#and then his ears perked up when they left the ships and he jumped at the chance to get everyone together because he thought he WOULD

[multiiocular-mushroom]

francis madoka magica crozier

(the witch designs are here and also posted separately with some lore under the tag 'the soul gem passage')

[luvv4j4ybe11]

✫彡𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒙𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆ミ★

✧ 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒎 𝒙 𝑭𝒆𝒎𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏!𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

✧ 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚~ 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝑫𝑨 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅.

✧ 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔~ 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕/𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇, 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒎 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒍 𝒃𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒕, 𝒍𝒎𝒌 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑬𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚<3

✧ 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔~ “𝑰𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒓“ - “𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒌“, “𝒀𝒂𝒘𝒏𝒆“ - “𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅“, “𝑺𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒆, 𝑴𝒂’𝒚𝒂𝒘𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊̀𝒑“ - 𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆? ,

You and your party were taking out ships left and right, yipping and cheering whenever they successfully came crashing to the ground.

There was one ship in particular though, the one that lead all of the other ones, so of course it was bigger than all of the over ships you took down.

You could do it, you know you could do it. You know you’re capable of showing the sky people that they fucked with the wrong clan.

So you did.

You flew around the ship, searching for its weak spot. And once you did, you loaded up your bow and fired right at it. But it wasn’t enough.

Without thinking, you jump onto the ship, telling your ikran to stay close to you, but also stay hidden. Once you get onto the ship, you take out all of the soldiers who were firing the guns on top of the ship, robbing them of their grenades and weapons.

After the area is clear, you take the pins out of the grenades and throw them into the engines and into the broken window of the ship, leaping off of the ship once your job is done.

That’s when a feeling of panic rushes through your mate, neteyam. Automatically looking in your direction to see you falling mid-air, instinctively making him drop everything to catch you before you hit the ground. “Y/N!!” He calls, but the loudness of the raid around you being too loud for you to catch onto it.

Right as he calls for you though, he hears your call for you ikran, and seconds later he sees that you’ve safely (for the most part) made it through. A wave of relief hits him, but also anger.

How could you be so reckless? What were you thinking? What if your ikran didn’t come for you? What if-

“Bro! Come on! We’ve gotta go!” Lo’ak shouts, snapping neteyam back to reality.

Oh were you going to get an ear full once neteyam had you.

✫彡 ミ★

You and your party all dismount your ikrans, all checking on each other before going to check on everyone else. You walk around anxiously, nerves building the more you couldn’t find your mate.

But once you catch a glimpse of him, your ears perk up and tail sway excitedly, speed walking over to him to make sure he’s alright. Before you approach him though, lo’ak steps in front of you, hands up as if he was holding you away from Neteyam. “I’d be careful if I were you, tey is really pissed off right now and I’m almost positive you have something to do with it.” He warns, tone sarcastic yet serious. You turn your head to the side, confusion painting your features, “What are you talking about, Lo’ak?” All you get in response is a smart-ass, “Bro, really?” Which makes you stare at him, annoyance clear in your face. “Yes, really! What are you-“ “Y/n.” You freeze at the sound of Neteyams voice, knowing that he only sounds like that when he’s really pissed off about something. And the fact that you were what pissed him off made you feel like shit. Lo’ak gives you a look of sympathy before walking off to join kiri and spider. Leaving you to deal with your mate.

“Neteyam?..”you say tenderly,but he doesn’t answer. He just stares down at you with anger apparent in his face, tail swishing back in forth in irritation. Before you can open your mouth to say anything else, he grabs your wrist firmly, tugging you into the direction of your shared hut.

“What the fuck were you thinking? Pulling some reckless shit like that? Do you realize what could’ve happened to you?” All of his questions were rhetorical and angry, but regardless you answered anyway. Knowing exactly what he was talking about.

“Reckless? You wanna talk about half the shit you and lo’ak were doing? But when I do something that’ll benefit, our people, it’s a problem?” You retort, slamming your bow back on its stand and throwing your ionar on the wooden table.

“What me and lo’ak were doing doesn’t even compare to what you were doing! That shit you pulled was extremely dangerous and stupid. And why would you even think to do anything like that by yourself when you know your party is right behind you?” He shouts, taking off his own ionar and placing it on the same table you put yours on.

“Really, teyam? I’m more than capable of handling a mission by myself. Of course I appreciate that my party being there but I don’t need them to hold my hand through the whole raid. I’m not a fucking child!” You shout at your mate, officially pissed off because of his attitude.

“You sure as hell acted like one though!, why would you ever think of doing something like that? You could’ve been killed.” He uses his hands to punctuate each of his words, one of the signs that told you he was pissed off and serious about what he was talking about.

“But I wasn’t! Because I know what the fuck I’m doing!”you quip, ears pressed tightly to your skull and tail swishing angrily behind you. He just scoffed walking towards you to lift up your arm, revealing a deep gash from your bicep to your wrist, the sight makes you wince, the pain now hitting you quickly.

“Do you? Because if that was the case then this wouldn’t be here.” His tone is like a dagger in your heart, making you feel as if you’re a burden because of your choice. Your expression softens slightly, ears twitching with every breath he takes and tail swaying low to the ground.

He places your arm back to your side, putting his hand on your lower back and guiding you to the bed and tilting his head towards it, silently ordering for you to sit down.

You obey quickly, wincing when the feathers of your loincloth rub against the cut. You watch neteyam walk over to the corner of your hut to grab the white first aid box that his dad gave him, along with a bunch of other medical supplies and salves, making you anxiously play with the thigh bracelet he made you.

He crouches down infront of you, opening his palm towards you gesturing for you to give him your arm, and willingly, you do.

He cleans the wound gently, even though he was still mad he still treated you like the most precious thing on pandora. It made your heart throb. Knowing that he loves you so unconditionally.

“Teyam..” you say softly, all you get in response is just a glance, one that told you to be careful with whatever you were going to say next. “I’m..i’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so reckless and make you worry about me. It was wrong of me to put myself in a position that I knew wasn’t safe, and I knew that would irritate you because I put my life on the line to save our people.” You admitted genuinely, tail swaying anxiously as you awaited his response.

He continued cleaning your wound, humming quietly in response to your apology as he reached into the kit to grab some gauze and a bandage. Your brows turned down and lips pouted outwards when you didn’t get a response from him, a shallow ache spreading across your chest as he still remained silent.

Unbeknownst to you though, he was holding back the urge to both continue yelling at you and hold you close to him while praising you for apologizing to him so quickly. He mumbled a quiet, “hold this,” as he placed your fingers over the gauze, reaching beside him to grab the bandage to start wrapping it around your arm.

While doing so he glanced at you slightly, taking in the almost sad puppy dog look on your face that made his heart twinge in a way that made him sigh softly, accepting the fact that he can’t stay silent forever.

“Yawne,” you’ve never been more happier to hear his voice, subconsciously sitting up straighter to listen to what he has to say, “I know you’re sorry. And I forgive you, but I swear to ewya if you do one more thing that endangers you or your safety, I’ll chain you to the bed so you can never leave this hut again. Understand?” His tone was stern and clear, yet you still giggled at the imagery of him literally chasing you down to chain you down to the bed like a wild animal. “Yes, sir,” you say with a teasing smirk, one that made him giggle quietly as he cupped the side of your face lovingly. Planting a much needed kiss on your plush lips before making his last final touches on your wound.

“Thank you, teyam, I appreciate it.” You added once he stepped away from you to place everything back into the first-aid kit, he turned his head toward you and said a soft “of course, babygirl,” in response as he walked over to the makeshift shelf to place the small box onto.

You sway your feet anxiously as you notice the slight hints of irritation in his body; tail swaying high and slowly, and his shoulders were slightly raised. Your hands placed themselves back onto your thigh bracelet as you watched him reorganize a couple of fallen things on the table norm gave you a while back. Nerves swirl through you as you mentally prepare yourself to ask him a simple question.

“Teyam..”

“Srane, Ma’ yawntutsyìp?”

You inhale deeply before looking down at your hands that were fiddling with the beads of your braclet, exhaling as you finally say, “are you still mad at me?..” you hated how needy and sheepish your voice sounded, but that was the least of your concerns right now.

His brows furrowed at the question; in both sadness because of your tone and confusion, because how could he ever stay mad at his girl?. “Babygirl, come here.” He beckons, making you almost immediately walk over to him.

He lifts you up by your waist swiftly and places you onto the table infront of him, standing in between your legs and cupping your face with his big hands. “I could never stay mad at you. Not even for a day I couldn’t. Even if I was, you know it’d talk to you immediately about it, right?” He questions, to which you respond with a quiet ‘yes’

“and you know I’d never, ever let you feel like you can’t talk to me about anything, right?”

“Mhm..”

“Good. I don’t want my girl to worry about little things like that. You’re the best thing that’s ever happen to me, and I’d never treat you as if you weren’t. I may get mad at you for the reckless things you do, but that anger is all from my concern for you and your safety. Nothing could ever compare to how severely I love and care for you, yawntutsìp.”

You nod in response to his words as tears of joy and sadness spill down your soft cheeks, the reassuring words being exactly what you needed to calm your nerves.“I love you so much, ma’teyam. So so much.” You mutter through your sniffles as you wrap your dainty hands around his wrist to kiss the inside of his hands.

A small giggle comes from him at the gesture, leaning in to kiss your temple, whispering a sweet “I love you too, babygirl,” to you before kissing your lips gingerly.

You hum in satisfaction when you feel his lips on yours, the sound of it making him laugh against your lips causing you do the same before he broke the kiss to pull you into necessary hug. Instinctively making you cling to his bulky frame as if he’d disappear the second you let go.

Without breaking the hug, he picks you up and walks over to the bed, laying down as gently as he could without pulling you off of him.

Once you both get comfortable, content purrs leave you both. “You have to admit though, it was pretty badass right?” You question, a heavy sigh leaving his lips before he answers, letting out a defeated, “yeah..yeah it was, babygirl.”

You chuckled softly at his response, letting a snarky “yeah, I know it was,” to fall from your mouth before letting the wave of sleep finally hit you. The sounds of your beloved mates steady, sleepy breathes lulling you into a deeper sleep.

𝑨/𝑵~ yet another fic that’s been sitting in my drafts for months😭 this is an idea I’ve had for a minute, so I hope you guys enjoy it!! After I’m done writing all my ideas for the avatar fandoms I’m gonna start posting more fics for the cod fandom (mostly the mw2 and mw3 side of the cod fandom) bc that’s what I have the most motivation to write for. So if you’d wanna be added to the taglist for that lmk! Stay safe and stay hydrated, babies. I love you guys endlessly.

𝑫𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔🫶🏽,

𝑳𝒖𝒗𝒗4𝒋4𝒚𝒃𝒆11

~

~

~

𝑻𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕: @tallulah477 , @hotdsworld , @plooto , @blue-slxt , @itchaboi-itchyboy , @xylianasblog , @etherial-moon-blog , @criticallybella , @professional-yapper , @rivatar , @aperiraa

(𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒎𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕! 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 @ 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔💕)

[colorfull-cord]

Can't we just cuddle?

ships: Wilbur x y/n

Warnings: none (tell me if otherwise)

summary: you really want attention from your boyfriend but he has to stream so you decide to join him

"WILBURRR" you shouted from his bedroom. "YES WHAT DO YOU NEED LOVE" you heard from his office. "CAN YOU COME HERE PLEASE" "I'M STREAMING RIGHT NOW LOVE" "PLEASE JUST COME HERE" "sorry chat but have to tend to them ill be back in a few." He muted his stream and left his office. "What is it lovely" he said while walking into the bedroom. You opened your arms signaling you wanted a hug from him. "Love what do you need?" he said softly walking over to the bed and putting you in his arms. "Can you please cancel today's stream" you asked looking up at him. His eyes widened "lovely you know I can't cancel the stream today I haven't streamed in so long since you got here" he softly said to you. You looked away pouting. "Let's make a deal, okay?" "I'm listening" "So, how about I stream for a little longer then I come back and we can do whatever you want to, sound good?" "Whatever I want to....?" you said with a grin. "oh be quite" he said, a little pink on his ears and cheeks. "well you better come back wilby soot" "don't worry lovely I will" he said getting up and going back to his stream. An hour passes and you start to get needy so you decide to go and surprise him. As you're walking down the hall as quiet as you could you would hear him scream in frustration. When you opened his door you looked at the camera and put your finger over your mouth. You walked slowly so as to not make any noise. When you got close enough you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed it. He jumped and ripped his headphones out turning to look at you. When he saw it was you he looked down and smiled. "Did I scare you babe." you said nuzzling into his neck. "Yes yes you did." he said with a big smile on his face. He turned his camera off and muted the stream. "Lovely what do you need?" he said turning around in his chair. "I came to cuddle." you said getting into his lap putting your legs through the arm holes. "You can still stream but i'm gonna be here." you said while nuzzling into his neck. "Okay love." He said while giggling. He turned his chair back around and turned his stream back on. "So chat we have a guest. They'll be here for the rest of the stream." You slow perk your head up "Hello chat" you lay your head back down in his neck. "I'll try not to be loud darling." you hear Wilbur whisper to you. You start to fall asleep listening to his heart beat, his smell calming to you. As you finally start to fall asleep you hear a little voice in your ear, "I love you darling." As you said it back you started to fall asleep. When Wilbur finally saw that you were asleep he melted at the sight of you laying there on his lap and said "Hey chat so I think it's time for me to end this stream bye guys." He shut everything and carried you to the bedroom. He got into bed with you still on his chest and eventually fell fast asleep.

*Hiiiiiiiiiii sorry if it has mistakes I tried to get something out but I have another idea that I will probably post later today but I hope you liked the story! Bye!*

[whoreish-behaviour]

Revenant 11

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 Pt4 Pt5 Pt6 Pt7 Pt8 Pt9 Pt10

Na'vi!Colonel Quaritch x Na'vi!Reader

Warnings >~< = none

You continuously paced the floor, your tail whipping behind you in nerves and your entire body rigid.

Something was wrong..

You didn't know how long Miles had been gone for, your body clock having been completely screwed since stepping foot on this ship.

Your head spun and you felt as if you could be sick.

You hated him.

You hated that your mind was reeling at where he could be, if he was safe. You hated him for making you care.

Unable to take the feeling of uselessness any longer, you treaded over to the bolted door.

Lifting your first, you slammed it against the door.

The surface vibrated under you, your hands continuing on and on until eventually you slowed to a stop.

No one was coming. Not even him.

You stifled the feeling of abandonment down, looking over your shoulder and at the window.

The ocean did little to calm you down, like it usually did. The realisation only further pushing you further down in your pool of worry.

This was the first time he had left you for so long in the many days you had been here.

You breathed out a shaking breath and sighed deeply.

However, you almost jumped out your skin as the door flew open, a body immediately coming through and into your space.

You immediately stepped back and hissed as a unfamiliar scent invaded your nose.

You zeroed in the tall figure standing over you, their head tilted down at you.

You squinted as the light bounced off their blue sunglasses, reflecting straight at you, eyes taking in the familiarity.

You relaxed once again when you recognised him, his green eyes furrowed but not surprised at your reaction.

'Let's go,' he moved his shoulder, allowing you passage.

You didn't budge.

'Move it.' His voice was more demanding this time and your ears barely flicked at the change in his tone.

Watching silently, you saw him lift his hand before running it down his face in frustration.

'You want to go home or not?'

You visibly perked up, ears raised to a point as you took in his words. Home?

He question had threw you for a loop, this whole time you didn't have a choice - you could use the excuse of loneliness for your actions with Miles.

Although you knew better..

But now?

Now there was no reason for you to be here, you were being given an out and no excuse to not take it.

No one would be here to force you to stay, so why did you want to so badly?

'Five seconds or I'm walking.' You snapped your eyes back to the man in front of you, his hand now back at his side.

