#also ive had the first one done for forever but have just been sitting on it bc i developed a weird complex about posting single orv pieces

[propertyofwicked]

SECRETS part 4 - LN

content warnings: fluff, angst, drama (the whole shabang).

ur girl is going back to working full time tomorrow so if we have slow updates blame my place of work. also, im still recovering from the 4am wakeup and lando p3

previous part -> next part

masterlist the playlist

“max pick up the damn phone,” y/n said, taking great strides across the paddock towards the car park. once again, the phone call had gone to voicemail. she clicked his contact details, ringing him again. only this time, it didn’t even ring. the phone went straight to voicemail. and to add to the matter, max’s car had disappeared from the car park.

y/n sat on the empty floor of the empty parking spot her brothers car had been in, opening up her phone to check the time and send a message to max, she probably should’ve waited for the mix of fear and anger to fade, but here she was, tapping aggressively at the screen of her phone.

if you think you can ignore me forever, you’ve got another thing coming

dont think you can jump to conclusions and throw a childlike strop about this.

but of course, the messages stayed on delivered for hours. it was at least 2 hours before lando’s caller id popped up on her phone, still with no word from max.

“hey, where did you go? mum said something about you walking off,” lando asked her the moment she answered the call.

“currently? i’m sat on the floor of the car park. where are you - ill walk over now,” she said bluntly. he stayed on the line until she entered the mclaren unit.

“y/n? what do you mean max has left?” panic rising in his voice as she walked up to him, his hands coming to rest on her waist.

“i mean he’s left. gone. driven off,” she said with a shrug, “he won’t answer my calls, hasn’t read my texts, he’s just gone.”

“he might be at the hotel? we’ll drive over in a bit and see?”

“i don’t think we should do anything, i think we might have done enough damage for one day.”

“y/n your brother has just driven off. you should at least try and check if he’s at the hotel.”

“fine, but i’m going alone.”

“let me try and talk to him first, you never know something might’ve happened with P?” lando said, still stroking her hips softly, desperately trying to think of any reason that his best friend had up and left.

4 unanswered calls later, and lando and y/n found themselves sat on the sofa in his driving room again, her head laying on her lap as he stroked her hair, trying to resolve the anxiety.

“i don’t care what he thinks, y/n. i feel so strongly about you and i think i have for years.”

“i think i have too. but i hate the thought of people disliking me, let alone my own brother.”

“i know, angel. he’ll come around soon, i promise.”

“that man held a grudge against me for years when i accidentally scraped the side of his kart when i was 12,” she said, laughing sadly at the memory of their parents having to sit them down in the living room and make them apologise to each other. the moment was quickly interrupted by her phone ringing, max’s caller id popping up on the screen.

“ma-”

“no. don’t talk to me. you two have lied to my face for years about this. lando promised me he would never even think about you in that way. and you, i don’t know what ive done to you for you to go behind my back and fuck my best friend but it’s not on.”

“max i-” lando tried to reason with him.

“oh, of course he’s there. just waiting for the moment i left to start fucking my sister, didn’t you?”

“it’s not like that, max.”

“no? then what is it like? ‘cos from where im standing it’s pretty clear he’s been waiting years to take advantage of my little sister,” he argued down the phone, venom rolling off his tongue.

“take advantage of me?” she scoffed, moving to sit up and hold the phone next to her mouth, “who the fuck do you think you are to talk to or about me in that way? who gave you the audacity to believe you have any control over who i choose to date? you couldn’t care less about protecting me, you only care about protecting yourself," she said, her voice raising and her finger moving to point as if he were stood in front of her.

“he’s not right for you.”

“that’s your opinion max. if you can’t trust me, or lando for that matter, then why should i bother giving you a moment more to talk down to me?”

lando sat silently next to her, playing with his own fingers. this was not his fight to fight right now. he’d speak to max privately later, right now, he knew y/n needed to stand up for herself, and god was she smashing it.

“why can’t you just listen to me?” max sighed, defeated, “i know what’s good for yo-”

“go fuck yourself,” she said, hanging up the call, and dropping her phone on the floor besides her. lando’s arms move to behind her waist, pulling her back to rest into him on the sofa. the room fell into silence.

“im sorry,” she mumbled.

“don’t be sorry. this is on him, and me. i should’ve told him the truth the first time round. hell, i should’ve told you the truth earlier.”

“i’ve ruined your big day, lan. p2 - you should be celebrating, not arguing with your best friend.”

“im with you - that’s celebration enough,” he said, happy to see her smile for the first time in hours. she moved to lay her head back down on lando’s lap, this time looking up at him. a knock on the door brought the two of them back to reality, and cisca walked in, adam trailing slightly behind.

y/n contemplated moving, jumping away from the boy who was currently running his hands through her hair, but it had only been 4 hours of hiding whatever was going on between the two of them and she was already bored of keeping up the pretence.

“y/n, love, did you find max?” cisca asked, eyes softening at the scene unfolding in front of her. had she secretly wished for this for years? maybe.

“yea, he um, he went home.”

“he’s not happy about this, is he?” adam said, pointing between the two of you, yet even he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“not happy, fuming, absolutely raging - i guess you could say that,” she replied, laughing slightly to ease any tensions.

“he’ll come around lovely, he can’t stay mad at you. you’re his sister after all.”

“i love that you think so highly of my brother, cisca. he will go to the grave holding this grudge if he can.”

“ill talk to him later ang- y/n,” lando said, correcting himself quickly, not comfortable enough yet to be overly affectionate in front of his parents.

“good luck with that,” y/n joked, patting him on the arm sadly.

later that evening, y/n found herself sat on the floor of lando’s hotel rifling through her bag to find her pyjamas. earlier, her and lando had driven to her hotel room, to find that max had packed his stuff and left as expected. she didn’t want to be alone, and lando didn’t want to leave her alone. her phone began to ring, and she answered it praying it wasn’t max.

“y/n the videos of you are going feral on twitter right now,” her best friend, caitlin, shouted down the phone the moment she picked up.

“stop it - what are people saying?”

“erm, some people think it’s cute?” he friend responded, voice laced in slight worry.

“…and the rest of them think im a slut?” y/n added, but her friend only responded with a hum.

“what’s max said?”

“from what i remember, he drove off leaving me stranded at the track and then rang me to say i was making a mistake, i was a liar and he never wanted to speak to me or lando ever again.”

“taking it well then,” the girl responded, y/n could hear her eyes rolling. at that moment, lando emerged from the bathroom, with just a towel hanging around his waist. any words y/n intended to say got stuck in her throat. he took strides towards her, noticing she was on the phone and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, before moving to his own suitcase to find a change of clothes.

“y/n…are you in lando’s room right now?”

“maybe?” y/n responded in a guilty tone, quieter than she had before, glad lando couldn’t hear the girl on the other side of the phone. however, he seemed to clock on to the question from the small grin on her face.

“girl why did you answer the phone? go spend time with your new controversial boyfriend.”

“he’s not my b- you know what, i’m gonna go.”

“dont do anything i wouldn’t do, stay safe!” her friend added cheerily, laughing as she ended the call. cheery was the furthest emotion from what y/n felt at this moment in time.

once y/n was in her pyjamas, she moved her way back into the room, lando was sat up in bed, his back resting on the headboard, phone in hand. he looked up as she walked in, patting the spot next to him for her to join. her face fell into a look that screamed apprehension.

“y/n nothing bad will happen if you get into this bed and cuddle with me.”

“something bad already happened,” she said, climbing under the duvet next to him nonetheless. his hand reached behind her waist pulling her into his chest, her head coming to rest on him.

“im happy this happened, but im not happy about every thing that’s happening as a result," she told him, her eyes blinking slowly as the exhaustion from todays drama caught up with her.

“i know baby,” he responded, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “get some sleep. we’ll sort this out tomorrow, i promise.”

★ ☆ ✦ ✧ ✩ ✶

tag list: @harrysdimple05 @scopeiguess @hiireadstuff @landosgirlxoxo @natt9598 @phantomxoxo @val-writes @secretgal66 @ririyulife @littlehoneyfreak @leclercdream @mehrmonga @eviethetheatrefreak @thatoneembarrasingmoment @doofenshmirtzevil-inc @formula1mount @lottef1 @rayna-s @5starl1ght @cthgee

[whtepony]

hi!! i love ur work !

so random request but i was wondering if you could write how denki or sero would comfort you if you were clearly going through something, like distancing , sleeping all day, being overly quiet, the whole thing. ive been going through alot lately and it would be greatly appreciated if you could! completely understand if not!!

✮ that funny feeling

ft. denki kaminari x gn reader

warnings: depressive themes

notes: anon i’m so sorry it’s taken me forever to get to this 😭 i hope you’re doing better!!! also yeah bo burnham title bc i cannot EVER title things ugh (divider from @cafekitsune)

denki kaminari is observant when he wants to be, meaning that he notices almost immediately when you start to distance yourself. at first, he kind of assumes he’s done something to hurt your feelings. it starts with cancelling your plans once, then twice - taking hours to respond to his texts, then avoiding them all together. choosing to eat dinner alone in your dorm instead of with him. when you skip class for the third day in a row without so much as a “hey, won’t be there today” text, he thinks he’s really fucked up. how could he possibly fumble you this hard and have no clue how it happened?!

when he realizes no one has heard much of anything from you lately, denki resolves to find out what’s going on asap. he’s knocking on your door before he even considers that you might prefer a check-in over text, but you crack open the door anyway. if he’s shocked at your appearance he doesn’t show it - from the looks of you, that’s probably the last thing you need right now. he smiles big and his shoulders relax a bit seeing that you’re at least alive although in a brief panic, he definitely did worry about that for a second or two. “you mind if i come in?”

you sigh deeply and open the door wider for him, your face flushing in embarrassment as he steps inside and closes the door behind him. there are clothes strewn about the floor, papers and trash littering several surfaces, and probably a dozen empty water bottles on your nightstand. “i uh, just wanted to come check on you - i’ve been worried, y’know?” and you do know, and you feel awful about it, on top of everything else. you fiddle with the hem of your hoodie, sitting on the wrinkled edge of your bed. you nod, clearing your throat a bit before speaking. “i dunno,” you shrug, the bed dipping under his weight next to you, “guess i haven’t felt that good lately.”

denki tilts his head to the side, offering you a small smile. “really? you could’ve fooled me, you look incredible!” his voice is tender and you know there isn’t any underlying insult - he genuinely just wants to make you laugh. you do, although it’s more like a sharp exhale, but his smile grows wider at the small success. he gently pulls you to his chest, wrapping his arms around you securely. you sigh and busy your head into his chest, instantly feeling lighter than you had in weeks. “you want me to order us something to eat while you go have a shower?”

“…yeah, that sounds nice.”

[icaruspendragon]

im sorry to ask but i dont know what else to do—how did you do it how did you dig yourself out because it feels like i am choking on dirt and people keep shoveling it onto me and i miss her so much and i dont know how to make this feeling stop. she was my best friend. ive never lived in a world without her before. how did you do it. how are you doing it

grief is so hard and so heavy when we first meet it. it feels like all our arms will ever hold for the rest of forever. and it is, in a sense. once we pick it up, we never really set it down. not fully.

and I don't think it gets lighter, I think we somehow, impossibly, get stronger.

there's lots of metaphors for grief. that's one of them. another one I like to use is that it feels like you're in the grave with them. like lazarus. like yourself. waiting for someone to raise you from the dead. to raise you both.

I've learned a lot about crawling out of the grave. more than I would have ever wanted to learn. like how emptiness is actually quite heavy. or how to pretend like you feel half-alive. but I think the most important thing I've learned is that somedays, we inexplicably end up back in it. and that sucks.

because we just spent months clawing our way through the bugs and the earth. because our soldier-hands have finally breached the surface. because the sun is finally caressing our hell-fresh faces. because for the first time in months we feel like we can finally breath. and then, suddenly, we're right back in the terrible thick of it.

those days make it feel like I'm sisyphus and grave dirt is my rock. or like I'm prometheus and the darkness is my eagle.

but then it's tuesday.

which is to say my brother died on my 25th birthday, a monday. and that day is now a memory that's fuzzy around the edges. single snapshots I know are connected, but I couldn't tell you how. I remember my mother standing in my bedroom and tears and family and phone calls and cleaning my living room because I didn't know what to do with my hands. I remember going to my grandmothers and my phone vibrating off the table and leaving to go get coffee because I couldn't sit still. I remember joking, trying to joke. trying to do whatever I could to make sense of that impossible day. I remember checking my phone and reading and rereading the messages, a mixed bag of congratulations for surviving another year and condolences that my brother didn't, I remember not knowing how to respond to any of them. so I didn't. I remember being surrounded by so many people doing nothing but extending love and kindness to me and never feeling more alone. the world was ending and I was alone. I thought that day would go on forever.

but it didn't.

it ended, as all things do. monday was over and my first day as an only child was done.

and suddenly it was tuesday. and everything was different but also exactly the same.

it was tuesday and my brother was dead. I was so heavy when I woke up that first tuesday. so heavy and confused. I thought the world had ended. it surely felt like it had. but it hadn't. because the world couldn't have ended on monday.

not if it was tuesday.

it was tuesday and my brother was dead but the world wasn't ending. monday should have been our demise, but it wasn't. and it hasn't. and it won't. because just as sure as we have mondays, we'll always have tuesdays.

that's something I've taken a strange comfort in, knowing that we'll always have tuesdays.

the feeling never stops. but I think that's okay. because you're only feeling that way because there was love first. and as much as what I felt on that first tuesday hurts, as much as it suffocates, as much as it consumes, I'd take the hurt and the suffocation and the consumption because the love I felt first will always, always be worth it.

tuesdays will always be worth it.

like yeah, if I loved less, it wouldn't hurt this bad. but I don't want to live in a world where I have to love less. where I was loved less.

I'll take the pain. I'll take the grave days. I'll take the rock. I'll take the eagle. I'll take apocalyptic, earthshaking mondays. I'll take every last wretched bit because goddamn what a miracle it is to love so bad it hurts this big.

I hold that love, his love for me and my love for him, a love that's now become our love in the cage of my ribs while I'm in the cage of the grave. and I dig.

it's monday and I dig.

I dig.

and then tuesday comes.

