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emmarzhere · 3 years ago

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3am AU time: Sanders Sides Swap!!

Once again I can’t sleep due to my brain insisting it’s much more important to write down these ideas for a Light and Dark side swap AU than sleep, so 3AM TUMBLR RAMBLE IT IS BABYYYY!!!

So I wanted to try using traits already existing in each character to make their inverses, rather than just swapping traits or completely changing the character’s core values, and these are my initial late night ideas:

(Note: I saved this as a draft and revisited it in the morning / afternoon to make sure it all actually made sense and to add to it with a fresh mind)

(Extra note: I accidentally lost all my additions and the entirety of Patton’s and Virgil’s descriptions by refreshing the page, so it’ll now be written out again in a less formatted way. DAMN YOU TUMBLRRRR!!!!!!)

Roman:

My initial reaction was to make Roman “Pride”, and extend on his egocentric nature (like what is done with many Dark!Roman interpretations), however five minutes of laying in bed thinking about it later I found a trait I felt fit him better: Delusion.

This Roman could still be very much “Netflix kids and family”, living and trying to make Thomas live in a fantasy land where everything is always fine and dandy. This insistence of only seeing things through his figurative or not so figurative rose tinted glasses makes this Roman very naive and hard to get through to, and while on the surface appears very appealing to Thomas (when they first meet Thomas doesn’t understand why Roman counts as a dark side) can be very dangerous if Thomas leans too much into his ways of escaping reality, aka making Thomas a delusional person. The best part of this choice of trait for Roman is that I can still tie in his ego; delusions can be fuel people’s egos, and also to protect them from harsh realities, hence why Delusional works as a role for Roman.

While normally I see Dark Side Roman designed to be an evil prince or king, I decided to go for a more glamorous look which I think fitted my version more: Roman would wear a pristine black and red suit consisting of a red waistcoat, tie and trousers, a black button up shirt and black or red heeled boots. I also wanted his design to link to the white peacock (a rare type caused by a genetic mutation), so I topped off the outfit with either a vintage white shawl or a Cruella style coat (leaning towards Cruella because we know Roman and Disney!) with white peacock feathers attached (still trying to decide if I want Roman to have decorated the feathers with red and black accents or not), and a pair of literal rose tinted glasses to hide his white peacock eyes - pale blue with a glassy look to them which always gives the impression that he is far away, even when he’s not.

Finally his sword is replaced with a grandiose black walking stick with silver details, along with the handle being a silver peacock head (note: possibly detachable from the cane to reveal a silver knife?). I chose this as weapons like these in fiction are often used to appear innocent, only to reveal a hidden depth of skill and character; a description which I think applies well to Delusional Roman.

Extra note: Delusional Roman gets snappy, angry, or even threatening when people try to break him out of or correct him on his delusional ways, though he will often try to slip deeper into his fantasies than actually deal with emotional confrontations.

Extra extra note: Roman is incredibly jealous of his brother as he can’t understand why he’s been accepted despite Roman being the one who creates such wonderfully perfect worlds for Thomas to escape off into! He’s also jealous of how his brother doesn’t care what others think of his work and doesn’t seek validation from the others, not that Roman would ever admit that he does either of those things.

Patton:

So the 3 main aspects of Patton I felt would work best for a Dark Side are his destructive selflessness, his overly strong morale compass and how he encompasses many of Thomas’ more negative feelings.

I couldn’t decide whether to officially label him as “Denial” or “Repression”, but either way he holds a similar role: he represses his / Thomas’ negative feelings, as well as tries to push Thomas to do the morally right thing (as he still represents Morality, just not as his main trait) which almost always is the selfless option. It’s almost impossible to convince this Patton that his viewpoint is not necessarily the correct choice (he’s in denial that he as Morality can ever be in the wrong), and he becomes hostile when his views are continuously challenged.

The light sides see Patton as the main holder and cause of Thomas’ negative feelings (eg. makes Thomas act selfless and do things for others until he’s burnt out and depressed), and when Thomas is feeling these negative feelings Patton experiences them but more strongly to the point where the others have to force him out of bed (usually Logan) and take care of him until he and Thomas get out of the depressive slump. However once he’s out he will deny that he was the problem and begin pushing Thomas down the self-destructive path again.

While this Patton will deny his depression and many negative feelings, he is still not as upbeat as Happy-Pappy-Pal-Canon-Patton, matching more with how the side acts in more serious moments such as at the end of SvS redux. He will smile and comfort others, but laughter and puns are rarely seen.

Another thing about this dark side Patton is that he is very manipulative (a trait shifted from Janus to Patton), even if he doesn’t believe himself to be. He uses his role as “morale compass” to invalidate other’s opinions if they clash with his, and often emotionally hurts the sides he gets close to by caring for them and performing selfless acts for them to show his love (eg. makes breakfast for the other Darks sides every morning, goes out of his way to learn more about their interests so that they can have someone to talk to them about) followed by him simplifying complex morale dilemmas in a way that makes it appear that his option is the only correct one, making the others feel bad about their differing viewpoints (a bit like how Roman felt invalidated and morally wrong throughout SvSR as his views didn’t line up with Patton’s).

This Patton wears a worn out pale blue shirt with a fraying black jumper over the top, leaving only the collar of the shirt visible. He has frog features too; with blots of green skin scattered all over his body, slightly webbed hands and he croaks! The splodges grow larger the more emotion Patton represses. He also really doesnt like his frog features as they don’t align with the perfect image of himself that Patton has in his head, so he tries to cover them up as much as possible with his black jumper, pale blue gloves (leather ones as he tried woollen ones and his frog skin made them go sticky) and baggy trousers, although there isn’t much he can do to hide the blots on his face or his brown frog eyes....

(He’s also constantly worn out as frog-pops has no clue what self-care even means)

Extra note: Patton goes through a sort of alternate character development to canon Patton, where as he begins to be accepted by some of the Light Sides and Thomas they discuss how he doesn’t just represent Thomas’ negative feelings, but all of his feelings; a lot of them are just also accidentally repressed alongside the “bad” feelings. As time goes on Patton becomes more cheerful and goofy, even dropping the occasional dad joke, although never quite to the levels of canon Patton.

Extra extra note: The happier this Patton is, the less faded the blues on his clothes become (much like Virgil’s eyeshadow), until at moments of peak happiness his gloves and shirt are canon Patton blue (eg. when Thomas is with Nico, or when Janus and Thomas first accepted him). Cute blue embroidered designs also form on his black jumper at peak happiness, such as butterflies, simple cats, pawprints and frogs.

Logan:

So Logan is the only side I have decided to leave with the same official trait title: Logic, although he also has the orange trait Anger within him. He will also be taking the place of Virgil as the Dark Side who is prematurely accepted.

However Logan here is still different from canon Logan: he represses and denies his emotions even more than canon due to the other dark sides attitudes towards him (Delusional Roman in particular does not appreciate the truth bombs and logical reasoning the calculator watch drops), leading to more angry outbursts / orange showing through. This makes Logan a horribly unstable side, with him appearing completely apathetic to any sort of feeling for an undetermined period of time until he next reaches his limit and has an explosion of rage - he holds both Logic and Anger/Orange in him here, but the anger shows through a lot more due to his circumstances.

His clothes are always shredded and falling apart due to him tearing them when he’s angry + the rage can come out like an explosion that wrecks everything in his surrounding area, including the clothes on him. He sticks to plain black t shirts and trousers to start with as he claims he doesn’t see the point in putting effort into an outfit as he has no desire to please others.

However when Thomas starts making videos Logan can’t help but show up from time to time. He is unsure why as he could not care less what Thomas or the idiotic “Light Sides” think of him, though he figures while he’s there he might as well educate the buffoons so they can reach more informed, educated conclusions to their constant dilemmas.

At first the Lights don’t take his presence well, and more times than one he’d leave towards the end of an episode to explode in the privacy of his room. But surprisingly they eventually start listening to him, considering his inputs, and Logan leaves filming shoots satisfied, even popping into the Light Side’s area occasionally outside of filming days to talk to them.

However Logan notices a pattern as time goes on: the more he’s around the Light Sides, the less he goes Orange. He tests it by spending a week only hanging with the Lights and finds that his anger barely built up at all. Logan quickly reaches the conclusion that his orange trait isn’t actually uncontrollable, it’s how the others treated him that made it so hard to act civil. That is what leads to Logan hating the Dark Sides (much like canon Virgil does) and finally joining the lights.

Soon after being accepted Logan has an outfit change, where he goes from his burnt, tattered rags to his canon outfit, as he finally feels stable and appreciated enough to trust himself in not ruining a nice new Logic outfit. From then on his journey is about accepting that he has feelings and learning that they’re valid.

Extra note: Logan’s worst fear is the idea of going Orange in front of Thomas or the Light Sides - he finally has people who listen to him and if they see his orange side it might scare them off or they’ll lose any respect for him they had. Worst of all they could get hurt…

Extra extra note: Neither Thomas or any of the Light Sides apart from Janus are aware that Logan holds the Orange trait, believing that he only ever was Logic, just more apathetic to start with (and they actually all buy his reasoning of his old outfit being trashed due to him not caring enough about appearances to fix it, to Janus’s dismay but not disbelief - a bunch of himbos, the lot of them!).

