean I shouldn’t do it...I cannot give myself unironic Von Schroeder hair...

...

...but what if it’s dope though?

(and here’s the link to read these from the beginning in chrono order from S1. Wish I categorized in seasons but alas I did not have that forsight back when I thought there were only 3 seasons of Yugioh total. I have since learned.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[thetriggeredhappy]

How about the team agreeing to play baseball with Scout for his birthday? Because they always admired how happy and free he looks when he's running. (SniperScout in between if possible would be great)

pushed up in the requests backlog for reasons. team bonding fic is best fic

(warnings for alcohol mention and passing non-graphic cartoonish violence)

-

“The hell is he so excited about?” Demo asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over his shoulder towards where Scout was laughing his way down the hall.

“No idea,” the Engineer said, shuffling the deck neatly. “Been all high-energy high-spirits the whole damn day.”

“Unfortunately,” Medic agreed, a little bitter. That garnered several more raised eyebrows from around the table.

“Twice in one day Doktor has to fix broken leg in fighting,” Heavy explained, placing a placating hand on Medic’s shoulder. “And Scout takes many bad risks. Overconfident.”

A questioning noise from within Pyro’s suit. “I’d sure like to know why, as well,” Engie nodded. “Tryin’ out some new energy drink, maybe?”

“High spirits and hubris from consistent victory?” Soldier suggested.

“You’re joking,” Sniper suddenly cut in, glancing around the table, who all looked right back, surprised to hear him cutting in on the usual gossip. “...You lot really didn’t remember?”

A snort from Spy, a vague shrug from the rest of the table.

“It’s his birthday tomorrow.”

A pause, then noises of surprise, shock, and from some of the table, alarm. “A repeat of last year, how very unfortunate,” Spy hummed, taking a sip of his drink.

Pyro shouted something with no small amount of conviction that might have been along the lines of “this is terrible!”. Demo seemed to agree, from the shock on his face, the widening of his eye.

“Oh no,” Heavy rumbled, looking legitimately worried. Medic’s eyebrows were furrowed.

“I can’t believe you,” Sniper deadpanned, glaring at all the other mercenaries sitting there. “First year, you don’t bother wishing him a happy birthday. Second year, he plans a whole damn party for himself so you lot wouldn’t forget again and half of you don’t plan ahead and we get scheduled out on a mission and leave the bugger all alone all weekend. And you promise you won’t forget again. And one year later, here we are.”

Pyro appeared to be in a state of panic, pacing at high speed behind their chair, tugging at various points of their suit in high agitation. The Engineer’s face was largely hidden behind the hardhat and goggles and the hand clamped over the bottom part of his face.

“Perhaps he won’t be upset,” Medic suggested. “We all simply wish him a happy birthday and have drinks.”

“We do that every other weekend,” Demo pointed out. Soldier murmured in the affirmative.

“Sniper has remembered,” Heavy noted, looking at the man in question. “Maybe team helps with plans?”

“I already got him a gift,” Sniper mumbled, fidgeting with his hat. “But I don’t think we’ll manage to pass it off as from the whole team.”

“He’s gonna be so disappointed if he finds out that we forgot again,” Engie sighed, head in his hands. “It’ll break his damn heart.”

“So once again, it seems that I’ll need to step in and save you all,” Spy drawled, putting his glass down and reaching into his jacket, pulling out and unfolding a sheet of paper. “With your collective track record regarding this specific event, I assumed you would all forget again, and so took some steps to ensure that there would be a backup plan when the event arises and we wouldn’t need to deal with moodiness and general malaise from the team for the next several weeks.”

The Engineer took the paper, holding it so Medic could read it at the same time as him, Heavy leaning to try and get a look. Eyebrows began to rise. The paper was passed around the remainder of the table.

“You think this’ll work?” Demo asked suspiciously.

“Obviously. Well, and to be fair, you don’t exactly have any other options.”

He had them there.

-

“—Just totally can’t believe you talked Miss P into lettin’ us do this that’s just the coolest shit in the world lemme tell ya, like seriously that’s completely nuts and I can’t even believe it, she’s the best—!“

Scout had only stopped talking long enough to breathe over the course of the entire walk from the base to the makeshift baseball pitch that the Engineer had propped up overnight, absolutely bubbling and more high-energy than any of them had assumed to even be possible—even for him. And most of them had anticipated already hating the idea by the time they got to the pitch, but so far things were actually going rather well. The uniforms that had been shipped in (in their team colors, obviously) all fit them correctly and weren’t nearly as embarrassing as expected, in particular since most of them opted to keep at least one part of their usual wardrobe in the mix, such as masks or helmets or hats. Pyro, for one, just put the baseball uniform on over their entire flamesuit, but nobody was particularly surprised.

They crested the little ridge and got a look at the pitch, and for a moment, Scout went silent, eyes wide and mouth agape. Demo elbowed the Engineer to get his attention and flashed a thumbs up, making him grin and fluster a bit, mumbling about how it was nothin’ special, really.

“Alright,” Scout finally said, turning to them with his hands on his hips, taking on an authoritative tone. “So who here knows how baseball works?”

The Engineer and Soldier raised their hands. After a moment, Sniper and Pyro tentatively did the same. Demo made a so-so motion with one hand.

“And who knows how sandlot baseball works?”

Everyone but the Engineer dropped their hands, and even then, he looked a little doubtful.

“Alright,” Scout said, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “So we don’t exactly got enough people to make a real team—need twelve for a standard six-players-a-team. So we’re gonna be improvising a little bit.”

He looked around, and started addressing each of them with a pointed finger.

“Heavy,” he said, and the giant raised an eyebrow. “You’re catcher, all you gotta do is stay behind first base and catch the ball so it doesn’t roll away. I know you’re not gonna flinch when you see somethin’ speeding at your head, yeah?”

Heavy nodded thoughtfully.

“Cyclops, first base,” Scout said next. “Fucks with your blind spot the least, and you know how to throw shit. Mumbles, you’re on second, Helmet-Head on third.”

Demo flashed a thumbs-up, Pyro clapped their hands together, and Soldier raised an arm in a sturdy salute.

“Doc, right field. Odds are, none of these chuckleheads are gonna hit anything too far to the left or right of normal, but if they do, you’re like practically as fast as I am and can handle it. Spy, you hang out back there in left field. I know you’re probably not gonna catch shit if it comes at you, but hey, it’s worth a shot and you won’t gotta deal with much anyways.”

Medic nodded at the compliment and Spy raised an eyebrow at the insult.

“And Snipes, you’re the pitcher,” Scout concluded, hands returning to his hips.

There was a snort from Demo. Sniper elbowed him.

“Figured you know how to throw shit and won’t straight up brain anyone,” Scout continued, not noticing the squabble. “And I’ll be first up to bat, and we’ll cycle through everyone in that same order, starting as soon as you guys can stop me from running all the bases, then we’ll play normally from there, how’s that sound?”

“You’re sure talkin’ yourself a big game there, son,” the Engineer observed, eyebrows raised.

“Damn right, I’ve been playin’ this shit since I was three,” Scout said, grinning wide. “This is gonna kick ass.”

-

Indeed, the first eight pitches went by in pretty rapid succession. Two because they fumbled and hesitated and miscommunicated in their pitching and couldn’t beat him to the bases, two after that as Scout scored home runs, another general fumble, another home run, one where the ball landed a few feet away from Spy who outright didn’t attempt to catch it, only kicking it closer to Medic as he rushed up to get it, and then one where Scout didn’t notice until he was back at home base that Soldier had unintentionally thrown the ball directly into the side of Pyro’s head (who was distracted by drawing shapes into the dirt at their feet).

They just barely managed to get him out on third, and then it was Demo’s turn.

Overall, by the first circuit through the whole team, they were surprised to find that they were actually having fun, even and especially with the odd shenanigans that ensued during the course of the game. There was one point where Soldier full-body tackled Demo at first base (just slightly confused about a few of the contact rules), and another where Sniper thought it would be funny to throw a hard ball of clay from at his feet, sending the team laughing as it exploded all over Pyro’s suit and they needed to stop to wipe the lenses on their mask clear. Demo surprised all of them with the first bunt of the game, and the Engineer with sending the ball soaring nearly into a homerun, with him sheepishly asking if using the Gunslinger to swing was allowed after he’d already run the bases. Then there was Pyro calmly stealing their way to third after the team thought their turn was over, and Heavy accidentally cracking the bat, and Medic absolutely eating shit as he tried to take off towards first. And nobody for sure knew how to react to the one time that Spy actually caught the ball, all but diving to catch it and send it to second just in time to get Soldier out. And of course, all of them were left just slightly in awe as Scout sent home run after home run sailing towards the stratosphere.

They finally had to stop when it was getting dark and Heavy informed them that they didn’t have any more baseballs left in the bucket for all the ones sent sailing far foul or off into the distance with a homerun. Soldier and Demo promised to go pick them up the following day and they all began their trudge back to base, covered in the bright orange loam of the desert and already slightly sore and feeling like they were in much higher spirits than any of them had expected. Scout, most of all, seemed... contented. Not just cheerful, not just bubbly, but contented, satisfied. Happy. He seemed so very happy.

Several of them, glancing around between themselves, considered telling Scout the truth, that they hadn’t put in nearly as much work as he thought they did. But most of them just settled in for saying happy birthday a few more times over assorted bottles of booze and maybe even a movie.

Sniper, for one, was a little fidgety on the way back to base. Halfway there, he took Scout by the shoulder, pulling him to slow down just a bit.

“Had, er,” Sniper said once they were a good few meters trailed behind the team, eyes averted. “Heavy said we were out, but. Had, er. Had one ball left.”

He pulled the baseball in question out of his pocket, unfolded it from the handkerchief it was in, passed it over, a little sheepish. Scout took it, confused, turning it over in his hands.

He stopped dead in his tracks. The rest of the team slowed and turned as they realized two of their party weren’t with them. Scout’s mouth was agape.

“Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmyGOD—“ Scout babbled suddenly, eyes widening, practically starting to vibrate in place. “—is this a real actual serious legitimate gen-u-ine real signature? Snipes please tell me you’re not fuckin’ around right now ohmyGOD.”

“Nah, yeah, from the actual bloke,” Sniper agreed, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yats-rem-key, something like?”

“Only just jersey number eight, left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, five-time All-Star four-time Gold Glove winner and three-time batting champion, Triple Crown winner and overall MVP in the entire American Major League of baseball, Carl Michael motherfuckin’ Yastrzemski!”

Sniper faltered under the sudden weight of the entirety of Scout as he was all but tackled in a hug, Scout continuing to babble excitedly on about the man whose signature was on the baseball in his hands. There was a general chuckle and rolling of eyes from the team as they watched the scene unfold.

“And we’re sure Sniper’s not the catcher, then?” Demo asked lightly, and with Sniper not there to elbow him, the Engineer took his place, making Demo snicker.

“If you would please cease embarrassing yourselves,” Spy called over after giving them a solid minute, which made Scout look up and apparently notice the entire team looking at them, flushing red and promptly trying to pretend he didn’t just do all that. “I believe that Heavy has prepared some kind of cake and I for one would rather not eat it after Pyro has covered it in candles and torched them all.”

Indeed, Pyro by then had a good head start on the team, who all hurried to catch up. And they all bumbled their way through at least five nationalities’ rendition of a Happy Birthday Song, and each very nearly got through their slice before the first scrap of the night began and the rest of it was lost in the mayhem, and overall, Scout would remark the next day through the haze of his hangover that actually, that was easily one of his favorite birthdays in a long time.

[theimperialnuisance]

FFXIV Write 2021 Day 1

// FFXIV Write Info // Prompts // Master post //

(Heads up, this is LONG. I got kind if carried away as this is an ORGIN STORY! : D Set before ARR so Kien is 18 but is not known by that name just yet. Mentions of  speculated physical and mental abuse if you squint. Some of my personal headcanon’s of Meracydia are present in this! I hope you enjoy!)

Day 1 Forster

bring up (a child that is not one's own by birth).

encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good).

Ranald had been to his fair share of places since becoming a merchant, but no place struck him as interesting as Meracydia.

It was a place people scarcely traveled to as it had been rendered a wasteland ever since the Allagan Empire declared war there during the last years of the Third Astral Era; a lot of regions were still uninhabitable to this day and those regions that could be lived in consisted of a rather recluse population that would attack any outsider on sight. However, some of the natives were still open to trade as certain materials from Eorzea were highly sought after and the rare gems found on the southern continent could sell for a hefty sum of Gil in Eorzea but one wrong move in the eyes of the natives meant an ambush or death, so Ranald never stayed for long or ventured too far from the shores whenever he decided to come around to try his luck with a trade.

With every visit, the Hyur could never quite comprehend how natives still lived on the southern continent. The water was always cloudy and murky and the sky was ochre in color with the sun permanently hidden behind a thick haze. The land itself was barren and dry—what remains of standing trees were bare and splintered while the rest were deduced to blackened stumps. In some places, there were remains of structures but none of them were in one piece and most of them were reduced to rubble, but he certainly felt prying eyes on him at several instances and he shuddered to think of who—or what—could be roaming around the ruins.

He and his three fellow traders had been in Meracydia for the better part of three nights with no luck when Ranald finally made the decision to call it quits and leave before any sort of ambush befell them; It was already risky enough to travel without a tribe’s trust to trade with and staying any longer than the initial welcome was just begging for an attack. As he turned to follow his fellow shipmates up the ramp, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end; someone had been watching him.