[littlestarbigsky]

alright gang time to talk abt the parry dads au🫶🏻

i’ve kinda touched on this au before (check the au in the tags if you’re curious lol) but i’ve been cooking with this au for a MINUTE,, like i’ve been yapping abt this w @youllneverseeonascreen since like,, november lmao

pls send asks abt this au i could actually talk about it forever i fear

alright let’s go‼️

it was after the rumble (and for my own sanity, johnny and dally are both still alive :p ) but paul, 19 years old and sick of college, was sitting in the diner, having just seen darry for the first time in two years and his ass kicked by a bunch of hoods. he was angry, desperate, and stupid.

he found a girl at the bar, the prettiest one he could get, eliza, and he started talking to her. one thing led to another, they laughed, they kissed, they went home together. things escalated, and two months later, eliza called to tell him she was pregnant.

things moved quickly after that. she dropped out of school to have the baby, they moved in together, had a quiet wedding, and paul got a job to try and be a breadwinner for the family. they figure out pretty fast that neither of them swing that way (iykyk) but maybe they could commit to each other. he was still trying to get his business degree so he could join his father’s company, even if he wasn’t sure he even wanted that. still, they were happy. loved eliza, or at least he was pretty sure he did. even though nothing compares to what he used to feel, but he can’t have that anymore.

everything changed the day his little girl, stella, was born, six weeks early and fighting from day one. she was a week old before he even got to hold her, and his sole focus was to do anything he could for her, not realizing that eliza had become completely withdrawn. she stopped caring about paul and the baby. this baby was going to be messed up forever and she wouldn’t let herself get caught up in it.

paul though? he was with the baby every minute of the day, sleeping in chairs and on waiting room sofas, signing off on whatever medicines and treatments the doctors recommended, she was going to get through this, he needed her to. her lungs weren’t fully developed, and her fine motor skills would be affected, and she was just tiny.

but, of course, she made it through. they brought her home, eliza doing just enough to be considered a mom, but paul did all of her breathing treatments and took her to physical therapy once a week. when she was old enough to start talking and had a stutter, he took her to speech therapy. he worked on helping her to use her fingers and hands, coloring, working on puzzles, anything he could to keep her from falling further behind.

fast forward a few years…

i’ve always imagined paul had a sister who was much older (her names penny,, ive also done a whole info dump on her lmao) and her apartment complex was having some exterior work done, and she recognized darry within about three seconds. “hey, you’re the kid my idiot brother kept trying to sneak out in the morning, right?”

darry didn’t know what to say, because really, he had expected penny to hate his guts, but the next time paul was over, she waved him down and had him come over to say hi. the tension in the room was other worldly, what can a person say after 5 years? and truthfully, they don’t get the chance to, because stella comes sprinting out and jumps on darry, thinking he’s her dad. she jumps right back when she realizes he isn’t and paul picks her up and calmly tells her that darry is an old friend, and that he doesn’t mind.

penny makes lunch, insisting that darry stay (and also because she is thoroughly enjoying watching the two of them and how uncomfortable they are). eventually, paul asks penny if she can watch stella while he is in court. darry asks why he needs to go, and he explains that he’s getting divorced and that he and eliza are in the middle of a nasty custody battle.

and without thinking, darry says he’ll watch her.

again, ask me literally anything you want to know abt this au,, i’m so obsessed UGH

[darylsfavoritegirl]

hey pookies

Summary: Yall remember that episode where Daryl and Beth stay in this cabin after losing the prison (season 4, ep 12 to be exact) and thet play games like i have never.... and spend such a quality time and it's one of my fav episodes EVER! so it's fem!reader and Daryl but they play truth and dare and sort of open up about their feeling towards eachother because they're again friends with benefits lmao but it gets tense somehow👀😭😭 they find themselves in the midst of an argument etc etc and it goes on

This was requested by @duffmckagansbandana but ive also been fantasizing about this idea forever!! kalp kalbe karsiymis eheheheh

Warnings: Daryl being a dick because he is drunk and kinda slutshames the reader. Daryl grips the reader's wrists and it kinda hurts (?) a little bit of suggestive content. mentions of domestic violence/abuse

You held a glass of moonshine that Daryl found when you entered the wooden cabin. You were observing him securing the cabin incase something would occur.

"Looks secured enough to me." You mumbled spiritlessly. You took a sip of your moonshine as Daryl turned to you with a weary gaze.

"Ya really think dis the best time to get hammered?" He uttered in an evident blaséd tone. You ignored his question as he went back to securing the walls, windows. You wanted him to join you, drink booze with you, speak with you. The glass in your hand got warm before you could even consider to drink one more.

You observed his biceps flexing as he was fixing a hole on the wall. He was finally done. He turned to you, took a deep breath. You could see the sweat droplets on his forehead. His sleeveles black tshirt had damp spots around the neckline.

"You went the extra mile there." You said, failing to hide the waggish smirk bearing your face. He didn't respond to your statement but you saw the curls of his lips going upward.

He sat across you on the floor. His eyes were glossy, faint. You smiled softly as you poured him some moonshine. He gaped at you, anticipating you to stop. It was moonshine after all, God knows how long it had been sitting in this junk.

"Hey slow down." He uttered thinking you were gonna gulp down it yourself.

You saw his eyes following your motions when you passed the glass of moonshine to him.

"What? It's for you."

He didn't look at the glass once, his eyes were fixated on you

"Someone's got to keep watch." He spoke

You rolled your eyes in a cheeky way.

"No harm in drinking one glass."

"Go on." you added. Your eyes were pointing the dusty glass that was infront of him.

He gave in. He put the glass near his nostrils, sniffing the drink before taking a sip.

"That's a real drink right there." You said in a jolly tone.

" 's warm." He grumbled. He enjoyed drinking with you. The way you looked so content only made him cheer inside.

"Meh tha's a drawback." You said. You were popeyed. He couldn't deduce the basis of your zeal, yet he didn't question it furtherly.

You two spent a few minutes there, studying the cabin, studying each other when you decided to come up with something.

"You up for playing truth or dare?" You said in a hush that only left Daryl with a confounded face.

"What? Like kids?" He tittered lightly.

"You got a better idea?" You said with a significance of rebelliousness in your voice. You glared at him, waiting for a response.

"I'm worried about the others too but we can't spend this time just stressing one another." You muttered, avoiding an eye contact with him as you looked down at your drink and tapped the glass with your index and middle fingers. It was the reality. You were worried about the others, maybe even too much. However the best thing you could do at the moment was to hope for their well-being until you and Daryl started looking for them. He must've read your mind, he always did.

"Fine. Yea go first." He mouthed. Your mood shifted into a cheerful one by with just 4 words coming from him. You leaned forward slightly.

"Truth or dare." You queried. He leered at you in a gloomy way. You knew he was gonna end up savoring the game, one way or another in spite of feeling childhish at that moment.

"Truth.'' His tone barely above whisper.

You both took a sip from your drinks consecutively whilst you went on a ride in your head to come up with something to ask.

"What was your first impression about me?" You asked, not being able to hide the eagerness in your voice.

His eyes watched you cautiously. His gaze shifted somewhere else, trying to reckon the first day you met. A subtle smirk appeared on his face.

"Thought yea wer' cocky. Too cocky, even." He scoffed softly. You both stayed in quietude to remember the very first day you encountered with eachother. You chuckled.

"That was my coping mechanism. Confidence."

"Cocky." He opposed you in a childish manner, his eyebrows furrowed lightly at you.

You leered at him for a minute. You knew he was also thinking the first days when they took you in. You were drawing too much attention to yourself, pretty much everyone thought you'd be dead in a fortnight, though you didn't.

You sighed. Neither of you enjoyed thinking about any day in prison, it ached you in deep down. Neither of you could envision what your next move should be, spending this time in a wooden cabin in the middle of the woods didn't make it any better. You were in the midst of a chaos and it felt as if all your efforts were in the aim of lightening your agony.

Daryl reached for the moonshine jar that was sitting near you. He started pouring himself another drink. He almost filled the glass to the brim, peeking at you clandestinely incase you'd tried to stop him. You caught his leer and softly shrugged your shoulders indicating that you didn't mind.

He leaned against the wall of the cabin as he grunted. He took a big sip from his drink. You heard his gulp, the booze going down from his gullet. You couldn't help but chuckle at the sound, maybe you chuckled a little more than necessary. Gosh, you were getting lit; you thought to yourself.

Daryl guzzled up his second drink in less than a minute and poured himself another.

"Easy." You managed to say between your slowly-fading chuckles.

"And it's your turn." You hinted.

"Truth." You uttered without him having to ask.

He clattered an "Ahh." sound between his sips to imply he was notioning for a question. His eyes were locked on the ceiling, thinking, you glimpsed at his narrow, blue eyes. His gaze met with yours.

" 'S there sumthing ya didn't tell me 'bout the person ya wer'?" You looked dumbfounded, not catching what he could've meant by that. He must've read you like an open book. He scoffed " 'Fore all dis. 'Fore the world went to shit."

You couldn't fathom his question. He knew so much about you. He knew about your family that you stopped seeing after you moved to USA. He knew about your favorite childhood cartoons. He knew about your days as a school girl. He knew how you ended up in Georgia. He knew so much about you. Although he had never been the type to corner you with your life before the apocalpyse, you acknowledged that there must've been a lot of things you didn't tell him whether it was due to your choice or you never felt the need to do so.

"Yes." You said in cynicism. He remained silent. It was rather explicit that he wanted to investigate more; that he wanted you to elaborate.

Yet, you didn't. If he wanted to know more about you, he should've asked you more bluntly. You didn't avoid his piercing gaze. You could feel your nerves and brain going number with your increasing sips from the moonshine.

"I'm pretty sure there are atleast dozens of things I haven't told you about the person I once were."

He echoed a nonchalant glare. You, once again remained silent. You knew he'd always turn into an impossible and preposterous person to read whenever drunk. You questioned yourself. You questioned if this was a good idea after all.

He sighed. His eyes were narrower than before. He is getting wasted, you thought to yourself. You shifted your position wretchedly, grabbing your drink with both hands. You tried to put a constrained smile on your face.

The silence was unbearable so you spoke up. Your voice was raucity.

"So truth or dare?" You asked.

He gazed at you with a piercing look. You played the game not more than 5 minutes and the air had already started to feel stuffy due to intensity between you two. You couldn't understand why.

"Truth." He grunted involuntarily. He was only playing the game to pass time, to investigate and even corner you. His gaze was stern. Your smile faded away lightly. You thought of asking something private, asking something that was just about you two. Before you could even debate on that idea, you uttered

"Have you ever seen me as someone more than this?" You got hot. The alcohol was hitting you. You couldn't think clear, you spoke before giving it a second thought. You could feel your cheeks blushing. Your cheeks would never blush out of embarrassment nor humiliation. They would always blush when you did something extra, futile, stupid.

You didn't need to elaborate it. He knew exactly what you meant. He knew you had been wondering if he ever thought of you more than an appealing teammate whom he'd share a warm bed now and then. He had asked similiar questions to himself, always leaving them unsettled. He didn't want to give in, ever. He had to have a demenour where he wouldn't let anyone get too close. That was Daryl. Those were the obstacles he'd build towards anybody. You lifted your head only to meet his blue eyes. Daryl spoke the second he locked his eyes on yours.

"Ain't much of a world to keep your mind busy with that kinda stuff." He grunted. You got even hotter inside of your head.

"So, no?" You gawked.

"Didn't say dat." He looked at you with blank eyes. He didn't even get defensive whilst you were going nuts and trying your hardest to not make it plain. It was the intoxication. You were never like this. It was safe to say you did care about his feelings but you weren't a fool. You knew exactly how he'd close up, how well he'd hide in his shell.

"OK. It's your turn." You huffed as you darted away your eyes. Your temper highly depended on booze at the moment. You didn't need him to think that your mind was way too preoccupied with his words, the words that came out of his mouth with such ease. You hated the power he had on you sometimes.

He grunted with vexation as he shifted his position and leaned against the wall a bit more. Daryl rested his elbows on his knees, swinging his glass that had a little drink left in it in a motion. He kept eyeing you, so did you.

It was apparent that you both were bored to death, yet no one put forward the idea to stop it.

"Ya ever think 'bout the old world?" He grunted.

You raised your head, his eyes were squinting right at you.

"Didn't say truth." You hissed.

"Ya ain't gon' say dare neither."

"Right." You mumbled. He was biting on his pinky's nail out of lack of interest.

"Don't do that." You said as you grimaced.

"Ya gon' answer?" He insisted, his brows were slightly furrowed as he, not surprisingly, kept biting on his finger nails.

This game was all about you two finding something to bicker. You sighed. You were not looking at him but you could feel his eyes roaming all over you.

"Sometimes."

"Wish I could go back to those times." You whispered looking at the floor. Daryl's face darkened. You knew his life before the fall wasn't the greatest and perhaps this new world of silence, isolation was a jackpot for him. You caught his leer. Both of you remained in serenity.

You took a sip from the moonshine and asked the first thing that came to your mind.

"OK Daryl. Have you ever stolen something? like something big?" You begged with wide eyes. Only his eyes made you question yourself and your foolish question.

He kept swinging the glass in a slow motion as he narrowed his eyes at you. He wasn't offended. He wasn't angry.

"Ya know I didn't." He remarked. You sensed a sense of sorrow in his eyes yet you didn't step back, you never could when you were drunk.

"That's what you told me." You spoke, emphasizing the word "told" as if you were making it obvious that you didn't believe him. You kept your wide-eyed gaze. An undertone of exhilaration was on the surface of your voice.

"And after all, we barely knew eachother when we talked about this, right?" Stupid you, still couldn't make out what his gaze could've meant.

"Maybe you weren't being honest." You uttered.

"Come on. You must've done something with Merle." You insisted.

His gaze never left yours. You drank too much, you lost your basic human decency. Yet he responded spiritlessly.

"Was bein' honest." You could perceive that was the moment he lost all his interest in the game.

"Ain't no reason not to be, Merle was an ass."

He sighed. Great, now you reminded him his dead brother; at a time like this, in a place like this. Your smile and exhilaration vanished. Drunk you was never stable, you sighed as you looked down at your drink.

You lifted your head only to see him getting up, throwing his glass to the floor only for it to shatter in pieces. You flinched and leered at the pieces. You couldn't dare to look to his side. He grabbed his crossbow on the broken wooden table, slunged it over his shoulder.

"Imma take the first watch. Rest." He demanded. He breathed out before he left the cabin. You stayed there, not being able to move an inch. It was like you froze. You leered at the pieces of glass on the floor once again

"Fuck me." You groaned. You exhaled audibly, looking around the cabin. That was the moment when it hit you, he was drunk; way too drunk. God knows how he was holding up outside.

You immediatly got up, going out of kilter. You had been sitting for a long time, your body was cramping and you kept hitting to the dusty tables and chairs that were sitting in the middle of the cabin. Your head was spinning. You sauntered towards the door, grabbed the door handle. It made a squeaking sound that left you scrunching your nose.

"Come inside." You quaked, not looking at him. You were exhausted, maybe from the moonshine or maybe you were just, exhausted.

" 'm fine." He grunted. His back was facing you.

"Your drunk as much as me." You huffed with withered eyes. You were leaning against the door frame, your hand still gripping the door handle lightly.

Daryl scoffed.

"Your actin' like a child." You muttered under your breath. The alcohol was getting the best of you. His back was still facing you.

You leered at his messy hair, his vest, his arms gripping the crossbow. He was swaying in a slow motion, resting his weight on his right leg now and then.

"Just hate tha' ya still think 'm sum kinda redneck asshole." He muttered. He sounded rather disappointed, fed up with this whole situation.

"I don't." You whispered. Your eyes were wide, you couldn't process his words. He remained silent, typical Daryl.

"Daryl, I don't." You hissed as you grabbed the side of his vest, forcing him to face you.

He looked at your face with blank, stern eyes. You couldn't recognize the Daryl you knew in him. He didn't change his position, gripping the crossbow firmly as ever.

You were getting sentimental at his demenour. Your eyes were getting watery, you couldn't find words to utter. Nothing changed in him, in his cold stern stare that would make you hate yourself. He could never hurt you, that's what you told yourself but even a gaze of his could make you shatter inside. He got too close to you to a point where you could smell the booze from his breath. Deliberately, he rested all of his weight on you, cornering you against the door frame. You couldn't breath. He leered at your eyes with his blue piercing eyes for a hot minute when he spoke

"Ya'd be crumblin' 'n all if I spoke to ya 'bout your past." He hissed.

His glare was fixated on you as he got inside of the cabin. You breathed out quickly and wiped a tear that was to fall down on your cheek and looked at the woods.

"What the hell does that supposed to mean Daryl?" You turned to him. He was going through his backpack.

"Think ya kno' what I mean." He mumbled under his breath.

He grabbed a canned food and sat on the edge of small ladder. He wasn't looking at you but your gaze was at his fingers trying to get the canned food open.

"What if I don't?" You said calmly but at alert, waiting for his respond.