Virgil:

Virgil still represents the “Fight or Flight” response in this AU, just without the excess Anxiety. His official title would be “Instinct”, and he would be more confident than canon Virgil. The decrease in anxiety would also make him better at making rational decisions, though he would still freak out and make not-so-great choices in stressful situations.

Rather than a spider, I decided to link this Virgil more strongly with a cat, with heightened senses, lightning reflexes and eyes that reflect light much like a cats. These additions also match with his change of aesthetic from patchwork emo to fantasy vigilante mixed with bright purple punk, plus the addition of purple eyeshadow applied actually correctly. I made this choice as both canon and this Virgil see themselves as a protector of Thomas, yet Virgil is still slightly more morally grey than the other 2 Light Sides (sort of like canon Logan) hence a darker design. Plus is it really Virgil at all if he doesn’t spend his free time listening to MCR?

Virgil also takes the role of canon Roman when it comes to Patton being accepted: he initially falls strongly for Patton’s caring qualities, with the Dark side helping sooth his anxious moments and suggesting that Thomas make other non-selfish options that don’t make Virgil feel as anxious as some of Janus’ options. So for Patton’s first few conflicts Virgil sticks up for him, claiming he’s not all bad. Then he witnesses how Patton’s selfless choices affect Thomas and realises he’s been manipulated; there was no reason to go all the way with Patton’s choice and hurt Thomas, yet Patton had convinced him that it was either his way or the wrong way, no compromises available.

So by the time Patton reveals his name Virgil really dislikes him and makes a snarky remark in which Patton replies with a jab at how he didn’t realise being Thomas’ protector meant that you could be as evil as you wanted with none of the consequences. Virgil’s equivalent line to Roman’s hero one could be something like “Don’t you trust me?” or “I thought I was your best friend?” - then again Roman’s hero line does work with this version of Virgil.

Janus:

This was one of the easiest traits to decide: with a lot of his more manipulative and deceitful traits being distributed between Patton and Roman, Janus is officially titled “Self-Preservation”, and while he doesn’t claim the father role like Patton does, he is still very much seen as a parental figure and guiding light for Thomas and the lights. He tries to be warm and welcoming to the Light sides (part of his role is to take care of Thomas, hence taking care of the parts that make Thomas), and they naturally gather around him as he gives off a safe aura.

However he is not quite as kind to the Darks - he still has the role of managing what truths Thomas can handle, so he controls which sides stay hidden from him. The darks being revealed tends to be down to him slipping up or the side finding a way around his defences more than by him deciding Thomas is ready to meet them, and each time it happens he beats himself up over it and tries to work harder to not let it happen again. The problem he doesn’t realise is that the slip ups tend to happen in the first place due to him overworking himself to make the others / Thomas happy - he doesn’t quite perform the self-care he preaches about.

I’m still not quite sure where I want to go with Janus’ outfit: the initial thought was to put him in a more Patton inspired attire, however this is still Janus, and he is still a theatrical boi. I ended up settling for a mainly cottage-core aesthetic with a flowy long sleeve yellow shirt made out of a light fabric, brown trousers and an overly large sunhat. He also drapes himself in bright patterned shawls and wraps (still predominantly yellow in colour) as while he doesn’t look as snake-like as he canonically does he still has certain snake traits, such as a weakness to the cold and a yellow tint to his left eye.

However snake features do begin to form later on into the AU as Thomas’ views on Lights and Darks alter over time: he begins to realise that despite how it appears Janus is not always in the right, such as how if it hadn’t been for mistakes Thomas would never have met the Darks and learnt to grow as a person - in fact if Self-Preservation got the say in everything he would likely do little growing whatsoever. He and in turn the other Lights begin to find Janus too stifling until SvSR happens where under the stress Janus becomes a true snake boi. The scales and proper snake eye don’t fade afterwards due to Thomas’ subconscious change in perspective, and while it is a big new insecurity at first over time Janus learns to accept these new changes to himself and the Mindscape, and begins adding a touch of darker mystical aesthetic to his look (slightly fantasy fortune teller based) to match his new look better - although cottage-core remains his go to!!

Extra note: In this AU Janus is definitely the side that would most likely be seen going around the Mindscape in a dress (Roman would also wear dresses on occasion but mainly only within his daydreams in the Imagination); he is all about taking care of yourself, and that includes wearing what makes you happy! Though I’m still kind of tempted to put him in a dress full time...

Extra extra note: while Janus is very much the “adult figure” in the Light Mindscape, he still has his goofy moments like in canon - in general he is more relaxed and jokey with the others...though he’s still a sarcastic shet.

(I struggled finding images that matched at all with the ideas in my head, so take these as very vague links to the actual design)

Remus:

Oh boy, Remus is a fun one...

So now that Roman is the twin known by a different title (like how canon Remus is referred to as “Intrusive Thoughts”), Remus now has claim to the Creativity role!! However Remus isn’t going to do a 180 personality wise - he’s still going to be a chaotic gremlin, just with a light side twist.

His design is purposely all over the place: his aesthetic is mainly pirate based with a long sleeve pirate shirt, loose black trousers and heeled black and silver pirate boots, alongside a dark green pirate jacket and slightly brighter bandana. However he has other seemingly random elements thrown in there, such as a white and green hero cape (fuck what Edna says) coming off the back of the coat, and random colourful potions in the green belt under his coat alongside a knight’s sword. This mismatched look is due to the type of imagination Remus provides: while he still represents and creates intrusive thoughts, he also creates adventure stories and life goals/dreams for Thomas, hence takes a form that has mixed elements from Thomas’ self-inserts and protagonists for said stories. While he personally loves his messy design (do you know how much fun can be had with magic potions, swords, tentacles, and a day in the Imagination? Remus sure does), it does cause some arguments between him and Logan over how illogical him and his ideas are (like canon Roman and Logan).

Roman makes this Remus....uncomfortable. Not necessarily because of his ideas (those are just dull and vomit-worthy in his opinion), but because of how he can’t separate dreams and reality - while Remus loves coming up with Imaginative stories for Thomas and setting slightly outlandish goals for the future, he has a level of awareness that Roman lacks in how he knows Thomas won’t ACTUALLY end up being a morally grey pirate travelling the seas to claim back the magical pendant of octopus powers (unless...). He’s also uneasy with how easily Thomas can fall for Roman’s delusions of grandeur and romance, in fact it opens up quite a major insecurity on how despite being the “good” twin his brother seems to succeed more as the creative role, eg. how Thomas will come up with a dream future career path, husband and even car in a matter of seconds yet Remus has to slave and hone in on decent ideas for weeks to reach his own standard.

This leads to another thing about Remus: while he doesn’t care what others think of his ideas (the trait I mentioned earlier that Roman was jealous of) he hold a high standard to himself and gets extremely happy when he perfects an idea. Besides he still wants his ideas to actually be used by Thomas as them being dismissed for not being good enough does hurt (a bit like how Remus got frustrated in the recent episode with how his “good” intrusive creations were being torn apart by Logan’s methods).

Extra note: The fact that Thomas doesn’t like or appreciate some of his darker ideas / intrusive thoughts doesn’t bother Remus too much as he tends to put less effort into them as he knows they won’t be liked - he just can’t help that they pop into his head and he has to get them out - repression is bad after all! However maybe there can be some episode drama about Remus wanting to be less stifled and have Thomas at least consider some of his more mature themes that he thinks would be good to expand upon.

Extra extra note: Just assuring the fact that Remus not caring what the others think about his work does not correlate with him not caring about the others. He loves his fellow Light Sides and Thomas - he’s just confident in his own craft and while appreciates advice and improvements from the others (he and Logan have a field day on creating biologically accurate gore together) he also is aware that HE is Creativity, and he understands his craft better than the others.

Extra extra EXTRA note: Wasn’t really sure how to put it in there but Remus still represents Thomas’ lust. Do with that what you want.

Thomas:

So all these changes to the sides....of course it has it’s effects on character!Thomas! However I’m getting REALLY tired now so this will be done in bullet points:

Not as Disney-centric as canon/real Thomas.

Has less issues with Anxiety, and more issues dealing with Depression

His morals start off a bit more flexible than canon due to always having we-live-in-a-society Janus as his guide

Still has intrusive thoughts, but not as debilitating with the lower levels of anxiety and the much better relationship with Remus.

Still overworks himself trying to help others (nice one Patton!)

Might have a different career due to Roman being more out the frame - maybe goes into writing instead with Remus’ more diverse form of creativity.

Does explore more diverse creative ideas and darker themes, but still out of habit sometimes puts down possibly good ideas as on surface level they appear too morally wrong.

However could possibly be in a non-creative career, and his major longing for a new career path could be what allows Roman through for the first time.

Less dad jokes but still incredibly goofy with both Remus and Janus being more present.

I think I’m going to wrap up there for now! I may make some art for this at some point, but I also want other’s opinions and ideas for this AU.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!!

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smallblip · 4 years ago

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Set phasers to stun!

Levihan | Rated for language/Mild mild mentions of doing the deed

It’s on Ao3! https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152473

Levi is second to Kenny in the Ackerman gang, it's a family business. Zoë Hanji walks up to him at a disco and the rest is history.

