#back from the dead just to drop some posts before returning into darkness haha

[xenomorphee3]

Dropped Chapter 26. Distraction

Dropped a rich new chapter from my Avatar story on Ao3. Things are really starting to build up! : )

A New Mission (157597 words) by Xenomorphee Chapters: 26/?

Heavy spoilers below!

I am posting it anyway though because some people don't mind spoilers and may read and end up curious for how my story got to this point.

Basically, this one goes out to all the people who read ahead in a book or read the last page before deciding to buy it haha

An injured Jake and Neytiri scour the floating mountain for Kiri and Spider, Jake is limping, and both are clutching their bleeding wounds from their devastating fights with Quaritch and his Ash Na'vi partner, which they still couldn't believe. Jake and Neytiri call out for Kiri, and receive silence under the remaining darkness of eclipse. Their hearts drop further and further into the pits of their stomachs with each passing moment, each non-returned call. Panic setting in. They emerge at the other side of the mountain, at the clearing where their groggy Ikrans are, where Jake told Spider to stay, and to their dismay they don’t see Spider there either. Suddenly overhead, they hear a screech. It’s Kiri’s Ikran. Riderless. Anxious. Jake and Neytiri look at each other and their hearts crack in two. They realize that Kiri and Spider have been taken. Neytiri looks to Jake and starts to sob. Jake holds her, silent. They sat on that floating mountain, pain in body, pain in soul. Embracing one another until eclipse lifted and their Ikrans were able to fly again.

Miles and Mansk were mentally urging their Ikrans to fly with as much haste as Cupcake and Sundae could muster, feeling the desperation from their riders through their bonds. Miles is cradling Zu’s body with his right arm, making panicked glances down to her, ensuring that she is still breathing. He can feel the front of his pants were wet, cold, from her blood against the wind of flight. As eclipse lifted and Miles saw Zu’s dull, pale skin in the sunlight he choked back more tears, looked out over the horizon and said, “Please.” utmost begging in his voice. His ears were fallen through nearly the entire flight. Every time they perked up, they fell again as soon as he looked or thought about her.

In what felt like an eternity, Miles and Mansk finally saw Bridgehead City on the horizon. Its stark metal buildings standing out amongst the dead and exposed kill zones. Miles leaned back on Cupcake and let go of her reins to press his comms piece on his neck to radio in to Bridgehead and signal their arrival.

“Bridgehead Command—” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat, steeled himself. “Bridgehead Command this is Blue One on approach, we need safe airspace and immediate, urgent medical assistance… one of our team is dying. Please.”

A male voice emerged over the comms after a moment, “Roger that, Blue One, airspace is cleared for your arrival, medical assistance will be standing by.” 

Miles gave a sigh of slight relief. He looked down to Zu and said, “Just hang on a little longer, princess.”

The same male voice reappeared over the comms after a moment and said, “And the mission status, Colonel? … is Sully dead? Over.” The man spoke as though he was being fed questions. Most likely by the General or Stringer.

Miles sighed. He looked to Mansk who was flying ahead of him and turned his head to look at his Colonel, sunglasses on, having heard the question over his own comms. 

Miles gave a frown, his mouth twitching up, paused and said, “Negative.”

No communication came through to follow up.

Miles and Mansk flew to their usual East Hangar location for their Ikrans. To both of their mild relief, Lyle’s Ikran, Rocket, was inside which means he did in fact make it with Kiri and Spider in tow. Just as when Miles first arrived to Bridghead after surviving the Sea Dragon wreck, there was a medical team waiting with a Na’vi-sized stretcher and three breathers for them. Miles quickly jumped off Cupcake, holding Zu, his left arm wrapped around her upper back and right arm, her head braced by his bicep, ensuring that her head was not hanging down, and his his right arm clutched under knees. She was so cold. As he approached, the medical team saw the bloodstained gauze on her body and the blood on his pants and vest. They did not hide their looks of concern and worry.

He looked at them and said, “I’ll take her.” in a solemn, hurried manner.

They nodded and one of the female medical team members said, “Hurry this way.” Mansk then quickly ran up to Zu and put one of the breathers over her face. Miles looked at him and said, “Thank you, Marine,” with the deepest sincerity in his eyes. Mansk had done so much for him today. He would not forget this. 

Miles quickly moved to take Zu to the medical bay, fast-walking and jogging down the medical corridors and carefully moving through the doorways, sure not to hit her legs on any of the doorframes. Mansk was following close. As they moved to the medical bay the medical team member called in and said, “Get an operating table ready. Na’vi female. Abdominal wound. Severe hemorrhaging.” While fast walking, the medical team member looked to Miles and said, “What happened?” 

He swallowed and said, “She was stabbed.”

She then called in and said, “Stab wound.”

When they got to the medical bay, Lyle was there sitting on a bed, his leg patched up. He saw his Colonel holding Zu emerge into the room and he immediately stood up, braced mostly on his good, left leg, ignoring his pain, his face a look of dread. “Jesus Christ, what happened?” he asked.

Miles was relieved to see Lyle, but he said nothing, he just continued to follow the Medical personnel to the operating room a few rooms down the hall from the main medical bay area where surgeons were already waiting. He quickly entered the sterile room and gently placed Zu down on the metal table, his hands lingering on her body, unable to easily let her go. He moved back from the table, the surgeons rushing in front of him, discussing what was needed. Miles then looked at her face and reached out to carefully remove her diadem. He then placed his right hand on her left cheek and said, “It’s going to be okay.” One of the surgeons then looked to Miles and impatiently said, “You need to leave. We are going to do our work, but you have to get out of here.” Miles looked at the surgeon with frustrated sorrow, then looked to Zu. He briefly squinted his eyes, his ears twitching back, tail flicking nervously, unable to bring himself to leave until the medical worker who led him there gently said, “Come on, Colonel. Let them work.” He looked to her, then back to Zu, and left the room.

Mansk was explaining to Lyle what happened back in the main medical bay. Lyle looked enraged and vicious and said, “We should have just shot that son of a bitch and his woman when we had the chance.” Lyle was saying this as Miles entered the room and Miles heard him say this, but said nothing and kept a despondent downcast face on, his eyes not lifting from the floor. Lyle quickly pressed his lips together and moved his body with guilt. Silencing himself. He didn’t mean to add any more anguish for his Colonel by dwelling on ‘could haves.’ Miles slowly walked to the edge of the medical bay and took a seat on one of the empty beds, his feet planted wide on the floor, and then placed his elbows on his knees, but as he leaned down, he could smell Zu’s dried blood from his clothing. He then wrapped his breather around his head so it would stay in place… so he couldn’t smell the blood. He then put his elbows back onto his knees and rested his face in his hands. Darkness took him. And he strayed from thought.

After two hours the lead surgeon came into the room. Lyle and Mansk stood up, eager, but Miles stayed sitting on the bed. He only looked up to the surgeon, a deep despair and worry in his huge yellow eyes. The surgeon looked to Miles, then to Lyle and Mansk, then back to Miles. Why wasn’t he speaking? Miles felt like this was happening in slow motion. Say something you bastard , he thought.

The surgeon then said, “She is alive. We stopped the bleeding. She is… stable.” 

The three Marines felt great relief. Zu is alive thank god , but Miles didn’t allow full relief to set in for him just yet. He could feel something more coming. Why the pause before he said 'stable'? 

The surgeon cleared his throat and swallowed, “But we had to put her into a cryo induced coma.” Miles stood up.

“What?” Miles asked, irate. His ears slanted back aggressively.

“She lost a lot of blood. And unfortunately, the… artificial blood we have is a poor stand-in for Na’vi blood. We just do not have the technological capacity to synthesize Na’vi blood, that was never what our medical and science infrastructure was designed for. And certainly not for a… more or less unknown Na’vi population.” the surgeon replied calmly.

Miles frustrated, anger rising, shook his head and then said, “Don’t you have some of our blood?” His tail thrashing high behind him which the surgeon looked at.

The surgeon responded, “Yes, we do, but it’s not compatible. Giving it to her would have her go into anaphylaxis.” Miles looked up at the ceiling with his lips pulled back and teeth exposed, closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Without looking at the surgeon he said,

“So what you are saying is… you froze her until you can get her a blood transfusion?” Miles said monotone, and stuck his tongue in his cheek. Trying to suppress a grimace.

The surgeon bluntly replied, “Yes.”

Lyle and Mansk looked at each other. Miles then turned around and slowly walked a few paces away from the surgeon, his left fist clenched, and he put his right hand on his forehead and slowly rubbed his hand over his head. He let out a massive sigh. 

“We’ll get you that blood, doc.” Miles said, facing away, his tail swaying left to right dramatically. The surgeon nodded, then looked to Lyle and Mansk, and began to walk away. Miles knew at that moment that he would have to return to Dragon’s Tail, to Zu’s village, and confront her parents, the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik, and her Ash Na'vi people without Zu, and tell them what happened to her. Then somehow convince her parents to give them their blood to save their daughter. All after he explicitly promised her father and mother that he would protect her. The thought was devastating. And Miles wouldn’t be surprised if they killed him right there on the spot. Lyle and Mansk were silent. Thinking the exact same things as their Colonel.

Miles then turned around to ask the exiting surgeon, “Can I see her?” The surgeon turned and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly, Lieutenant Korman entered the room, high energy about him. The Marines looked at him and Miles had on a please not now face. Lt. Korman looked at Miles, startled by the amount of blood on his clothing, paused and said, “Colonel… the General would like to see you in the Command Center.” 

Miles nodded, and said, “Yeah… of course she does.” an exhausted way about him. He took a breath from his breather and irritatingly gestured his hand to Korman, like alright let’s get this show on the road . And then he indicated with his head for his Marines to follow. Lyle took a crutch. Miles didn’t feel compelled to change his bloodt clothing. The General should see it. Before he left Miles thanked the surgeon who returned his thanks with a gentle nod and a lips pulled up smile.

The Marines made it to the Command Center following the Lieutenant. On the main floor area were the usual– General Ardmore, Major Laurent, Charles Stringer, Parker, Gatlin, and some other SEC-OPS officer that Miles didn’t care to know. And of course Lt. Korman, the General’s doting right hand. Like an annoying loyal puppy.

With Mansk and Lyle behind him, Miles approached the humans on the main floor, a cold, icy, exhausted look about him. Dried blood under his busted nose. All in the room visibly winced and reacted to the amount of blood on his pants and his vest, looking at each other uncomfortably. Parker looked horrified. 

The General spoke first, breaking the silence. She said, with moderate sincerity, “Colonel… I am sorry about Zu. I am glad to hear that she is stabilized in cryo.” Miles figured the General had her eyes and ears everywhere and was getting her updates on Zu’s status. With her saying this, a flicker of sadness flashed across his face and body, his ears and tail drooping, but Miles didn’t say anything. He just stared down at her and the others with the exhausted look he entered with. General Ardmore caught his brief moment of anguish, but looked slightly displeased at his silence, but she continued speaking. 

“Colonel, we are glad your team were able to apprehend Mr. Socorro again and Sully’s daughter… you’ve provided us with a lot of leverage.” General Ardmore said, and she looked back to Lyle and gave a nod to him. “Good job, Corporal.” she said to Lyle who, leaning on his crutch, replied with a monotone, “Yes, Ma’am.” 

Miles thought about Spider in this moment. Through all his mental distress about Zu, he hadn’t even let in the emotion of having Spider back. He wanted to see him. He just had to get through this miserable debrief first.

Stringer then followed up, “But Sully is still alive. That still causes immense issues for our operations. What’s to stop him from organizing another bomb run?”

Miles did absolutely nothing to suppress his irritation, his eyes snapping to the on-world civilian leader of the RDA like he was an insolent child. This look, catching all the personnel in the room off guard. Parker looked nervous. He's seen angry Miles before and it wasn't a good thing.

“Him being dead ain’t necessarily stopping that either.” Miles said after a moment, coldly. Remembering what Zu had asked him. What was the guarantee that killing Sully would end these attacks? None.

The humans all looked at each other and Miles, confused. With the exception of the General. They were waiting for him to clarify, but he would wait for them to ask. “Colonel, I don’t follow,” replied Gatlin, the nervous-looking RDA suit.

Before Miles could speak, the General chimed in, walking forward slowly and looking down with her hands on her hips, and said, “He means… what’s to stop Na’vi, who are already armed with our weapons and Sully’s knowledge, from continuing their attacks on us if Sully is dead. Isn’t that right, Colonel?” she said, looking up to him and the end of her statement, an annoyed understanding in her face and voice. The General was a smart, calculating woman, she didn’t just luck into her position. Miles presented a compelling concept. One that she had been holding lightly in her head for a while now. But it was an issue they would look to handle when the time came. If it came. A bridge to be crossed. Only problem was, they seemed to be unable to get to the damn bridge to begin with. Sully avoiding every attempt at killing him. 

The humans all looked uncomfortable, pondering the General’s statement and observing Miles’ silence and imposing glare. Not to mention the lightly wafting scent of the dried Na’vi blood on his shirt. But indeed, that is exactly what he meant. Miles still very much wanted to kill Jake Sully and he owed Neytiri more than her fair share of deaths at this point for what she did to him, his recoms, and now his Zu. But as far as the RDA’s interests were concerned, they were kidding themselves if they think killing Sully would make it all sunshine and rainbows and happy colonization from here on out. Miles understood that now. He would still drive his knife into Sully’s skull, and kill Neytiri, but that was for him. And for Zu. Miles took a breath from his breather in this space between words.

Stringer then broke the uncomfortable silence and said, “Well Colonel, we would be able to navigate those waters if presented with such. Unfortunately, you and your multi-billion dollar team are not enabling us to.” 

Lyle and Mansk looked at each other with, is he fucking serious? expressions. Miles, however, with a death stare, took two fairly quick large steps forward towards Stringer, his ears leaned back, left fist clenched, right hand holding the top of vest, his tail lifted high and was twitching about angrily, causing all in the room to step back fearfully and anxious, especially Stringer who looked terrified. Major Laurent placed his hand on his side arm, angry mistrust on his face. This is the guys Ardmore wanted to promote to Brigadier General? Ridiculous.

The irked Major Laurent then said, “Colonel, you look a little angry there,” openly glancing at his tail, begging him to make a move. “You look like you’re ready to attack.” He said in a goading fashion.

Miles then steeled himself and said to the Major, “I can do that,” with intense eyes, his ears slanting back at the end of the phrase.

The General then spoke loudy and said, “Alright enough. Let’s all relax.” she said, glaring at Major Laurent for the unnecessary provocation, then looking up to Miles for his threat. Parker was anxious, but a part of him also found this kind of amusing. It all felt so familiar . From a bygone life back at Hell's Gate all those years ago, whose memories seep through every now and again.

Gatlin then said, “Maybe these missions are a mistake.”

Miles snapped his head to Gatlin, took a breath from his breather, then spoke with his teeth sinking into his words, “The expensive mistake that is causing issues for you is Sully–” Miles glancing to Stringer as he drew out the word ‘expensive’. 