"I dun' kno'. Sellin' yer body for attention. Ring any bell?" He snapped, lifting his head to meet with your gaze. You stood there with complete silence, trying to process his words. His voice was pretty tall, which made you flinch.

"That's really low Daryl." You scoffed. You weren't offended, you were just astonished that he'd bring up your past as a barmaiden to hurt you.

"Right." He mocked. He was still on the small ladder, trying to open the canned food. He sighed as he threw it to the floor. He got up, completely ignoring you.

"Atleast I wasn't drifting behind Merle's ass, doing whatever he'd told me to do." You barked. You had lost yourself. You didn't care what your words would mean to him.

He turned to you, his arms flexing due to his firm grip on his crossbow. He got closer to you, his face was reddening. You could see his vein on his neck throbbing, he wasn't taking his eyes off of you. He clenched his jaw, lowering his eyebrows and leering at you with narrowed eyes.

" 'S tha' what'ca think?" He fumed.

"That's what I know." You uttered as you pout your face. You ran your hands through your hair to take a deep breath.

"Ya know nothing." He barked. He wasn't blinking.

"You were nothing." You whispered. Your eyes were getting red. You could feel them sting. Your vision blurred. Yet his rage was full of spitefullness. He gritted his teeth

"Pickin' up lonely dudes to get 'em pay ya was sumthin'?"

"Sumthin' yer dam' proud." He shouted as he pointed his index finger right at you.

You swallowed slowly. You were not looking at him.

"Just leave me be." You managed to mumble between your shaky, shallow breaths.

"No, I ain't gon' do dat." He boomed. He threw his crossbow on the mattres you two incompetently tried to turn into a cozy bed. He got closer to you, immediatly grabbing your wrists with his hands.

You looked at his hands grabbing both of your wrists quakingly. You weren't sorrowful nor furious. You were affronted at his grip on your wrists that left you in discomfort and almost, pain. You raised your head to meet with his hard-nosed gaze. You shook your forearms fiercely several times, hoping he would free you but he didn't. How could he do this do to you? Out of all the things out there, he chose to grip both your wrists. That was something you'd always highlight when you'd talk about the abuse you had to go through back when you lived with your family. How your father would grip your wrists and squeeze them thightly until you'd feel like passing out. You always told him how small it made you feel, how worthless. Didn't he say "What a dick" referring to your father. Now there he was, doing the exact same thing. You wouldn't believe it.

"Can't run yer mouth now, can yea?" He spat out. His voice was growing taller and taller. You tried to get to your other wrist with one hand only he would not let you;

"Daryl, you're hurting me." You panted, quickly exhaling. Your chest was going up and down rapidly, leaving you all panicked and crumbling under his brawny, firm grip. You looked directly into his eyes, looking for mercy; hoping this night would end without either one of you dying. His hard-nosed gaze not shifting into a softer manner at all.

You were still numb from the moonshine, so many thoughts pondering your head. You wanted to kiss him, end whatever this was. You were highly influenced by booze. You didn't care. You wanted to kiss him. You didn't know what the outcome would be.

So you did, you got on your tiptoes; your bodies were already too close. You closed your eyes and kissed him harshly on the lips. His grip on your wrists loosened, you almost toppled onto him which he didn't let it happen.

His strong hands grabbed the both sides of your face, pressing his lips onto yours like he pleaded for more of you. It all happened so swiftly that he shoved you on the wall harshly. He waited for a split second, his lips brushing yours. You could smell the pungent odour of alcohol mingled with the smell of cigarattes you smoked earlier that day. You didn't care. You wanted all of him. He panted rapidly against your lips. You stayed like that for a moment, his hands flawlessly placed on the temples of your head; the only thing you could hear was eachother's shaky breaths. You pressed your lips onto him once again. A tear that you had been holding so long fell down your cheek, you didn't mind. It was a joyful tear. You were both taking eachother breaths away that left your heart ponding like crazy. He rested all of his body weight on you, which you didn't complain this time. You could feel him growing under his jeans.

Your hands reached the collar of his vest and helped him take it off. You grabbed his bare shoulders and digged your fingernails into them. His hands shifted to your waist from the sides of your face. There was that void feeling in your stomach once again. How small you were compared to him, how you were like an insect which he could've crashed with his fingertips seconds ago.

You gasped when his hands went under your t-shirt, grabbing your hips and waist and stroking your skin. It became a sloppy kiss but you both liked it. Your whole body curved into his body, small moans escaping your mouth. He started going down on your neck from your plumpy lips. Your grabbed a fistful of his hair gently with your right hand, softly pushing his head down on your neck as he kept pecking on your soft skin.

You made up.

FOOTNOTE

Why is it actually so awkward do write even a basic kissing scene. it was painful. idk much about this fanfic it was way better in my mind but idc

@duffmckagansbandana deserves some credits too!! we exchanged so many thoughts during this :))

[fawnsdarling17]

Pantsed prank- college! Armin x reader

Fluff fic but does mention being naked for a split second.

This is my first little fic on here. I hope you enjoy it!

———

You’re grumbling under your breath as you look around your dirty room. Its gotten messy ever since the semester started that you’ve completely forgot to do laundry for a little to long due to studying, partying, and hanging out with your roommates connie and sasha. Grabbing your white laundry bin you travel in a path around your room grabbing articles of clothing and putting it in the bin. Noticing you have no underwear to wear you decided to put every pair including the one you have on into the pile and go commando under a pair of comfortable lose sweatpants. Grabbing the basket you throw on some slippers and leave your room but upon leaving you notice your two trouble maker roommates are gone. It’s Saturday so theyre usually at the gym with jean but never this late in the day. Shaking your head wondering where theyve gone you leave for the buildings laundry room.

———

Upon arriving to the laundry room you see a familiar blonde who is dumping his laundry into a washer. “Hey Armin!” You say with enthusiasm and a wave. He looks up with his blue orbs before giving a smile “hey (y/n), doing laundry as well?” He says gesturing to the basket youre balancing on your hip. “Yeah ive gotten carried away but since the semester is done i figured id just wash as much as i can to catch up” walking over to a laundry machine you open it and throw in your load before shutting and starting it. Turning around armin sat on one of the seats in the room intended for residents to wait for their laundry to be done. You take a seat next to him while looking at the pages of the book he was reading. “You know school is done for the moment right?” You say making a slight chuckle in his direction. He returns the laugh and rolls his eyes before staring at you with a smile as to say i know without speaking. Hes always been a crush to you but you figured he wouldnt be open to it because of his focus on his stellar academics and clubs hes joined. You both sat there talking about break plans and classes you both would take next to pass the time between laundry being done.

——

Beep! Beep!

Both dryers done finally after what felt like forever but your thank that it took forever to be done so you could connect with armin more since you really only see him at parties or classes yall sit next to each-other in. Both standing up at the same time you both grab what laundry you have and decided to fold clothes together before going separate ways for the day. While folding a awkward silence falls between you as the only sound to be heard is the rustling of folding clothes. “Um (y/n)…” armin speaks. Your heart flutters hearing him say your name. Looking up he adverts his gaze away with a soft blush on his cheeks forming. “I was wondering if you wanted to come to my dorm tonight? My roomates are out so we can watch a movie and order pizza or whatever…” he trails off now fumbling with a tshirt he stopped folding mid question. Your cheeks also rise to a blush as you had to hold down the biggest smile. In a million years youd never think the busy boy would ask you basically on a date. Your heart is racing as you try not to squeal like a teenage girl. “Id love to come over, i have popcorn at my dorm i can bring over as well” you can see the flicker in his eyes light up as you agreed. “Then its a date, i mean not a date, i mean a hang out! I mean ugh you know what i mean” he spat out in a hurry. You giggle at his flustered face cant, help thinking hes so cute. After being done folding clothes you put the laundry bin to sit on your hip again before turning to face armin. “What time did you want me to come over?” “Around 7 sounds good?” He asked. Your mouth opens to respond but you were quickly interrupted by the familiar voice of sasha behind you “GEEEETTTT PANTSED!”.

You freeze

You suddenly feel cold on the lower half of your body as you gasped. Armin looked horrified at you before dropping his laundry and covering his eyes to not embarrass you more. Quickly pulling up your sweatpants absolutely flustered you turn to see sasha, connie, and jean all flabbergasted seeing to put into blunt words your butt cheeks out. Sasha and connie laugh to the point of not breathing making you further embarrassed as they think its funny. They know armin was your crush for the longest time so to pants you infront of him was the ultimate prank to them. You almost at the speed of light grab your slides one by one and slap each of their heads with two loud thwacks. “WHAT THE HELL GUYS!!!” You yelled which further caused them to keep laughing despite the bumps now growing on their heads. “(Y/N) why are you not wearing panties!” Connie chortles out. “Its laundry day idiots!” You walk over to them grabbing tweedle dee and tweedle dumb by the collars before throwing them out the laundry room door. You shoot jean a death glare because he knows better than them and is usually the one keeping them from doing pranks. He looks in fear before picking up the giggle group off the floor. You head back to the laundry room seeing armin getting squeamish “im sorry armin they’re being immature as usual, i hope that didnt deter us from still having a movie night” you say scratching your next out of frustration. “ i-i didnt see anything if it makes you feel better, dont be embarrassed i know theyre just pulling a prank” he says with a chuckle. He finally looks at you in the eyes with a soft smile “well ill see you later tonight, don’t forget the popcorn” the tension in the room disappears as he sounds reassuring that nothing changed. “Yeah definitely see you later armin” you exclaimed as you both when separate ways

[ornii]

Folie a Deux IV: Jealousy

(I also Made an alternate Cover! Don’t know why)

A college student finally finished their midterm exams and makes their way back to the dorm. First thing they do when they enter is check YouTube and spot the perfect video.

Jenna Ortega and (F/n) (L/n) answer the Webs most searched questions. It plays as the two sit casually together.

“Hello I’m Jenna Ortega.”

“And I’m (F/n) (L/n), and we’re here to Answer the Webs most searched questions about us.”

The video begins as the duo take a board and answer various internet searches. (Y/n) tears off one.

“Is (Y/n)… Blind.” He said, he turns to the camera, staring at it as people try not to laugh.

“…No.” He answers, “It was just a Character I was playing, I’m not actually blind, but what I will say is that acting blind is a lot harder than you think.” He explains, Jenna eyes him as he looks at her.

“Okay so let’s say we’re doing a scene, and I have to listen to you, I can’t look directly at you even though I obviously want to, I have to basically look in your general direction but not directly at you.” He said, she nodded, admitting that makes sense.

“He’s smarter than he looks she says jokingly, the interviewer continues as another question pops up.

“How did.. Jenna Ortega and (F/n) (L/n) meet.” She said, “it was… the Grammys?” She Said and (Y/n) nodded.

“Yeah it was the 2020? I remember they told I was gonna sit next to Orgeta so I thought, “oh it’s probably Brian Orgeta or something.” This was my first Awards show so I was obviously anxious and I had a few things in my brain to say to break the ice, well it didn’t end well. I look to my left and this, beautiful girl just sat down next to me and, you remember the old windows PC’s and that blue screen sound effect they make? That was my brain.” He explains without cracking a single smirk, Jenna pursed her lips, trying not to laugh, also because he said she was beautiful.

“But yeah, ever since that, and us getting casted in Wednesday we’ve been friends ever since.”

“Yeah, Friends.” She mutters.

With the last question, they both tear it off and say in unison. “Are Jenna Ortega and (F/n) (L/n).. dating.” They look to the camera to speak but the video, hilariously and abruptly ends.

“So they cut the video for dramatic effect?” (Y/n) Asks Miss Ortega as he sits at a marble table inside a beautiful kitchen, it was part of a beautiful villa in Tuscany Italy. He asks the girl walking out of the room putting on a pair of gorgeous golden earrings, her hair done so well, adorning a beautiful gold trimmed Princess Line dress. He saw her and much like before, his brain couldn’t fathom her beautiful, he simply stood up and walked to the window, looking out to see the gorgeous countryside and it’s beautiful hills, perfectly matched by the slowly setting sun.

“I really appreciate you coming with me.” He said, “I mean getting invited to some ball was pretty scary.” He explains, Jenna shook her head. “It’s funny to hear that, I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, it’s natural to me.” She explains, walking next to him she also looks out the window. Taking in the slowly setting sun over the beautiful Italian mountainside.

“I could look at this forever.” She said, reveling in the beauty of the moment. (Y/n) nods, his phone suddenly rings, checking it was his manager and he reluctantly answers.

“Hello? Oh, yeah I’m just waiting I— oh, she did?” He said, Jenna turns to him, her interest growing in his conversion.

“That’s, fine? Okay.” He hangs up, and turns to Jenna.

“Apparently Olivia’s going too, so that’s fun.” He said, Jenna was taken aback slightly. Not expecting someone else.

“It’ll be nice to see her at least, cmon we should get going.”

The two were escorted, mostly driven to there. (Y/n) was humming to “Good 4 U”. Jenna, having a taste for music picks up.

“You must really like that song.” She said and (Y/n) nods, “Love it. Actually, I guess the boys version I made was okay, but nothin compares to the original.”

“Boys?” She replied, and (Y/n) reluctantly shows a video, it was a small recap of it all. (Y/n) releasing a version that swaps the protagonists of the song. Not to diss Olivia but to show that breakups are nasty on both ends. Turns out, Olivia loved it, and obviously retweeted it.

“Breakups suck on both ends a lot of times, it’d be like if you and I stopped being friends, we’d both be hurt.” He explains, Jenna sees the look in his eyes, she always found he was always honest, even if it was painful and the look in his Eyes, he would be hurt if they stopped. Jenna reached out, her hand almost grabbing his, until the vehicle stopped, they halted and prepared to make center stage, as the door opened (Y/n) stepped out first, adjusting his suit he then turns to the door and reaches out for Jenna, she smiles, taking his hand and steps out. The duo make their presence known.

Cameras flash and (Y/n) was still a bit novice at this, Jenna took it for the moment to make her power move, her arm wrapped around his and he was surprised but didn’t make any attempt to stop her, the two walk in to the Ball, adores with tapestry and music, it felt like the 1900’s once more, a whimsical prince with a beautiful princess on his arm, this was a fantasy to many, but a dream come true for (Y/n).

It was mostly mingling and talking, the two keeping close to each other. While they weren’t locked arms they were still in yelling distance, mingling and enjoying the ambiance. Staying in the Limelight, but something caught (Y/n) in the corner of his eye, a girl with sleek black hair approaching, in a large silver Ball gown, it was Olivia. She smiled and approached, (Y/n) was caught off guard by another beautiful woman talking to him first!

“(Y/n)?” She asks. (Y/n)s pep picked up and he smiles.

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you!” He offers a handshake and Olivia kindly shakes it. Yeah we’ve talked on the internet before but, it’s weird in person.

“You come here alone?” (Y/n) asks.

“Yeah, it was nice to not be on tour or stuck making music, good to get out, you?” She replies, (Y/n) looks over.

“No, Jenna’s with me.” He said, Olivia nods in jest, “A nice date night then huh?” She said.

“What? No it’s, she came as a friend, I’m not too good with people.” (Y/n) awkwardly admits. Olivia looks around for a moment, spotting Miss Ortega, who sees the two chatting and, isn’t in the most enjoyable mood. Olivia smiles.

“Hey, Mind if we talk in private? Something I want to run by you.” She asks, (Y/n) casually agrees and Jenna watches the two walk away to a more secluded part of the Ballroom. Her frown was very prominent, and she sulked after, slowly following them. They pass by a pillar To the outside and Jenna has lost their trail, listening to any talking she picks something up, she follows past a pillar and to smaller balcony, she was suddenly stopped as (Y/n) came around the corner. They almost bumped into each other.