“Set phasers to stun, hot stuff?”

“Zoë.. I still don’t get that reference.”

It’s 9.30pm in Sina, the city that never sleeps. Neon flashes and the image of the serpent illuminates the wet cobblestone streets. It’s an institution- a club that has stood the test of time. It’s interior- an eclectic mix of red velvet couches, a disco ball, black and white tiling, and a disco dance floor. Everyone knows of it’s dubious ownership. Something about a gang- more specifically the Ackermans. But then again, you throw a pebble in Sina and you’re bound to hit an Ackerman establishment. Besides it’s the place to be, and it’s packed on a Friday night.

Who says disco is dead?

The music is good- the best in the city, the drinks are a little pricey but they are strong enough, and the DJ knows her well and queues her requests ahead of everyone else’s. There’s no other reason why it’s her favourite club, Hanji thinks.

She’s in the middle of her dance number to a medley of ABBA hits when she feels his gaze on her.

She makes her way over after he shakes his head at her attempts to get him to join her. She’s slightly disappointed that she has to leave in the middle of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, but it is what it is.

“Set phasers to stun, hot stuff?” Hanji says, coquettish.

“Zoë.” He says, “I still don’t get that reference.”

“Then maybe you should think about taking up my offer of a date, Levi...” Hanji says, slick as she leans against the counter.

“And your idea of a date would be to marathon the entirety of Star Wars?” Levi cocks an eyebrow and hands a drink to her.

“Star Trek. And yes. Maybe it’ll help you stay culturally relevant.” She accepts the drink and takes a gulp. A Long Island. Levi remembers. She grins.

“I’ll take your offer into consideration.” Levi says.

There are tattoos sprawling all the way up his neck and down to his hands and her eyes inevitably trail over the serpent tattoos on his chest that are peeking through his dress shirt. Levi notices, corner of his lips curving into a smile.

“So...” He says, “faculty still giving you problems for blowing up your lab?”

“Thank god no... I have the biggest research grant in the faculty, pretty sure they can’t get rid of me that easy. Plus the insurance covers so I’m good...”

“Maybe if you were more careful...” he chides, but his words are gentle and Hanji links her pinky with his. Definitely no other reason she loves this particular club.

“Wait for me, I have a few more songs queued,” she says, although some of the songs are medleys, but Levi doesn’t need to know that.

“One more song. I don’t have anything on tonight. We could go get something to eat.”

They compromise on two songs, with Hanji dragging Levi over to the dancefloor. “If I had known you were gonna dance with me, I would’ve picked a ballad...” she says in his ear as she tries to sway with him to Car Wash. “You didn’t give me much of a choice...” he replies as he twirls her.

The night air is welcome, and after a few hours in the club, Hanji’s ears are ringing. “Come on! I know a place!” She says, grabbing his arm as they make their way past the party people. They are sitting on a public bench as Hanji decimates a chicken shawarma. Levi’s face crumples in disgust as he watches her wipe the sauce off with the back of her hand, still, he passes the napkins to her wordlessly.

“It’s not good?” Hanji says, perplexed, “this is not a good shawarma?” Levi looks at her like she’s the biggest idiot. Because, of course it’s not good? It’s a dismal 1.9 stars in reviews online and their cleanliness leaves much to be desired.

“What gave you the idea it would be good?” Levi frowns, abandoning his greasy chips.

“It says so on the sign! ‘Best Shawarma in Town!’” Hanji says, and she’s climbing on the bench, waving her fist at the shop, “filthy liars!” she shouts.

And Levi laughs, pulling her down into his lap for a kiss.

→

The Serpent is busy on a Saturday night. It isn’t Nanaba and Mike’s typical scene, but Hanji’s enthusiasm for disco has always been contagious. Nanaba has acquired a taste for the Bee Gees.

Target acquired, Hanji makes her way across the dance floor. She excuses herself from her friends, and Nanaba holds Mike back before he can ask her where she’s going, I'll tell you later, she whispers harshly in Mike’s ear and waves Hanji off with a smile.

The crowd swallows her, moving to accommodate her form. She readjusts her dress. It’s black and tight and the slit threatens to expose more than Hanji is willing to show. Her usual club getup in a pile in the corner of her room, Hanji is wearing Nanaba’s dress and she thinks maybe her friend is an opportunist for passing her this particular article of clothing with a giggle and a casual “you can wear this Hans!”

There’s enough alcohol in her system to feel a buzz. Just enough to forget what Shadis had said about professionalism and having impeccable image and greater responsibility from here on, since she now tutors a bunch of freshers. She thinks maybe that can wait until tomorrow. Shadis was young once, he‘ll understand.

Besides, it’s the disco. Nobody here cares. It’s freeing and Hanji leans into it.

She makes her way to him once she decides she can’t get the slit to sit any better on her thigh. He’s alone at the bar, leaning against the counter, watching.

He turns his attention to her now, his hard gaze softening. His eyes wander, skimming across the neckline of her dress down to where her thigh is exposed. He clears his throat.

“What’s with this?” Levi gestures to her dress.

“This is me forgetting to do my laundry and having to borrow Nanaba’s clothes.” Hanji answers, eyes lighting up at an opening, she takes it, “like what you see?”

“You’re not your usual mess...”

“And you mind my usual mess?” She raises a brow.

“I never said I minded.“

Hanji wonders if it’s the spotlights or the gin, because her face is heating up. Someone is stumbling towards the bar counter, and Levi reaches to pull Hanji closer. His hand remains around her waist longer than necessary. But who’s talking about necessity. “You’re alright.” Levi says.

Hanji catches his gaze lingering on her lips and she smiles. He straightens, “how did your first tutorial go?”

“Aced it! Some of them even came for office hours!” Hanji beams, hands on her hips.

“Expected no less...” Levi says, lips curving into a smile.

Hanji grins, “so... Are you free tonight?”

“Maybe not tonight... I’ve got... Things to attend to...”

“Ah...” Hanji leans closer to Levi, “thug things?” She stage whispers.

Levi chuckles, “yeah.” He sets his empty glass down on the bar and he tells her he’s got some time to spare, and she gets his message. She tugs him towards the toilets, her other hand holding her dress down. They make out in one of the empty stalls and I Feel Love streams in, muted as it mingles in the air with the florescent lights.

“Apt...” Hanji murmurs against Levi’s mouth and he looks at her, quizzical.

“The song that’s playing... I Feel Love... It’s apt...” she answers, stilling the both of them so Levi can hear.

Levi laughs, he’s got a hand against the stall that she’s leaning against and he’s looking up at her. There’s a tint on his cheeks and his eyes are glazed over and Hanji takes it as her cue to kiss him again. And Levi’s hand slides along the curve of her waist, down to where the slit of her dress reveals bare flesh. His thumb circles against her skin and her breath hitches. He loosens his collar.

“We need to stop meeting like this...” Levi says, he’s going to be late for his appointment, but he’s transfixed and does nothing to indicate any sense of urgency. Work can wait.

“Mmm... But I like this... Reminds me of the first time we met...” She says as she kisses the beginnings of a smile on the corner of his lips.

“Can I see you tomorrow evening?” Levi says, breathless, because really, it’s stupid that they’re still playing this game. It’s not the 50s and he’s not a boy sitting in the bleachers singing about a girl he likes with his friends chiming in as backup. There is no need for the staring and the pining and the pretending to meet by chance at the disco.

“Finally taking up my offer on a date?” Hanji says, channeling all the composure she has left. But her breathing is heavy and her eyes are hooded, and the florescent lights are casting a lewd glow on Levi’s skin that makes her want to die. “I’ll see you at that diner at 7? The one near Sunset Boulevard. You know which one?” she asks.

“I know. You haven’t stopped talking about that diner.” Levi replies and presses one last kiss to her her cheek before he leaves.

When Hanji makes her way back to join Nanaba and Mike, her hair is a mess and although she’s managed to fix her makeup, there’s still a slight reddish stain where her lipstick was smudged, thank god for the lights.

The night ends with Mike holding a hand out for her as she steps up onto the bar counter to dance. Hanji usually has a certain amount of restraint by this time of the night but it’s the last song and they are playing Bad Girls, and that song has always made her feel some kind of way.

Nanaba is cheering her on before Hanji pulls her onto the bar to dance with her.

→

It’s 7pm and it’s crowded on Sunset Boulevard. There’s a good mix of people from small-time Politicians to thespians to bikers. Hanji has always loved this part of Sina, she thinks it’s apt for a date between a Chemist and a gangster.

Levi is dressed in a white tee and blue jeans and his leather jacket is folded beside him in the booth. And Hanji thinks maybe she’s projecting because she has grown up watching movies from the 50s and 60s. But she’s shamelessly staring at him, head held up by her hands as she sips on her milkshake.

He drinks his tea. And that snaps her from her reverie.

“Who comes to a diner and orders tea?”

“If you had taken two straws instead of one, we could be sharing that milkshake.” Levi says, impassive, and Hanji lights up like a bulb.

The food arrives and Hanji says between bites, “I’m learning so much about you... Levi likes tea, and Levi is not beneath sharing a milkshake with his favourite girl...”

Levi rolls his eyes, but his face breaks into a smile. Hanji hooks their ankles under the table.