“Who goes there?” Ranald quickly unsheathed his daggers and whipped around, expecting to come face to face with a tribe ready to ambush them but was mildly surprised to find a young Miqo’te staring back at him. He seemed just as startled as Ranald was, his own bow drawn at the ready and a hand resting on the quiver on his back as if he was about to draw an arrow.

“Wait! Wait!” The Miqo’te said hurriedly but still didn’t lower his weapon. “You’re a trader, aren’t you?” His accent was thick but his Common was easy to understand causing more confusion to the Hyur. Usually, it was always the other way around; the natives expected outsiders to understand their language when trading, it was unusual to meet a native who could speak and understand Common.

Questions bubbling, Ranald arched an eyebrow at him. “I am. What have you?” Behind him, he could hear his shipmates rush out to see what going on, but he cocked his head to the side in a silent request to stay back to which they obeyed.

The Miqo’te looked even more nervous than he was before at the sight of the three other people but didn’t move. “I did not come to harm you; I only want to trade…an exchange, if you will.”

 Ranald almost wanted to laugh. “Then why are you brandishing your weapon at me lad?” He asked, watching as the Miqo’te’s expression twist from concern to confusion. “This has better not be a trick and no one else comes out to attack.” He said firmly, watching the Miqo’te eyes widened.

 “I—I wasn’t trying to catch you off guard, but when you suddenly pulled out your daggers, I panicked.” The Miqo’te confessed. “I—I’m not really used to talking with people outside my tribe, so I was unsure how to approach you.” He slowly lowered his weapon and pulled his other hand away from his quiver of arrows. “I promise you, I am alone, and I only seek to trade with you.”

Ranald eyed the boy a bit longer before slowly relaxing his stance and sheathing his daggers. The Miqo’te, who had been watching him carefully, seemed to sag in relief and he quickly returned his bow to his back. Without a weapon shielding half his face, Ranald could finally see how young the lad was compared to him—he looked as if he was in his late teens, maybe the same age as his own son but somehow older and wiser just based off the energy he had about him. His shaggy black hair fell almost completely in front of his right eye, giving Ranald barely a glimpse of it which he could see was amber; a color not like his left eye which was green. He seemed to be traveling somewhere himself as two bags sat behind his feet, and he looked as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep the past few days.

“What’ve you got to trade?” Ranald asked as he descended the ramp back onto the shore. The Miqo’te wordlessly picked up the smaller of the two bags and opened it, inviting Ranald to step closer and look inside. Still a bit weary, Ranald leaned forward to peer inside the bag, nearly gasping aloud at the abundant sparkling gems inside.

“You cannot find these anywhere outside of Meracydia,” The Miqo’te began. “At least, that’s what the other traders told me when I traded with them before…I’ve been collecting them for several years.”

Ranald could hardly believe it. There had to be at least twenty or more gems inside the bag and the Miqo’te was right: they were rare ones he’d never found in Eorzea before—this was more than what he’d ever traded in the past. But…he knew he didn’t have anything worth the amount offered in goods to trade. He looked up with a questioning stare. “What can I give you in return?”

“Passage on your ship,” The Miqo’te replied confidently as if he had rehearsed the line several times before. “While I do not know where you’re bound to next, know that I you needn’t worry about lack of provisions as I have my own and I will do any necessary work during the journey.” He spoke with confidence but once again his fidgeting hands and tense shoulders gave away to his nervousness—had he been denied before? What fool would turn down a bag of rare gems for an extra passenger on the way back? Nay, there was something more to this and Ranald felt a need to know why.

“What’s your name lad?” Ranald asked but the Miqo’te stayed silent as he bit his lip in hesitation. Ranald’s expression softened, deciding to not press it further. “Well, you can tell me when you’re ready—it’s a long journey back to Eorzea so there’s plenty of time to share life stories.”

“Eorzea…? The place I’ve heard stories about…have seen in...” The Miqo’te trailed away and bit his lip to prevent himself from speaking any further. “You’ll have me then?” He looked back up; hope swimming through his eyes that caused Ranald to smile warmly.

“Aye, climb aboard!” Ranald smiled as he gestured to the ship. “These three here are Mikiah and Arlix,” he gestured to the short brunette Hyur to his left and the tall blonde Elezen to his right before turning to the brunette Miqo’te standing at the top of the ramp. “That there is U’vhana Tia and I’m Ranald.” The three friends all raised their hands in a gesture of greeting looking confused but welcoming all the same. Ranald watched as the young Miqo’te eyed them wearily before nodding his head in greeting. “We leave as soon as we fire up the ship, don’t want to lose any more of this daylight—if you can call it that.” He waved his hand absently with a smile as the Miqo’te gathered his remaining bag and followed them up the ship and they took off.

----

For the first half of the journey, Ranald watched the young Miqo’te bemusedly as he seemed to go through an array of emotions over the course of seconds—fear from the airship beginning to fly, excitement when he saw a blue sky, probably for the first time in his life, and then, he seemed to settle into his thoughts as the ground below grew smaller and smaller and they sailed through the clouds.

As the day stretched into evening, the Hyur left the Miqo’te alone, sensing he was still nervous from everything that had just occurred while the man himself was still in bewilderment of it all. He essentially just helped a kid run away from his family, and his friends didn’t even question him! He wasn’t what exactly possessed him to agree to such an absurd trade but judging by the relief on his face once he invited him on board, he supposed he couldn’t blame him for wanting to get the hells out of the wasteland. But what about his family? Wouldn’t they be searching for him? Would it even be safe to return to Meracydia again knowing there may or may not be a tribe on the lookout for their lost family member? And that scar on his eye…Ranald hadn’t missed glimpsing that but chose to not ask him about it either. Was that why he wanted to run away from his family?

The Hyur sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. Such speculative thoughts would have to wait! Mayhap he could get some questions answered over dinner. Deciding to do just that, he ensured his friends were all tended to with the ship and made his way up to the deck where he spied the Miqo’te leaning over the ship wall and watching the stars. Just as he made way to approach him, the boy suddenly went rigid, his hand flying to his forehead as if he was in pain. By the time Ranald was able to get to his side to help keep him steady as he staggered, he was coherent again but a little pale.

“I must’ve gotten too excited and gave myself another headache, but it passed.” The Miqo’te looked down as if he was ashamed and slowly stepped away from Ranald’s hovering hands. Ranald furrowed his brow and gently placed a hand on the Miqo’te’s shoulder, not failing to notice the slight jolt that went through him.

“Another headache? These’ve happened before?” Ranald couldn’t help voicing the question aloud and the Miqo’te flinched as if he was expecting to get yelled at. Ranald’s face softened as he quietly asked, “Are you alright?”

That question seemed to take him by surprise, and he looked up to meet Ranald’s worried expression, blinking in bewilderment. “Ah—I—I’m fine,” he stuttered before looking away again in embarrassment. “Sorry, could I maybe sit down for a bit? I’m feeling very sick.” Ranald carefully guided him down to a chair and quickly fetched one of his water skins, offering it to the boy with a gentle nudge. He cautiously accepted it and took a few sips before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

 Ranald watched him carefully for a bit, trying to figure out the right then to say as he sat down in the chair across from him. “Have you heard of the Echo before?” He finally asked. When the boy shook his head, he smiled warmly. “I don’t know much about it myself unfortunately, but I’ve heard what it can be like—headaches—like the one you just had—and if I’m not mistaken, you saw something, didn’t you?” The Miqo’te’s brow furrowed as he nodded his head.

“How—how did you know?”

“Your eyes glazed over for a good minute as if you were watching something,” Ranald explained. “When you’ve been traveling around for as long as I have, you meet a few people with the Echo every now and then. Who knows, maybe you’ll become one of Hydaelyn’s chosen and save Eorzea in her time of need like those ‘Warriors of Light’ did during the calamity five years ago!” He chuckled fondly, a memory of his son excitedly talking about the fables springing to his mind.

“Hydaelyn’s chosen? Warriors of Light?” The Miqo’te questioned.

“Aye, the rumor goes that they’re the ones who the Mother Crystal chose to bestow her blessin’ to and they showed up during the Battle of Carteneau and promptly vanished after some big ol’ flash—no one has seen ‘em since. My son would always tell me about an adventurer he met—Kieron, I think—he believed he may have been one of those warriors.” He smiled fondly. “My son was frail and sickly; he didn’t get to travel around as often but Kieron would trade with me often and helped fill that void for him—kept him company and told him all about his grand adventures before taking off on the next one.” He paused, feeling his heart twinge in sadness.

“My son passed away before the calamity, bless his soul for not having to witness that battle, but… I cannot help but wonder if Kieron really was a ‘Warrior of Light’ like my son thought he was because after the calamity, I never saw him again either.” Ranald let out a sigh as he brought his gaze to the starry sky above. “I’d like to think he and my son are off on their own grand adventure somewhere now—mayhap I’ll see them both again someday.” He fell silent as turned his gaze back to the Miqo’te. “Can I ask you why you won’t tell me your name?”

The Miqo’te hesitated for a moment, his eyes casting down to his boots as he wrung his hands. “It’s Roh’to,” he began quietly. “I rather not be called by it anymore…I just want to get away from my tribe. They…did not make me feel welcomed and I’m not proud of my tribe name. I just want to start anew.”

Ranald reached up to scratch the stubble on his chin with a nod, his speculation about the relation to his scar and family slowly piecing itself together. “Then I suppose we’ll have to find a new name for you then.” The Miqo’te looked up, his expression a mixture of confusion and awe. “Take all the time you need to think of it but what I really need to know is what you plan to do once we get to Gridania.”

“I—I don’t know,” The Miqo’te confessed as he looked down again. “I truthfully didn’t even think I’d get this far in the first place…not a lot of traders were as willing as you to believe I wasn’t trying to trick and ambush them.”

“Used to be a pirate,” Ranald laughed. “Easy for me to tell when someone is lyin’ to me.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “Tell you what, you can stay with me for a bit, just until you get yourself situated. There’s a few people I think you should meet anyways in regards to that Echo of yours.”

The Miqo’te jerked his head up and stared at him in disbelief. “Truly? I…I won’t be a burden to you?”

Ranald shook his head with a laugh and leaned back. “O‘course not! ‘Sides, I could use the company with how quiet my house has been lately.” His expression softened, somehow knowing this was the right decision to make.

The Miqo’te seemed on the verge of tears as the corner of his lip tugged into a small smile. “I promise to do my part and help out in anyway I can, you won’t regret this.”

“No expectations, just be yourself.” The Hyur smiled and stood, giving a small nudge to the Miqo’te’s shoulder, noticing that he didn’t flinch this time, a sign that he was already feeling more comfortable than before. “You take all the time you need to figure that name out, and I’ll get some dinner prepared…get some sleep too, it’ll be a while before we get to Eorzea.”

He turned on his heel to retreat down into the hull, but before he could descend the stairs, he heard the boy call out, “Ranald?” The Hyur paused with a hum to indicate he was listening. “I thought about what my new name could be.”

“Oh?” He turned to face the Miqo’te again.

“Kien.”

A smile spread across Ranald’s face, his heart filling with warmth. “Well Kien, it’s nice to finally meet you.” 

[siren1song]

Merman Dee AU, Anxceit, shell

Me, lover of mermaids: OH WORM??

Taglist: @acanvasofabillionsuns, @emo-disaster, @greenninjagal-blog, @jungle321jungle, @demidork84

Sea Life

Virgil didn’t like being on land too much. He preferred the open sea, the rocking of a ship under his feet and the salty air blasting his face as he moved around on deck. Preferred hearing his shipmates laughing and singing and working as they sailed, looking for a rich man’s ship to raid, or a village to plunder.

He supposed land had something to offer though, with its pretty greenery and… shops? Maybe?

Listen, Virgil hated going on supply runs when they couldn’t find another ship to raid and take their stock. Like sure, he was good at figuring out how much they’d need to last for a while but being on the sea was so much better than the unsettling stillness of the earth under his feet.

At least he was done with scouting where they needed to hit. He’d taken a week, only spending money on his Inn room, and he was packing up now to get back to the ship so the rest of the crew could pillage and have their fun while he recovered from being on land for too long.

Virgil was shoving clothes into a burlap sack he carried with him everywhere when he went on land, not really caring about being neat or careful with how he got them in there until he heard a thunk and his heart dropped.

Was that..?

He dropped the sack, getting on his knees to dig around in the clothes still on the floor. There was a frantic search for a moment, Virgil holding his breath until he moved a dark colored shirt and a flash of pale cream caught his eye.

Sagging in relief, he picked up the frog shell, fingers brushing over the brown spots decorating it.

Virgil remembered getting this, remembered the man who had given it to him. He wished he could see him again, wished he could give him the kiss he’d always wanted to.

“I want you to have this.”

Virgil looked up from the shell, more confused than he had been when Dee had handed it to him.

“What? It’s just a shell, Dee.”

Dee frowned at that, shifting on the rock he’d chosen to rest on while Virgil sat cross-legged in the sand of the small island next to it.

“No, it’s… important. In ways I doubt you can understand. I won’t try and explain, but if you really think we won’t be able to see each other again I want you to have it.”

Virgil looked back to the shell, turning it over in his hands and admiring the strength he could clearly feel.