“–Fifteen years ago, your people chose to give a paralyzed Marine kid access to an unparalyzed body. With his new and improved body, that kid then killed countless men and women, us included.” he said, gesturing to himself and Lyle and Mansk behind him. “Then you bring us back from the dead, making it our problem. We are doing our damn best here. In case you haven’t noticed, there were twelve of us. Now there are three.” Miles said, irate. Mansk and Lyle, taking CO2 sips from their masks, couldn’t believe the blunt candor that the Colonel was speaking with right now. Parker swallowed and looked down, realizing the role he played in all of this. Ultimately, he was the one who approved of Sully to replace his dead twin scientist brother… and facilitated the Recom project.

The General then said, “Watch yourself, Colonel… I know you’re upset right now. But there’s still a chain of command here. Take it down a few notches.” She said this to him, but also glanced at the Major who still had his hand on his sidearm, and to Stringer and Gatlin who were not choosing the right sets of words at the moment. The Major removed his hand from his weapon. Miles turned his head slightly to the General, a scowl still lingering on his face from the one he was giving to Stringer who looked anxious. But Miles relaxed his face and leaned his slightly aggressively forward and downward facing head back up to a neutral position. As a seasoned military leader, Miles respected chain of command, he truly had no overt desire to come across as insubordinate, but this day was testing him . 

The General then continued, “We are going to utilize the leverage that your team has presented us with. Sully’s daughter. We will attempt to use her to negotiate his surrender. Though… this has its challenges. We haven’t had any communication with Sully or former residents of Hell’s Gate in quite some time. It’s hard to express an upper hand when you can’t tell them what you’re doing with it.”

Miles then wondered if the RDA truly had the guts to go through killing Sully’s daughter if he didn’t surrender. He remembers when he had Sully's daughter on the Sea Dragon. Knife to her throat. Blinded with rage in that moment, he honestly would have done anything if it came down to it. Not that he got a chance to find out if he would have, thanks to Sully’s crazy woman threatening Spider. Miles was honestly tired of talking and thinking about all of this. He just wanted to help Zu. While Miles was zoning out, the humans in the room were chatting about ways in which they could utilize Jake’s daughter, but Miles then abruptly pivoted the conversation and interrupted saying, “General, I have to go to Dragon’s Tail. I have to get blood for Zu… from her parents. For a transfusion.”

Everyone in the room, except Parker, had confused, jarred looks on their faces like, why are we talking about this? Surely there are more important things. 

The General then said, “Colonel… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Miles then said, “I wasn’t asking.” To his own surprise.  As well as Mansk's and Lyle's, who moved nervously, their tails moving in erratic fashion, their ears ticking backwards. They were shocked he just said this. Miles was shocked at himself, but it was already out. Guess he had to commit. It is how he felt anyway. 

The General’s eyes widened, a stern look about her. Major Laurent had an open scowl on his face, his lips turned up. Stringer and Gatlin’s jaws were dropped slightly, Stringer looking angered. The General and Miles held tense, silent eye contact for some moments, causing an excruciating discomfort for everyone in the room including Mansk, Lyle, and Parker. The General thought about it though as she looked up, staring into the fierce yellow eyes of this blue hybrid alien which towered above her. How would the Ash Na’vi react to learning that the daughter of their leaders was gravely wounded in a squabble with other Na’vi leaders that the RDA hold as enemies? The path to ‘allyship’, getting the Ash Na’vi to fight with them, or better yet, on their behalf, sparing the RDA losses of their own personnel which they’ve suffered a great deal already could be closer to reality with this move from the Colonel.

The General pressed her lips together after thinking, then spoke and said, “Alright, Colonel. Just make sure you’re honest about what happened.” Miles squinted at her, sensing where she was coming from. He was indifferent, even displeased at the concept. He just desperately needed to get blood for his mate. But hey, if the General was going to let him go get help for Zu without protest or difficulty, then fine. Stringer and Major Laurent looked at her behind her back with displeased expressions. Why was she accommodating this insubordinate alien? The General could feel their disappointment, but paid it no mind, she was the security leader. This was about security, or at least its potential. The Colonel, though wearing out his use and welcome, could still be a valuable tool.

Miles said nothing more and gave a glance to Parker before leaving. The actively suppressed sadness that he felt underlying this entire conversation emerging through his eyes at him. 

As he walked away, the General then said, “And Colonel...” Miles stopped and turned his head to the right slightly, his ear turning to her. “I sure hope that however Zu’s injury was caused… it wasn’t what led to the mission failure.” she finished. Miles quickly spun around to her, his eyes wide, an intense expression in his face. The General then leaned her head back slightly, subtlest disappointment and an, I thought so, expression on her face. Miles’ ears and tail fell. A slightly shamed look on his face. “I do hope she recovers.” she tacked on. Coldly. Miles, Lyle, and Mansk left.

Miles marched angrily through the corridors. Mansk and Lyle following, Lyle shambling along on his crutch trying to keep up. He didn’t even know where he was going. Back to the hangar? To the med bay to see his Zu frozen in cryo? No. Spider. He wanted to see Spider. He assumed he’d be in the same cell he was before or similar. Miles stopped, ready to course correct to Spider’s cell in the brig area of the base. He then said to his Marines, “You two head back to the hangar, start arranging for a gunship departure at 0800 tomorrow morning.” 

Mansk and Lyle were surprised, their ears ticking back and their eyebrows raising slightly. That was so soon given what they all had just been through literally just a few hours ago with Sully. But of course they understood. This was for Zu. Miles then looked to Lyle, glanced down at his leg, and said, “Marine… I’m gonna need you to stay here,” and put his hand on his shoulder. 

Lyle replied with a soft beg, “Colonel… come on, I’ll be fine.” 

Miles snickered and said, “Lyle, you’re hobblin' around on a crutch. Just.. hold down the fort, Marine. We need a tether to Bridgehead lest they decide to cut us loose for good.” Miles said facetiously, but only half joking really. 

Lyle said, “Yes sir.” and let out a small sigh.

Mansk looked to him and said with a smirk, “Finally. Some peace.” Lyle shoved Mansk into the wall. 

Suddenly, Parker emerged from down the corridor hall. He looked like he was clearly looking for them. He walked up to Miles, hands in his pockets, looked up to him and said, “I’m really sorry, Miles. About everything.” Miles could only guess as to the ‘everything’ that Parker truly meant in this statement, but he appreciated it. Parker continued, “I’m sure Zu is going to be okay. You know, I’m pulling for her.” Miles’ ears leaned back and out, and he gave a sad smile and a series of high frequency short nods, like tears were about to flow, but he took a big breath through his nose and stopped them, only the slightest pooling of water in his eyes which were quickly reeled back in. Parker saw this and frowned slightly. Miles then said, “Thank you, Parker.” It was all he could muster at the moment.

Parker then said, “Tense moment back there, Miles... You can't... you gotta be careful. I don't think I need to tell you that you're on thin ice." Lyle and Mansk looked displeased with Parker's statement.

Miles paused and then just said, "I know." and pulled his lips back. 

Parker then shook his head and said, "Well listen, I'm glad you are okay. Seems like it was a close shave for all of you," Parker said, noting their injuries, Miles' and Mansk's busted noses, Lyle's stab wound, and of course the cryo-stable Zu. Parker then said, "Good luck tomorrow, and be careful on your trip. Like I said, I'm pulling for Zu.” Miles gave Parker a sincere look and Parker turned around and headed back where he came from.

The three Marines then went their separate ways. Miles heading to Spider’s cell. He realized he was still in his bloody clothes. He thought about changing, but he’d have to go all the way to the drone hangar to do that. He didn’t want to delay anymore. He wanted to see his son. He would just have to tell Spider that this is the fault of Jake’s animal wife.

Spider was sitting in the left corner of the cell, angry, worried. His yells asking what condition Kiri was in, whether or not Jake and Neytiri were alive went unanswered. He sat there with his left leg out, right knee bent up, his right hand resting on his knee. The way Miles does. His mind a tempest. Suddenly outside the door, he sees the imposing figure of a Na’vi. It’s Quaritch . Spider’s face turned.

Miles took a breath from his breather then ducked under the sliding doorway, the same way he did when he first spoke to Spider in this room all those months ago. Felt like Deja Vu. Miles then walked around the metal table in the middle of the room to Spider’s side and stopped about six feet from him. Spider wanted to look away, but he saw the blood on Miles’ vest and pants and visibly panicked, worried that it was Jake’s or Neytiri’s. Miles saw his face fall at the sight of the blood and as he bent down to sit against the wall he clicked his teeth, and with the strain of bending down to sit, he said, “Don’t worry. It’s not Jake’s or… Neytiri’s ,” he said with an assuring irritation, particularly digging into ‘neytiri’ with a disdainful tone. Spider’s face relaxed and he leaned his head back into the wall and looked up at the ceiling with relief. The first confirmation in hours that Jake and Neytiri were okay. 

Spider then looked to Miles who was sitting in front of him, his tail lightly brushing from the floor into the wall he was leaning against. Miles was sitting the same way he was, unknowingly it seemed, which made Spider angry and re-adjust himself to sit differently. Spider then said, “Where is Kiri? Is she okay?” 

Miles just bluntly said, “She’s fine.” And she was. She was in a special cell not too far from here that accommodated Na’vi prisoners, a direct pumping in of outside air. 

Spider then said, “I want to see her.” 

Miles bit his lower lip and said, “That ain’t gonna happen, kid.” 

Spider then angrily said, well then “Get outta here. I don’t wanna talk to you.”

Miles, miffed, moved his lips to the side then said, “Well I wanna talk to you.” Spider, still sitting, now with both knees bent just looked away from Miles. After a silence Miles said, “Spider… thank you for saving my life.” Spider said nothing, his face twitching up with anger. Regret in his mind. Miles continued, “You didn’t know it, but… you allowed me the opportunity… to experience something amazing.” 

Spider was doing his best to tune out what he was saying, but a small part of his mind was intrigued by what he meant. Miles, indifferent to Spider’s lack of expressed care, said, “This blood on my clothing… it’s from the woman I love. A Na’vi woman.

Spider’s head quickly snapped to Miles, a shocked expression. So that was why the “Ash Na’vi” woman was with them . Quaritch… this son of a bitch, actually fell in love with a Na’vi woman. Miles continued, “Her name is Zu… Zukriyä. I think you’d really like her. She'd like you... She’s uhh… she’s going to be okay. In time.” Miles said, a gentle, sweet way about him.

Spider’s shocked expression then quickly turned to anger. He said, voice raised, “So you fell in love with a Na’vi woman. You.” Miles' ears fell, and his head reeled back a bit, a disheartened expression on his face at being scolded by his son, knowing what he was going to say next.

Spider then said, “Yet you’re hunting down Jake Sully. Because he fell in love with a Na’vi woman… You’re a piece of shit.”

Miles’ disheartened face turned from sadness to irritation, his nose briefly twitching up. “Sully killed a bunch of good people, Spider.”

“Oh, unlike you??” Spider snapped. “You’re a mass murderer. In case you forgot.”

Miles then said with clenched teeth, “I am not … that man.. Not anymore.”

“Well it doesn’t matter. You attacked and hurt my friends. Kiri…Lo’ak.. Tuk. You killed my friend. Neteyam is dead... because of you." Spider spoke to Miles with emnity. "You’re trying to kill Jake. Who has actually been a father to me…” Spider let out a heavy sigh, and said, “I should have let you drown.” with an acrimonious tone and a cold expression on his face.

Miles' face dropped, his tail stopped moving on the floor, and his ears fell back further. He just stared at Spider with his jaw slack who didn’t take his eyes from him. A vindictive, almost teary expression on his son’s face. Like he wanted to hurt him. Spider referencing Jake as a father and saying he should have let him die… these statements deeply affected Miles, but his sadness quickly turned to rage, and he pulled his teeth back in an exposed teeth grimace and said with a dark, malevolent tone, “Well… you did , son. And with this new opportunity, I’m gonna finish what I goddamn started.” Miles stood up, his fists clenched and looked at Spider who looked away from him. Miles and then walked away to the door taking a hit from his breather. Spider then said quietly under his breath, “I’m not your fucking son,” which Miles heard and clenched his teeth at, but he kept walking and left the room. 

Miles was enraged, stattered, and devastated. He wanted to take out his feelings on someone a lot closer to Jake Sully at the moment. As well as divert his mind from his tumultuous thoughts. He was going to visit Kiri. Bask in this part of his previous mission’s success. Zu’s injury wasn’t worth any of this, but at least he knew Jake and Neytiri were hurting as much as he was right now with their daughter captured.

Miles approached Kiri’s cell which had double doors forming an airlock. It was only about ten rooms down the hall from Spider’s cell. He was going to take a breath from his breather, but then realized that he would have Pandoran air inside this cell. Thank god.

Miles entered through the airlock. Like Spider, Kiri was sitting in the corner. Miles entered slowly, imposingly, Kiri stood up quickly, visibly reacting in fear to his entrance. Miles, feeling a malicious joy at this, said, “I remember you.” with a smirk and pointing his finger at her, moving it up and down slightly. He continued, “What’s that you said to me on the ship? ' They’re coming for you’? Well… not so sure about that anymore, sweetheart. For either of us.” Miles said spitefully, deeply enjoying this moment. It was distracting him from the swirling storm of sadness and despair in his heart over Zu and the conversation he just had with Spider. 

Kiri just stared at him glaring. Just as Spider did, Kiri looked at the blood on his clothing with initial horror and panic, but unlike Spider, with her acute Na’vi senses, she could smell it and realized to her incredible relief that it was not either of her parents’ blood. And it wasn’t Miles’ either; he was too uninjured given the volume of blood. And it obviously wasn’t the bald goon’s who brought her and Spider here. There were two choices. It was either the other demon’s blood, the long-sleeved one, or the Na’vi woman’s that Spider mentioned who she didn’t see. Kiri smelled the air some more, in a way that Miles didn't realize, and noticed that the blood smelled too different. Too strange. Not like the blood of an Avatar or the demons who captured her. Not like that of a forest Na'vi. She deduced it was the "ash" Na’vi woman’s. And she became curious. Wondering if having this knowledge was advantageous to her in this moment. 

Miles was surprised at her silence and the rise he wasn't getting out of her. He just stood there looking at her, almost getting bored, his sadness starting to seep back in. Kiri then said, “Where is Spider?” Miles was surprised that was the first thing she asked. Kiri was the first thing Spider asked about too. Miles was intrigued at the affinity they had for each other, distinctly remember both of them begging for the other not to be killed when Quaritch had Kiri and Neytiri had Spider that fateful night on the sinking Sea Dragon. Miles then bluntly said, “Spider is fine. He’ll be better than you soon.” and snickered with a smirk. Kiri then looked down, unsure if it was the right time, but ready to wield the only possible weapon she had in this room. 

She said, “Well I at least know my mom and dad are okay too… and how is that Na’vi woman? Looks like she lost a lot of blood.” with a contemptuous tone. 

Miles' eyes widened with rage, his tail flicking wildly, his ears sharply angled back, How did this girl know who’s blood this was?? That her parents were okay?? Miles lurched towards Kiri, and she pressed back into the wall, but Miles stopped himself. He certainly knew that putting his hands on the most valuable prisoner in the base was a quick ticket to General Ardmore’s wrath and she was already plenty displeased with him. Miles just looked at her with daggers in his eyes. How do these people keep managing to hit him with these low blows? Kiri was trying to hide her smirk at having gotten to this asshole. She wielded her knowledge like an arrow and it landed right on target. Kiri was also very emotionally attuned to those around her. Even this evil man who caused so much pain for her family. This Na’vi woman, whoever she was, he clearly cared about her. Deeply. This was interesting to her.