“We could go to mine? Take the route along the river?” Hanji says after they pay the bill. She’s never one to beat around the bush and she grins when the realisation spreads on Levi’s face, he opens his mouth, but settles for a nod instead.

Hanji is holding Levi’s hand, even as the river meanders them through the fancy parts of the city. People are definitely staring, but Hanji is talking his ear off about the kids in her class and how they ask her about the process of producing meth and she just... tells them? Because it technically is just chemistry.

“How much detail did you get into?” Levi asks, raising a brow.

“Oh...” Hanji pulls a face that’s an embodiment of yikes, “a lot...”

Levi chuckles, “I’ll tell Kenny to keep a lookout for a bunch of brats graduating in three years...”

“Yeah you do that... The job market hasn’t been particularly kind these days, might actually be a good career option for them.”

People are staring at them because they kind of know who he is, and Hanji points it out with a there's people staring at you, Levi... That's what happens when you're hot huh...

“They’re staring at you weirdo...” Levi mutters, face heating, and Hanji is laughing with her head thrown back and the looks people give them get dirtier. But Hanji is equal parts crazy and just goddam brilliant, and nothing else matters. Except maybe-

“What do you want Kenny?” Levi growls into the phone.

“With that attitude it’s no wonder you can’t find a girl who loves you...” The voice barks through the receiver and Hanji stifles a laugh. “I need your ass down at the warehouse now!”

Levi runs his fingers through his hair and he’s closing his eyes, cursing whatever being that’s up there because they seem hell-bent on tormenting him.

“Thug things?” Hanji offers an apologetic look, “It’s okay... I’m a big girl, I can walk myself!” She says when Levi hesitates.

But really at this point she’s sorry for herself. It’s just been so long since she’s-, and she’s been thinking about Levi a little too much the curve of his lips and his-, and she wants nothing more than to-. Ugh. She bites down on the insides of her cheeks.

Levi sighs, a long-suffering breath of defeat, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a kiss. “Mmm... This was a nice date still...” she says, kittenish.

“I’ll make it up to you.”

→

Hanji thinks maybe it had been an oversight to sleep with someone in her postgraduate class. And the smartest one after her at that. Not to mention one who had also been aiming to do a PhD. Because now she’s in the same office as Erwin Smith and it’s kind of weird? Is it? She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, awkward. She opens her mouth to speak and Erwin sighs.

“Hanji... If you’re about to make another weird and honestly considering where we are,” Erwin gestures vaguely around their office, “inappropriate joke, I’m going to stop you right there.”

Hanji laughs and takes her seat across Erwin. “Wasn’t going to!” It had meant nothing. Just two people fooling around amidst the convenience of their shared love for organic chemistry. Hanji curses her younger self and what had been an inclination towards broad shoulders and solid pectorals. Hormones. Then again, it had meant nothing.

“So... What did you do over the weekend?” Erwin asks.

Hanji thinks about the about the bathroom stall of the club, and dancing on the bar counter, and the diner, and-

- and Levi.

She hopes her face isn’t giving anything away.

“Not much... You?”

→

And Levi does make it up to her. It's a Saturday and they are sitting on Hanji's couch marathoning Star Trek. Why are there so goddam many movies? Levi had said, exasperated. But he's on the third movie now and because of Hanji's unceasing commentary (except for when she sobs through The Wrath of Khan), he's starting to get it.

They make out on the couch mid-way through the fourth movie, with Hanji straddling him, and in the sliver of silence that makes its way between kissing and gazing at each other’s faces, Hanji chuckles a "this reminds me of the first time we met..."

Levi cocks an eyebrow, "how much of that night do you actually remember?" Hanji feigns a thoughtful expression, fingers tapping at her chin. "Not much..." she says honestly and Levi shakes his head, "you're hopeless," he says as he scrapes his teeth against her neck. She chortles.

Hanji's eyes flicker toward the television, it's a small movement, a little twitch, but Levi catches it. His face twists into something incredulous, and he's offended really, because it's probably the tenth ("sixth," Hanji corrects) time she's watched this and she’s choosing the movie over- over him? But they compromise and settle on pausing the movie for another time and moving to the bedroom.

→

It becomes a habit, this. This little unspoken arrangement. Hanji stays awake late to work on her paper, so she doesn't mind him knocking on the door at ungodly hours. And really she blames her dedication to her research for the mess she finds herself in one morning.

It starts with the jangle of keys outside her door, and by then, Levi is only just waking up. He shakes her when the footsteps approach, but it's far too little too late. Hanji only opens her eyes when she hears the screaming.

"Zoë Hanji! What is this!"

Hanji is fumbling for her glasses on the night stand and Levi hands them to her. Her eyes are wide and the adrenaline has chased all the sleep from her system.

“Mom? Dad?” Hanji and Levi have now hopped out of bed. She tries for words as she struggles to put her jumper on. She’s holding the duvet like a skirt around her otherwise very bare bottom, and it’s hard to manage that and putting clothes on. Levi helps her with the duvet. She doesn’t process that it’s Levi’s jumper and Levi has no choice but to put her t-shirt on. It’s big and old and Levi is Swimming in it. Well, at least he’s got pants on.

“Zoë! Who is this?”

“How can you just- You- You just came into my apartment?” She manages, because the sleepiness is gone, but the shock remains. Levi is completely mortified, he wishes the ground would swallow him faster because he’s standing there in a shirt with the words “my best friend went to Shiganshina and all I got was this crappy shirt” printed on it in tacky font.

“Our apartment! Don’t forget we own it Zoë! Now who is this! Don’t tell me you’ve been associating with gangst-“

“This is Levi... My boyfriend.”

Levi’s pulse quickens at that word. He gapes at Hanji, then at her parents, then at Hanji again. He wonders if it’s normal for people to turn that shade of grey because Hanji’s parents look every bit petrified. Mrs. Hanji points a trembling finger at him, she looks like she’s about to cry.

“What about Erwin? He’s a nice boy,” her father supplies and she caves, “dad... We were never together...”

There’s chatter, bits of ‘but you brought him home for dinner’ and bobs of ‘he’s doing his PhD too isn’t he?’

“I brought him to dinner to appease you...” Hanji says, her patience hanging by a thread because her mom is yelling something incoherent and her dad is still going on about Erwin.

Finally her mom had enough. “This is just a phase Zoë!”

“I’m twenty seven... I don’t think phases apply anymore?” Hanji laughs humourlessly.

Then the door slams after her mom shouts something about an ultimatum. Something about breaking up with Levi or getting evicted from the apartment.

“That was waaaay too much for the morning...” Hanji says, her voice slicing through the tension that had grown thick around them. She’s feigning an ease that does nothing to hide how frazzled she is. “Sorry about that... My mom can be a bitch when she’s angry... And well... She’s always angry...”

The insults Levi can handle, he’s heard worse. But seeing Hanji like this-

“Look... Your parents aren’t wrong... This isn’t... Usual...”

“I don’t get it though? I mean this city is practically run by the Ackermans! So really, it’s like dating the mayor’s son?”

“Zoë...” Levi chuckles, “it’s not the same?”

Hanji pauses to think. With her scholarship, surviving without the apartment wouldn’t be too difficult. But rent is steep in Sina and this means she’ll probably have to find an apartment on the outskirts. Then she’d have to travel, and everyone knows how Zoë Hanji is with punctuality-

“Does Kenny need someone in clandestine chemistry? I’m really good at-“

Levi cuts her off before she gets too invested in her ridiculous idea. “I don’t want you to be put in a spot because of me...”

“No!” Hanji points a resolute finger at Levi, “I don’t like the way this sounds we’re not breaking up!” And a quieter, thoughtful, “wait... Are we?”

Levi sighs, sitting back down on the bed. He tugs on Hanji’s arm and she’s sitting on his lap, and suddenly she’s limp and sad and there’s that very real chance that this might be it.

“What do you think of us?” Levi asks.

Her mouth moves faster than her brain, it’s a curse, Hanji’s been told. “We’re writing Yelp reviews now?” It’s quiet and Levi deadpans. He waits for her answer, he’s patient, and he knows her well enough.

She recalls the boys she has dated, the boys she’s kissed, and the grey area in between that had been Erwin, and she’s never felt like this. Hanji lets out a sigh. “Best I ever had... You?”

“Same.”

“Ha... My only satisfied customer then,” she hooks her arms behind his neck grins down at him.

“Okay...” Levi says, considering, “okay... Would you like to move in with me?”

Hanji’s eyes widen because is Levi really asking if she would like to- “huh? You- you mean it?”

“Sure... It’s a studio and there isn’t much space but you could save on rent.”

“And?” Hanji’s eyes light up, dopey smile plastered on her face.

Levi rolls his eyes, “and...” he sighs, “it would be nice... Living with you...”

“Wait... Really?” As much as Hanji teases, she’s mostly surprised they made it this far. It’s a long way from disco to cohabitation and Hanji had been pretty certain Levi would lose interest somewhere along the way. But he’s... Still here? “You don’t mind that I create a mess?”

“No. I do mind that you create a mess...” he shifts his weight and dumps Hanji on the bed. “But I would still like for you to move in with me...” Levi is hovering over her now, and Hanji thinks she really lucked out because she thinks he looks good even though he’s wearing her ridiculous shirt that’s slipping at his shoulders. It’s a weird look. But even so, it’s cute and Hanji has heart eyes.