“I do really think that. I wish it wasn’t true, I l-” he stopped, clearing his throat for a second as he closed his eyes, “care, about you. I enjoy your company quite a bit. But my captain grows suspicious of my constant leaving of the ship, especially with my usual hatred of being on land.”

Dee was quiet for a moment, then he slid off the rock, tail curling under him in the sand. He put his webbed hand on Virgil’s jaw, gently directing his head towards him so he could look the mer in the eyes, stark yellow and pupils slitted unnaturally.

“I care about you too.”

“Virgil!”

Virgil jumped, nearly dropping the shell in his hands as he whipped his head in the direction of the door, seeing Patton standing there with a bright grin and heaving chest.

“Are you ready? The captain is getting impatient, he wants to set fire to the town and you’re still here with the information for which shops have the best quality supplies!”

He huffed out a laugh, carefully setting the shell into his sack before shoving the rest of his clothes in on top of it.

“Yeah I’m ready, sick of being on land,” he said, pushing up from the floor so he could follow Patton out of the inn.

They ran through the empty dirt cobblestone streets, the bottoms of their shoes (or feet, in Patton’s case) slapping against the stone as they made their way to the docks.

Virgil’s excitement grew when he saw the sea, and then more as he clambered into the boat that would take them to the Mind Palace, a ship that wasn’t yet recognizable but would be, under Captain Sanders’ command.

When they were next to the ship, Patton got ready to call for being brought up, stopping only when he saw the look on Virgil’s face.

“Sometimes, Virgil, I think you love the sea more than anyone else who has ever chosen life on the water,” he said, smiling as Virgil laughed.

“Quite literally born on the water, Pat, I think my love of the ocean is warranted. Come on, let’s get us up on the ship, I’m ready to share my information and then sleep for a fortnight.”

Patton laughed himself, calling up for the two on the ship waiting for them to raise them up to lower the ropes.

“Two days for every one you were on land, as usual. Honestly, Virge, I’d think you were siren yourself if I wasn’t so thoroughly acquainted with your mother.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, helping Patton get the boat ready to go up. It was still weird for him to think that his friend knew his mother so well, especially since Virgil barely remembered her.

It wasn’t much longer until he was back on the ship, taking a moment to cherish the rocking under his feet, breathing in the sea air and the wind blowing through his hair.

“You belong on the water.”

Virgil jumped, turning towards the unfamiliar voice and yelping when he saw the man on the edge of the boat he was standing in.

It was clear the man wasn’t human, with his webbed fingers and finned ears. What was catching Virgil the most off guard was the glowing yellow eyes, pupils sporting a cats eye slit. 

“What?” he asked, confused by the jumble of feelings in chest. 

He couldn’t tell if he was afraid or in love, but his heart was pounding in his chest and this mer was beautiful.

The merman smirked, tilting his head to the side as his eyes went from the unnatural purple hues in Virgil’s hair, down to his torso where thin lines he was born with decorated his ribs under his shirt (how he knew to stop there, Virgil was unsure), then down to his legs.

“I suppose I should rephrase. You belong in the water.”

Virgil gave a disbelieving laugh, sitting back down as he stared at the mer.

“Are you a siren after my heart and life? Or simply a mer after my flesh?”

The man scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“I am a siren, but I hold no interest in feeding myself with you.”

“I’m not sure whether to be relieved or offended. Am I not to your tastes, siren?”

The siren lifted an eyebrow, looking over his body again.

“Tell me, pirate, have you ever wondered why you naturally had a shade of color in your hair that other human’s never had?”

Virgil hummed, removing the shiv he had hidden in his boot so he could play with it between his hands. A simultaneous warning and fidget. 

“I have, but it’s never been something that’s bothered me. I know how to hide it, whatever it may mean, and it does nothing but look pretty.”

The siren nodded, resting his chin over his arms as he watched Virgil.

“I suppose, if it doesn’t bother you, I won’t push,” he commented, earning a look of befuddlement from Virgil.

“I wasn’t aware there was something to push.”

The siren shrugged, but didn’t give Virgil any more than that.

With a sigh, Virgil let it drop. He was sure he didn’t want to know anyway. Sirens were known for telling men what they wanted to hear to lure them to their deaths, so it was for the best anyway.

“Do you have a name?” he asked, cleaning the dirt from under his nails with the shiv, glancing up only when the silence after his question stretched just a bit too long.

“I do. Are you sure you want to know it, pirate?”

Virgil hummed in thought, pressing the tip of the shiv to the tip of his finger.

“I think I do. You’re a beautiful man, siren or no, it’d be a shame not to at least learn your name.”

The siren lifted his head, staring at Virgil with wide eyes the unnatural glow they were giving off in the dark seeming to get brighter as his face began to glow a soft yellow.

“…My name is… complicated to share, in its entirety in human languages. But you can call me Dee.”

He smiled, looking up at the stars.

“Dee, hm? My name is Virgil.”

“Virgil? Are you okay?” Patton asked, waving a hand in front of Virgil’s face and making him jerk back in surprise.

“Huh?”

Patton’s concerned expression deepened, looking at Thomas who Virgil only just realized was standing in front of him with an equally concerned look.

“You haven’t been responding to us for the last few minutes, and Thomas here has definitely been trying to talk to you.”

Virgil flushed, rubbing at the side of his neck and avoiding looking Thomas in the eye.

“Sorry Captain, just relieved to be back on the water.”

Thomas nodded, though he didn’t look like he believed the lie. Which was fair, Virgil wouldn’t have believed it either.

Dee would be disappointed.

“Alright. I just need the list of locations, Virgil, and you can rest, though you’ll have to stay on deck, Logan played with something that made him sick again and Roman is taking care of him so they can’t keep watch like usual.”

Virgil nodded, listing the places he found that the crew should focus on raiding, already eyeing the railing on the far side of the ship where there was rope coiled for him to sit in.

It took an hour before Virgil was alone again, sitting against railing of the ship and staring up at the stars.

He missed looking at the night sky with Dee. The siren often had something interesting to say about whatever new thing he found that fascinated him. Virgil had fun, misleading him about whatever he’d shown him, laughing when Dee would catch on that he was lying through his teeth about the use of a fork he’d found or a rusty candle holder, likely retrieved from a shipwreck.

“I see you still stare at the stars as if you want to join them,” a familiar voice said, making Virgil straighten from his slouched position, turning towards the voice with wide eyes and-

“Dee!” he shouted, a grin spreading on his face that quickly dropped in concern as he looked around the ship.

Logan and Roman may be below deck, but Virgil still worried about the siren getting caught.

Dee rolled his eyes, heaving himself up until he was sitting on the ship wall, tail leaving a puddle of water on the deck beneath him.

“Oh don’t worry so much Virgil, I can take care of myself.”

Virgil looked back at the siren, letting out a small laugh because yeah, that was true.

“Yes, I remember watching you take on a massive shark for fun. Still, what are you doing here? It’s been years since we’ve last seen each other, I’d figured you’d forgotten me by now.”

Dee went quiet, looking up at the stars- a habit he seemed to pick from Virgil, since he himself did that whenever he needed to think.

“I could never forget you, Virgil. You may be a pirate, but you’re still... I still love you, even if I never told you that to your face.”

Virgil’s breath hitched, unable to respond as he looked at Dee with wide eyes.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why now. Well...” Dee looked down at him, smile soft, “would you like to learn something new about yourself?”

Virgil hesitated, standing from the deck so he could be level with Dee’s eyes as he thought.

“If you’re the one showing me? I suppose that couldn’t be a bad thing.”

Dee snorted, rolling his eyes as Virgil grinned.

“You’re a sap, Virgil.”

“I’m a romantic, Dee. Though don’t tell anyone. My crew mates will get insufferable if they learn that.”

Dee smiled softly, holding out a hand, an offer for Virgil to take.

Why did Virgil feel like if he took it, his entire life would change?

“Kiss me, Virgil. Let me taste you.”

Dee’s voice was soft, and Virgil felt as if his heart would burst from his chest at the request.

He didn’t even think twice, taking Dee’s hand in his own and surging forward, pressing his lips to the siren’s in a passion he wasn’t known to give anything but the sea.

Dee wrapped his free arm around him, his hand shifting to his wrist as they kissed and he held Virgil close.

And then they were free falling to the water, Virgil not even able to hold his breath before he was submerged.

Honestly, he hoped Dee had a reason for this. He hoped he wasn’t being betrayed someone he loved, not again at least.

“Relax, Virgil, I promise if you open your eyes you’ll see that you’re fine.”

How was he able to hear Dee’s voice so clearly?

Why weren’t his lungs burning? Why wasn’t he drowning?

“Open your eyes, love.”

Virgil opened his eyes as Dee asked, first seeing the siren’s apologetic face.

“Sorry for the shock, it needed to happen for the change.”

“Change?”

Virgil had spoken without thinking, and it had taken a moment for him to recover from the shock of water filling his throat. But it hadn’t hurt and it was gone with a bizarre push coming from his ribs.

“Look down, Virgil, really,” Dee teased, laughter ringing in his tone.

He always did find Virgil’s confusion amusing.

Virgil looked down.

At first, he didn’t know what he  was supposed to be seeing. There was Dee’s pale yellow tail, swishing lazily in the water, skin shimmering in the moonlight reaching into the sea. It was something Virgil loved to look at.

And then he saw the dark purple sheen underneath him, fear spiking until he realized it was connected to his waist.

He had a tail.

[shhhlikeme]

“Losty Aone” / “Losty Mountain Man🏔” Series: 

Outtake Collection #16:

———————————

A/N: hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii babies!!!!!!!!!! Let’s fucking goooooooooooooo! I’m excited for y’all to read this juicy marathon. As of right now, I am unsure of how many collections it will be but it’s going to be one of the longest marathons ii. Check back every 20 minutes or so if you caught this immediately. Oh and I will be trying again to put my post under a read more but if it fucks up an deletes half the chapter again I am DONE and I TRIED okay??? xo

***ALSO I did not add my taglist to the last marathon so you guys might have missed collections 13-15!!!!***

TABLE OF CONTENTS

———————————

Your Losty Heartbreak and Your Spy Kids Debut 😎🖊📚

Sigh. The curse of being a young adult, I tell ya. 

You are annoyed. 

Yes, two months after the breakup you are still completely heartbroken, even though, yes, it was your genius idea to break up with the love of your life: a man that girls only dream about having as a S/O….

but it was a selfless decision.

Aone Takanobu deserved more, better… than you. That was your rationale.

It’s not fair of you to just accept the perfect man because he was lost enough to lock onto you and not someone on his level. 

While it was a selfless decision , it was still a decision you selfishly regretted because …you were so in love with that man at the time that you did it….

You are….

But you will stifle those emotions so that he can get over you and hopefully see his own worth. 

But that didn’t mean you couldn’t be annoyed. Because you were. And at what, exactly? Well:

After dating and breaking up with him, Aone had females constantly approaching him. A/N: Not constantly but it felt that way for you ofc lol

You guess it’s nice that the females of Date Teko gave him the courtesy of one month to get over you but STILL!

Kusa and Katana said that Takanobu’s admirers shot up because everyone witnessed how he treated you, how amazing he was to you, and they fell for that along with his looks.

Your ex’s new admirers are hoping they can get a man that just as inwardly beautiful as he is outwardly and hopefully he will like them, too

In other words: They want what you had. 

And what did you want? 

Well:

You wanted to rip some hair out. Yours or theirs? You’ll leave that up to subjective interpretation. 

EVERY TIME you walked past your ex—that you still love—’s locker there was some brat or another staring up at him in admiration like he was Mount fucking Everest. 

You wanted to scream. 

but isn’t this what you wanted, Y/N? Your Mountain man to find someone else? Your conscience would ask. 

Shut the hell up, conscience. You’d bark back. 

You heard from Katana who was keeping tags on his every admirer that he denied them all dates (which defeats the purpose of your break-up, but you smiled nonetheless) but that Aone did agree to host a study session with a group of girls that apparently begged/needed his help in all subjects before finals. 

give me a fucking break, you and your conscious agreed.

“Ugh. He’s too kind for his own good. Can’t he see those girls just want an excuse to be near him?!?!” You raged about the study session as you peered closely through the passenger side window to make sure that Kusa got inside her house safely. It was 6pm, and you had just heard the news while on the way home from dinner at your favourite restaurant. Katana drove. From her doorstep, Kusa waved at you before closing her door.  

This Saturday, your best friends forced you on your first outing since the breakup, dressing you and even doing your makeup despite your complaining about leaving the house. You had to admit that the food that you did order at the restaurant was decent enough, but really—you would much prefer to still be in bed, flipping through pictures of Aone and Perdu and having a good cry.

Katana rolled her eyes as she stopped at a red light, responding to your initial question. “Ugh. Yeah, they are smarter than we thought. But you’re okay with this, right? I mean this is what you said you  wanted when you broke up with him. You said you want him to find a new girl,”” Katana fished for your true feelings, sounding a lot like your annoying conscience. 

You sulked, picturing other females near the man you are in love with. It made you sick. But, instead, you said, “Of course I am Okay with it. I want him to be the happiest he can be.”

Katana fixed her eyes on the road and bit her tongue so that she wouldn’t laugh. 

You had no idea why you weren’t being fully honest with your friends, but perhaps it made you believe it more the more you said it aloud. “I know Kusa had that assignment to do tonight… and you have that one with Kenji tomorrow, right? so do you want to come over? My mom got me another tub of cookie dough ice cream, and we can rewatch Bad Girls Club again.” You asked Katana in that voice that meant you didn’t want to be alone tonight.

