#also I hope my battlefield medicine was okay
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Hello! From the Whumptober tropes, 31 for Joseph?
- Ruth
31-haunted by the ghosts of the people they failed to save
ask game masterlist
This one is really sad. I nearly cried several times while writing it. So I’m inflicting it on y’all. cw: major character death (you don’t know her but it’s written like that), grief, blood, depictions of injures, graphic death scene, medical treatment, needles, all sorts of begging and crying and misery, cursing
In every INSUPA center, there is a wall. It’s made of black marble, polished so shiny that you can see your reection in it, and it’s engraved with the names of fallen heroes. The memorial wall that stands before Joseph is one of the bigger ones, hundreds upon hundreds of names chiseled into the marble. It’s a lot to look at, so many names that they bleed together. But Joseph’s eyes always go to the same place. It’s in the sixth column, twenty-eight row. Patricia Evelar, (S/H), 02/23/20xx. He clenches the ower in his hand when he reads over it. “Hey, kid,” He says, reaching out to touch the wall.
“Hey kid,” He says, kneeling down by her side. “c’mon, Pat.” He quickly ties a tourniquet around her mangled left leg, trying to stem the bleeding. She groans as he tightens the windlass and clips it in. He quickly searches for any more major bleeding, hands patting up and down her body. He swears he can still smell her blood as he presses his fingers into the smooth grooves in the marble, tracing her name.
He finds a jagged hole in her chest, nasty and bleeding. Joseph does his best to stick the chest seal down, but her skin is covered in blood and dust and sweat and it won’t stay put. “Ex-exhale?” She whimpers, eyes wide with worry. Her face is clammy and her breathing is fast and she looks like she’s about to cry. He pulls his hand away when his eyes start to water, the texture of the marble still on his fingers.
“Joseph. Call me Joseph.” He says while he readies the decompression needle. Her breaths are ragged and too close together, and he wastes no time plunging the needle into her chest. She yelps in pain when the needle goes in. He bites his lip and drops his head, several tears rolling down his cheeks while he stares at the name.
The signs of shock are plain and obvious, and Joseph knows that the only thing that will save her now is blood. He pulls out his IV kit. “I-I think I’m gonna..” She says, her breath catching. Joseph tries to nd a vein, but they’re too sunken back. There's no way he’s going to be able to get an IV in. “I don’t wanna die," she hiccups. “Please, I don’t wanna die.” Her pleas echo over and over again in his mind. “I’m sorry, kid,” he mumbles, trying to hold back tears.
His fingers press into her neck and find her pulse. It’s weak and thready. “I’ve got you,” he says, “I’m going to do everything I can to help you.” It’s a lie, because there's nothing he can do. She’s lost too much blood, and she’s bleeding out internally, and there's not a damn thing he can do about it. He should’ve done a thousand other things. He should’ve never let her go.
“‘m sorry, Exha-Joseph.” Her voice wavers, and she starts to cry even harder. “Please, I don’t wanna go.” He wraps his hand around hers, blue nitrile intermingling with shaking and cold flesh. He’ll never forget the way her lip shakes as she talks, as she begs for life.
“It’s okay Pat, I know it’s scary.” He comfortingly squeezes her hand. “I’ll be here to help.”
She whimpers, and she looks up at Joseph again. Her eyes are pleading, and she looks so desperate to keep living. Another tear rolls down her cheek, and then her life leaves her and she goes slack. Joseph presses his ngers into her neck again, feeling the pulse fade away. She’s dead. She’s fucking dead. “I'm sorry, kid,” He whispers, wiping his eyes, in an attempt at having some dignity. Then he stops. Pat died, soaked in blood in the wreckage of a collapsed building, where was the fucking dignity in that. “Please forgive me, Pat,”
Hands shaking, he sets the orchid down in front of the marble wall.
“You deserved so much better than what I was able to give.”
Taglist: @pigeonwhumps
#worlds babbles#whump#field medicine#medical whump#blood#death tw#injuries#needles tw#tw grief#Joseph oc#begging for help#also I hope my battlefield medicine was okay#i tried my best#big sad
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Don’t Wait For Me After I’m Gone (pt. 2)
silco x gn!reader - he didn’t die AU - tw: canon compliant violence, drug use - 18+
howdy!!! reposted and edited again! I’m having trouble with all of the links so sorry they’re not super functional right now. But anyways, I MISS MY WIFE TAILS!!
also on ao3 xx masterlist
The screaming was the worst part. You had been posted outside of The Doctor’s underground laboratory/cave for three hours now, under the orders not to enter unless you wanted to be sedated until the procedure was over.
When the Scientist arrived at the factory, he had started work immediately. The bullets nimbly extracted and quickly stitched, his hand feebly squeezing your own when he could. You had pressed kisses to his damp temples and pushed hair out of his face, back into his rumpled style. He’d even notice sometimes but it was clear he was in agony.
“It is good you kept that with you,” The Doctor nodded his head towards the injector lying cracked on the floor towards the far wall. You had thrown it off as soon as it had emptied, “He would have been unreachable if you had not administered the medicinal serum. It gave him just enough to hold on.”
“So, he’s going to be okay?” You asked, trying to give that little flame of hope in your chest something to fuel itself.
“He will survive, yes. Survival at least.” the bandaged man replied cryptically before returning his full attention to Silco, “I suggest making plans to move him to safety. Your opponents will be hunting for you soon if they haven’t started already.” He’d put a hand on your shoulder, “I know where they will not find you.”
Shortly afterwards, you had sprinted all the way back to The Last Drop. Exhausted and shaking, you’d only managed a stammering, “Silco. He’s- the warehouse…” before promptly passing out into Ran’s arms. You’d woken up in your bed, apparently you had only been out about 20 minutes.
Now, here you stood, arms crossed and leaning against a rough stone wall. Your nails dug into your skin, trying to center yourself. You couldn’t leave, not when he was in pain. Jinx had been permitted in. Whatever had transpired between Jinx and The Doctor had created a new trust. You had wanted to protest but when Jinx set Silco down on the examination table and sat quietly in a chair in the corner, her eyes not moving from Silco, you had surrendered. Jinx needed to know her father wasn’t going to be one more thing to haunt her. You could keep watch this time.
Sevika was elsewhere getting her arm fixed once again, and keeping all of the intelligence open for signs of what had been happening in Piltover. She’d headed back to The Drop. Running Zaun directly or alone had never been something you wanted. Especially now, with the love of your life still in danger of being lost forever, and your child being the cause on top of whatever had been done to her-
There came another string of rambles, ranging from terror to agony to anger. Occasionally you would hear The Doctor muttering. You could feel the wave of emotions settle between your shoulders, winding up the muscles like snakes tensing to bite. You needed a distraction.
Threats were going to be coming from all sides. Jinx had officially crossed the carefully toed line of impertinent interference that Silco had perfected. You didn’t know what the aftermath of the missile had been, and it didn’t take a genius to guess. A part of you didn’t care. Fuck the Topsiders for needing to be brought to the battlefield. Still, you couldn’t ignore the stiffness setting in your arms and neck, your hands clenched into fists as tears began to resurface.
Another moan of pain, this one low and mournful… your name again. You covered your ears and tried to fight the urge to bust through the door.
Fuck it. You’d rather be sedated then hear one more second of this without being able to help. Hands flew to the door handle of their own accord, but were met with the empty air as the door opened first.
Jinx’s pink eyes bore into your own, flat, “Doc say you can come in. Apparently he’s though the worst. Dad’ll- be okay.” She sounded completely drained.
You gathered Jinx in a tight hug, wanting to offer any sort of comfort you could, “He’s going to understand. We’ve been so worried about you, Blue.”
“I killed him.” She mumbled into your shoulder, “I almost-”
“But you didn’t,” you pulled back to look in her eyes, your hands pushing her bangs off of her forehead to finally get a good look. She was so pale now, worse than before, almost spectral. Her freckles and dark makeup only making her appear more sickly, she was smeared with dirt and blood and crusted tears. Her eyes weren’t glowing anymore, but their pale blue had been consumed by the eery magenta of Shimmer. “He knows how much you’re struggling. He isn’t dead. It was an accident. He knows that.”
Jinx didn’t look convinced, only lifting your arms off of her and pushing past into the fissures beyond, “I just need to be alone.“ She turned before she crossed behind the faint lantern glow, “You know where to find me,” and then she was gone.
You waited, letting the compulsion to run after her and comfort her dissolve for a later time. If anything would be able to get through to Jinx it would be Silco himself. In order for him to get the chance, however, you needed to make sure Silco would stay alive. Jinx was smart, and knew when and how to lay low. She would be alright for a few hours. With a deep breath and you headed into the attached cavern.
“Doctor, Is he-“ your gaze mimed fixated on the disheveled and miserable man strapped to the gurney. At the sound of your voice Silco’s eyes landed on you, relief washing over his expression the moment he processed what he was seeing. “Thank Jannah, Sil,” you sighed, stepping and crossing the space. Your hand fell into his, fitting perfectly into his palm, warm and alive and responsive. With a smile you took your free hand and pushed the strands of charcoal and ash hair out of his face, “Hey there, handsome.” You beamed.
The once bright orange iris, now matching his daughter’s pink hue, was scanning along your features, relief washing over the face you had come to love more than you had ever thought possible. His pale blue eye was just as intently looking at you, but his eyelid hung heavy with exhaustion, “What’s a creature like you,” his voice was strained and low, rumbling out of his chest more than his throat, “doing in a place like this?”
Your mind played the first time he had said that to you as you grinned, “That line is still too cheesy to work.”
“Better than the look you gave me when I said it then.” He hummed as your hand moved from his hair to brush his cheek, “Did I ever tell you it was Jinx’s idea?”
“To try and hit on me after saving my life or?” You laughed lightly.
“To tell you,” he wheezed for a second as a flare of purple raced up his skin and into his damaged iris, “ah, how pretty you looked.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek and the pain seemed to become just a little less.
“So you settled on calling me a creature?” You scoffed teasingly.
“Is now the time for such, frivolous things?” The Doctor’s tone was annoyed as he cut in. He started undoing the straps holding Silco down, and he motioned for you to help him.
You looked at the scientist with one brow raised as Silco sighed, “I’ve nearly died today. It makes a man think about things… differently,” his gaze didn’t move from your face, like he was studying it for the first time. You were used to his staring habit, but this felt different. Maybe it was the drugs, “so beautiful,” he muttered so low, he probably hadn’t even noticed he’d said it.
“Shut up, old man,” you smiled, “Save your breath.”
The Doctor moved to your side of the table, batting you away as he began to unstrap his arm and head. Which was only fair since you hadn’t even started to undo the buckle. Your hand slipped away from Silco’s and you immediately missed the feeling. The anxiety that boiled in your stomach was vicious and your skin seemed to itch with the need to continue to make sure Silco was truly alive and real, on the mend and going to survive. Once the kingpin was free, the Doctor took his pulse, then gently helped him rise to a sitting position. His face contorted with the pain but eased as he breathed through it. At last, Doc looked towards you and nodded, giving his permission, you could fully take in your paramour.
Silco’s left arm was protectively hugged around his bandage wrapped torso, his smoldering eye still pulsing pink as was it’s seafoam counterpart. His hair was haphazard and his makeup smeared away long ago, the ashen skin of his scar visible in large smudges. You wrapped your arms around him as gently as you could manage, still causing him to hiss ever so slightly. His heartbeat thumped away under your ear, protected in his rib cage, fast and a little irregular. His smell was tainted with blood and sweat but it was still him. His free arm pulled you closer, his nose resting on top of your head. Together you breathed. Just for a moment that to you, felt like the exact eternity you needed to find your voice.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
He chuckled deep in his chest, “I promise to try and not make it a habit, my lovely.”
You only burrowed further into his arms in reply. Your home was here. Safely by Silco’s side, in his arms, breathing and basking in the gift of having more time. Just as the tension had begun to ease from your shoulders Silco spoke again, “Where is Jinx? Is she alright?”
You met his gaze, “She’s… upset. She didn’t mean to kill you. I think she’s headed back to her lab. I wanted to go with her but…”
“But you needed to make sure I would be alright first.” He gently finished and ran a hand through your hair, “Thank you for saving me. Now we’re officially even.” He let his fingertips stroke your cheek, “We need to get to Jinx. I need to tell her I forgive her.”
“You won’t be able to walk on your own yet, old friend.” The Doctor spoke up again from his desk across the room, apparently he had returned to his more important projects, “Your body is still processing the serum. You don’t have your daughter’s vitality.”
Silco frowned over at the old scientist, “I think I can manage. And anyways,” he looked down at you, “I won’t be alone.”
You nodded, and stepped out of his embrace to help him down and onto his feet. As he touched the stone floor however, his legs seemed to buckle and he fell onto you heavily with a grunt of pain. You caught him and let him get his grip on the edge of the gurney. His teeth grinding as he pulled himself upwards, “Sil? Are you-?”
“It’s fine.” The ever stubborn Eye of Zaun commanded. The Doctor and you shared a quick look.
You knew he was lying but he had more pressing concerns than his own comfort at the moment, “Can you?” he gestured vaguely around himself. Asking for help was still not something he was completely comfortable with, but you knew what he meant.
You shifted around him, so one of your arms was around his midsection, the other was holding his hand as his own arm swept over your shoulders. Jinx’s Lab and The Last Drop were a bit of a walk away. The Doctor, grumbling all the while, retrieved a cane from some depths of his caverns and gave you what doses Silco might need if he took a sudden turn. With measured steps you began to lead Silco to the door. Just before you crossed the threshold, Silco tugged and stopped, “Thank you, Doctor. My family owes you a great debt.”
A stiff and matter of fact “I know.” was the only reply he received.
Silco pressed a kiss to your temple and together you set off.
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Jushiro Ukitake first saw you when the whole squad 13 went out for picnic in celebration of their latest win. You, being one of the new recruits, did not feel much deserving to be celebrating a win where you only played a small role and did not confront the enemy at all. Nonetheless, you were there with your friends as you make flower crowns for everyone. "May I wear one as well?" You were startled and quickly rose to your feet and bowed, you did not expect the captain to come and talk to you personally. Ukitake smiled and let out a small laugh, telling you to drop the formalities for such an event and you proceeded to make a flower crown for him.
You noticed he talks to everyone with the same level of politeness and respect, with his fellow captains, with his immediate subordinates, with his squad members and even with newbies like yourself. But you felt something was....off. There was a glint in his eyes that seemed to be present only when he's having a conversation with you, but maybe you were imagining things. You interacting with him became a daily thing. He would call you in his office and give you a small chore and ask you questions about your life, which turned into hour long conversations.
You joined squad 13 because of its calm environment, but you still haven't had the chance to join the battlefield, the zanpakuto on your hip collecting dust. You decided to talk to the Captain, he'll surely help you right? Even killing a small hollow would be a big achievement for you. "Captain if I'm not interrupting, may I make a small request?" Ukitake looked up from the book in his hand. "Go ahead" "Captain I'll like to join my colleagues on the frontlines" He closed the book, making eye contact. "I see... so that's your request? I'll do something about it okay?" You were happy he listened to you, now you can finally put your academy training to work.
The squad was preparing to go the site where a huge hollow was spotted and during the preparations you got summoned to the captain's office. You hoped it would be about him allowing you to go there as well."Ah you're here. Please take a seat, I have important matters to discuss with you. I've also prepared tea and snacks for us" Ukitake ushered you to sit in front of him as the two of you created a strategy to approach the holllow. When the solid plan was completed you excused yourself, but as soon as you stood up you fell to your side, the last thing you saw was Ukitake's arms holding you before you hit the ground.
The sound of a man's cough woke you up. It was a dimly lit room, a room you've never set foot in before. " You're awake. That's good. Now let me help you sit up straight" You recognised the man's voice, of course you did, you've conversed with this man daily.
Ukitake held your hand in his as he spoke " I must apologise for my actions dearest, but what other option did I have? How else could I have kept you away from the pain? Don't worry the poison I add in your meal would not cause you any harm, just makes you a little weak. That's all. Being affected by a chronic illness has made me a bit educated in medicine, so you're in good hands. I'll take great care you. I will not let anything harm you."His hands reach out to the bowl kept at his side.
He scooped some soup into the spoon, bringing it near your mouth.
"Now say ahh..."
#yandere#yandere blog#gender neutral reader#bleach#yandere bleach#yandere bleach x reader#bleach jushiro#jushiro ukitake#ukitake jushiro x reader#yandere jushiro#yandere jushiro ukitake#yandere jushiro ukitake x reader#bleach x reader
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In regards to the arrow removal, I think a lot of people are not considering the context in which Nynaeve made the decision. And I am here to defend my wife, obvy.
For starters - they're going to Egwene, who Nynaeve refuses to think of as anything but 100% FINE AND OKAY AND DEFINITELY NOT TRAUMATIZED. And Egwene can channel which means she can heal.