“When you’re done staring I need an answer...”

“I’m not going to deny you the pleasure of living with me if that’s what you really want Levi...” she drawls, shrieking when Levi’s fingers dig into her sides. “Also it seems like the right time... I mean... You’ve already met my parents...”

Levi groans. It certainly hadn’t been ideal.

“You introduced me as your boyfriend.”

“Oh... About that...” Hanji says, and Levi thinks it’s amazing that Hanji actually has the capacity to be embarrassed.

“I don’t mind...” Levi says. Because he’s never really had a girlfriend, life hasn’t permitted him the convenience of labels, but now looking at Hanji, her hair splayed out on the sheets, her legs hooking lazily around his waist, how she’s beaming at him, he thinks labels could work.

→

“Where am I going to go then?” Hanji is distraught, but it can’t be helped.

The notice for renovation has been filed and The Serpent will be closed for a few months. The flooring needs to be retiled and the velvet needs replacing. But I like that it’s worn... It has character... Hanji had said. But it’s getting unsanitary and grimy and well, it can’t be helped.

The Rose stands in the swankier parts of town. It’s new and shiny and the kids love it. It’s a different crowd from The Serpent, so of course Nanaba has heard of it.

“It’s the best Hans... It’s... Contemporary...” she says as delicately as she can possibly manage, and Hanji pulls a face. But it’s not the same.,,

Although Hanji hates the music, it shares the same dubious ownership as The Serpent and Levi is there this particular Wednesday night. So is her whole tutorial class apparently. But she doesn’t realise that until she has her tongue shoved down Levi’s throat in one of the back hallways leading to the emergency exit. Of course they had to chance by. Of course they travel in a pack.

It’s Armin who breaks the silence. “M-miss Hanji?” He says, part mortified and part really embarrassed. They break apart and she’s greeted by five faces staring owlishly at them.

→

Hanji thinks maybe it had been an oversight that whole incident at The Rose. She had been in an unfamiliar territory, besides she should’ve known the probability of bumping into someone she knew was high. It’s a different crowd from The Serpent after all.

She thinks about this now because Erwin Smith is very well-positioned within the students gossip circle. And it’s weird?

“You’re dating an Ackerman... So I’ve heard?”

“As far as I’ve heard... No?” Hanji tries. She types nonsense on her keyboard.

“Don’t deny what my sources confirm Hanji...” Erwin is grinning with all the confidence in the world, “so... Which one?”

“Kenny The Ripper, of course.” Hanji puffs her chest and grins back. Foolish. She should’ve known Erwin isn’t stupid.

“Based on what the students have described... I hypothesise... Levi Ackerman?”

Erwin catches the flicker in Hanji’s eyes. Ah. Got it.

“Gossiping with the students? Mr Smith... I’m very disappointed in you...” Hanji tsk-tsks, and mutters a quieter “hypothesise? Who says that in real life?” under her breath.

Erwin shrugs. “Entertainment is hard to come by these days...”

→

“So... Erwin knows...”

“The kids told him?” Levi is shirtless, and drying himself with a towel and Hanji nearly loses the point of the story.

“Can you believe it? They’re little rats! All of them!”

Levi grunts. “Well, Kenny knows too...”

“Fuck!” Hanji exclaims. “He saw?”

"No... He guessed. Something about me looking less constipated.”

“Ha! Charming...” Hanji laughs.

“Wait... Have we been trying to be discrete?” Hanji ponders, sitting herself on the counter top.

“Apparently the whole of Sina doesn’t seem to think so...” Levi is tidying her stuff off the dining table, pulling a pile of notes here, a few books there.

“Does it matter?” She asks.

Levi shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. This seems to be a permanent arrangement, so people can start getting used to it.”

“By the way your soup is burning,” Levi interrupts Hanji mid-swoon and she’s yelling the most creative string of swears he’s ever heard. Between peals of laughter Levi thinks this is definitely the best arrangement he’s ever been in.

"Ah fuck... I put effort into that soup...” she’s still staring at said soup, but Levi is already taking out the stew he made the previous night from the freezer and putting it in the microwave for her.

“Oh well..." She sighs, pouring the soup down the sink, "perhaps man wasn’t meant for paradise..." Hanji says, and waits with bated breath, grin on her face.

Levi furrows his brows, “Captain Kirk?” And he doesn't know whether to be impressed or slightly disappointed at himself that he knows.

Hanji punches a triumphant fist in the air and whoops.

→

It’s midnight in Sina, the city that never sleeps. Zoë Hanji is the disco queen of the late 2010s, and she graces her neon empire. She’s also now Dr. Zoë Hanji, and they’re here to celebrate that. She walks up to the bar with a purpose.

“Hey handsome, wanna go some place else?” Hanji purrs in the man’s ear.

“Can’t...” the man turns to face her, “I’m married.”

“I’m sure your wife wouldn’t mind... Levi Ackerman...” Hanji‘s fingers dance across his forearm, she laughs when she feels goosebumps rising in her wake. “What’s she like anyway this wife of yours?”

“Untidy as fuck, not very clean, and she never stops talking.”

Hanji throws her head back and guffaws, completely unhinged, and Levi snorts. “She sounds absolutely delightful!” Hanji says, her face mere inches from his, this game making her a little impatient.

“Yeah...” Levi says, and thankfully he’s pulling her close, his arm hooked firm around her lower back, “she’s stunning.” With that Levi closes whatever minuscule distance between them and he’s kissing her deep. All soft lips and pressing and unpressing, and Hanji is breathless when they pull apart. She’s speechless for a moment and Levi thinks this is the best way to shut her up, the only way he can bear too. “And as of today, she’s also a Doctor,” Levi adds, there’s awe and admiration in the softness of his smile and in his eyes when he looks at her, and Hanji feels like when black and white transitioned into technicolor.

And between a month (or two) of Levi being patient when Hanji ignores him to finish up her thesis, and them eloping to get married in a little chapel (Kenny had insisted on solemnising the wedding dressed as Elvis), she stops anticipating for things to fuck up.

“Now go... Your friends are staring...” he says, gaze flickering over to the Erwin, Mike and Nanaba who had indeed been gaping. They’re looking away now, averting their gazes here and there, sheepish. “Also... Did you get the milk?”

Hanji shouts a swear, and she makes the most guilty face she can muster. Levi rolls his eyes and lets out a long-suffering sigh, “I'll get it tomorrow morning...”

And Hanji grabs his face between her hands and kisses him silly.

“If you wanna dance you know where to find me!” She’s says and Levi tells her to congratulate Erwin on his behalf. Levi sets his glass down and leaves to the docks, something needed taking care of, but he should be able to make it back in time to get Hanji.

It's Prince night and Hanji doesn't ask put in queue requests with the DJ for Prince night because they're all hits! Hanji knows all the lyrics by heart and sings along to all the songs.

The club is emptying out by 3a.m. and Levi makes it back in time for the last song. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World is playing when he finds Hanji in the thinning crowd and dances with her.

"Apt..." He murmurs against her mouth when she reaches down for a kiss.

"Huh?" She says, a little dazed, the arms around her waist pull her in closer.

"The song... It's apt..." Levi says and she beams.

#levihan #levi ackerman #shingeki no kyoujin levi #hanji zoe #hanji #hange #hange zoe #levihan fanfic #levihan fanfiction #modern au #hanji loves disco #levi loves hanji #it's a good time #snk #aot #mine #my fic

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mirage-05 · 5 years ago

Text

The Rescue Mission

Okay, another fanfiction collab between me and @eleanor-devil , one that’s a little more centered on Stingyu or Sting Eucliffe and Yukino Aguria from Fairy Tail anime who had taken over our lives XD Again, this roleplay is part of a future big project. Small notes, the guild Lion Heart is a fan guild created by me that resides in Shirotsume town, to the north of Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. The OCs Nereia, Milo, Allen and Nevaeh belong to me, while Seth and Natsumi belong to @eleanor-devil . Chana belongs to one of our friends who is not on tumblr. We also introduce another key here as Yukino’s trusted spirits, which was actually bought to her by Sting in ways of an apology after his inconsiderate act when Yukino wanted to go onto the Lupus mission (you can find our RP about that on our pages too). Draco, from the constallation of the dragon, is the leader of the minor constallations (just like Leo is the leader of the zodiac) and he is heavily based on the legend of Ladon in Greek mythology, the draon who stood guard over the garden of Hesperides, or the twilight gardens, which held the tree with golden apples, which are said to grant immportality to whoever eats it. This story takes place during the one-year time-skip between the Tartarus and Avatar arcs.

Feedback is highly appreciated people!

----------

‘Damn, we're not going anywhere like this...' Sting thought, gritting his teeth, panting as he took the scene in front of him. He had no idea how this mission was going to turn into their hardest yet when Lion Heart members came to them with the urgent request - two of their members had gone missing for days now and were last seen in the area near which Sabertooth was based in. They had been warned about the risks - Nereia Caldiona, a matron of Lion Heart, a powerful dimensions mage and also the grandmother of one of the said missing mages, had apparently been researching this portal for some time now and suspected connections to a demon realm. What the three mages of Sabertooth had never expected however, was...