Katana smirked. It was an evil smirk. “I’ll do you one better.”

“Uhhh… Katana….you missed my turn.” Your eyes widened when the cheer captain passed your street, and then passed her own street a few seconds later. “Katana!”

“Word on the cheer team is that Aone-san’s first study session ends in 20 at the local library. I wanna check it out.”

“What?! No you will not—!” You yelled, but you couldn’t help the surge of excitement that flew through your body thinking about seeing that man again. It was always like this.

“—Oh, lighten up— it’s not like I will be joining the damn study session.”

“You won’t?” You asked, surprised.

“Obviously not! Muri is studying something else there, so I need to give her back her notes anyway. It’s only a plus that I’ll get to see how desperate those girls are being with my besties ex. Incognito, kay? I was going to drop you off first and go, but it looks like you don’t wanna be alone. Right?” 

Your pretty best friend waited a few seconds for a response, and when she didn’t get one, she nodded. “Exactly.” She turned into the school’s practically empty parking lot, finding her favourite spot. “So, you can stay in the car. No prob. And I won’t tell you anything about it.” 

You frowned, watching as Katana reached in the backseat for her purse so that she could take out the notes she had for Muri.

“Okay,” you whispered anxiously.  

“I’ll be like, 10 minutes.” The brunette removed her keys from the ignition and stepped outside of her car.

You stayed where you were as Katana’s figure disappeared into the one of the Date Teko’s many entrances. You began to think about what your friend was going to see in there: Aone leaning over the shoulder of pretty Date Teko girls? Helping them with their homework the way he would help you? These girls smelling his fresh icy mountain scent, and leaning in closer, the way you would to him?

Naturally, you began to panic internally.

You pictured the girls twirling their hair flirtatiously and telling him that they didn’t understand when they did, just to keep him hovering over them longer. The same way you used to. 

😤😤😤

Your foot started tapping on its own inside Katana’s car, thinking about how your lost ex-boyfriend wouldn’t even pick up any of it as flirting, ugh. 

Your imagination created even more concerning visuals: more giggling, more oblivious Aone, more shoulder brushing, more oblivious Aone, and then some more….. yeah. Should it really have come as no surprise that you soon found yourself hidden behind a dusty bookshelf in the anatomy section of your school’s library on a Saturday, squatted down and peeping through the slits between books to catch glimpses of your ex boyfriend hosting a study session?!

You blamed your active imagination. 

Behind the dusty shelves, you whimpered because the obstructed vision due to the books covered the white haired beauty perfectly. You held a disgusting book to the right a bit.

“Oh,” your stomach flipped. “He looks so cute.” You put on a 🥺 face when you noticed how utterly adorable a standing Takanobu looked decked out in forest green sweatpants and a matching hoodie with the hood on, and his white hair barely visible. 

Your stomach flips were quickly bumped away by sheer annoyance as you saw him then do exactly what brought you up here, just as you thought: innocently leaning down to help a blonde third-year girl you knew by the name of Sutairu Elyts with a question she was asking. She was smiling way too much for someone doing boring ass school work on Saturday, you noted. Flipping her hair, giggling, and obnoxiously putting her cleavage in Aone’s line of sight. You picked up the dusty library book that was obstructing your view and stopped yourself from tossing it at Sutairu— instead choosing to toss it to the side without a care in the world, trying to get a closer look at how close the girl was going to get while Aone answered her question. 

You were close to literally poking your head through the bookshelf hole completely, when someone to the left of your hiding spot cleared their throat very loudly. You jumped, bumping your head and hissing in pain. 

You removed your head from the bookshelf and looked up at the cause of your newfound migraine.

There stood Katana, her arms crossed and a knowing smile on her face. “You got here faster than I thought,” She reached down to help you up. “Now, come on. None of this amateur shit. You know my style. When it comes to cute boys: make it obvious, and make it count.”

***

Aone was in the middle of teaching Algebra to a group of students (he doesn’t register the fact that they are all conveniently female and all too well dressed for a study session) who had desperately begged him for his help, to the point where the teacher just asked Aone to do it. 

He didn’t mind, the teacher offered him extra credit and everyone he was teaching was nice, they didn’t mind him being pretty silent, plus Kenji fully supported it. So why not? Aone mainly supported it because it was a great distraction from his broken heart and his plan…. 

Or so he thought it would be—before he spotted you in the library.

His heart skipped a beat because he absolutely was not expecting to see you today. His plan wasnt supposed to be put into action until Monday! Trying not to freak out, Aone watched you enter from a side that wasnt the entry way—which is pretty odd—but he shoved the thought to the side anyway because there you were, looking busy.

“Wow.” Takanobu couldn’t stop himself from mouthing when his eyes found you. He mouthed it to himself, of course, but it caused the observant participants in his study group to whip around to see what he was looking at. 

you were dressed pretty casually, coming from dinner with the girls, but Aone hadn’t seen you dressed in anything other than your school or cheer uniforms since your breakup, so it took him by surprise

Not to mention you looked really, really, really good:

Aone watched you scan the bookshelves with Katana—which, if Takanobu was thinking straight— he would realistically call bs on you ever coming to the library for no reason, ESPECIALLY on a Saturday— but you looked too gorgeous to him to care 

Now that he is working alongside you in a project, he has been able to crawl out of depression a bit, simply because your mere presence made him feel whole again, so he basked in the delight he felt any time he was able to see you.

Aone realized that even though he struck out the first time and failed to make you want to be with him, he had nothing to lose if he tried again. 

The premise of Aone’s plan presides on the idea that you are the only girl he wants. Therefore, he just has to prove that to you. Silently. Strategically. 

So that’s the only reason why Aone was able to to shift his focus right now and look away from you, effectively returning to helping his study group and making them forget you even walked in. 

Aone’s mission is to become the man that you want and need, naturally. He will exude more confidence: which is a testament to the fact that he was here right now: tutoring a bunch of girls who have asked him out and he has rejected before because of you,

He wants word to get back to you that your ex is the type of guy who knows how to be just friends with people who had feelings for him. Just in case you wanted to start there with him.

He wants to be your friend. Aone wants to be anything to you but a stranger. It’s the only way his heart stops aching and if that’s all you can give him is a friendship after this project is over, then that is what he would willingly accept!  

Aone forced himself to look back down, getting up to step around the circular table to help with the other girls’ study guides. 

He was able to keep his cool for the most part, but almost lost it twice... 

Once when you dropped a book and bent down to pick it up, showcasing how amazing your butt looked in those jeans. 

Aone cleared his throat to get his own attention back and turned away quickly when he felt a familiar stir under his sweatpants. He stuffed his hands deep in his sweatpants pockets and directed his energy back to the paper in front of him. He erased an answer for one of his students and plugged in the correct one.

The second time Takanobu almost lost his cool was when he heard you make a cute noise and his eyes flicked back up to you. You were trying to reach a book that was too high for you but probably met the height of his ear, your hand above your head, your bodyweight on your toes which gravitationally rose your top up as well, exposing the naked skin on your lower back. 

Aone’s throat went dry and he bit back a groan because the last time he’d stared at that lower back of yours so intensely: you were in a perfect arch, naked, using his dick to pleasure yourself when he told he was on the phone. 

Cue hands in pockets again.

He recalled how that section of your back had a light layer of sweat on it back then, making it glisten as he bit his lip, trying not to moan to the feeling of your tight and juicy walls running up and down his length. Holy, shit, that feel good. 

Aone began thinking about helping you get that book and then fucking you against that bookshelf you were leaning on: holding you up in his arm, the other hand used to place it behind your head as a cushion so that you did not harm yourself when he sheathed his big dick inside your absolutely perfect box, so hot and so delicious, and soo hard not to cum inside within the first minute…..

👁👅👁 Aone’s eyes glazed over to the point where one of his tutor-ies had to snap their fingers in front of his face. 

Highly embarrassed, Takanobu pulled it together ASAP, muttering a quick and sincere apology and thinking only of his plan. Trusting in his plan, he refused to look up in your general direction again. He didn’t trust himself to. 

***

“He barely looked my way….” You sobbed into your cookie dough ice cream later that night, Katana rubbing your back and removing your hair out the tub. 

“Please, Y/N,” Katana begged, absolutely gutted seeing her best friend like this. “Please be honest with yourself and make sure you truly stand by the decision you made.”

———————————

A New Aone and a Perfect Plan? ✅🤩

Mountain Man put absolutely all of his energy into his plan to get you back. His understanding is that you broke up with him because he wasn’t good enough for you, so that means he would just have to make himself good enough for you. While Kenji was completely against Aone trying to get back the girl who broke his heart, Kenji found himself agreeing with the plan since it meant that his best friend would be speaking, playing volleyball, and overall living life again while it was in action. The plan was to essentially fake it till you make it—show you that Takanobu could be the man you deserved. 

The gist of the plan was for Aone to disallow himself to be zombie-like anymore, because you probably didn’t like that. He started spending more time with his friends again, and he was eating again. He was banking on this plan, and if it didn’t work—sure, he’d be crushed for the rest of his life—but at least he’d have no regrets. It wouldn’t be easy, he’d have to speak back to other females kindly letting them down when all he wanted to do was speak to you. He’d have to ignore you when you walked by which meant going against his every instinct, and he’d have to speak to you confidently in class when you two were working on the project and small talk about your lives, when all he wanted to do was lean in and kiss you until he could taste you even when he pulled away. 

Thoughts of you consumed him, still, but they were now hopeful thoughts. He was not going to let his dream girl walk away that easily. 

A/N: GO BABY GOOOOO

You, on the other hand, took this new and confident Aone as a sign that he was getting over you. He didn’t seem very sad anymore, you didn’t see that same dejected and lost eyes you saw when he pushed his best friend away from you. You saw intensity there, like he was now focused on a new task in his life. It confused you, and it hurt like a bitch, because deep down you knew he’d move on soon and you wouldn’t. 

But this is what you wanted, right? 🙄🙄Repeated your conscience, again. You really wanted to fight her. 

“Y/N, you seem out of it today.” Mountain Man stopped writing the outline of the content analysis in class to stare down at you. You could see the concern in his eyes, but you refused to believe it was anything more than the concern anyone would feel for an ex turned friend, and nothing more. 

Embarrassed, you realized that you must have zoned-out, and now this gorgeous man that you wanted to jump was calling you out on your odd behaviour. “W-was I?’ You shook your head then looked down in your lap. “Sorry.” 

Aone placed his pencil down, heart pounding because he wanted that frown of yours to disappear so badly. “Is it about your University Cheerleading tryouts?” He asked kindly, too kindly—if you had any hope of getting over him in the next 5 years. 

You looked up at him, confused as to why he’d even mention that. 

The white haired beauty blushed. “Kogane—he, uh, well…” Aone took a second to look away and collect his thoughts because your big beautiful eyes were making him lose his train of thought. He reminded himself of his plan and collected himself, returning to your gaze. “Kogane-san mentioned to Kenji and I this morning that Kusa needed someone to film her audition tape, because that is the only way cheerleaders are able to send in your tryouts for schools that are too far away, correct?”

“Oh,” You nodded. “Ya—“

Aone continued without missing a beat. “I know Kogane is helping film Kusa’s, and you mentioned yesterday that Katana is out of town for a camp… so, and feel free to say no: but I’d love to offer you my help, Y/N. With filming and editing.” 

There was a pause in which you just looked at Aone with those big beautiful eyes that he thinks about 24/7. 

Afraid that he might be coming onto way too strong, which goes against his super slow plan, Takanobu adds: “As friends. Offer you my help as friend.” 

Your heart sunk, but he looked so sweet asking, not to mention you really did need to get on that tryout instead of pushing it off until you miss it completely and don’t end up going to University—

If you didn’t get a cheer scholarship you were screwed; Aone knew this. Not to mention you would love to see him more; Aone did not know this.

“I’ve taken photography as my elective for the past three years and do pretty well in that class in terms of grades, so I just thought…” Mountain Man was scared shitless, nervously listing off his accomplishments like this was an interview…. mostly due to the fact that you hadn’t answered him yet. Too fast, she can tell you want her back—now she’ll never give you another chance. Failure. Aone opened his mouth to retract his offer, but you interrupted him before he could get the first word out. 

“Um, yes. Sure. I’d love your help, Aone-san. I promise it won’t take long. Thank you so much.” 

Aone nodded even though he was bursting at the seams inside. Mountain Man couldn’t believe it. After  being broken up with because your feelings weren’t there, you agreed to spend non-school related time with him?! The middle blocker couldn’t help but think that you wouldn’t have said yes, had he still been acting like a zombie. Actually, he wouldn’t even have dared asked, if he was still acting like a zombie. Now he gets to help you and see you more than he has since the breakup, and he considers this like a gift! Yes!

“Great. Just tell me where and when you would like to have your audition, and I will be there.” A very cool reply.

You even rewarded him even more with a smile. “How about next Tuesday? Here on the field since it’s getting warm out again? I need to rehearse a lot and that gives me enough time.”

“Understood.” A cool second later, Takanobu had to excuse himself to the washroom so that he could celebrate in silence. He texted his friends and took a deep breath.