Nynaeve spent enough time in the tower to basically see the impossible compared to her knowledge of healing before. Suddenly a lot of her knowledge is irrelevant because the one power can fix things better than she can with traditional medicine. Nynaeve is stubborn, but she takes healing seriously. She'll always choose the best option.
That informs her decision. The most important thing is getting Elayne off the active battlefield and to Egwene for healing. The closest I can think of is Star Trek - you wouldn't treat a wound when in ten minutes it's going to be gone, you just need to get the injured person to the doctor.
(Side note but I don't believe she had anything on her to even treat a wound at the time, either, given the sul'dam costume.)
Now, I've gone through a lot of first aid training due to various jobs I've held, so I'm right there with everyone saying not to take it out! You do not take the thing out. Never, ever, ever. Pulling/pushing it out can cause more damage and more bleeding and no one but a medical professional should be touching that sort of injury. This is a modern approach though! Remember, context.
I've seen a lot of people talking about her breaking the shaft before pushing it through, but that would actually be worse. There's no way to cleanly break the fletching away, which means by tugging it through she'd be introducing splinters of wood into the wound. Also the breaking is in regards to arrowheads, not the fletching.
The fletching (feathers on the back) is not actually the dangerous part of the arrow. I've seen some people say it was a crossbow bolt, but either way, from what we were shown the arrowhead itself had exited Elayne's leg already. If that was the case, pushing the shaft through wouldn't actually be harmful to her. It would hurt like hell, but it wouldn't cause any more damage.
I tried finding some actual sources for this specific scenario, but unfortunately most articles are focused on removing the arrowhead and not the shaft (and were also paywalled, boo). The closest I found was information from U.S. Army Surgeon Joseph H. Bill who essentially catalogued American Indian arrows as a way to determine the best removal technique.
He advised not applying traction to the shaft due to the likelihood of the arrowhead coming lose and remaining in the body, but I couldn't find what he advised if the arrowhead had already passed through the body although I did find this quote "An arrow may be pushed out as well as plucked out."
I DID find this lovely gentleman giving a very in depth discussion on medieval arrows as well as removal techniques and some of those are shove it through and hope for the best. (He also mentioned that healing the infection was what doctors and healers handled rather than wounds which... wow. Remind me to never be a medieval soldier in case I ever get that longing.)
So, yeah. I trust Nynaeve was right about her approach to the wound, and I feel like this is a case of a modern audience not trusting her knowledge because of our own knowledge of how those injuries are approached currently. I do think the scene could have been improved (in that regard) if they had Nynaeve explain her thought process, but overall, we got the point: Nynaeve felt like an utter failure, she couldn't help her friend, she couldn't do anything with all her alleged power. What good is she to her friends?
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I just found your page and I’m in love with your writing!!! Could I maybe get Law, Kidd, and Zoro with a s/o who has chronic fatigue syndrome? (Excessive fatigue some days, insomnia others, random chronic pains and having to deal with ALWAYS being tired)? I have it and would like something about it with my favorite boys! And your writing is sooo good so I trust you to write it! Thank yoooou have a great day!
Thank you so much for trusting me with this! I hope I do it justice! (Mostly Kid because I don’t know how many times I’ve written for him and I just hope it’s decent!) I did a some research on it so my knowledge is very limited on this subject so again, I hope i do your ask justice! :)
Warnings: Kid is a Dick, one suggestive line from him.
Law
Being the doctor he is, he'll do his best with finding the best medicines and vitamins to help you.
He understands that it’s a medical condition and it’s not just you being lazy when you’re always tired. But he also understands because he had those symptoms too when the amber lead was still in his system so he knows all too well what the chronic pains feel like.
Tells you to rest frequently when you do feel tired because he knows that sometimes you aren’t able to sleep. He’d rather you be sleeping too much than not enough.
Law hates when he can’t do anything for you, whether it be your fatigue, insomnia, or your chronic pain. The pain is what he hates the most out of all of it and feels the worst about not being able to help with. The insomnia he can deal with because he has it too and the two of you can stay up together and talk. The fatigue he can deal with as well because when that happens he just wants you to rest. Even if it doesn’t necessarily help all the time, he doesn’t want you to over exert yourself.
What Law hates even more though is the fact that you’re all pirates so at any given time there could be a fight. He doesn’t ever want you fighting when you haven’t slept because if you slip up at all, you could be dead and he can’t be worrying about everyone on the battlefield when he has his own fight to deal with as well.
If anything he gives you for your pain ever runs out before you get to the next island, he feels guilty that you’ll have to put up with it until you get there. Even if you tell him that it’s not a big deal, he’ll know you’re lying because he did it all the time when someone asked if he was okay.
Will do absolutely anything for you to alleviate the pain or help you sleep. You want him to meditate with you? He’s for it. Breathing exercises? Hell yeah. You want him to play with your hair because you find it relaxing? He’s in.
Kid
I’m sorry but Kid literally didn’t give a shit for the longest time. He thought you were just being lazy and used it as an excuse when you didn’t want to do what you were supposed to do around the ship.
He only kind of started to take it seriously when the doctor on board noticed the way you were acting (or you went to them and the doctor noticed that Kid was still being a huge dick to you)
Says things like “Whatever, go and rest or something. I don’t fucking care.” and “I can help you go to sleep” *wink*
Kid doesn’t really get the chronic pain part though to be honest. He just thinks you should suck it up because pirates get hurt. So don’t go to him when you’re hurting, or don’t tell him because he’ll probably put you down about it. You’re better off going to Killer about it, at least he’ll be a little sympathetic.
This isn’t to say Kid won’t ever feel sympathy towards you but it’s mostly when you haven’t slept and he can see how physically drained you are from the lack of sleep.
Don’t ask him to do yoga with you. He doesn’t exactly think it looks very manly and god forbid if anyone walks in on him in a downward dog pose. Breathing exercises? He’ll think about it, as long as he doesn’t look weird doing it then he might.
If there’s any kind of medication you take or vitamins that help, he’ll remind you to take them. Sometimes he’s actually better at remembering them than you are.
Zoro
Much better at this than Kid. Mostly it’s because he’s just less aggressive in the first place.
He’s very lost about it at first, like why do you hurt just because you’re tired? It doesn’t make sense to him. But explain it to him or have Chopper explain it and he’ll understand it a little bit better. That’s not to say he does completely, but at least he tries to understand.
Like Kid, he might not understand the pain part at first, mostly because he’s a “no pain, no gain” kind of guy so he kind of ignores pain for the most part. But he’ll give you massages too if you even ask for them. It’s kind of rare that he initiates it, but he will if he notices you having a particularly bad day.
Zoro will 100% let you rest or lean on him if you need to. He’d also love it if you napped with him when you’re tired.
He can be forgetful, so if you don’t remember to take anything that helps you, there’s a decent chance he will too. It’s a good idea not to rely on Zoro when it comes to taking medicine.
Will absolutely do any sort of self care with you. He already does meditation nearly everyday, so what’s a few more times? Do you need to talk about how frustrated you are? Zoro’s ears will always be open to listen. You wanna do some sort of face masks to calm you down and relax? Put them on him! He loves it!
#one piece#trafalgar law#trafalgar law headcanons#trafalgar law x reader#captain eustass kid#eustass kid x reader#eustass kid headcanons#roronora zoro#zoro headcanons#zoro x reader#one piece x reader#trafalgar one piece#killer#vinsmoke sanji
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FNV Companions react to being re-united with the Courier after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam (NCR Best Ending)
TW: Blood, gore
As the screams of men, metal and guns petered out, movement on the Hoover Dam slowed. The sun was low, red as the ground beneath it, and the heat rising from the concrete and hundreds of gun barrels gave the area a faint shimmer. Most of the Legion lay dead or dying, their last gasps covered by the sounds of NCR soldiers calling to each other, looking for friends or officers or just reassurance that what had happened was true.
Victory.
Arcade Gannon: Though plenty of the NCR heavy troopers were popping off their helmets as the battle came to a close, Arcade kept his on out of fear someone would recognize him. The Brotherhood of Steel attendees appeared to be of the same mind, so he did his best to linger between the two groups and hoped both would assume he had arrived with the other.
Someone slapped the side of his metal-encased arm, and he looked down to find the courier beaming up at him, gasping like they had just run a marathon. "Hey, Six," Arcade said, surprised. "I thought General Oliver would've packed you on a flight to Shady Sands by now."
"Not yet. How're you holding up in there?" the courier asked breathlessly. "Looks like it'd be an oven under the sun."
"Oh, it is," Arcade assured them. "But it also stopped a few bullets and a machete or two, so no complaints here."
The courier bent over and put their hands on their knees. "I saw Daisy... saw her chopper off with the others after the fighting stopped. Oliver's confused as all hell, he doesn't know who they are, where they came from or where they went, but he's got bigger problems to deal with right now than chasing them down."
They looked up with a grin. "Thanks. Tell them all I said hi."
Arcade laughed. "Will do. And thank you."
"For what, dragging you and your only surviving family into this?"
"Well, yeah." Arcade looked down sheepishly. "Fortune favors the bold."
The courier nodded. "Fortis fortuna adiuvat."
"You remembered?"
"Of course I did." They gestured at the broken and scattered weapons and men of Caesar's Legion that lay around them. "After today, we're running low on people who know how to speak Latin."
Craig Boone: Though the other NCR snipers around him packed up their gear and headed toward the dam, Boone stayed put with his rifle until the courier made their way up the rocks to his position. They waved when they spotted him, and he put up a hand of greeting as well.
"And it's over," they said, plopping down to take a seat next to him and dangle their legs over the drop-off.
"Yep."
"Was that you who got that shot in and made Lanius drop his sword?"
Boone smiled. "Mm-hmm."
They smiled back. "Thanks."
The two of them sat together in silence, watching the activity below. Boone's smile grew and grew, wider than it had in years.
"Do you want to go down and join in?" the courier asked, when a group of NCR soldiers started putting broken defenses and wooden Legion weapons into a pile to burn.
Boone straightened his sunglasses and looked toward the horizon. "Yeah. I do."
Lily Bowen: "Pumpkin!" Lily bellowed when she spotted the courier across the dam, leaning on the concrete barrier next to the edge. She pushed her way past several surprised NCR troops, who yelped and jumped out of her path. "Pumpkin, are you alright?"
"Lily." The courier was pale, nursing a jagged wound on their arm. "I'm okay, Lily. I just need..."
Lily barred anyone else from approaching them as they rooted around in their pack. Finally, they extracted a stimpak and jabbed it into their arm, hissing as the medicine found its way into their bloodstream.
Lily inspected the cut carefully. Aside from its ragged appearance and the blood surrounding it, the wound was clean. The stimpak was working its magic, and the redness seeping out was already slowing. "Is that better, dearie?" she asked.
"Much." The courier sighed and leaned back against the concrete. "Legate Lanius had a sword. Not as... as big as yours, but big enough to slice me up when I got too close."
"You rest, pumpkin." Lily sat down on the barrier next to them, careful to hold her hat on in the breeze. "The fight is over now. Leo is quiet again."
"Mmmm-hm." The courier nodded sagely, before turning to face the steep drop below to the bottom of the dam. "We did it."
"How do you feel?"
The courier opened their mouth to answer, but instead threw up over the barrier and into the crevasse below. Lily carefully patted them on the back and produced a box of gum drops from her overalls pocket. "Here. For your breath, dearie."
Raul Alfonso Tejada: "Courier!" Raul pushed his sombrero back with the tip of his revolver, scanning the battlefield atop the dam. "Six, dónde estás?"
An injured NCR soldier looked up from the curb he was sitting on. "What's a ghoul doing here? He's not with us, is he?"
"Chinga tu madre," Raul swore, pausing his search. "You see the courier anywhere around here?"
"Raul!"
He turned back to the devastated landscape and there they were, jogging through the mess of bodies, shell casings and busted concrete. Raul laughed and spread his arms in relief, in welcome. The courier dropped their gun and threw themselves into his embrace, ignoring the blood and dust that covered his costume. Truthfully, they were just as covered in the battle's detritus as he was.
"I lost you so quickly," they breathed hard in his ear. "No wonder... no wonder they call you the ghost vaquero."
"Mij@." Raul embraced them tightly, then held them at arm's length to inspect them. "You had me worried. I thought I was the one who was going to have to track down twelve mariachi bands to play at your funeral."
The courier grinned. "Still want your medal?"
"Think the NCR'll give me one?"
They made a face at that. "If they wanna give me one, they'll have to give you one, too. Come on. I want to see the look on General Oliver's face when I tell him that you did just as much work here as me."
Rose of Sharon Cassidy: A lone NCR trooper stood by the nearest flag pole, hoisting a scrap of fabric high above the scene. Cass could make out the two-headed bear emblazoned upon it, and something in her heart rose. She was still standing there, watching the red star whip in the breeze atop the dam, when the courier made their way over to her.
"Cap for your thoughts?" they asked.
For a moment, Cass tried to find the words for that feeling inside her. When she failed, she turned away from the flag. "Nah. Nothing you don't already know. What next, Six?"
The courier scratched their head and looked around. "Clean-up. Round up the Legion boys who are still kicking, grab everything that isn't nailed down before anyone else does, and pull this place back into some kinda shape."
"And then?"
"And then we drink." The courier pulled out their canteen and offered it to Cass. "But here's a little something for right now. Go on, keep it."
Cass drank deeply. Whiskey, just the way she liked it. "The NCR did good today."
Her traveling companion smiled. "We did good today."
"Mmm, not yet." Cass waved them off. "Don't lump me in with the bear before the work's all done. Ask me later, we'll see how I feel."
"Way I see it, if you had any actual qualms about this, you wouldn't have come," the courier replied with a chuckle. "But I'm damn glad you did."
They'd walked off toward the NCR top brass before Cass could answer, but she let the wind take the words anyway, small as they were. "Me too."
Veronica Santangelo: As soon as the courier was finished speaking to General Oliver, Veronica pulled them away and unearthed a handkerchief from inside her robes to wipe away the worst of the gore from their face. "Eugh. Is this... did somebody explode on you?"
"Hard to say." The courier pulled out their own bandanna and began wiping Veronica's face down in return. "How do you feel?"
Veronica laughed and accepted the help. "Honestly? I'm not sure what my parents would think of me fighting for the NCR, but for New Vegas it seemed like this was the best chance at stability. I don't regret it, if that's what you're asking."
The courier gestured at the Brotherhood of Steel Knights and Paladins that were milling about next to and among the NCR soldiers. "Your family doesn't seem to regret it either."
"Yeah." Veronica brightened somewhat. "They actually came. That ought to show both the Elders and the NCR that this, this is possible."
She watched her brothers and sisters from afar, making awkward introductions and conversation with the defenders of the dam and even comparing power armor pieces with the NCR heavy troopers. She smiled faintly.
The courier followed her gaze. "Did you want to join them?"
"No." Veronica looked down at her power glove, flexing the joints as if lost in thought. "No, that's okay."
ED-E: The courier found ED-E stuck beneath a collapsed barricade, where it had been knocked during the fighting by a lucky Legion swipe. They pulled the eyebot out and dusted it off. "You okay, buddy?"
ED-E beeped its reassurance and pulled itself from the courier's grasp, shaking in midair to dislodge any remaining debris. It did one final loop-de-loop to lose a large splinter before blasting its triumphant music at top volume.
Surprised, the courier laughed. "That's right. We did it. We won."
Rex: The chaos around Rex began to fade into the background, overwhelmed by the scent that clung to the courier at his side. A rush of endorphins, dopamine, a whiff of serotonin- Rex didn't know the words, but he knew what they meant when mixed together in that way. Relief. Happy relief.
The cyberdog yawned, signaling his own stress, and looked up at the courier. They noticed his movement and dropped down to his level immediately, running their hands through the ruff of fur around his neck and inspecting his mechanical parts carefully. "Good dog. Good boy. We did good today, you and me."
Under their touch, Rex relaxed. He opened his mouth to pant. It had been a long, hot day.
#dm me your best argument for why the ncr is or isn't the best faction to side with#fallout#fallout new vegas#fnv#fallout companions react#fallout new vegas companions react#fnv companions react#fallout new vegas companions#fnv companions#arcade israel gannon#arcade gannon#craig boone#lily bowen#raul alfonso tejada#raul tejada#rose of sharon cassidy#cassidy#veronica santangelo#ed-e#rex#ncr#new california republic#tw blood#tw gore#cw blood#cw gore
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Berries - Chapter I
Title: Berries
Genre: Fanfiction
Pairing: Madara Uchiha x reader
Rating: teen and up
Word count: 3073
Chapter: 1/5
Symbols: ⭕ | ➕ | 💛 | ▶️▶️
Warnings: a bit of tension and minor Senju x Uchiha animosity ahead
N. A.: So yeah, this is another small idea I had while working on my already ongoing stories here. Since I know exactly how it’s going to end and it’s a short idea, and besides I already finished an entire chapter of it, I thought it was a good idea to post it. This story is not as complex as The Leaves of Her Garden or The Home I Crave, so there are not much things happening here. I still, I hope you enjoy this brief adventure with our Uchiha boy 🔥
Summary: Since you lost your family, you have been living alone in your house, not so far from the Senju territory, and have been selling cakes to them for a living. Because of the disability you have in your left foot, your activities are limited in distance and extension, but that didn’t stop you from taking care of yourself. One of your favorite things was to take morning walks to the forest near your house to collect berries for your cakes and herbs as medicine. You believed that it was impossible to find a calmer hobby than that until that morning, where an encounter with a stranger brought the issues of a clans’ war to your ordinary routine.