He looked as perplexed as you probably did, his lips downturned into an almost soft snare, one ear up.

Knowing you'd never have the words, you nodded grimly - ears flattening as you crossed your arms over your chest.

'That's what I thought.' You looked down as he spoke, your regret already building in your stomach - tail stiff behind you.

A snapping of plastic made you look back up, eyebrows furrowed as you watched him step closer to you.

'I didn't say you won't be restrained, your always pulling stupid shit, come on.' He reasoned.

You didn't have it in you to fight, unwrapping your arms and holding out your wrists.

This would be a first.

Once you were secured, you felt a hand on your shoulder gently guiding you out the door and down the hallway, the sliding door audible.

You lip almost trembled as Miles and your's scent slowly dispersed to nothing, your feet instinctively slowing down, nose twitching to seek more.

You stumbled as you were shoved to pick up your pace, scowling over your shoulder.

This was what was supposed to happen.

You knew this would come one way or another.

So why was it so hard?

'This way, I'm flying you back.' You felt the hand on your shoulder push you left, your body obediently following - your fighting spirit no where to be seen.

The floor below you looked endless, you head bowed as your emotions fought in your chest.

However, you immediately planted you feet on the floor as soon as you heard it, mouth going agape as your ears twitched up.

In the distance you could hear Miles shouting, every cell in your body drumming to life at the mere sound of him.

This time the hand on your back couldn't move you even an inch, your feet unmoving.

Looking left, you saw steps going up to what seemed like some sort of landing - your body moving on instinct.

'Hey!' You felt the hand that was previously on your back move to grasp you forearm from behind.

You immediately shrugged him off, casting him a glare over your shoulder before taking off - Miles voice growing louder and louder.

You couldn't help the utter relief filling the pit in your stomach, that same feeling of safety taking over and he wasn't even in your eye sight yet.

Hurried footsteps could be heard behind you and you only pushed harder.

You felt a smile peeking as you came onto the landing, the various uniforms soldiers around you throwing you off slightly but not hindering you.

That was until you came closer to where they stood, their guns aimed at one thing only.

You steps slowed, your body freezing as you took in the sight before you.

A large net was hung just above the ship landing, holding what looked like a omatikayan child and one of your own.

Her bright blue skin contrasting against the younger child.

You breath left you as a third person was revealed, his arms tensing as he held onto the net - hissing to his captives below.

What was going on?..

Looking down, your eyes landed on Miles.

He was stood tall, arms crossed as he surveyed his catch, lips set into a disgusted scowl as the kids were dropped before him.

He wasn't phased at their panic and fight, instead only smirking down - tail swaying behind him as he spoke down to them.

At his normal tone, you weren't able to hear what he was saying - you almost didn't want to because as soon as he was finished, his crew were grabbing his captives.

You flinched at the little girls screams, your legs beginning to feel weak.

Because this was probably the biggest slap in the face, a hard reality check of the man you thought you knew.

The very same man that was now threatening what you knew to be three innocent lives, of children no less.

You didn't feel the hands on your arms once again, only their attempt to drag you away pulling you out of your head.

'Stop! Let go!' You angrily snarled, baring your teeth before completely spinning around.

Clearly blue sunglasses wasn't expecting your quick turn, his body unable to suspect you incoming hit.

You shoved your tied hands hard into his chest, his choked breath leaving him as you watched him stumble back.

Not giving him a second to fix his footing, you spun back around - your footsteps determined as you shoved you way through numerous smaller soldiers.

You walked all the way until you where behind him, you body stiff as stone.

You voice quivered as you called out to him, his ears perking up.

You watched at Miles looked over at you briefly, his brain probably not registering what he was seeing as he quickly double took his stare.

Your bottom lip shook as he turned and stared at you, his face showing nothing but pure surprise.

'What is this.?' You were quiet, eyes flicking over to the children who were now tied up - their cries unwavering.

You clenched your fists as his lack of response.

'Miles?!' You prodded, feeling your vision going blurry as your emotions took over, no physical pain mounting up to the piercing in your chest.

Everyone had gone silent, no one having two words to speak.

Miles felt has it his tongue weighed too much to move, no words being able to leave his lips.

What was he supposed to say?

The raw emotion on your face shook him to his core, the only immediate response coming to his head was that you needed to be taken into his arms.

Soothed until you were curled up into his side once again, your body completely relaxed and moulded to his.

However he knew he couldn't as the hundreds of eyes on him made him freeze.

Watching and guessing his next move.

He was their Colonel. Their leader. But you, you were only temporary.

He knew the only solution to ease the pain you were feeling was if another emotion to take over and completely block out your hurt, cloud your vision until you weren't able to think of anything but your hate for him.

Swallowing thickly, he looked left - eyes on the wall, unable to look at you as the words left his lips.

'Tie her up.'

Taglist = @kimqueenofhell @simplefools @gremlinfuck @jupekali @cypherpt5fttaehyung @girlblogger2002 @inkareds @apollonshootafar @lovejessejay @applesnbananas @spookyspecterino @s-sabbas @witxhy-lexx @generational-tragedy @anbanananna @honestlykat @perseny @oyasumimosura @hungrhay @nin3kyuu @dumb-fawkin-bitch @enslique @kadu-5607 @fourcefulcupid @mangolog @webwix @dakotali @deliciousdilfmentality @debesyje @esposadomd @holyastronauts @ducks118 @sunshine2113 @strawberry07cake @crocodilefeet2707 @opwolfe @prty-poisxn @sofiebstar @cheeychupachup @aerangi @bxnnywriting @hedahobbit98 @bloodyziggy @aokimisa23

[shady-scripter]

Chain Avatar Stories

This is based off of The Magnus Archives’s Fear Entities :)

This is Time, Twilight, and Wind’s stories

Time

The Hero of Time was barely a hero. To everyone, even to himself, he was different. No one knew who he was. They only knew the memories of the little boy who would pass by Castle Town every once in a while. But this…this couldn’t be that boy, right?

He knew he wasn’t still that boy. He couldn’t be. Not after everything that happened. But these masks…if he could just stay like one of them then-

He tried. He’d wear one mask for weeks at a time. And it never worked. He could never stay Mikau or Darmani.

But his eyes grew smaller, his body thinner but longer. He could breathe underwater. His back was a shield morphed of rock. His skin grew darker brown. His lips grew bigger, his teeth grew sharper.

What was he?

They all called him a monster.

A Stranger from the forest.

Twilight

While being a Wolf, the Hero of Twilight was used to eating things normal Hylians couldn’t. Raw meat, bugs on occasion. Though he could stomach larvae like a champ.

His ears perked at the sound. He was tired and spent. He just wanted to go home and sleep the rest of his life away. But he didn’t. Instead, he followed the sound. And as he got closer and closer, he could feel his skin crawl, hear a buzz in his head that seemed never ending.

But it was…soothing, like an embrace. He shut his eyes and let it take him, passing out in front of the sound that beckoned him.

When he, no, they. When they woke up from the dirt, Twilight couldn’t feel his skin, only the buzzes from under his skin.

They sat on their knees, staring at the dark sky. A single bright star shone through the sorrowful dark. Twilight reached up to it, feeling a sense of deja vu.

Whispers echoed in his ear, they all said the same thing. Though, not in unison.

We are we, you are we, we are you. We are we, you are we, we are you. We are we, you are we, we are you. We are we, you are we, we are you. We are we, you are we, we are you.

The beehive, the thing that guided him here, hung from the tree silently. Though its former buzzing ate away at his stomach.

All the pain, all of the suffering. He didn’t have to be alone in it all. Not anymore. He had them. He had the Hive.

Wind

Being a kid, the Hero of Winds hadn’t known he had been touched by something akin to a god. He just knew the sky and water called to him.

That’s why he left Aryll and his Grandmother at home. And part of him wanted to leave Tetra too. There were too many people. How could he enjoy the peace that rested in the open sea when there was so much clutter around him.

He missed the King of Red Lions. It was just him and the King on the open seas.

That was when he started to become bitter with Tetra’s crew. Telling them to leave him alone, snapping at whoever didn’t listen. Soon enough, Tetra herself confronted him, telling him to straighten up.

His lips pulled into a thin line before he cursed worse than he ever had. Not at her, at her crew. Tetra told them to turn the ship, that Link needed to collect his shit.

He had never felt betrayed before than in that second. But, luckly, he still had a real friend. One that had been beside him during his entire adventure.

The wind howled in his ear. It was strong enough to make him stumble to his right. His stomach hit wood, the railing. The wind didn’t stop its assault.

He jumped, plunging into the sea regardless of Tetra’s scream.

The water embraced him so kindly. When the initial shock wore off and he looked up, there was just blue. The steady blue of the sea. And down? The same beautiful blue he saw when he looked up.

That was when his barrier broke, water pouring into his mouth, into his lungs. He sputtered, reaching up to the surface so far away, but the water rushed into him. Soon enough, he was…fine. No pain, no fear. It was just him and the sea. Him and the vast sea.

[nekohime19]

Heart behind the lie # 50 : escaping Diyu

Mac wakes up!

Macaque was plunged in a thick darkness. Everything around him was tainted by black, so much that he couldn't even see his own hands and arms. He was floating endlessly. Drifting in somber waters without any goals. Sometimes, he felt a familiar warmth spread in his chest. A soft fire that flowed in his veins, burning the stiffness that crawled in his skin. It felt good. It reminded him of sunshine and peaches. The warrior almost didn't want to wake up. Here, everything was fine. He didn't have to worry about his decaying body. He didn't have to chase after remanants of his own soul. He didn't have to face the consequences of his past actions. Not the shadow cast in gold-melted eyes because of his own jealousy. Not the shattered reflection of his young self craving any sense of recognition. Not the bruises on an innocent flesh left by his own claws. 

It was so hard to heal. Nobody ever told him how painful it could be to let an old rotten wound heal. It was another kind of hell altogether. Trapped in-between the excruciating pain of digging in his old wounds with a knife and the sweet taste of honey each time his efforts paid off. He felt like a dog beaten and lured. He whined each time he was hit by the rode but yet he kept going on because he knew he would receive a treat at the end of it. He would receive a gentle laugh falling out of sun-kissed lips, a spark dancing in old eyes, a pat on the shoulders from enemies turned friends. And most of all, he would feel lighter at night. It didn't happen every night. Sometimes the old waning hatred clutched at his heart like a beast reluctant to leave its cage, but it wasn't systematic. Sometimes he would fall asleep with a heart full of love, and that was the sweetest of feelings. 

No, he couldn't stay here. 

They were people waiting for him on the other side of this darkness. Old and new friends, tentative bonds waiting to bloom. Most of all, he didn't want to disappoint himself. No matter if he was weak and battered, no matter if his honor was tarnished forever, he was a warrior, and a warrior didn't flee. 

Macaque pushed the darkness away, trying to leave this sweet dream-like world where nothing ever happened. 

He emerged in the real world with a painful throb in his chest. The black-furred monkey coughed, almost as if he just left a deep ocean. He clutched the sheets under him and blinked, his eyebrows furrowed, sweat gliding on his forehead. His vision was blurry for a bit. Forms and shapes mingled together to create a confusing painting. He heard something purring near him, but he couldn't distinguish the sound clearly. After a few minutes, Macaque was able to see more clearly. He was on the airship, in the room he shared with Wukong. 

The warrior was a lil confused about this. The last thing he remembered was fighting the not-mayor to save-... Sock! Macaque sat up and winced, the sharp movement was not welcomed by his sore body. The black-furred monkey looked down and realized he was half-naked and covered in bandages. 

“Sock.” His voice was rough, it fell out of his mouth like an uncouth stone and rolled in the room. His six-ears perked up the second he heard a meow near him. Sock was sitting at the edge of his bed. She was curled like a loaf, with no members peeking out of her russet fur, she was purring happily. She looked at him and slowly blinked, Macaque felt a great weight fall out of his shoulders. The warrior was about to lean over the cat but he was cut by tumbling devils. Mo and Wukong tumbled in the room, play-fighting each other. 

Wukong pawed at the blue-furred cat and chirped in joy. He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Macaque. Mo jumped out of Wukong and licked his ruffled fur, straightening it. The great sage tail began to wag, it wagged so hard it almost broke the ship's floor. Wukong jumped on the bed (disturbing Sock who meowed in indignation) and crawled all over Macaque. 

“Okay, easy, easy.” Huffed Macaque as he was smothered in chips and nuzzles. He was almost drowning in golden fur. Wukong's snout was wet and smelled of peaches. He probably ate recently. Macaque patted Wukong’s head and pushed him a lil, he was greeted by a joyful face and a disturbing lack of glamor. Macaque eyes swept over Wukong ruby-red eyes and the hint of a scar hidden beneath golden strands on his forehead. If Macaque raised his fingers and brushed some of his fur away, he could see a fleshly-red crown circling the sage's head. Macaque was familiar with this…Wukong was in his feral state again. 

The warrior grabbed Wukong's face and inspected him. Contrary to the last time Wukong was in a feral state, more glamors were down. The warrior eyes swept over the wrinkles ornating the sun-kissed face, they looked like the waves caressing the shore, some freckles were scattered on the monkey's nose and cheeks. It's been so long since he saw them. The warrior traced them with the tip of his fingers, tracing constellations in-between the dots. Macaque then retracted his hands, almost as if burned, and coughed awkwardly. 

“Alright big guy, you're crushing me.” Macaque tried to weasel out of the great sage, in vain. He couldn't escape this stone monkey! As he was lamenting his fate, Sock got up and pushed Wukong away with her paw. The great sage looked reluctant at first but he quickly scrammed once he crossed eyes with Sock narrowed gaze. Macaque sighed in relief and scratched the top of Sock's head in thanks. The warrior sat up at the edge of his bed and took a deep breath. He snorted once he noticed a poorly made nest in a corner of the room. Blankets were haphazardly thrown together to form something ressembling a bed. His scarf was in the middle of the nest, hanging like a lazy snake in the midst of sheets and pillows. Macaque was relieved to see his scarf, he had wondered where it had been. Wukong noticed his gaze and immediately ran towards the nest, he carefully took the scarf and scrambled to Macaque eagerly, handing him the red cloth. Macaque smiled, he ruffled Wukong's hair and took the scarf. It was perhaps weird to wear his scarf when he didn't have any shirt but who cared about fashion? He already looked like a dug-out mummy. Macaque put the scarf on his neck and relished on the familiar scent. His nose scrunched when he noticed how much the cloth stinked of Wukong, but he dealt with it. It was a familiar smell after all. Macaque was embarrassed to notice that all his glamors were down. He hid his extra ears within his scarf and tried to apply some on his scarred eye, but his magic fizzled out and sparked like a fire, he couldn't use it properly. Macaque was a bit distressed by that. He didn't want to go out with his bruised face. The warrior flinched once he crossed eyes with Wukong. The monkey's eyes were so soft, so… kind. It soothed his fretting heart. 

It was fine… It would be fine… Macaque took one of his bandages and hid his scarred eye with it. Tying it across his face. He wasn't ready to show his scars to the others. It was a sore subject. Even if he wanted to heal he knew he would break down if the other saw this bruised side of him. This scar wasn't like the other. It was a wound of hatred, of blood and growls, a mark of shame. He didn't want to show it off. On the contrary he wanted to hide it until he forgot it existed. He knew that perhaps it wasn't healthy. But as Sandy often said, he had to deal with those matters slowly. 

One step at a time. 

Once he was ready Macaque rose with some difficulty. His legs were sore and stiff, unable to hold his weight. Macaque stumbled forward but before he could kiss the floor he was grabbed by Wukong. The golden-furred monkey helped him straighten and stood by his side. Macaque put one hand on the sage’s head and put some of his weight on him. 

They slowly stumbled out of the room. Wukong grabbed Mo and Sock before leaving and put them on his back. Both cats seemed rather unbothered by the action, perhaps used to it. They settled on his back and curled comfortably. 