Selfishly, Aone also wanted to help you with this particular audition because he wanted you to go to the same University as he and Kenji. He wanted to help you with your future assignments and he wanted to see you everyday. How great would that be? A little torturous, too. But if you were on a cheer team and happy, then: mostly great. 

Baby steps, Mountain Man sighed contentedly. He would get you back in baby steps, and this was the first one. 

He just had to keep following the plan.

———————————

Taglist: @galagcica @chaichai-the-weeb @nairobiisqueen @bisasterrr @juminly @simply-not-the-same @marvelousbakugou @qyuanon 💛

Outtake #17: CLICK HERE!

[cheeriecherry]

Birds Of A Feather [5/7]

Hawks x Fem!Reader

Warnings: kissing, allusions to smut but nothing explicit

Part 5/7

The next day, you wake up early. Not so early that you’re inclined to roll over and go back to sleep, but enough that you’ll have time to make and enjoy breakfast.

Keigo is still snoozing beside you, cuddled tightly in a cocoon of soft blankets. You’re glad. After yesterday, he certainly deserves a good rest. You lean over and press a kiss to his forehead, smiling gently at his peaceful face.

After he’d kissed you last night, you’d been worried, as his piercing gaze stared down at you. Worried he didn’t mean it in the way you wanted, worried your feelings would get rejected. But he’d just looked at you with the softest expression you’d ever seen him wear, and reconnected your lips. You’d stayed on the floor for a good ten minutes, holding each other close and making out like a pair of teenagers.

He insisted you share a bed with him afterwards, in the most innocent way possible. He promised he'd sleep better with you nearby, but you knew it was just a thinly veiled excuse to spoon you. You didn’t mind.

Even now as you prepared breakfast, you felt light and airy and happy. All because of him.

“Mornin’.”

You’re frying some eggs when a sleepy voice sounds in the doorway, and you turn towards him. Keigo is there, barely awake and still rumpled from sleeping, with even his minimal feathers resembling some kind of bedhead.

“Awh, look at you, all drowsy,” you coo.

He grumbles halfheartedly, bumbling over to where you stand to kiss your cheek. He wraps his arms around your waist and sets his chin on your shoulder, peering down at the wide array of food you’re making.

“What’s the occasion?” he asks.

You hum a little and shrug. “I dunno. Figured you’d need a good meal after what happened yesterday? It might help your feathers grow back faster.”

You stay like that for a few minutes, until it comes time to flip the eggs. You shoo him to the breakfast table, and follow shortly after with your arms full of plates.

He starts heaping things onto his dish the moment you sit down, and you hide a laugh. Your mother always said that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.

“So what do you wanna do today?” you ask, shoveling a piece of egg into your mouth.

Keigo shrugs, giving your question little consideration. “I thought movies on the couch sounded okay?”

You wonder when the last time he had a day off was, and even more so when he last did something fun. “You said we’d go out and do stuff together, Kei,” you tell him, “that’s why I agreed to take time off. Remember?”

He smiles at your nickname, his cheeks glowing a soft pink. “Fair enough. What did you have in mind?”

“I dunno...what kind of stuff haven’t you done before?”

“A lot, actually,” he chuckles dryly, “you’d think I would have seen more of the country I grew up in.”

Your heart twists a little, silently mourning for his lost childhood. You hoped he’d open up about that to you sometime in the future, even though you already had a pretty good idea of what he went through. You hoped you could be somewhere safe for him to come home to.

“How about we start with the big things you haven’t done,” you suggest around a mouthful of food, “like, things you always wanted to do?”

He thinks for a moment.

“I’ve never been to the zoo,” he says, matter-of-factly. “Or a butterfly sanctuary. I’ve never had a beach day, either, despite the fact that I have a summer home. Uh...movie theatres. Amusement parks. All that stuff.”

He pulls some pancakes onto his plate and douses them thoroughly in syrup. You smile and shake your head.

“Well, we don’t want to get swarmed by fans, as much as I love them. Maybe we could do something like the beach?”

“Yeah?” you can hear the excitement in his voice.

“Yeah. We could spend a few days in that summer house of yours.”

Keigo finishes his food quickly after that, rushing to make a few phonecalls and arrange for a ride. You remind him to also get someone to come in and stock the place with food, so the two of you won’t have to deal with the grocery store. It would be a nice, relaxing weekend. No fans invited.

----

You start packing your suitcase while he makes his calls. You have most of what you’ll need for the trip; clothes, toiletries, the like. You wonder if you should pack a set of sheets, too, but you decide against it. This was Keigo’s house you were talking about, after all. You’d bet your left arm you’d walk into the place and it would be fully furnished.

Said boyfriend wanders into the room while you’re tossing things into a duffel bag, and leans against the wall to watch you.

“What?” you ask, “do I have something on my face?”

He smiles sweetly at you, shaking his head. “Nah, you’re just really pretty. It’s gonna be nice to have some time for just us.”

You fluster slightly, warmth creeping onto your face. “Y-you can’t just say things like that!” you scold, but it’s half hearted.

“Why not? Am I not allowed to compliment my girlfriend?”

The warmth spreads down your neck, and you think for a moment that he is a smug, smug oversized chicken.

“So I’m your girlfriend, huh?” you tease, zipping your bag up and throwing it over your shoulder.

He meanders towards you and takes your face in his hands. “Yeah, you’re my girlfriend, and I plan on keeping you for a long time.” The kiss he then gives you is gentle and sweet, maybe from the syrup on his pancakes, maybe from the affection he pours into it. You sigh happily against his lips and snake your arms around his waist.

He’s warm and solid, pressed against you, lithe body holding an unexpected amount of strength. His hands travel downwards, slowly, fingertips ghosting over your neck, collarbones, stopping and hesitating at the tops of your breasts.

Ah. Ever the gentleman.

You arch against him and bite his bottom lip, and his hands continue. His grip is gentle on your chest, nimble fingers caressing soft flesh through your shirt. He groans, low in the back of his throat, and squeezes a little harder.

His kisses grow sloppier, until he’s mouthing down your neck to nip and suck at your skin.

“Keigo…” you whine, shivering at his touch, “I...I want-”

He slips a thigh between yours, and pulls you against him by the hips. You have no choice but to grind down on him, delicious friction sending pleasant shocks throughout your body.

You continue like that for a couple minutes, hands grabbing and groping at each other, slipping under shirts for better access and more sensation. You’re in heaven, wet and hot on his thigh, and you can feel that he’s in no better a condition.

But it’s not enough. Enough to drive you crazy, sure, but hardly enough to bring you over the edge. You’re about to beg him for more, for as much as he’s willing to give, when suddenly his phone starts chirping in the distance.

Keigo groans in irritation, his head dropping onto your shoulder. He slows him ministrations, touches regretfully receding from your body, and gives you a final apologetic kiss.

“Sorry, chickadee, but that would be our ride.”

You grumble at the loss of contact, mind foggy and nerves buzzing, muttering about how you’d like a different ‘ride’. “S’okay…” you say, though the disappointment is evident in your tone. “We can try again later though, right?”

He lights up like a christmas tree.

----

The drive is uneventful, peaceful even, and it’s late afternoon by the time you arrive at the beach house.

“You know, when you said ‘summer home’, I don’t know why I thought ‘cottage’.” You stare up at the building in front of you, which has to be at least three times the size of your apartment. It’s two, maybe two and a half, storeys tall, with dozens of huge windows, and an enormous front porch. The garden is meticulously maintained, filled with exotic plants, and palm trees you’re pretty sure have been imported.

It’s very over the top, and you know you should have expected it; Keigo worked hard, flew fast, and earned more money than he knew what to do with.

You wander into the front foyer together, kicking your shoes off before proceeding to the rest of the house.

From the main living area, you had a clear view and access to the backyard, and beyond that a private spit of beach and ocean. You weren’t sure how such a huge property could be as secluded as it was, but it certainly made it happen.

“Kei, why is there a pool?”

He wanders over to you, following your gaze to the aforementioned structure.

“Huh,” he says, “I didn’t know that was there.”

You close your eyes and sigh deeply. It’s fine, you’re fine, and it’s none of your business to question why there was a pool on the property when the ocean was a hundred feet from the back deck.

“You really never stayed here, have you?” you’re exasperated. “Like, did you even look at the place before you bought it?”

He at least has the decency to look sheepish. “I never had time? Even when I lose my feathers, I usually have to stay in the office and do paperwork.”

“Do you not have paperwork this time?”

“Oh, no, I do!” he smiles cheekily, “I’d just rather be here with you.”

“Keigo!”

----

You both unpack quickly, setting your clothes up in the wardrobe in your shared room. He’s packed entirely too much for a three day vacation, but you suppose he doesn’t have much experience with that. You’re also fairly certain you did the same…

Despite your overall reservation about the rich and slightly entitled atmosphere of the house, you were excited to be there. It’s been years since you’d last had a vacation, the last time possibly being your senior graduation event, and you could feel that you desperately needed time off.

Keigo sits on the edge of the bed, clad in comfortable shorts and a T-shirt, watching you sort your things out and set them in drawers.

“So...what now?” he asks.

You hang your final sun dress up, and turn to him. “Now we do whatever we want. Lounge on the beach, or the patio -though it looks like it might rain-, go swimming, decide what to make for dinner…speaking of, did you have someone stock the pantry?”

“Yeah. Fridge, too.”

“Perfect! How about you pick what to make, and help me with it?”

----

Keigo, in his chicken-loving fashion, decides on ‘fancy chicken nuggets’. You’re not exactly sure how to make that, or what would go well with it, but you’re giving it your best shot, mixing fresh spices and herbs into the floury breading.

Your boyfriend sits at the island a few feet away, watching you flit between appliances and bowls and chopping boards. He had tried to help you briefly, but proved himself rather inept at preparing food, so you’d kindly banished him out from under your feet.

“You’re a woman after my own heart,” he sighs, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand.

You peek at him over your shoulder and smile. “I swear, you’re such a dude. A nice plate of food in front of you, and you swoon.”

Mischief sparkles in his eyes. “That’s not true! I like a pretty face, too!”

“Then why the heck did you choose me?” you snicker.

Keigo doesn’t laugh. Quite the opposite, in fact. He grows unusually serious, and slides off the barstool to come stand beside you.

“You’re beautiful. You know that, right?” he asks.

You roll your eyes. “It was just a joke, Kei…”

“Self deprecating jokes have an element of personal truth to them.”

“Keigo seriously-”

“Say you’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“Y/N, you know what I mean. Say you’re beautiful.”

You sigh. “I’m...pretty.”

“Beautiful.”

“Beautiful.”

“Good! Now, all together.”

“I’m...I’m…” you hesitate on the word, fidgeting while you try to say it. You don’t know why a single self compliment is proving so tricky. It might be the way he looks at you, so intense and focused. It’s making you nervous.

You avert your gaze and turn away. “I should check the nuggets-”

But he captures you in his arms, pulling you back against his chest. “We’re not done here yet.”

You squirm a little, but your heart isn’t in it. When you finally still, he speaks again.

“Who made you believe you aren’t beautiful?” he wonders softly, resting his chin on your shoulder. You shiver at his warm breaths on your neck, and let yourself lean back into him.

“Why does it matter?”

“I need to know who to punch.”

You laugh at that, but it’s dry and humourless. “I’m afraid it’s no one in particular,” you tell him, “It’s just kind of a behaviour that everyone picks up over the years, y’know? It’s not a big deal, in my case, it’s not like I hate myself.”

Keigo squeezes you a little. “You just don’t think you’re beautiful.”

“The definition of beauty changes from person to person, anyways. I’m sure there are people I find beautiful that don’t see it, too.”

“Doesn’t that make you sad, though?”

Your shoulders sag in defeat. It does make you sad, when the people you love and cherish would choose to change so much about themselves, if they could. When they don’t see the life and personality and kindness behind their smiles and dimples and blemishes.

“I guess,” you mumble.

Keigo lays a kiss against your shoulder, lips lingering against your bare shoulder. He presses another, closer to your neck this time, and another after that. “I’ll say it every day until you believe it, sweetheart,” he tells you, voice low and silken, “you’re beautiful. Your wings are beautiful, too. So strong and graceful. They give away your feelings sometimes, y’know? They get fluffy when you’re excited, or mad, or scared…”

“Keigo…”

He continues his journey across your shoulder, while his hands roam slowly up your sides. “You smile could light up a room, and your laugh? Don’t even get me started. I’ve never heard something so close to perfection, it makes my stomach twist up in knots.”

You tremble in his arms, the familiar warmth of arousal beginning to course through your veins. Still, he doesn’t stop.

“You work so hard, and you take your job seriously, and you’re good at it, too. Yet you’ve never cared about popularity, even though you’re kind to your fans. You just want to help people, and make a difference where you can. It’s admirable, and noble, and the world needs more heroes like you.”

You squirm in place, turning carefully around in his arms. At this distance, you can see all the freckles and scars on his face, and feel his short breaths fan across your cheeks.

“You...really have feelings for me, don’t you?” you whisper, as though you can’t quite believe it.

“Of course I do,” his tone is low, “I wouldn’t have tried so hard to befriend you if I wasn’t at least a little bit interested. And you turned out to be so much better than I expected.”

You lock your fingers behind his neck, the soft hairs there tickling your skin. His eyes flutter ever so slightly, and his next breath is shaky.

“Y/N, I…”

You lean forward and kiss him.