Chapter 1 - In the Forest
That day was promising a beautiful morning, and you wanted to take the opportunity to appreciate it outside your house while you did your obligations. You had to go to the forest to collect some berries for your cakes: you would sell some of them to your neighbors during that week and finish an order for a friend of yours. You also wanted to pick some leaves to make tea at night and to fill your medicine supplies in case your foot started hurting at the evening. But for now everything was okay with it, so you decided you could walk that day.
Things has been like this since you could remember. You lived alone in that small house at the entry of the forest, not so far from the Senju clan’s compound, since lost your immediate family: your father and your brother at the battlefield, fighting beside the Senju, while you lost your mother to pneumonia. It was hard to stay there and of course you considered accepting the invitation of some friends that offered their house for you, but you could stand the idea of depending on others to supply your basic needs: early in your life, your mother taught you to take care of yourself despite your limitations; you had to find balance between what you could do and could not, and not everybody would understand that despite their good intentions. So you chose to stay there. However, you hadn’t much to complain about the house itself: it was small, and despite being silent all the time, it had enough size for a simple girl like you.
Since you were a child, you’ve heard your relatives commenting about how strange was that some sort of weakness ran in your blood: your brother, who was older than you, was born with relatively good health, but it wasn’t a secret that people didn’t expect him to reach adulthood, so that it was a surprise for everyone when he did and even became a ninja, following his father’s steps.
The same couldn’t be said about you, however: you were born with a disability on your left foot, which forced you to walk with a cane and made it difficult for you to stand on your feet for too long or to walk great distances without feeling pain and a sensation of swelling that would only diminish after the administration of herbal fluids and a long rest. This circumstance has inevitably limited your options in life: you couldn’t be a ninja like your brother, of course; you would help your mother in some of the house tasks, but not in everything: if she had to leave for an entire day, you wouldn’t accompany her; you had some friends among the Senju girls and from time to time they would take you for short walks during weekends, but sometimes you hadn’t energy even for walking around the house.
Because you’ve spent most of your time at home, you’ve learned to do many things that didn’t take much effort from your body, specially works with your hands such as knitting, drawing and cooking. The last one was your favorite since you had enough age to help your mother in the kitchen, and when you became a young woman, your talents were recognized by your family and friends, who encouraged you to sell your desserts. You did it, and because of that you gained a certain fame among the Senju, so much that one day you were visited by Hashirama, the current clan’s head. You were tired of the work that afternoon, so you apologized for not standing up to receive him, but he was a gentle man and replied that he was the one who should apologize for coming unannounced. He bought cakes from you and asked to examine your foot, to which you gave him permission; he used his medical ninjutsu to bring relief for your pain and when you offered to pay for the service, he stated that you already paid it with the dessert.
Now you had to work all by yourself, but you were used to that: you always took the same path toward the forest and would leave early in the morning, so that you wouldn’t go back home too late; besides, you would only have to cook this time: your house was clean thanks to one of your friends who used to help you with the domestic tasks.
You dressed with a long clothing, appropriate for a walking into the trees, put the most comfortable sandals you had and wrapped a shawl around your shoulders; you took your cane, your basket, a dishcloth and a small knife to cut leaves and locked the front door before walking toward the forest path.
***
The sun rose slowly as you walked to the forest’s entry, not so far as it seemed when you were a child and just had your first walks there. Your eyes would go everywhere through the ground, trying to find the best spot to step on while leaning your cane on the firmer parts of the soil, but you didn’t miss the wonders offered by nature in the form of green leaves, flowers, singing birds and the smell of fresh berries that reached your nostrils right after you crossed the first trees.
You knew that side of the forest so well that you were able to identify each tree and bush that you had in your way. Because of this, you never took too long to find the fruits and the herbs. You stopped at the first bush, put your basket on the ground beside you and while holding your cane with one hand, you examined the fruits with the other. It was a task for patient people only, and since you learned to do one thing at a time early in your life, you wouldn’t hurry up: you knew what it takes to find the perfect fruit. You collected the berries and let them fall inside the basket, and would only consider you work done when it was full.
When you finally finished, you covered the fruits with the dishcloth and walked deeper into the forest to find the herbs: they used to grow in the form of small bushes in the corners of old trees and around their roots, so that they were harder for you to get. Still, you weren’t going back home without them. With effort, you left your basket on the ground, sat between the roots of a tree and left your cane beside you, leaning on the wood, then started cutting the leaves with your knife.
Collecting the herbs was harder than getting the berries, so you took longer in this task. When you finished it, your back and arms were aching and you needed to stretch them before standing up. You grabbed your basket just behind you, gathered all the leaves on your lap and wrapped them in a part of the dishcloth to keep them separated from the berries, then hid your knife with them. You took your cane and prepared to leave.
You barely took two steps away from the roots when you heard a noise between the leaves above you. You stood still, thinking it was just an animal crossing the trees, and waited until it was gone. But that did not happened: the noise persisted, and it became louder as if the creature was approaching your spot. You swallowed, the apprehension growing inside you. What were you going to do if you were face to face with a creature of the forest?
Suddenly, all the noises stopped. You found it confusing and waited for a moment to see if something would happen, but nothing changed. The creature was gone, then. With your calmness restored, you left the roots and was going to walk back to the forest’s entry.
It was when your way was suddenly obstructed, and you screamed.
A large shadow appeared in front of you, coming from above and spreading leaves around it. It wasn’t a forest creature, however: it was as human as yourself; it was a man. He landed on his knee, on hand leaning on the ground before him, the other beside him to keep the balance after the fall. His black clothing floated around him for an instant before settling in place.
With the scare, you dropped the basket and the cane, and your feet stumbled on the roots. You fell between them, with no chance to run away. You shut your eyes tight and held onto the tree’s trunk, praying for the stranger to go away… However, your prayers weren’t heard. When you looked again, you saw him still there, on his knee, one hand grabbing the berries and leaves that fell from the basket and spread through the ground. You observed while he collected all of them with a calmness that you never thought to be possible; he was so concentrated on what he was doing that it looked like he was ignoring you. You didn’t speak nor move; you stood there, not even daring to grab your cane, your left foot aching with the stumble. You were scared, though you knew if he wanted to hurt you he would’ve already done it.
When the man took the last leaf, he covered everything with the dishcloth and raised his eyes to you, finally acknowledging your presence. You sensed a shiver running down your body when your eyes met his: there you had deep, clever eyes; dark, almost black, and you weren’t sure if it was goodness what you saw in them. It wasn’t malice, but neither it was pure gentleness. You didn’t have much time deliberate about it, however: soon, the black locks of his hair fell back on place, covering one eye and soothing the weight of the other’s gaze. His hair, you noticed, was long, thick, spreading around his shoulders and below, finishing on his waist.
That man was not a Senju; that was as clear to you as much as the fact that he was not a common individual. Everything in him resembled strength, cleverness and raw power.
You were too scared to find out what he was going to do next, so much that what he in fact did shocked you with its simplicity – he smiled. Was he laughing at you or was it just a greeting? You didn’t want to know.
He straightened up, grabbed your basket and brought it closer to you, on the grass. You were going to stand up and take it, but you never had the time for this action: in a second, you didn’t see how, the man was helping you out of the roots; he made you pass your arms around his shoulder while he took you from that labyrinth of wood and soil and made you sit on a farther root, upon which you could stand with your feet out and leave with no difficulty. Still smiling, the stranger stretched a hand toward you with no hesitation; you held your shawl tight around you and closed your eyes, but opened them again when you felt his hand touching your hair: he was taking a small leaf from it. After that, he leaned the same hand on his thigh and sighed.
The first words said between you two were his.
- Look at the mess I’ve made – and with the same smile as before – Can I be forgiven?
You didn’t reply; instead, you just stared at that strange man, still not believing in what just happened. How could he be so calm, confident in your forgiveness? Was he insane?
You reached your cane and tried to stand up, but an ache exploded on your left foot and spread up to your leg, so that you were forced to sit again. You moaned; you weren’t expecting to use those recently collected herbs so soon.
The man didn’t ignore what happened. He helped you sit again, took the cane from you and put it on the root beside you. He looked down at your feet and saw the bandages around the left one; he stared at them with seriousness. Before you could say anything, he sat before you with his legs crossed and held your ankle, leaning it on his lap. With the ability of someone who has done that countless times, he took the bandages from it, put it upon his thigh and started examining your foot.
You startled when he first touched your skin, for his hands were as warm as the morning sun. He held your heel with one hand, and with the fingers of the other he would go through your ankle, your sole, your toes, trying to understand the reason why your skin was turning reddish and swollen around the articulations, as curious as a wizard and as careful as a doctor.
After what it seemed to be an eternity, he put his thumb and his index finger around your ankle and gave it a subtle pressure. It wasn’t enough to hurt you, but you flinched with the sudden pain.
- So… – he started, talking more to himself than to you – This is something for which there is no cure.
You weren’t sure if he wanted a reply, but you spoke anyway.
- No. I was born this way.
The man looked at your basket.
- And you use the herbs to relief the pain.
You nodded.
- The doctors have been examining it since I was a child. They told us to use these herbs when the pain is too much to stand. They also diminish the swelling.
He raised his eyes to you.
- How do you prepare the medicine?
- I put the herbs in a bowl full of water and boil them. Then I wash my feet with the infusion and wrap bandages around it. Usually I soak the bandages in the water and let them dry on my foot while I rest. I’ve always done it this way.
The man didn’t question the method nor showed any form of disdain. Instead, he opened the basket and took some of the herbs from it. He rubbed his palms on each other, making a sort of green paste with the leaves that exhaled the same fragrance you were used to sense when you boiled them, but deeper; he took your ankle and started to spread the paste all over your skin. The medicine provoked a slight burning on the place as it was being applied, but it soon diminished. When the man finished the administration, he wrapped the bandages back around your foot.
You stared at him, waiting for an explanation, which he gave to you.
- This method is as effective as the traditional one taught by the doctors, but it is faster, something that certain people appreciate.
You raised an eyebrow.
- Certain people? What do you mean?
- People with little time and practical goals – a shadow of the same smile as before showed on his lips – Such as warriors.
You couldn’t help widening your eyes to the word warrior. So it was as you imagined: that man was experienced in battles. A ninja. Before you could say ask anything about it, he slid down the right sleeve of his clothing, revealing a long, deep slit that made you cover your mouth with your hands: how did he manage to stay so calm with a wound like that, all open and untreated?!
The stranger laughed at your surprise and explained that he came to that part of the forest because he knew he could find those herbs there.
- The doctors near my territory have this species stored in their houses, but as you can see, I am on a hurry.
He stood up and jumped into the roots; in a second, he was back at his previous place, with fresh leaves in hands. Sitting on the grass, he started doing the same process used on the medicine applied to your foot.
It was true that he didn’t show great suffering because of the wound, but its aspect was worrying, so you offered yourself to spread the medicine for him. The man looked at you in silence for a moment; you thought he was considering to say no, but if that was the case he changed his mind quickly. He approached his palm full of green paste and you started taking it little by little, spreading it upon the cut.
Your hands, smaller, took more time to finish the work but the man didn’t complain or tell you to hurry up. If the burning sensation you felt when the paste touched your skin was bothering him now, he didn’t show: not a single flinch or hiss was heard while you administrated it. Soon you got used to the smell of the leaves and didn’t sense it anymore.
When the work was finished, your palms were greenish and sticky. The man put back the sleeve of his clothing, covering the treated wound, and searched for something on the small bag he carried on his side. You waited to see what it was: a canteen.
- Show your hands – he asked while he opened it.
You did it and he poured the water on it. It was relieving to get free from the reminiscences of the paste. You took the dishcloth to dry your hands while he washed his own hands and then offered it to him.
The man put the canteen back in his bag and you grabbed your basket and your cane. You were going to stand up and say farewell to him, but again he was faster: once you were holding all your things, he repeated the gesture of passing his arms around you, but this time he didn’t leave you upon the root – he took you with him.
- Walking is not the best idea for you at the moment – he explained – Tell me where I can take you and I will leave you there.
Your eyes widened.
- But what about your wound? It’s not good to carry weight in these conditions…
Your comment provoked a genuine laugh from his part.
- Carrying weight… If I told you the things I’ve had to carry, you would never call yourself a weight, girl. Now, tell me where you live and I will leave you near your place.
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I would like some shoujo recs! I haven't read any in a longtime. I don't mind if they have love triangles or love quadrangles as long as the dynamics are good.
i’m sorry for getting to this late! and i hope it’s okay to rec some josei as well, the only difference between shoujo and josei strictly speaking is the age demographic, otherwise both traditionally cater towards women (not that other ppl can’t read these obv!)
princess tutu (anime) - this is one of the greatest pieces of shoujo i’ve ever been exposed to. it centers on a rly clever and cathartic adaptation of the swan lake mythos, and what’s most interesting about it is its focus on storytelling. the primary tag line of the show is “may those who accept their fate be granted happiness. may those who defy their fate be granted glory”. it’s all about the characters making choices and realizing their own ability to write the story that follows, rather than remaining shackled to the insidious story penned by the primary villain, drosselmeyer. the relationships are complex and dark but also rly healing in the long run, and the ballet aesthetics are exquisite!
kanata kara (manga) - this isekai manga centers on noriko, a girl suddenly dropped into an alternate world where she’s referred to as “the awakening”, fated to awaken the monstrous sky demon. everyone in this world is bent on getting “the awakening” first to use it to their own benefit, but noriko is actually found by the sky demon, a boy named izark, and they start to travel together through various countries while on the run. the rly charming point of kanata kara is that noriko doesn’t magically know the language of the world, she has to learn it entirely from scratch. she’s also someone who works rly hard to be useful and a source of solid support for izark and the friends she makes, and i think that coupled with the narrative message of each person having their part to play in the betterment of the world is rly inspiring to read about
akagami no shirayukihime (anime/manga) - shirayuki is a girl with rly vibrant red hair, and the prince of her country wants her as his concubine bc of it, so she decides to run away to the neighboring country. there she meets the country’s second prince, zen, along with his friends at the palace, and she makes a new living for herself as a palace pharmacist. it’s a rly sweet manga that i appreciate for delving into the behind the scenes part of court politics, particularly bc we tend to think that fantasies imply battles, but that’s not necessarily the end all, be all of relations between countries. there’s also a wonderful focus on shirayuki’s work as a pharmacist, and how her knowledge of plants and medicinal herbs helps her support zen as he works to become a prince more involved with his people
legend of basara (manga) - this series focuses on a post apocalyptic japan ruled by an oppressive emperor. a child of prophecy is fated to be born into a village and save the country, and when twins are born, the villagers assume the brother is the fated savior. when they grow up, however, one of the emperor’s sons, the red king, kills the brother, and so his sister, sarasa, has to pretend she’s the one who died so she can carry on the revolution as her brother, else all hope is lost. all of this is tied in with the fact that in her rare free time, sarasa happens to meet a boy named shuri, who is actually the red king! neither of them know each other’s real identities or that they’re the ones facing each other on the battlefield, so it makes for a rly angty romance, coupled in with excellent political commentary on privilege and oppression. shuri has one of the best antagonist to protagonist developments i’ve ever seen, and sarasa is a great example of a character vested with so much responsibility, who wants to bring her people to freedom but also be just a normal girl
honey and clover (anime/manga) - this is one of my all time favorites! it follows some university students attending art school and their day-to-day life as they struggle to create, maintain relationships with each other, graduate, etc. i think chica umino’s works in general can be exemplified by her portrayal of every day life, and how it’s not so mundane and actually carries a lot of emotion. there’s so much catharsis present in this work for me bc it really reaches out to people who feel lost of purposeless or alone in their lives and feel like they have no reason to continue creating or moving forward. i think it also has a rly realistic portrayal of romance in the sense that its focus is on how characters grow through romance rather than whether they end up with a certain person. esp if you’re a college student, i think it’ll rly resonate with you
kobato (manga) - this was serialized in a seinen magazine for some reason but i think most ppl agree it feels shoujo in delivery. it’s probably my personal favorite clamp work. the floral aesthetics and artwork of angels is absolutely gorgeous, and it features a rly endearing story about a girl, kobato, who must collect “healed hearts” in a bottle in order to return to a certain place. i can’t really reveal what i most enjoy about it without giving away serious spoilers, but there’s that classic clamp execution of the binding nature of contracts and weighing the things we want against the things we must do, which makes for some rly heartfelt, angsty progressions. mostly i just love seeing the narrative unfold kobato, as she starts off as is this seemingly naive girl who we come to realize is actually hurting deeply inside
lovely complex (anime) - this is a classic so if you’ve already heard of it i wouldn’t be surprised but nonetheless it’s probably my favorite in that area of early 00s shoujo romcoms. the story follows risa and otani, who are known as a comedic duo in their high school bc she’s unusually tall and he’s unusually short. there’s lots of gags and kidding around, but ultimately the story delves into how both of them subconsciously fall for each other despite treating each other like gag men at first. there’s comedic love triangles and plenty of miscommunication galore, but i think it takes these shoujo tropes and puts a rly refreshing twist on them that drives you crazy in a way that’s actually very entertaining. the infamous bear curry gag has practically been immortalized in shoujo fandom
yumeiro patissiere (manga) - this is another one most people have probably heard of BUT, that’s usually bc of the anime. the manga is actually much shorter and different in some ways, and at the end of the day i think i prefer it, esp art wise as the charm in matsumoto’s art style is just impossible to replicate anywhere else. it follows a girl named ichigo, who has a very sensitive taste palate and is spontaneously selected to attend a patissieres academy, despite the fact that she can’t cook for shit! she’s placed in the a-level class alongside the academy’s three genius students, commonly called the “sweets princes”, and they befriend and gradually help her hone her skills until she’s at a level where she can compete with them on a team. all in all it’s a rly endearing story about perseverance, hard work, and the desire to make ppl happy with the food you make for them (kitchen princess is also a predecessor to this series that i think may even have heavily inspired it and i would recommend it, too! it’s just a little on the darker side in terms of dramatics)
this is just the start of a list tbh but these are some of my all time favorites that came to mind! do let me know if you try out and enjoy any of them, i would love to hear about it ❤️
#princess tutu#kanata kara#akagami no shirayukihime#legend of basara#honey and clover#lovely complex#yumeiro patissiere#not really but that's the only tag i can think to put it in#mine:recs
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~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 26~
Chapter 25
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-------Part 1--------
The very next day after spending the night with Kurama----
(This should do it!)