Macaque felt a bit better once they were out on the docks. He looked up and frowned once he saw the dark sun of the Diyu. Oh, so they were still in this place. The warrior wondered what happened. Were they able to defeat the rebels? What about the liu'si? What about Yama? The black-furred monkey noticed Red Son tracing a teleportation circle on the docks and concluded that they were about to leave. 

“Macaque!” The warrior turned towards the cheerful shout, he saw MK run towards him, Mei on his tracks. “You woke up! You're alright? How do you feel?”

“I'm okay. Feel a bit weak but that's alright.” 

“I see your puppy is already attached to your hip.” Snorted Mei as she nodded towards Wukong, Macaque rolled his eyes fondly. “Man, we have so much to tell you emo monkey. But first let's get out of this creepy place.” As she said this, Sandy climbed the ship and shouted :

“I refilled the ship! We can go.” The tea-lover froze slightly when he noticed Macaque and said : “Glad to have you back, Mister Maquack”. Macaque smiled at him in response. 

“Yes! Let's leave this place!” Shouted Tang as he stumbled on the docks. “Macaque you woke up!” The scholar was grabbed by the collar before he could rush towards the monkey. 

“Don't jump on him, he's still recovering.” Huffed Pigsy, he then looked at the monkey and nodded, the monkey nodded back with a lil smile. 

Red Son rose and dusted himself off. “I finished the circle!” He warned, Sandy nodded and went behind the wheel. The whole team clutched the railing to be more steady. Wukong clawed at Macaque hip and glued himself to his side. Both cats jumped out of his back and went inside, bothered by the ship shaking. The engines roared to life and the ship left the Diyu's floor, but before Red Son could activate the circle, a laser-shot grazed their ship. 

They all flinched in surprise and looked behind them. A black airship was standing behind them. If one looked closely, one could see the hint of a hidden Yama's flag on the ship's flanks. This wasn't King Yama's official ship… probably just one of the Ten King's. 

“I knew those sketchy Kings wouldn't let us leave easily!”Grumbled Pigsy as he glared at the ship. 

“But Yama said we could leave!” Fretted Tang. 

“This isn't probably an order issued by Yama himself but more of an initiative coming from one of the Ten Kings.” Explained Red Son. 

“Held on!” Warned MK. Sandy steered the ship away, making loops in the air to avoid the lasers-shot. Macaque felt his head throb in pain, the loops weren't making him feel better. He almost slipped and let go of the railing but Wukong curled around him and pushed him on the ship, making sure he couldn't be flown out. 

“I can't activate the circle if the ship isn't stable.” Cursed Red Son. Mei unsheathed her sword and tried to launch her spirit dragon at the black ship, but with her unsteady footing the dragon missed its target. 

The black shit shot again, one of the laser-shit hits the flank of the ship. Macaque stumbled and hit his head on the railing. He winced and gritted his teeth. Wukong chirped in nervousness. He checked Macaque over and then growled at the black ship, fangs glinting under the dark sun. 

“Easy, Wukong-” But Macaque didn't have time to finish, the great sage eyes burned like an incendium and two laser beams shot out of his pupils. The lasers hit the black ship right at the front. 

“Now, Sandy!” Shouted Pigsy. The tea-lover used the short lapse of time where the black ship was recovering from Wukong's shot to fly in a straight line. Red Son jumped on the circle. Mei grabbed his waist and planted her sword on the floor to make him steady. 

The fiery boy took a deep breath and poured his magic in the circle. The circle lightened up in red, flames emerged on the docks. Sandy accelerated and they passed through the transportation circles. Macaque gripped the railing tightly, the sage pressed against him, almost hiding him. 

The black ship shot one last time and one of their engines was hit. The ship stumbled out in an unknown location and they crashed inside of a chasm. They were all stunned by the crash but nobody was hurt. 

Macaque let go of the railing and looked up. The chasm was quite deep, the sunlight fell in the hole like golden curtains, a waterfall was rumbling not far from them. Their ship wasn't completely broken but it would take a certain amount of time for it to be good as new. 

“We're finally out of the Diyu!” Cheered Mei, MK high-fived her in glee. Macaque smiled at this scene. Yes. They were out of this dreaded place. The warrior fell on the floor and laughed, realizing he wouldn't have to feel so oppressed and scared all the time anymore. He felt like the weight of the world disappeared from his shoulders. He did it. He went into the Diyu and he got out. 

He did it!! 

Macaque looked down at Wukong and, pushed by his bubbling glee, kissed his forehead. The great sage blushed and chirped in delight. He jumped on Macaque and drowned him in snuggles. The warrior laughed and tried to calm the monkey with head pats. 

“Oh, fuck it.” Thought Macaque, he let go of his embarrassment and hugged Wukong tightly. 

He did it!

Ch1 /Previous / Next

[princessghuleh]

cumulus and phantom is one of my favourite ships so have some <them3 thoughts under the cut!!! im so tempted to write a fic ab them so if u have any ideas pls share i need a prompt

cumulus being the one who put the blanket on him and got him to drink water after his summoning

lus calling him honey and phantom calling her my love when he isn't too awestruck ("hi honey" "HIIIIIIII")

him always sending her photos of clouds

them combining their elements to make his magick spread around the den faster or to make her air have more healing abilities when she uses it to cool down someone with a fever

phant practically running to her room and crawling on top of her after a long day of practice with omega and aether and laying on her chest purring so loud while she scratches that one spot behind his left horn

him bringing her shiny rocks and little trinkets he finds during the day and leaving it outside her door with a sticky note saying ' :) ' and no one knows she has a whole box for them under her bed

him being completely inlove with her beauty in a way that makes her blush and squeal and run to rora after getting a response to a photo she sent him who will gasp and squeal with her as cumulus runs onto her bed and kicks her feet and rory is actively aw-ing at her summoning buddy and cir walks in and can't even pretend to be mad that the new summon is seducing her lover because the way he's going about it is so adorable

her kissing over his scars and insecurities and calling him beautiful

he comes to her a couple nights before they start touring and he admits that he's terrified he'll do a bad job at replacing aether and that everyone will hate him (im sorry but theres no phantom ghoul thoughts without a sprinkle of angst) and she listens and comforts him and he sobs so hard he accidentally sends out a massive wave of quintessence (his magick acts up when he feels strong emotions!! topside things xx) that makes them both go a bit silly and they're lying on his bed giggling over some dumb photo of a pufferfish and swiss walks in like because he smelt the magick and he's so confused

cumulus and swiss known as the 2 ghouls who serenaded the new summons before anyone else could (they OWN the title.)

him killing 3 birds with one stone and coming into the girls den with 3 roses in his mouth

aurora and phantom are more ghoul-like/animalistic than any of the others so cumulus will walk into her room to find a nest on her bed made of everyone's clothes and duvets and blankets and sheets etc etc and look inside to find the 2 cuddled up, kneading at eachother, tails intertwined, purring very loudly and when they smell her their ears immediately perk up and they let out happy ghoul noises and drag her in to do their ghoul loving ghoul ritual

he panicked so much when he first got his claws stuck in her gorgeous hair that he almost started crying because he thought he'd 1. hurt her and 2. be the reason she had to cut some of it off but she hushed him and called mountain who giggled at his reaction and got a whole kit from the kitchen - this happens all the time. none of the boys can help but appreciate her cloud like mane of hair

they have the best nonverbal communication. (they communicate mainly in ghoul noises and she understands his confused head tilts nearly as good as swiss can, but no one can beat rora)

aeth got then matching pj's because he's a cutie and phantom refused to take them off until she politely told him he smelled like shit

them baking together and him being covered in flour

aether, mountain and swiss all pampering her like the goddess she is and phantom finds them and feels left out so aether shows him a few quint tricks that has cumulus asleep in minutes and phantom just sits there playing with her hair as she snoozes feeling so proud of himself

lus having to go to the library alone one day after there was an incident with dew and a few of mountains potted plants and phantom immediately jumps at the opportunity and follows her around the library for wayyy longer then she's normally there and she's just handing him books that she thinks sounds good and he's carrying every single one because he wants the praise (he's so real)

him seeing lus at one of the many balls held throughout the year and even though his date is aurora, he's completely gobsmacked at her dress and just everything about her but aurora totally agrees so they just kind of admire her from afar

[that1fangirrl]

The Mission

cw: violence(like a lot), gunshots, fire trauma, blind talk, daddy issues and childhood trauma(kinda)...

Matt was having a bit of a hard week. The case he and his partners were working on was making no progress. Everytime they thought they found something new, it was a dud. Every night, it left him plagued with frustration. Not even his favorite cheap beer could soothe him. So he did the next best thing. He grabbed his suit and looked over his city. It was fairly quiet tonight. His ears perked at the sound of some guys in an alley talking. “We’re meeting at 2. If you’re late, you’re dead. You tell anyone about this? You and them, dead. You understand?” The other two nodded. Matt wondered what they were talking about. “It’s a deal over on the docks.” A woman's voice passed through his ears. There weren’t any additional heartbeats in the area. “They have a headquarters near here too. On 45th and 6th.” Matt looks on in confusion. Who the fuck is talking to him? Are they talking to him? “Yes, I’m talking to you. Red suit with the horns. Let’s get a move on please. They’re meeting right now.” Following the voice’s instruction, albeit confused and disturbed, he traveled close behind the group. Just like the voice said, the guys were meeting with a few others on some docks. They had a new shipment of drugs under the guise of medicinal prescriptions.Just what he was looking for. He jumped down, taking the men out one by one. A few guns were fired,but dodged with ease. 

When Matt got home that night, he laid on his couch in confusion again. Who was that lady talking to him? And why was she helping him? His aching body walks over to his bathroom, showering off his thoughts and calling it a night. Luckily, it was a Friday, so he didn’t have to work tomorrow. The next morning, a knock at his door shot him out of bed. He groggily opens the door, half naked and hair a mess. “I’m guessing you aren’t a morning person.” That voice sounded familiar. “Yes, that was me last night. I’m sorry about all of that, but you needed the push. And to make up for it and probably explain a little bit of this to you, I brought coffee and donuts.” You raised your hands up. Matt moves aside, letting you in. He walks back to his room, grabbing a shirt. You slowly walk into the apartment, taking in the area. 

He meets you at the kitchen table, folding his arms. “Now talk.” You sip your drink, “well firstly, my name is y/n Xavier. My father is Charles Xavier or Professor X.” “Like the mutant?” “Yeah. And like my dad, I also am a telepath. I can also see the future. And I've been seeing you in my dreams lately. You’re working on that pharmaceutical case, right?” He nods. “Well. I know you’ve been hitting multiple walls with it. So I thought I’d tell you what I know. Hence why I told you about the new deal the other night.” He stops you, “What do you want in return? Why help me? We don’t even know each other. For all I know, you could be taking the drugs for yourself.” “I’m not, I swear. And you would know if I was lying. I don’t want anything in return. I just want to help you out. I have reason to believe that someone is trying to experiment on mutants with these exact same drugs. Maybe I could go with you on your next patrol.” Matt takes it all in. You weren’t lying about anything that you’ve said. It wouldn’t hurt to try this out. “Fine. When’s the next deal?” “In a few days, but maybe we could go to their headquarters tonight. They usually keep it closed up on the weekends. It’s an old warehouse building. I can meet you there. I have a suit and I know some combat, so don’t worry about any of that.” “Okay.” 

The shipping warehouse was colder than outside. It felt like a huge meat locker. Both you and Matt were looking for just about anything that could help his case. He was on one side of the building and you, the other. No one was guarding the place, surprisingly. It left you a little on edge. At the end of one of the halls, you found an office. Before entering, you put up a hand and listened for what could be behind it. A large desk, chair, lamp, and cabinets filled with files. You slowly open the door, trying not to make a sound. “I found an office over here. I’m gonna check out the files.” You signal to Matt. He nods, continuing to look around for where the drugs might be stored. He finds another room leading to a staircase. Listening for your safe movements first, he creeps down the steps. It’s even colder now. Maybe a basement. He continues to walk around the quiet area. 

In the office, you touch each cabinet to see inside. Nothing has caught your eyes yet. Just old documents about the building. You head to the desk to check its drawers. “Got ya!” You whisper. Previous transactions, patients and orders, just what you were looking for. Unfortunately, you can’t open the drawer. It’s locked. You feel around for a key, hoping one of the goons just left it nearby. “Looking for this?” You snap around. One of the guys from the other night stands in the doorway. You can hear him dangling the keys. He launches at you. Your body moves a second slower, trying to duck under him. His large arms wrap around your body, a hand over your mouth muffles your screams. “Who are you here with?” You shake your head. “No one.” He slams your head into the wall. “Don’t lie! Who else is here?” Tears prick your eyes. You can’t just rat Matt out like that. You could just tell him where the papers are and he can turn them in. “No one. I swear. I came alone.” “Playing dumb, huh? Fine, I’ll play.” He slams your head harder into the wall, successfully knocking you out. 

The door leading to the basement stairs opens, alerting Matt. He quickly hides in one of the darker halls. The guy coming down the stairs seems to be holding something.Your unconscious body. Cursing to himself, he devises a plan. The guy grabs his phone, dialing a number and raising it to his ear. “Bring the others. I found us a new toy to play with.” In one arm, he continues hauling your body around the room and talking on the phone. Two more guys come down the stairs. They each grab something to tie you down with. One with a rope, the other holding you and another with a chair. “She’s a looker. Got a little body on her.” Your body slumps in the chair and is tied down. They stare down at you. “You think she’s one of them?” “Who cares? She should've been minding her business.” The leader looks at the two arguing men, “just get the syringe and let’s hurry up. It’s already enough she got this far.” 

Your eyes blink open slowly.The leader sits across from you. They close just as quickly. “Awww. Rise and shine darlin’. Sleep well? Is the light too bright?” He taunts. You let out a soft groan. “Come on baby. Show me those pretty eyes.” He stands in front of you, forcing your face towards him. “Open them. Now!” You slowly open your eyes. “Just as I thought. How many, huh? Can you see this?” He holds up a few fingers. You stay silent. “Mhhh. Guess not.” A loud bang comes from one of the rooms. He groans loudly, taking out a gun from his pocket and cocking it. “If they can’t do it themselves, I guess I’ll have to handle it. Stay here for me sweets. Try not to move too much.” He walks away, leaving you in the cold room. 

Tears start to fall again. Your dad was right. You’d never be ready for any missions. Having one sense less than others made you weak. You're knocked out of your thoughts at the sound of more banging. This time with gunshots following them. You prayed Matt hadn’t gotten himself shot. You couldn’t even reach him telepathically since that guy bashed your head in so hard. You could barely even think. Your legs start to shuffle on the floor. Those goons tied you up pretty good. You can barely move. Panic starts to settle in as the sounds stop. Your body thrashes in the chair, feeling a presence getting closer. 

“Hey. Hey, It’s just me.” Matt’s familiar calm voice rang in your ears. He sounded farther away, but with his head lightly touching your shoulder, you knew he was by your side. He bends down, cutting the ties from your body. “I didn’t leave you. I’m right here.” Your body drops in the chair, head falling back. Matt listens for your pulse. You’re okay. He picks up your body, making his way out of the warehouse. His other hand digs for his burner phone, calling Claire. “I need your help. Meet at mine.” 

You wake up sprawled on an unfamiliar couch. Panic kicks back in, thinking you're still in the warehouse. You calm back down when you hear Matt softly talking to you. Your eyes roll open, trying to find some form of comfort in the lighting. He caresses your hand with his thumb. “I’m right here. We’re in my apartment again. You’re okay.” Another person’s thoughts scroll past you. “Who else is here? Did you call someone?” He looks in Claire’s direction. “Claire’s a friend. I called her to make sure you were okay. She checked you over. She’s a nurse.” You try to nod your head, but are met with pain. The last thing you remember was that guy smashing your face and waking up in a chair. “You don’t want to move too much. You’ve got a concussion and fractured wrist. And there’s a few bruises on your arms and neck.” You put up a thumb, not wanting to move any more than you have. “Thank you.” Claire nods, packing up her bag. “I left some painkillers on the table. Just take one in the morning and rest your body. You should feel better in about a week. And if your wrist still hurts after that, give me a call.” “Thank you. Have a good night.” She returns a “good night” to you and heads to the door with Matt following behind. He says “thank you” for the hundredth time tonight and closes the door. 