It’s messy, and heated, and he responds to your touches with soft moans and gasps. He pulls you as close as he can, your bodies flush together, and you can feel him hard against your thigh. He’s certainly easy to rile up, but you don’t particularly mind.

His hands roam your form, grabbing and squeezing wherever you let him venture. He breaks your kiss to start sucking a bruise onto your neck, biting down on your skin when his actions earn a gentle whine from you.

“The things you do to me,” he sighs, stilling his hands from a brief second. “I wanted you the moment I laid my eyes on you.”

Your press your foreheads together, staring into his golden eyes.

“Would you let me have you, chickadee?” he asks, begs, “would you let me keep you?”

“Yes,” you whisper without a second thought, reconnecting your lips.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Soul of a Lion (Chapter 5)

Sequel to The Smallest Blade.

Summary: After the Red Lion steals them away from the Marmora base and takes them through a wormhole, Shiro, Keith, Katla, and Lance find themselves in front of a majestic castle with nowhere to go but inside. The events that unfold while they’re there will change the fate of the universe.

Also posted on AO3 under the username “kishirokitsune”.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

5 | One Step Forward

Katla woke with a harsh gasp, nearly choking on air, her heart pounding so hard in her chest that she could hear it in her ears. She sat up and frantically looked around the unfamiliar room, her panic rising when she didn't see anyone else. She was on her feet and out the door before she could stop and think about what she was doing and she only stopped once she reached Keith's door and had her hand poised to knock.

She slowly lowered her hand.

“What am I doing?” Katla whispered to herself, backing away. She didn't really want to wake him after their late night up on the holo-deck just because she suffered from a little nightmare.

Instead of bothering Keith, Katla turned to the other person who had been there for her through the years.

She didn't bother knocking on the door and instead opened it right up before stepping just inside the doorway. “Shiro?” she whispered, hoping to gently wake him. “Shiro, can I sleep in here?”

Shiro made a groaning sound. “Katla, wha...? Yeah. Of course you can.”

Katla crossed the room and slid under the blankets next to Shiro, cuddling in close and breathing in his soothing scent as she closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

“Mmm hmm... S'everything alright?” he slurred.

“Just a nightmare,” Katla admitted, seeing no point in hiding it. “I'm okay. Just didn't want to be alone.”

Shiro didn't ask why she didn't go to Keith. He simply wrapped an arm around her, silently offering the comfort she sought, which helped her drift peacefully back to sleep.

Her dreams, if she had any, were peaceful after that and when Katla woke again it was with the slow awareness that she was wrapped up in Shiro's warm embrace. Rather than feel embarrassed about running to him like a lost cub, Katla purred and snuggled against him, eliciting a chuckle from her mentor.

“Sleep well?” he asked.

Katla nodded. “Thanks for letting me stay.”

“I meant it when I said that I'm here whenever you need me,” Shiro told her. “Do you want to talk about your nightmare?”

“Nah, I can't even remember what it was about. Probably nothing important,” Katla said. She breathed in deeply and then extracted herself from the blankets and Shiro's hold, shivering as she got out into the chillier air of the room despite the long sleeves of her borrowed nightgown. “It did help me work up an appetite though. I'm starving.”

“Oh? Are you sure it isn't because of your late night adventure to the holo-deck?” Shiro teased.

Katla sputtered in surprise. “Wha- but how did you know about that?!”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “You grew up in a secretive organization whose primary focus is covertly gathering information and you're really going to ask me how I found out?”

“Fair point,” Katla muttered, looking away from him. She left before he could tease her anymore and retreated to her room where she dressed in a clean set of clothing that she found in the drawers. It was too soft and too bright for her tastes, but she supposed it was preferable to wearing her sweat-soaked uniform for a third day. (She'd have to make sure and ask Hunk how they handled laundry in the castle.)

She ran a brush through her hair before leaving her room. Once she was back in the hall, she found that Shiro had rounded up Keith and Lance, who were also dressed and ready for a new day.

Keith bent over and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, wishing her a good morning before straightening back up. “Ready to go play nice with the Alteans?”

Katla crinkled her nose at the reminder.

After his lunch with Allura the day before, Shiro returned with news that they would have breakfast with their hosts to try and get to know each other better.

To say that they were not looking forward to it was an understatement.

“I think I'd rather eat more food goo,” Lance said with a loud groan.

Shiro gave him an unimpressed look. “They're willing to make an effort for us and I'd like it if we did the same for them. Listen, Allura said she wants to talk to us about the Lions today, so please be on your best behavior. If you don't have anything nice to say, then just don't say anything.”

“Now you sound like mom,” Katla teased him.

“Does that mean you'll listen to me?” Shiro asked.

“It means I'll think about it,” Katla cheekily responded.

Keith coughed to try and cover up his laugh, but he couldn't fool Katla. He was well aware of how often she listened to what her mom told her to do, mostly because he was right there by her side whenever it happened.

Shiro didn't bother trying to wrangle a promise out of any of them and settled for getting them over to the dining room without Lance feigning illness to try and get out of it.

Katla wasn't going to pretend like she knew what was going through Lance's head. She would have thought he'd be excited to be around other Alteans, but instead, he was taking even longer to warm up to them than he did on a base surrounded by those he had grown up calling the enemy. She'd call it a puzzle except he'd been pretty vocal about his reasons for not liking them.

“Hey,” she said quietly, nudging his arm as they approached the dining room. “You can handle this.”

Lance managed a smile just for her. “I think I deserve a reward after this.”

“When we go down to the holo-deck I'll let you make fun of Keith when I trip him up.”

“Hey!” Keith protested.

All of their joking subsided once they were standing in front of the door to the dining room and Katla immediately found herself missing the playful atmosphere they had cultivated on their walk over.

Maybe Shiro had a good point about learning to get along and work together. (Something that would be no problem with Hunk, who was friendly enough that she wanted to get along with him.) Being angry and annoyed wasn't only exhausting, it also meant they were no closer to figuring out a way to get home.

If only the Red Lion were a little less stubborn.

The door slid open and Allura rose from her seat at the head of the table to welcome them to breakfast, which was already laid out. Coran, who sat at her left, nodded in greeting, while Hunk, who was on her right, lifted a hand and waved cheerfully.

Breakfast went well, all things considered, though Lance didn't say a word to anyone the entire meal, and Allura struggled to get Coran involved in any conversation for more than a few ticks. Allura, Shiro, and Hunk were the ones who kept things flowing, but even with that Katla was thankful when they all finished eating and the kitchen robots arrived to clear the table.

“I've given it some thought and I believe that the first thing we need to do is locate the other Lions,” Allura stated. “It's only when all five of them are together that Voltron can be formed.”

“Voltron?” Katla murmured the question to Keith, who shrugged.

Apparently, she wasn't quiet enough, because Allura turned to Hunk with a look of surprise. “I thought you said that you told them!”

“Didn't I?” Hunk asked, sounding confused. “I thought... I must have only told them about the Lions and how I think they're the new paladins.”

Allura sighed. “It's alright, Hunk. Voltron is, well, it's what happens when the five Lions combine into one. The original paladins used him to keep peace throughout the galaxy. The four of you will use him to defeat Zarkon and return peace to the universe.”

Katla had a question dancing on the tip of her tongue (or rather, many questions), but Keith beat her to it.

“Shouldn't there be five of us? One for each Lion?”

“You are correct,” Allura acknowledged. “Currently, we're going on the assumption that the four of you are chosen because the Red Lion brought you here. It either means that we have yet to meet the fifth or that there is something preventing them from being here with us.”

The second Allura was done speaking, Katla jumped in with a round of rapid-fire questions and only stopped because Shiro pointedly cleared his throat. She would have slumped back and pouted if not for the fact that Allura began to carefully address each of her questions.

Katla didn't fully know what Shiro and the princess had talked about the day before, but whatever it was had put Allura in a more agreeable mood.

“We do not currently know where the three missing Lions are, however, I believe I have a way of locating them. You see, each Lion has their own unique energy signature and their method of choosing their paladin involves finding someone whose quintessence closely mirrors their own. Once they do that, it creates a bond between Lion and paladin. Using that bond, I should be able to locate the missing three and discover who has been chosen by which Lion.”

It all sounded a little far-fetched to Katla. Quintessence was just energy. Some forms of it could be traced, but she'd never heard of it forming connections or bonds that could be followed over long distances.

Allura took a moment to look around at them all. “I will need to sit with each of you but only one at a time. It's a process that could take vargas before I can see any kind of connection, so it would be best to only do one per day.”

Lance scowled.

“I don't mean to be rude, but I don't see how any of what you're saying is possible. I mean, the Empire has had all of this time to track down the Lions and they've only come close to one of them, as far as we know. So how is it that you can track their energy without knowing which direction to look?” Katla asked.

To her surprise (and likely to Shiro's relief) Allura didn't appear at all bothered by the question.

“It's because I won't be using technology to track them, but a gift passed down from my mother,” Allura said with a smile.

Coran made a small noise of protest.

Allura held up a hand to stop whatever he was about to say. “It's alright, Coran. The Aspects that are gifted to Alteans are hardly a secret that needs to be kept and I am proud to speak of mine.”

What followed was a crash course in what Allura called Altean “aspects”, which Katla eagerly listened to and absorbed. It had never occurred to her to ask Lance about how he was able to shape-shift and being handed the information was an eye-opener. (Just how strong was Lance if he was able to hold his shift for as long as he did?) But what sounded the most interesting by far was the Aspect of Spirit, which allowed Allura to manipulate quintessence and use it in a way that sounded like magic.

“Every living thing leaves behind a trace amount of quintessence wherever it goes, and that includes the Lions,” Allura explained. “When the Red Lion responded to you, Keith, it formed a connection between the two of you. Theoretically, since each of you has had contact with her and because we're going by the assumption that the Red Lion brought you all here because you're meant to be the new paladins, that means you each now have a connection with the Lion who most closely mirrors your quintessence.”

“But if the Red Lion also has a bond with the others, couldn't you just use her to find them?” Keith asked.

Allura nodded. “You raise an excellent point, Keith. We currently have two of the Lions here at the Castle and I could use either of them, provided that they allow me to get close. I'd prefer keeping that option as a back-up plan. The real question is: who would like to go first?”

Keith and Katla exchanged a quick look. There was no question in their minds as to who would volunteer.

Sure enough, Shiro told her that he would go first. He stood and quietly reminded Katla, Keith, and Lance to be on their best behavior while he was away, and then followed Allura out of the dining room.

She didn't speak as she led him through the halls and up several staircases, but Shiro found that the silence didn't bother him. Instead, it allowed him time to get his thoughts in order. It didn't take him long to land on a somewhat important question that none of them thought to ask.

“Princess, you said that the Lions choose their pilots based on who best mirrors their quintessence, but what does that mean, exactly?” Shiro asked politely.

Allura slowed a little as she responded. “An easier way to put it would be to say that there are certain... qualities that the Lions seem to be drawn to. For example, the Red Lion is the fastest of the five and is known for being stubborn and a little temperamental. She needs a paladin who can keep up. Someone who relies on instinct more than skill.”

That did sound like Keith, though Shiro didn't dare say that out loud.

“The Black Lion, as the head of Voltron, needs someone with exemplary leadership skills. Someone able to make the right decisions in the heat of battle and who has the respect of their fellow paladins,” Allura said. There was an odd tone to her voice as she spoke of the Black Lion and she narrowed her eyes into an almost glare as she stared down the hall.

Shiro eyed her curiously but didn't say a word, hoping she would tell him more on her own, but she didn't get the chance to as they came to a door and Allura stopped walking.

“This is the Serenity Garden. It was designed by my mother to aid with my training when I was young. I find it helps me center myself whenever I need to focus and that makes it perfect for what needs done today,” she explained.

“So, it's for meditation?” Shiro guessed.

Allura nodded and opened the door.

The Serenity Garden lived up to its name, though it looked nothing like what Shiro expected it to. He'd imagined a literal garden full of green, growing things, but instead, there were white walls made of a stone that bore some resemblance to the material used in the rest of the castle, but far more water-resistant as it had to withstand the constant flow of a fountain, which sent water cascading down three of the walls of the room. It gathered in a shallow pool that ran the length of the walls and extended no more than a foot from the base of them.

The lights were embedded into the walls and refracted through the water to create an effect that made Shiro feel as though they were underwater. He held up his hand as he stepped inside and watched it play across his skin with some fascination.

“We should get comfortable. It's hard to say how long this will take,” Allura suggested, gesturing toward the pile of large, squishy pillows in the center of the room.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

They didn't stay in the dining room for very long after Shiro and Allura left. Lance had barely paid attention to what was said between the time the pair left to the rest of them getting up, but as he tried to follow Keith and Katla, who he assumed were going back to the holo-deck, Keith stopped him and gestured toward Hunk.

“Weren't you listening? Hunk wants your help looking over the shuttles down in the hangar while we go with Coran to check on that teludav thing,” Keith said.

“I didn't agree to that!” Lance yelped.

“We know. We volunteered you to go while you were daydreaming,” Keith said, making a sort of 'go on' gesture. “It'll be fine, Lance. We'll see you in a few vargas.”

Lance's jaw dropped as Katla and Keith walked away, leaving him completely alone with Hunk. It felt like he was waking into a nightmare and he didn't know how to get out of it.

He didn't know the first thing about Altean shuttles! It wasn't like they had any back home and even if they did, he still doubted that he would know anything about them. That honor would be reserved for those with the skills to properly understand how to fly and make repairs to them.