Yoshino: "All patched up. Thank you for your hard work. I'm relieved that your injuries are all minor."
Morinaga: "Thank you. But I'm also sorry Yoshino. Your deal with Tamamo was broken last night and I had to make you come all this way, even though now you don't have any business with the Shogunate."
Morinaga-san smiles apologetically as I finished treating the cut on his shoulder.
Before leaving for Hiraizumi, I had asked Yoshitsune-sama to allow me to stop at the Shogunate camp.
(Some people have been injured because of me, and I want to work as a pharmacist for them for one last time.)
Yoshino: "No at all. Is there anything else that hurts?"
Morinaga: "No no. I'm strong, so I get hurt less."
Kurama: "Then leave. You've been touched too much by Yoshino."
Yoshino: "No!! Kurama!!!"
Kurama, who was leaning against the nearby fence was waving to drive Morinaga-san away.
Morinaga-san who didn't seem to care much laughs and puts his kimono back on.
Morinaga: "He's a tough nut to crack."
(I am happy that he came all this way for me.)
Yoshino: "It's natural to touch a patient while treating them. Don't take that in a weird way, Kurama."
Kurama: "That's why I kept quiet during the whole treatment."
I was about to say something back when I heard the sound of one person's footsteps in my ear....
Shigehira: "What's an outsider doing here?"
Yoshino: "Oh, Shigehira-kun."
Shigehira: "Thank you for your hard work, Yoshino-san."
Shigehira-kun walks and stops right in front of us.
Shigehira: "Also thank you for looking after my men."
Yoshino: "No no, please..... I'm going to leave some medicines for the people who haven't been treated. Can I give it to you two?"
Shigehira: "Okay. About the ones who didn't get treatment----"
While Shigehira-kun was about to say something, we heard the voices of some soldiers behind us, talking near their tent.
Shogunate soldier 1: "By the way, did you receive treatment from Yoshino-san?"
(Ah....)
Shogunate soldier 2: "No no, I'm...fine."
Shogunate soldier 1: "Ah...well, I can't blame you. A lot of them were scared including me. Even though she was manipulated, she was terrifying...."
Shigehira and Morinaga: "..........."
(I went around apologizing but I knew a lot of soldiers wouldn't see me the same way as before.)
The soldiers had left without noticing us.
Shigehira: "----I'll be back in a bit."
Yoshino: "No wait!"
I hurriedly grabbed Shigehira-kun's arm as he was about to chase them.
Yoshino: "It's only natural they'd react like that, so I don't mind."
,Shigehira: "But...they're wrong. You're not a scary person."
Yoshino: "You can't force them to change their mind. And I'm sure someday, they'll understand. Even if someone was afraid of me, I didn't behave in a way that would bring shame to myself or to my friends. That's all I need."
(I think I would have paid more attention to people's reactions before, but now...)
(I know there are more important things to do...)
(And the one who taught me that was.)
Kurama: "That's right. There's no point in trying to understand a bunch of humans."
------Part 2------
Kurama: "That's right. There's no point in trying to understand a bunch of humans."
Kurama who was watching us completed my sentence.
Kurama: "They don't deserve your mercy. Instead, it's best to destroy those loudmouths like Shigehira was about to earlier...."
Shigehira: "Wait, I wasn't gonna kill them..."
Yoshino: "And I won't let you."
Morinaga: "Looks like you're already having a hard time, Yoshino."
Shigehira: "Are you sure about this....? You can still say no if you want, Yoshino-san."
Shigehira-kun pointed sullenly at Kurama.
Shigehira: "He's crazy. He's not nice at all."
Kurama: "I'm a demon and that's how demons are."
Shigehira: "That makes another reason to not date you!"
(Hmmm. I can't help but think that about Kurama from an outsider's point of view.)
Yoshino: "Kurama is kind. He's just got a slightly peculiar way of showing it. He's just unique."
Shigehira: "Are you really sure? You weren't fooled by him, right? Because you're so friendly with everyone, you might've been mistaken about him."
Kurama: "It is only Yoshino's peculiar interpretation that I am kind. But don't you talk about her."
Kurama looks down at Shigehira-kun.
Then he walks over to me and takes my medicine box which I was holding close to my heart.
Kurama: "If you've finished your treatment here, let's go. I suppose you'll be treating the Rebels next."
Yoshino: "Ah, I'll hold that."
Kurama: "Not happening."
When I reached for my medicine box, he easily lifted up to a height I can't reach.
Kurama: "You've been working since morning. What if you die from overworking?"
Shigehira: "Die from overworking? Why are you exaggerating..."
Morinaga: "No, Shigehira. Let's hear it."
(Ummm......)
The murmuring between Shigehira-kun and Morinaga-san makes me shy.
Kurama: "I don't have any problem with humans not getting treatment, but....I'm ready to make concessions to your lunacy. In return, I want you to not sacrifice yourself for anyone but me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. You don't have to do that much...
2. I'm happy but scared.
3. It's not concessions... (+4/+4)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yoshino(blushing): "What you're doing is surveillance, not a concession!"
Kurama: "That's because you have been treating others like you're their personal maid. I don't like that."
Shigehira: "I'm getting very confused. I can't understand if he's being kind or over-possessive. What should I do? Maybe this is what Yoshino was talking about earlier? Showing kindness in a peculiar way."
Morinaga: "Kind or not...I'm relieved to see that Kurama cares about Yoshino in his own way."
Kurama: "It's only natural, right?"
(I think he's a little possessive.)
(Am I allowed to assume I'm getting special treatment from Kurama?)
That thought made me tickle and my cheeks were also red.
.................
After saying a final goodbye to everyone in the Shogunate and treating the Rebels soldiers.....
Finally, we left for Hiraizumi.
-----After a few days, we arrived at the Rebel mansion and I felt nostalgic.
From then on it was a busy and hectic life....
Sueharu: "Hmmm. So, after that, Kurama and Yoshitsune-sama went back to making a deal again."
------Part 3-------
Sueharu: "Hmmm. So, after that, Kurama and Yoshitsune-sama went back to making a deal again."
Kurama: "I broke it for my own reasons and now we went back like we used to be."
One day, the three of us, Kurama, Sueharu-san, and me, were having a peaceful conversation.
Yoshino: "I was worried about the plan failing, but it happened exactly how he predicted. You should have seen it too, they were really cool....."
Sueharu: "Hehe, I can imagine how crazy it was."
Yoshino: "I was also surprised how they managed to pull it out without having any meetings at all."
Sueharu: "I know. Yoshitsune-sama and Kurama are like each other in some way, aren't they?"
Kurama: "How am I similar to that vague man?"
(I think Kurama is the only one in this world who can call Yoshitsune-sama vague.)
Sueharu: "Yoshino, I hope you're not having a hard time."
Kurama: "Why are you saying the same thing as that Adachi Morinaga?"
Sueharu: "......What?"
(.....Sueharu-san?)
Suddenly, Sueharu-san's smile disappeared.
Sueharu: "Can you please not mention his name?"
Yoshino: "Do you know, Morinaga-san......?"
Sueharu: "Hm? Oh no, we don't really know each other that well."
The tension suddenly eased and Sueharu-san gave me his usual smile.
(It's alright now...but it seemed like for a moment something wasn't right.)
Sueharu: "Rather than that, Yoshino. I heard that you and Kurama are dating."
Yoshino: "Mm. That's right."
Before I could continue, he takes my hand and comes closer.
(Eh?)
Sueharu: "What a waste of a pretty sweet girl like you. Why don't you let me have her?"
Kurama(glares): "Hey."
Yoshino: "Oh."
Kurama quickly intervened and knocked Sueharu-san's hand away.
Kurama: "What are you doing with my love toy?"
Sueharu: "Are you seriously still addressing her as a toy? You must be grateful for Yoshino's open-mindedness."
Kurama(clueless): ".......?"
(Yeah, the exact same face he makes when he says his favorite line 'I don't understand.')
Kurama: "What's wrong with calling a toy a toy?"
Yoshino: "Umm....you can call me you're 'partner'?" (She says 'Koinaka, which means lover, I think in Japanese. 'Koi' means love and 'naka' means friend.....so 'love friend'?)
Sueharu: "A goddess like you doesn't deserve Kurama's outlandish remarks, right?"
Muttering in a light tone, Sueharu-san held up his index finger.
Sueharu: "But as a preacher of love....I want to know. Kurama, have you told Yoshino that you love her, properly?
Kurama: "Of course. On the battlefield, our hearts connected."
Sueharu: "Not like that, what I'm saying is....have tried saying things like 'Good morning, you look lovely today' and when you're about to go to bed 'Good night, I love you' something like that?
(Ummm....)
Kurama: "Are you telling me to be frivolous like you?"
Sueharu: "Hey! Don't look down on me! It's only a common thing to do once you start dating someone. It can make your love last longer."
(As expected...Sueharu-san has a lot of experience.)
Sueharu: "Awww. I feel bad for Yoshino who ended up with a man who has no knowledge about love."
------Part 4------
Sueharu: "Awww. I feel bad for Yoshino who ended up with a man who has no knowledge about love."
Kurama: "......"
Sueharu: "Ouch! Stop grabbing my head!"
Kurama: "I don't know why, but it made me angry."
Yoshino: "K-Kurama. Let go of him."
When Kurama loosens his fingers as if he doesn't care, Sueharu-san quickly escapes and shrugs his shoulders.
Sueharu: "Well, I guess, the idea of love and romance is different for demons. But your life spans are also a problem. Have you thought about that? It's even serious...no matter how much you care Yoshino, she'll die long before you. Don't tell me you just overlooked that, Kurama?"
I was surprised by the serious tone of the question.
(I had thought about the same thing too.)
(No matter how I try, I can't make Kurama happy for the rest of his life.)
A feeling of sadness washed over me and I waited for Kurama's answer.
Kurama: "I don't think about the future."
Sueharu: "Wow, that's refreshingly flat."
Yoshino: "Really...?"
Kurama: "Humans die long before me. What's the point in worrying about the obvious? I would rather make her happy in every moment of her dream life than spending my time on such things. As long as she smiles till the end, my heart will be filled with the memory of it. Whether it's for hundred or thousand years..."
Yoshino(blushing): "Kurama...."
(I didn't think it that way.)
I was deeply moved and I couldn't think what to say back.
Yoshino(smiling): "Thank you."
Kurama(smiling): "Yeah."
-----For that first time, he didn't tell not to thank him like he always does.
Sueharu: "!!!! ......Thank you very much for the food. I'm afraid I have some business. So I have to go for now."
Sueharu-san smiles and stands up.
Sueharu: "Oh, Yoshino!"
Yoshino(still blushing): "....? Yes."
Sueharu: "May you live long and prosper. But if you ever get tired of Kurama, you can always come to me, okay?"
Yoshino(blushing): "Eeeehhh!!!???"
Kurama(glares): "Get lost."
As if he ignored Kurama's words, Sueharu-san turns and winks at me before leaving.
(Maybe you were just joking, but you're a sinful man in many ways, Sueharu-san.)
After we were alone, Kurama turned to me.
Kurama: "That man is a tricky one. Don't let him get to you too much, Yoshino."
Yoshino: "I think Sueharu-san was just joking, so don't worry about it."
Kurama: "That man talks a lot of nonsense. But he's very popular with human women."
Kurama touches my cheek and stares at me.
Kurama: "Also, is it necessary to tell you regularly that I love you like he said?"
------Part 5------
Kurama: "Also, is it necessary to tell you regularly that I love you like he said?"
Yoshino(blushing): "......It is natural."
(I didn't know Kurama had the personality to say this kind of thing outright before we became romantically involved.)
My cheeks get hot from embarrassment and joy.
Kurama: "You're completely flushed."
Yoshino(blushing): ".....It's because of Kurama."
Kurama: "I'm not sure if I like that idea....but if you want to hear it, I'll give it to you."
Yoshino: "Ah!"
He holds me in his arms, and his masculine face gets closer making my heart beat faster.
Kurama: "I love you. You are the one and only toy that can fill me up and the first and last thing I'll ever give my love to."
The words were whispered in my ear and it struck straight to my heart like an arrow.
(.....His love confession is exactly like him, ARROGANT! But....)
I also want to be bold enough to offer my feelings in words.
Yoshino(blushing):: "I feel the same for you too, Kurama.....I love you, so much."
Kurama: "-----I know."
(Eh?)
He scooped up my chin with his fingertips and observed my flushed face.
Kurama: "It's certainly not bad to say it in words. It mysteriously fills my heart."
Yoshino(blushing): "Ah...mm....?"
Kurama: "Yes. And the look on your face is telling me how much you loved it."
(He is really teasing me now!)
Yoshino(blushing): "...Kurama is so weird sometimes.."
Kurama: "Then I suppose you like weird men like me. But it's too late to run away now."
Once again, Kurama puts his lips to my ear, this time without laughing.
Kurama: "Yoshino. I will kill anyone who harms you. If you leave me, I will kill you."
(Ah.....)
His red eyes were clear in the sunlight and looked at me without blinking.
I could tell by the quiet expression on his face that he meant what he said.
Yoshino: "........too noisy."
Kurama: "Don't like it?"
Yoshino(blushing): "I don't mind. But I'm asking you to relax because it's impossible for me to leave Kurama as well."
(I can do my job as a pharmacist, wherever I want. So I'll live along with Kurama for the rest of my life, happily.)
Kurama(smiling): "Then, everything is okay."
Our lips meet and we kissed deeply as if we were attracted to each other.....
Yoshino: "......Mmm.."
I was pushed down, and he stole my breath.
(I'm sure our relationship is different from that of a normal man and woman in love.)
(But I'm sure this is Kurama's way of love.)
The proof of this is that I now embrace boundless happiness.
Our lips quietly separated and we gazed at each other.
Kurama: "I've decided."
Yoshino(blushing): ".....What?"
Kurama: "I'll be a better man to be worthy of your love."
Kurama was excited thinking about his new resolution.
Kurama: "I'm going to learn how to behave in a way that's so in love that no one will tell me what to do."
(Oh my....)
I'm really curious to see Kurama's idea of 'behaving like a lover.'