A bone-chilling laugh echoed in the night air, it was hard to believe that this was actually coming from a thirteen year old boy... from whom they needed to expel the demon before it did even more serious damage, but so far, they had been unsuccessful. Even with Allen, who was a demon summoner, Nevaeh, who was a frigging demon herself, and the unison raid he and Rogue just pulled through... this demon who possessed Milo was on a whole another level...

"Seriously, is this the best you can do?" A low chuckle came from the young boy now. "All I had to do was to flick my finger..."

Seeing what was coming, Sting leaped from the rock behind which he had been hiding and pushed Yukino out of the way of an attack, which smashed the place the celestial mage was standing behind.

The two mages fell on the hard ground just as the pieces of the destroyed rock rained on them, the young boy laughed in a way that made everyone fighting against him feeling a chill down their spine . Sting and Yukino raised their heads, how were they going to get through this? How were they going to save Milo from himself?

"You fools didn't understand yet did you? You don't have the power to defeat me but I have the power to destroy all of you and I'm going to have so much fun doing it...!" an evil grin made it's way to the boy's lips. "And you being the fools you are... you just fed me even more power with that little unison raid of yours!"

Both Sting's and Rogue's eyes widened, what...? How?! Their attack should've at the very least injured the demon, how did it have the opposite effect?!

"...the Shadow..." they heard Allen mumble. "It was the shadows that powered it, this is a shadow demon...!"

“So my power... wasn’t enough...” the white dragon slayer mumbled, but it wasn’t much of a question, rather a statement. Of course... he and Rogue were equal in power (it had been a long time since he fought his brother and it always tended to end up in a draw), so the shadow couldn’t overpower light, and vice versa... of course, they had fought demons before (like in Tartarus) so it never occurred to him their raid wouldn’t work against one...

And shadow type of magic had one weakness, one only… “Huh.” His breath came out in a huff when realization hit, but it wasn’t a sound of surprise.

“Watch out!” Nevaeh suddenly transported to in front of them, deflecting another attack from the demon. She was really the only one among them who could keep up. “Don’t let your guard down, we need to come up with something quick.”

“Right.” A resolution settling in his indigo eyes, Sting got to his feet, helping Yukino up too in the process. “I think I finally got this.”

The tone in his voice, the strange calm... no, serenity... made his fellow guild mates frown slightly at him. “What... are you talking about...?” Rogue asked slowly, although he was somehow afraid of the answer.

"Since it's clear that our combination isn't going to work..." his eyes looked more determined than ever. "I will use my magic on my own."

Rogue's eyes widened in surprise, as well as the eyes of the others present. "What... do you mean on your own...? What are you planning Sting?" The tone in the Shadow Dragon Slayer's voice was urgent, worried and... almost angry, if his twin was implying what he thought he was...

"My magic can purify anything, the demon that possessed Milo is a shadow demon, it's only natural what it's weakness is." his matter-of-fact tone wasn't helping at all, like what he was about to do wasn't something that big and it only made the anger in Rogue starting to boil. Sting suddenly felt the other Sabertooth member grabbing him tightly by the collar of his jacket, his eyes matching his voice as he spoke.

"Are you mad?! You have seen how strong that demon is, if you use your magic on your own you'll...!"

Sting put both his hands on Rogue's, gripping them and forcing them to release his collar but the determination never left his indigo eyes. "I am quite aware of what will happen, Rogue."

"Sting-sama...!" now Yukino joined the conversation but none of the other members of the team dared intervene... it was a personal matter between the members of Sabertooth after all...

"It's alright, Yukino, it's what must be done."

"It's not alright you big dumbass!" The thought of Sting perishing was too much for Rogue to handle, there was a knot starting to form in his throat.

"No." And again Yukino spoke, more serious this time.

“I’m not gonna let this demon run free you two.” The blond said again, still damnably calm but just with the tint of exasperation in his tone. “We can’t wait for backup, we don’t have that much time, and this is a one-time deal, so I’m-“

“No!” Their celestial mage interrupted once again, and the sudden determination in her eyes matched that of Sting’s own as she took a step towards their master, looking him straight in the eyes. “It’s not the only way.”

The twins were both taken aback, both by the fierceness in the girl and her words. “Yukino...”

“Sting-sama, please...” And her pleading tone was genuine too, her voice shaky... what the master had suggested was horrible, too terrifying to even wrap her mind around... Yukino’s brown eyes were brimmed with tears, although she didn’t let them fall. “Please, let’s... do this together.”

Now the blond was truly surprised. “W-What do you mean together?”

“Are you suggesting... a unison raid??” Rogue’s tone was a mix of surprise and... wonder... “But... you should have a spirit who can channel light magic for that...”

The girl smiled, soft... “And so I do.” From her keys she pulled out one... and to his astonishment, Sting immediately recognized that one. The one he bought for her... “Draco, the dragon... he has twilight based powers. I dare say he would be enough to supply you.”

The master frowned slightly, what Yukino was offering could’ve made perfect sense, only... “We never tried unison raid before with you, we don’t know how it will affect you... I don’t want you to take the risk-“

The girl took his hand, almost desperate now. “And we can’t have you risk your life like this, master! You... you are too important for us... for the whole guild...!”

Rogue was silent, pondering on the suddenly proposed solution... it was dangerous... the reason he and Sting were capable of performing Unison Raid without any problems was because of their harsh training and also because both of them were Dragon Slayers, their power was even to put it mildly.

Now it wasn't that Yukino was weak, on the contrary, she was really strong. If anything served as proof, this woman was capable of summoning the thirteenth zodiac gate, a dark key no less, and control Ophiucus at her will despite it being a key that, as the girl had once stated, she did not trust.

But what worried the Dragon Slayer was actually what they were against, an extremely powerful demon that had just used his shadow powers to enhance itself and truth is, Sting was a Dragon Slayer and Yukino a Celestial Spirit Mage... what they really could use was Demon Slayer but...

"Sting... do it." the black haired man finally spoke. "It might be our only chance to put an end on this."

"But-"

"Once your light has done it's damage we can have Nevaeh and Allen take care of the rest." The determination in the red eyes was strong, Sting was worried something bad would happen but... maybe it was their only chance. Sighing, the blond finally squeezed back Yukino's hand, standing straight next to her. "Okay... let's do it."

A big smile made it's way to the girl's lips as she raised her hand in the air. "Open, Gate of the Dragon... Draco!"

Smoke surrounded the area where the mages were, a low but dangerous growl coming from it, bright yellow eyes shining through the dust. Those that had never met the Dragon Spirit felt a chill go down their spines.

The dust cleared up, finally revealing the full form of the beast. A giant, majestic dark red dragon with bright yellow eyes spread its wings in the air, it had no legs but rather a large body connected to the tail that protectively surrounded the two mages in a spiral.

Sting allowed his body to be surrounded by the enhanced strenght of his Dragon Force and channelled it towards the girl next to him, bathing her equally in the same holy white light. The only difference really was that his body was covered in their usual white scales of this form and Yukino wasn't.

They heard the demon in front of them laughing crazily. "You are planning to slay me with Dragon Slayer Magic and a Celestial Spirit? You are stupider than I thought!" It raised the boy's finger. "Vanish you miserable insects!" And it flicked the finger.

As the next attack was readied against them, both Sting and Yukino opened their mouths to recite the spell. "Holy Twilight Ray!"

From that it was all a big blur... Sting watched as the light created from their unison raid, bright and blinding, rushed to meet the attack that was sent by the demon... he saw it overpowering the attack, giving them their beacon of hope, this would work out... But just then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Draco's huge form shifting... there was a big explosion sound, and the last thing the white dragon slayer felt was the warmth of Yukino's hand, grabbing his tighter, before they were tossed in the air with the force of the explosion and everything went black...

...

For a moment, he could hear nothing but... ringing. Everything felt blurry, like there was a big sponge in his head, blocking everything... But bit by bit, things started coming back to him. "Sting... Sting...!"

He would knew that voice anywhere. But something in it now made the blond smirk slightly before finding his voice to answer him. "Rogue..." he croaked, and had to gulp to sound more understandable. "Are you... crying...?" Not that it was something to be laughed at, he himself had never hid his emotions, but... it was a little uncharacteristic for the black haired man after all.

He could've sworn he heard his twin growl. "No you idiot. You just pulled a dangerous unison raid, you didn't come to for a minute... I guess I should be laughing."

His brother's words only brought more to his attention that... the warmth he felt just before the explosion was no longer claiming his hand... The master felt his hand closing in a fist as he finally opened his eyes, taking in the night's sky for a moment before looking up at Rogue. "Yukino.. where is Yukino...?"

And he saw the sad look that suddenly made its way to his brother's red eyes, Sting didn't like it one bit and promptly tried to move only to feel his body completely sore and burning in pain. "What... happened Rogue...?!"

The Shadow Dragon Slayer looked down for a bit before moving his eyes towards a scenario a bit far from them. "There is... another member of Lion Heart healing her but... she is not waking up..."