And besides that, he wanted nothing to do with the other Alteans.

Lance knew he was supposed to be trying to get along with them and he didn't want to disappoint Shiro, but he just couldn't bring himself to try.

He didn't want to get along with them.

He didn't want to like them.

And if not for the fact that knowing which shuttles were in working condition would benefit him, Lance would have gone back to his room and locked the door. Was it childish? Sure. But ultimately it would be better than losing his temper and screwing everything up.

Lance counted himself lucky when he saw that there were only three shuttles in the hangar. They were significantly smaller than the Red Lion and were also bulky, which led him to assume that they were solely for transport rather than defending the castle. He could be wrong. It could always be a case of appearances being deceiving, they just didn't look maneuverable to him.

“Alright, let's pop one of these open and see what we're doing with!” Hunk said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together.

Lance silently followed him to the first shuttle and watched with mild interest as Hunk opened the access plate that protected the engine. He couldn't make heads or tails of any of the wires or tubes or other components that were inside, so instead, he paid more attention to Hunk and tried to judge what state it was in based on the expressions on his face.

“Looks like some stress damage along this support beam. It never got fixed after the last time it flew, so we'll have to replace that. Also looks like the cooling system will need flushed, but I kind of expected that. All of them will need a good thorough cleaning,” Hunk said, swiping a finger across the surface of one of the tubes. “And, of course, everything will need to be recharged. The crystals will be so drained that we'll be lucky if any of them have the smallest amount of power left for Allura to spark. We may need to find a Balmera, though I'd hate to set off without any of these working, even if we have all of the Lions.”

Lance wondered if he was supposed to respond.

Hunk hummed as he leaned in deeper, trying to see a little farther back. “I'll need a scanner to give it a proper check up. Could you grab it for me? It's the smallest device with the orange handle hanging on that wall over there.”

Lance turned his attention to the wall Hunk gestured at. There were all kinds of tools hanging on pegs, but he easily spotted a small one with its handle entirely wrapped in orange. He retrieved it and took it back to Hunk, who thanked him with a beaming smile.

“I always like to look it over myself first to see what I can spot, then I use the scanner to catch what I've missed or can't see from this angle,” Hunk explained as he turned it on and pointed it into the engine. “It probably sounds like I'm making more work for myself, but this is about testing myself and the scanner. If there's something obvious that I've missed then that means I need to work on my skills. If the scanner misses something that I noticed, then it needs to be re-calibrated.”

Lance made a sort of agreeing sound just because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Hunk turned on the scanner and waited a few ticks before launching a set of discs from the top of it. They hovered in the air and beeped as they lit up blue before zipping into the compartment to take readings.

Hunk turned the scanner so that Lance could see the screen as well. “See? It picked up on the stress damage I mentioned, but there are also hairline fractures along that same piece.”

Once the scanner was through with its evaluation, Hunk printed out a list of repairs that needed done and stuck it to the side of the shuttle right next to the engine panel. “Coran will want to take a look before we start any major repairs. This is his area of expertise, after all. All I can do right now is remove the power crystal and take it to Allura. Did I already say she'd be able to recharge them? Her strongest gift is Spirit, so she can use her own energy to refuel these small crystals.”

They moved onto the next one, which was alright aside from a bit of dust and another crystal in need of power. Hunk slapped a label on it anyway and then there was only one shuttle left to examine.

Lance started to make his way over to it, but only got a few steps before he realized Hunk wasn't following him. He slowed to a stop and looked back to see the other Altean was bent over the housing chamber for the crystal and carefully disconnecting it. Lance stifled a groan and instead crossed his arms over his chest.

“You know, there's something that's been bothering me,” Hunk said conversationally. “I can't explain what it is, exactly. It's more of a feeling.” He yanked the crystal free from its compartment and held it out towards Lance. “Come here and hold this for me?”

Lance hesitantly walked forward and took it from Hunk. It was a pretty thing, roughly the size of his fist and shaped sort of like an obelisk with a wider and broken base. As he looked at it, he started to see a soft glow in the center.

“I kept thinking about that first night when I gave you and Katla the crystal that powered your device, even though it shouldn't have been able to. But no matter how many times I went through that memory, something wasn't adding up,” Hunk said quietly.

When Lance tore his gaze away from the crystal in his hands, it was to find Hunk watching him with a sad look in his eyes.

“Lance, only an Altean has the ability to recharge these crystals once they're removed from the Balmera.”

Lance's stomach swooped unpleasantly. He took a step back in alarm as his heart-rate accelerated, his words catching in his throat along with his breath as panic began to take hold.

“It's true, isn't it? You're Altean?” Hunk asked, his voice cracking. “We're not the last ones?”

“No.”

Hunk took a step forward. “Lance, it's okay. You don't need to hide who you are. You're safe here!”

Lance shook his head and shoved the crystal against Hunk's chest, barely giving him time to grab it before he let go. “No, you're wrong,” he said before turning on his heel and fleeing the hangar, leaving Hunk even more confused than before.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

Keith was pretty sure that Lance was going to try and smother both him and Katla in their sleep after the stunt they pulled. He couldn't bring himself to feel too apologetic about it, since splitting up any other way would mean that he would have to be apart from Katla and he still didn't trust the Alteans enough to leave her alone with them. (Not that Katla couldn't take care of herself – she was trained by Shiro, after all.)

And since she was interested in learning more about something called a teludav, Keith was going along with her.

“This is so cool!” Katla enthused as Coran opened the door for them. “Keith, we're the first people in ten-thousand years who have the opportunity to learn how Alteans used to travel across vast expanses of space in a short amount of time! This is technology that even Slav hasn't figured out and he's been working towards this for decaphoebs!”

Keith smiled fondly as she continued to ramble on about how it was theorized to work. Even Coran chuckled in amusement at some of the ideas that had been proposed over the years.

“I think you'll find that it is both more simple and infinitely more complicated than any of that,” Coran said as the door slid open. “May I present to you: the teludav chamber!”

It was a smaller room than Keith expected, with consoles to the left and right along the walls. Directly across from the entrance was a circular opening that led into a long tube lined with odd-looking discs.

“Amazing,” Katla breathed in soft awe. “How does it all work? Do you put those discs into your ships and that's how you travel?”

Coran shook his head. “Each and every one of those lenses is precisely where it needs to be. Their placement is carefully calculated down to the very last detail so that the teludav works with the optimal power needed to create wormholes.”

“Like the one that brought us here?” Keith asked.

Coran looked a little startled by the question. “You came here by wormhole? I suppose if there was residual power left over...” He shook his head. “Yes, I imagine that it's exactly like the one that brought you here.”

Keith glanced over at Katla, who was practically vibrating, she was so excited. “So, what do you need us to do? I mean, we've never encountered tech like this, so how can we help?”

“It's quite simple, really. Our job tonight is to clean each and every one of those lenses and make sure there are no cracks or chips in them. That way, once we're ready to lift off and leave Arus, the castle will be in tip-top shape and ready to fly wherever we need!”

Wait.

Fly?

Katla reacted to what Coran was saying a split second before Keith could.

“This castle is a ship!?”

As Katla began to ask a whole round of new questions, Keith mentally crossed off going back to the holo-deck on his list of plans for the day. There was zero chance of convincing Katla to train when there was even more new technology for her to explore than they'd initially thought and he was going to be by her side every step of the way.

[mka1098]

I Ask For Your Hand In Marriage

Part 3

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_yqxljCzSpLyxbkpOGHAjoFKfkhSniBW

^^^ Audio form

The next week, Percy was pulling at his collar in discomfort; Annabeth had practically forced him into formal wear. “Percy, stop doing that.” She hissed at him. Percy pouted at her and huffed.

“I don’t like this.” He complained, words melting together in a heap. Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I can tell. You’ll be fine though, it’s only for a couple of hours and Princess Hazel is a very kind princess.” She said.

Percy gave her a nervous nod. Indeed, he had heard good things about Princess Hazel, 2nd born daughter to King Hades. Everyone knew she was a fair maiden, pure and sweet. She was also wise beyond her years, being only 17 but having the knowledge of an elder. Idly, Percy imagined that Annabeth would be that type of Princess.

“Her carriage has arrived,” Annabeth said in a professional tone. At once, her hand shot out to Percy’s arm and discreetly dragged him to meet the Princess. “Don’t look so miserable, Perce.” Annabeth said lowly, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Percy grinned widely at her. “I’m not!” He insisted. She flipped up a brow but didn't say more.

The first thing that Percy saw exiting the carriage door was Princess Hazel’s curly brown hair. They were much less frizzy than Annabeth’s but they were fuller and had bigger curls. “Princess Hazel.” Annabeth said, bowing.

The Princess smiled at her. “You don’t need to bow.” She said kindly. Annabeth didn’t reply but she smiled nonetheless. Percy felt himself frown; of course Annabeth stuck with olden rules of bowing in front of every royal you met. Annabeth shot him a look that said, do your prince thing. He reached out and gently took the princess’s hand, giving it a light kiss on the knuckles.

“Princess Hazel, thank you for coming all this way. I am Prince Percy.” He said with a smile but inwardly cringed at the royal speech he had to use.

“It’s very nice to meet you too!” Hazel said, blushing a bit. Annabeth wordless motioned for to begin walking, giving slight directions to Percy as they walked.

“You have a beautiful castle.” Hazel commented, looking around.

“Thank you.” Percy said, not sure of what else to say.

Annabeth pushed open a door for them and the room they entered was one he’d never been in before; perhaps he had sometimes when he was a child but Annabeth had certainly decked it out, making it look new and different from the rest of the castle.

“Wow! I have never seen these types of gems before?!” Hazel cried in excitement. She shot forward to a table where Percy now noted that there were gemstones and crystals on it. “They are beautiful.” Hazel picked one up to examine.

Annabeth nodded from the far corner. “These rare gemstones only found the depths of our oceans and seas.” Annabeth said.

Oh, that made sense. Hazel’s kingdom had a huge focus on minerals and gems; if Percy’s kingdom had gems to offer it would make King Hades more willing to form an alliance and marriage. Percy wanted to slam his head on a wall because not only was love a factor here, but also power.

A sharp but quick pain shot through Percy’s arm, soundlessly he jumped and looked to his left to find Annabeth with an amused expression on her face. “Go talk to her, don’t be all awkward.” She said, pushing him slightly. Percy stuck out his tongue at her.

Hazel was exploring the crystals set out on the table with joy. Percy walked over and opened his mouth to try and start a conversation but he didn’t couldn’t think of anything. It was… well awkward. “So you like crystals?” He said, leaning over her shoulder slightly. He wanted to curse himself for being an idiot, of course she did! It was only just one of the biggest parts of her kingdom’s history! Hazel nodded excitedly at him and inspected more of the purple crystals that he was sure Annabeth had some other name for. How she managed to remember so many words was beyond him.

Admittedly, Percy was never good at not making this awkward. As much as magazines liked to portray him as a smooth-talking suave young prince, Annabeth never let him forget that he was the most awkward human on the planet. At the very least, he knew how to ask questions that got other people talking, this gave him more time to look like a normal person rather than the blubbering mess he normally was when Annabeth wasn’t by his side.

“Can you tell me about this crystal?” Percy asked. Hazel’s eyes seemed to brighten with the light of a thousand stars. “Oh yes! It grows in medium sized clusters of 4. They are neat little things. They grow quickly but in very sparse areas; I can’t believe your royal advisor was able to track them down.” She said, smiling at the blue crystal in her hand. Percy nodded.

“Yeah, she can do anything if she puts her mind to it.” He said with a fond smile. Hazel smiled back to him but didn’t say much more. It was starting to get very awkward.

“So what do you like to do normally?”

“I like to walk around my garden a lot. I love all the pretty flowers there; a lot of wild flowers grow really bigger without any help. We have very rich soil back home.”

“That’s very nice.”

“It is! Sometimes I’ll talk to the friends I’ve made around the castle. Like Frank, he’s one of the animal keepers.” Hazel said. Her smile grew tenfold when saying Frank’s name. Clearly, he was special to her.

“Frank?” Percy questioned. She blushed.

“Yeah, he’s… he is a very nice boy.” She admitted. She looked away from him, with an almost wistful smile.

“Tell me about him.” Percy said kindly. Hazel’s cheeks flushed pink.

“Oh, Frank, he’s the sweetest person on earth!” She started with excitement in her voice. “He’s so good with the animals! I don’t know how but it’s like he’s one of them. And he’s just so thoughtful and nice; we spend hours upon hours talking.” Quickly, Hazel cut herself off. She looked at him with widened eyes. “Sorry.” She said, brushing her hair back. “I was rambling a bit wasn’t I?” Percy shook his head and smiled nicely at her.

“It’s okay. You seem to really like him.” He said.

It was clear that they weren’t compatible in a romantic standpoint; she was sweet but there really wasn’t much connection or really meaningful things to talk about. Hazel bit her lip and shyly looked up at him, setting down the pretty rocks back onto the table.

“Yeah. I do.” She admitted in a quietish voice.

A wide grin spouted onto Percy’s face. “Then you should be with him. Not me, a random prince whom you don’t have much chemistry with.” His face went red when he realized what he had said. “I mean- not like in a bad wa- you’re really nice and great but like we- uh…” He said, getting flustered. Hazel laughed a bit.