The distraction from his pain that Miles sought out in coming to this cell was not working out as planned. He pulled his lips back and bit the upper arch of his teeth hard into his lower lips, his canines causing slight pain. He clenched his fists and turned around to walk out. He had nothing more to say. 

Kiri then said something she had been holding in since she learned of who this man was– “You killed my mother, you demon,” she said, abruptly.

Miles turned around to her with a deeply perplexed expression, his eyebrows drawn in and the right side of his face raised. His ears pointed towards her. Neytiri wasn’t dead. He saw her. And Kiri was taken away well before the fight ended. Kiri seeing his puzzled face and twitching tail, said, “Grace Augustine. I was born of her Avatar. After she died. My mom and dad adopted me.” 

Miles turned his body fully towards Kiri with astonishment, his lips parted, and blinked rapidly. He looked at Kiri… and suddenly he saw it. Grace Augustine. Right there in front of him. He could see it. His expression became even more bewildered. Miles didn’t know what had happened to Augustine. He just remembered shooting at her, Jake, and one of the other science pukes when they escaped from Hell’s Gate with the help of Trudy, that traitor pilot… But… so he killed her. One of the bullets must have landed. But Miles didn’t understand– if he killed Grace, then how the hell did her Avatar have a baby? Miles didn’t care to ask, but what Miles did know in this moment was satisfaction… at first. He hated that woman. Queen science puke. However… recently, Miles had been reading her old notes in preparation for his recent mission. Miles developed a whole new perspective on what he was reading, stuff he had mocked or taken for granted in his past life, but had directly come to know in his new body and existence on Pandora. The stuff he mocked her and her science pukes for… he experienced directly. He saw the forest and Pandora... through her eyes. Miles also realized something else… he was responsible for the creation of two orphans. His own son. And this Na’vi girl. Miles felt like shit. It was time for him to leave and change his fucking clothes. He left Kiri's cell, not saying a word to her about what she revealed. Kiri felt moderately satisfied.

It was the late evening, night falling soon. Miles made it to their drone hangar which was still in the same as they left it a week ago. Their stuff that they didn’t bring on the mission still in their supply crates. Before Miles changed into his new clothes, he went into the small, human-sized restroom in the hangar with a towel. He removed his clothing and wet the towel under the sink to wash himself. He wiped off Zu’s dried blood from the blue skin of his lower body. He then looked at the bloody towel in his hands, becoming lost in recent memory, recalling Zu’s agonizing shriek and his horror at seeing her stumble off of Neytiri holding her side, seeing the arrow in Neytiri’s hand. The arrows he had come to fear. He heard it and saw it all so vividly, like she was right there getting stabbed again. Miles squinted his eyes hard, then bent down at the small sink. Gripping it with his hands. Breathing heavily. Trying to shake the memory. Zu is going to be fine. He recited to himself again and again in his head. He wanted to see Zu… but he didn’t think he could bear to see her body in a cryo capsule. He then opened his eyes and looked at his face in the mirror. His face that he had come to get used to. He now expected his young face, blue skin, stripes, dark hair, and yellow eyes to be staring back at him. Miles noticed his hair was getting a little longer at the top, his fade growing in, but he didn’t care at this moment. He then took a big breath, stood up and rung out the towel under the water until it ran clear and he wiped his face and the rest of his body. Trying to wash off the memories of the day. This had been a brutal one.

Mansk and Lyle were in the East Hangar and had coordinated Bob to fly them to Dragon’s Tail tomorrow at 0800 per their Colonel’s orders. Mike would also be joining again as the door gunner. Both Bob and Mike were actually very saddened to hear of Zu’s injury and they were more than happy to agree to this mission if it meant she would be helped. Besides, they liked flying to the archipelago and Bridgehead was a stressful place to be in at the moment. Mansk expected a 48 hours max mission, which he also told Bob and Mike to prepare for. This wasn’t a drop off only mission, so they may need to prepare to stay a night or two just in case. Mansk packed some MRE’s, weapons, and other miscellaneous supplies. 

While Mansk was loading, Lyle, while leaning on his crutch, clapped, and sarcastically said, “Yes, great job, Mansk. Atta boy.” Lyle couldn’t really help load the Kestrel on account of the deep stab wound in his thigh, but he made sure to be as annoying as possible about it. 

Mansk just gave him glares and eyerolls. At one point he said, “You better watch the crutch, dude. Someone could knock it out from under you.”

After they, well, Mansk, was done loading, Lyle said, “You guys just need one more thing.” 

“What’s that?” Mansk asked, half expecting some stupid statement.

“Someone who knows how to draw blood.” Lyle replied.

Mansk gave Lyle a serious look. The reality of what this mission was about setting in. They would figure that part out, but they needed to find their Colonel. The first place they thought to check was their drone hangar sleep space.

Miles was changed, and he threw out the bloodied clothing. His tactical vest was bloody too so he emptied it of necessary items to transfer it over to another one. He then pulled off the Deja Blu patch from the old vest, looked at it and smiled slightly, letting in the fond memory of having eagerly designed it with Zhang on the Venture Star. About the only thing that gave him a sincere, joyed smile all day. He then placed it on the new vest.

Lyle and Mansk arrived at the hangar and by this point it was night and the Colonel looked up to them enter, slightly startled. Mansk and Lyle were happy to see that he changed clothes. Miles greeted them with, “Marines.” They gave him very slight grins. Miles, though he was also hurting, realized it was time to be a leader again, that Lyle and Mansk were also affected by today's events. Miles had yet to truly thank them for how admirably they performed on the mission. Having the wherewithal to take Spider and Kiri to Bridgehead, and Mansk for snapping him out of his distraught state with Zu. Miles couldn’t believe that all of this was just a few hours ago. Lyle Wainfleet and Devin Mansk were honorable, capable Marines. Good men. And he was proud to be serving with them as their commanding officer. He needed to tell them that. In time.

He stood up and approached them and said, “Let’s get some dinner, Marines.” placing his hands on their shoulders.

Mansk and Lyle were surprised their Colonel wanted to go eat, and place himself in an environment that was about 50/50 on good versus bad for them, but they weren’t going to question it. Neither was particularly hungry after all that had occurred, they had been lightly snacking throughout the afternoon, but Mansk at least realized that he and the Colonel had a long journey in that Kestrel tomorrow. It was wise to have a big dinner. The three set off for the mess hall. Miles honestly just wanted to pass some time and continue to distract himself from his thoughts. The mess hall would provide that for better or worse.

The Marines arrived at the mess hall and entered getting ready for the stares and chatter as they usually do. Though the atmosphere they sensed this time was different. Instead of angry, hateful, fearful, and disappointed stares, some were looking at them with… sympathy. Sympathy and even mildly pleasant expressions. Boy does chatter move quickly around this base. Honestly though what else do these people have to do except gossip and talk? Surely it spread that the gray Na’vi girl that had been around the base was gravely injured and stabilized via cryo. And some semblance of mission success had clearly been conveyed. Giddiness over the RDA having the daughter of the Na’vi resistance leader in custody.

The Marines made their way to the food line. They saw that there was pizza, and the three looked at each other with their ears fallen slightly, remembering Zu’s beaming joy with this simple human food. Miles raised his hand to his face, his fingers lightly touching and massaging his forehead, jarred by the memory and thoughts of Zu. He suddenly wasn’t feeling very hungry. He sighed and grabbed a single plate of “meat” loaf and one scoop of mashed “potatoes,” and ignored the cupcakes for dessert despite his sweet tooth, then went to sit down while his Marines still served themselves. 

Lyle and Mansk came to join him and set down their slightly more full, though not nearly as full as normal trays of food. The three just looked at their plates of food. Tails still, hanging on the floor over the undersized cafeteria table benches they had grown used to hunching over on. They spent some time talking lightly. Intermittently. Breathing from their masks. Lyle revealed to Miles that it was Spider who stabbed him which greatly pissed Miles off, the statement adding to his swirling thoughts on his and Spider relationship. But both Miles and Lyle were especially shocked to hear how close Mansk was to death. 

“Shit man, I didn’t even realize. Jesus.” Lyle said, at Mansk revealing that Jake pushed him off the mountain and by sheer luck he was able to reach out to and grab one of the many long hanging vines hanging from the mountain. In the dark. He just reached his arms out. When he grabbed the vines, he just hung there for a moment. Shocked to no longer be falling. Sundae even flew near him, concerned for her companion, as he slowly climbed back up.  

Miles was silent. Enraged at the close shave for his Marine. How much more devastating the outcome of this mission almost was if he had additionally lost Mansk.

Suddenly, a much brighter personality than the three approached them at their table. Deacon, the marina worker. He walked up to them with a cupcake in his hand. 

“Why if it isn’t the blue man group, howzit?” he said amiably in his South African accent.

Miles just gave a frustrated, not in the mood, head and eye roll and looked away taking a breath from his mask. Deacon smirked. But he then looked around the mess hall and to the food line and a mildly concerned look grew on his face. Then he asked, “Where’s the pretty girl?”

Miles, Lyle, and Mansk looked at this man with despondent expressions, but none so much as Miles who was hunched over, more than normal when sitting at these tables, his ears fallen to the sides, his jaw slack, and eyes sad. Clearly the gossip train around Bridgehead had its limits. Plus it seemed like Deacon didn’t have many friends.

Deacon’s face dropped at seeing their expressions. Terrified of what they would clarify. Miles couldn’t speak, but Lyle couldn’t leave Deacon hanging like that. He then said, “Zu is okay. She… got hurt on our mission. She is stable… they put her in cryo. But uhh… she needs blood. Which tomorrow, they’re going to go get.” Lyle said, glancing to Miles and Mansk. Mansk nodded gently, pressing his lips together.

Deacon was crestfallen, but relieved to hear that she was alive and stable. He then looked to Miles and said, “I’m… sorry, my friend. I wish her health and a speedy recovery. I guess I’ll have to stop by and bring her some flowers.” Miles honestly did not understand the reason for the kindness of this man, but in this moment it was very welcome, almost enough to make Miles tear up, but he felt them welling and did his best to stop them from falling down his face. Deacon could see his eyes begin to shimmer though. 

Deacon then went to place his hand on Miles’ large arm and said, “She’s a strong one, bru. She will be fine.” he said with an assuring smile. Miles gave him a soft, heartfelt smile. Deacon left the cupcake in front of Miles and walked away. This interaction picked all of them up enough to eat their food. They each even went back up to get a second plate. And each even had a slice of pizza in honor of Zu. Miles then ate the cupcake that Deacon left.

The Marines headed back to their hangar, prepared for departure tomorrow, but Mansk moved up to walk next to his Colonel and said, “Sir, we are missing a critical aspect of the mission,”

Miles stopped walking and snapped his head to him, concerned, and asked, "What?"

Mansk then said, “We need a phlebotomist… someone to take the blood from Zu’s parents.” Miles opened his mouth to speak, when all of a sudden, as though she was summoned, Dr. Park emerged down the corridor. A gentle expression on her face. Oh fucking great, just what I need right now, Miles thought to himself and frustratingly turned his body away from her and flapped his arms against his legs, hiding none of the overt animus he held towards her. Dr. Park had a regretful expression on her face, understanding that even though Miles started out negative towards her, in no small part her behavior towards him didn’t help him warm to her. But she was here to offer her services.

“Miles… I understand you need someone who knows how to draw blood, Na’vi blood, to go with you on your journey to Dragon’s Tail tomorrow. Is that correct?” she asked.

Lyle chimed in and asked her, “You can draw blood? Aren’t you a psychologist?”

Dr. Park casually replied, “Yes. But I have a medical degree. And I know Na’vi anatomy.”

No, god, please no. Anyone, but you. Miles thought. Dr. Park sensing his immense reservations said, “You would be hard pressed to find another volunteer on this base who can do this task. Do you know how to draw Na’vi blood, Miles? In a way that won’t aggravate or harm those who you are taking it from? Who I assume are Zu’s parents.”

Miles looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Godaammit she was right. They were literally leaving tomorrow morning and a phlebotomist who can actually draw blood from Na’vi just placed herself in front of them right as it was revealed they needed one… Miles was tired. He wasn’t going to fight this. He just said, “We are leaving at 0800.” and he abruptly continued walking down the corridor eager to sleep. Sleep, if he could even get some, was the only thing that was actually going to truly distract him from this day.

Dr. Park then spoke up to him as he gained distance from her down the corridor and sincerely said, “And I’m really sorry about Zu, Miles.” Miles kept walking, a frown on his face.

The Marines made it back to their sleeping hangar and were ready to sleep after their long, trying day. As Lyle and Mansk were headed into their rooms, Miles said, “Marines, come here.” Lyle and Mansk looked at each other then approached their Colonel.

Miles looked at both of them, soft pride in his eyes, then spoke, “You two… performed admirably today. I am incredibly proud. Lyle.. that’s one hell of an injury, son. Yet you were able to deliver Spider and Sully’s daughter to Bridgehead. That’s nice work, Marine. 

Lyle smiled and gave a soft, “Oorah.”

Miles then looked to Mansk and said, “Mansk… you saved Zu. I want you to know that. You’re quick thinkin’... I was…. Thank you, son.”

Mansk gave his Colonel a soft smile and a gentle nod.

“Now get some rack, Marines. See you in the morning.” Miles said. 

The three headed into their rooms. After Miles entered his, he stood looking at this empty space as the door closed. Noting the two cots that were pressed together and the two sleeping pads that were still there. He took a deep breath and slowly went to lay down to sleep. But Miles was restless. And he was trying to keep his mind focused on the fact and reality that Zu wasn’t here. That by letting said reality in he wouldn’t have reflexive yearnings that he would have to fight off with the painful realization that she wasn’t there… It wasn’t working. He kept wanting to reach out for her, to roll over and see her there next to him. He wanted nothing more than to look into her beautiful ember eyes right now. Run his fingers through her dark, soft, wavy-curly hair. See her smile and her big scary canine teeth. Feel the long soft tuft of her tail brush against him. Have her ask him something, anything about Sky People. He leaned into her sleeping pad and could smell her scent. All he wanted to do was hold her tight right now. Miles started to cry, finally letting the tears he’s choked back all day flow from his eyes. He quietly whimpered until the exhaustion of the day carried him to sleep.

[minhze-law]

3D school project of an imaginery amusement park: A deadly drop tower run by goose

[eleteo125]

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Naughty Wolf (m)

Wolf!Baji x Red Riding Hood!Reader

18+ fic minors dni

Red Riding Hood is a title given to those with the duty of delivering food, crops, livestock, etc. to the wolves in exchange for the protection of the village. But what if you met one of those wolves?

CW: Sexual Content, biting, hair pulling

Word Count: 15,010 (yeesh haha)

A/N: I haven't written anything in a loooong time haha. Also forgive my smut scenes they aren't my forte when it comes to writing. English is also not my first language so have mercy if I made any mistake haha. And lastly @kazutoraholic here's the result of that little thirst post you had about Wolf!Baji hahaha hope you enjoy this too.