“Oh! Sorry!” (Y/n) said, Jenna’s worry faded as she looks around.

“It’s fine, so, what were you up to?” She asked.

“Olivia.” He said at first, “she wants to collaborate on a song, first collab for me!” He said with a giddy smile. Jenna couldn’t help herself with a smile. (Y/n) walks out to the Balcony and Miss Ortega soon follows.

“So, music?” She asked, “Yeah, she’s working on something called.. “Vampire.” Can’t say much more.”

“You aren’t taking any more acting roles, are you?” She said, a hint of sadness on it.

“I don’t know… I’m not really fit for it. I mean I had my first kiss on a Netflix show, am I really made for this?” He says to her, Jenna shrugs off his fears.

“It’s a rough thing at first but… wait, First?” She asks, not fully catching that first part. (Y/n), lacking any awareness nods.

“Yeah, that scene we did after my character did that whole speech and Wednesday had that vision.” He explains, Jenna blinks a few times in disbelief.

“Was I..?” She asks, trailing on. (Y/n) awkwardly nods. “Yeah, you were my first Kiss. So, how did I do?” He admits, for the moment the roles were reversed, Jenna was the dumbfounded fool whose heart skipped a bit. Jenna’s face was perfectly lit by the moonlight which hid her growing blush, she turns to face the party, hiding her smile so much.

“You did… you did fine..” she said, and calmly but confidently walked back to the Ball.

[peony-pearl]

So fun fact I've been writing snippets (literally, I've been writing these on a Discord server hence the size of each blurb) for one of my KH ocs after reviving her. I created Lucinda back in 2004 and she has evolved into the daughter of pre-Luxu'd Braig. This version of her is 5 years old at the time of the destruction of Radiant Garden, and Xigbar returns to find her and bring her to stay with him in TWTNW. This is also my first time really delving into writing the Org.

Each asterix is a single blurb; some blurbs I have pieced together as they're meant to take place immediately in the same scene. Other blurbs are close-knitted scenes, others are flashbacks. This isn't really an official fic but an assortment of moments threaded together.

****

A blanched sun hangs low on the hollow horizon, enveloped by a blackened sky. Its illumination is scarce on the land, but is reflected brilliantly upon the glittering waters that lap onto the pale sands.

A dark corridor opens, and a figure stumbles onto the pallid shores.

He closes the portal before any more Heartless can follow him.

He would usually feel his heartbeat, but nothing rang in his ears. Just his ragged breathing after exerting himself to ransack the remains of his old home for one dear treasure.

Wrapped in blankets, his daughter appeared to be sleeping. However, the child was as pale as the sands around her, and it should have frightened her father.

If he'd had a heart.

"What are you doing?"

A voice spoke through abyss. The first man jumped to attention, clutching the child close as another corridor opened.

A second man stepped through, dressed in an identical cloak. He looked at the bundle in the first man's arms. "I thought you had severed your ties to your past life."

"… Yeah. So did I. But here we are. Look, Xehan-"

"Xemnas."

"… Xemnas. I… no one was back there. My wif… her mom… she wasn't there. I couldn't- she's dying-"

"Xigbar."

He was still adjusting to that name.

Xigbar knelt down, knowing his daughter was teetering on a taut lifeline.

"Look. Just… let me get her to Vexen. Then… then I'll drop her off somewhere." He pulled back his hood, revealing his thin face and slicked, black hair.

"Vexen is a man of science. Not a family doctor. I need him for other endeavors-"

"Hasn't my service warranted something?!" Xigbar hissed. "Give me this, this one thing. And I'll never ask for anything again. I'll be the perfect subordinate; just… one thing. Please."

Around them, the hush and lull of the beach filled the silence.

"If Vexen can make time for her, I will allow you this one boon. But she will not hinder your service to the cause. Are we agreed?"

Xigbar smirked. "You know me. Forever faithful."

****

"I've done all I can. I must tend to my other work now, Xigbar. You may sit with her, if you wish."

Xigbar stood in front of Vexen after waiting outside of his lab for hours.

"Will she live?"

"I just told you-" Vexen spat. "I've done all I can. What happens next is up to fate."

"… Gotcha. Thanks, Ev… Vexen."

Vexen swiftly turned without another word to return to the labs. Xigbar followed through the portal to find the sprawling, cold, sterile environment. The strong odor of bleach and alcohol and metal overwhelmed his senses as Vexen pointed towards a corner, separated from the rest of the labs with simple curtains.

"In there. Do not touch anything. I have left a chair for you."

Xigbar scowled in irritation as he quickly detached himself from Vexen's icy demeanor, and he strided towards the small nook. He peeled back one of the crinkling, plastic curtains to find her, laying stick still on the bed, tiny and broken and patched back together as machines kept her from the brink.

Xigbar knew he should be feeling something. His heart breaking, tears stinging his eyes, his throat becoming raw with howls.

And yet.

He closed the curtain behind him, and took a seat next to his daughter, where he reached over and touched her hand as best as he could without disturbing any ivs or monitors.

"Hey, baby girl," he murmured.

Lucinda remained asleep, her usually bright eyes now gaunt and sunken after being alone to fend for herself for weeks. Her face and skin was devoid of healthy rosiness.

He'd caused this.

Yet there was no guilt. He knew it should be there. He chuckled in the presence of his once greatest fear.

Of Braig's once greatest fear.

"Look at me." He said to himself. "I guess I'm still soft." He reached over to smooth out Lucinda's matted hair, his hand lingering on her temple.

He had told Xemnas he would drop her off somewhere if she lived but he knew he had no intention of doing so.

He was certain Xemnas knew it too.

****

Vexen studied the monitors in front of him. He scribbled tirelessly on his clipboard, books surrounding him as he prepared for another study when-

A sniffle; a cough; a whimper cut through the sounds of the machines.

"Daddy?"

A strangled whine in the distance caused Vexen to groan as it removed him from his train of thought. He dropped his pencil with an annoyed clatter and ventured to Lucinda's medical nook, where he pulled back the noisy curtain.

"He is not here."

Lucinda was awake, but her face was warped with pain.

"Even?" She croaked.

Vexen sighed out of his nose. "It is Vexen now."

"Where's my mommy?"

"I do not know. Go to sleep."

"Where's my daddy?" Tears were beginning to fall from her big brown eyes.

Vexen bit the inside of his lip. "He is on a mission."

"I'm hungry."

"Do I look like a chef?"

"I'm sorry," Lucinda warbled. She looked at the wires in her arms and began to panic.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Vexen hissed, inputting a code into one of her monitors as she fussed, and in a short moment she was subdued. She calmed down and laid back quietly once more.

"I want… to see my daddy. I saw him… he brought me here."

Vexen glared at her silently before opening a dark corridor and furiously stepping through it.

Outside of the portal was a dark and rainy street. It didn't take long until the figure of a lavender haired boy fell in front of him.

"Zexion!" Vexen spat, leaning over to aid the small figure as Xigbar's laughs up echoed from above. Upon a building, Xigbar could be seen shooting multiple heartless, phasing in and out of sight.

Vexen aided Zexion to his feet. "XIGBAR!! GET DOWN HERE!"

Xigbar paused, upside down in mid air to see the chilly doctor.

"Vex?"

"YOUR DAUGHTER IS AWAKE. PACIFY HER WHINING LEST I FIND A SUITABLE NEW HOME FOR HER!"

Xigbar froze before he disappeared from view. A quick flurry of purple arrows showered down to make quick work of the Heartless.

In the sudden calm, one last arrow appeared to shoot quickly at Vexen, and he flinched before he realized nothing had happened. He opened his eyes to find the arrow frozen just inches from Xexen's forehead.

Xigbar appeared, grabbing the frozen arrow as he glowered at Vexen.

"Never. Ever. Make a threat about my daughter like that again."

Vexen swallowed before Xigbar pushed past him, bumping their shoulders aggressively before he entered the dark corridor, closing it before Vexen could walk back through with Zexion.

Zexion looked up at Vexen, who visibly seethed with trembling clenched fists.

"Arrogant rat!"

****

Vexen stormed through the dark corridor with Zexion hot on his heels.

"Atta girl. I knew you'd pull through." Xigbar's voice trickled out from behind the plastic curtains from Lucinda's nook.

Vexen frowned, clicking his tongue before returning to his duties.

"Vexen?" Zexion asked quietly. "What about our mission?"

Vexen breathed a ragged sigh. "Ask HIM!" He snapped, motioning towards where Xigbar's voice was heard.

Zexion slowly walked towards the secluded corner, where he peeked in to find Xigbar, sitting near the makeshift cot and holding his daughter's tiny hand.

"Where am I?" Lucinda's little voice asked.

"Well; you're home," Xigbar smiled. "That's all that matters. Look!"

Zexion jumped as Xigbar points at him.

"There's Zexion!"

Lucinda blinks as she tries to focus on the familiar form.

"… Daddy that's Ienzo."

"Zexion, pumpkin," Xigbar happily corrects her, smoothing out her hair.

Lucinda blinks, looking back at the lavender haired boy, who simply nods.

"He is right. My name is Zexion."

Lucinda's face crunches; pain and confusion mix as she rubs her eyes.

"Don't sweat it, kiddo. Its alright." Xigbar urges. "Nothing for you to worry about right now. You just get some rest. Uncle Vexen will keep a close eye on-"

"Where's mommy?"

Lucinda's broken voice cut through Xigbar's. Zexion took this moment to step aside, but he remained to listen out of curiosity.

Xigbar felt no fear as he looked at his daughter's desperate face. What had she witnessed while the Organization formed and took refuge in this world?

"She's not here," Xigbar answered.

"Why?!"

"I don't know, baby."

"You're looking for her, right?"

"Of course we are."

Zexion tilted his head at this lie as Xigbar continued.

"We're looking for her night and day. But you don't have to worry about that. You just rest, okay?"

A moment of hesitation.

"Okay."

"And when I come back," Xigbar continued, "hopefully I'll have found mama, and we can be together again."

"Promise?"

Xigbar motioned an X over his chest.

"Cross my heart."

****

"He's going to pitch a fit if you keep this up."

Xigbar looked over to find Vexen standing at the entrance of Lucinda's medical nook, scribbling on a clipboard.

With his mouth becoming a taut line, Xigbar turned away from the scientist.

"Vex, all I need is for you to make sure she recov-"

"And THEN what?!" Vexen spat. "I'm to waste valuable resources on something I can't even keep?!"

"What do you want, then?" Xigbar snapped, trying to keep his voice down as Lucinda slept. It had been a week since he'd found her, and his attention to missions were already tenuous. He knew time was of the essence in finding a way to keep his daughter close.

Vexen beckoned Xigbar out of the room, guiding him to a large monitor, where he loaded an image - a default outline of a human body appeared, then an overlay of a beautiful heart within the outline

"I'm sure you've noticed that your daughter is not a Nobody."

Xigbar eyed Vexen curiously.

"What's your point?"

"My point is, if you want to keep something so personal, something from a life we all left; you must convince Xemnas that she will be of… some use to our cause."

Color would have drained from Xigbar's face if he'd had the emotional capacity. "I don't really like the sound of that," he said as drolly as being told of bad weather approaching.

"What I'm saying, as a man of science, just as Xemnas is… this heart is full of opportunities for us to continue researching!"

Xigbar blinked, looking at the image of his daughter's heart… his flesh and blood. That heart that was still intact after whatever had nearly ended her…

He remembered finding her and swaddling her in the nearest blanket he could find, hearing no sound from her as she lay limp in his arms.

As opposed to the first time he held her.

"I see." Xigbar murmured.

"And… this way you can continue to keep an eye on her… protect her. You can't do that from afar, can you?" Vexen inquired with a grin.

Xigbar frowned.

"… No. I can't.

"I won't."

****

It was bad enough he had Ansem leering over him and asking uncomfortable questions.

As Braig was adjusting to being able to see out of one eye, and the discomfort of the adhesive bandage on his still-stinging cheek, he heard a clamor at the door.

"Braig?!"

His neck almost twisted to look at who was there. Could one's stomach drop and flip at the same time?

"Oriana," Braig murmured as his wife took in the visage of her estranged husband's face.

"Oh Braig… what in the world did you get yourself into?!"

Braig's posture immediately loosened. "It's nothing. I promise."

"Nothing?" Oriana balked as she grabbed his uniform soaked in blood. "This is nothing?! Oh Braig-"

"Hey," Braig's voice softened as he reached out to touch her face, guiding her big blue eyes to his remaining earthen brown. "I'm alive, aren't I? You'd still love me without both my eyes, right?"

Oriana swallowed. "I want to Braig. But…" her blue eyes trembled like the sea they resembled. "You've been making it so hard. I miss you but… you keep disappearing. You push me and Lucinda away. She asks for you day and night she wants her daddy back. And I want my husband back. Just you; no hero business… just my husband. My Braig."

Screaming through Braig's mind as Oriana's soft, loving touch coaxed him into a kiss was a devastating mantra: 'your husband is dead'

****

By all means, Lucinda's father was dead.

So why was he stuck in this crossroads?

A smothered soul, no heart. And yet.

"Xemnas," Xigbar greeted his superior. Xemnas, atop the Altar of Naught, turned to face Xigbar and Vexen through cascading silver locks with piercing golden eyes. "I have a proposition for you."

Xemnas, intrigued, invited the two men to approach further. "Do enlighten me." Xemnas' soft rumbling voice inquired in the still silence of the highest point of the world.

Xigbar took a moment to find the words. He never struggled with making excuses before.

"I think… I think it's a waste to let Lucinda go."

Xemnas' gaze became scrutinizing. "Oh?"

Xigbar continued. "Seeing as she still has her heart… what if… what if I donated her to the cause-"

"Donate?!" Xemnas' eyes widened in a way that only exacerbated how lifeless his face had become since losing his heart. "You wish to 'donate' your chi-"

"She still has a heart. A strong one. It's still intact after everything she's been through. She's tough. And… instead of dropping her off somewhere that… that I can't be with her… I would like to offer her for research."

Braig was dead. His heart was gone.

"Promise me, Braig. Even if you never come back to me, you'll never give up on our Lucy. Please?"

"I'll always come back to-"

"Promise! Please, Braig."

He could still taste her tears as he stole one last kiss before she fled his apartment.

"I'll never let her down. Never. I swear."

Xemnas looked at Xigbar, unflinching. Unfeeling.

"Two boons, Xigbar?"

"Please," Xigbar asked, mirroring Xemnas' poise. "I swear, you'll hardly notice she's here."

Xemnas frowned.

"I swear," Xigbar reiterated.

****

When Luxu had implanted himself into Braig's body, everything was as usual. He waited and settled, getting to know his new host.

One way he did so was to access the trove of memories that would help him learn about this man, and how to accurately navigate him in a way that didn't tip others off that he wasn't… himself.

Luxu found himself at the core of a man tainted by selfishness. And yet, his heart shone. Bold, bright, and dangerously fierce.

He saw hardships in his youth, trying to survive a city that did not want him. He saw a young man, using trickery to escape the suffocating confines of a dead end life. He saw glimmers of hope in a new day, new possibilities - then love. A woman who enjoyed his time and presence, who smiled at him and brought him gifts. Who ensured he was warm on cold nights guarding the city.

Months of navigating a tricky relationship for her own confines of being engaged to a man she did not love. She finally broke free, and he married her. His beautiful Oriana.

Months of lackdaisical romance, of laughter and mischief and love and few naughty escapades would result in a memory that Luxu could tell was a stepping stone in Braig's life: when he learned he was going to be a father as his beloved broke the news with joyful tears.