“No, I understand. And I’m not offended at all. It’s very nice meeting you at the very least.” She said. The girl sighed and looked down. “I just… I really like him and I think he likes me too but he’s not royal. And you know the whole prince, princess and non-royal marriage thing well don’t you?” Her big brown eyes looked at him like a puppy dog. Percy nodded. “So, I’m just worried about that.”

Percy understood that. Completely. But he also believed that happiness should come first, especially in a lifelong marriage. “I do. I still think you should tell him, maybe marry him if that’s what you want. Happiness is more important than some old rule people came up with years and years and decades and centuries ago isn’t it? It’s your marriage; you have the right to decide who it’s with!” He encouraged her. “Really?” Hazel asked him. Percy nodded. “100%. If he makes you happy, if he’s the one that makes you smile and laugh then why choose someone else who doesn’t make you feel special?” Percy pointed out. Hazel nodded thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right.” She said decidedly. “I’ll tell my father tonight!.” Percy nudged her shoulder playfully. “Atta girl.” He said with joy. She giggled a but.

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not next to rule. I don’t need an heir; my sister will have one.” She said thoughtfully.

At that, Hazel brushed off her dress and Percy took that as a sign to leave. After all, it had been a couple of hours since she had arrived and even if they weren’t going to be engaged by the end of the day, Percy was sure Hazel would make a wonderful and sweet friend. He politely led her down to the palace entrance and back to her carriage. Like a gentlemen, he kissed her hand goodbye and kindly told her to come anytime she pleased; Hazel was a kind soul who’d always be welcomed.

“Thank you, Percy.” She said with a smile, picking up her skirt to get into her carriage. “I hope the same luck for you. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.” She said with a bright smile. Huh? Percy’s eyebrows scrunched together and his head cocked to the side in confusion. That… that really confused Percy. “What are you talking about?” He asked her.

At that, Hazel joined in his confusion. “Aren’t you in love with your Royal Advisor? Annabeth?” She asked. Percy shook his head.

“No.”

“Really?” He nodded at that. Hazel hummed. “Oh, well dear me. Sorry for thinking so.” She apologized. He waved it off.

“It’s all fine.” He said. Hazel eye’s flickered to the palace entryway; that was where Annabeth was at, babbling on the phone and scratching down stuff for his schedules and other royal duties he had yet to understand how to do.

But you’re going to have to learn to do them and then your future queen will have to help you. Not Annabeth. A little voice nagged in his brain. It took a lot of effort for Percy to not scowl at that voice. “I’m sorry, I just assumed. It seemed so much like true love to me.” Hazel said with a light smile gracing her face. She looked from Annabeth in the far distance back to him.

“If there is something, I hope it works out for you two. You’re right, happiness should always come first and I really think you’d be happy together.” She said.

Percy felt like his mind had just exploded. Uh… what? No! He was not in love with Annabeth! Not at all. She was his best friend, for years and years and years! Since they were literally 12. He wasn’t in love with her; that would be silly and cliche.

“Thank you for the time. It was really fun!” With that, Hazel waved out the window and away. Percy waved back, watching her leave but the words she had said reminded stuck in her head.

He wasn’t in love with Annabeth and she certainly didn’t love him that way. Annabeth was smart and funny, always on top of her work, courageous, dangerous because she could always make a plan and whatever it was and no matter how crazy it seemed, it would work. No way were they evenly matched. Percy was a confused, stull kiddish 18-year-old prince who still depended on his best friend for way too much and was still a baby to his mother. Not that the latter would ever change but perhaps the former wouldn’t either. Percy was a mess all the time! Annabeth was always perfectly put together. He was chaotic and had way too many not thought-out ideas that he just did. She had cool and composed and taught through everything she had ever done in her entire life with so much thinking, it had all worked as it should. There was no way they were contenders for a romantic partner in each other.

A light but effective smack in the head woke Percy up from his reverie. Blinking, he saw Annabeth at his side, shaking her head and clicking her tongue in a disappointed manner. “Next princess.” She muttered under her breath, jotting something down the grey notebook she had in her hands.

Percy looked at her in the light.

Another reason she could never be in love with him; she was much too pretty for him. From an objective standpoint, that is. Percy knew he wasn't bad-looking but Annabeth looked like an angel at almost all times of the day. Like a beautiful but deadly angel that is. Objective. Percy created in his head. Yes, there was no one Hazel was right. There was no… romance between them and considering different levels he and Annabeth were one, there wouldn’t ever be. Or at least on her part.

Idly, as just as quickly as the thought came, Percy smacked it away, he wondered if he could ever fall in love with her. No, no, no. He was not going to entertain that question.

“Come on. You have fittings to do and I have PR events to do.” Annabeth said, dragging him into the castle by his shirt sleeve.

“But I don’t want to!” He whined like a kid. She rolled her eyes at him but smiled fondly.

“Too bad, seaweed brain. Or do you want to do that essay on royal attire history?” She asked. Percy immediately shut up. Annabeth laughed.

“Yeah, I thought so.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #375

“why do i see her, the never-ending night  /  why do i see her, wearing nothing but the dark?”

Who’s one person who changed how you viewed something? I hold Rhett & Link responsible for "curing" my homophobia. I went through a phase where I shipped them like CRAZY, and they're still my "OTP," and it really made me question why I had such a disgusting belief. The switch was officially flipped when listening to their podcast with Hannah Hart, who discussed growing up as a lesbian surrounded by homophobia. Let me tell you, it felt fucking good to let that repulsive belief go. It was my former religion that tied me to it, but it could no longer be an excuse to me, even when I stayed Christian a while longer. And here I am now as a bisexual woman who wants to deck younger me dead in the face. :') Were you ever scared of driving? What scared you about it? I am TERRIFIED of driving. I'm most scared of getting in a wreck and killing somebody, something I would never. Ever. Ever. Forgive myself for. I'm also petrified of, once again, getting in a wreck and I wind up paralyzed from the neck down. The most memorable time that you skipped school, what did you do? Nothing very exciting. What was the last topic you did thorough research on? Why? Toxic masculinity for an essay in college. What is a dish you absolutely love, but hate to prepare yourself? I don't cook, so. Of the many different American accents, which one is your favorite? New York. Is there anything hanging from the doorknob in your room? No. Why did you move to where you’re living now? Because we had to get out of our former house because the growing mold problem was a health hazard (especially for Mom, given her then-recent cancer diagnosis), and our family friend newly owned this house as a part of the former resident's will. Said resident knew Mom as well and the house problems, so she wanted Tobey to help us into this house anyway. What’s your opinion on wearing pajamas in public? Do you yourself do that? I literally couldn't care less. I do it a lot. Do you usually fill up at the same gas station? No; Mom just pays attention to the price. Are you currently looking for a new job? No. I don't plan to until I'm done with TMS therapy. Are any of your relatives musicians? No. Have you ever had an asthma attack? Thank goodness no. My mom has asthma and I have seen her have an attack, so I know they're terrifying. Have you ever been in a hospital and not felt safe? There was one occasion during a psych hospital stay that my roommate had WILD anger issues. She would explode out of seemingly NOWHERE, to the point once or twice she had to be put in solitary because she would literally scream and damage shit, like throwing tables and such. She scared the piss out of me to the point I finally plucked up the courage to tell the nurses that I needed a different room. What’s the highest fever you’ve ever had? I don't remember. Have you ever been hospitalized for a day or more? At psych hospitals. I think my shortest visit was just shy of a week. Have you ever had surgery? Two. Are you lonely? I'm admittedly very lonely. Are you mad at someone right now? No. Do you eat late at night? I sometimes need a small midnight or so snack because I cannoooooooot sleep when my stomach is growling. If I'm in basically any sort of discomfort, I have extreme trouble sleeping. Who do you miss? A lot of people. I miss Jason, Megan, Mini, Hannia, Emily, Journee... I don't feel like dwelling on those I've lost. Who do you admire most? Mark. If you could transform into any animal what would it be and why? Maybe a cat. Quick, agile, stealthy, majestic, well-equipped to defend itself... sounds pretty good. Are you more artistic or mathematical? Definitely more artistic. Which supermarket do you usually shop at? Wal-Mart. When was the last time you went to McDonald’s? I'm not sure, but it's been a while. Maybe around a month. What was the last chocolate bar you ate? I believe I had a 3 Musketeers because I was really craving one. Who was the last person you talked to on Skype/video chat? The woman who was doing my evaluation to determine if I was a good fit for TMS therapy. Can you remember the first time you ever talked to the person you love/like? Does he/she remember? I think I might have a vague idea, but I don't really remember. Would you be able to have a relationship with someone you didn’t find attractive, if they had a nice personality and treated you well? Yep. It sounds cheesy, but I do mean it when I say a beautiful inside blossoms into the body itself for me personally. Does the last person you kissed have brown eyes? Yes. Have you ever really liked someone to begin with, then changed your mind about them? I guess you could say Girt, because I had a pretty big crush on him when I started HS. We were just friends for way too long that when we finally dated years upon years later, it felt much too weird. He really was my "brother from another mother" by that point. Has anyone ever told you that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with you? Aaaaand he left. :^) If you decided to dye your hair, would you choose to go lighter or darker? Lighter. I want to dye my hair pastel colors so very badly. Do you know what the Enneagram is and if so, what’s your type? INFP. Do you listen to Mayday Parade? I only know "Terrible Things," which I positively adore. Do you have trouble falling asleep at night? I have an extremely hard time sleeping at night. It's honestly one reason I sometimes sleep so much during the day. Are you on a laptop, desktop or phone/iPod? A laptop. Have you ever been so angry that you screamed out of nowhere? I've screamed into a pillow. What’s the longest movie you’ve ever watched? I dunno, maybe over three hours? What was the last thing you watched on Netflix or Hulu? I have no clue. What do you think about your current relationship status? I mean I miss being in love and having someone who sees a future with me, but I know in the deepest part of me that it's wiser that I stay single until I figure some things out. Of most concern, I don't have a job or even a confident sign I'll have one soon, I'm not in school headed for a career, I don't drive, I don't cook... I'm a liability, financially and in other ways. It wouldn't be fair to my partner or even myself to go into a relationship with a heavy risk of heartbreak because I'm taking too long to get to where I want to be. I'm 25 now - if/when I get into a relationship, I want forever, and I'm not wasting time on anyone for almost inevitable failure as romantic partners. I want to AT LEAST have a steady job before I enter another relationship. How many people have you kissed? Three or four. Do you go out on dates? I have no one to go on a date with. Do you kiss on the first date? I never have and probably wouldn't, but I guess if things went very well and I was really into the person, maybe I would. What’s the farthest you’ve gone with someone? Doing to do. Would you rather receive a stuffed animal, flowers, or chocolate? I'd really appreciate any. I think flowers are sorta overrated though honestly, like someone ripped some healthy flowers from their roots and doomed them to a quickly-approaching death, but society still has a part of me thinking "oh that's sweet." I think more than anything, I'd be crazy over a meerkat plushy. Or would expensive jewelry just be fine? You really don't have to do that for me; I don't really wear much jewelry at all anyway. Odds are you'd be wasting your money. What’s the cheesiest romantic gift you’ve ever received? I don't know. Do you like romantic poetry? Yessssssssss. Have you ever been rickrolled? I'm unsure. Do you like bologna? Yeah. It was my favorite lunch meat as a kid. Have you ever had a nose bleed? Yes. Have you ever puked on a fair ride before? No, because I don't go on rides that generally induce that sort of risk. What animals have you ridden? Just ponies. What is your parents' idea of grounding you? Taking away my access to the computer. Dragons or unicorns? Dragons! Do you wish vampires existed? Uh, no. At the moment what is your favorite song? I'm going through another phase of really digging "Castle of Glass" by Linkin Park. Have you ever been pantsed? No. What is your favorite magazine? I don’t read any. Did you ever like Barbies? Do you currently like Barbies? I never really was, I just played with them when my little sister wanted to. I was more into playing with my dinosaurs and Pokemon and stuff. I'm not into them now, either. What’s your favorite hit song right now? I don't know what songs are "hits" right now. What’s your favorite element? (fire, water, air) Fire, aesthetically. Have you ever been to a wild party? Nah. Do you put on a robe when it’s cold? I don't own a robe. Is the last person you kissed gay? She's demisexual. What breed was the last dog you saw? She's some sort of hound mix. We think there might be dalmatian in her, too. What type of day are you having? It's been all right. I'm just REALLY not feeling this damn heat. Driving an hour and back to the TMS office in a car that has no A/C is agony. Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced? It's been pierced multiple times, and I want to do it again, but this time with a nostril hoop versus a stud so the goddamn thing stays in. Do you prefer warm or cold weather? I have an incredibly strong preference for cold weather. Fuck the heat. Like just 70*F is "too hot" to me. Who was the last person you talked to in person? My mom. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? No. Do you like rain? Yes, but I don't like being caught out in it. I just like looking at and listening to it. Have you ever liked somebody and never told them? Yep. Do you like to cuddle? If I really like you and it's not too hot, yeah. Are you shy? I'm excruciatingly shy. If you were paid 1 million dollars to spend the night in a supposed haunted house, would you? Hunny, I'd do that for free. Which do you like better- zebra print or leopard print? I'm not really a fan of either particular pattern on anything but the animal. Do you have any stickers on your car? I don't have my own car, but Mom has one that allows her to park in her old school's parking lot. Do you watch Pretty Little Liars? No. My sister Misty, tho