Sting's eyes widened and he once again moved to sit up, fighting against the burning feeling all over his body until Rogue extended his arms and helped him sit. The Sabertooth Master stared ahead and saw Nevaeh holding the unconscious Celestial Spirit mage in her arms as a blond haired man, that Sting did not recognize from the earlier group, with his hands open over the girl's chest as a light green glow came from it. This was wrong... this had all gone wrong...! "Yukino!"

Sting tried to get up only to have his whole strenght taken away as an unbearable pain came from his leg and spread through his body, forcing a yell of pain to come from his mouth. Rogue was immediately by his side, helping him sit up again. "Sting... what's wrong...?!"

"My... leg... ugh!" the blond reached for the right leg. "I can't move it...!"

And the shadow dragon slayer's eyes drifted to his leg, immediately noticing the problem. Sting's leg was standing at an odd angle, and he was so worried about Yukino that he wasn't aware of it, that idiot... "Stand still," he told his twin, his voice soft. "I will have Seth help you after he finished healing Yukino."

"Yukino..." Sting mumbled again, he could bear any pain now if it just meant Yukino would wake up soon... "We should never have done this... never..." He felt Rogue grabbing his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

The blond man standing over Yukino sighed and the green glow slowly died down. "I did what I could. We should take her to Chana-san immediately." He looked at the brunette holding the celestial mage. "You can handle that, Nevvie?"

"Yes, of course." the girl said promptly, being a demon granted her more strength than what would be expected from a woman of her size. Balancing the white haired mage in her arms, she got up, and was soon gone. It was then that the blond lion turned his attention to them. "Okay, now let's get you settled."

"Where is she taking her?" Sting asked quickly, not that he wouldn't trust Nevaeh of course, he just had to know.

"To Lion Heart, to my master." The other blond replied, than looked at the shadow dragon slayer. "You might wanna hold him. This is not going to be pretty."

Just then Allen appeared next to them, carrying an unconscious Milo, now apparently back to his normal form "I'm going to take Milo back as well, he is back to normal but I don't know the extents of the sealing." Seth looked up at the man and nodded.

"We will reach you once I'm done but it might take a while." Allen gave a short nod and then he too was gone. The long blond haired man turned his attention back to Sting who was clearly now in distress, most likely from the leg he thought.

The green glow returner to his hands and Rogue grasped Sting's shoulders, he himself sweated hard when he started hearing the cracking of his friend's bones moving and even more when a painful scream left the blond's throat. The Shadow Dragon Slayer didn't even want to imagine the pain he was going through.

And then Sting instinctively moved, like trying to escape from the pain, his hands gripping hard whatever he could find. "Sting don't move! I know it hurts but you need to hold on!"

"Holy- SHIT!" The white dragon slayer's body arched upward, despite what Rogue just said he couldn't stop trashing, the pain was nothing he had ever experienced before nor that he would want to ever re-experience! "Stop... make it stop please!" If he was given a choice to endure a full day of ride on a train or this, he would jump on the train right now, and it was no secret how he hated transportations!

"Sting, listen to me." And this was Seth this time, the white dragon slayer kinda wanted to punch him for sounding so damn calm while torturing people. "I know it's bad but if you just let me do my job, it won't take long. Don't damage your leg more than it already is..."

"Easy... for you... to say...! Aaggh!!" His breathing was harsh and he was sweating probably more than he ever had in his entire life. This was fucking unbearable!

He heard Seth sigh, still calm as ever and then his amber eyes switched to Rogue who still had a look that clearly questioned what he should do in this situation. "If he doesn't stop-" he didn't even had the time to finish his sentence as Sting's body arched up again and this time accidentally hit with his forehead against Rogue's, making the black haired boy suddenly let him go to hold his own face and now bleeding nose.

"Holy shit Sting...!" He moaned in pain and Seth just sighed again.

"Knock him down, it's the only way I will be able to heal him properly."

“I can do that...” the shadow dragon slayer mumbled. “I’m sorry Sting... this is for your own good...” And with a well placed punch, the blond was out of it. Rogue was glad he couldn’t hear his screams again, it was never easy to go through listening to someone in immense pain. Although he would rather have that than... the thought of what could’ve happened if Yukino and Draco wasn’t there sent chills down his spine.

He took a look around, at all the damage from the last explosion... to be fair, it was a miracle that they were all still standing. Somehow, it felt like they were shielded... but how, he didn’t know.

All the while, the healing mage had worked his magic, silent and serious. When he finished, Rogue was ready to get up and carry Sting back to Lion Heart for further treatment... but Seth shook his head. “I should treat to your nose first.”

...

He didn't know where he was, he didn't remember clearly what had happened but he did know that currently he was lying against something soft and warm.

Sting's blue eyes fluttered open and he was met with what seemed like the first rays of the day, the light coming from the window forced the Dragon Slayer to re-close the eyes for a moment until he was ready to adjust his vision.

"Ugh..." His body was aching but what was really aching was his leg. "Where... am I...?" he wasn't making the question to anyone in particular, he was still acknowledging his surroundings so he did not expect when suddenly a tiny figure hugged him as tightly as the tiny hands allowed.

"Sting-kun!" He could recognize that voice anywhere. "You're awake!"

"Le... ctor...?" He only moved his head slightly up but he could see the Exceed crying.

"I came as fast as I could! Rogue-kun said you have been sleeping for hours!"

"Rogue...? Ugh... where am I...?"

"In the hospital of Shirotsume Town, yes!"

Sting frowned at the word. Hospital...? But why-

His eyes widened and a gasp escaped his mouth as the dragon slayer suddenly remembered everything. The mission, the demon that possessed the young Lion Heart member, and the unison raid with Yukino... “Where... is Yukino...?”

A shadow passed over the exceed’s face, Rogue-kun had told him this would probably be the first thing Sting would ask... and he didn’t want to send his friend in a panic, but he also couldn’t hide things from him forever. “She is also in the hospital Sting-kun...”

“A-and did she wake up yet?” The blond’s voice was a little higher now, his hands curled up on the bedsheet.

“Well, apparently the doctors say it won’t take long...”

“Lector...” it hadn’t escaped Sting’s attention that his friend was avoiding the question... and he didn’t like this, he didn’t like what he was about to find out.

Lector’s ears fell, and his gaze was sad when he looked at the blond. “No... no, she hasn’t.”

"Oh..." Sting's eyes fell and his hands gripped thesheets. "Tch... damnit... this is all my fault..."

"Sting-kun... you couldn't have known..."

"Yes I could...!" He nearly yelled. "I knew how powerful that demon was and I let her convince me into doing that Unison Raid...!"

Lector watched his friend sadly, just what could he say to make Sting feel better? When... when Sting was already claiming the whole blame...? And what he had to show him wasn't exactly going to help either...

The Exceed spread his wings and flew over the bedside table, apparently grabbing something but Sting didn't even know what it was until he landed again on the bed and took a few steps forward.

"Um... R-Rogue-kun retrieved Yukino-kun's key... but um..." yet again the tone at his voice was what made Sting look up and he didn't need much to have his eyes widened...

Sting felt a knot form in his throat as he carefully took the key into hands, holding it fully in his open palm. "God... what..." The key was cracked and not just a little...! It was like it would break into tiny pieces at the slightest touch. Suddenly flashes of the Unison Raid came to his mind... that moment he had seen Draco move... that must have been when...! "It protected us..."

“Y-yeah, that was Rogue-kun’s guess too...” Lector felt even more helpless as Sting bowed his head to the bed, a slight shaking to his shoulders.

“Damnit... dammit... how am I gonna explain this to Yukino... or make up for her...” He knew how great a bond the celestial mage had with her spirits, and now he felt especially horrible... this was going to be devastating for Yukino...

He was afraid of voicing it, but he still had to ask. “W-what would happen to him though... I-I mean is he... gone...?” Of course he didn’t expect Lector to have the answer to that, but he couldn’t help it.

Lector answered him anyway. “Apparently Rogue-kun talked to Natsumi-kun about it... who is the celestial mage of Lion Heart.” Well apparently the term for Natsumi’s magic was different, but it wasn’t relevant, the principals were more or less the same. “And she said as long as the key isn’t completely... gone... there is a high chance of Draco to heal in the celestial spirit world and come back... eventually...”

"Even with... the key like this...?" he didn't know much information about Celestial Spirit Magic but when a key is this damaged... wouldn't summoning it again be a risk? Wouldn't it break?

"Rogue-kun thought the same but according to Natsumi-kun, the keys can eventually heal as well, the same way the Spirit heals too... they only cannot heal when it's completely broken, yes." So there was still hope for Draco to come back... that was a relief at least...

Sighing the blond pushed aside the covers of the bed and sat up with the intention of getting off the bed. Immediately Lector went into danger mode and spread his wings to prevent Sting from doing so. "S-Sting-kun you can't get out of bed yet, you're still healing!"

"I need to get to Yukino, Lector... I can't leave her alone." The moment he put his bare feet on the floor and attempted to get up, a striking pain made him flinch and nearly lose his balance. He didn't fell for he reached with his hand for the bedside table and sustained his weight there, along with Lector who was already holding the back of his shirt.

"Get back to bed, Sting-kun!"

But he should know by now how the Dragon Slayer was more stubborn than a mule when he set his mind on something. "I am going to her, even if I have to jump on a foot to get there...!"