In a map of a far away kingdom, there is a dense forest that not many have travelled to. There have been so many sightings of large monsters and predators out for prey. Beasts so strong even the strongest knights cannot defeat. Said beasts has been observed to only reside in the forest not wandering outside so they just left it be. But in the middle of said forest resides a quaint village. As most would assume how could this village survive in such an environment where beasts of great magnitude reside? Well they don’t. They’ve enlisted the help of the “wolves” of the area whom have taken the responsibility of protecting the villagers from outside intruders from entering the village.

Mighty generous some would say but alas, their services are not for free. They have demanded to be provided some crops and livestock from the village every two weeks. And that’s where Red Riding Hoods enter. They are responsible of dropping off said supplies at a certain drop off inside the forest. Red Riding Hoods must be able to easily navigate through the dense forest for faster delivery of the supplies. They don a red hood as an indicator that they are allies to the wolves so as to not to mistakenly attack them.

One of those Red Riding Hoods happens to be your grandmother. She would be leaving for quite a while and come back with great stories of her adventures through the forest. It could be as great as catching sight of the mightily beasts or as mundane as finding a rare herb, you soaked it all up earning you a great curiosity what’s beyond those dense forest. She even mentioned coming across a wolf pup who wouldn’t let her go until she gave him some food. You both laughed at the story while also telling you not to tell anyone and it’ll be your little secret. She emphasized how the wolves are very private creatures and doesn’t really like interacting with humans. She brings life and wonder of what’s beyond the forest and not just a habitat of dangerous beasts.

But one day, your grandmother never made it home. She disappeared. She never came back from delivering the supplies. There’s a rule where once a Red Riding Hood haven’t returned in a week, they are presumed dead and a new Red Riding Hood is titled. A rule some would say is absurd, but considering how dangerous the forest is it seemed to make sense. And most cases where Red Riding Hoods not returning, they either end up found dead or still missing.

Your grandmother’s disappearance could be enough to drive you away from the forest, but you still have hope that she’s still out there. So you resorted to ways where you could go into the forest without trouble. Become a Red Riding Hood.

The only knowledge you have of the forest is your grandmother’s stories which does give information but not enough to get you to be a master navigator. SO you spent the rest of your teenage years studying about navigating and studying the on the forest that is available. After years and years of studying, you finally find yourself fit to be a Red Riding Hood. Teachers and Professors are willing to put in a good word for you when you applied to be a Red Riding Hood. And after going through a tedious process of paperwork and testing, you finally did it. You are now a Red Riding Hood. You may be doing it because you want closure on your grandmother’s disappearance, but you still felt that childlike giddiness now that you’re just like your amazing grandmother.

And here you are at the village gates waiting for the gates to open to enter the forest. Nervous and excited, that’s what you are. You’ve always been a curious little bean, so seeing more of the forest beyond just illustrations and books is beyond exciting. But you’re also nervous because who wouldn’t be when the most dangerous forest in the kingdom is right there where wild beasts could maul you anytime. So yeah, nervous and excited. To calm your nerves, you resorted to count the supplies and double…well triple check in this case.

“Nervous?” a man in knight uniform approached you.

“Atsushi! Yes. Seeing the forest up close like this is…”you looked up and took a view of the forest “pretty intimidating”

“Ah I told you Akkun is fine. Might as well get familiar with each other since I’ll be escorting you to the gates from now on. And if it’s any consolation, this is my first time being near the forest too.”

You chuckled at his nervous face when gazing at the forest which you can definitely relate too. Knowing someone else might relate to you comforted you a little.

“Welp! Off I go then!” you said cheerfully trying to ignore your nerves.

“Take care okay. And thank you for your service to the village.”

“An honor to serve the village. See ya!” you said before taking off.

You’ve been travelling for two days and you came to one conclusion. You were definitely being followed. You don’t really have any evidence you were being followed but you can just feel it. You barely slept last night, but at least you’re already at the drop off point. So you quickly did your tasks so you can travel back home already and hopefully not get mauled by a beast.

Just as you were thinking of that, you heard leaves from a branch rustle. Your face paled and your body was paralyzed. ‘Not on my first day please not on my first day” you pleaded with your eyes closed. You slowly opened your eyes and turned your head towards the direction of the rustle.

You came into eye contact with a guy. No wait, uh, he has dog or maybe was it wolf ears. He must probably one of the wolves. But when learning about the wolves you assumed they would look more…wolf-like and not human-like.

“Hey.” The guy? Dog? Wolf? Said trying to get your attention

“Uhm, can I- can I help you?” you hoped you said that loud enough for him to hear you still were shocked of what you came across.

“Ya got food on ya?”he asked and stepping out from the bush.

“Yea, I just locked it in the drop off point.”

He looked at the drop off point and looked back at you. “That’s great! But what I mean is a spare food you guys have a lot of those right?” he said with somewhat an excited look on his eyes. You even caught a glimpse of his wagging tail behind him.

“Well the food on me is for me while I travel.” You explained while patting your bag.

“Aww. How about a bite then?” he asked stepping near your bag and sniffing a little which caused him to drool a bit.

“No can do, sorry”

“A nibble then?” he asked crouching down next to your bag and looking up at you giving you the puppy eyes. You almost cooed out loud because admittedly he looked cute looking like that. You shook your head “N-no” you faltered.

As you said that, his face turned into a frown and his ears started to droop down. ‘Oh no not the ears, not the ears! Hhnnggg those cute ears and those fluffy hair aagghh!’You sighed and reached for your bag “Alright, fine”

“Hell yeah!” he stood up and took the sandwich you handed him with bright eyes. It isn’t a problem really; you made extra the amount of food for your travels to gauge how much you’ll need for next time. As the guy devoured the sandwich, you started to observe him. Long dark hair one of the noticeable trait of his after his ears. Sharp canines which he made great use of while eating, and amber eyes which were now looking at you. ‘Oh’ how long have you been staring at him? You felt yourself blush at the thought of getting caught but brushed it off.

“So, I hope you enjoyed it!”you tried making conversation

The guy gave you a smile that showed off his canines. “Definitely! It was just as good as your grandmother’s haha.” He said while patting his tummy.

“Wait-huh? My grandmother’s?”

“Was she not your grandmother? There used to be a nice old lady who gave me food all the time when she goes here.”

‘Could it be?!’

“A-are you by chance talking about my grandmother?!” you asked enthusiastically getting close to him in the process…well maybe too close judging by the fact that he stepped back a little.

“Yes…” he said now the one thinking you’re strange

“H-h-how do you know my grandmother and I were related?” your thoughts were going a mile a minute that turning those thoughts into words is a bit of a struggle.

“Well, you both smelled similar.”

“Eh?”

“Your scent.”

You stared at him before backing away and covering yourself “Have you been sniffing me?!”

“Wha- I was sniffing your bag I just got a whiff of you!”

“And how were you able to do that?!”

“I’m a wolf!”

“Oh” you realized feeling a little bit dumb. But at least you got a confirmation of what he is.

The guy in front of you sighed and said “Why don’t we start over. I’m Baji Keisuke, one of the wolves defending you village from the forest a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand for you to shake, which you accepted. “Gotta say, didn’t expect for you guys to change the Red Riding Hood so soon.”

Feeling like some tension was taken off, you decided to be friendly. “What can I say, I guess I impressed the village head with my top notch navigating skills.” you giggled at your faux arrogance which also earned the now named Baji a chuckle.

“So… you knew my grandmother?”

“I knew her as that nice lady with good food, other than that I don’t really remember much, was just a pup after all.”

Ah, you remember now. You recall your grandmother telling you stories about a wolf pup always bothering her until he gets food. With how he acted earlier, you definitely can connect the dots now.

“So how is she? Haven’t seen her for a long time.”

At that you felt yourself get sad for a bit. “I was hoping you would know something about it actually.”

He raised his brow at that statement “What do you mean?”

You looked at him before saying “She…she went missing. Here in the forest.”

“Oh. I see.” He said while looking down having a guess on what happened

“Don’t look so down, I still have hope that she’s still somewhere out there!” you declared full of confidence, you were determined to get to the bottom of your grandmother’s disappearance and Baji could sense that.

“Mind if I join you in that little quest of yours?”

You looked at him in surprise and delight you grabbed his hands and looked at him with bright eyes “Really?! You would do that?” you asked brimming with gratefulness.

Baji blushed a little bit at the sudden contact and proximity but you were just so excited to get help from someone that has a connection to your grandmother outside of the village that you failed to notice his flustered face. “Of course. Consider that as payment from the snack you gave me.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about that.”

He smiled at you at that “Still, I would love to help you. She’s been a part of my childhood too albeit not as much as yours.”

“Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” you said while continuously bowing.

“H-hey save your thanks for later once we actually made progress.”

“Oh r-right, ehehe”

“You better get going. You’ve got quite a long journey back home.”

“That’s true. I’ll take my leave then! It was very nice to meet you!”

As you were about to leave you felt him tug at your sleeve prompting you to look at him “Hey what do you say I escort you back to your village?”

“Really?” you asked though you find it hard to say no to a little extra protection from the forest’s dangers “Would that be ok?”

“Of course! Besides I like you!” he declared which made you blush heavily “No-wait uh, that didn’t come out right. What I was trying to say is that uh, your grandmother talks about from time to time so I kind of got an idea of what you were like so yea.” He let out a nervous laugh and though ‘The hell was that explanation, did it even make sense???’

“W-well I’ll be in your care then!” you tried to change the subject since this conversation is making you more and more flustered.

“Right!” he gave you a mock salute and went off to lead the way.

Through your journey, the sunset came about you. Baji stepped forward and held his hand towards the setting sun. He seemed to be gauging something before saying “We got a an hour or so before the sun completely sets. Let’s settle right here and set up camp.”

“Ok ok, I’ll grab some firewood not far from here.”

“Hmm, got a tent with you? I can set it up while you’re gathering.”

“Yes! Yes I do.” You answered handing it to him “Thank you very much.”

“Not a problem. Off you go now make sure to gather enough before dark.”

“I’ll be right back then.” Just as you said that, Baji noticed something move in his peripherals.

Finding firewood wasn’t that difficult and you find yourself content with the amount you have gathered. As you were finishing up, you heard a rustle to your right. “Ah Baji you didn’t have to come here I was…just…” it wasn’t Baji. And judging by the fact that this creature was eyeing you up as its next meal, it was safe to assume that it wasn’t gonna be as friendly as Baji was.

You tried to keep steady so as to not provoke the creature, but that didn’t matter since it started to approach you sizing you up. You’ve had training where you were taught how to defend yourself from these beasts and escape quickly but facing off with the real deal like this caused you to have a mental block.

You tried slowly reaching for your weapon—which is a measly knife—but it’ll have to do. But even the smallest of movements is enough to provoke it and was now charging at you in full speed. You were about to run but in the blink of an eye the beast’s head was crushed. And right on top of that crushed head is Baji’s foot. You were about to approach him but then he started stomping on the beast’s head flattening it to the ground. He then went towards its body and started to slash at it with his claws that you didn’t notice until now. He slashed and diced until all that’s left was just minced meat.

He took out what looked to be a handkerchief and wiped his face and hands before turning to face you. What he saw wasn’t exactly pleasant. You had a pale face with your trembling hands in front of you. He hopes he didn’t scare you too much, but what he did was necessary lest the creature go limping without its head. He took cautious steps towards you and you seemed to be rooted where you stand.

Who wouldn’t be intimidated at such a display? You knew it was necessary for both your survival but that was just too much for you to handle right now. On your first day no less. When you noticed Baji stepping towards you, you didn’t know what to do so you just stayed there. You were so lost in thought that you were surprised when you felt warmth around your hands. You looked down and saw him holding your hands. It was so big and warm and so…comforting.

Baji held your hands tenderly trying to calm you down. Once he felt your hands stop trembling, he asked you softly. “You doing ok now?”

His deep voice was enough to ground you to reality and be at the moment. “Oh I’ll….I’ll be fine. Just trying to process everything really.” Seeing one of the said protectors of your village in action is a lot, add on the fact that you were just in grave danger it’s a lot to take in. And he understood that.

“Why don’t we head back to the camp and rest there for a while then?”

So that’s what you two did. Seated by the campfire while you both stare at the bonfire, both of you not really knowing how to break the ice. You decided and went for it though so blurted out “That was impressive.”

“What is?”

“You overpowering something thrice your size. Didn’t even had a chance against you, you just stepped on it like a small bug.”

“It’s technically our job to get rid of those guys fast and efficiently.”

“Was mincing it really necessary? I mean you destroyed it’s head surely it must’ve died by then.”

“It’s mostly just a precaution really. That thing found us quite near our camp so I didn’t wanna take any chances.”

“I see.” As soon as you said that silence overcame the two of you once again. It wasn’t a comfortable silence nor was it an awkward silence. Just silence.

Baji got tired of it though. He looked at his surroundings before letting out a grunt as he stands up. “Come on, I wanna show you something. It’s not far from here.” He said as he offered you a hand to help you up.

You let him lead the way. You two walked for about two to three minutes until you ended up in a grass field where he stopped in his tracks. Was this the place, there isn’t much to see around here.

Baji suddenly bolted and ran through the fields in different patterns. You looked at him incredulously wondering what the hell he was doing. Before you could ponder on what purpose of his running was, you suddenly see a trail of gold light following after him. It didn’t take long for you to realize “Fireflies!”

They looked oh so beautiful with the moonlit night. As beautiful as they are your attention was on something completely different. Seeing Baji jumping and hopping around somehow made your heart skip a beat. ‘I don’t know maybe it’s his handsome mug?’

“Hey! Come on run with me!” Didn’t have to tell you twice. For the next ten minutes all you two did was run around while also trying to catch fireflies and letting them go not long after. It’s a cute activity except when Baji started to catch them with his mouth asking if it makes him glow. Which you firmly said no and proceeded to scold him, except it happened more than once so now you’re chasing after him to free those poor fireflies.

You managed to tackle him down but when you looked at him there was nothing in his mouth anymore. So here you are lying on top of him. You blushed at your position and quickly got off him for you to then lie down beside him. He was still laughing from the experience doing his best to calm his laughter down. You two are now staring at the stars while lying down and surrounded by fireflies.

“Beautiful place isn’t it?”

“Yeah” you sighed in contentment

“The forest is a scary place. It’s full of dangers and predators ready to pounce on its prey. But at the same time it can also be beautiful. It’s little wonders like these that give life to the forest. What you experienced earlier is a terrifying experience, but I ask you not to let that incident define how you view this place after all, it is my home. And maybe…your grandmother’s too.”

You sat up from your position and turned to look at him. “Thank you.” You chuckled after saying that “How much did I thank you just for today?”

“Don’t know wasn’t really keeping count. Besides,” he sat up “nothing wrong with being grateful.”

“We should take our rest; we still have quite a lot of land to travel through tomorrow. Especially you, you just went berserk just earlier.”

“Are you kidding I could easily take one of those guys again right now with ease.”

“Don’t jinx us.”

“Hahaha my bad, my bad,”

Your two day trip was shortened to a day and a half. And now the village walls is in your view already.