Matt comes to sit in front of the couch. “How are you feeling?” A long sigh comes out. “I’m alive, so I guess I’m doing good. How are you feeling?” He hangs his head down, not knowing what to say. He didn’t want this to happen. Especially because you just met. “It’s not your fault, Matt. I wasn’t paying attention. Just be glad that we both got out alive. Okay?” You reach a hand out to caress his face. He leans into it. “This would’ve happened with or without you there. I just didn’t know how to stop it.” “I still shouldn’t have left you by yourself. He could’ve done worse. I’m so sorry.” You both aren’t gonna get anywhere if you keep apologizing to each other. You know that, so you change the topic off of you. “I was able to find something that could help. There were some documents that show proof of them buying product and using it. Maybe you could get it another day.” He nods. Right now, he just wants you to be okay. He can get the files later. You feel him pull away and stand up. “You should get some rest. I have some clothes you can wear. You can take the bed.” You carefully stand up, “no, I can take the couch. It’s pretty comfy.” Lie. “Don’t try to convince me otherwise. This is your place. You take the bed.” He reluctantly nods before grabbing a shirt, blanket and pillow. You're quietly guided to his bathroom. Behind the closed door, you struggle to undress with your broken hand. A wince or whine leaving your lips every now and then. He wants to help, but knows you probably won’t let him. You lift the shirt over your head with a sigh. For a second, you just stand there in the quiet space of his bathroom. Your thoughts are running wild, but you force them to be quiet until the morning. When you come out, Matt helps you back to the couch and you both call it a night. 

The next morning, a beam of light hitting your eyelids wakes you up. Your head still hurts, but feels a lot better than yesterday. You hear soft noises coming from the kitchen. Matt’s ears perk at the sound of your change in heart rate. “Morning. I grabbed us some breakfast.” You slowly rise from the couch, walking towards him in the kitchen. “I have an island, if you want to sit there. It’s a foot in front of you and the table is to your left.” You nod, taking a seat at the table. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to drink in the morning, so I got you something based on the drink you had last time.” He comes to sit with you at the table, placing the food and drinks on top. You let out a quiet “thank you,” before digging in. Matt also quietly eats his food and tries to start up a conversation. He has been pretty curious about one thing since last night. “I hate to ask, but how long have you been blind?” You hum. He figured it out. “I heard the guys from last night talking about your eyes, but I didn’t think much of it. And then Claire told me you had an off gaze.” You swallow a mouthful of food and clear your throat. “Since I was 12. There was a huge explosion at the manor. I was pretty close to it, trying to tell everyone what I saw before it happened. Unfortunately, I was a bit too late and well… Now I live like this.” It’s heartbreaking to hear someone else has gone through a similar experience as him. Matt reaches to place his hand on yours. Almost like he’s telling you he understands and is there for you. “I’m not as cool as you though. Having heightened senses is a lot more handy than telepathy and clairvoyance in some cases. I can only hear thoughts from about a 10 mile radius. My dad can hear them up to maybe 2 or 3 hundred miles away.” The two of you continue talking for a while, finishing up your food and cleaning up. 

Matt lets you stay with him for longer. Claiming that he just wants to be sure you’re okay before you go back home. You don’t live very far, but the thought of leaving a safe space is harder than one thinks. When he leaves for work, he promises to call and drop by for lunch. But you tell him that you’ll be fine and just the call will do. Later in the afternoon, you start to get a bit antsy. You're woken up by a vision. Matt going back to the warehouse to look for those files. You can’t tell if he needs help or not. So when he finally does get home, you ambush him. “Don’t go out tonight. I already know you’re gonna try to go back to that warehouse. Don’t. Stay here. Please.” He can hear how accelerated your heartbeat is. You physically shake at the thought of him going out tonight. He hugs you close, bringing your head to his chest to hear his calmer heartbeats. His hands run through your hair and down your back in a soothing manner. “I won’t. I’ll stay here. I promise.” He whispers to you. You start to calm down and sink into him more. “How about we grab some dinner tonight. You don’t even have to dress up. We can just wear some of my sweats and go to a diner or something. That sound okay?” You nod against his chest. 

Here you both are, sitting in a booth with the baggiest sweats on and eating your food. The waitress taking your order calls you a cute couple. Neither you or Matt correct her. She mutters to herself how God has a funny way of putting two people alike together. Both you and Matt smile at that. You had been getting a bit closer to one another over the past few days. Everything you did together felt so right. Waking up and having breakfast, waiting for him to come home from work, having dinner, then going to bed. All while still making time to actually talk to each other. Matt was a great companion. He was supportive and understanding of all the things you’ve told him. He never went against his promises to you. You grew another kind of respect and trust for each other. Never did you think you’d be in a place like this again. Having a sense of community with another person. It felt good. You wanted to keep feeling good. And with Matt in the picture, you were going to.

A/N:Real talk this was so hard to write. I didn't really know how I wanted to make this. But I somehow pulled this together. Also cat is out of the bag. The secret about the character was that she's also blind. I thought that would be kinda interesting 🤷🏽‍♀️. I honestly love this character tbh. I might have to do a part 2 of them actually getting together. Let me know if you want that too. I hope you guys enjoyed this. Feedback is always encouraged. K, bye <3

[sissytobitch10seconds]

My Little Beast

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows Summary: It is an inevitability, when sharing a life with another being, that there will come a time that they are lost. Matthias thought that he was prepared for it. Warnings: Animal death, grief, pet death, and mentions of canon-typical injuries Word Count: 4,973 Ship(s): Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik/Wylan Van Eck/Jesper Fahey/Inej Ghafa/Kaz Brekker

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A/N: We've reached the end of the series! I hope that you guys have enjoyed reading these as much as I've enjoyed writing them. I'm going to be honest, I saved this one for last because I wanted these all to have a vague timeline even though they can be read individually, but it ended up being me saving the best for last. This one almost made me cry and I never cry at fanfics. Be warned about that while you read, lol. Stay sissy and bitchy everyone &lt;3

Every morning for the last ten years, Matthias had gotten up and then immediately gotten Axel ready for his morning run. It was one of the perks of living in the richer district of the city that they had found themselves in. Matthias was able to take his dog for an actual run the same way that he had when he had Trassel and all of the Druskelle training grounds at his disposal. He had always loved mornings, but having a furry companion that he could share them with made him all the fonder of them.

He untangled himself from the mess of limbs that Nina and Jepser had formed around him, Nina on his left and Jesper on his right. He shed his sleeping clothes into the laundry shoot that was next to the bathroom in their master bedroom. He then dressed in a baggy ruby red shirt, one that Nina had gotten him for his birthday a few months ago, and a comfortable pair of pants. He had just finished tugging his boots onto his feet by the time that his dog jumped off of the bed to join him. 

“Hey puppy,” he said as he brushed his head over the top of his dog’s head. Axel had the softest ears of almost any dog that Matthias had every encountered before, but they still had the coarseness that came with wolf fur. “Are you ready to go on our run?”

He got a gentle boof and a lick over his cheek in reply. He chuckled as he stood up and walked with Axel trotting happily beside him while they made their way down the grand halls of the estate and into the open air of the grounds that the mansion resided on. Matthias stretched out his limbs and chuckled when he saw that Axel was mimicking him in the same way that he had done since he was a puppy, all those years ago. They were both getting older and beginning to wear down, but it didn’t stop them from spending time with each other like they always did.

The bitter summer morning made Matthias’ shoulder ache where the bullet had almost taken his life shortly after the first heist he had ever gone on with his spouses. So much of his life had changed since he had fallen in love with a woman that was supposed to be his mortal enemy and then landed himself in the most intense prison in all of Kerch. He loved the life that he had now and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Once they were finished stretching, they began a light pace down the path towards the pond that they always lapped. In the early spring and late fall, it would be lousy with ducks and geese as they migrated across the ocean to the warmer parts of the world for the winter and then did the reverse. Axel had always loved chasing after waterfowl because of his dog half, though he didn’t have the soft mouth that retrievers did and often ended up shredding anything that he managed to catch, not that it happened often.

Matthias stared ahead at the rows of flowers and neatly trimmed grass that were attached to the grounds of their estate. Wylan and Marya had been changing up a lot of the aesthetics of the place now that they were no longer struggling to maintain the image that remained after they had taken Jan down. He liked being able to see his husband interact with his mother in the way that he was, though it made Matthias miss his family dearly.

He felt pity for the boys that had become his brothers when he was a Druskelle, but he didn’t miss them. The family that he missed was the mother and sister that he had lost when the Grisha had attacked his home. He wondered what they would think of him now that he was married to not one but five people, and none of them were non-criminals, let alone Fjerdan. He liked to hope that his mother would be happy for him when he showed her that what he was doing brought him joy and that he had grown. He knew that his sister would tease him but wouldn’t really care as long as she got her way. She was the baby of the family through and through, a thought that made his heart ache for her.

He paused when he realized that Axel was no longer keeping pace with him the way that he had before. Matthias turned and jogged slowly back to the place in the path that he had been before. “What’s going on with you, pup?” he asked as he knelt down in front of his dog.

Axel’s fur had always been lighter than the standard wolf but darker than the specialized breed that the Druskelle had used for witch hunting. He had recently developed patches of white around his eyes, muzzle, and on his chest. It was a sign of his age more than the way that he walked when storms came in and his hips were bothering him. He was still full of puppy-like fun and energy even if he was beginning to spend more time napping on their bed than doing anything else.

Matthias wove his fingers into the course fur on either side of his dog’s head and then pressed their foreheads together. It wasn’t going to be able to tell him anything, but it was the kind of connection that made them both feel better when they were upset about something, so he was trying it out now.

He had been in denial about it for a while, but he could tell that the end was coming. He had always known that it was, from the moment that a squirming bundle of puppy had been placed into his arms after visiting a reputable breeder just south of the Fjerdan border in Tsibeya. It was an inevitability that no being, not even the Grisha that were able to prolong their lives with their gifts from Djel, was able to avoid. He hadn’t wanted it to happen for a while longer, though. 

He had seen the signs coming before they had begun to really take a toll on his companion. Axel had been slowing down significantly over the last couple of years. He was running out of energy and wanted to sleep closer to the fire or their bodies so that the heat would soothe his aches. That meant that he got pets on the head more often and got to accompany Kaz down to his office on the base floor level because that was where the biggest fireplace was, and one that was almost always going. He walked like his hips were hurting him and came to Matthias to be held more often in the night. He was becoming pickier with his food as his teeth were no doubt hurting him after years and years of eating raw meat and bones. It took them three times to get him to hear what was going on and sometimes he would just stand without reacting whatsoever.

He wouldn’t have known what was coming unless he had grown up with dogs, which he had. They were his father’s hunting dogs, which was fairly typical in Fjerda because of the kind of hunting that they had to do to keep themselves fed. They had bred them until they had lost his father’s favorite bitch, which was when the adults had decided that it was more pain than it was worth. Matthias hadn’t understood the concept of death when their hounds would age and then pass away, especially since his parents had refused to explain it to him. 

Then he had lost his entire family, his village, because everything that he had held dear had gone up in flames. Back then he had been too busy thinking about how dearly he wanted to tease his sister or be held in his mother’s arms to realize that all of the dogs had died and he just hadn’t been told about it. He hadn’t had the chance to look for those signs in Trassel because the young wolf had only been about four by the time that they were separated.

He was able to look for them in Axel, which he was almost grateful for. His dog had lived a good, long life with the best of food and care that any animal could have hoped for. He had never had to face the threat of large wild animals that were threatening to scoop out his bowels with claws that he never had any hope of properly facing. He never had to stand in front of a Grisha that was manipulating the elements in a way that some humans didn’t even understand. He had never had to know the pain of losing the human that he had become so attached to. He had never had to watch Matthias bleed out in the snow, or become a person that he wasn’t. He had never had to be released out into the wilderness with no hope of ever finding a new family.

Yet, Matthias still wasn’t ready to let him go. He kew that Axel was dying and it made his heart ache desperately in his chest at just the thought of it. It brought back a darkness that he hadn’t known in a long time, something that he thought he had learned to walk and live with. The weight of it was now dragging at the bottoms of his feet and his knees where they were touching the ground.

He let out a small sigh as he pushed the feelings back down for another time. He kept his forehead pressed to Axel’s for a while longer before he turned around and brought him back towards the house. He could go out for his jog on his own, so that his dog could have a chance to sneak treats from Nina and rest with Kaz in front of their favorite fire. If Axel was lucky, then Wylan would also take a nap with him once he had finished with his work.

---

He woke late into the night. He could hear the bells clanging twice, a sound that was so similar and yet so different to the Elder Clock back in the Ice Court where he had trained for years. He knew that he was thinking about where he had come from and all of the progress that he had made because he was staring death in the face as he had so many times before, yet he was unable to keep the thoughts from clouding over the front of his mind.

He was sleeping in the grand master bed that he had been in the night before, though all of his partners had joined him that time. It made it even more difficult than it had been when he had woken up that morning to crawl out of bed. He had to carefully move Wylan into Jesper’s arms so that the two were tucked together as if they belonged there, which they always looked like when they were cuddling. Inej was draped lazily over Nina like she did when the two of them were available to each other. Kaz was sleeping like a log and yet would be the most likely person to wake up when Matthias was leaving.

Axel hadn’t come with them to bed that night. Matthias remembered when they had first brought the puppy home from Ravka and introduced him to their partners. Nina had reassured them all that they would train him quickly since they both had some experience with that. They had also said that they weren’t going to be letting him sleep on the bed, but that had changed after the first night when Kaz had heard the puppy crying out for comfort when they had all retired to bed.

They had ended up training him very quickly. He had become potty trained after three accidents inside of the house. Afterwards they had moved on to teaching him how to walk alongside them so that he wouldn’t get lost when they went out running, how to sit, how to fetch, and how to attack. They had never had to use the last one because no one was ever stupid enough to come after them when they were already the most dangerous people in the Barrel without their wolf dog.

Matthias wasn’t sure how much longer they were going to have him, though. He had awoken with a feeling sinking low in his stomach, the same one that he had gotten hours before the Grisha had attacked his village and he had lost everything that he had ever known.

So he slipped from the bed that he was happily sharing with his partners. He grabbed the thick housecoat that was hanging by the door after almost grabbing Jesper’s, which was the same length as his own but a lot thinner to fit the crane-like man. He wrapped the thick material over his body and then walked down the long hallways in the dark. His hands, calloused from years of handling a rifle and sparring to keep himself in shape, trailed over the wainscotting on the walls.

He traversed the stairs without bothering to light even one of their mobile oil lights so that he could see where he was going. The halls and staircase were as dark as the cells that he had been kept in before he had gotten to perform in the Hellshow for extra privileges. There were no windows in the part of the house that he was in so there was no chance for the silvery moonlight to stream down onto the dark wood flooring.

Eventually, he ended up in front of the door that led into Kaz’s office. The papers that he kept for the crimes that the Dregs still committed were safely back at the Crow Club so that if the stadwatch decided that they wanted to come snooping through the estate, they would have nothing to try and press Kaz with. Matthias reached out and grasped the handle for a moment before he pushed the door open. The room was bathed in a soft auburn glow from the remnants of the coals still smoking away. They had left the fire in the room alone since they knew that it wouldn’t catch the house ablaze given the size of the hearth in front of it and no extra fuel.