And that's exactly what he did, sustaining his balance on the good leg and pushing slightly up the injured one, Sting started jumping towards the door under Lector's panicked look. He successfully reached for the door's knob but right in that moment the very same one opened abruptly, causing the Dragon Slayer to lose his balance and fall flat on his butt.

"Ow ow! Damnit!"

"What is going on here...?" the familiar voice of his "twin brother" reached his ears, making Sting stop moaning in pain and look up at the black haired man.

Lector, the traitor, immediately answered Rogue. “Sting-kun wants to go see Yukino-kun, although I told him to stay in bed, yes.”If anyone could knock sense in his friend, after all, it was the shadow dragon slayer... and indeed Rogue was frowning now.

“I’m gonna help you to bed now, Sting, and this is final.”

“I won’t.” If it wasn’t for the dead serious look on his face, Sting’s tone could be only classified as childish. “I have to see Yukino. Now.”

Rogue’s eyes turned soft, but unrelenting. “She’s gonna be fine. Both Chana-san and the doctors say she will make a full recovery, we will just have to wait a bit and be patient.”

“I can’t be patient!” The blond’s voice was urgent, almost desperate. “How do you even expect that from me when it’s my fault she is in that state to begin with?!”

The look in the red eyes hardened and without answering him, Rogue walked over to his twin and put an arm beneath his, supporting him up despite all of the white dragon’s protests and carrying him over to the bed.

“Now you’re gonna listen to me.” He said, his tone so serious that it was almost scary. “It’s not your fault what happened, and if it wasn’t for Yukino, who is healing, it would be you we would be waiting for to wake up... or worse. So yes, you’re gonna stop complaining and yes, you will wait patiently.”

It wasn’t always that Sting was intimidated by his brother, but... he certainly was now. “Rogue...”

The shadow dragon slayer sighed. “I’ll go and see if they can arrange a wheelchair or something. But until then, don’t try anything stupid.” And with that, he was out.

#sting eucliffe #yukino aguria #stingyu #sabertooth #fairy tail #rogue cheney #unison raid #celestial light #starlight #my writing #roleplay #sting x yukino #stiyu #yuking #stikino

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mysticsparklewings · 5 years ago

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Roses in Your Eyes

Oh look, a not-Inktober thing! So after my first dive into The Realm of Gouache, I really wanted to play with the medium a little more and try doing some different things with it. More accurately, I wanted to try using the gouache more opaquely, since last time I took a more transparent/watercolor approach. Full disclosure, I actually had the sketch for this done before the gouache set even arrived to me. My original plan was to do the rose part of the "glasses" in the watercolor style from my In Bloom Le Plumes piece, maybe the leaves too, and then do the hair and possibly the skin in the more opaque gouache style. That was the plan so that I could try to get the most out of both sides to what gouache can do. But after I got the gouache and swatched it out, I wanted to try something a little more experimental before I jumped into this drawing so that I'd have a better handle on what I was actually working with. So that's where the first gouache painting came in. So it was after that when I made the decision to commit a little more closely to using gouache in it's more opaque form. The concept for the drawing is something of a play on the phrase "looking through rose-colored glasses," (or whatever the full version of that phrase is, you know what I mean). The original expression, as I'm sure we all know, means seeing something as being better than it actually is, usually because of personal bias. This idea takes it to a bit of an extreme; the glasses aren't just tinted in a rose color, they're straight-up roses. Instead of just viewing something as better than it actually is, the person is willfully ignoring or otherwise blinded to seeing things as they really are entirely. And possibly hurting themselves in the process, if the roses have thorns. (I didn't draw any but they could be there, unseen.) A couple of other notes on the drawing design before I move on: I went with buns in the hair since I usually draw loose/down hair and wanted to mix it up a bit, and to "close off" the drawing I added the leaves at the base of her neck, which also kind of double as a shirt-collar in terms of appearance, which I thought was neat. The leaves and the bit of vine across the nose, as may be obvious, are supposed to represent the frame and bridge of glasses. I transferred the lines from the sketch to piece of Strathmore mixed media paper since I didn't think I'd be using enough water or watercolor techniques to warrant breaking out some 100% cotton paper, but I wanted something thick enough to handle paint, and I thought the smooth-ish texture would suit the gouache based on what experimenting I'd already done. The roses for the eyes had no lines, and admittedly I probably could've gotten away with even fewer lines than the ones I did transfer since the gouache is opaque. I actually had a fair number of hairlines drawn in that got totally covered up since that was way easier than trying to carefully work around them. Anyway. For all the gouache parts, I started with a darker base color, since it's usually recommended that you work from dark to light in gouache, and then I'd go back in with 2-3 lighter colors on top to add shading/depth. The main issues I ran into were when the gouache color wasn't totally opaque, such as the rose base color (which is actually called "Rose," believe it or not) which gives me mixed feelings because on the one hand, it can look kind of interesting in giving you less structured, more unpredictable shading based on how you layer it, but also...well, it's not as opaque, so you have work with it slightly differently compared to the more opaque colors. The other issue was that I really struggled to have enough paint on my brush, particularly when doing tiny details, to get the full opacity and smooth color that I wanted, without leaving a glop of paint where it didn't need to be. Especially in areas like the hair that had a lot of fine tapering lines. I'm not sure how much of the problem is me and how my is or isn't my brushes or what, but this is something I occasionally have issues within acrylic painting too, but it felt way more prevalent here. I did manage to fix some areas that got away from me by layering darker colors back on top of the lighter ones, but then you also have areas like one of the loose hair strands around her chin that got away from me and I had to make noticeably longer than it originally was in order to fix it. (You can probably guess which one it was without me having to point it out for you.) I also had an "issue" in that it was seemingly very easy to mix up way too much of custom color, but that's more of a me problem than a problem with the paint. (And admittedly the above aren't necessarily paint-specific problems either.) Speaking of which, I'm still not sure if my "Titanium White" and "White" got mixed up or not, but since I suspect they did, I used the one I felt like looks more like the mixing white to do so. (Although admittedly I probably could've tried some mixing tests with both to see if I noticed a difference there whatever, perhaps some other time.) And I specifically avoided using black, since I thought it would be too harsh in mixes. For the hair, I just used one of the pre-mixed browns for my darkest and then used lighter colors and made my own lighter mixes to go over it. For the leaves, I actually mixed some of the Prussian Blue into one of the greens to make it darker. I think I may have benefitted from going a little lighter on how much of the blue went in, though. The roses were actually one of the more fun parts since they didn't have to be so precise or specific to make the look work. I started with a base of the Rose/hot pink color, mixed a lighter pink to make sections that probably should've been a little less light in color and slightly larger in shape, and then a slightly lighter pink than should have been lighter to layer on top of the already lighter pink parts. Partly because of some the issues I mentioned earlier and partly because I was just kinda going for whatever with only a minimal plan, I did have to go back and forth with the lights and darks in some areas on these, and I still don't think they look quite alike enough, even though I never intended to make them perfectly symmetrical. I also decided to not totally abandon gouache's watercolor properties with the background, since at this point I was thinking I didn't want to leave it plain white, but I also didn't want to do anything too complicated or intense that might take away from the rest of the art and the concept behind it. So I watered down some of the pink I used for the roses' base color and just kinda went over the background to my heart's content until I was happy with what the textures were doing since I knew it was unrealistic to expect to be able to get the background totally smooth trying to work around the rest of the drawing. Now, originally I was planning on painting in the skin with the gouache, however, I made the grave mistake of not thinking about it until after I'd pretty much finished with all the other painted parts, and I really did not feel like trying to paint around everything. And, honestly, I really did like the contrast of the white skin against the other colors. I did acknowledge that I could have mixed a gray from the gouache and shaded the white skin with that, but it felt like too much of a risk and still like too much of a hassle, so I conceited that I could bring other mediums into this since I'd already done my gouache-exclusive test piece. I grabbed a couple of very, very light gray Copic markers and added some very careful, very subtle shading to the skin. And you guys haven't seen the first time I used this mixed-media paper just yet (it's coming down the pipeline, I promise!), but for the second time I'm kind of in love with how it handles alcohol markers and I really need to try a more marker-heavy illustration on it sometime. After all that though, it was still missing a couple of things. I ended up breaking out my white uni-ball Signo gel pen to line around the girl just so she really would pop off the background, opting for it instead of the white gouache because, again, that seemed like too much of a chore to try and do. And my white Sakura gelly roll tends to be a little more transparent compared to the Signo, and I really wanted the stronger, stark white look. Then after some thinking, I added the rose lines in the background using a pink and a green Sakura gelly rolls and the stencil I've toyed with using on other projects before. And overall it, it has its faults (especially if you look at it too closely), but I really like how the whole thing turned out. It has almost a surreal vibe to it that I think drives home the initial concept really nicely, and just, in general, it's very sweet colors but has a more eerie feel to it. (At least when I look at it, anyway.) It also very vaguely gives me Luna-Lovegood vibes, so of course, I like it for that alone. I'm not sure what I'm going to make with the gouache next, as so far it seems its planning requires a slightly different thought process than I'm used to, but I have some ideas and all this has succeeded in doing is making me want to use the gouache more. This definitely isn't the last we'll be seeing of it, that's for sure! ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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