Romantic END // Dramatic END
#ikemen series#ikemen genjiden#cybird#ikemen genjiden kurama#ikemen mc#main story translations#otome#cybird ikemen#cybird otome
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The Part-Time Puppeteer - Chapter 06
<= Chapter 5
Summary : Lukas gets to have a heart-to-heart discussion with an absolute asshole. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/23828971/chapters/81015496
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AAAAH I'M SORRY FOR THE TWO MONTHS HIATUS I HAD A WRITER BLOCK---
Anyway uuuh, new chapter, I have no idea if it's good or not but still, here it is. I did my best to offer you a longer chapter as a compensation, it's twice the length of the last one.
Happy reading ! Thank you for waiting all this time.
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Chapter 6 - “Oh. It’s you.”
The rest of the day had been… Quite blurry for the student. After coming back home, he had sat down at his desk, staring into space for… Minutes, hours, he hadn’t been able to tell. It was an understatement to say that he was in shock after what had happened. Even after everything, his mind couldn’t help but think this was just a joke, or that he had imagined the whole thing. But the script in his bag was a proof of the contrary. For a good while, the young man hadn’t found the courage to look back at it, as if it were some sort of cursed object, haunting him. But then, the Conductor’s words came back to him: “learn your text by tomorrow”. An order, a clear one, coming from one of his bosses. The student shivered as he remembered, soon bringing his hands to his face, massaging his closed, tired eyes. Oh, boy, why did he always get in that kind of situation… Even when he was a kid, he would often get dragged in things like this. He had thought this would get better as he grew up, but noooo, of fucking course it wouldn’t. Lukas let out a loud, long, exaggerated sigh, and stood up. He walked to his sofa bed all while dragging his feet and, once he was in front of it, it was like what was left of his energy left him. What a day . With another sigh, the student felt his body fall forward, and it wasn’t long before his face hit one of his pillows. Air was forced out of his lungs by the impact, though he did nothing but grunt in the fabric. Him? An actor? This couldn’t be right, this just… It wasn’t right. Sure, MJ was a jerk, but he still had the skills and the experience! In comparison, Lukas was just a law student- not a bad one, mind you, which only made it even more surprising to see him getting the role. It wasn’t like he had chosen the wrong scholar path, no, on the contrary, he was skilled in his major. But apparently, his bosses had seen something else deep inside that walking shell of anxiety… -“Uuuuugh...” his voice was low and tired. For a moment, he thought he was almost going to fall asleep like this, still wearing his clothes, but he reluctantly sat down. With a look full of weariness and unwillingness, the student’s attention went back to his bag, in which the script was. He didn’t want to learn the lines, and a single glance at his desk full of homework was a good way to understand why. But it seemed like his paycheck was now depending on it, as much as he would have preferred to remain a stagehand… -“Guess I don’t have a choice…” he mumbled, before moving his foot to reach for the bag, making it slide towards him, so he could open it. He supposed that he would be able to scribble down the answers to his homework during his lunch break… Or, at least, he hoped. And so, the young man spent the next two hours learning his lines, saying them out loud, so he could remember them. A good thing about his brain was that it learned pretty well from words and sounds. Thus, by saying them out loud, Lukas was pretty efficient in remembering them. Plus, truth to be told, those lines weren’t exactly as hard to learn as his law books… Not that it was a bad thing, far from it. At least, it made his job far easier. However, he wasn’t going to lie, there were a few parts that were harder to remember. Once he was done, the student hesitated on whether he should go to sleep (the reasonable option) or try to get some of his homework done. Sure, he was pretty tired, and the day had been filled by a lot of diverse emotions… But part of him knew he just wouldn’t be able to fall asleep knowing what awaited him the day after. He had always been very anxious, this was a secret to no one, and especially not himself… However, this whole thing was very new, and it made it all worse. And so… The student ended up staying up late until three in the morning, managing to get most of his homework done. One of the perks of being good at a subject was being fast. Of course, this would have given him much better results if he had worked on it seriously, without all the tiredness and all, but the context wasn’t really allowing him that.
Thus, Lukas packed up his college stuff for the next day and soon went to sleep for one very short night. Oh, well, not his first, far from it. Thankfully, he had a few sleeping meds he had kept from an old treatment, allowing him to fall asleep rather quick. However, this always came at a price- they made waking up a much more difficult moment, as his body was still very much under the influence of the medicine when that happened. And the next morning… Was no exception, especially since he only got to sleep for less than three hours. Fighting the urge to go back to sleep, Lukas managed to get up and prepare himself for college. New clothes, brushing his hair and teeth… It only took him a moment until he was ready to leave his small apartment. Oh, his face, however… It looked like it belonged to a rotten corpse, who had just come back to life… Somewhat. The trip to college was pretty ordinary, and so was his morning and afternoon, actually. He gave his teachers all the papers that were due, he aced one of his oral presentation despite looking like a dead man… No, really, this day was going well, which was surprising considering he was mostly surviving thanks to coffee and to the fear of collapsing in public. Yeah, no, he didn’t want any attention on him… Which was a funny thing to think about, because this was exactly what he was going to get with his new job! Once his classes were over, Lukas took the bus to his workplace, dread settling on his shoulders, heavier and heavier as the minutes passed. Oh, he didn’t want to get that role… Of course, he could tell his bosses, but there was a small part of him, deep down, that was curious about where this would lead him. Now, obviously, being a stagehand was a pretty classic job, one without risks… But this? While he was terrified of screwing up, especially since people would be looking at him… Yeah, there was something that prevented him from refusing this promotion. And, also, if that could piss MJ off, then it was a good bonus. The studio reception was calm compared to the day before and, for a moment, just a small moment, the student thought his shift was going to be nice. But ooh, no, he couldn’t have nice things- the moment he opened the door leading to the staff areas, he winced as many voices echoed around him. They were coming from all directions, through walls, doors too! It was a large cacophony in there, and people were running around, carrying stuff and bringing props for each shooting. Actions movies, dramas, comedies… Each type had its own part of the studio, but there was this central room linking them all together and, oh, this place was just a battlefield. Moving fast through the agitated crowd, Lukas tried to reach his accredited part of the studio- the children shows shootings. Avoiding props almost falling on his feet accidentally, sneaking between people carrying hot coffee, and bending down to avoid planks being carried around… He bumped into someone just before he got to open the door leading to his area. -“Oh, I- I’m sorry,” he stammered, quickly moving back, so he could apologize properly to the person he had bumped into. However, his eyes widened when he recognized the figure in front of him. Mike! The good twin. For a second, the latter’s face had alarmed him, as he thought he had bumped into MJ instead… But thankfully, while having the same face, the two brothers had very different hairstyles and fashion choices. The student let out a sigh- phew, he wasn’t sure he would have been ready for MJ’s bullshit right at the beginning of his shift. -“Oh, hey!” Mike seemed almost as surprised as he was, though his expression quickly changed to a warm, welcoming one: “Good to see you again- oh, wait, let’s, uh… Get inside,” he then mumbled, opening the door quickly so they both could leave the absolute war zone they were in. Lukas didn’t lose any time and followed the other like a shadow would, only getting the opportunity to sigh in relief as they found themselves in a much quieter place. Kinda ironic that the children shows part of the
studio was calmer than the staff hall... -“Hey,” he finally replied, now that the “battlefield” was behind them: “It’s good to see you too,” he answered trustfully, with a smile. He hadn’t seen the other since MJ’s outburst the day before, and getting the chance to meet him again was a good way of making Lukas’ day a little better and… Less chaotic. -“How are you?” he then asked, deciding to take a moment for a conversation with his only friend in the studio so far. Plus, he was… Worried. With what had happened the day before, and how MJ had thrown Mike’s puppet on the floor like it was nothing, he wanted to make sure everything was okay. -“Oh, I’m… Doing fine,” the other looked away with an awkward smile, which was an obvious sign that things had definitely happened yesterday. With how furious the actor had been when leaving the shooting, Lukas could very well imagine the latter taking his frustration on his brother. What an asshole. But, it was family business, and he couldn’t say anything about it, as a stranger. -“What about you?” Mike added quickly, visibly determined on changing the topic: “I heard you got the role, yesterday. Congrats!” The praise took the student by surprise, and he felt his cheeks reddening from the embarrassment. Oh, man, this was new, yeah… He wasn’t used to that kind of thing. His stance tensed up, and a sheepish smile took place on his lips. -“Oh, uh… Thanks,” he blurted out, and it was his turn to look away: “It’s… Really weird, I guess I’m just… Feeling a bit shocked, you know?” he turned his head back to his new friend and a nervous giggle escaped him. He was fidgeting, not really knowing how to respond to that. -“Ah, yeah, it’s your first time,” Mike nodded, remembering that Lukas had first been hired as a stagehand, not as an actor: “Don’t worry, children shows are the perfect way to start as a beginner. You know, with the public being less critical and all… I’m sure you’ll get used to it in no time.” The puppet maker was kind, trying to reassure Lukas and ease his anxiety. Too bad that his stage fight was skyrocketing since the moment he had stepped in the building again… Another nervous giggle left his lips, and he started to rub his arm, not knowing what to do with his hands. -“I suppose so…” he muttered, still smiling, though it looked less genuine: “It’s just that… I mean… Why me? I’m just a guy who wanted a part-time job. I’m not an actor, I don’t have any experience…” -“Well, from what I’ve heard, you were pretty good yesterday- oh, speaking about that…” Mike’s face darkened, as if he had just remember to mention something unpleasant: “I think you should… Avoid MJ, as much as you can, from now on. My brother, he’s… He didn’t take it well, I’m not gonna lie, and… I mean, you saw how he is with people, he’s not the best at being with others. Now, with what happened yesterday, I don’t think he’ll make your life any easier.” The student grimaced as he listened to his friend. Yeah… Yeah, he had seen that coming. With how livid MJ had been when leaving the set, it wasn’t surprising that the latter was going to make his shifts hell. God, he really hoped he would manage to avoid that jerk… -“Yeah, I… Kinda expected that,” he admitted, tilting his head to the side with a wince: “But, uh… Since he’s not part of the team anymore, I shouldn’t run too much into him… Right?” -“I wish I’d say yes, but…” Mike answered, his face showing conflict: “He has some other roles in the studio, and he might come see me now and then, so… Yeah. Be careful and do your best to avoid him. He’s not… The best person to be around when he’s like this.” “Oh, you mean all the time, then?” Lukas thought to himself, but kept his mouth shut. Not the best thing to say out loud, especially when it came to said person’s twin. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder why Mike was making so many efforts for someone that clearly didn’t deserve them… But, then again, he was a stranger, it wasn’t his place to say anything. -“Will do,” he assured his friend, before looking at his watch and- oh, shit, he was going to
be late. Apparently, it must have been visible from his expression, because the puppet maker let out a soft giggle: -“Oh, yeah, it’s time,” he looked up, as if he were trying to remember something: “Last time I saw the Conductor and DJ Grooves, they were in the conference room with some investors. You should go practice in the meantime… My workshop is open, if you want,” he offered with a shrug: “It’s a small room, but I’m normally the only one there, so if you wanna have some quiet, alone time to rehearse, well… I need to help the stagehands for some set repairs, so I won’t bother you.” The offer was a really nice attention, another one that did help to make Lukas’ day a little better. Considering his promotion, he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to help the other stagehands while waiting for his bosses, but… Well, practicing really wouldn’t hurt, especially considering how short his night had been. -“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” he gave Mike a warm smile, before pointing to a door on the other side of the room: “It’s this one, right?” he asked for confirmation. -“Yep, that’s the one! Just, uh… Please don’t touch anything, most of the puppets and costumes aren’t done, so they’re quite fragile.” Lukas assured him he wouldn’t, and even then, he didn’t have any reason to. At least, contrary to his friend’s twin, he knew how to respect someone’s work… And with that, the two waved to one another, before heading to opposite directions. The student walked to the door with a quick pace, wanting to get as much time as possible to practice. When he opened it, he was surprised to see that, yeah, the room was pretty small indeed, even smaller than what he had imagined. The place was full of puppets hanging from the ceiling, and the walls were covered in eccentric and colorful clothes. It was almost eye straining! Two out of the four corners of the rooms were used to stock supplies and different types of fabric, making the room even smaller than it originally was. Then, hidden in the third corner was a desk with a sewing machine on top of it. It looked like an old but durable one, the kind that would last years even if it was out-of-date. Other than that, the desk was full of smaller supplies, like needles, sewing threads, pens, pieces of paper, templates… It was like this room had no free space other than the center of it. Well, Lukas supposed this is where he would rehearse, then. Not like there were many other option… The young man closed the door behind him and made a few steps, his eyes looking all around him. He didn’t think it was possible to fit so many things in a single room, but, hey, he was wrong! He then shook his head- it was time to work. After clearing his throat, the student opened his bag and took the script out, flipping the pages up to the parts he had the most trouble remembering. Oh, jeez, he really was doing this, wasn’t he? This was so weird… But whatever paid his bills and his studies, he guessed. And so… He got to work. It was a lot easier to practice when there was no one around. No one to judge him, no one to mock him when he fucked up… Yeah, it made it all easier. Sure, he didn’t have any experience in it, but at least he had to admit it was pretty fun. Nonetheless, he still had no idea why the two directors chose him over an experienced actor like MJ… Like, of course he had noticed the latter was a huge asshole, but other than that, his acting skills were obvious. Maybe he was being used to give MJ a lesson…? This seemed like the most probable explanation. After all, MJ’s presence in the casting was supposed to bring attention to the show… And now, one of the most important roles had been given to a nobody instead. It didn’t seem like a good idea, marketing-wise. Law was his specialty, but that didn’t mean he was stupid when it came to other things. Lukas couldn’t believe he had been chosen for his “talents”, because he had none on that field. After a moment, he paused his practice, shutting his eyes and letting out an exaggerated sigh. Shit, this was distracting him. He couldn’t focus
on his lines. His acting skills, if he had any, were affected by it. It was like something was entering his mind from one side only to disappear through another. Memorizing the words was harder than he had thought it would be the day before, and he couldn’t help but grunt in frustration. Fuck, he knew he was able to remember those lines, he had learned much more complex texts before! This script was simple, so the young man put the blame on his short night of sleep. Furthermore, it was hard to memorize something only by starting the day before… He was about to start again when he heard the door opening behind him, cutting him short. The student turned to the direction of the noise, expecting to see Mike’s face and… Well, in a way, he kinda did. Except it wasn’t Mike. It was MJ, the evil twin. “Oh, fuck me,” he thought, paling up. For fuck’s sake, right after Mike told him to avoid his brother! Was it a joke or something?! Before he even got the chance to speak, MJ’s expression changed from a neutral one to one of utter disgust. Yeah, clearly, the other had expected to see his twin, but… Nope, Lukas had been the one in the room. “Lesson learned, never going back in that workshop alone,” the student told himself, though it was way too late to do anything about it. -“Oh. It’s you,” the actor spat, this time not trying to keep his nice mask on like he had been when they had met the day before: “The fuck are you doing here?” The celebrity’s eyes were glaring at him, all while examining him from top to bottom. It was… Very unpleasant, to be stared at this way. And being talked to like that? Yeah, no, Lukas was perhaps a shy person, but he didn’t want to let anyone walk all over him, especially not an asshole like MJ. Usually, he tended to flee conflict, but today was different. He was way too tired to deal with this shit. -“Yes , hello to you too,” he muttered as an answer, quickly putting his attention back to the script: “Your brother’s not here, but he told me I could use the room in the meantime.” Apparently, his tone didn’t please the actor, whose eyes narrowed in response: -“No kidding, I can see my brother’s not here, dumbass,” he shrugged and rolled his eyes: “I’m not blind.” Oooh, the insult didn’t fall on deaf ears, and it really rubbed Lukas the wrong way. He turned to the celebrity again, this time returning the latter’s glare: -“Well, good for you, I guess,” the student spoke louder than his previous mutter. His annoyance was much more visible, though he still remained polite: “If you’re looking for Mike, he’s with the stagehands.” -“Didn’t ask,” the actor retorted harshly. The other’s eyes then fell on the script, and his expression darkened. Well, shit, this couldn’t be good- and, just like Lukas had predicted, it wasn’t. MJ’s look of hatred was soon replaced by a mocking yet salty expression, one that the student really didn’t like. -“Aw, am I interrupting something?” the celebrity taunted him, leaning against the door frame as a smirk took place on his lips. -“Actually, yes. You are,” Lukas’ patience was running out. God, he wanted to punch that guy so bad… Well, not like he would ever do that, he wasn’t that kind of person. Still, the urge was there. In response to his honest words, the actor scoffed loudly, rolling his eyes again. God, that fucking asshole… -“What, don’t tell me you honestly think you have what it takes!” MJ’s tone had changed from a mocking one to a harsher, meaner one: “You have no idea how to play a role- lemme guess, you never had any theater courses before, hm?” At Lukas’ silence, the celebrity snickered bitterly: -“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re just a nobody, a guy who happened to be there at the right time. But you, an actor? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t know shit about acting.” Okay, now that was enough. Politeness was nice and all, but with this guy? No, nu-huh, nope, not happening. In an instant, Lukas’ attempts at remaining civil were thrown away through a window. No one could talk to him like that, and not even his anxiety was
going to silence him. -“Oh, I don’t know shit about acting, that’s right,” he talked back, his tone much more aggressive: “But at least I know how to be a decent person.” -“Excuse me?” MJ’s face showed a mix of bewilderment and fury, probably because no one ever confronted him like this in the past: “I didn’t steal someone else’s job!” -“Hah, that’s rich!” the student scoffed, raising his arms with a scandalized expression: “You lost your job! I didn’t do anything!” his voice echoed in the room as his anger intensified: “If you weren’t such an asshole, maybe you’d have kept your place in the-” However, the student didn’t even get the time to finish his sentence. The celebrity had dashed towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, bringing their face close as an intimidating gesture: -“Watch your fucking mouth,” was the warning he got from the other, whose eyes were fixed on his: “There are so many things I could do to make your life a living Hell. I have a lot of strings I can pull, and if I were you, I wouldn’t risk that,” the actor’s voice had got lower, like a murmur, a clear threat directed to him. But Lukas was just getting so fucking tired of it. Enough was enough. He grabbed the celebrity’s hand and pulled it away, forcing the latter to let go of him. -“So, let me get this straight: you want to destroy me because I pointed out how much of a jerk you were to everyone? And you still think you’re the decent person out of us two? You might want to rethink that, buddy.” The response he got was yet another glare, though this time there was no spiky answer. “Of course I’m right, asshole, can’t say anything back, now, can you?” he thought to himself, pride swelling inside him. Man, this was perhaps the first argument he ever won… Holy shit, yeah, it was- and he didn’t even stutter! Maybe he needed to be tired more often- yeah, no, that wasn’t a good idea. Air was forced out of his lungs as he was pushed away, though despite the fear of being punched, it never came. The look of pure hatred he was getting from MJ was almost burning him and, for a moment, he really thought he would get attacked- being someone who had never fought anyone, he wasn’t really confident about his abilities to fight back. But all MJ did was to step back to the door, a furious expression written all over his face: -“You wanna play that game with me?” he spat: “Fine. But mark my words, stagehand, I will win.” And not even giving Lukas the time to retort anything, the actor stormed off the room and slammed the door behind him. It screamed “ I am mad, and I want everyone to know that”. Lukas, however, did not give a single fuck about it. Perhaps it was the tiredness speaking (and it was), but if the other wanted to fight, then Lukas would be ready. Well, he probably wouldn’t in hindsight, once his mind cleared up… But at the moment, the young man’s anger was making him blind to many aspects. One of them being that MJ was a famous person who was indeed capable of destroying him, and making him fail his studies with just the right calls. But this wasn’t something Lukas would realize before calming down. And only then, he would ask himself “why the hell couldn’t I keep my mouth shut like usual?!” Until that moment… The student kept rehearsing, though his anger prevented him from actually anything. Today was going to be a long day…
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Hopefully Lukas won't have too much trouble with this jerk of an actor :)c (who I love with all my heart)
=> Chapter 7
#a hat in time fanfiction#a hat in time#ahit#a hat in time the snatcher#a hat in time snatcher#ahit snatcher#ahit the snatcher#ahit mj#ahit fanfiction#ahit au#puppet au#the part-time puppeteer#mike#mj#erekio#erekiosuncreativeideas#fanfiction#tptp
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100 Days of Writing
@the-wip-project‘s 100 days of writing
Day something or another (I’ve lost track again): more babbling about worldbuilding
One other worldbuilding thing I’ve pondered a bit is medical care. It’s one aspect of the Star Wars universe that I feel got vaguer over time. The original trilogy didn’t say a whole lot about medical care, but what was shown felt like something that could be extrapolated from in a reasonably sensible and consistent manner. (And some Legends stuff did.)