More months passed, excitement abounded. Braig remembered the nasty splinter he received building the crib. Setting up the mobile and turning it as his wife beamed with such radiance.

Braig sang to Oriana's stomach every day. Even after a particular kick from their child made contact with his cheek, leading Oriana to laugh until she was nearly sick.

It led to a blistering day in the middle of summer, when a Moogle approached Braig while he was on patrol to inform him of the impending event. He raced to the clinic, forced to wait until further news.

But when hour after hour turned into a day, he forced his way into Oriana's room, where she sobbed in relief seeing him.

The day turned into more hours; Braig never wanted to see Oriana in this condition again. Yet she persevered, through suffering and what he would have found to have been a hopeless endeavor, she took every ounce of pain and Luxu could hear the squawl of a child from this memory.

Bold, bright and dangerously fierce. Braig would have killed for that little monster the moment he heard her cries.

He watched Oriana, suddenly anew, holding their daughter. He felt numb and on fire and so, so alive, leaning over to kiss Oriana's hair, then her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. He showered her with adoration as they looked at their new addition.

Their Lucinda.

Luxu looked at the memory.

He looked at it often.

He thought about it as his roots on Braig's life tightened.

As he pulled Braig further from Oriana and Lucinda.

When Oriana begs for Braig not to give up on Lucinda, Luxu feels a pull…

Not just from Braig, who's influence commands Luxu to answer with a promise.

But Luxu… feels a need to protect this little beast. This little one who needs her father's protection.

And it is Xigbar who returns upon the fall of the Gardens to answer the promise he gave Oriana.

She will not be isolated, the way Luxu has been forced to be.

And Braig… will not remain dead.

Xigbar returns to his daughter's side in Vexen's lab; her bruises are healing. He leans over and kisses her forehead.

Xemnas has agreed to let her stay.

****

"Here we are! Home sweet home."

Xigbar with one arm holding Lucinda, opened the door to his chambers.

Lucinda blinked as Xigbar gently set her down, making sure she caught her balance after being bedridden for two weeks.

Her brown eyes took in 'home', which didn't seem very inviting. In fact, it hardly seemed any different than the rest of the castle, filled with uncomfortable bright whites and unwelcoming grays. The furniture was sharp and seemed more deterrent than inviting to lounge upon.

"You get the couch!" Xigbar said excitedly. "Lucky duck. Here I'll show ya."

Lucinda stood awkwardly, her little hands began picking at the iv ports in her arms.

"Ah ah!" Xigbar clucked, and she jumped as if she'd been shocked. "Don't do that," he reminded her with a smile. "Now lets see…" he mumbled, fiddling with the couch to find the lever that allowed the bed to be accessed. "Yikes, what a stupid… ah here we go!"

He pulled a small switch and 'pop' went a mechanism in the couch, which allowed Xigbar to lift the seat of the couch and unfold it into a decently sized bed.

"A pillow and a nice blanket and you're all set!" Xigbar said, taking a leap onto the bed - he winced at how thin the mattress was on his lower back, but he played it off.

He looked up to see Lucinda still standing as she watched; her eyes seemed hollow.

"Come on!" Xigbar coaxed her out of her melancholy, if only a little. "Try it out; relax!"

He slipped his boots off, folding his arms behind his head as Lucinda slowly approached. She climbed up awkwardly, looking up at Xigbar.

She hesitated before scooting closer, nestling herself into his side, as close as his ribs she could get.

Xigbar merely put an arm around her.

"It's all gonna be alright. Soon, you'll go back to see ol' Vexen, he'll make sure you're healing nicely, and you'll get better… and we'll be a family again."

"… how long do I have to see Vexen for?" Lucinda asked, her little voice broken with worry and exhaustion.

"… well… only as long as he needs to, in order to make sure you're healing properly. I know its a pain now, but… I only want the best for you," Xigbar said, reaching over to stoke her cheek.

"I promise," he said, looking into the brown eyes he'd once had before they'd warped into this golden hue. "You're safe here. And you always will be, so long as I'm here."

****

Xigbar hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep.

It was only when Lucinda's piercing scream shocked him back to life that he realized he'd been dreaming as faded images of Braig's wife and The Master swirled through his mind, like water down a drain.

Xigbar noticed several Dusks that had entered his quarters through one of the cutout windows. They squirmed and wriggled in place, slowly approaching the bed.

Lucinda, however, was panicking, heaving as she whimpered and cried, clamoring over Xigbar to avoid the harmless entities.

Xigbar blinked.

Harmless to him, at least. Lucinda's wide eyes were full of horror.

"Enough!" Xigbar snapped at the Dusks. The shuddered and writhe, causing Lucinda more fear.

"I SAID GET LOST!" Xigbar shrieked, and Lucinda reeled as a piercing, dark aura emanated from her father. She looked upon her remaining parent with trembling fear.

The Dusks took heed and quickly made their exit, like empty clothing scattered to the winds.

Xigbar huffed. "Man, they just show up whever they want."

He heard crying and looked to see Lucinda under his cloak. Xigbar pulled it away, ruffling her hair as she looked at him, eyes full of tears.

"Baby-"

"I want to go home!" She pleaded. "I want to leave!!"

"… we are home, Lucy-"

"NO!!" She screamed. This wasn't some tantrum. "I WANT MOMMY! I WANNA GO HOME! I DON'T WANT THIS!! TAKE ME HOME, NOW!!"

Xigbar looked at her.

He wished he could go home too.

"… I'm sorry."

****

Vexen entered his lab. It was early, but nothing could deter him from another day of working where his passion was strongest.

Oh no.

Except for-

He'd turned to find Xigbar awkwardly laying in a chair. Lucinda was curled up on an exam table, covered with her father's coat.

"She hates the apartment," Xigbar mumbled.

Vexen tsked. "And that's my problem?!"

"Look, I get that I've been a pain in your brain but… she didn't ask for this."

"No, she didn't," Vexen hissed. "But you put this upon her anyway."

Xigbar frowned. He straightened up in the chair.

"Don't-"

"Don't what?" Vexen smiled. "Tell the truth you already know? I'm surprised you care. Let alone the fact that your heart no longer exists, but you were barely even a father by the time Xehanort appeared! I don't even know what Oriana saw in you to be hon-"

Sparks were flying before Vexen knew what was happening. The crunch of metal, the yelp of pain; Xigbar had grabbed Vexen by his coat and smashed him into one of his monitors, his good eye furiously flared.

Vexen gathered himself, still grinning.

"What? Are you going to prove my point?"

****

What DID Oriana see in Braig?

Luxu pondered that at times. But especially now.

Oriana, a woman of fine blood and descent, who was poised to marry the man whom Braig served as a guard. And yet, she would eventually decline his proposal.

Only to fall in love with this mutt? This callous, selfish renegade who only thought of himself.

But Luxu couldn't deny the emotions surrounding Braig's memories of the first time Oriana noticed him personally upon his return from town after a particularly rough day, wherein he was involved with settling a dispute in town, and he became the target of a misplaced punch, earning him a black eye.

Back when he'd had a spare eye.

Oriana had amicably rejected Ansem's proposal of marriage, but she remained in Radiant Garden out of goodwill to aid him through his recent ascent to kinghood. She was about to walk past Braig as they both took the path in the gardens going opposite ways until she stopped to get a better look at him. Those fancy folk, you know? Show them a measly anount of blood and their stomachs curl.

Still, it was nice to have a pretty girl fawning over his 'condition'. But the moment he tried to play it tough, he could tell she wasn't impressed. Still, she urged him to get the injury looked at.

"Such nice eyes," she smiled at him. "It's a shame I can't see both."

Braig's throat suddenly felt very tight.

"… maybe another time, then."

"Oh?" Oriana smiled. She adjusted the tattered bandana around his neck, looking up at him with the biggest blue eyes he'd ever seen. "Then I suggest you go get taken care of. But… you guards are tough. I'll bet you've seen worse."

"Oh, I've got stories."

Oriana hummed in entertainment. "You'll have to regale me sometime… I'm sorry I've misplaced your name."

"B-Braig. It's Braig, my lady."

Oriana nodded. "Braig. I'm delighted to finally meet you. Hopefully we can meet further under less strenuous circumstances?"

Braig caught his breath. "I really hope so."

****

Weeks blurred together and faded away, leading into a month, then two and then three.

When the gardens had begun to wilt, when the trees turned Radiant Garden into a playground of gold and auburn with the change of autumn, the annual fall festival returned to Radiant Garden.

Oriana, who had always been fond of the late fall holiday of Halloween, couldn't have missed it for the world. She greeted the citizens in the square happily, beaming as brightly as the day Braig met her in the gardens. A flower forever in bloom.

He roamed the streets, nodding to her with a smile as he patrolled the festival. Oriana broke away from a conversation to plant a little something in his pocket with a whisper.

"Just follow the note. I'll do the rest."

Ansem was watching curiosly as she peeled away from a confused, but intrigued Braig, and Oriana returned to the crowd.

Braig looked at the note. 'Meet me at the northern outer wall at 6'

Well, he couldn't disappoint The Lady. What kind of guard would he be, leaving her defenseless?

Upon waving goodbye to Dilan and Aeleus, who returned to town to finally partake in the festivities, Braig ventured towards the rendezvous. The town became quieter, save for the sounds of the crystalline water, which would be shut off soon for the wintertime.

Oriana would be gone by the time the water was turned back on, and the celebration of spring that it heralded.

Braig looked out to the lights of the festival. He sighed.

"Right on time!"

He turned to find Oriana arriving, her hands carrying two large paper bags.

"What's this?!" Braig asked. Oriana set the bags on the wall barrier and shrugged.

"Just… a little treat for me and my friend."

She pulled out two large warm drinks from the local vendor to ease the chill of the autumn evening.

"And…" she continued, reaching into the second bag and pulling out a warm tray of fried cinnamon bread. Braig grinned.

"How'd you know?"

"I only watched you pass by the vendor about five times with the saddest look I'd ever seen." Oriana smirked, handing him the tray.

Braig happily indulged in the treat as they watched the crowd from above.

"How much you wanna bet I could nail someone with one of these?" Braig grinned, pretending to take aim. Oriana frowned.

"Braig!" She then quickly reached over and grabbed a handful of the treat. "Not until I get MY share," she pouted playfully as Braig laughed. "Okay NOW you can toss one."

Instead, he bit into another piece, still grinning.

Oriana leaned against the wall barrier with him; little space was between their shoulders as the breeze kicked in, cooling the air considerably.

"I could do this every day," Oriana sighed.

Braig shrugged. "You could. I suppose if you'd married Ansem."

"Hmph;" Oriana halfway laughed. "I care for Ansem. Dearly. But I don't love him."

Braig took a sip of his hot drink, pleased that it was bitter, dark coffee. "Yeah but… I mean you could have everything you wanted."

"I don't want everything. Oriana said. "I don't marriage to get me things. I want it to be what I want already!"

Braig hummed.

Oriana's hands fidgeted.

But what she wanted was here, where she had no place to be. And time was running out.

"I'm not worried about how much more Ansem can lavish me with. He seems to forget that I want his time, his effort. Not more of what I can get myself. I don't want more empty promises. I want something real; something true, and meaningful. I want… a companion. A friend."

She peered back his way. He could have sworn he saw the constellations in her eyes; stars guiding him down a path he shouldn't dare to take, and yet…

The wind picked up, and Oriana trembled just enough that Braig removed his uniform coat, and he draped it over Oriana's shoulders.

"… it's not much for me to offer but…" Braig swallowed; "I'm honored I made your list of friends."

Oriana stared at him, gripping his coat around her shoulders.

"But I don't want you as a friend Braig."

The words hit him like a truck.

Until her mouth hit him harder; pressing against his own as his coat fell to the stone ground.

Without words, Braig reciprocated, and he pulled Oriana in closer, as much as he could without their bodies melding together, tasting the cocoa that lingered on her lips. He soon realized the taste was tinged with something salty.

They parted, hearing only each other breathing.

Tears flowed from Oriana's eyes. "I just want you."

****

"You about ready?"

Xigbar stood outside of his room, waiting for Lucinda. Within the moment, the door creaked open, and she peeked out before exiting. After spending weeks in a rotation of hospital gowns, Xigbar had taken what money he could scrounge up and disappeared for a few hours to find a suitable black dress for her.

"Hey! That looks nice!" He hyped her up, watching her smooth out the fabric. The sleeveless cut allowed for access to her IV ports, which would greatly reduce fussing from Vexen. "I know it's not your favorite color," Xigbar said, kneeling over to prompt her to turn around so he could check the fit. He'd already bought several more of the same style in multiple sizes. "But black is kind of the standard around here. Yeah, it looks good!"

Lucinda blinked up at him.

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face.

Even without a heart, Luxu felt Braig's soul light up.

"Come on; give me a spin. You know you wanna."

She giggled. For the first time in what felt like an eternity he heard his baby girl laugh and she twirled around, much like she would back home when she was particularly proud of an outfit.

"Yeah!" Braig… no… Xigbar cheered, catching her as she became dizzy and she laughed more in his arms, but only for a second. He pulled her hair back behind her ears to smile back at her as he lifted her up. "Now, let's go meet Xemnas."

Lucinda tucked herself against Xigbar's chest, reaching up to fidget with the chain of his cloak. "Do you think he'll like me?" She whispered.

Xigbar fought every reflex not to let his expression reflect his pessimism. "So… Xemnas… doesn't like a lot of things…"

Lucinda peeled back from him. "Why?"

"Well… it's… it's complicated."

"Is he okay?" Her big eyes became remorseful. "Is he sad?"

"Oh no… no he is not sad. He's just… unique?"

"Oh," Lucinda pondered this. "Well… do you like Xemnas?"

There was a cacophony of unheard screams wailing in Xigbar's brain. "… Yeah," he said with an obvious wince.

He was lucky Lucinda was only 5 and had no idea how to read his obvious lie.

****

Xigbar approached the door leading to the throne room. He slowly paused, looking up at the mammoth doorway.

"Alright, punkinhead. Time to shine," he said, lowering Lucinda to the ground, her little black flats softening her touchdown. "Now, I promise. There's nothing to be afraid of. He'll just ask you some questions and I'll be here when you're done."

The color drained from Lucinda's face. "I'm going in by myself?"

"You have nothing to be afraid of," Xigbar said in vain as Lucinda quickly began to tremble. "He's kind of intense but you are not in danger."

Lucinda whimpered, reaching out for Xigbar.

Luxu took her hands.

Braig held them for a moment, letting her calm down.

"You're gonna do great." He said, standing briskly as the imposing door opened. Lucinda cowered, looking back at Xigbar.

"Daddy, I need you," she warbled; but with a neutral face and dry eyes, he nodded his head towards the chamber she was being summoned to.

Luxu sympathized.

Braig screamed at the body he no longer fully controlled to protect her.

****

Xigbar watched Lucinda finally step through the door to the Throne Room. Before the doors could swing shut, he saw her reel back to face her father - and then the doors cut off their line of sight of each other.

Xigbar closed his eyes.

Luxu opened his, and a face glowered in front of him.

The visage of Braig, nose to nose with Luxu's trembled with fury, nostrils flaring, his good, brown eye unwavering as it bore a hole into Luxu's unseen head.

Luxu did not cower. "She will be fin-"

"You better shut your mouth," Braig snarled.

"What else is there to do?! You know as well as I do that Xemnas ordered an interview with her, and we had to comply-"

"NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU!"

Luxu crossed his arms. "Exactly. Xemnas needs you. And if he is to grant you this favor, then you need to do as he says. I'm doing this for you."