Kaz’s office was one of the plainer rooms in the house. They had been redoing a lot of the wallpaper and decorations recently, but Kaz had stripped down his office almost as soon as he had decided that the room was going to be his. The walls were bare white plaster and the floorboards were the same as the rest of the house. There was a large black colored desk in front of the window so that the natural light would come in while Kaz was working. Across the way, in front of the fire, there was a massive rug that was pinned under two chairs and a couch for when the partners came to have tea with their husband.

Laying on the very edge of the rug closest to the fire was Axel. His eyes were shut and his head was flopped to the side so that one of his massive ears, the one that had flopped over and stood up at different intervals all the way through his life, was covering one of his eyes. His feet were point out towards the fire and twitching slightly as he dreamed of running.

When he heard the door swing shut behind his master, he sat up with slow movements. He was tired, very obviously. It wasn’t as much the usual sleepy that he carried with him after he woke up from a nap, but the tired that came with old age. Matthias had seen it in some of the Mercher men that Wylan had to invite to their home. It broke his heart to think about his beloved pup hurting in the same way that those men had, even though they both had the comforts that the elderly in his village back in Fjerda hadn’t. 

Matthias walked over to the fire and sat down beside it. He grabbed a couple of the logs from where they were stacked next to the hearth and then threw them over the flickering kindling. They caught after a few minutes of dimmed light and the room grew immensely warmer.

“Come here, Axel,” the whispered as he folded his legs underneath him like Inej did whenever she was sitting anywhere. His wife was always contorting her body into any shape that she could manage, he found it as admirable as he did fascinating. Once there was a space, he picked up the dog’s large head and then placed it delicately into his lap. He began to trace his hands over the fur on the side of his companion’s face as well as the top of his head. He would pause every now and again so that he could run Axel’s ears between his fingers and massage them comfortingly. 

The dog let out a low sigh and leaned heavily into the touch. His body was warm but it was obvious that he was hurting. He had barely touched his dinner that night despite Matthias giving him the best steak that they had in their stores. He had cut it up extra small so that the wolf wouldn’t have to bite chunks off of it the way he had before they had realized his teeth were hurting. Yet, he still didn’t eat.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting alone with his pup in the near-dark before the voice of the man who owned the office asked, “Matthias?”

Matthias turned his head slowly to look back at his husband. He motioned for the other man to come over without taking his hands from the dog’s fur. Kaz slowly limped over to them and then sat down about a foot away from his husband. Matthias didn’t think that it was offensive or that it was even about him, he knew that Kaz had had a nightmare the day before and would need to work slowly back up to touching them again. “What are the two of you doing down here at this time of night?” he asked, his voice rasping in his throat.

“I think that his time is coming soon,” Matthias replied. It wasn’t very specific and he didn’t want to go into it because he wasn’t sure that he would be able to resist the urge to cry that had been brimming just below the surface if he actually said anything out loud. It would make everything feel too real.

“I see,” Kaz replied softly. “Would you like me to get the others?”

He already had the head of his cane grasped in his hand as he prepared to push off so that he could locate the rest of their partners. Matthias only had to think about it for a second before he gave a single, firm nod. It was for the best if Axel was surrounded by his family and the people that had helped raise him since he was puppy when he went. Very few of their other loved ones had gotten the chance for that to happen, and though Axel was a dog and not a human, Matthias thought that he deserved it.

He listened to the sound of the fire crackling and his dog’s slow breathing when the clacking of the cane against their hardwood floors got further and further away. It returned only ten minutes later, accompanied by a large amount of shuffling from the sleepy spouses that Kaz had gone to collect. They all piled into the room as soon as they reached the doorway, half-awake and a little confused but eager to help comfort their husband.

Inej and Wylan sat on the couch together with her head pillowed on his shoulder as she struggled to stay awake. She was always sleepier when she was at home than when she was anywhere else, likely because the estate and their clubs were the only places that she ever felt truly safe. Kaz sat down next to them on the couch, but far enough away that his body wasn’t touching either of them. Jesper situated himself down beside Matthias so that their legs were pressed flush together and then looped one of his lanky hands around his husband’s arm. Nina carefully sat down on the other side of Matthias with her hand also weaving into Axel’s fur. He had almost forgotten that he was also technically her dog, because she had been there and had helped Matthias pick him out.

“He’s old,” she whispered. “That was more than almost everyone I knew in Ravka got.”

“I know,” Matthias bowed his head in reply. It had been a long time since he had felt the immense, overwhelming guilt that came with recalling his past as a Grisha hunter. He had done a lot of work with both the Ravkan government and the Grisha Triumvirate to help them be able to fight properly back against his own people without them toppling his home country’s government, but it had only done so much. His head and his heart hurt so much that it felt like it was overflowing out of him before he could do anything to stop it.

“He’s had a good life,” Kaz rasped from his place on the couch. “Even if he doesn’t go tonight, it’ll prove that we love him to stay with him while he sleeps.”

“It’s going to happen tonight, I know it,” Matthias replied with a small shake of his head. He had never really laid out his ability to tell when things felt off or wrong to them, but they had picked up on it after almost five years of being married to him.

Jesper cuddled closer to Matthias. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the softest part of Axel’s muzzle as he whispered a couple of words that Matthias didn’t know in Zemini. 

On his other side, Nina was still weaving one of her hands through the long fur on the back of Axel’s neck. It was easier to turn his attention to her as she began to do something that he didn’t quite understand. She was keeping a small pile of the fur that shed from his coat in her lap every time she pulled her hand through it.

Inej rose from the couch when the four bells rang out to signify that they had been there for an hour. She ran her hands over the dog’s long snout and then pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. He woke up after sensing that there was someone new petting him and licked at her, though it was lackluster and tired compared to what he had used to do. “The Saints will help you cross, my good boy. You have done so well for us in the past. Remember that I always love you, and I will find you when my time has come.”

She kissed Matthias, Jesper and Nina too, before she had to get up so that she could go to work. If their pup was really going to die soon, then she had already said her goodbye. She didn’t have to face more death than she already had, especially when she had important work to do to prevent others from the fate she had to endure.

Wylan moved so that he was sitting on the other side of Nina and had given Kaz more space on the couch. “We’re here for you, Matthias, whatever you need,” he reassured gently. Out of all of his partners, the Fjerdan had always assumed that Wylan would be the most broken up about their dog leaving to the other side. He had refused to acknowledge the hurt and pain that he already carried when it came to losing his unwavering companion.

“I do not know why he has not already gone,” Matthias shook his head. “It is obvious that he is tired and it is his time. I know it.”

Nina leaned her head onto his shoulder and wove her free hand, the one that wasn’t collecting fur form Axel’s coat, around his arm like Jesper had. It was a reaffirming and grounding weight, one that he really needed. “Maybe he’s staying for you.”

“What?”

Jesper spoke next, “Some people, and animals I assume, have to be told that it’s okay for them to go. I know that my ma would have died a lot sooner if I hadn’t been there asking her to come home with us. They try to keep going because they know that we need them.”

Brokenly, Matthias turned his gaze from his husband down to his dog. He took Axel’s white-echoed face into his hands and then leaned down so that he could press their foreheads together like he had done so many times before. Tears brimmed on his eyelashes before they overflowed down his face and into the soft fur he had been petting for hours. He spoke in Fjerdan, softly and sweetly to the only being he had ever loved as much as his own family. “You can go, my sweet wolf. May you always run with the pack in the sky, free to let the wind rip through your fur and feel the blood of the evil spirits between your teeth. I will always love you, but I will learn to live without you.”

They were the hardest words that he had ever had to say. It was harder than lying to Brum back when he thought that the man was still a good person. It was harder than agreeing to Kaz when he thought that he was above depravity and crime. It was harder than anything he had ever done before, and yet they were the words that needed to be spoken.

Jesper and Nina had apparently been right. Axel lifted his tired head and licked twice at Matthias’ cheek before he laid down in his master’s lap and took his last breath. Just like that, he was gone and Matthias felt as though a hole had been ripped open in his chest.

---

They buried Axel underneath the shade of his favorite tree while wrapped in one of the bright white sheets they were never going to use for their bed. Nina had held Matthias’ hand the entire time that Jesper and Wylan dug the whole for the body. Inej was able to come back just as they were covering the body so that she could say a few Suli prayers for their beloved companion now that he had passed.

For the rest of the week, Matthias moved about while coming in and out of a fugue state. He would start his mornings by wandering aimlessly on the track that he used to run with his beloved companion. At times he would forget that Axel was gone, but then it would all come crashing back down on him and he would be reduced to tears. 

The others were struggling as well, but none of the had been as close to Axel as Matthias was. They were there for their husband so that they could reassure him that it was going to be okay and help him along his journey of relearning how to live his life without his dog. Wylan often helped distract him by playing music with him or teaching him about certain strange Kerch laws. Kaz helped him by sparring verbally with him, which almost inevitably led to them messing around in the bedroom long enough that Matthias’ tired mind could have a break. Inej had spent her last two days holding him when he cried, which Nina and Jesper took over when she couldn’t help any longer.

He was sitting on the floor in front of their main living room’s hearth while staring at the bed that Axel had slept in just a week prior. He knew that it was Nina who had come to the doorway when she did her signature two-knuckle wrap on the frame, “Matthias, I made something for you.”

“Hmm?” he asked as he turned towards her. His cheeks were red with tears and his eyes ached from crying.

She knelt down beside him and opened her hand to reveal a felted piece of fur that had been woven into the shape of a little dog. “I know that it’s not him, but this way you can always carry a piece of him with you. He’ll be able to find you to help protect you from the evil spirits that try to hurt you.”

Suddenly he understood why she had been collecting the fur before Axel had passed. It was something that the Druskelle did when they lost their companions, so that they would always remember the kinship that they had shared with their wolves. Matthias hadn’t gotten the chance with Trassel, but Axel had been his second chance for just about everything.

“Thank you, Nina,” he whispered as he took the charm. The tears were falling again, but the ache was less. He knew that the spirit of his beloved companion would be by his side as he lived the rest of his life, and he would learn how to navigate the new waters that he had found himself in with the help of his partners. All may not have been right in the world now, but eventually it would be.

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Someone to Watch Out for You: Chapter 11

Twilight

Summary: In which Ven and Pluto take a walk in Twilight Town, and encounter two odd men in black coats. Word Count: 1,598 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

Pluto was an odd hound. The king's faithful mutt usually came and went as he pleased. Much like the king himself, there would be long periods of time where Pluto simply could not be found, and then reappear as if he never left. The most noticeable of these was when the king was gone. It was like the loyal dog just went after Mickey to make sure he was safe. Or maybe he was just bored.

Suffice to say, Ven didn’t spend much time with the dog. Which was why today started a lot weirder than usual. Pluto personally woke Ventus up by jumping on top of his bed and panting right over his head until the knight woke up. After the initial shock, and Pluto jumping down again, Ven tried to rack his brain on whatever dogs could be interested in.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” he eventually asked- the confusion not lost on him or the mutt.

Pluto replied with an eager bark.

To Pluto’s credit, he remained close to Ven’s side as they walked around the castle together. Ven could remember a few instances where Pluto had remained close to Mickey’s side as well. It was Pluto’s choice if they kept going or remained in one area to throw a stick or two. When the dog led them into a room just for Pluto and sat down right in front of a red leash, that was the first time Ven realized that, yes, Pluto was leash trained.

Taking the hint, Ven picked up the leash but didn’t place it on Pluto right away. Happy enough that he had it, Pluto indicated that they should leave. Curiosity was why Ven never stopped Pluto from heading to the Gummi Ship hanger. Seeing both the red Gummi Ship and his own just sitting there made Ven wistful.

“Maybe we should go somewhere today,” he mused. He looked down at Pluto. “What do you think?”

Another eager bark. Maybe Ven should become a dog whisperer.

At least, he could have, if his first mistake wasn’t letting Pluto in the cockpit.

“Where should we go?” Ven said to himself as he readied the ship. “There should be plenty of space in Wasteland to run around. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. What do you think?”

Ven swiveled his chair around to face Pluto. The mutt was sitting on the floor. He didn’t look very happy- it came as a surprise since Pluto had seemed fine before now. Ven got up to give Pluto a good scratch behind the ears.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Ven asked him. “Should we stay here instead?”

Then, out of nowhere, Pluto perked up. He gave Ven a slobbery kiss before bounding over to the commanding console.

“Pluto, don’t touch that!” Ven exclaimed as Pluto placed his paws up on the console. “Pluto!”

By the time Ven was able to reach the hound, it had been too late. The Gummi Ship was off to some world that Ven never even knew existed before.

In all respects, the landing could have been a lot nicer. Ven was able to take control again to minimize most of the damage. Thankfully, they seemed to land in a rather secluded area -outside the window showing only thick trees- so it was possible that no one in this world had seen them arrive.

“Bad dog.” he admonished once he was sure they were safe. 

Pluto whined in full apology. Somehow, Ven still saw it as rather hollow. Either way he couldn’t stay mad at the sad mutt.

“I guess we could still figure out what world we’re in, at least.” Ven sighed. “But only for a little bit.”

That got Pluto to perk up again.

“But I got to leash you up.” Ven then informed the dog.  "Don't want to lose you and the king get worried, right?"

Pluto gave a happy bark in return. The energetic dog sat straight up as he patiently waited for Ven to latch the leash onto his collar. After making sure he was secure, Pluto stood up and immediately bounded out the Gummi Ship door. Ven wasn’t sure how he wasn’t even surprised by this anymore. He was still surprised to find that Pluto was a lot stronger than he looked.

The dog did not give Ven enough time to look around. His struggles against the mutt were the only sounds in the otherwise secluded woods. Pluto dragged the two of them to a white cement wall with a rather massive hole on its side. What existed on the other side made Ven yank on Pluto’s leash in order to make him heel. Pluto obeyed immediately.

“This world…” Ven marveled as he looked around. “It’s…”

This town was the most lively Ven had seen since Disney Town itself. Except this world was bathed completely in a warm orange glow, as if its sun was stuck in a perpetual sunset state. The tall terracotta buildings were sandwiched tightly in each other, making up many apartments and stores. As Ven was left wondering just how many people lived in this world, he had to jump out of the way of a moderately moving tram. Pluto gave it a few amused barks, as if he was joke-yelling at it for almost running them over.

“Have I ever been in a world that sat dead center in between light and darkness?” Ven wondered to himself. Pluto’s reply was to rigorously scratch the back of his ear.

Careful now, the two started to explore the world a bit more. Eventually they climbed up the hill this world was built on to reach the train station. Ven had to take a step back to admire it all. He turned around and took a deep breath in. He could almost see the entire world here, it felt like. He could even see how long the cement wall around the tram common ran.

Beside him, Pluto started to perk up as he noticed two strangers. The dog gave a low warning growl that quickly earned Ven’s attention.

“What’s wrong Pluto?” Ven asked. He looked over to what Pluto was glaring at and noticed two figures at the station’s side. Both figures were wearing long black coats. While having hoods, neither of them were wearing them at the moment. Both men by the looks of it, the taller of the two had black and white hair, an eyepatch covering his right eye, and a rather impressive scar at his chin. The smaller man also looked younger. He had silver-blue hair that partially covered his face. In his hands was a rather heavy looking black tome. Something about him felt familiar to Ven, but he couldn't quite place from where.

Pluto growled at the figures then, in a massive tug Ven hadn’t been expecting, broke free of Ven’s grip.

“Hey!” the boy shouted after the dog, although it quickly proved to be quite useless.

Pluto ran straight to the weird duo and started to bark at them more. The black coat weirdos barely reacted.

“Great,” the man with the eyepatch remarked, “And now we have a dog following us. Guess our cover’s blown. You think the boss would like a little mutt running around homebase? Sure would liven up the place a bit.”

The silver haired man titled his head at the growling dog. Carefully, he got down to Pluto’s height.