I’m not sure if it started going sideways in Legends before Revenge of the Sith introduced ever so much what the fuck, but by the time SW:TOR rolled around Star Wars medical care was incoherent, and also magic. Add in aesthetics and the question of exactly where the story/gameplay divide is, and it’s enough to make a fan writer cry. Or go “well, if canon isn’t making sense, I’m just going to invent my own sense.” (Which, I suppose, brings us back to Director Furying canon. Though in this case, it’s less that canon made a stupid-ass decision and more that canon opted to make no decisions whatsoever.)
There’s dialogue in game and in tie-in material to support basically whatever you might want medical care to be capable of…or not capable of. Half the stuff talks as though kolto is the treatment, for everything. (Which matches up to the Legends works that solved everything by sticking people in bacta tanks, regardless of whether that made sense. (Bacta being the successor to kolto, with both poorly explained healing fluids being treated very similarly.))
The only way dunking someone in a tank of liquid to fix broken bones and/or internal injuries could possibly work as the only treatment is if kolto (or bacta) were sapient. And had a medical degree. Pretty sure that’s not what’s meant to be implied. (Though I suppose it could be entertaining...)
I treat kolto as part of medical care. Sure, it’s highly useful, and canonically both eases pain and speeds healing (and if injected, acts as a sedative), but you’ve still got to do the hard medical work of putting people back together first! Surgeons are very definitely a thing, as are replacement parts, mostly of the cybernetic or otherwise non-biologic variety, but some things are also lab grown. I mean, come on, as I noted when talking about bounty hunting, this is a universe where they can duplicate people, redo their genetics, and all kinds of other things. I think there are going to be a lot of options for how you put somebody back together after an accident or battle.
But those options are going to depend greatly on where in the galaxy you are. I tend to assume that both the Empire and Republic have some form of universal medical care, but logistics and bureaucracy and nepotism and a million other things means that that care isn’t equally good for everyone everywhere. The care available on Coruscant or Dromund Kaas is going to be far better than the care on some fringe world. The Empire’s going to sink more into putting an Intelligence field agent back together than a low level clerk. A Republic senator will have more care options than a farmer. Etc.
What’s available on independent worlds and systems also varies greatly, depending on how that government operates and what it considers important or not. You might have universal healthcare, you might have for profit medicine, you might have some order of Force Sensitives that fixes people up. Who knows.
And then there’s Hutt Space and the galactic underworld, where things are exactly the mess you’d expect them to be. There are for profit medcenters. There are cheap surgeries in some dirty back alley office where you can only hope the medical droid doing the work has had its programming updated sometime this decade. (And that’s assuming you’re not crossing your fingers that the person doing the work has – or had – a medical degree from somewhere, at some time.) There are truly excellent independent clinics who do absolutely cutting edge work…as long as you have the money, or don’t mind owing a Hutt, an Exchange boss, or some other crime lord for the rest of your life.
And, sure, there are actually independent actual doctors who do good work and are operating in the fringes either because they were born there and they managed to pay off their Hutt indenture or because something unrelated to their medical skill caused them to leave the Republic or Empire or wherever they came from. But they’re harder to find, and you’re still going to need to have ready credits.
You do also get the occasional Jedi or other do-gooder providing free medical care on Nar Shaddaa or one of the other trade hub worlds. As long as they’re focusing on the lowest of the low and not cutting into anyone’s bottom line too much, they usually manage to stick around for a bit. But they almost always eventually run into that bottom line problem (or, in the case of some Jedi, draw a bit too much attention to themselves) and get booted off the planet.
(Okay, so maybe I kind of treat Hutt Space and the galactic underworld as Shadowrun in space.)
All that’s just the how. What about the what? How does medicine work in the galaxy far, far away?
I could answer that better if I knew more about how medicine works in the here and now. Unfortunately, I don’t even play a doctor on TV. All I’ve got are vague science fictional ideas.
You’ve got your cybernetics, both replacement parts and enhancements. Strictly replacement parts have the potential to look pretty much like your original parts, just with different care regimens. Enhancements tend to be more obvious. So are your options on the cheaper end of things or out in the boonies. That’s where you tend to get less pleasant options like people using discarded droid limbs and the like.
Broken bones that can’t be repaired can be replaced. Skin can be grown in a laboratory. A whole lot of things just aren’t a big deal if you’ve got access to a well-equipped medcenter. Galactic medicine can cure cancer, make you a different person, put you back together after a horrible accident, all that good stuff. If you’ve got access to a well-equipped medcenter.
And, of course, there’s the downsides or complications of all this. Sure, you can probably save a badly injured person by stuffing them in a kolto tank and hotfooting it for a major world. But I don’t pity the medical team that has to deal with whatever horrors the kolto wrought during the journey. If you’ve got fancy cybernetics, there’s always the chance you’ll run into someone who wants them very, very badly. People can be turned into perfect (or very near perfect) duplicates of other people.
On the flip side, people still die because they were too far from the nearest medcenter when they got injured. Battlefield medicine – and emergency medicine in some places – tends to be more focused on saving life and limb than having things look pretty afterwards. Kolto might do a great job of reducing or even entirely preventing scars, but only if you get it applied soon enough. (Though, for those last two, cosmetic surgery is always an option.)
Soldiers don’t always fix scars, because they’re proof you did get fixed up in the field – which is proof that you were in battle and survived. Similarly, it’s not uncommon to see bounty hunters and mercenaries with scars. (Whether actually from battle or not.) And people just make different decisions. A person who lost their legs in an accident might get cybernetic replacements… or they might use a hoverchair.
In one ficlet, Savler thinks about the trade-off between having a perfectly lifelike replacement eye vs. one that could do significantly more than a human eye. Both have advantages and disadvantages in her line of work, and it’s clearly a decision she revisits from time to time.
I’ve left it unclear if Kyrian made the most practical choice when it came to his injured hand. (Actually, no, I’ve kind of suggested he didn’t. A good cybernetic hand wouldn’t result in any of the minor problems he’s just going to have to live with.) But he’s hardly the only person in the galaxy made that choice.
You know, I’m not sure I’ve so much replaced canon as worked out a lot of justifications to explain canon. (Well, aside from the kolto tank weirdness.)
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okay I hated the 90s Lisa Frank gif tumblr stuck on here so it’s toast; here’s my year in review
I posted 842 times in 2021
230 posts created (27%)
612 posts reblogged (73%)
For every post I created, I reblogged 2.7 posts.
I added 318 tags in 2021
#g:mass effect - 86 posts
#oph texts - 65 posts
#t:stargate - 29 posts
#grey's hellspiral - 25 posts
#s:2021 - 25 posts
#livblogging - 22 posts
#mass effecting - 20 posts
#oph’s sick - 18 posts
#s:words - 16 posts
#s:waves - 12 posts
Longest Tag: 140 characters
#but like if i didn't have somewhere else to be at 8:15 the next morning i would absolutely drive through indiana for what amounts to a movie
My Top Posts in 2021
#5
please validate me (rebloggable!)
i’m having a hell of a weird time not dissociating from my body ever since it decided to betray me by expressing a cancer gene that came from a genetic line that was entirely men until me. so what do we do? take pictures for strangers on the internet and ask people who’ve not seen or heard from you in six months to validate your existence. yeah, that’s a good plan.
40 notes • Posted 2021-03-22 03:27:43 GMT
#4
also if anyone wants to contribute to my Stage IV Cancer Sucks And So I Have A Self-Care Fund, here is my kofi
(please rb even if you can’t donate)
61 notes • Posted 2021-11-27 03:09:06 GMT
#3
“Fighting is said to have reached Palaven.”
With all her breath and all her strength and all the conviction of all the stars in the sky, Olivia tries not to hear the newscast.
Not when she’s checking on Ashley, battered and bruised and unconscious, hooked up to machines dripping medicine and nutrition into her veins. One of the best soldiers she’s ever met, knocked down before the war hardly started.
(If you can call this a war. Olivia isn’t sure yet if it’s a war or a slaughter. She’s going to fight like it’s a war, though. Wars have hope.)
Not when she’s talking to the Council, hearing new voices stonewall her with the same arguments. Why should we care, she hears between the lines when Irissa and Isheel speak, our homeworlds are still green and golden. Quentius trades in favors, payment due up front.
(We’ve lost everything, she wants to scream at them. We’ve lost our homeworld, a fleet, our entire government, all gone in a single day and you still won’t listen. We can stop them, why won’t you listen. In the elevator, Liara talks her off the ledge. Barely.)
Not when she’s trudging back to the Normandy with nothing but bad news to give Hackett. With nothing but bad news to give her crew, skeleton and new as it is. Olivia’s no stranger to uphill battles, but the walk to Normandy’s airlock is a sheer cliff.
(This is the beginning, not the middle or the end. This heavy, suffocating feeling is a beginning.)
“Fighting is said to have reached Palaven.” The newscast cycles as the airlock closes behind her.
She can’t help but hear it now, on repeat through her head in the silent airlock.
With all her breath and all her strength and all the conviction of all the stars in the sky, Olivia begs the universe – please, if you have any kindness in you at all, please let him be alive.
68 notes • Posted 2021-06-22 03:25:34 GMT
#2
psa
think twice before you use battle/fight imagery to refer to cancer patients
most importantly, “they lost their battle with cancer” sounds like the patient failed. didn’t try hard enough, didn’t do the right things, wasn’t strong enough. it sounds like it’s the patient’s fault for dying. that’s hurtful. knock it off.
also, battles and fights imply agency on behalf of the participants. none of us chose this. and most of us have no choice in what’s happening at any given time in our course(s) of treatment. we are the battlefields, not the armies.
it may work for your loved one, or even you if you’re a patient. it may not! it may hurt people! so think that whole thought through before you speak it out loud okay? thanks
152 notes • Posted 2021-09-22 23:57:36 GMT
#1
this got eaten somewhere and needs to not have done that
1125 notes • Posted 2021-11-10 19:21:19 GMT
Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →
#this post is a formatting MESS but i feel honored that it even posted#that aphrodite cosplay was fuckin amazing though did i ever post the full edited versions?#i don’t think i did I SHOULD DO THAT IT’S REALLY HOT
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Hey!!
Ok, first of all I love your writing, it's just soooo good and second, since I saw the requests are opened I wanted to ask for a little scenario, ok here we go.
So it's Law x fem!Reader from the strawhats and both crews are fighting against some kind of enemy and their army, this enemy it's like a mad scientist and shots the reader with a strange sustance but nobody really notices because they are fighting and she doesn't want them to get preoccupied.
The things is, some days later strange white marks begin to appear on her skin and yes, it's the amber lead, she tries to hide it but at some point Law sees it and when I don't know, I will leave the rest to you.
Thank you so much ❤❤
Thank you! I loved how interesting this request was! I hope you enjoy :) (I realized too late into this thatI didn’t make them a strawhat so my apologies for that! I’ve been trying to work on this one for so long and it slipped my mind :( also I’m sorry that this kind of ends a little abruptly, I wasn’t sure where I really wanted it to go in the end
Warnings: Getting shot/blood
****Law x Reader
This was supposed to be quick. An in, out kind of deal. What was going to be a quick trade, ended up being a ruse. When Law was finished with his end of the deal, which was healing a member of this scientist’s crew and in return he’d give Law a medicine that he had been looking for that he would only be able to get from this island.
But things went south as soon as the deal was finished. It all started happening so quickly that you almost didn’t have time to react. Once the sound of a gunshot filled the air, Law was quick to act. He was already after the ringleader and was telling the rest of the crew to fight and stay alive until he got back from dealing with the scientist.
The once peaceful surroundings were now a small battlefield. You watched Bepo and the rest of the crew fighting with the others and you had your own hands full with a few of the men from the other crew. But what you didn’t notice was that there was a sniper off in the distance with a fresh batch of bullets that were coated and infused with different diseases; new and old.
His sights were set on you as you seemed to be giving his crewmates the most trouble. There was so much noise on the battlefield that you didn’t even know where the next gunshot came from. All you knew was that you felt a sharp pain in your thigh, then moments later, another right above your knee cap. Your mind went white for a moment. The searing pain made your head go blank before you felt a fist connect with your face that brought you back to reality.
You wanted to pass out but Law told you all to stay alive because he knew that you could handle yourselves. That meant you couldn’t afford to lose consciousness. Law put his trust in you and the rest of his crew so you needed to show him that you could be trusted.
Blood trickled down your left leg and your pants were sticking to you uncomfortably. You felt useless not being able to even use one of your legs. But no matter how much it hurt, you put your weight on it and continued to fight. Another bullet came your way but this time you sensed it. There was something different about this one. It almost seemed to have some sort of heavy aura around it.
You deflected it with the knife you held in your hand. The bullet ricocheted off and hit one of the men you were brawling with, and straight into his shoulder.
He hissed in pain, not knowing what exactly had happened, but when you saw what that bullet began doing to his body you realized why it was so different from the other two. His skin started to melt from where the bullet entered and he screamed in agony. Your eyes were wide with fear, hoping that that wouldn’t be your fate. While your skin wasn’t melting off like his, you knew that there had to have been something wrong with this bullet as well.