"Oh yeah, sending my child into the lion's den, you're a real pal, buddy."

"Lion's Den?" Luxu snorted. "As if. I could have left her where I found her. But I didn't. I could have ignored the promise I made your wife."

Braig's good eye pricked with tears.

Luxu uncrossed his arms. "… but I know what it's like to be alone and scared. And… I've never… been a dad before so."

Luxu thought of all the times he wished he'd had someone guiding him along.

Braig scoffed. "Well she's alone and scared right now in there!" He screamed, his voice choking.

Luxu nodded. "And she has been before and she has survived. And I will wager this will not be the last instance she will face despair. Despite our objections. I at least managed to reunite you. Isn't that worth something?"

Braig frowned. He turned away, although there wasn't anywhere else to go. He was stuck here, with this parasite.

"If you fail her-"

"Do not try and threaten me with that. You failed her long ago."

****

Step by step Lucinda moved forward, her hands clutching the fabric of her dress. She trembled, curling inward as she looked every which way, trying to make sense of the room.

How was it dark and bright at the same time?

She walked along a raised path, which led further in to the chamber.

"… Hello?"

Her voice echoed in a way she didn't anticipate. Just how big was this room?

She could see pillars in the shadows ahead.

"Don't fear, small one."

Lucinda gasped as the chamber became alight, and she noted the circular platform ahead where the pillars stood. They were each of different heights, and as Lucinda looked closer… they looked like chairs.

"Come closer." The voice beckoned once more and a beacon of light shone down upon the center of the platform. Her hands gripped together, looking at the light.

"Approach."

Lucinda reluctantly did as she was told, and she looked at the beacon. It was glimmering and iridescent. She hesitated, but put her hand in it, noting the silver hue it shone on her skin.

In an instant, a wave of darkness burst forth, swirling and condensing itself before a man in a cloak, identical to her father's, appeared through the darkness.

The portal closed in on itself, wishing away like candle smoke. The man pulled his hood back, revealing deep tan skin, golden eyes and silver hair, which fell over his face.

If Lucinda hadn't been so terrified, she would have found him to be rather angelic.

"So," he initiated the conversation. "We meet at last, Lucinda."

Lucinda blinked up at him.

"X… Xemnas?"

The man nodded. "I have asked for us to… talk." He knelt down to look Lucinda comfortably in the eyes. "Your father has gone to great lengths to not only reunite with you, but to keep you cared for. It has been quite the burden."

Lucinda looked at him as her curtain of hair fell past her ears, hiding a portion of her face.

"I'm sorry."

Xemnas' expression seemed to be painted on his face the way his features failed to budge.

"You tremble so freely. The progeny of a braggart would give someone such power to know she fears them?"

Lucinda's jaw clattered as if she were cold. "I'm s-scared."

"So I can tell. Why are you so afraid, small one?"

"… I've heard about you from the others. You're… you're very strong. And… and smart."

"Indeed. You are wise to listen to your elders. Perhaps you do have an advantage over your father."

Lucinda thought maybe she was free to smile, but Xemnas' mouth did not move.

"Lucinda," Xemnas continued. "What do you remember from your home? When it was destroyed?"

Her eyes widened.

She remembered being in her mother's arms as they raced towards what was once Ansem's study. How Oriana had told Lucinda to take shelter.

How she heard her mother scream. How she sobbed. How she cried out names but… but Lucinda couldn't make any out as she hid. And then… nothing.

After more destruction, more hiding, Lucinda waited until the worst was over. And then she ventured out of her hiding spot.

Only to be alone with the Heartless.

She did not remember much after that.

"Lucinda."

She became focused once more, having become lost in the memories that surfaced, lulled, and then receded, like waves on a beach. She looked up, realizing tears were streaming down her face.

"Do you remember anything?" Xemnas asked again.

Lucinda slowly shook her head.

"… no." She whispered.

"Nothing? At all?"

Lucinda shook her head once more.

If one looked closely, one could ever so slightly make out the change in Xemnas' expression that showed the slightest bit of victory.

"I see. Then I suppose," Xemnas stood. "You are dismissed."

****

Xigbar came to as the door opened. What had felt like an eternity was barely ten minutes.

He quickly spotted Lucinda running at full speed towards him. He sighed in relief and knelt down to greet her.

"Hey! That wasn't so bad, was-"

His jaw was suddenly sore.

Lucinda had met him with a strike of her tiny hand to his face. Xigbar got a good look at her, wild eyed, panicked and pale.

"Lucinda."

She reeled back and smacked his chest.

She did it again. And again. One after the other with more and more strength until she was beating her fist upon him, desperately as though to break through a wall.

She wasn't even looking at him. Tears streamed down her face as gutteral sounds erupted from her throat as she moved and placed every ounce of fear and anger onto him.

Xigbar watched.

Until finally, he picked her up, hearing her scream as she wriggled. He held her, even as she continued to beat upon him.

He walked.

Her sounds became ragged. Her assault on Xigbar became less about focused strikes and devolved into a flurry of blind rage.

Until, unseen to him, she took a haggard breath and began to wail. She gripped his coat and pressed her forehead to his shoulder, screaming, crying and choking, sounding like a lamb caught in the jaws of a wolf.

Xigbar walked through the castle. His eye was dry.

By the time he reached the apartment, she was clinging to him silently. They entered, and he approached the mattress that was still extended from the couch. Xibar leaned over, expecting there to be a fight with how tightly she was still latched to him.

But as he peeled her away, he realized she was asleep.

The image of his daughter, alone in the rubble of the castle, clinging on for dear life pierced his mind. She had learned to sleep and hold on at the same time.

Xigbar's mouth tightened as he realized he may never know what she endured.

And it was his fault.

He tucked her in; and then he sat silently on the edge of the mattress, wondering where the line between heartless and soulless was drawn.

****

Lucinda looked up at the ceiling, her eyes collecting little details about the construction of the castle that she had missed during her previous stay in Vexen's lab.

Her arms we weighed down by the iv lines connected to her arms. She lay there awkwardly, still confined to the same makeshift cot she'd recovered from. This time, however, the curtains were pulled back, and she could see the full scope of Vexen's lab.

Vexen and her father were not quite friends, and yet, they often stood close to each other as they studied the monitors. They would still speak in a heated way that wasn't an argument. Much like… Much like Ansem would, when he would explain a new theory to his apprentice, Xehanort.

Lucinda thought about Xehanort. She hadn't seen him in some time. Maybe he hadn't survived the fall of the Gardens. She saw him often, as she and her mother stayed in the castle during the previous two years.

But what was just two years felt like Lucinda's whole life - but she knew she'd had another home before the castle.

Her home with both of her parents. But at her age, those memories were fast dissolving.

Lucinda thought about Xehanort.

Her hands tightened together. She never liked the intense gaze he would cast on others. She remembered when he was brought to the castle… carried by her father, whom she had barely seen in a year. How Ansem, Dilan and Aeleus followed suit, carrying strange shapes of metal.

She would run to what was only supposed to be a temporary home in their part of the castle to tell her mother. She'd seen her father; she was so happy. Maybe if they hurried they could see him before he left.

She had never been able to decipher Oriana's answer of 'maybe another time' as her voice was audibly strained.

It had only been a short time since Braig had lost his eye and been scarred; that had been Lucinda's last encounter with her father, was being introduced to his new appearance.

She still vividly remembered how she touched the bandages.

She still remembered reaching up to awkwardly grab his face, how Oriana tried to stop her, but Braig did not object as Lucinda reached up to kiss his bandaged cheek.

She looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"All better?"

Lucinda did not see Oriana's pained expression, nor Ansem's frown towards Braig.

Luxu looked at the little girl whose life he was destroying, and how much light she still had to offer him.

Her father. Not him.

But he looked in her eyes regardless.

Braig simply smiled at his daughter. Good eye glistening as his bandaged eye still ached his head with blinding pain.

"So much better; thank you baby."

****

Lucinda came back to the present as boots sharply clacked against the hard floors.

Xigbar approached. There was the faintest bruise from Lucinda's outburst the other day on his jaw.

"Hey," he said softly. "How you feeling?"

Lucinda hated it. She hated being there. She hated being hooked up and monitored and hovered over.

But the truth hadn't proved useful thus far.

She was becoming tired in a different way.

"I…I'm okay. A little cold-"

"VEX!!" Xigbar shouted. "YOU GOT ANY SPARE BLANKET-"

"NO." Vexen crowed back.

Xigbar's nose curled. "WELL SCREW YOU I'LL GET ONE MYSELF."

"N-no!" Lucinda urged. "It's okay!"

"I'm not gonna let you go cold-"

"It's… it's not that bad. I promise."

"… Luci-"

"Xigbar!"

A new voice barked through the lab. Xigbar turned to find Xaldin and Lexaeus at the doorway. They both realized who else was there and they approached.

"No… is that?" Lexaeus said.

"You didn't." Xaldin frowned.

Xigbar smirked, putting his hands on his hips. "I did. Come here! Come see!"

Lucinda sat up to see…

Dilan and Aeleus.

Her godfathers.

"Lucy, you remember Xaldin and Lexaeus?"

Her mouth bobbed, trying to process everything. Until finally.

She smiled and nodded, looking up at the men she only remembered from photographs.

"Y-yeah!"

Xaldin and Lexaeus took turns from looking at Lucinda, then Xigbar, then each other.

"Xigbar," Xaldin said, "we were instructed to leave any trace of our old lives behi-"

Xigbar quickly reached out and grabbed Xaldin's shoulder. To Lucinda, it just looked like he was patting his friend's shoulder.

Xaldin felt the grip of Xigbar's hand tearing into his shoulder as his zealous smile widened.

"Why don't we get ready for that mission?"

Xaldin's nose wrinkled in disdain before he turned to leave.

Lexaeus turned to follow Xaldin before he looked to Lucinda. A myriad of thoughts visible on his face as he looked at the child.

As he left the nook, he heard Xigbar speak gently to her. A tone he was used to him using back when he was actually an active father.

"Now," Xigbar cooed to Lucinda. "I'll be back soon. You'll stay here with Vexen while you're getting your treatment, okay?"

"You'll be back before I have to go back to the apartment, right?"

"Of course I will. You don't have to worry your pretty little head about a thing. I won't be more than a day, and ol' Vex will need at least that to look you over and make sure you're healing right."

Lexaeus smelled a rat. Regardless; he kept his nose out of Xigbar's dirty laundry, and he went to join Xaldin, who was speaking to Vexen rather animatedly - both of them vexed.

Xigbar touched Lucinda's shoulder to prompt her to lay back. "You rest. You haven't been sleeping that great lately. So you just sleep, baby."

Lucinda looked up at him, reaching out to grab his hand before he could pull it away.

"Are you gonna look for mommy?"

Xigbar's smile faltered - but remained. As tender as he could paint it for her.

"Yeah. We're gonna do our best. I promise."

Lucinda slowly let go of Xigbar's hands and he reached over to stroke her brow, trying to get her to rest, but she remained restless.

Xigbar leaned close, hoping to drown out the sounds of the machines taking notes of her vitals.

"You spotted snakes with double tongue, thorny hedgehogs be not seen. Newt and blind worm do no wrong. Come not near our fairy queen," he sang, remembering her favorite lullaby word for word. He'd sang it to her ever since before she was born. Oriana had been singing it when Lucinda made her first movement.

Lucinda's eyes began to seem weighted down, they fluttered, and closed as Xigbar continued.

"Weaving spiders come not near; hence, you long legged spinners hence. Beetles black approach not near. Worm nor snail do no offense" he trailed off.

He lingered for a moment, and she was still besides her breathing.

Xigbar leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Be a good girl, now."

****

Thank goodness the lab was finally quiet after Xigbar, Xaldin and Lexaeus made their exits.

With Lucinda asleep, Vexen found it easy to begin making digital images of her heart. He pored over the details, making note of how to begin studying something so fragile… and yet so sturdy.

The door to the lab opened, and Vexen straightened up; with half of the Organization gone, only two others could be coming through that door. One of which was-

"Xemnas!" Vexen greeted, nodding his head deeply. "To what do I owe the visit?"

Approaching in the same manner a king would, head held high, arms folded behind his back, Xemnas strode across the labs to greet Vexen.

"I understand our guest is here. I want to ensure she is not being a nuisance," Xemnas said.

Vexen scoffed. "Not yet. She is fast asleep. I plan on keeping it that way until Xigbar gets back," he said.

Xemnas nodded. "Good. Keep me informed that she is not delaying your research. I don't deny any usefulness of studying her heart; but I will not have an unwilling participant."

Looking at the image of Lucinda's heart, Vexen crossed his arms.

"It's been rather easy, really. Xigbar has been hiding it under the guise of bringing her to me to make sure she is 'healthy' after finding her half dead. She is young enough that it is easy to pull the wool over her eyes. And she is scared enough to listen."

"So I have noticed," Xemnas answered, looking at the image of Lucinda's heart himself. "How intriguing. I would wager it has the same makeup as her. But I should have noticed it back in the Gardens. Perhaps being subjected to some darkness is causing it to shine brighter?"

"Same makeup as…? You can't mean this heart is similar to-"

"Yes… Keep me informed of anything you find out during these studies, Vexen. I shall send input as I am able."

Vexen looked to Xemnas. "And if Xigbar disapproves of anything?"

Xemnas smiled as he turned. "He won't. If he expects to get what he wants, there will be no disapproval."

Before he left, Xemnas made his way towards Lucinda's nook. He peered in, making sure not to waken her by moving the plastic curtain. He could see her through a gap in the curtains, asleep and peaceful. A far cry from the child he'd met the other day.

She'd had her mother's nervous tremble.

But the former Lady Oriana still managed to snarl when frightened, much like a hissing, spitting cat with its hackles raised.

"Where is she?! Where is Kairi? What have you done with her?!"

It was hard to believe Braig had married such a stalwart woman.

It was, however, incredibly interesting to watch her find her husband's body, dissolving into darkness among the forms of Even and Ienzo. The way she screamed for the man who'd barely had the time of day for her ever since Xehanort had met him as a much different person.

The way she fell to the floor, trying to awaken Braig in vain through sobs and anguished cries.

And the way she turned to find the man she'd known as Xehanort, keyblade in hand, staring her down before plunging the blade into her chest

And the way the light disappeared from her eyes as her heart broke free from it's cage, and she fell lifelessly on top of her husband, disappearing as he did.

Xemnas stared at Lucinda.

"Lucinda, what do you remember from your home? From the day it was destroyed?" Xemnas had asked.

He could tell the child knew something… but how much she knew, he did not know. Regardless… if she knew, certainly he would have received a lethal visit from Xigbar by now.

But if she were to remember in the future… Perhaps it would be beneficial to keep the child at an arm's length. Especially if the Organization could gain something from the research of her heart.

Kairi's duty had been set into motion.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to keep a spare light around. Just in case.