"What breed are you?" he asked. He held his hand out for the dog to sniff, but Pluto quickly snapped at it.

"Oh sure, that's what gets you to talk." the one with an eyepatch huffed. It seemed to be one of amusement more than genuine offense. “I’m starting to think you just don’t like me.”

His gripes, hilariously enough, were ignored.

The man in the eyepatch gave an exaggerated sigh as he turned his attention elsewhere. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ven coming toward them.

“Hey you!” the man in the eyepatch shouted. “Control your unruly mutt!”

“Sorry.” Ven apologized when he was close enough, even sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s been all over the place today. I didn’t expect him to pull away that hard.” To Pluto, he added, “Pluto! Back over here, now!”

Still keeping a sneering gaze at the black coated men, Pluto did as he was told. The hound stood in front of Ventus as if daring the other two to make a move.

With Pluto beside him again, Ven felt relaxed enough to get a better look at the weird duo. That weird feeling of knowing the silver haired man was even stronger now.

“Have we met before?” Ven then asked, not quite intending to say it out loud.

It was the guy in the eyepatch that answered first.

“As if,” he snorted. “Definitely not in this life, that’s for sure.”

The silver haired man looked Ven over before deciding, “But perhaps in the next. If your heart is strong enough.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Neither of them answered. A few moments more of awkwardly staring each other down, the duo in the black coats made their leave. Ven and Pluto left soon after. 

As the black coated men entered the underground concourse, the youngest of the two wondered, “How on earth did he stay so young after all these years?”

“Dunno.” Xigbar snickered. “I’d just as soon steal a man’s heart to stay that young for a decade. Might even be easier!”

Zexion made a displeased frown as his coworker went into an uproarious belly laugh over it.

[happy-tori-friends]

Prompt "(jokingly) sulking and moping when someone else gets the slightest bit of attention," for the twins (or just one of them!) and Splendont, please?

decided to do just lifty for this one because i have done a splendont and shifty only prompt b4! if you'd like you can send in another ask and i'll do it again with both ^o^ - and try not to make it tooo samey. (if anyone wants to reuse a prompt for another ship i am also open to that!)

“You sure you don't want me to come pick you up?” Shifty asked.

“I walked here myself in the first place,” Lifty retorted, rolling his eyes even though he knew his brother couldn't see him. “If I had gotten a whole lot of stuff or things that needed to go in the freezer or fridge then yeah, but I just got some chips and cookies. I can carry that home just fine.”

“‘Kay,” Shifty responded, though there was a hint of disappointment, or maybe annoyance, in his voice. “Don't take too long though. I want those fucking chips.”

Lifty laughed slightly at his brother's annoyance. “Hey, even if you picked me up, you'd have to drive all the way here and then back home. And if it makes you feel any better, I don't have plans to eat anything before I get home.”

“Whatever,” Shifty scoffed, “See you when you get home.”

“Yeah, see you!” Lifty hummed as he hung up, putting his phone into his pocket. 

Today was a good day, and they had some spare cash, so Lifty decided to get some snacks for them. He'd been a little restless all day so he decided to walk - which admittedly might not have been the best idea considering the shopping district wasn't all that close to their apartment building, but regardless it gave him a sort of ‘free’ feeling. Sure, driving the van would have been faster and less exhausting but sometimes it felt… constricting, in a way.

Regardless, he had his haul, and he had a bit of a trek to get home. As much as Lifty wanted to break out into a sprint and just be a little silly, he knew that it'd drain his stamina, and get him a lot of weird looks. It could also break the chips up, and he wasn't looking to piss Shifty off, so a nice casual pace it was.

He hummed softly to himself as he began walking, glad that nothing bad had happened so far. Sometimes good days were few and far between, and it wasn't uncommon for something to bring his mood down, whether it be the curse or something else.

Good days had become increasingly more common though, ever since…

Crash!

Lifty jumped, startled out of his thoughts by the loud clattering noise. His ears perked up and his eyes narrowed, searching for the source of the noise when his eyes caught sight of a familiar redhead off to the side of a fallen store sign - carefully setting someone down.

Suddenly no longer phased by the danger, he began to approach, planning to surprise Splendont when the innocent soul that almost got crushed had left. He softly snickered to himself, his original mission forgotten in favor of a surprise boyfriend ambush.

“Thank you for saving me, Mister Splendont. I didn't realize that sign was about to fall off!” the poor victim smiled at the redhead, shuffling her feet. “I'm… I'm actually a really big fan of yours, actually!”

“Really now?” Splendont asked, a very slight curious hum in his voice.

Lifty couldn't see his boyfriend's expression, but the girl he'd saved had cheeks dusted in pink. He couldn't help but pout slightly, despite knowing fully well that the hero was fully committed to him and Shifty.

“Y-yes, actually. I'd, um, really like an autograph, if you could, maybe?” The fan dug into her purse, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen, and handing it to Splendont.

Carefully, the redhead signed it, before handing it back to her and offering her a wave. “There you go. Stay safe now.”

“I-I will!” she let out a squeak, clutching the autograph and pen close to her chest, her cheeks bright red now. “My friends… they are going to freak out!”

As she turned to head out, her eyes met Lifty's golden ones and she stiffened, freezing for a moment as she went pale. His glare intensified, even though he could get an autograph whenever he wanted, if he so desired. If he was feeling risqué, he could even have him write it on his skin!

…Ah. Nope. Maybe a bit too much. He felt his glare die down as his face heated up. The pout remained, however, even as he pulled his hood up to hide his face, and even as the girl carefully walked away, avoiding looking in his direction as much as possible.

“Oh, hey you,” Splendont greeted him as he approached, his voice much warmer in tone, softer, full of affection. “How's it going, Lifts? You didn't get hurt, right?”

Hmm… Splendont had noticed him before he had the chance to surprise him. That didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun, play up the dramatics over a simple interaction he'd witnessed. If he played his cards right, he'd get Splendont to be affectionate with him for a bit.

Shifty could wait a while longer, right?

Emphasizing his pout, he turned away with a dramatic ‘hmph’, folding his arms carefully so as not to crush the snacks. His tail twitched slightly as he did so, and he willed it not to give away his farce. “I didn't realize you had gotten so popular. Or that you had such adoring fans.”

Splendont frowned for a moment, before laughing and tugging on Lifty's cheeks. “I guess I am getting more recognition now, since I'm getting more merchandise than I ever have before. It means I have more money to spoil you and your brother with, so it's good news for you, too.”

The flush that had started to fade returned with a vengeance and he let out a soft gasp, inching just a little bit closer. “She was totally into you, y'know…”

“Maybe she was,” Splendont chuckled, reaching up to take the hood off of Lifty's head and ruffling his hair. “You scared her off though. Not that I wouldn't do the same for you and Shifty, of course. Speaking of him, where is he?”

“Oh, I left him at home. We had a little extra cash so I bought chips and cookies. And I… kinda had a lot of pent up energy, so I decided to walk,” Lifty admitted with a little bit of a sheepish laugh.

The older man nodded, before glancing around to make sure nobody was watching. Then, he gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. “I'll let you go then. Neither of us want to get in trouble with our brothers, do we?”

“Mmhm,” Lifty agreed with a small chirp. “I love you, and I'll text you later, okay?” When he got a nod in response he beamed, before turning away and waving.

“Love you too, Lifts,” Splendont replied, and then the two were back to their previous tasks.

‘Shifty's gonna be jealous,’ Lifty cheerfully thought as he began his trek once more, this time with more pep in his step. It really was a good day.

[ginger-idiot]

~~~.•°Chapter Three°•.~~~

Heaven

The group stepped into Loguetown, stretching from a day’s worries. They were all tired.

Luffy yawned. “Let’s sleep here! I’m tired.”

“Agreed.” Nami said with a hoarse voice.

The group lumbered backwards to the ship, letting their minds do the rest and eventually falling asleep.

Night

The group woke up to commotion outside their ship. Outside, the heavy rolling of thunder was an okay wake-up call. “Somethings happening outside!” Luffy stated loudly, somehow already out there.

“We can tell.” Winfrey said, clearly unintrigued, like the rest of the veldigun.

Jack’s ears perked. “Hey, now that I’m listening… isn’t that thunder a bit too close…?” The rest of the veldigun started listening in as well, all nodding.

BOOM.

The group jumped, turning to the sound of crashing lightning & thunder.

“The weather was perfectly fine when we went to bed… this isn’t natural.” Nami said, quivering under her bed.

“It cannot be. It is quite strange, if I do say.” Winfrey stated, staring out at the sky. The veldigun had huddled together within the split second the thunder had sounded, each of them visibly frightened. A crater resided in the ground, as black as tar from the strike of lightning just moments prior. The crater pulsed a strange, almost heavenly yellow as it laid.

“We aren’t in the grand line anymore, so things like this shouldn’t happen. There must be someone doing this.” Nami said, holding on to the mast.

“Let’s check it out!” Luffy said, about to use his devil fruit’s abilities to launch himself towards the eye of the storm.

“Luffy!” Nami said about to punch him. “If we go there, we might die! We don’t know how powerful they are. It’s best to stay back for now.”

“It’s just a storm! I’m rubber, remember?” Luffy stated confidently, launching himself out of the ship and towards the storm.

“Oh lord help me… he’ll get all of us killed one day.” Nami said, jumping out of the boat to follow him. “You guys,” she said pointing to the six veldigun in the corner. “You will stay in the ship and keep watch. Everyone else follow me! And chopper… make sure Zoro doesn’t get lost.”

“But… what if someone attacks us?” Clyde asked, latching onto Winfrey with a worried whimper.

“Fine…” Nami said, sighing. “Robin, you stay here with them.” She said as she left with the rest of the crew. They trekked through the storm, finding more pulsing yellow craters… and corpses. After what seemed like forever, though, the pirates finally found the source.

He was a strange man, with 2 golden streaks of hair beaming out from the back of his head. His red cloak covered most of his body, though he looked oddly… beautiful? Maybe that wasn’t the right word.

“Vice Admiral Smoker?!” the crew yelled, quite surprised.

“Oh, hey… guess that’s more pirates for me to catch.” he said out of breath. “But first… I’ll have to catch this one.”

“It seems the advice I gave you hasn’t gotten to your head yet, fool. You can’t defeat me, no matter how hard you try, ‘Vice Admiral Smoker.’” The mysterious man said.

Meanwhile, in the ship, the veldigun had grown quite restless. They were bored and yearned for something to so. While they would’ve been content with quiet, they were in a different world! They wanted to explore; they wanted action!

The six of them agreed to exit the ship- of course with Robin as their guide -and find the crew, but stick to the shadows, if they could even find any. Carefully exiting the ship, they found the rest of the crew within minutes because of the current ongoing altercation outside.

“Luffy, who are these men?” Winfrey asked, hiding Clyde behind him. “And how, exactly, is one of them flying?”

“The one on the ground is Smokey. The other one… I have no idea.” He said with his fists up in the air. “But the other one is probably from another world.” Next thing the crew knew, Luffy rocketed up towards the strange man, staring at him gleefully.

“I’m Monkey D. Luffy! I’m gonna be king of the pirates! Join my crew.” Luffy said extatically.

“Your ‘crew’ is uninteresting to me,” The man stated, coldly staring at Luffy. “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. Now leave me alone.”

“You’re from another world, right? We have others from a different world too!” Luffy said. “We can help you get back home.”

The man stared at the pirate. “I do not need, nor want your help, thing. I’ll find my way back to my world myself.”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Luffy said with a frown on his face.

The man’s eye slightly twitched. “I don’t know why you’re so… adamant… on this, but I am not joining your crew.”

“Aww man…” Luffy groaned, letting go of him and dropping to the ground.

The man sighed, dropping to the ground and calling to the pirate. “You! Thing. I have a question for you.”

Luffy turned around with a big grin on his face. “Yea?”

“If I by chance… do join your ‘crew,’ how will you assist me in getting back to my world?”

“Our captain is very persistent and strangely powerful for his skinny body.” Said Sanji. “I’m answering because Luffy doesn’t really know his own power… and is kinda stupid.”

The man looked at him, eyes faintly glowing. “Judging by your memories, you don’t seem like the smart type either.” The man stared at Nami. “You’re slightly smarter than them, I’m guessing.”

“Yea, me and Robin. Everyone else only has combat smarts.” She said, kind of scared by the man. “How did you know…?”

“That is none of your concern.” He spoke.

“If you do end up in our crew, you will have to tell us.” Jimbe said, towering over the man. “Trust is very important in a crew.”

“I’ll trust…” The man looked at the sky for a second, then continued. “The ‘Straw Hats’ when I know I can rely on them.”

Briefly, the six veldigun, who were currently standing in the shade, all looked at each other. They had to admit that they agreed with the man. After all, they didn’t exactly trust the Straw Hats just yet. They were just glad they weren’t asked any questions about them yet.

“If I win in a fight against you, will you join my crew?” Luffy said with his fists in the air.

“Based on your memories, you seem to not have a stand.” The man said. “You cannot win without one.”

“I might not have a ‘stand’, but I have my own ways of winning.” Luffy said, getting ready to go into second gear.

“Fine, we will fight.” He said, “Just make sure to entertain me, boy.”

“GEAR SECOND!” Luffy yelled as his leg folded into itself. His skin turned red, and steam started swirling around him as the air became hot. The next thing the strange man knew, Luffy wasn’t there anymore. He was behind the man as he heard something.

“GOMU-GOMU-NO, JET PISTOL!” the man turned around to see Luffy with his fist raised, ready to punch the strange man. Luffy attempted to hit him, but the man simply dodged.

“You made your blood flow pump faster to increase your speed. Though, unfortunately for you, not fast enough. It is quite smart, however.”

The two kept dodging and punching all throughout the night, and they both were getting annoyed.

Luffy started talking when the sun rose, seemingly igniting his clothing in a fiery light. “Alright... let’s end this!”

Pressure. That was all the man felt. Hnnn… this pressure… it must be caused by something that boy is doing! he thought to himself, his eyes glowing that familiar dull golden. He scanned through Luffy’s memories, trying to find anything that might hint at some kind of power that could cause this feeling. ‘Conqueror’s Haki…’ how interesting. There seems to be something guarding me from direct interference from the boy’s ability. The man closed his eyes for a moment. This should do the trick.

With a snap of the man’s fingers, Luffy’s Haki dissipated as fast as it had been made.

“Wha-” Luffy started, suddenly feeling something grabbing his clothing.

“Catch.” The man said, grabbing Luffy’s arms and imbuing some strange runes onto them. The man stared at the boy for a second, then threw him up into the air.

Luffy just stared down to the ground in shock.

“It’s fine if you don’t talk, soldier boy.” The man said, smirking. “You know… I looked through some of your memories. It seems your ‘Devil Fruit’ allows your body to be made of a substance, which looks to be rubber. I’ve seen a lot over my years, but I do know one thing. When you put rubber verses something like… oh, let’s say… sharp objects…” The man started, touching the ground, making white and yellow spikes shoot out from the ground below Luffy.

“Sharp objects win.”

Upon seeing this, The Flock broke from Simon’s hold, who had grabbed them to stop them from snatching something shiny and launched itself into the air, catching Luffy mere moments before he was impaled on the spikes. The Flock glided down to the rest of the crew, but still held the smaller being in its grasp.

“HEY, LET ME GO!” Luffy yelled angerly, punching the creature, but to no avail. “I’M STILL FIGHTING HIM!”

The man sighed at the creature and the boy, beginning to walk away, red cloak flowing behind him. “…Disappointing.”

“Hey!” Simon yelled, “Come back and finish the fight, you coward.”

“You’re not the one I’m fighting… or was fighting.” He said, looking at Luffy. “It’d be pointless.”

A risk had to be taken to beat this man, and Luffy knew exactly what it was

*insert something about a fanfiction here*

So @ratman27, Pi and I are all writing a crossover fanfiction (You can find it on Ao3) that crosses over Doai, One Piece, and JoJo. I'll be posting the first three chapters and the prolouge here so if you like it then ylgo check it out on Ao3.