But you didn’t have much time to process what could happen to you because the fighting continued and now you had the added bonus of trying to figure out if there would be a bullet coming at you. In a moment there was a sharp stinging in your side. You heard no gun shots but there was a clear wound in your abdomen.
Within minutes though, everything suddenly stopped, you and the rest of the crew had taken notice that there was a slight blue tinge that covered the area. In that moment, you knew that you could finally relax. Your legs buckled under you and the next thing you knew, you were in the sub.
You ached. Your entire body ached and you heard a soft beeping noise right beside you. Slowly your eyes began to open and you squint. The bright lights nearly blinding you.
Law glanced over and heard the rustling of the bed sheets. “Don’t touch the IV, Y/n-ya.” he spoke as he watched you reaching for it. You sigh and your hand falls onto the bed. “And don’t even think about moving.” he stood from his chair next to you and gently pushed your shoulder down.
Your voice was hoarse when you spoke softly. “Is everyone okay?” glancing around the room, you noticed that there was no one else but you and Law.
“Everyone is fine. I was able to patch them up. You one the other hand were the one who had the most damage done. You were shot three times. I’m not sure why but I couldn’t find the bullets even though there wasn’t an exit wound.”
He had even used his Scan on you thanks to his Ope-Ope no mi but still wasn’t able to find anything wrong. For some reason, you thought it would be a good idea to omit the fact that a bullet that was aimed for you hit someone else and melting the man’s skin off. There wasn’t anything wrong with you now. But what you didn’t know was that the bullets were still inside you. They had dissolved and a deadly and what was thought to be an incurable disease was now making its way through your body.
“I’m going to run some tests-”
“Please, I’m fine! Will you just let me get back to work?”
The look on Law’s face said it all as he turned to you. ‘Absolutely not’ was plastered all over and you knew better than to argue with him, but you felt like a terrible burden.
“You should be doing Captain things, not treating me.” you slumped back into the bed.
“You seem to forget that your captain is also your doctor.”
Your lips made an ‘O’ and your cheeks flushed slightly. “I didn’t forget...It just slipped my mind for a second.”
“I’m going to run your tests tomorrow. You’ve lost a lot of blood and need rest, so I’ll leave you be for a few hours and come back to check on you. Let me know if you need anything. You shouldn’t be in too much pain but I can put more medicine in your IV-that you better not take out-if you need it.” With that, he left the room while you glared at the IV that was stuck in you. It was best that you left it in and you knew it, It soon didn’t worry you anymore and before you knew it, your eyelids fluttered close with the darkness of a promising sleep overcoming.
It was about a week before Law let you out of the infirmary. He made sure you were okay to walk on your own, and he wanted you to take antibiotics for another week in case of an infection. The tests he had taken all came back normal for now. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but he still wanted you to check in with him every so often.
Law was wary of letting you out of his site, something had been worrying him about the fact he couldn’t find the bullets but you spoke of nothing out of the ordinary no matter how much he knew tried to get the information out of you.
The next time Law saw you, you looked like a ghost. He noticed how your knees were trembling and quickly urged you to sit down, guiding you to a chair. “I told you to come by and see me if there was anything wrong, Y/N-ya.”
“I’m fine… really. I’m just a little tired.”
His grey eyes narrowed slightly at you then his brows furrowed. There was a spot in your hair that hadn’t been there before that was beginning to go white--not grey like a normal aging person, but white. Quickly, he grabbed your arm and shoved the material of your sleeve up. You had no strength to pull back and his eyes now widened when he noticed the white patches that were covering you.
“Law it hurts… Everything hurts. I ache all the time and it feels like there’s nothing I can do to make it stop.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?!” the taller man quickly scooped you out of the chair and rushed you into the infirmary.
“That bullet…I think there was something in it.” you managed to croak out. “One of their guys got shot with a bullet that I dodged and his skin, it started to melt off his body.” You knew that he’d be scolding you after this, not telling him all of the details the first time is one of Law’s pet peeves.
“This could have all been avoided if you told me this in the first place!” While this would be an easy fix for Law, he was still upset that you were putting yourself in unnecessary pain. You didn’t need to suffer and if you weren't stubborn then you wouldn’t be in this position. He knew exactly what it was like to have this incurable disease, but you were lucky enough to have a captain who could cure anything. Including Amber Lead.
He put you on the bed in the infirmary and it didn’t take him long to get this out of your body. On the way there you had passed out which did make it easier for Law work, but he was scared. This disease was supposed to be gone. So how did this scientist get a hold of something this deadly?
One thing he did know--he wasn’t going to lose anyone else to this forsaken illness. Not again. He had already lost his entire family to it and he would be damned if he’d let it happen to his crew.
It only took Law a few minutes to finish this up and make sure that all of the Amber Lead was out of your body. He ran tests on you all throughout the night, almost never leaving your side. It was comforting knowing that the first face you saw when you opened your eyes was him. Though you knew he probably wasn’t the happiest with you, you did know that he would always do his best to save you and that’s why your eyes were opening in the first place.
Besides the quiet beeps of the monitor, the next thing you heard was his gruff voice. “You sure do leave out some important information when it’s needed.”
You bit your lip. “Sorry…”
“I don’t think ‘sorry’ cuts it when you nearly had a death wish. You’d be dead if you weren’t here with me, you know that? What you were shot with was a bullet that had Amber Lead poisoning which is normally incurable.”
“Guess I’m really lucky then, huh?” you smile weakly over to him, hoping that maybe he’ll see the bright side. “I’m alive at least, that counts for something, right?”
“Yeah, you’re lucky enough to be alive so you can do all of the extra chores around the sub.”
“Oh come on!” you groaned out in protest. “This is what I get for pulling thought and making it out alive?!”
“No. This is what you get for nearly getting yourself killed for leaving out information that could have prevented this from getting as bad as it did. Maybe next time you should think twice about being as stubborn as you usually are.”
“But that’s my best quality!”
“Trust me, you have better qualities than that, Y/N-ya.” and with that, he left the room, leaving you with a pink tinted face.
#one piece#trafalgar law#law x reader#trafalgar law x reader#trafalgar law headcanons#trafalgar-law-headcanons#law headcanons#one piece trafalgar law#one piece headcanons#trafalgar law scenario
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Okay concept. Captain America: The First Avenger but it’s a 1917 style gritty war movie. (Yea I know those are different wars but you get the point). Captain America is all about humanity and hope and what is patriotism and what is it worth and tfa is a fun time sure but it never properly sets up those themes because it’s just a little beyond the suspension of disbelief (imo).
Just imagine Steve and Bucky on a gritty, gory WWII battlefield. Covered in mud and climbing over corpses and barbed wire. The movie can start the same and 1940s New York be the epitome of hope and the “home”. Then imagine eager pre serum Steve longing for the fight, he’d still get drafted by Erkstine and then no dancing monkey nonsense. Imagine they throw still clumsy doesn’t know his strength Steve into the thick of it. Because now he’s America’s golden boy he better prove his worth. And he realizes how horrible war actually is. He sees men die over and over and we can get a glimpse of that doubt he has in tws and civil war. Maybe he can actually live up to the line from tws where he tells fury they did things that made them not sleep so well. Okay but then drawing from both sources of inspiration he can go on a mission across enemy lines to save Bucky’s battalion. Maybe he doesn’t do it rouge but he doesn’t exactly follow the rules. Also the red skull would still be the big bad but I’m imagining him more as a concept than a supervillain. Like special Nazi science task force is plotting big trap/attack on Bucky’s battalion and Steve has to hassles some higher ups to get the general to back out of the trap. He can have a big speech about patriotism and what war is really like and how the general leading the charge can’t just send people to die senselessly or else there just as bad as the Nazies. But then like 1917 the first wave could have already gone out Bucky leading the charge. Maybe Steve rushes onto the battle field and finds him wounded but still fighting. I’m envisioning Bucky then saves Steve’s life somehow or other and ends up falling wounded off a bridge, rather than the train. Into a River already littered with corpses. Also imagine Bucky’s arm wasn’t a clean cut, what if hydra found him half alive on the shores of the river with his arm hopelessly broken and infected and have to amputate it. That would be so much more gritty and realistic for 40s era war medicine. At Bucky’s “death” Steve rushes behind enemy lines and confronts the red skull himself, being not only a metaphor for evil men with too much power but also a physical embodiment of the overindulgence in war. A man who takes pleasure in sending others to die for his gain and is thus a monster and also a true Nazi. But anyway the red skull reveals the trap was to test a new hydra super weapon. Now this is the tricky part because there’s no plane and no ice. But I’m thinking maybe something about the tesseract and the super weapons freeze Steve after he subsequently destroys them and can’t escape in time. Maybe he has a last radio call back to the general who didn’t listen to him and Steve, blaming him for Bucky’s death, basically tells him to fuck off before presumably to the rest of the world, dying in the hydra explosion. In the aftermath allied troops realize just how dangerous hydra was boosting Captain America to legendary status for saving the world from such a dangerous weapon.
Idk I just love this idea I know I just rewrote the movie but I honestly really wish I could’ve seen my version.
#Captain America#marvel#captain america the first avenger#rewrite#1917#war movies#Captain America fanfic
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When a job goes terribly wrong, the Fairy Tail guild is left to pick up the pieces. Mourning the deaths of their guildmates, Lucy can't seem to find the strength to move forward. But she comes to realize one person understands. His madness was her mercy, and she finally began to hope that maybe he could make her heart beat again.
Fandom: Fairy Tail Genre: Adventure/Tragedy Warning: Character Death(s) Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l
Chapter 3 Word Count: 3,100 Can also be found here
I give up on editing this anymore so here it is
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The first thing Juvia noticed upon entering the guildhall that morning was that Gray was nowhere to be found. More often than not, he arrived earlier than she, prompting a touch of concern as to where the ice-make mage could be. He had taken a job the day before, so there was a chance he could be sleeping in after arriving home late.
The second thing she noticed was the hum of electricity among her fellow guildmates. They gathered at the tables closest to the stage, everyone murmuring amidst themselves. Knitting her brows with worry, the bluenette weaved her way over to where Wendy sat.
“Good morning, Wendy,” she greeted the young girl with a small smile. “Why is everyone so lively?”
With a drained look she offered, “Hello, Juvia,” before dropping her gaze to the floor. “I-I guess you haven’t heard yet.”
Blue eyes glanced between her and Charle, who perched beside her with a hollow expression. “Hear what?”
“Well, Team Natsu went on a mission yesterday and-”
Her heart missed a beat, terrifying worst-case scenarios coming to her mind with Gray’s absence. “Where’s Gray?” Juvia demanded anxiously. “Has he returned?”
Wendy quickly nodded, setting her panic at ease. “Yeah, he came home. He’s in the infirmary right now. I’m not sure what happened, but he and Lucy were hurt pretty bad.”
Her eyes shifted distractedly over to the hallway leading to their clinic. “Maybe Juvia should go check on him.”
“Absolutely not,” a woman interrupted before she could scamper off to his side. Porlyusica suddenly appeared with her ever present scowl. “He needs to rest. Leave him be.”
“O-Oh… Ah… right,” Juvia stammered, feeling a blush come to her cheeks. She still felt anxious, but knew better than to question the elder woman’s words. “Will he be all right?”
“He’ll be fine. He’s a stubborn fool.”
The water mage breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”
“Hey, you guys!” Levy called as she bounced over, Team Shadowgear hot on her heels.
“Oh, good morning,” Wendy greeted.
“What happened last night?” the solid-script mage asked, concerned lines creasing her brow as she took note of their medicinal advisor. “Jet told me he had to fetch Porlyusica.”
“Gray and Lucy were badly injured,” Juvia explained. “What happened is still unclear.”
“Cana didn’t offer an explanation either when she came to get me,” Jet said, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve never seen her so sober.”
Levy fiddled with the hem of her dress nervously, giving Wendy a questioning glance. “Is Lu okay?”
“She’ll be fine,” she affirmed with a small nod. “They both just need some rest for now.”
“What’s everyone buzzin’ about?” Gajeel questioned as he sauntered over, keeping his eyes peeled on the rest of the guildhall. “Ain’t like them this early in the morning.”
Panther Lily hopped onto the table next to Charle. “We’re usually never here this early,” he pointed out.
“Master wants to make an announcement.” Cana strolled over, her customary barrel of alcohol propped against her hip and a soft warmth blooming upon her cheeks. “It’s not good.”
“Why do you say that?” Levy asked.
“I saw Lucy and Gray come in last night. It was pretty bad.”
“You don’t think something terrible happened, do you?” Wendy fiddled with her hands anxiously.
Gajeel folded his arms over his chest. “Didn’t they go on a mission with Salamander?”
“Yeah, along with Erza and Happy.” Levy’s hazel eyes quickly scanned their gathered guildmates. “But I haven’t seen either of them all morning.”
“The Thunder Legion was sent out, too,” Cana mumbled. “This doesn’t sit well with me.”
The guildhall suddenly hushed as Makarov entered the room, climbing up onto the stage in order to be better seen and heard. Mirajane stood beside him, but her usual cheerful smile had been replaced by a deep frown. Her eyes were rimmed red and her cheeks were flushed, making it apparent to everyone that she had been crying. Levy exchanged an anxious glance with those beside her.
Their master cleared his throat, his eyes noticeably misty. “My heart is heavy today,” he began, his voice thick with tears. “I come to you not as your guild master, but as a member of the family we hold dear. Unfortunately, in this world, not everything can be fixed, no matter how much we wish it could.”
Dread had Levy’s stomach locked up tight and her teeth clenched together.
The room fell eerily silent. “Yesterday, our strongest team went on a mission to capture bandits in Freesia. But demons from the books of Zeref blindsided them.”
Levy swallowed against the hard lump in her throat. It became hard to breathe. Where was Erza, Natsu, and Happy? Why weren’t they there?
“It is with a broken heart that I tell you some of our family did not make it home alive.”
“N-No,” Levy whispered, her hands muffling the gasp that escaped as tears welled in her eyes. Loud murmurs of disbelief rang out across the guild, fear building in a frenzy as everyone turned wide eyes to their master.
He paused for a moment to reel in his emotions as Mirajane quietly broke down sobbing beside him. “Natsu, Erza, and Happy all died in battle. They were our beloved family and fought bravely to instill the protection of those we hold dear.”
The news passed through the guild like a hurricane. Levy’s mind was laid waste by it, the desolation she felt all consuming. She suddenly felt weak in the knees, falling backwards onto a bench. Cana dropped her alcohol, causing the contents to spill onto the floor. The room filled with hysterical crying, the screaming sobs molding together to form one.
“T-Tom Cat…?” she heard Charle whisper from beside her, a choked sob escaping Wendy’s lips.
Gajeel clenched his hands into fists, wide eyes staring as he tried to comprehend the master’s words. “S-Salamander? No way…”
Levy cried as if her brain was being shredded from the inside. From her mouth came a cry so raw that Gajeel bent down to pull her to his chest, running shaky fingers through her hair. She curled her hands around his shirt so she could find some gravity with her violent shaking. The whole world vanished for her. Now there was only pain enough to break her - to break them - pain enough to change them all beyond recognition.
“My children!” Makarov cried out above the noises of desolation.
The screams quieted to soft, choked sobs, as they all turned blurry vision toward him. Each of their expressions begged him to have the answers as to how this had happened… as to how they were supposed to endure such a loss.
He looked over each and every one of them, his own tears falling down his cheeks. “Y-You’re going to think that the pain will never end, but it will. That I can promise. But first, you have to let it all in. You can’t fight it; it’s bigger than you. You have to let yourself drown in it, but then, eventually, you’ll start to swim. And every single breath that you fight for will make you stronger. And I promise you, you’ll beat this! We all will!”
“How the hell did this happen?!” Macao called out angrily. “How?!”
Makarov shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t have all the details. Thank Mavis that Gray and Lucy were both brought back home alive. They’re in the infirmary recovering thanks to Wendy and Porlyusica.”
Levy squeezed her eyes shut, listening as Gajeel mumbled incoherent phrases, as Juvia cried for a queen, and Wendy sobbed for a fellow dragon slayer. She took in everything, feeling as if a weight pressed on her chest, and she was drowning in her own tears.
Their master wiped his hand under his nose like a child. “I have postponed any job requests for the time being. With the jewels we received from the Games, I will cover all expenses until further notice. Do not break alone, my children. We are a family, and we will get through this together - as a family.”
Within the mess of emotions surrounding her, Levy repeated Makarov’s news over and over again in her mind.
Natsu… Erza… Happy… dead…
Lucy… Gray… alive…
And then her eyes opened wide.
Lucy…!
...
Lucy felt emotionally bankrupt. There was nothing left to feel, nothing left to say, nothing left but the void that enveloped her mind in swirling blackness. She peeked out from beneath her covers and looked at Gray with eyes filled with anguish. He was sitting up, his gaze trained on the window, as he had been for the past two hours.