“Woah! Thanks for the help and of course for escorting me all the way here.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Managing to trek through these forests to the drop off point in only two days is commendable. You’re a Red Riding Hood for a good reason.”

“Oh come on you’re making me blush from those praise.” You muttered while holding your cheeks.

“Oh you got a thing for praises then?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Baji cleared his throat and said “Well uh looks like we’ll be seeing each other quite often huh.”

“Oh yeah yeah.”

“Until next time then?”

“Of course!” you answered quite enthusiastically

“Save me some snacks for next time then!” he waved at you before disappearing in the forest.

A very interesting first day you must admit.

You’re currently at your home taking your rest until the next excursion in the forest. You’re gonna have to set a routine and a new lifestyle so you can get used to your new job. As you’re taking your rest, your mind started to wander to that wolf you just met. He’s very energetic but you had a feeling you haven’t gotten the full experience just yet.

Now that you think about it, was it normal for wolves to escort Red Riding Hoods? It would make sense since they’re carrying something that the wolves need but that doesn’t explain the continuous disappearances of them. Maybe it happens occasionally. When you were studying, you haven’t come across any accounts that states they’ve been escorted by a wolf before. The only explanation you could think of is that since wolves are private creatures they don’t want them talking about how they are. Well the best way to find answers is to ask someone who’s been a Red Riding Hood before.

“Who did what now?” the man in front of you asked, shock written all over his face.

“A wolf escorted me home and I was wondering if that were normal for us.”

“Y-you came across a wolf?” he asked still in disbelief. He then stood up instantly “Do you realize what this means?! No one has seen any of the wolves for decades now!” The man then started to mutter and spouting details you couldn’t really make out so you just slowly backed away. Well now you know it’s definitely not normal. He was probably just helping you out cause he was familiar with your grandmother…and the food, can’t forget about that.

After all that deliberation here you are again nearing the drop off point to of course drop off the crops and livestock. You’re sat beside a large tree near it taking a little bit of rest before travelling back home again. When you felt well rested enough, you reached for your bag to take off only to find out it’s not there. Well that’s worrisome, but said worries were set aside when you heard someone clear their throat from above you.

“Looking for this?~” Baji asked while holding out the bag as he sits on a tree branch.

“Baji! Come on give it back!” he lowered the bag to you but pulled it out of your reach went you went to grab for it which made you chuckle. You tried to grab it from him multiple times jumping up and down. “Hardi har har Baji, now give it back or else I won’t be able to give you your snacks.” You persuaded which surprisingly worked on him as he jumped down from the tree branch.

He held out the bag to you but went to a sprint before you could grab it. “Catch me first! Hahaha” run after him you did. You figured that he wasn’t running in his top speed as you were able to easily catch up to him. No way were you able to outrun a wolf and you weren’t exactly the fastest either. Just as you thought you were close to him, he jumped up and onto a tree.

He turned to you and held his hand out “Upsy daisy!”

That caught you off guard “I’m not exactly a tree climber.”

“Don’t worry I got you!” he smiled at you with that wide smile where his sharp canines were on display. With such a charming smile, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no so you took his outstretched hand. You were much surprised when he was able to lift you up with just one hand.

He then handed the bag to you and climbed up higher and reached his hand out again. “We’re going higher?”

“Yeah I wanna show you something”

“How will we get down?”

“I’ll carry you down.”

You gave this a thought if it would be a good idea. You concluded that seeing the forest from a bird’s eye view can be very helpful especially in travelling. “Alright then.”

The higher you two get, the tighter the grip you had on Baji. He couldn’t help but silently smile at the thought that you trusted him in such a situation. Not long after, you two were at the top of the tree where the view of the large dense forest came to greet you. “Wow!” you gawked at the view while Baji basked in viewing the wonder in your eyes. “Look! I can see a little glimpse of the village’s gate from here!” you exclaimed pointing at its direction.

“They are pretty tall.” He acknowledged

You continued to sightsee and take in the large display of trees. You were taken out of your attention when you heard howling. You turned to Baji whose back was on you. You saw his flattened ears on his head, so you adjusted yourself to look at him and confirmed that it’s him who’s howling. “What are you doing?” you asked curiously

He turned to you and gave you a smirk. And that view got you blushing, his smirk along with the wind blowing his hair back with the large forest as the backdrop. After giving you the reassuring smirk, he continued to howl towards the forest for a few more seconds before pausing, waiting for something. Suddenly you heard howling coming from different directions of the forest.

Baji barked out laughter when he heard them. “THOSE ARE MY PALS!” he declared proudly. “You wanna meet them someday?”

“Can I?!?!” you asked excitedly. The idea of getting to know more about him and his friendships excited you.

You realize that your spot right now is a nice place to eat. So you fetched the food that you prepared for him. You decided to cook two servings of stir fried noodles since you figured that this man most likely had a gigantic stomach judging by the fact with how he devoured your sandwich last time.

Baji being the ever vigilant wolf that he is, smelt the food you took out and quickly sat beside you waiting to be handed the delicious smelling food. You even caught a glimpse of his wagging tail.

You held out the container to him but quickly pulled it back as he went to grab for it laughing at his pouty face paired with droopy ears. “Payback time.” He went and grabbed for it again but you managed to swipe it away from his reach. He tried again and again until your entire arm was outstretched while he was leaning on you as he tried to reach the container. It didn’t take long for you two to realize that he was basically hugging you with both his hands stretched out to reach the container and you in between his arms.

Both of you were quick to separate and sat there a little embarrassed flushing at the thought of how close you two were. “Here” you placed the container on his lap.

“Th-thanks”

A few moments has passed and you heard him starting to eat. Baji thinks that it’s delicious! It even reminded him of a certain food he loves back home but his mind is currently at how close they were earlier. You felt warm he could cuddle you all day just stay in your arms basking in its warmth. “Do you like it?”

“Mmfff!” He answered while also nodding his head. “We have something similar back home too!”

“Glad you enjoyed it. So uh,” you looked down from the tree “How exactly are we gonna get down?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’ll just carry you down.” He offered you his back “Just hang on to me and I’ll do the climbing down.

You appreciated that he was willing to do something like that but the thought of hanging on his back at such a height makes you scared that you’ll accidentally let go of him.

Baji sensed the anxiety you were currently having and thought of something else. “Th-then how about hanging from my front then.”

“Huh?”

“You clearly didn’t like the first idea and this is the only alternative I can think of.”

That was quite a smooth move whether it was his intention or not didn’t matter. Nevertheless clinging or basically hugging him until you get down didn’t seem like a bad idea. And you like being in his arms from earlier.

“That’ll do then.”

“Alright! Come on over here then.” He opened his arms with a wide smile trying to hide his fluster.

As you two got into position, both of you couldn’t help but focus on the breathing that’s right next to your ears. You give a pretty tight hug too. He lifted your thighs and guided them to wrap around his waist. The position was admittedly quite suggestive but he didn’t have any complaints and as he’s observed it seemed to be ok with you too. “Hang on tight.” He said as he started his descent.

As he was descending, you couldn’t help but pay attention to the breathing and grunts coming from him. You felt shame for thinking such thoughts so you just focused on the wind in your hair as he jumps from branch to branch and in no time at all you’re both back to the ground.

Once your feet were on the ground, you leaned back from your embrace with Baji. You still had your arms on his shoulders and his hands on your waist with you two just looking at each other. You caught a movement from his head and saw a caterpillar on his hair which made you giggle.

“What?” he asked concerned if he somehow looked silly.

“Nothing you just got a friendly guy hanging on you.” You reached for the caterpillar and let it crawl to your hand. As you wait for it to get to your hand, you felt how soft Baji’s hair actually was. You only assumed when since it looked like it, but getting to feel it it’s even softer than you expected.

The whole time Baji was just admiring you since he didn’t usually get a close look at you so he’s making the most out of this situation. He watched you place said caterpillar on a nearby bush letting it go in its merry way.

After that little encounter, you both agreed to start your journey back to the village. And thus another delivery as a Red Riding Hood has finished.

The both of you developed a routine where every time you are to do your duties, he would meet you at the drop off point, eat whatever you had prepared for him, and then show you a part of the forest he believes you would like. He never failed to bring a smile on your face when touring you through the forest. Then he’ll be on his way when you’re near the village. You’ve had this steady lifestyle for months until one day…

You were waiting for Baji because you just know that he’s on his way to get his precious snack. Your relaxed stated was disrupted when you smelt something burning. ‘That’s not good’ you thought It definitely wasn’t the smell of burning bonfire. You immediately rushed towards the direction of the burning hoping that it wasn’t the start of a forest fire.

Arriving at the scene, you were relieved it wasn’t a forest fire, but that relief was short lived because what you saw was somehow just as bad. There Baji was holding down a beast which is burning. “BAJI?!”

Your call made him turn to look at you. The sight of you made him widen his eyes in surprise “Stay back! I’ll handle this!” he said as he smacked the beast with a flaming torch before jumping away. He grabbed you in a hug and hid behind a tree where you only heard the flames getting bigger before silence.

You tried to look behind the tree but Baji only tightened his hold on you. The sound of something blowing up then overwhelmed you as you buried you head in his chest. A few more moments after that, Baji then loosened his hold on you. Once again you tried looking behind the tree only to find ashes everywhere. Nothing in the surrounding seemed to be burnt; the only evidence of there being a fire was the ashes and a missing patch of grass.

Before Baji could say anything, you smacked him upside the head. “What were you thinking?!?! You could’ve started something disastrous doing something like that!”

“But I didn’t~” he said before letting out a nervous laugh.

You went up real close to his face and said “You better NOT do this again or no more snacks for you!”

“Yes ma’am!”

You sighed and decided to take his word on it for now. “What even drove you to burning that beast?” you asked rubbing your temples

When you looked at him, he was guiltily looking down at his lap his ears droopy too, a clear sign of his guilt “I was hungry.” He said while in a pout.

“Come again?”

“I was hungryyyy” he whined “I easily get riled up when I’m hungry. That beast just attacked me at the wrong time.”

You sighed again not wanting to explore the topic any further. You took out a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe at his face “Look at you, you’re covered in soot.”

“So are you.”

“You know a place where we can wash up?”

Baji was silent for a moment trying to think of any. After a few moments, his face lighted up “I remember, there’s a river near hear with a small waterfall. I remember taking a bath there once.”

“Let’s head there then. Besides, a meal is much better after a bath after all.”

It wasn’t that long of a walk until you two came about the river he was talking about. The water in the river was crystal clear and the breeze around the area was refreshing thanks to the waterfall. You dipped your hand in the water to gauge its temperature which was just right it’s cold enough to be refreshing but not too cold that you’ll freeze. Maybe a little dip won’t hurt.

Unbeknownst to you, while you were observing the river, Baji was already shedding his clothes and was now running towards the river taking a dive. Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard a splash near you. You instinctively tried to cover yourself from being splashed. It doesn’t take a genius to deduct what was the source of that splash. “Baji!”

Baji resurfaced from the water and pushed his hair back all while laughing at your reaction “My bad, my bad.”

“You have to be mindful of others…around…you…” you drawled out after seeing Baji’s shirtless figure. Thank goodness for the sun’s reflection on the water or you would’ve gotten a full frontal view.

“You like the view?” he said with a big smirk on his face while also raising his eyebrow fascinated at how you were ogling him.

You were quick to turn your back to him to prevent yourself from staring. “Wh-why yes, this river is wonderful.”

“Not exactly what I’m referring to.” He teased

“Oh would you just shut it.” You blurted out in frustration. You were flushing so hard right now; you can’t bring yourself to face him like this.

“Oh well, it’s your decision to not take a dip. I mean it would be a shame for you not to experience the very cool river.” He sarcastically said while swimming over to the waterfall and washing his hair thoroughly through it. “ Ahh~ feels like I’m washing my problems away.”

You tried your best to remain firm but you find yourself turning to look at him curious as to what he was doing. And the sight of him washing his hair underneath a waterfall was such an enticing sight that you wanted to join him right then and there, but you were still embarrassed. You haven’t been naked in front of anyone, but the thought of being naked in front of Baji didn’t really bother you, you just felt shy.

Baji finished washing his hair before turning to look at you again. When he saw you still rooted in place, he swam over to you. “Come on take a dip, the water’s great. And weren’t you the one who said that a meal is much better after a bath?”

Few moments has passed of you just pondering the situation before answering “T-turn around.”

“Huh?” he asked in disbelief

“I said turn around. Don’t really feel comfortable being watched while getting naked.”

“Oh, OH right right! Uhh ok!” you heard a few splashes before you turned around to make sure. And there he is, his back turned to you—goodness even his back is such an eye candy.

You quickly make work of your clothes before taking a dip. In Baji’s opinion, the sound of your clothes rustling is much worse for him instead of just outright watching you get naked. Imagination is a powerful yet troublesome thing.

The soft sound of the water rippling as you stepped into the water rang in Baji’s ears refraining himself to look at your direction. “You should give the waterfall a try. It’ll also speed up the process if need be.”

Step under the waterfall you did. And to quote what Baji said, it really does feel like all your worries were being washed away. Baji then went back to washing himself once he was sure that you were settled nicely. Him minding his own business was quickly thrown to the side when he heard you let out a squeal. He quickly turned to look at you and he low-key regretted it. The sight of you and your pretty figure with water running down your body was more than enough to rile him up even more. He wanted to pounce on you right then and there. He clenched both his hands and his jaw trying to maintain what little is left of his self-control. But try as he might, he can’t make himself to look away from you his eyes stayed glued to you and you only, he was starting to have tunnel vision.

That tree branch sure did surprise you, now you felt silly for reacting such a way. You brushed that little incident off and went back to washing yourself which was paused the instant you felt an intense gaze on you. You turned to look at Baji since he’s the only person you knew who could be looking at you.

“Eep!” you squealed—yet again—out of embarrassment, not wanting to see his reaction to how you look so you quickly swan to the other side of the waterfall where he couldn’t or vaguely see you.

The second squeal you let out was enough for him to break out of his aroused stupor. Now with only concern in his mind, he swam near the waterfall but didn’t cross it. “Hey you ok in there?”

“Y-yeah!”

“Why’d you squeal earlier then?”

“You were looking at me earlier and I was embarrassed!”

There was a pause from his side “S-sorry about that I didn’t mean to. I was just concerned. Are you ok by the way?” he asked. You can hear the worry laced in his voice, and he did apologize so you decided to let it go.

“O-o that I was just-uh” you paused a little embarrassed to admit “A branch brushed my leg and I was startled. N-nothing to be concerned about.”

“That’s good.”

There was a pause once again. You only stared at each other’s figure albeit being distorted from the waterfall between you. “You’re beautiful.” Baji blurted out

“Huh?” you blushed at the sudden confession.

“I’m sorry, you were so irresistible to me I couldn’t help but stare I-I…” you saw his figure hold his face in his hands as if in shame “You’re a grown woman, surely you have an idea on what I’m feeling right now.”

You didn’t really have any words, you were speechless. But that’s not to say you disliked the knowledge that he saw you that way. In fact, it excited you. You reached out your hand to his side and took hold of his hands which were still holding his face. “No need to feel ashamed, I’m flattered actually.” You said as you then cupped his cheeks “Besides, you weren’t the only one staring.”