~~~.•°Prolouge°•.~~~

The group ran, they ran as fast as they could. “It’s getting closer!” one of them screeched, passing ahead of the tiring being. It slowed, being scooped up by its partner before they picked up the pace.

Something ahead of them flashed, a crack sounding through the area. The six didn’t even have time to realize what had happened before they suddenly made impact with something soft and semi-cushiony, of course that didn’t save them from the impact knocking them out cold, though.

A few miles away, at sea, a ship and its crew watched in awe as a bright, blinding purple ring appeared, spitting out a matching purple comet. It made impact with the nearby mountain, a deafening crack and an explosion when it hit into the hard rock.

[maki-matsurra]

Hey I just finished reading your head canon of being Rocket's daughter (From Guardians of the Galaxy) I was wondering if you could do that but reader gets kidnapped! =]

Hiya! Thanks so much for your request, I am so so sorry it took so long for me to write it out!

Of course, I can do this! I LOVE this idea so much! Now since you didn't state the daughter's age, I'm just going to put her age at 11 years old, and of course, since this is a daughter reader, she will have she/her pronouns!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it!

Thanks so much for your request br34ky0ursp1n3!

Want to send in a request? Start Here!

Rocket didn’t know how it happened.

One moment Pete and he were blasting some thieves left and right on a planet that had a lush forest, protecting their ship from them, then all of a sudden, they heard a shrill yell from behind them.

And Rocket’s heart fell.

He whipped around to see two assholes grabbing his little girl, and yanking her by the arms toward their ship. The raccoon was soon reminded of when he first met the little girl, and how a similar asshole was holding her by the arm the same way.

“HEY! GET YOUR FLARKIN HANDS OFF OF MY KID!” Rocket yelled, completely irate at this point, shooting towards the pair, in retaliation, they held up (Y/N) in front of them, causing her to harshly gasp and hiccup, more tears running down her face.

Quill quickly put Rocket’s gun down, his blue eyes widening as he yelled; “Don’t shoot! You’ll hurt (Y/N)!”

“WELL, I GOTTA DO SOMETHING! THEY GOT (Y/N), QUILL!”

“I UNDERSTAND THAT BUT DON’T-”

They shut up to hear the thieves' ship engines starting up, both of their heads whipping to the side as Rocket saw them starting to close the large loading door, getting one last glance at his little girl’s face.

‘No… Not to her!’

“Follow me in the Milano!” The raccoon yelled behind him as he started to take off towards the nearest tree, placing his weapon on his back, confusing the male Terran.

“Wait, what?!”

“JUST DO IT!” Rocket growled, leaping forward and using his claws to grab the nearest branch, pieces of bark flying off of it as he climbed as fast as he could. Glancing towards the slowly rising ship when he could to make sure they haven’t taken off yet.

Once he was at the tallest branch, he took a deep breath, hyping himself up to do something that he thought was absolutely batshit crazy. But to guarantee (Y/N)’s safety, he would do anything. So, taking one more deep breath, running on all fours to get him more distance…

He jumped off the branch towards the ship’s wing.

He was soaring through the air, his arms reaching out for any solid ground.

And he made it, rolling on his side before being able to stabilize himself, he looked around and saw that the ship was getting higher and higher off the ground, causing slight panic and realization that he did not have a plan in place. But, he swallowed down those thoughts and looked around. That’s when he saw a small vent on the side of the ship, his ears perked up in thought as he crawled towards it. Seeing that it was screwed shut, he tugged on it to try and get the cover off, but when that did not work out, he growled and started to bash his body against it. And once his body collided with it the 5th time, it gave out and he tumbled inside of the ship with a yelp, landing on his side.

He groaned as he slowly rose up from the floor, looking around to see that he was in some kind of hallway of the ship, grabbing his gun from behind him, he loaded it, holding it at the ready as he slowly made his way through the eerily quiet hallway. Every time he turned a corner, he felt his heart stop with worry.

‘Come on… Come on, where are you kid…?’ He wondered in his mind, she was probably so scared, he promised that he would protect her, and he failed. He failed her… But he would not let them get away with it. They picked the wrong daughter to kidnap today.

His ear flicked behind him to hear voices coming from a nearby room, the door still cracked. He slowly walked towards the room, his footsteps almost completely silent. Brown-Amber eyes peered through the crack, but soon widened in shock,

(Y/N)... His little girl… Was tied up in a chair with a gun pointed underneath her chin by some scut stain of a person.

“How many units do you think we’ll get for her?” The man asked, turning towards what Rocket could only guess, was another scut stain.

“Mmm… She’s Terran, right?” The second man questioned, roughly grabbing the young girl's face, causing her to let out another yelp and sob. He ignored her and turned her head from side to side. “Probably a few… Could sell her to slavery and get a good price for her.”

Rocket looked around, trying to find any way to lead them out of the room, and that’s when he saw it.

A power supply box on a nearby wall.

As soon as he saw it, he smirked at it.

The two scut stains continued to talk about their plan to sell (Y/N), when suddenly the lights went out, causing them to look up. “What the flark…?”

They walked towards the door to leave, but as soon as they opened it, one of them was quickly met with something pouncing on him and clawing his face out. He yelled and tried to get the thing off, but was soon met with a punch to the face, knocking him out.

The thing then pounced on the next man, grabbing his hair and beating his forehead into the wall, causing him to lose consciousness as well. (Y/N)’s breath was quick and uneven, basically sobbing out pleases and begging for the person to not hurt her. She shut her eyes tightly, her body shaking, but as soon as she felt a gentle paw on her face, her eyes shot open, and a relieved sob left her mouth as she sputtered out; “R-Rocket?”

“Hey, kiddo. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m here… I’m right here.” He hushed his sobbing little girl as he cut her bonds free, once those were tossed away, he quickly pulled her in a hug, continuing to hush her cries before pulling away, rubbing the stray tears away. “Listen to me, I have a plan, but we gotta leave now, alright?”

“O-okay…”

“You cannot leave my side and you have to keep up, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded, and with that, he held her hand and started to guide her way through the darkness, using his night vision and his ears to help guide them toward the loading dock. Once he found it, he used the button next to the door to open it, a huge gush of wind filling the ship, the pair covering their faces as they were met with the bright light of the sun. Putting down his hand, he saw Peter right beside them in their own ship just like he hoped he was. The door was opened to show Quill and Gamora right there, waiting for them and yelling their names.

“Alright… We’re gonna have to jump.” Rocket said, nodding while looking at the other ship, missing (Y/N) looking at him with wide eyes. “J-JUMP?!”

“You got any other options?!” He questioned harshly, but soon calmed down once he saw her face, remember that this has never happened before… And she’s just very scared. So, taking a deep breath, he held her hand and gave her a reassuring look.

“Listen, I know you’re scared… But you gotta trust me here… Okay? I wish there was another way, but there isn’t.”

They soon heard yelling voices behind them, causing their heads to whip around behind them. (Y/N) look at Rocket, fear in her eyes before quickly swallowing her nerves down. “Together?”

“Together.” He agreed.

They both took a couple of steps back.

“One…” Rocket counted.

They heard the yelling getting louder behind them.

“T-Two…” The little girl stuttered.

Peter and Gamora raised their arms out as far as they could.

“THREE!”

The two of them ran out and jumped at the same time. It felt like time slowed down as they flew into the air, (Y/N)’s eyes screwed shut as she hoped and prayed that they would make it.

And they did.

(Y/N) landed in Gamora’s arms, causing the woman to stumble a little, while Peter caught Rocket, causing him to stumble onto his back. Mantis quickly shut the doors before rushing towards the group. “Are you two alright?!”

“Y-Yeah…” Rocket groaned, slightly pushing up from Peter’s chest to look at (Y/N), who was still shaking, but overall, she was alright, so she nodded back at Mantis. After she locked eyes with Rocket once more, she spent no time crawling towards him and hugging him once more, crying into his fur, causing him to hush her. “It’s alright… It’s alright.”

“I got you kid… And I ain’t ever lettin’ you go…”

[norosesnolife]

Stuck In This Moment

A short, fluffy story loosely based on the amazing ‘After Red Shore’ by @sassyphoenixsblog - Go give them some support!! As well, do not tag any of this as shipping, it’s strictly platonic family stuff, thanks! <3

A firm paw ruffled the fur atop Buster’s head, causing the koala to laugh in both discomfort and pride- Was Crystal really that proud of him? It seemed too good to be true! Following after Jimmy Crystal, Buster smiled enthusiastically,

“I assure you, Mr. Crystal, this performance will blow you out of this world! It’s going to be… no, it is my best show yet! A-And the cast, well, they’re all doing terrific, even Porcha, she-“

The wolf paused in his strides, and it felt like all the warmth of before had been drained completely from the room. He turned, an icy blue eye glaring down at the koala.

“Don’t you remember, Moon? You fired Porcha from your show.”

Voice a low growl, Buster barely had time to react before Crystal had grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him up into the air.

“W-Wait!! I never fired her!! S-She still has a role in m- our show!!”

The koala frantically searched for ground, before realizing that the hallway had disappeared from beneath his feet, leaving him dangling several thousand feet above Redshore City. Panic coursed through his veins, hands grasping at the cuffs of Crystal’s shirts, he was helpless. 

“You’re nothing but a spineless little loser, Moon, it’s a wonder how you made it so far. But now? I’m gonna have to let you go.”

Crystal’s voice echoed in his head, and suddenly, Buster was falling at a whirling pace, voice torn from his throat by the wind that whipped at his fur. 

And then, he woke up.

Covered in a cold sweat, the koala gasped for air, his throat sore- most likely due to the screams he had exclaimed during his unconscious terror. Trembling, he put a paw to his chest, clutching the fabric of his blue pyjamas. It was just another nightmare... 

It had been several weeks since the events that had transpired at Redshore City, yet Buster could not get over what had nearly happened to him. Jimmy Crystal, who had sponsored their newest show, had tried to kill him. Twice. Despite the fact that the wolf was now in jail for his murderous attempts, Buster still found himself jumping at every little noise, consumed with nightmares that affected his sleep, not to mention, he was now acutely terrified of most large animals, more than he used to be.

Rocking back and forth in his bed, Buster tried to calm himself, but the sound of knocking on his office door brought him back to that state of panic. His breathing quickened, body freezing in utter terror as he stared, wide-eyed, at the stairs leading from his office to his makeshift apartment.

“Moon? You awake?”

A familiar raspy voice broke the spell, his ears perking up in surprise and slight relief.

“Ash?”

He tumbled out of bed, still shaking enough that he managed to trip over a few of the stairs, and opened the door. 

Sure enough, the young porcupine had been the one to knock on the door, Clay Calloway right behind her, carrying two guitar cases. Buster managed a tired smile, tucking his trembling hands behind his back.

“Ash! What are you doing here? Not to mention how late it is..”

“We wanted to run some lyrics by you, Clay said you might be awake, working on some new project, or something.”

She didn’t like how his eyes couldn’t keep their focus, flitting from object to object in an anxious pattern. When had he last slept? 

“Oh? Well, c-come on in then, I’ll get some tea boiling!”

Smiling as enthusiastically as he could, Buster let the two inside, but Clay put a hand on his shoulder, causing the smaller animal to flinch.

“Ash, get the tea, will you? I wanna talk to Moon.”

Once she had left, the old lion sat Buster down, looking at him with the sort of knowing expression he normally wore. The dim light of a table lamp made his face look softer, more worn.

Fidgeting anxiously in his seat, Buster couldn’t make eye contact, instead choosing to look down at the floor.

“Moon. You’ve been distant for the last few weeks, and everyone’s noticed. You’re like me, don’t like t’ talk about yourself, but whatever’s going on with you, you need to let people help, otherwise it’ll eat you alive.”

Clay’s voice faltered for a moment, he was speaking from experience. After having spent so many years alone, without the will to properly grieve Ruby, it had felt like a breath of fresh air to suddenly be surrounded with a group that was willing to support him. He had Ash to thank for that, she was like a granddaughter to him, and he was thankful every day for the way she saved him.

“I... I can’t. What happened, i-it... it always plays in my mind, and I’m scared that something like that will happen again... they’re my only family, I don’t want them to fall apart because of me.”

The koala had begun to rock back and forth once more, trying to not let his voice break, he had to be strong for his family. They were all he had. There was a moment of silence between the two, Buster’s words heavy in the air, before Ash came back, balancing three cups of tea in her arms.

“Here we are... eucalyptus and honey,”

Glancing at Clay, she smiled,

“Sorry, it was all he had.”

With a shrug, the old lion took one of the mugs, handing it to Buster, who tried to regain his composure, sipping the warm drink. It made his whole body feel warm, which began to calm some of the shivers that had rocked his body only moments ago. Ash gave Clay a worried look, but he only nodded, standing up, which made Buster startle.

“Calm down. I’ll be right back.”

This left Ash and Buster sitting in the all-too quiet of his living space, the former leaning her head on her friend’s shoulder. He took such great care of everyone at the theatre, why couldn’t he let them do the same for him? Buster sighed, the tension draining from his body as he set the mug of tea down.

True to his word, Clay returned not even twenty minutes later, a slight grin on his face. Behind him were the rest of Buster’s family; Miss. Crawley, Rosita, Gunter, Johnny, Nooshy, Meena, Porcha, and even Eddie.

Buster’s eyes widened, leaping off the couch in shock. Clay only laughed, standing beside Ash with a hand on her shoulder.

“I called everyone, told ‘em to get over here. Said Mr. Moon needed some support.”

“B-But- Rosita! What about your kids? A-And you all have families, you should be at home sleeping right now-”

“Norman’s watching the kids right now, and besides Mr. Moon, we’re all here for you, no matter what time it is.”

Rosita said gently, leaning down to look the disgruntled koala in his eyes. He took a moment, before his eyes softened gratefully, and he sighed. 

“Now, you need to get to bed, and we’re all here to make sure nothing bad happens to anyone, isn’t that right?”

Adopting her ‘Mommy’ voice, Rosita elicited encouraging responses from the others. With a look of satisfaction, she put her hands on her hips, gently nudging Buster over to his bed, much to his confusion.

“Are you guys just going to stand here while I sleep? That may get a little weird...”

He chuckled, and Eddie interjected.

“Nah, Calloway said this was a ‘Moon Theatre Sleepover’, sounds like something you’d do, honestly.”

Buster nearly fell over, his heart swelled with so much love for all of them, he may never be able to forget what happened in Redshore, but with his family, at least it would be a little easier.

After a few minutes of struggling to fit eleven different sized animals into his moderately sized bed, the theatre group had settled into a comfortable position, with Buster right in the middle of it all. Clay was beside him, with Miss Crawly curled up by his head, already snoring away, bless her heart. 

The others slowly began to drift off, some purring, some snoring, and other’s sleeping peacefully. Buster felt safe, both arms wrapped around Eddie, who was on his other side, breathing nosily while he slept.

“Hey, Clay?”

“Mm.”

“Thank you. For all of this. I-I was really scared.. y’know?”

“Mhm. But it’ll get better.”

“Yeah... Have a good night, Mr. Calloway.”

“Night, Buster.”

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

Chaotic Foundling

Paring: Din Djarin x teen reader (GN)

Word count: 1,908

Rating : PG

Summary : Din's foundling is a wild thing and poor him has to do his best and parent them.

Warning: I am not really that wild so I did my best to show that they really don't have any boundaries in life lol. I hope you enjoy :)

It only took Din a day after taking you in to realize how much of a handful you would become. Sure, he thought that you were just a little on the hyperactive side…. He was quickly proven wrong.

“Stay put. Stay quiet.” Din sat you on the co-pilot’s seat of the Razor Crest. He was making last minute preparations for their departure off-planet. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” You hummed, swinging your legs in the chair as he walked off.