Reluctantly, once he had woken up and questioned what had happened, she had given him the news of their friends’ deaths. He had yelled out in denial, refusing to believe her, but as she replayed their final moments out on the battlefield as Virgo and Loke appeared, reality started to set in.
Since then, he had clammed up. He had sobbed - she had never seen him so vulnerable - and then he went silent. He now stared vacantly out at the sunrise, as if searching for something.
About an hour ago, she had heard all the commotion coming from the main hall and knew the rest of the guild had been told the news. The door creaked open, catching Lucy’s attention. She glanced over her covers to see a petite young woman with blue hair peek her head in.
“Lu…?” she whispered hesitantly.
The blonde debated if she wanted to see her friend, or if she would rather pretend to be asleep so she could be left alone. Thinking better of it, she pulled the blanket off of her face. “Hey, Levy,” she replied softly.
Levy stepped over, her hands clenched in front of her as if to keep them from trembling. Her cheeks were red and blotchy from crying. “Oh, Lucy…”
Her words were so tender and full of sympathy, that Lucy felt tears welling in her eyes all over again. “He-He’s gone,” she said, her voice cracking. “They’re all gone.”
Lucy’s body began to shake with her sobs, the sound breaking free from her throat, savage and raw. Levy pushed away the covers and slid into the bed next to her. She wrapped her arms around her friend, running her fingers through her golden-spun hair, and whispered soothing words to help calm her shattered heart.
Sometime during it all, Juvia came to Gray’s bedside, reaching out a trembling hand around his own. “Gray…?” she whispered.
His only response was to pull away, ignoring her presence completely. The desolation he felt consumed him, his mind became an icy wasteland; the wind howled in his soul and wrapped icy tentacles around his heart so tightly, it almost stopped beating.
And faintly, he realized, it had begun to rain.
...
Sitting alone at the Fairy Tail guildhall, Cana took a swig from her glass and waited for the effects to kick in. She waited. And waited. But the numb feeling inside her didn’t wane.
The quiet of the guildhall made her blood run as cold as Fiore’s winters. It was as if nature conspired against her in the dark, not daring to whisper the reassurance she craved. Echoes of boisterous voices spun through her mind, of a lively guild filled with fistfights and magic.
Now, there was only silence.
It gnawed at her insides, hanging in the air like the suspended moment before falling glass shattered on the ground. Like a gaping void. It needed to be filled with sounds, words, anything.
The main door creaked open and she heard soft footsteps echo in the empty guildhall. Mirajane walked over to Cana, giving her a weak smile, barely noticeable in the dim lighting. “I thought I’d find you here.” Her blue eyes, which were usually so bright and kind, had dulled to an opaque grey. They were puffy, but her tears had finally dried up.
The card mage tilted her head in acknowledgement, taking another long gulp. “Where else is there to be?”
Humming her agreement, the eldest Strauss sibling slipped behind the bar for a glass to fill from the tap, and joined Cana in a drink. Once the news of what had happened had sunk in, everyone had dispersed to find their own way of grieving.
“I used to complain about how loud the guild was. All the fighting and the music and the people non-stop talking,” Cana said, her voice brittle as if she were about to cry. “Now, it’s too quiet. I’d give my right arm to hear Natsu start a fight or for Erza to end it, or for Happy to make another of his snarky comments.”
Blue eyes peered wistfully over the darkened guildhall, memories of their childhood revolving through her mind. Over a decade had passed since the first of them had stumbled into Fairy Tail. Even after all they had been through at such a young age, they had still been so innocent as to what lay ahead. “It’s a frightening thought, that in one fraction of a moment, everything you hold dear can be altered forever.”
Cana gripped her glass tighter. “It all just feels like a bad joke.”
“I don’t think the universe is kidding this time.” She didn’t need to voice aloud the circumstances regarding Lisanna’s death. Her body had disappeared in a glitter of golden light. This time, there was no mistake that Natsu, Erza, and Happy were gone. Mirajane took a sip of her drink thoughtfully, swirling the alcohol around in her mouth, relishing in the burn before swallowing.
Cana raised a brow suspiciously. “Since when do you drink?”
“Since I woke up yesterday and never imagined the day would end this badly.” The barmaid shrugged, silver hair a mess and her eyes sad. “I always thought there were bad days, but not in the way most people think, you know? I think… I think really bad days happen when everything seems to be going wrong, and you just want to throw your hands up in the air and give up. Because clearly, the world is out to get you.”
Tears welling in her eyes, Cana held up her glass. “To really, really bad days, then.”
They drank quietly as the shadows grew darker and it wasn’t until after nightfall that they realized something.
As it turned out, a person couldn’t drink away the silence.
...
Every breath was an implosion.
Lucy sat on the edge of the bed with no strength to move. Her shaky fingers finally came to a stop after running restlessly through her messy hair. She bit down on her lip trying not to burst into tears. It wasn’t going to help. It wouldn’t change anything.
Night had fallen, causing everyone to leave the guild. Juvia had fallen asleep in a chair, her head resting on Gray’s bed, but Lucy had persuaded Levy to go home. Brown eyes lifted to look at her teammate, lip quivering.
“Gray…?” Her voice came out in a choked whisper.
“Don’t.” The word was deliberate, and sharper than knives. He didn’t even bother to face her, instead lying on his side with his back toward her.
Lucy glanced away, feeling as if she had been slapped. She wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders, the events of the day leaving her feeling hollow. “You don’t get to do this,” she muttered, clenching her hands into fists.
“Don’t,” he repeated. “Just don’t. I don’t want to hear you say what I think you’re gonna say.”
Gray had woken up hours ago with the bitter taste of ash in his mouth and the grit of building caked into his skin. Somehow, before Lucy had replayed the events of the battle for him, he had known it was over. A part of him really knew. People always say they thought they would know if someone close to them had died. Maybe it was true. Because something inside him had broken on that day, and he knew it was over.
Grief felt like emptiness in his heart, a sheer of nothingness that somehow took over and held his soul, threatening to kill him entirely. It gave him this heavy feeling that was like the weight of the world sat on his chest.
He knew grief very well.
He felt it when Ur looked back at him, her body becoming the infamous iced-shell, as she gave her life for his. “I want Lyon to discover the world; Gray, you too, of course. You don’t have to be sad,” she had told him with a smile. “I’m alive. I’m eternally alive as ice. Step into the future. I’ll seal your darkness.”
He felt it when Ultear had given years of her life to give him one more minute of his, changing his fate entirely - her elderly face, tilted with lips pulled up, a shake of her head, wordlessly telling him it was okay.
And he felt it when Erza turned her back to him, scarlet hair shimmering in the fire’s glow; her armor cracked, her swords drawn. “I made a promise! I told Ultear I would look after you,” she had shouted back to him, facing the demon head-on as he lay bleeding. “And I never break a promise!” Even though by then she was already dying, she fought on. She was drenched to the core in blood and yet she fought on. She fought on until she collapsed and could fight no more. And then with the crack of bones, she was gone.
Why?!
Why did every woman he had ever learned to care for decide that his life was worth more than theirs? Why was he always the one left behind to mourn, to feel the guilt of their deaths?
It wasn’t fair, dammit!
“Please… Gray…”
Lucy’s voice drew him from his thoughts and he glanced down to see he had wrapped the sheets tight in his fist, turning his knuckles white. He closed his eyes, but she somehow knew he was listening.
“We-We have their blood on our hands… Tell me it’s going to be okay. Promise me it’s going to be alright,” she cried meekly. “Tell me we have a reason to be here when they aren’t.”
He was silent for a moment, turning his hardened gaze to the dark sky outside. “I can’t.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it again, unable to come up with any response.
#fairy tail#fairy tail fanfiction#lucy heartfilia#gray fullbuster#natsu dragneel#erza scarlet#team natsu#sassy stays classy#my fanfiction#the last of us
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Wondering if I could request some reactionary Headcanons for the warlords where MC is a highly trained and skillful forensic scientist?
I’m so sorry this is waaaay overdue and writing-wise is still unsure of the style... I hope this one’s okay though~ TnT
p.s. I tried adding Kennyo & Motonari too, but brain won’t let me ><
p.s.s. Updated masterlist for my random shenanigans here!
*Every one of them thought MC would be scared of a dead body and multitudes of it on the battlefield and beyond it but...
ODA FORCES
Nobunaga
- “Huh, this fireball’s not afraid of the dead?” // “I examine them for a living.” Visibly impressed, a devilish smirk forms on his lips
- The Devil King is fascinated by you actively asking to take her to battles to study the bodies
- “Look at this! With that deep slice on his jugular vein, no wonder he’ll die pretty quickly due to all that blood loss.” // “On his what?” // “T-the blood vessel found on the neck, my lord.” // *is confused*
- Nobunaga considers this carefully and commissions the armour makers to improve their designs, and/or trade for more sturdy materials with the Portuguese (you know… aside trading for konpeito :3)
- Lets you examine more specimens to determine all possible deaths in battle, and then have it discussed at the next council. It’s a great help for them in terms of preparation & strategizing. After all, prevention and preparation is still much better!
Hideyoshi
- A worried mother hen as always, all he wanted is for you to stay away from the worst sights possible and definitely not going straight towards them! “What do I keep telling you?” // “Uh, stay away from the corpses…?”
- Just like how his lord would sneak away to have konpeito, you also tend to get around stealthily just to study “them”
- Being a highly observation person due to your work, you even know which wooden floor in Azuchi will make a creaking sound and by instinct you will avoid it
- But Mamayoshi is just as observant as you are, and he caught you one night
- “I know you were once this ‘forensic expert’ from where you came from, but you are a princess now and must behave like one!” Legend has it that the lecture continues...
Mitsuhide
- Ah, he loves asking for your suggestions on how to get away with murder treason!
- I mean, he’s surely an expert but an additional piece of advice his little mouse wouldn’t hurt, right?
- “This place’s almost clean, I’d say.” // “’Almost’, little mouse? It scares me so that you have trained eyes for such matters. // “Is that a compliment? Anyway, I saw a strand of hair near the sliding door... and its color is much similar to yours. Care to explain?”
- Now he’s more careful than ever to leave any trace, knowing you can find him even with the smallest of clues
- The tables have turned for him after such a long time of being a sneaky fox
Masamune
- Oh boy, make sure you won’t overwork yourself by being with this man, being a battle-loving man that he is (meaning, more bodies and scenes to check out)
- At the same time, he finds it amusing that you proactively ask him to take you to his trips, campaigns and whatnots
- “It really is fun having you around, lass! Or should I say ‘partner’?” // “Damn straight, partner… now, let’s solve this case!” Cat-like grin commences for you two
- He sees you having fun hanging out at the scouts’ camp, chatting about experiences in the battlefield. your eyes would glimmer the more explicit they describe it. Creepy? Maybe a little, but at least he sees you happy about it… right?
- The One-Eyed Dragon will find this unusual, sure, but it certainly makes him want to know you more
Ieyasu
- Did he care at first? No, not really. He just wanted no involvement at first and to be left on his room alone, reading or eating extra-spicy food
- However, Yatsun gets curious when he finds you taking a peek at his medicinal work on a man he is a bit late to save :(
- “What are you doing here? You better not get in the way.” // “Oh no, poor man though… what’s the cause?” // “I am yet to find that out, if you’ll excuse me,---” // “Can I take a look?”
- He tries to pry you away from the room but being already in and touching the body leaves him no choice but to keep a close eye on you, making sure you’re not doing anything daft.
- “Huh, not bad.” Ieyasu says as you were able to identify the cause of death, deep inside he’s amazed of course. Later on he would let you join him in his post-mortem activities if the schedule allows to, but still keeping an eye on you to prevent any mishaps from happening
Mitsunari
- “Wow, MC-sama is unfazed as we all are in the battlefield! You truly are an amazing woman.” Did you see that sunny smile on his face as he says it???
- Your logical explanation as to identifying one’s death baffles the force’s cinnamon roll (because of the jargon used), otherwise it fascinates him
- Well, he’s never seen a woman who’s into dead bodies work-wise!
- Like some other warlords, he would ask you for advice when making strategies for the next battle
- When you went to his room one time to borrow a book, the first thing you said was “Am I in a crime scene?” when seeing piles of books around, untouched food and seeing a man unmoved in the middle of the room, reading and not even sensing your presence. “Ah no, just a normal room. I see.”
Ranmaru
- While in an errand, he sees you one day looking at a dead body about to be taken away. He is worried that the view might traumatize you for life… in the back of his mind he already has a plan to take you to a sweets shop and let you gorge in manjuu for the rest of the day
- “MC-sama, are you alright? You look shocked.” // “Yeah, I mean it looks to me that someone killed him when everybody says the opposite! I wanted to look into this so badly…” // “My apologies, but… what?”
- Of course it is never the answer he expected, but when you plead to help him solve it, this page is more than willing to do so
- Now both of you are going around the town looking for clues and asking who you think are involved; partners-in-crime!
- You did get to gorge on manjuu (and tea, lots of it) with Ranmaru when the case is solved!
UESUGI-TAKEDA FORCES
Kenshin
- Oh boy, make sure you won’t overwork yourself by being with this man, being a battle-loving man that he is pt.2
- “How dare you try to even speak with MC; draw your swords. Now.” // “Kenshin-sama, even if I’m used to seeing the deceased, please don’t do that. You’re scaring your own men!”
- He has little to no problem in taking her along to the battlefield, too! One more way to keep her in sight at all times
- Sometimes when you two are drinking and think he had too much you just had to stop him, to his slight annoyance. You have seen many deaths due to alcohol poisoning and definitely wouldn’t want him to be in the list… Bunshin Lord Kenshin appreciates the thought though
- Like Nobunaga, he allows you to do some research on the dead bodies, anything useful for the ongoing war
Shingen
- How can an angel such as you be associated with death and decay? He thinks
- But this daddy needs to accept the fact that you are quite comfortable around such! However once your investigation takes a scary turn expect him to nearby, comforting you with soothing words, or a hug… or eating sweet buns as many as you’d like to calm yourself down
- At first he is reluctant to let you get near the deceased, however whenever he sees your expression light up whenever he makes a cheesy comment (albeit in a rather awkward place) he thought of going along with it
- “Hm, this job of yours is unfitting in every way.” // “Oh yeah? How so?” // “You are brimming with life that I do think you are a goddess who descended upon us men.” // “Ah, here we go again…”
- You have to admit, his presence help you keep your sanity as you used to work alone for long periods of time
Yukimura
- “I thought you might be running away now once you see these.” // “As if they’ll chase me! Unless… are they still alive?” // “Weird woman…”
- This tsun does admire how brave you are after even making such joke
- Along with Sasuke, you three are pretty much effective when doing some investigation at the enemy’s base with you giving them (modern) tips of not getting caught. Unusual hiding spots? Hidden weapons? Suspicious people? All checked and cleared!
- He has been doing that for a long while now, but hearing your strange ideas do sound plausible… especially when ninja friend is highly approving it
- If Sasuke trusts you, he surely starts to trust you (and your skills) too
Sasuke
- Once again, be paired up with Yuki and you three would make a great investigation/espionage team
- When investigating, you and memelord ninja are speaking to each other in partly jargon, partly heavily-memed language
- Possibly having watched and/or read crimes shows or movie you two are getting along so well
- “So here’s our undercover story: husband, wife and husband’s best friend---” // “Wait, do we get cool names too?!” // “Yeah, I’ll get to that part later… or I’ll do it now. Miyako, Tsune and Chozaburo; sounds cool?” // “Noice.”
- As the conversation continues, Yuki is left by himself to wonder how on earth did he get friends like you, shaking his head lightly as your talk no longer makes sense to him
Yoshimoto
- This beautiful mailman sees you one day sketching and as a man of the arts he comes over to look at what you’re drawing
- What he sees is a detailed sketch of a man, possibly a random person. The facial structure, features are all spot on! He is in full admiration mode
- “My, such a lovely piece you are making there. Has someone commissioned you to make him a portrait?” // “Actually Yoshimoto-san, I am making this to be posted around town. A wanted poster of some sorts… he’s a criminal.”
- You explained to him your job as a forensic artist, and he listens to every single word of it. Yoshimoto would find himself asking about your style of sketching as you continue drawing
- When the posters are up he is one of those people who would look at it for a long time; for him it’s not for memorizing the perp’s face, but simply to appreciate the art, fanning himself ever so gracefully
#ask#ask answered#november-solarstorms#nori's headcanon#ikesen#ikemen sengoku#ikesen headcanon#toyotomi hideyoshi#masamune#ieyasu#mitsuhide#ikesen mitsunari#ikemen sengoku ranmaru#kenshin#shingen#yukimura#ikesen sasuke#hideyoshi#I'm sorry it took so long :'(#*bows apologetically*#and the keep reading part is right after the question#i can't even move it#wth tumblr? are you okay?
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