That admittance caused Baji to tense up. The thought of you looking at him the same way as he was looking at you was enough to rile him up again only this time, you were only a step away from him with you touching him. Once again he clenched his fists and jaw to maintain what’s left of his self control “Stop that. You don’t know what you’re doing.” He said with a slight tremble at his voice due to him trying to keep himself in place.

“What if I do know what I’m doing?” right now at this moment, you wanted to be as close to him as possible let him hold you close and do whatever he wants.

You felt some sort of vibration on your hands on his cheek. Was he growling? “You sure know how to rile a man up.” You heard him say through clenched teeth.

You realized you’ve made him wait long enough. You pulled your hands away from him and stepped back further in the waterfall to make room for him. “Come on over, must be lonely out there on your own.”

At first Baji was worried that he scared you off when you pulled you hands away, but you inviting him over excited him even more that he just knows how dilated his pupils were. Good thing the water was above the waist too or you would’ve gotten a view of his tail wagging aggressively.

You watched as he slowly stepped through the waterfall between you and seeing him all wet with some of his hair sticking to his in his naked glory brought you to arousal already.

Baji could say the same too. The sight of you all wet shyly covering yourself out of shyness from him was too much for him that he ended up caging you between his arms and the wall.

You two were close, too close with just a few inches between you as he pinned you. And yet it wasn’t close enough to your liking so you decided to fix that yourself. You threw your arms around his neck and brought your lips together with his which he gladly reciprocated. You felt how he was still trying to be gentle on you so you decided to rile him up. In the middle of your kiss, you gave his lips a long lick making him suck said tongue in turn. He then went to focus on your lips again sucking and biting which made you moan. Said moan turned Baji on even more as he shoved you further into the wall and dove to your neck giving it a hard bite pulling yet again another moan from you. The bite was hard but not hard enough to break skin yet hard enough to leave a mark that’ll be there for days. He gave the bite mark a lick before trailing butterfly kisses from your neck all the way up to your ear.

“I should’ve warned you earlier.” He said kissing your ear “I bite” he then proceeded to nibble at your ear while his hands were now roaming all over you feeling you up.

You didn’t want to be the only receiving end, so you proceeded to feel him up as well. You hands going to places you’ve always been curious about. First being his hair. You ran your hands repeatedly through his hair feeling how soft it is despite being wet. The next is his back; you’ve wanted to feel it ever since you caught sight of it earlier. You traced your hands on every muscle you could feel on his back starting from his shoulder blades and lower. You couldn’t help but wonder what it’ll be like when he’s thrusting into you. Third is his ears. You’ve always wondered if they were sensitive since it always seem to react to the tiniest bit of sound that not even you could pick up. You gave it a tentative touch and watch it twitch. You played with it for a while until you felt Baji’s nibbling to go harder.

Baji pulled away from your ear and dove for your lips making out with you as you both felt each other up. You were indulging in Baji’s kisses too much that you didn’t notice his hands going for your chest until he started playing with you nipples, pinching and twisting it while also squeezing your breast from time to time. The whole time he was doing so, you’ve been whimpering at the sensation. Baji was quick to put your breasts into his mouth sucking and nipping. As he does so, you started to feel something hard between your legs.

Naturally, you went and grabbed for it giving him slow strokes which earned a growl from him. A very welcome surprise for you, so you gladly kept doing it while his bites on your chests grow harder and harder. Eventually, Baji had enough of it. He grabbed your hand that was busy and pinned it to the wall next to you as he buried his face to your neck. “Careful now.” He growled

“Careful of what? I’ll welcome anything you have to offer, Baji.”

He gave you a tender look before going to kiss you again. As he was kissing, his free hand snaked down to your private parts and began to rub at it. Your moans from the action were swallowed by Baji as he kept kissing you. “You’re quite wet already aren’t you.” He said in between kisses.

“You sure it’s not just the water?” you teased

“Why don’t we find out ourselves.” He said with his signature smirk while inserted a finger in you making you gasp in surprise which he took advantage of tasting every bit of you through the kiss. Baji started to pull his finger in and out of you feeling your very slippery walls.

“I don’t know, it seems to me that the wetness is from you not the river.”

You didn’t even bother to answer, only focusing the feeling of Baji’s finger in you. You waited in anticipation as a second finger went up in you pulling a loud moan from you.

“Was two fingers too much for you, babe?” he swirled his fingers in you that made you squirm against him. “How are you going to handle me then?”

“B-baji please!” you pleaded as you looked at him with glossy eyes.

Baji would’ve loved to tease you more, but the sight of you begging and being putty under his hands is the straw that broke the camel’s back. He pulled out his fingers from you and grabbed your legs to lift you up against the wall. While in this position, you can feel his tip rubbing against you. Baji not wanting a moment to go to waste, entered you waiting for you to signal him to enter more until he is fully sheathed within you.

For a while you two stayed like that, basking in this very intimate embrace until you get used to the feeling of him in you. Once you felt ready, you called out to him.

“Keisuke”

“Hmm?”

“Take me.”

Baji gave your lips a peck “Anything my lady wants.”

He then pulled out from you leaving only the tip before slamming back in you. The act caused you to moan and squirm against him spurring him on even more to do it again. The first few moments he gave you slow and heavy thrusts but over time his hips started to move faster and faster leaving you a moaning mess against him. You can hear him growling and snarling as kept thrusting into you bringing you bliss every time. Baji only seemed to get turned on even more as he make love to you. The combination your sounds the feeling of your body against him and the feeling of your insides was driving him over the edge.

He dove for the space between your neck and shoulders and bit you his primal instincts taking over. The feeling of him biting you caused you to grab hold of his hair as you clenched around him.

In turn, the feeling of you clenching around him and pulling his hair only caused him to bite even harder. The act making you clench around him again. And thus it became a cycle throughout your session with his thrusts only growing harder as you two came near your climax. All you could hear was his muffled grunting and growling against your neck, his mouth still occupied by biting you. Not long after the familiar feeling of climax came upon you.

“Keisuke please! I-I”

He paid no attention to your words as kept his pace steady already knowing what’s going on. It didn’t take long until he heard you moan out his name out loud and feeling you cream all over him. He paused for a bit letting you take a breather. He went for a kiss making out with you before continuing to thrust in you again. You let him have his way with you as he chased after his high. A minute or so has passed of him just thrusting up to you until you hear his stuttering moan before feeling him pull out and rubbing himself before shooting out his load. You mimicked his action from earlier and gave him a kiss after his orgasm.

He let you down from your position before pulling you into a hug which you gladly returned. Being in his embrace after such an intimate endeavour felt romantic for you for some reason.

“How are you?” he asked as he strokes your head with so much tenderness you just wanted to melt into him.

“Amazing. I don’t know how else to word it.”

“I wasn’t too rough on you was I?” he asked looking at your bit marks in concern.

You noticed where his gaze was before smiling at him. “I would’ve smacked you upside the head if I didn’t like anything what you were doing. And I told you I’ll take everything you had to offer.”

“That’s good to hear.” He sighed in relief before kissing you. Said kiss started off innocent but eventually grew in fervor where he was now nibbling at your lips.

“B-baji?”

He pulled away and asked you “I know it’s too much to ask of you, but can you handle one more for me?” while caressing your waist.

“H-huh? Already?!” you gaped at him in surprise

“I told you, you’re irresistible to me. And I’ll only do it If you’re ok with it.” He emphasized

You were tired and winded from your first round, but the thought of a second round only aroused you despite what your body feels. You were definitely lying to yourself if you told yourself you didn’t want more.

As an answer to him, you jumped up and wrapped your legs around him again which he swiftly caught. “I’ll be in your care.

Baji definitely lit up hearing your answer. He gave you a deep kiss and said “I promise I’ll take good care for you the whole time.”

And just like that you were once again overwhelmed by the sounds of waterfall, your moans and his grunts inside the shallow cavern from behind the waterfall.

Just as he promised, he took good care of you drying you off, and dressing you up before cuddling you in a soft patch of grass beneath the shade of a tree. His arms felt so warm around you that you couldn’t help but fall asleep.

When you awoke, you realize you were lying down on his lap. The view that greeted you was Baji eating his serving of stir fried noodles. He swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking “Hope you don’t mind me eating while you slept. After all that I got hungry.”

“It’s ok you don’t have to worry about it.” You said as you slowly sat up “Besides better that than waking up to you burning yet another beast. And whose fault was it I was this tired?” you teased

Baji only laughed at your teasing before holding your chin and guiding you to him to give you a kiss. “I’d gladly do all it again if I’m being totally honest.”

You looked at him and said “No one is exactly stopping you.”

He went near your ear and whispered “Is that an invitation?”

You playfully pushed him away “Not right now you doofus.” You said chuckling.

Baji scooped you into his arms and onto his lap hugging you tight “I just wanna gobble you up all day.” He said nuzzling his face on your neck before looking up and giving you another kiss. After having a taste of you he just couldn’t get enough. He wanted to go back for more and more. Baji’s feelings were translated into the kiss where he continued to deepen it while also beginning to nibble on your lips.

You knew where this was going you wanted more of him too, but unfortunately you decided against it tapping on his shoulder before pulling away saliva still connecting you both. You wiped your lips before speaking “Very tempting really, but we should rest. We still have the journey back.”

Baji’s face turned into a pout before burying his face in your neck again his droopy ear tickling your cheek. The sight was too adorable you couldn’t help but pet said soft looking ears. Baji hummed in content as his ears perked up again, taking pleasure in your attention. “Come on, Baji up we go. We still have to set up camp before nightfall.” You coerced while patting his back.

He let out a low whine before standing up picking you up with him which made you giggle while giving him a kiss on the cheek. Once your camp was set up, you two settled for the night, lying down next to each other. It didn’t take long before you’re all over each other again. Both of you agreed not to go further than kissing tonight, after all you still need energy to go home. Who knows how long you two were kissing until you both fell asleep in each other’s arms. Baji holding you close and you holding his fluffy tail.

As you enter the village gates, Akkun happily greeted you “Welcome back! I hope it’s been a safe jou- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!” he looked you over in concern

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at your neck! You’ve got bites on you! You have to go to a medic right away!” he frantically said while pushing you to a carriage that was supposed to drive you home.

Oh goodness gracious. Baji’s bite marks didn’t even occur to you. You stepped away from his pushy hands and tried to reason with him “C-calm down Akkun. This isn’t anything fatal; otherwise I would’ve been rushing here. It didn’t even break skin, look just bruised.”

Akkun only looked at you in disbelief “A-are you sure sure? Those look pretty gnarly. Might be safer to get it looked over.”

“I’ll be fiiine~ It’s just some troublesome creature that didn’t let go until he was satisfied.” You said looking back at you and Baji’s intimacy. He really didn’t let you go until he was satisfied. You only chuckled at the memory.

“Sorry if I’m a little bit pushy, but are you sureyou don’t want that looked over?”

“I’m sure. It’ll disappear in a few days.” You then remembered how hard Baji was biting you and concluded that a few days might be too short “…maybe.”

You opened the carriage door before turning to the knight “Thanks for the concern Akkun, but I’ll be fine.” You said before boarding.

“Take good care of yourself. I wouldn’t want the reason for a new Red Riding Hood to be appointed because the last one died.” He jokingly said before closing the carriage door and signalling the driver that everything’s ready.

Akkun watched as the vehicle went off still a little bit concerned. Just then a knight came near him and said “I sense that our little Red Riding Hood has been having fun in the forest.”

Akkun gawked at the statement before giving said knight a light punch to the stomach “Get your head out of the gutter, Makoto!” he scolded one of his subordinates.

“I don’t recall any creature that can give such a bite and not break skin.” A knight with glasses stated.

“Not you too, Yamagishi! Takuya help me out here!” Akkun turned to the person who seemed sane along with him in their little team.

Takuya only turned to him and shrugged “I’m somewhat of a biter myself and those looked familiar to me.”

Akkun gave up, these three can be stupid in their own way at times, even more stupid than Yamagishi.

Seasons come and go faster than we realize and before you knew it, winter is upon the land. Since winter is a very harsh weather for travel, Red Riding Hoods are only required to deliver supplies once a month. As much as you’re happy at the little break from your job, you can’t help but be sad too. Seeing Baji less brought your spirits a little down, but a job is a job and you must see through it if you wanna live comfortably.

So here you are the lone red in a backdrop of a harsh white, like blood in snow. It’s not supposed to be there. You hope that thought coming to your mind is not some kind of bad omen.

Sadly fate followed through with that omen. You being the only red thing among the snow, you are very noticeable and a winter beast has been eyeing you for a while now. You noticed that someone or something has been following you, but you assumed that it was just Baji, but when he didn’t turn up you figured that it wasn’t him and now you’re extra vigilant.

As much as you would’ve loved to run, doing so in such a situation can only provoke what’s been following you into chasing you so you did your best not to make any sudden moves.

You were too focused on not spurring whatever’s been following you that you didn’t notice that you’ve already arrived at your destination. You make quick work of locking in the supplies in the drop off point since you suspected that whatever is following you is after the food.

Just as you were locking up, you heard a loud roar which likely came from the beast that’s now making a beeline towards the place containing the food. You tried to jump out of its way but it was still able to reach you and pushed you out of the way quite harshly. You ended but getting scratched by its claws but at least you landed on the soft snow.

You looked at the beast trying to claw at the container, but failing to get it to open. You took that opportunity to run away and put some distance between you and it. The beast having found the container futile, decided to go after the running prey. Just as you think you have lost the beast, you heard it coming near you. So you continued to run away trying to think of a way to shake it off you tail. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t see the branches that you ran into it. You were quick to get up but wasn’t able to run away since your red cloak got caught. You tried to make quick work on it, but you noticed that the beast is gaining on you. You pulled as hard as you could to your cloak that when it was free you stumbled back and hit your head to a nearby tree.

Now feeling a little dizzy, your run was slowed and a little wobbly. You eventually ran into a dead end. The wall didn’t seem to be too high; you know it’s within your abilities to climb it. But with your dizzy state, you were seeing double and that climbing said wall can result to even more injury.

You looked back and saw the beast slowly coming towards you. All you could do was close your eyes and hope that it won’t be painful. And so you waited…

And waited…

Until warmth envelopes you. You didn’t know what’s going on but you welcomed said warmth. It reminded you of the warmth Baji provided whenever he held you close to him. Oh how you so badly wanted him to be here right now.

You opened your eyes and was greeted by red against white. It was the blood of the beast flowing down onto the snow. You processed that someone was holding you and you were greeted by the comforting dark locks and amber gaze of Baji. He looks at you in guilt as if blaming himself of what just happened. You couldn’t stand the look of him bearing the sins of a mindless beast.

You reached out your hand to cup his cheek and gave him a grateful smile. “Baji, thank you. You saved me you have nothing to be guilty about.”

Baji tightened his hold on you and kissed your forehead. “I know, I just felt responsible since you’re very special to me and I want to protect everything that’s special to me.” Baji leaned down and pecked your lips “You’re one of my treasures. I can’t bear to lose you.” He said his eyes on the verge of tears.

“And I’m still here thanks to you. You protected your treasure.” You returned his kiss before hugging him “Baji, I’m tired. Can I go to sleep?”