He made his way over to the sleeping quarters to check on Grogu. The Mandalorian was unable to make a proper check up as the ship suddenly jerked, tripping Din over his feet and face first into the floor. His armor rang loudly in his ears, disorienting him for several clicks before he managed to make a proper stance and run to the cockpit. There, he found you sitting in the pilot’s chair, his chair, a wild grin on your face as you gripped the controls.

You made a disappointed grunt when Din tried to pry your hands off of the controls.

“No!” You swatted at his hands in an attempt to stop him but he overpowered you quickly, landing the razor crest in a fast manner. The pit was silent except for the occasional beeping of machinery.

Din suddenly turned to you. “What was that?”

“You took forever!”

Din paused a moment, seemingly in disbelief despite not being able to see his face. “I was gone five seconds.”

----------

“Y/N! Stay put. I’m coming to get you.” Din stood at the base of a dune, staring up into the sky where you were. He had turned away for one second the next thing he knew was you got nabbed by local thieves who’d made a surprise attack, taken up into the air by one of them mounted on their cruisers as others surrounded him.

“No shit!” Your voice rang from above.

Din was quick to overpower the group around him. They were equipped with menial weapons that were nothing compared to his beskar. After throwing the last of the men to the ground, Din made a move to activate his jetpack when a body fell to his feet. He paused a click, seemingly unaffected by the sudden crack the body made and looked up at the cruiser where you sat alone.

To say that Din was proud would have been an understatement.

“Good job kid,” Din beamed underneath his beskar. “Sit tight, I’m- hey- wait- NO.”

Without giving Din a chance to finish his statement you dove into the air. You had no parachute or jetpack on your own. Instead you dawned a crazed grin on your face and a light in your eyes as you fell closer and closer to the ground. Your mouth opened to yell in joy, but instead made an “oof” sound when Din caught you midair.

“STILL ALIVE!” You exclaimed, dangling upside down from the way Din managed to catch you.

“Maybe if I drop you you’ll have some sense knocked into that head of yours.”

-----

Din thought that after the endless lectures you’d come to realize that you were to stay put where you were told as he went into battle. He quickly realized he was wrong when amidst the soldiers was speck of (H/C). He paused for a moment, unsure of what to think as he scanned the area for whatever it was he saw. Blasters grazed his helmet and hit a droid behind him, Din quickly straightened up and turned to the fallen droid before diverting his gaze back to whoever shot the fire.

There you were, carrying a blaster almost twice your size with Grogu swaddled on your back. And you were… laughing?

“Y/N” Din began marching towards you too.

“I wish I could have seen the look on your face.” You wheezed, jumping up and down. Din worried for the blaster in your hands and whoever was unfortunate enough to receive the next shot, most importantly whether it was to be on purpose or not. “Guess you weren’t ready for me to save your butt just now. You’re getting slow Din!”

A blast shot out of Din’s weapon as a soldier advanced toward the two children. You barely made a reaction as you were in the middle of spinning in joy.

“Where did you get that? I- Y’know what- nevermind. Go back to the ship. We’ll talk later.”

“But we like it here-”

“Now.”

You looked at Din a moment with a small frown. It quickly concerned Din when he saw that frown turn into a toothy grin, but before he could say anything a cruiser zoomed past him and all he could do was watch as you somehow mounted the vehicle mid-air, laughing with a wild glint in your eyes,

“No. Kid get off. No, no- Y/N! Hey!” Din broke into a run and followed the cruiser as you taunted him by sticking out your tongue and shooting the blaster recklessly.

---

The Mandalorian was assigned to hunt down a Bosa that had been terrorizing a peaceful farming village. After leaving you and Grogu to the care of the villagers, he spent the next several days tracking down the beast before he finally found it. What he was not expecting to find was you taunting the trapped beast with a metal pole and a blaster by your side. How you managed to trap it, Din didn’t know. He didn’t even want to know how long you waited before sneaking out of the village. But he turned to find Grogu nearby watching, giggling wildly until he fell over.

Din tried to call for you, but you didn’t hear as the beast roared loudly at you. You bore a crazed grin and screamed back at the creature, your face unnecessarily close to its mouth, and laughed wildly as you poked the creature with a stick. Just as the creature was about to try and bite you from it’s trap, Din picked you up and carried you and Grogu away from the creature.

“Can we cook it??”

----

With the amount of trouble you’ve caused for Din he’s learned to do a routine checkup to make sure that you had all of your limbs intact as they should be. With the amount of trouble you went into, from taking big falls and getting hit by a dewback -long story- he realized that checkups were a necessity as you probably had more mishaps and adventures than you let on.

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE.”

“You need the bacta kid,” Din was hot on your tail as you ran away from him and the bacta spray in your hands. He quickly put you in a corner. “Aha. C’mere, it’ll only sting a little.”

He took some steps forward and knelt down, opening his hand so as to invite you to allow him to put the spray on your arm. For a moment, he saw your eyes soften and thought he finally got through to you.

“SNEAK ATTACK.”

Seemingly out of nowhere you smacked a metal breastplate against his helmet and made a run for it as he was disoriented.

---

For obvious reasons, Din had to find a lock for the armory. He took you and Grogu with him to the local market close to where they were given room and board for the night.

“Put it back.”

Your hand froze, holding a blade in your hand. You quickly stuffed it out of sight even though Din was ahead of you and wasn’t looking in your direction. “Put what back?”

Din stopped after a few paces, his attention turned to a fruit stand and began to pick up some and check to see if they were ripe. “What happened to the credits I gave you?”

“I lost them.”

A sigh. Din wasn’t surprised. “How?”

There was a pause.

“Gambling.” The largest smirk spreads across your face.

Din whipped around. He blinked for several moments and enunciated each syllable, tone almost sarcastic and defeated as though he was trying to not believe what you’d said “Gambling?” You nodded enthusiastically. With a sign, Din decided that he didn’t want to deal with any interrogation and cause a scene, instead he grabbed your arm to lead you in front. “We’ll talk about it later. For now, you in front until we get to the ship.”

The clan made their way down the marketplace until Din steered the troupe to a vendor with an array of weapons on her stall. You were left admiring the pieces as Din made his business. He needed some information regarding his next bounty and thanked the vendor afterwards, paying a little extra for her cooperation before turning to you.

“What?” You stared up at him with widened eyes.

Din held his hand out, “C’mon.”

You stared at his hand for a moment before sighing, fishing a small bomb out and placing it in his hand. The vendor watched wide eyed but said nothing as Din returned the ware to her and returned his gaze to you. “All of it. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

A moment. Then a sigh as you find that you had no way out of it. You pulled out all of the wares you’d stolen from the stand alone, putting them all on a considerably big pile on the stall while the vendor quickly retrieved them to put away.

“There.” You huffed, crossing your arms and turning away from Din.

“Thank you.” Din’s tone was sarcastic.

“Yeah, no problem rust bucket.”

Din shook his head and turned to the woman, “I’m sorry. My foundling hasn’t broken their habit of stealing. I hope you can understand.”

After he made you apologize to the vendor he took you by your arm and walked you back through the streets and towards the ship. He sighed, “I don’t know why I bring you to the markets. If you don’t stop this you’ll end up stealing from the wrong hand. And then what will you do?”

“Die probably”

---

Din knocked on the door of your sleeping cot. It was early morning and he needed you to help him with some preparations for the next trip off planet.

“Y/N. I need you to help me out with inventory. Can you come out?”

The door made a hiss before opening and you bounced out of the hull and zoomed off, ready to tackle the tasks. You were usually ecstatic to go off-planet, despite Din’s dismay as he knew it meant you’d find yourself into more trouble. He chuckled a moment and was going to walk off when the datapad on your bed caught his attention. He picked it up a moment and gazed at the screen.

You perked up at his voice while you were on your way to the storage below the floorboards. “Kid, what’s this?” He had the screen facing you, showing detailed maps of star destroyers and other military projects.

You gave the screen a glance before disappearing under the floorboards, your voice echoing louder from beneath. “I was just messing around a bit with some channels and found that.”

Din stared at the pit where you were for a moment before walking off into the cockpit, falling into his chair. He found himself facing an unprecedented predicament in which he was faced to call for Bo-Katan to inform her that his foundling had hacked into the Empire’s system.

Tag list:

@kiara-is-gay @sagedgeek

[ddarker-dreams]

Entrenched. Yan Kaeya x Reader

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy relationships, non major character death mention and power dynamics.  Word count: 1.6k. 

The mind can become a dangerous place when you’re left without stimulation for hours on end.

You dread what might happen should you let yourself fall asleep and stop at nothing to prevent that. At the same time, you’ll need to be alert when given the opportunity to speak your piece, but you won’t be able to do that in this state. Either way, it’s a losing battle, as much as you loathe to admit it.

For now, you’ve taken to counting the drops of a leaky faucet somewhere in the distance. Thirty-four. Thirty-five. Thirty-six. How the revered Knights of Favonius allowed their dungeons to fall into such a dilapidated state is beyond you. Your cell is clammy and stifling, the condensation from the moisture in the air sticking to the rusted iron bars and dripping down. How much longer will you be forced to endure these conditions? It doesn’t help that you’re underground, unable to gauge the time as a result.

Your ears perk up at the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Captain Kaeya!” The guards keeping watch exclaim in unison, almost comically stumbling over themselves to stand to attention. Such a simple phrase has your heart pounding against your ribcage as if it were trying to burst from your chest altogether. Dread only comparable to the sight of a mountain-sized wave threatening to capsize a ship crashes over you. To think he’d have the sheer audacity to linger in your presence shouldn’t come as a surprise — it is Kaeya, after all — but that doesn’t make it any better.

The guard to the left is the first to speak up. “I’m sorry sir, but we’re under strict orders to not allow anyone to speak with the prisoner at this point and time.”

The prisoner. To think that your status as a human being had been swept away so fast. Days ago, you would’ve likely been fraternizing with these very people at Angel’s Share without a care in the world. Hell, you probably have at some point, it’s just difficult to place who these men are in the dim lighting.

He hums at the challenge, a chilling sound that reverberates from deep within his chest. “That is a problem, isn’t it? Surely, you could make an exception, just this once.”

Kaeya flaunts a shiny gold coin between his fingers.

The guard’s exchange looks, stupefied by the blatant bribery, yet neither one challenges him. The older of the two relents after a long pause, taking the shiny token from Kaeya’s fingers and making for the exit.

“My apologies, Captain Kaeya,” he says, motioning for the other to follow. “Wilfred here is still a bit of a greenhorn. He’s still adjusting. Take all the time you need, we’ll be out of your way.”

Kaeya doesn’t waste another ounce of his attention on the pair once they turn to leave. He remains fixated on you, almost as if he were under a spell, that bewitching eye of his taking in your current vulnerable state. The shadows cast upon his face from the flickering torches further accent his features. Those plump lips of his that are pulled into a tight smile, the curves of his sharp jawline, his cool shade of hair that you could spot amidst a crowded tavern. How can a man so beautiful wreak such havoc on your life?

He fiddles with the keyring hanging in front of your cell. “You don’t look happy to see me.”

“...”

Kaeya opens the creaking barred door, stepping in at a leisurely pace and giving you a once over. Had it not been for the metal circlet around your ankle, you would’ve lunged for him, but you’re forced to settle with glaring for now.

“It’s not polite to ignore someone who is speaking to you, you know,” he kneels down to your level. “I was hoping to have a productive conversation. How does that sound?”

Your voice is low and dripping with venom. “Tell me, are you here to gloat? To say ‘I told you so’? Have you not done enough already?”

“You’re jumping to conclusions here,” Kaeya puts his hands up in defense. “What could I have possibly done to earn this incriminating accusation?”

“I think it’s a question of what haven’t you done,” You grimace. It doesn’t matter that there’s no solid evidence for Kaeya’s interference in your life, you know in your heart that it was him who brought this plight upon you. Maybe you’re at fault here for underestimating the lengths he’d go to. Framing you for a high profile murder was the last thing you were expecting. Was it worth it? Does he feel vindicated seeing you detained like this? These questions and more plague your mind as he stares you down.

Kaeya gives a hearty chuckle. “Guilty as charged. This time is different, however.”

He leans in close to the shell of your ear, his warm breath fanning against your flushed skin. “What if I told you I could make all of this… go away?”

You tilt your head away from him in an attempt to create some much-needed distance.

“I’d call you a conniving bastard with a superiority complex. There, how does that sound?”

His eyes crinkle in delight. “Oh, how I missed our friendly little chats. Anyways, while you’re not far off the mark, there is a way out of this dilemma you’ve gotten yourself into it.”

You don’t like the sound of that.

If there’s anything you’ve learned about Kaeya Alberich, it’s that anything that he puts effort towards is rarely a benevolent act. No, there’s always a catch, and you’re afraid to learn what this one will be. Now that you know nothing is sacred to him, all bets are off. He was willing to go so far as to sacrifice the life of some poor, unrelated soul in this relentless pursuit. Had it not be for the severity of your situation, you’d feel guilt-ridden for the person that died by Kaeya’s orchestration. However, your heart can only care for so many people. Try as he might to make you feel bad for their tragic demise, he’s the reason they’re buried in the ground, not you.

“I thought you got what you wanted,” you scrunch your eyebrows together and frown. “I’m in a prison, wasting away, with no one to believe that I’m innocent. Well, not anyone who could actually do something meaningful to help me.”

You think back to your arrest. It had been a traumatic event, truly, the Knights of Favonius surrounding you with weapons at the ready. At the time, you had been tagging along with Amber on one of her reconnaissance missions. She had been just as dumbfounded as you at the unfolding events, swearing up and down that there must’ve been a mistake. In the end, her efforts were fruitless, as there must’ve been enough evidence to convict you.

“If you’re still here on your lonesome, who’s to say I got what I wanted?” He challenges, unable to hold back more humorless laughter at your blatant confusion. It takes a long, miserable moment to understand where he might be coming from. You were looking at this the wrong way. This entire hell, you assumed, was a direct result of you rejecting his advances for so long. While that’s part of it, there’s still something else. Something more that he’s trying to get. It wouldn’t be enough to strip away your freedom and pin your wings.

You should’ve known he wouldn’t stop there.

“Then tell me, Calvary Captain. Tell me how much of my soul I have to sell to get out of this nightmare.” You muster as much hostility into the words as you can. He closes his eyes, those unfairly beautiful eyelashes of his fluttering shut. Kaeya’s always had a thing for dramatics. It’s futile to think about now, but you still wish you could turn back the hands of time, just to tell your past self to stay far away from him.

“I’ve always liked the sound of [First] Alberich,” he laughs at how your jaw drops. “It rolls off the tongue quite well, doesn’t it? A perfect combination. Almost as if the words were meant to go together.”

You shake your head in complete and utter disbelief. “No. There’s— there’s no way you have the audacity to even—”

Kaeya reaches into his jacket and pulls out a ring.

“Let’s say that in theory, I just so happened to recall spotting you at a time that’d place you far away from the deceased’s untimely departure. And, just because we’re using our imaginations here, I could help jog the memories of some people who’d confirm this as well?” Kaeya holds the ring closer to your eyes. This was it, this was his catch. A life behind bars or a life by his side. The two sounded suspiciously interchangeable.

You can barely manage to breathe. “I…”

What is there to say? For once, your throat tightens, rendering you speechless in his presence. No matter what it was that Kaeya said to you, you always managed to fire back with equal ferocity. Not today. Not with this. It’s a level of cruelty, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. A completely self-serving act. Your head hangs in defeat, each breath you take is more ragged than the last. Is this really your only out?

The ring’s lustrous gleam taunts you. It reminds you of a prettier, more palpable version of the restraint on your ankle.

Kaeya nudges it forward and gives his most charming smile.

“So, what will it be, sweetheart?”