[ndoandou]

Ikevamp bois playing modern games part 2

Vincent

Vincent is way into.. gartic phone

Qnd perhaps skribble.io

Like way into it

He would sit down 12 hours in front of the computer and guess what HES BEEN PLAYING GARTIC PHONE AND SKRIBBLE.IO IN A LOBBY OF RANDOMS

12 HRS IN HES STILL NOT DONE WITH BOTH GAMES

Hed obv speedrun a drawing in a short period of time and manage to make it look *chefs kiss*

Imagine if skribble.io had a vc feature tho

No no, like imagine if people were actually toxic in this goofy ahh game

They would yell down vincent down the mic telling him to go play with photoshop

Randoms are salty that vincent can draw and portray even the most ridicilous prompts which results him with the highest score always

Not to mention hes really good at guessing even the shittiest drawimgs from other ppl

"Broer how- that persons drawing looks ridicilous, even arthur's dog could draw that"

"Don't be mean theo! I could guess the drawing from the emotional connection i felt from it"

Jean

Jean has a shitty brick nokia phone

And he really loves playing snake II

No im serious

Well i suppose momte doesnt trust him with any other phones than that

the last time he was given a smartphone he downloaded some hack and slash game

took the word slash literally and then proceeded to cut the phone into two

comte was too stunned to speak

momte didn’t want his kids to miss out on gadgets but he cant have jean destroying his smartphone

BINGO! a nokia 3310 it is! 

jean didnt know how to react at first, but he found it easier to navigate and thats when he found out baout snake II

found it a bit pointless at first but despite saying that, he doesnt realize that thats the only thing he does besids fencing

snake II is his pre workout

the only thing he will be doing before his fencing practice

before meals

and before bed

‘‘jean are you sure you haven’t had enough of snake II..?’‘ comte asked causiously as he never know how his son Jean would react

jean looked at comte and stayed silent for a hot minute

‘‘no’‘

Napoleon

OK FLASH BACK TO MY E BOY NAPOLEON FANART FROM 2021

its official

He plays league of legends

Napoleon is deffo a jungle/top main

Jungle preferabbly

Bros actually cracked coz hed turn any non meta champs into an absolute beast

I see him being especially good with pantheon jungle

Hed play league with jean tbh

And jean would be a dedicated top

But i dont see jean being the best player..

No, like imagine napoleon defending jean from "top troll" and getting spammed "?" On his lane

Napo would literally go to that persons lane just to steal their minion last hits

If hes feeling extra hed even use pantheons ult to yeet over to that player to ks all the minions on that person's lane 😭

"Jgl troll gg"

Ok napo is actually not toxic and is rly nice to play with

Hed even supp for you if ur learning a new champ

Hes only toxic to people who are toxic to his buddies

Comte

Ill be honest

Comte looks like someone who would download all games from every ad pop up he gets

And im talking about anything gacha related

He does not care whether the game is explicit or not as long as he can collect pretty characters

Is he interested in the gameplay??? Probably not.

"For what reason did you spend $$$$$$ on xxx game???" Leonardo asked as he scrolled through comte's in game billings, cocking an eyebrow

"Hm? Well i simply wanted to collect all of these lovely looking characters."

"Without leveling up your characters?"

"Non"

"Do you understand how to play this game?"

Comte only looked at him with his unwavering smile

"honestly this is the most ridicilous spending ive witness from you, heh" Leo snorted

"Much appreciated, but i dont recal asking for any input, old friend" comte retorted

Leo looked at him and sighed

"Honestly at this point i shouldn't be surprised"

.

.

This took me forever to upload because i coulndn't figure what type of game comte would play then one day i was like AHAAAAA

Also i didn't proof read as always so pls dont chop my head off :"))

[saveahorserideaneddie]

Hello again. Sorry to hear school is stressing you out!! I know there are people who want a super dramatic love confession or realization (and I think it would be fitting and make a lot of sense particularly because of how neither buck nor Eddie seem to think about it a lot when they have their domestic moments) but I think it would be super cute if we have a scene in the kitchen (love is stored in the kitchen)(I love Buddie moments in the kitchen I apologize) where buck and Eddie are just talking while buck cooks or Eddie cleans or something and the other is sitting there just watching as they go about the kitchen maybe buck is talking about whatever he’s been reading about or listening to while Eddie listens occasionally throwing in a comment or joke and you can just feel the ease and love in the interaction and Eddie realizes that this is what he’s always wanted. This is how he’s always wanted to feel about his exs. That buck in his space feels more normal and easy then anything he’s ever done with even Shannon. He either sits on it freaking out a bit or just softly tells Buck he loves him because he needs buck to know that he is loved (that don’t really fit the scene I laid out it would definitely fit better in a situation where buck is full with self doubt and hurt and Eddie needs buck to hear him (because, Evan type thing) and understand that it doesn’t matter if everyone is against Buck because Eddie lives him no matter what but that is why I don’t normally talk about this or write fics. My brain goes everywhere and nowhere or makes things to sappy or sad😔 anyway). I go back and forth on who I want to confess/ kiss the other first but either way I would love a soft kitchen scene

Anyway I would love to hear some ways you think buddie could get together that you think don’t get enough attention or what one of you’re favorite ways it happened was and I hope school gets better!! I hope the state of the fandom isn’t adding any stress🩵🩵 have a good day/ night

I love this song and hope you will to!! I think it’s cute and j like to imagine a scene where buck and eddie get home and fall in bed next each other just completely wiped but can’t quite fall asleep so they just turn resting their forehead together with their eyes closed (or with one or both just tracing the others face with their eyes while they just talk(🤭) to each other letting the comfort of them just breathing the same air calm their nerves until they both just slowly let sleep take them under until they have to go pick Chris up from school

https://open.spotify.com/track/14Lmwi0Quf5tHfsINcYdzi?si=1b6reg8JT_2mGvXFic9sfQ

Enjoy and feel better!! Sorry I didn’t send one sooner I was busy and then I could find a song that for the energy?? Anyways hope you don’t mind me sending a long ask and song again (also sorry I’m kinda a whore for forehead touches and kisses)

bestie im so sorry im just now getting to this one ik it’s been sitting in my inbox since yesterday but i had to scroll back through my account to find a specific post and it toom forever but i found it

I talk here about my kind of “ideal” way for buddie to go canon in s8 in a similar way, but i think having their fist onscreen kiss be in eddie’s kitchen is an absolute must have

but i really do love the idea of them getting together in such a normal casual way bc it would be so refreshing for the show to not make it a THING and just have it be like “yeah, this is right, this makes sense.” and like don’t get me wrong i will take buddie canon however they give it to us, but i like thinking about the soft casual non-dramatic moments too.

I am also a slut for soft forhead touches and i will be suing abc and tim minear for emotional distress if they don’t give us some buddie forehead touches or couch cuddles soon bc it is a psychological need at this point

also i can’t wait to give the song a listen <3

[underratedandoverit]

Not Even Thinking Twice

~2k words orangekip (orange cassidy/kip sabian)

i watched bte, im fairly certain i saw oc in the background of kips title "defense" for like a solid second, so cause im like this we have a fic

first thing ive touched in like.. a week. this feels, at least to me, a bit different than my usual style, but it picks up its usual perks closer to the end. i just wanted to do something less angsty and more fun, and i feel like its more of that? also this is my first non-established relationship orangekip fic in forever so yeah the vibes are definitely different lmao

anyways, this is here, i hope its worth anything. they just needed to make out in my brain ajsndkjasnd

on ao3

@midnightpretenders0 @stormbornpirate @ss-trashboat

---------------------------

Kip chuckled to himself quietly as he waltzed around the locker room, packing his things away for the night. It had been a relatively uneventful and kind of a slow night, but one he had really enjoyed despite all that. As he passed by the couch, Kip stole a glance towards the BTE title comfortably sitting on it, a quick smile gracing his lips at the sight of the gold he held. Well, it was more about finally being able to successfully defend it than just holding it, as he had done that mostly in secret the past year now, but just the sight of the single title belt made him crack a genuine smile.

Folding his tights into his bag, the kickpads and boots soon followed, Kip humming in clear content at his handiworks. As he spun around on his heels, ready to fetch some more items he needed to pack away before leaving the arena to head back to the hotel, he stopped on the spot, eyes locking onto the door as he heard a quiet knock coming from it.

Kip’s eyes narrowed a little, his extremely good mood gone almost instantly just at the mere thought that someone might be needing his attention right now. He sighed, brushing a hand through his hair before making his way across the room, pulling the door open as there was another quiet knock on it.

His eyes narrowed just a little bit more as Kip spotted Orange Cassidy standing on the other side of the door, hand still raised from the previous knock, staring back at Kip through his reflective sunglasses.

“Well if it isn’t my sweet little Clementine.” Kip forced a smile on his lips, gritting his teeth together at the sight of his self-proclaimed arch nemesis. Cassidy just lazily nodded his head as a greeting, leaning against the door frame as his hand dropped down, both of them shooting to the pockets of his jeans. “What a surprise.”

Cassidy didn’t reply back at him, only shrugged his shoulders. Kip stared back at him, eyes quickly looking the denim-clad man up and down. Not that he was expecting anything that was different about him than usually, but Kip was just hoping that fully checking him out would give him some kind of a hint of what the blond wanted from him. Unfortunately for Kip though, he came up with nothing, only looking like a fool by measuring the man standing in front of him.

“…I want a title shot.”

Kip’s eyes shot back up, widening a little at the sudden demanding tone he was getting back from his visitor. He couldn’t hold back a chuckle, it escaping him in a slightly taunting tone, even.

“A title shot? Aren’t you a little mistaken, as I don’t hold any titles around here.”

Cassidy inhaled deeply, looking away for a brief second as if to compose himself before his eyes landed back on Kip. “Not a tv title, Kip. The BTE title. I want a shot at that.”

Kip let out another chuckle, but this time instead of malice, it was filled with nervous energy.

“BTE title? You?” He sighed, almost a wave of relief washing over him as Kip processed his words, finally shaking his head at Cassidy. “Dream on, Clementine. There’s no way you’re ever going to get a shot at gold like that.”

Cassidy shrugged again, his stoic expression never changing despite Kip’s mocking tone.

“Could I at least plead my case?”

Kip stared back at him, brows furrowing in slight confusion. Cassidy clearly came prepared for this encounter and every objection the Brit would be throwing at him, and Kip would have lied if he had said that he wasn’t now interested in hearing about what the blond had in mind. He knew Cassidy more than well enough to understand that he had something interesting up his sleeve for this.

Besides, even if he somehow managed to talk a title shot out of him, Cassidy still had to make it through the stand-ins first before getting a shot at his precious championship gold. The external powers really had to be against him for Kip to lose in this situation.

On the outside he frowned a little as Kip stepped to the side from the doorway, motioning Cassidy to step inside. The blond followed his instructions, Kip watching as he lazily dragged himself into the locker room, Kip shutting the door after him. It didn’t seem to affect Cassidy at all, as the man stopped, glancing around the room, before slowly making his way over to the couch, stopping in front of it to stare at the BTE title that had obviously caught his eye.

Kip walked up to him, stopping next to Cassidy, almost mockingly reaching down for the title belt, throwing it on his shoulder before flashing a grin at the other man who’s eyes followed the movement of the gold that was now at his arms reach.

“As you can see, dearest Clementine,” Kip smirked, giving a little pat to the belt on his shoulder, stopping for a second to admire his reflection on the golden surface of the title. “The title is in safe hands. I doubt anything you can offer me will make you worth a shot at it.”

Cassidy looked at him for a moment before his eyes shifted slightly more towards the title. Kip observed him, waiting for the blond to open his mouth, to talk back at him. That’s what he had come here to do, right? To make his case why he would be the rightful next challenger for the title?

Before Kip could question him about it, Cassidy turned fully towards him, slowly removing the sunglasses from his face. It still occasionally caught Kip off guard with how intense blue his eyes were, this definitely being one of those times as he didn’t even try to fight it as Cassidy reached for the title on his shoulder, removing it with ease and dropping it on the couch, away from Kip’s reach, with a rather loud thud, that seemed to shake the Brit from his trance.

“What--”

Kip wasn’t allowed to finish the sentence as Cassidy suddenly had a fistful of his shirt in his grasp, first pulling the Brit closer before pushing him away, shoving him down on the couch. Being forced to sit down Kip let out a surprised yelp at the suddenly rough handling of himself, being too late to fight back after he found himself down on the couch as Cassidy pressed on, easily straddling Kip’s lap, grabbing a hold of both of his arms, pinning his wrists against the back of the couch with ease.

In the silence that fell in the locker room after the flurry of the sudden events, Kip could hear his heartbeat in his ears, a soft blush crossing his cheeks at the thought that with the hold Cassidy had of him and their close proximity, the blond also had to be aware of his accelerated heart rate. The blond didn’t, however, seem to have a reaction to it, as he just stared back at Kip, almost as if he was waiting for the Brit to object to his actions again.

“I want a title shot.”

Kip blinked at him, the stern voice sending a soft shiver down his spine. Kip Sabian wasn’t usually the kind of a man that listened what he was told to do, to be honest he was barely listening to others at all most of the time, but something about the way the usually lazy and quite honestly boring Orange Cassidy was suddenly making such demands on him, it almost made Kip want to give up to his demands on the spot.

It took a moment for it to actually dawn on Kip what he was thinking, him quickly shaking the thoughts away as he could feel the heat on his cheeks rising, forcing his eyes away from the other man’s face.

“Yeah?” Kip pouted at him, still not daring to look back at Cassidy. He could feel the grip on his wrists tighten a little, as if Cassidy wanted to intimidate him but was afraid of going overboard with it. Or maybe Kip was just imagining it. “You have to try a little harder than that, then.”

For a moment the air stood still, before Cassidy slowly let go of his wrists. Kip hesitated a bit to let his guard down, but as Cassidy leaned back away from him a little, Kip let his hands fall onto the couch, relaxing a little bit on his spot. Not that it was comfortable, with Cassidy still sitting on top of him, but it was better than before, at least.

…Maybe. Something in him kind of missed the touch of the other man on his bare skin already, if he was being honest with himself.

Kip didn’t have more time for that thought though, as almost as fast as Cassidy’s hands had disappeared off of him, they were back, grabbing a hold of the front of his shirt again, suddenly pulling him closer. Kip didn’t have time to resist or react as Cassidy closed the gap between the two of them, locking him into a sudden kiss.

For a moment Kip froze against his lips, but as Cassidy’s hands found their way from the front of his shirt to the back of his head and into his hair, Kip let out an unintentional moan at the sudden touch, Cassidy using it to his advantage to deepen the kiss. Kip could practically feel himself getting lightheaded at the sudden suffocating show of affection, but at the same time he didn’t mind. There was something about the way Cassidy was handling him right now, at the same time being so demanding, almost hungry, but in a sense also tender and considerate, as he didn’t push away the hands that snaked their way around his waist as Kip unconsciously pulled him closer.

Cassidy suddenly pulled away, breaking apart the kiss, Kip letting out a very whiny groan at the sudden disturbance of the moment he was clearly enjoying. Cassidy still had his hands in his hair, having almost a weird control over Kip, eyes locking onto his as Kip tried to focus himself back to the real world and current time from the moment of bliss he just had.

“Title shot,” Cassidy stated shortly, his fingers curling up in Kip’s hair, making him hum contently against the touch. Cassidy had him in the palm of his hand at that moment, and honestly, Kip didn’t mind it at all for once. “Next week.”

“One condition.” Kip was barely able to keep eye contact with him, he was still trying to catch his breath and he could feel his whole face burning up, both at the sudden intensity of the kiss and the almost euphoric feeling it left him with. “If I win… I get more of this.”

To emphasize his words, Kip pulled him just a little bit closer, arms still wrapped around Cassidy’s waist. A little smirk tugged the corner of the blond’s lips, but he tried to keep a straight face. Kip wasn’t sure if it was because he was absolutely certain that he was going to win, or because he didn’t mind the stipulation.

“You’re on.” His voice was barely a whisper as Cassidy leaned closer again, stealing one more quick peck from Kip’s lips, clearly now teasing him. “Champ.”

Almost as suddenly as Cassidy had arrived into the locker room and made a scene with him, Kip could feel his body heat suddenly disappearing from his immediate vicinity, hands gone from his hair, soon being followed by the opening and closing of the locker room door. Kip was left sitting there alone in the silence, trying to catch his breath, one hand lazily fanning his face hoping to make the obvious redness go away.