“Not yet, we have to get you looked over.” He said worry laced in his voice as he gently stroke your head as if trying to push your dizziness away.

“I’ll be in your care.”

You didn’t remember much that happened after. All you could recall was the cold wind against you as Baji rushed through the forest, the sight of a cave above you along with a lilac haired man with matching ears before everything went to black.

Once Baji is sure that you’re settled, he put on his coat and started to head out.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the guy tending your wounds asked.

“Don’t stop me, Mitsuya. That beast’s body is still intact; I’ll go finish it off.”

Mitsuya stood up from beside you and took hs coat. “No you won’t, I’ll handle it. You watch over your precious. She’d be more comforted if she saw a familiar face when she wakes up.”

Baji clenched his fist, his eyes full of vengeance. “I’ll destroy every bit of that beast. I’d make its soul suffer if I could.” He muttered in clenched teeth his rage leaking out.

Mitsuya knew that Baji being in this state will only be bad for him in the end, so he decided to slap some sense into him. Mitsuya grabbed hold of Baji’s face and made him turn to your sleeping state “Look at her! You want to leave her here just so you could satiate your hunger for revenge?! You already killed the thing, she’s already in a safe state now go take care of her. I’ll handle the beast’s body.”

The sight of your peaceful face was enough to soften Baji’s intense anger and admittedly he really didn’t want to leave you here. If he could he would stay with you forever to protect you from ever being harmed again.

Mitsuya sensed that Baji has calmed down and let go of his face. “I’ll be off now. Take care ok?”

Baji only gave out a nod before kneeling down next to you. Mitsuya smiled at the sight of this Baji not having seen it often. But he’s glad that he has someone special that he can be himself with. No wonder he’s been in a good mood lately. And like that he’s off to the forest to leave the two be.

Morning came, and you roused from your slumber taking comfort in the warmth next to you. It was so familiar that you’re sure that it was who you thought it was. You looked up and saw Baji’s sleeping face his hair cascading across his face that he looked to ethereal. You wish you could burn the image into your mind. He’s as handsome as ever. You lifted your hand and slowly pushed the stray hairs on his face to behind his ears, but the action caused him to stir awake.

You waited for him to open his eyes, before flashing him a big smile “Sorry for waking you.”

Baji stayed silent just looking at you before his eyes widened and sat up quickly and leaning on to you. “Y-you’re awake?! Are you feeling ok, you feel anything unusual, hungry, thirsty?” he bombarded you with questions in concern.

Before you could respond, he dove for the bag right next to him and pulled out a canteen and handed it to you. Now that you’re looking at it, you did felt thirsty so you gladly took it and took a big gulp sighing in relief after quenching you thirst. Baji took the canteen from you as you were finished and handed you a container filled with food which you gladly devoured.

Baji only watched you closely trying to see if there’s anything to be concerned about. So far, you’ve been fine but he couldn’t help but worry after yesterday’s display. “How’s the cut on your arm?”

“Hmm?” you swallowed the food still in your mouth and felt around the bandaged wound. “It feels just fine. It’s like it’s never been there in the first place.”

Baji smiled at the information and gently grabbed your arm. He started to remove the bandages causing you to pull your arm in surprise “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.” He held out his hand waiting for you to place your arm there. You trust Baji so you gave your arm to him.

He continued to remove the bandage and you were expecting to see a nasty wound, but what greeted you was your clean smooth skin which caused you to stare at your arm incredulously. Baji chuckled at your surprised face finding it cute. “A friend of mine patched you up. He’s no medic, but he’s very well prepared for situations like these.” He explained while caressing your healed arm. “He had an ointment on him that medics back home created made from herbs found in the forest. With a forest so big, there are a lot of things unexplored.” He looked up at you “It would seem that your village hasn’t discovered such a thing just yet.”

“That’s amazing!” you said still looking at your completely healed arm.

“I’d teach you to make it if I could, but sadly medicine isn’t a field I’m very knowledgeable with.”

“Then how about your friend? I wish I could’ve met him too.”

Baji chuckled “He doesn’t know how to make it too. He only carries it around because the rest of us can be muscleheads sometimes.”

“Well I get to learn it someday.” You said leaning into him as he hugged you “It would be a great asset to our village.” The thought of your village made you realize something. “How long was I out?” you asked concern written in your eyes.

“You’ve been out for a day. Why, is something wrong?”

“I-I have to get back home quickly!” you said quickly standing causing your vision to swirl. You wobbled but Baji caught you.

“H-hey calm down. Why in such a rush?”

“I have to get home quick!”

“W-why you shouldn’t even be moving too much. The ointment may have healed you but your body is still recovering from healing external wounds. You can’t be out and about right now especially in this cold weather.”

The reminder of the season caused you to shiver, suddenly feeling the cold. Baji tightened his hug when he felt you shiver. “I have to go home.” You said

“That sounded like there was an ‘or else’ was supposed to follow it.”

“I have to go home or… or I’ll be declared dead.” Baji tensed at that statement.

Baji pulled away from you to look at you but still close enough to hold you. “You’ll be declared dead?” he stared at the distance trying to figure it out but came to no reasonable reason “Why?”

“Being a Red Riding Hood is a dangerous job. We’re aware of what we’re getting into. They have a rule set in place where once a Red Riding Hood has not returned in the designated time, they will be declared dead.” You looked at Baji to see his reaction and he is infuriated. You could see his jaw clenching and his body tense ever since you started to explain the situation.

“Why don’t they send out a search party to look for missing Red Riding Hoods? Surely some of them only got lost.”

“Think about it Baji, you yourself are very familiar with the dangers of the forest. Do you think that those who went missing only got lost?”

“Then how about your grandmother, do you believe she’s dead too just because people who are too lazy to look for them declared that they’re dead?” he raised his voice which caused you to flinch a bit. He reached for your hand and you let him “I’m sorry, but you yourself have experienced the loss of someone out here. You still have hope to find your grandmother remember?” he reassured recalling one of your first conversations.

The rule has always been stupid in your eyes, but after years of studying of being a Red Riding Hood, they must have somehow buried that thought deep in you. Brainwashing you into thinking that said rule is a reasonable one. But thinking about it more, said rule is the reason you’re not with your grandmother anymore.

Too much emotion was going through you that you held on to Baji for comfort. In fact, it was too comforting that you ended up falling asleep in his arms. Baji gave the crown of your head a kiss before laying you back down and letting you rest. You need all the rest you can get because he just knows that you’ll insist on getting home once you wake up. He might even just carry you all the way there.

By the time you woke up, it was already evening. You smelled something good and saw Baji roasting something over the fire.

“Well rested?” he asked when he noticed you sit up.

“Like I could run a marathon!”

Baji sweatdropped and tried to reason “M-maybe not to that extent.”

“Well I technically have to run for a long time until I get home.”

“No need for that, I’ll just carry you. You can just enjoy the ride.” He said with a smirk no doubt confident in his abilities.

You chuckled at him “You know, when you say it like that something else comes to my mind you know.” You said blush slowly forming on your cheeks.

There was a slight pause as Baji processed what you just said just staring at you with wide eyes. He then smirked and said “There you are again riling me up.”

“Do you not like it?” you asked teasingly returning the smirk

“Never said such a thing.” He said as he took out whatever he was roasting off the fire.

You stood up and walked over to him not playing around. You lifted your leg over him and sat on his lap facing him. “Getting bold now are we.” He said his smirk growing bigger anticipating what will happen next.

“Are you still taking me for a ride?” you felt up his chest lacing your voice with a sultry tone trying to get him in the mood.

Baji placed his hands at your waist caressing it and occasionally wandering down to your butt. “In what context.” He teased

“You know…ride you.” You went close to him and gave his lips a kitten lick.

“I’m gonna need you to be more specific, darling.” He said before diving into your neck licking you there before giving you the first hickey of the night while also giving your butt a light smack.

“Please Baji! If you don’t take me right now I won’t be feeding you for the next month!”

“You treat me as if I’m some food motivated animal.” He said kissing you

“You sure act like it sometimes.” You responded in between his kisses.

Baji pulled away and looked at you with very dilated pupils. “Oh really? Then…” he lifted you up from where he was sitting and laid you down on your makeshift bed in the cave. “how about I eat you up. You’ll be my delicious meal for tonight.”

He went in to kiss you and took comfort of his tongue intertwined with yours. He indulged himself on your lips for a few more minutes before working to undress you and himself. Not long after, you two were passionately making out in the nude his hair cascading around you acting as sort of like a curtain, your only privacy.

Baji then slowly trailed kisses down to your neck where he placed a few more hickeys before proceeding to your chest. He took hold of it appreciating the feel of it against his hands before suckling on your nipples alternating between the two. After a few bite marks were given to your chest, he gave your tummy kisses.

You gasped when you felt Baji’s breath near your private parts. He adjusted himself and made room to slowly spread your legs. Guess you really were is meal, he looked starved when he caught sight of your glistening folds. Baji sat up and took a hair tie from his clothes and tied his hair back “Gotta make sure nothing gets in the way of my feast.” He placed your legs over his shoulders, held you down and gave your thighs a few bite marks.

Moans came out of your mouth as you felt his tongue give you a long lick tasting. Oh how he loved hearing those sounds knowing that he was the one to cause those. Baji gave her repeated licks savouring the taste of her burning it to his mind because he couldn’t get enough of it.

Baji was relentless, his tongue overwhelming you with sensations completely new to you. His pliant tongue a completely different experience from his thrusts back when you two were behind that waterfall. He was precise and you felt him everywhere, well it felt like it because the feel of him is the only thing you could feel and focus on.

After spending a while tasting your wetness, indulging himself in your taste. He figured he has tasted you enough that he should pay attention to your needs now. But you’d have to disagree as just his curious exploring was pleasurable as it is. Baji went to look for that bundle of nerves, and as soon as he came in contact with it, he felt you squirm away. Baji took hold of your legs on his shoulders and pulled you back and pinning you down. Now you’re a squirming and moaning mess underneath the mercy of his tongue. The stimulation was too much as you tried to squirm away once again but his tight grip on you prevented you from moving even a single inch from him.

The cave you two were in was filled with your moans and his slurping echoing across it which brought you an ounce of embarrassment and arousal. Just hearing those sounds excited you more, there’s something primalin the act of doing it in a cave, the thought bringing you excitement.

You felt around you trying to look for leverage to hold on to ground yourself from these sensations, but you settled at grabbing his hair and pulling occasionally. Since you couldn’t do anything but receive Baji’s actions, you were curious as to what he looked like and so you propped yourself on your elbows and peeked. What greeted you were Baji’s amber eyes staring at you intensely. The sight of Baji staring at you as he ate you out caused more wetness to gush out of you thoroughly aroused at the thought that he’s been watching you from the start.

Baji has been watching you, anticipating every single reaction he pulls out from you. He must know everything about you and how like to be pleasured, learning every single thing that brings you pleasure and excitement and exploiting them. Maybe even take advantage of it for the next time you get intimate. Everything about you just drives him crazy. He was in a daze he couldn’t stop and before he knew it a loud moan greeted his ears as fluids gushed out from you. He licked off every single drop off you clean before sitting up and licking his lips. He admired you and your limp and heavy breathing form, taking pride at his work.

As you were trying to catch your breath, you felt Baji lean over your figure and placed a kiss on your lips. Soon you felt something prodding at your entrance, but not right now. Not just yet. You sat up and pushed Baji into a sitting position with you leaning close to his face.

“That can wait. I have a different plan for now.” You said as you reached your hand behind his head and pulled his hair tie off his hair. You showed the object to Baji before using it to tie your hair back “Gotta make sure nothing gets in the way.” You quoted Baji from earlier which earned a chuckle from him.

You started to mimic how he went down on you. First kissing his neck and also leaving your little hickey before going down to his chest licking and tasting him. You took your time at his abdomen admiring it while also teasing him making him think that you’ll finally go down on him only to lick upwards again. You gave in after hearing him growl. You looked at him and his size seemed to lean on the bigger side. You weren’t sure if you could take all of him in your mouth, but might as well try.

You gave his tip a kiss and a lick before putting it in your mouth, swirling your tongue around just his tip. Trying to tease him more, you licked from the base of his cock all the way up slowly and flicking your tongue as you got to the tip. That seemed to be what caused Baji to snap. He grabbed you by the hair and shoved himself in your mouth. You giggled at his desperation before you started bobbing your head up and down your tongue still working in action.

Baji moaned loudly, throwing his head back as he indulged in the feeling of your mouth sucking him off. But he wasn’t one to pass up the sight of you and your face stuffed with his cock. He looked down and the sight almost made him come. He would’ve been done for if you were looking at him. Baji was quick to pull you away from him and kissing you. All the while kissing you, he pushed you down and hovered over you just appreciating in your beauty.

You could never tire of the view you have above you right now. Dishevelled hair around you both, his glistening lips, and the warm light of the bonfire made him appear even more sexier. It’s like everything around you was adjusting to you and Baji. Nothing else mattered except this moment between you two.

“Be a good girl for me and lie on your stomach, would you.”

Anything for him. You repositioned yourself and waited for Baji to make a move. You felt him kiss the small of your back his loose hair tickling you and made you squirm a little causing your butt to brush up to something hard.

Baji chuckled “Eager now, are we.” Ah, looks like he mistook it. No matter, you’ll both feel good later on anyway.

Baji’s hands explored your smooth back appreciating the feel of it against his hands and how you react to his every single touch whether it be a slight twitch or a whimper out of you, it excites him even more.

He leaned down to your ear “You ready?”

Once he saw you nod in response, he bit at your neck whilst inserting himself inside you. The feeling of each other’s closeness had you two letting out hot breaths, calming yourselves and letting you adjust to him. When you gave him the go ahead, he started ramming his hips into you. He couldn’t help himself from ravaging you, he’s been holding himself back ever since from the start.

You felt him lean down and felt his chest come into contact with your back as he continued to thrust into you. His pace started to quicken even more so you grabbed the nearest thing to you as leverage which happened to be Baji’s coat.

As soon as he saw you clutching at his coat, it sent him into overdrive standing on his knees and elevating your hips and holding your head down. He gave your butt a few smacks then proceeding to drive his hips into you once again. Baji pulled your hair up causing you to be on all fours.

“Look at you taking me so well.” He moaned out biting your neck once again “This is the third time I’ve been in you, right? You took me so well all times. Made me feel real good I couldn’t stop thinking about you after that.” He said between grunts.

Just as he said those words, he felt you clench at him “A-ahn~ you r-really do like praises huh.”

“You remember that? When I brought you back for the first time. You liked it when I sang you praises. Guess it carries over here too huh. Agh!” your insides clenched at him again. He grabbed your chin and made you face him “Driving me crazy here.” He kissed your lips tongue never failing to explore you.

After a few minutes of you two going at it, you eventually arrived at your climax which had you plop down on the makeshift bed ass still up. Baji rubbed himself a few more times before covering your back in white letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Your back covered in his cum aroused him again; it makes him want to cover you with even more. But he knows he can’t, you still have to rest for tomorrow’s journey. He leaned down at your shoulder and bit down as his last ditch effort to satiate his current hunger, but sadly it only turned him on even more as he heard you moan in response to his bite.

You can tell that Baji is still raring to go but is holding himself back. “Keisuke,” you called in a breathy voice still trying to catch your breath “What’s stopping you?”