No matter what happened next week, at the end of the night he would still be the real winner.

[ishifted-jdayz]

um. okay. hi. uh. i just shifted. just came back really. fuck dude. jesus christ.

okay um. so i shifted to my "wr" which is basically a ranch and i can do magic real easily and stuff and. it was so interesting coming to there. i was like. sitting up and everything was hazy at first and then i blinked the like. sleep out of my eyes and it was all so real.

there was sun coming through the curtains just how i imagined and the carpet felt right beneath my feet and it smelled like such fresh air, nice and cool. i ran my hands along the wall to really like. ensure i was there and i like. laughed incredulously and was like holy shit. bc i made it. oh my god dude i made it.

i ran outside to see if i was where i was fr and i was. i could see the ocean and the forest and the line of trees that blocks the train tracks. i could hear bugs and birds chirping and i was so. the warmth of the sun on my skin was crazy. i stayed out there for a while. i was in a white like. dress thing? like an undergarment from the 1800s. i was breathing easier i didnt have any allergies. i ran all the way to the beach to dip my toes in the water and fill my hands with sand.

when i got back i was like. so excited. i wasnt even hungry but i made myself be in order to eat in the kitchen. i made my favorite dish (im autism and have it all the time) and was just. beside myself as i watched it rotate in the microwave. i looked at all the cds i have and i turned on the tv. ive been watching criminal minds in old reality lately so i pulled up season 3 bc i hate that gideon left and i pulled up s3 in the one where gideon Didnt leave. and started watching that while i ate and looked around.

ive got a ton of plants next to my couch and i touched them all. the piano plays just like the one in my old reality, and i finally fucking found the sheet music i had forever ago and could never find. and i played it pretty easily and god man. it felt so fucking surreal. all my favorite books were on the shelves and i knew if i took one and pressed my hand against it and said "know" id know it all as if i just read it but i didnt really want to.

i looked in the bathroom and that was fucking cool as shit. the bathtub was so big and the windows were huge (no one comes here unless i want them to so its fine). i found a box of my jewelry including a ring i had to get resized in my old dr but it fit perfectly. the water was perfect and cool under my hands GUYS it was literally so cool.

and my cas room. its just how i imagined. so its like a old ass room from like the 1700s wood floor seems kinda dusty. but theres a mirror and i can enter sort of create a sim mode and change everything abt my self. first thing i did was get rid of my chest and MAN. FUCK. THE EUPHORIA. i started crying. had to take a whole couple minutes to come down from that. and then i started messing with my hair length and type and color and freckles and eye color and height and all this stuff and it was really cool. my ass is so fat now btw SLAY. and i just. looked at myself. and felt truly at home. like even though i look different now i feel more Me bc i Chose it. and anyway.

walked outside again bc i put on diff clothes in the CAS room and wanted to see my horse. its in a little pocket dimension sort of bc i dont want to constantly need to take care of them or have them around but when i want them around they are and i got to see herrrrrrr. shes also a beauty and i love her so much. and my cat pib was there and its just. guys its so fucking freeing. to know that everything i want is there.

went back inside and upstairs to the bedroom and man. i havent done much irt redecorating yet bc i wanted to do that myself but. i have a desk and a computer up there and immediately started up the sims 3 (my favorite game) and started playing and NO LAG. IS SO FUCKING EPIC GUYS. IM SO STOKED. and i played for a while and kept criminal minds on in the background until i got bored and then i went downstairs and ate and started watching. the secret season of black sails (my favorite show) and dudeeeeee that was crazy oh my god. ik why i cant see it in the my cr for meta reasons but now i SEEEEE now i understand........

and then i remembered my library and i ran over to that and dude it was so PRETTY. and i grabbed some music theory books and some language (letters and grammar) books and did the "know" thing and lets just say i know mandarin and japanese and french and gaelige and hebrew now. and im gonna do more when i get back but BRO its just so cool.

and i got a glass of fresh iced tea and went outside and watched the sun set on my porch and pib came up and my old dog bella (whos both old and not old now) and i started crying a little bit and then i went to sleep. and decided to come back here to update yall bc ik i can go back easy af now (bc i came back to a reality where i Can) so. anyway very fucking excited. so fucking happy. one billion out of ten.

[dashielldeveron]

just finished reading the izuku chapter for the second time and im so fucking blown away. your izuku makes me crazy hes so deranged i love it, it makes me feel like my freak is being matched with hoe insane i was trying to figure out who the secret character was lmao.

your izuku has ruined all others for me permanently because where else am i supposed to find a guy who’s as insane and determined and sexy as he is?? where am i going to read about a guy wanting me so much he died because rejected him? and he’s sososo caring + insane. the ask where you replied about him mumbling about all of the erogenous zones. so true and it killled meeee. i love that crazy man so much. not only do i his characterization just in general i also think it’s incredibly accurate interpretation of what izuku would be like in that situation and that’s what kills me the most. i love how (and this is not only talking about current route but all previous ones as well) in character and sexy he is. like he’s doing something in character sexy. like yes he would do all that weird shit and i love him for it. it’s infinitely important to me lmao. i don’t think i really articulated that well but i’m hoping my neurons are reaching your neurons and you know what i mean.

(also very much liked katsuki in this fic because he was also exhibiting 10/10 freak behavior, kissing opened mouth when my soulmate is in the room and the glimpse of our life with him was him having mc sit on his face like a chair? it’s very fun to revisit him in this route considering he was first written if you ever do vignettes [want to make it super clear that I don’t want it to come off like I’m pressuring you to write them, it’s just something I like to think about because this ff has a hold on my soul lmaooooo but that goes for anything you’d want to write ever] it’ll be so exciting to see him again as i love freaks)

world building 10/10, plot line 10/10, my favourite deranged guy 10/10. literally such a perfect last route in so many ways. you are so infinitely talented and your fan fiction has killed me. i am fatally excited for your next fic the way you write resonates with me that anything and everything ive ever read pales in comparison. i hope you enjoy the irreversible damage you’ve done to my psyche forever lmao wear it like a gold star + if you ever publish my old original crack shit theory post in your asks I’d laugh so hard. i was so crazy i asked one of my friends who reads your work their thoughts on my theory and to try point out out if there was anything I misremembered or missed LMAOO

-cork board anon

"my freak was matched with hoe insane" i want this embroidered on a pillow (even though i think it may have been a typo??? bc i think izuku is acting hoe insane). and trust your neurons are reaching mine; i get what you mean, and you're being very sweet about it!!! yeah since i haven't had to attach thoughts of izuku to a plot anymore, thinking about his levels of sexy determination just make my brain pitter out. i Need him.

and i'm soooooo pleased you think he's in character, and all, because i Worry, of course. he's hard to write!!! we don't get a lot of detail about his personality in canon, really, even though he's the main character!!!! i spruced up one of his most attractive canonical traits, which is that he Pays Attention........and apparently, i am REALLY into men who pay attention, bc i also made shinsou and aizawa very much Attention Payers when it comes to reader.......i think it may have helped to have defined their paying attention skills in different ways, and they're all sexy for it: 1) aizawa pays attention to reader so that he can keep her safe by controlling the overall situation they're in. so that she feels safe enough to come to him. 2) shinsou pays attention to reader so that she's so, so comfortable and so that he can take care of her in the ways she likes. so that he can give her what she's always wanted but never voiced. so that she's never nervous when he's around. 3) izuku pays attention to reader so he knows how to fuckin' drive her insane. so that he can infuriate her sexually enough that she cracks. god i love fictional men

KATSUKI KLADS;FJ;JSDFJKL; he was put in an opportunity, and he indulged lolololol. yeah it's so gutsy of him to open-mouth kiss reader while izuku is RIGHT THERE, freshly interrupted from talking about reader and soulmate stuff when she barged in. MEN. and don't worry; i don't feel pressured!!! i'm slowly working on the vignette ideas, and in the meantime, i'm almost done with the first chapter of my next project!!! but just because the art moves on does not mean we have to move on emotionally!!!! i think i have unfortunately written a version of bnha's end game that i like very much--particularly bc tenko/touya/toga get happy endings--so i'll always be down to discuss this fic!!!!

also lololol i'm about to publish your older asks; they deserve to be Seen and Perceived--they're pretty clever about the whole thing!!!! and thaaaaaaaaaaank you so much for being so kind about all of this!!!!! your asks really do make me smile so hard :) xx.

[terraliensvent]

Things Tycho needs to implement for the mod apps:

Please hire fucking adults. Not 19 year olds, please hire some people that are over 21 and have more developed brains. Preferably 25 and up.

Heavily restrict the ability to make mod customs. I know that a LOT of people only want to be staff to be able to make customs, and this isn't a good thing to be able to do right off the bat since Tycho needs mods who want to work, not make money making designs. I think mod customs should not be allowed for at least 6 months AFTER mod trial is over. Work on the species, that's what you were hired to do, not make customs. If you want to make and sell designs, apply to be a GA, not staff.

Mod myos. There's too many mod lim myos floating around and these should not be tradeable. If mods get myos as payment every month, they should get two options. Lim myo, not tradeable. Modified myo, tradeable. They get to choose just one.

Also I think Tycho needs to go through the shambling remains of the staff and get rid of loose ends, like Kea. Kea does absolutely fucking nothing for the species except occasionally vote on staff matters and do transfers, which literally any other staff member can do. All she does is ignore trade offers for her obvious trades that totally aren't entertaining offers, which aren't even allowed btw, and she'll talk about opening up customs to get people to throw themselves at her for her art. She needs to be removed as a staff member and made a GA, since that's what she's best at. Plus she's just conveniently taking a break and ignoring all the work that needs to be done and making Tycho and the other few mods do everything themselves. If Kea can't be a functioning staff member in this moment when we really need them, why do we need her at all? Karma, too. Why are you guys taking a break and making everyone else do all the hard work so you can just come back when it's all over and reap the benefits? You guys suck. Either step up and do your job or quit.

i agree with everything you said here anon

on your first point, it def goes back to the maturity thing for me because, while previous mods and the owners are “adults,” 18 and 19 is still pretty immature (and you can really tell based off of the controversies that have happened just within a year)

on the second, i really think terras should make more use of the “official artist” role. i agree that a lot of mods seem to just sit on their ass and make customs/adopts, which, if you want to just do art then say that!! dont present it like youre gonna actually moderate if ur just pumping out adopts, thats why theres the official artist role

for the third point, i actually think tycho does have plans to mitigate the myo situation (you can see that in the conversation i had with him here), so i think theres gonna be some progress there

on your last point, i agree as well; i think kea especially is one of the people who would benefit from being an official artist instead. she has the admin role but ive literally never seen her be an administrator of anything. doing approvals is something that really anyone can do, and the main thing ive ever seen from kea is customs and adopts. i dont think ive really ever seen her answer questions or design help, and as far as events go the only one shes been visibly a part of is the birthday one that just happened (and honestly if i didnt just go and check right now i would have totally forgotten shes an ADMIN, not just a regular mod)

i think delegation of staff and staff responsibilities is a big thing that needs fixing, since its been an issue basically forever in this species. design and prompts take forever to approve, but when its ever suggested to get more mods it was always “we have enough!” yeah, you have an overabundance of mods that just wanna make fucking adopts and nothing else. just make them official artists and have the mod role for people that can actually work.

[gramarye]

answering asks because i forgot to and felt too awkward to do so you know how it is.

honestly its the other way around... she loves sitting in them but also chewing them up (shes allowed lol she spits the pieces out, its fine by me bc i can just vacuum it up and she can get her Beast Tearing Maiming Killing Instincts taken out on something that i was gonna throw out anyway) so like. at some point i just give up and throw away a box that she has done too much damage on even though she would love to keep it forever. but i always have new packages coming every few months if only for koshka's food and litter orders so there is always a supply.. she is never boxless

i wanted a koshka box pic to attach here, like a new one but she hasnt sat in one while ive had a camera out in a while. heres other recent koshkys though. so tired.

omg idk if theres any that make me cringe.. most of them are funny. even the more derogatory ones that are sex allegories are like.... i wouldn't want someone to call me them but removed from context they are kinda funny. that said finnish lepakko (bat) is still the best lesbian synonym

i dont think any make me cringe tho it does annoy me when someone is a lesbian and ppl go out of their way to refer to them as sapphic. but its not an issue w the word sapphic itself its more like how some people just refuse to use lesbian for some reason when someone is explicitly using it. idk

idk if these are by the same person but they are abt the same author (I THINK? ARE THERE MORE YURI MANGA THAT FIT THE FIRST DESCRIPTION?) but omg thanks for the recommendations!! i read the one-shot it was soooo cute... i love how different it is from the other manga LOLLL the range of lesbians.. ur so right btw both of these are absolutely my thing in different ways. u rock. thank u

i think i might have even started the OL one before but just never kept up with it (or perhaps when it was releasing) its kinda been a while since i read yuri manga other than how do we relationship so thank you!!!

ive been reading a lot of books for my advanced literature class which is like.. fun but very little time to read for myself...

that said i re-read dungeon meshi LOL, i like kept up with it as it released casually but i wanted to do it from the start to the end now that its been done for a bit. and i've been going through the almost 400 page Essential Dykes To Watch Out For i got from the library, im like 3/4 thru!! oh and i've been reading getter robo for my friend and uh. wuthering heights as a classic on the side

[summershouto]

vivi (op) and/or maki (jjk)?

hi! I’m sorry I took forever to answer this - it’s been sitting in my drafts half finished for days - but I am here now

First up: Maki!

Sexuality Headcanon: lesbian

Gender Headcanon: I feel like Maki would go by she/they

A ship I have with said character: nobamaki <33 I miss them

A BROTP I have with said character: maki & yuuta- theyre so sweet and supportive of each other. also her and toge bc she can affectionally bully him :)

A NOTP I have with said character: maki/yuta .. I understand why people ship it but I prefer them as strictly platonic

A random headcanon: Maki is one of those people who never drinks coffee. she drinks green tea or something .. she's just superior enough to not really need caffeine

Also this is yuuta related but I think he has a crush on her and gets all flustered sometimes which she finds endearing even if she doesn’t feel the same

General Opinion over said character: she's one of my favorite jjk characters! she is definitely the best written female character in jjk, which sadly we are lacking in. Her whole scene with Mai broke my heart and everything that came after .. I’m obsessed with her

and Vivi!

Sexuality Headcanon: lesbian (literally all of these asks ive done so far are lesbians sorry not sorry)

Gender Headcanon: cis but im open to other hc too

A ship I have with said character: NAMIVIVI!!! I miss them. I want vivi back with them so bad. Nami cared for her so much and Vivi was so worried about Nami when she was sick... I see them as "the one that got away" kind of relationship - if Vivi had stayed w/ the straw hats she and nami would've been together :(

A BROTP I have with said character: I like her dynamic with Sanji a lot! Especially chill moments where Sanji is hanging with her and Nami having snacks. Also her and zoro especially during little garden where she respects him but also realizes he’s a massive idiot

A NOTP I have with said character: Vivi x koza (her childhood friend). I just don’t see any romance there. Obviously I love her and nami together but I also adore the scene where she has a list of suitors and just tells her dad to throw them all away. She’s too busy for that!!!

A random headcanon:

Vivi didn’t fully realize her feelings for nami until nami told her they were going to leave

General Opinion over said character: I want her to join up with the straw hats again so bad. I’ve read sm theories about how it could happen and I need it desperately. I genuinely think it would make sense for her story and I’d love to see how she fits in with the newer crew members. Vivi holds a special place in my heart just like she does for the straw hats :’)