“Tomorrow, you need rest for tomorrow.” He kissed you again finding your dazed look to be irresistible.

“I thought you offered to carry me all the way home.” You teased

“I did say that.”

“And speaking of rides,” You sat up and sat on his lap, your cunt sliding against his already semi hard cock “I haven’t gotten my ride for tonight.”

Baji relented, grabbing your waist and guiding you to hover over his cock. “Do as you please.” He said with a smirk licking your collarbone.

Slowly, you sank yourself onto him with Baji’s arms stiff on your waist restraining himself from just slamming you down on him. It’s your ride, you do as you please. But goodness you sure are a good way to train his self-control because you keep testing him. By the time he’s fully in you, you caught sight of his knitted brows and a few droplets of sweat on his forehead.

You decide to spare him and slowly bounced yourself on him with Baji groaning in pleasure in response. You felt his hand on your waist go tighter. You can tell that he wants more, but you decide to just go at your pace going slowly. You low-key anticipate the impending rough treatment of you when he gets fed up with your ‘teasing’.

It didn’t take long before he’s biting on your neck and is now the one bouncing you on his cock. Baji laid on his back and continued to thrust up into you. You were glad he took initiative in this situation because you weren’t sure if your thighs could hold you up any longer considering his treatment of you in your first round.

Soon enough, you billowed out a moan your body twitching ever so slightly before collapsing on his chest. Baji pulled out of you and closed your thighs together and thrusted in there instead. The feeling of your soft lower lips and thighs rubbing him was what brought him to his second climax of the night. He felt you slowly dozing off on him. He pulled the blanket over the two of you before repositioning you into a much more comfortable sleeping position. He made sure to clean up the both of you before going to sleep himself.

You were woken up with Baji shaking you. When you woke up you were already dressed. “Time to go.”

You yawned and stretched before getting up preparing to leave. Travelling through the forest on a wolf’s perspective is a very new experience. You can’t help but close your eyes in bliss as you felt the wind in your hair blowing against you from the speed Baji was running. You vaguely remember this feeling when you were still injured after he saved you from the beast. You’re just happy you get to experience it again more clearly.

Baji suddenly came to a stop and when you looked ahead there are the gates of your village. On a normal circumstance you’d be happy at the sight of your home, but right now you’re only filled with dread. The gate lock was adorned with a red ribbon.

You hopped off Baji and approached said ribbon. “We’re too late.”

“What?! But you still have the rest of the day to return!”

“I know. They sure are quick to claim my death. Guess that’s that then.”

“You’re just gonna let them do that?!”

“Baji, once the ribbon is set there’s no way they’ll let me in anymore. It’s another one of those stupid rules. I’m not welcome here anymore.”

After all the work you did for them, they’re gonna dispose of you just like that??? Hell no, fuck those bastards, you’re not going back there. “You still have another place you’re welcome to go home to.”

Baji held his hand out to you “Come home with me. You’re more than welcome there. The pack would love you!”

You immediately took his hand. “If I’m being totally honest, I would prefer to be with you rather than stay in a place where not a lot cares about me. I missed you a lot when I couldn’t see you.”

Baji pulled you in for a hug and kissed you. “You’ve always been in my mind too. Now we don’t have to be apart anymore. We can be together whenever we want, wherever we want.”

“Let’s go to your home then.”

“Our home.” He corrected

“Yes, our home.”

And with that the two of you ran into the forest ready to start a new chapter in your lives where a new companion is by their side.

[oncefutureemrys]

18. "I'm afraid."

hello, my friend! thank you for asking me this!

If you want to know what prompts we’re talking about, it is @night-faye’s incredible list of prompts that you can find here. If you would like for me to write another one, send me an ask and I’ll write it!

Anyway, I was honestly a bit nervous about this because I didn’t think it came out great, butttt there’s a thing called positive thinking which I’m working on so I’m going to say it’s not bad. (This is exactly how to get people to read your work haha) no but seriously, there are many Tumblr posts about writing bad fics are okay if we can learn something from them, and so here is me, writing some bad fics.

Hope you enjoy!

(It was also posted on my ao3. The link is here).

Merlin gazes at the darkening sky and the flickering light from the dimming campfire. He feels the breeze brushing his skin gently and hears the way the trees rustle like whispers in his ear.

It’s here, in this peaceful moment, when Merlin closes his eyes and thinks:

I’m not ready to die.

Five simple words, strung together to create one sentence Merlin’s more afraid of than anything else.

He’s not ready to die.

And yet he knows he must, for it is his destiny and his alone to always sacrifice his needs, his wants, his morals, his life for Arthur.

He knows this, he’s been told this since the beginning, and yet suddenly he feels so… unready. Unsure. Nervous, worried, afraid.

It was… odd, to say the least.

Before, when he was staring death straight in the face, when he was envisioning a world without his friends, Gaius, his mother, Arthur – it was easy. Merlin’s never been one to think his life was somehow more meaningful than others, that he was worthy of life more than anyone else.

Which is why he now finds it strange that he’s having second thoughts.

Maybe it’s because there’s more time to think about his inevitable death, more time to fixate on his fears and insecurities that plague his mind, haunting him with lingering thoughts he wishes would disappear.

Maybe because he’s reminded of his destiny, as this overwhelming burden that clings onto his shoulders, that beats down on his skin whenever he tries veering off course. This ever-hanging cloud that keeps him in constant darkness, the shadow that constantly reminds him, over and over again, how foolish he is, how ungrateful he is, how selfish and weak and useless he is.

Maybe because he’s sitting here next to his king, his best friend, the one man he has sacrificed his entire life and more for, unsure how he’ll be able to say goodbye. Not sure how to explain to him that he won’t be dying tomorrow, how Merlin’s planning on taking his place.

As if sensing his thoughts, he looks over at him in that moment, the warm glow of the fire dancing across his face. “Everything alright?” he asks.

Almost out of habit, he nods, not meeting his gaze.

Arthur studies him for a moment and Merlin swallows, afraid he will push. Thankfully, he simply nods and drops the subject, letting the silence sit still.  

Except the silence almost feels unbearable, this guilt clawing at his skin and threatening to suffocate him. Merlin knows that he needs to say goodbye, in a roundabout way if possible, but the words are sticking in his throat and he’s having a hard time finding the right ones.

He’s reminded of an earlier time, years ago, when he was willing to sacrifice his life for his mother and had to say goodbye to Arthur. It had been a bit difficult – his throat had felt try, his hands had been shaking. But it was different back then. While they were far more comfortable with one another than when they had originally started, they weren’t as close back then. Now, they had been through everything together – from evil sorcerers to betrayals, to friends dying and dead knights walking, they had seen and experienced so much. If it was hard for Merlin to say it then, it was even harder saying it now.

And yet, he knows that he must, knows that he doesn’t want to be another person that betrays Arthur. And so, he opens his mouth, about to let the words through – words he hadn’t planned yet – when Arthur sighs loudly, turning to look at him. “So… this is it.”

Merlin’s quite confused – he’s not exactly sure where this conversation is going – but decides to go along with it. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

“Well,” Arthur says, taking a sip of water. “I’d like to say I made the most of it, but I’m not sure I have.”

Merlin’s eyes widen, stunned by his declaration. How in the hell could he think that? Well, sure, not all of Merlin’s hopes and dreams were panning out the way he had wanted, but to say that Arthur had not tried, had not given his all for his people, was baffling. He says as much when he finally finds the right words to say.

Arthur simply smiles but Merlin notices it’s devoid of any mirth. “I appreciate that.”

“Arthur—“

“Merlin,” Arthur says abruptly, cutting him off. “You’ll make sure to let the others know, right?”

And there it is again, that guilt that twists in his stomach, reminding him of the many lies he has told this night, and every day since he’s met him. He forces himself to take a deep breath before finally choking out, “Yes. I’ll tell them.”

Arthur nods, turning to look at the fire in front of them. Merlin realizes this is his chance to finally tell him of all the secrets, everything that he has bottled up over the years. To finally release all of the remorse he has felt throughout the years.

But he’s selfish and a coward, so he keeps it bottled in, throwing it into the ocean and hoping desperately for the tides to wash it all away.

It’s during Merlin’s slight panic that he’s brought back to the present by a small chuckle. He’s surprised to almost see a smile lingering on Arthur’s face. “What’s funny?” he asks.

“Huh? Nothing.” When Merlin gives him a look he sighs. “I was just thinking… how strange this all is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that… seven years ago, so many things were different. We were such different people.” Arthur shrugs, scratching at his neck. “It just feels crazy looking at how far we’ve come.”

Merlin remembers his journey to Camelot, his inexplicable wonder when he first entered and saw bustling crowds and the large castle. Now, years later, he finds no new wonder in the bustling crowds or even the wondrous castle. Merlin smiles to himself, memories of those days coming back to him. We were so innocent back then, he thinks to himself. I wish it had stayed that way.

“Yeah,” Merlin says when he’s managed to return to the conversation. “Yeah, it’s pretty crazy.”

“Did you ever expect to end up here?”

“Not a chance,” Merlin responds immediately, chuckling at the thought. “I certainly never thought I would have to deal with a pompous, arrogant, supercilious, prat like yourself.”

“Hm, no I suppose not.”

Merlin’s eyes widened, turning to look at Arthur. “Did you just admit to being a prat?”

Arthur attempts to play it off, but Merlin knows him too well. Huffing, he crosses his arms as if he were a child. “Alright, so maybe I wasn’t the best person back then.”

“Yes!” He says gleefully, clapping his hands together. “This is the best day of my life.”

“Whatever Merlin, at least I changed for the better!”

Merlin grins, recalling memories of Arthur risking his find a flower to save him, memories of Arthur leading his people when they needed him, memories of Arthur smiling and laughing and praying pranks and knighting commoners and marrying a servant and Merlin finds himself softly saying, “Yes.” Then, “Yes, I think you have.”

Silence hangs in the air and he tries to think of a way to rein in his words, add a joke in to rid them both of the tense silence, to erase those truthful words. But Merlin realizes that he won’t ever get to say these words to Arthur ever again and so maybe he shouldn’t. Just this once.

“Yes well,” Arthur says after a few minutes of tense silence, “I never would’ve done it without you.”

Merlin immediately shakes his head. “I don’t believe that.”

Arthur looks at him incredulously. “I appreciate the lie, but truly Merlin, it’s quite obvious. You don’t have to pretend just to make me feel better.”

“Arthur, have I ever, in the seven years you’ve known me, attempted to sugarcoat anything for you?”

He starts to speak and Merlin raises his eyebrows. “No,” he admits. “I guess not.”

“Good because I mean it.” 

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“…and everyone knows, I’m always right.”

Arthur huffs. “Sure.”

Merlin bites his lip worriedly before finally asking, “You know, I actually mean it right?” He makes sure to look straight into his eyes as he says this. “I know I mess around and call you all sorts of names, but the truth is, I am so proud of you. I know it may not seem like it, but you have done so much for your people and your loved ones. You are an amazing king, Arthur, and you will always be remembered like that.”

Arthur’s eyes hold so much insecurity and unsureness that Merlin wants to reach out and take it from him, take away the pain and the self-doubt that continue to torment his mind. Arthur takes a stuttering breath before asking, “Merlin?”

“Yes?”

Arthur swallows. “I’m afraid.” Two words that don’t need explaining, two words that Merlin understands perfectly.

Merlin finds himself nodding slowly, finding himself becoming more honest and open than he’d ever been before. “Yes... I think I am too.”

The silence following them feels freeing as if the words they had been struggling with had finally been released. For the first time that night, Merlin feels as if his last fears, his last bit of hesitation, leaves him. Merlin never thought he could be ready for such a heavy task, for such an enormous burden. But looking at Arthur now – his blue eyes of clear skies, his hair that brightens against the moonlight, the small scars, and cuts from the adventures they had been on – and realizes that he must. Realizes that he would do anything for him, not necessarily because of destiny, but because he was a good man and Arthur deserved much better than this. Arthur deserved everything and Merlin would happily give it to him if he could.

So, as they sit, the darkening sky now fully black, Merlin finds himself taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He feels the comfortable breeze against his skin and hears the familiar rustle of the trees as he thinks to himself:

I am ready.

[whereismymindnow]

Shark (Troy Otto x OC)

I’ve really enjoyed rewatching FTWD lately, particularly S3 since Troy was such an interesting character that had so many complicated layers and I thought his relationship with Nick could have been explored so much more.

Anyway, this may not go anywhere, but here’s a one-shot or chapter one of a short fic for anyone that may be interested. I've not posted any fanfiction on Tumblr before so I'm fully prepared for it to flop haha! I do post on AO3 under the name Mikki19. :)

Song inspiration for the story: Plastic Heart by Ciscandra Nostalghia

This fic (if I expand on it on here) will have many dark elements due to Troy's mindset. Consider that your warning.

---

This wasn’t how it was meant to happen.

All of this trouble over some half-rotten fucking apples.

She’d been minding her own business, her hunger leading her to not take full account of her surroundings as she came across the nearly dead fruit tree. Flies buzzed around the apples that had dropped to the floor long ago, but she noticed 3 overly ripened orbs clinging for life on one of the higher branches. Given how she’d been unable to forage much lately, she was willing to try and take whatever bits of the apples were left.

Her nearly empty bag dropped to the ground as she carefully put one foot in a groove of the tree and hoisted herself up. Her vision was blurry and her head ached, but getting the browning fruits above remained her goal. With shaky limbs she scaled the tree until she could stretch up and touch the apples with her fingertips. She let out a groan of pain as she gave one last stretch and grabbed the branch that held her prize; a small shake had the little round globes dropping to the ground with a squelch making her grimace. Beggars can’t be choosers, she reminded herself.

She hadn’t been expecting to hear the rumble of an engine or the large soldiers that slowly sauntered out of the truck. She’d frozen like a cat being caught climbing something they shouldn’t have as one stepped forward. His brown curls and bright eyes gave the impression of innocence, but the shadow of calculation overcoming his face made her realise how fucked she was.

Harper unsteadily slid down the tree and noticed how her bag – that had very little inside it apart from an empty bottle, a Swiss Army knife, a torn and distressed picture of her brother, and the collar of her dog that had defended her until the end – was closer to the man than to her. With a sharklike smile he picked up the bag and threw it behind him for one of his friends to rifle through and cocked his head to the side in wonder as to what her next move would be.

She heard him laugh as she dived behind the tree and ran as fast as she could to the building nearby. A loud scream left her as a corpse immediately launched itself at her as she burst through the door; its teeth were so close to her that she could feel a few strands of hair be ripped from her scalp as it snapped its jaws. She kept an arm pushing across its chest as she frantically ripped her pocketknife from her boot, flipped it open and sent the blade through the walker’s skull. The body dropped to the filthy floor, sending a cloud of grey dust into the air that made her choke. Harper turned her head and saw the soldier slowly making his way to the building she’d just entered.

So, here she was. Trapped like a mouse as the cat prowled around looking for its next meal. She slowed her breathing as much as she could and huddled under the abandoned desk; her hand held a strong grip on the knife but she could already feel her body shaking in exhaustion. She hadn’t eaten properly or slept more than a few hours for days since her camp got overrun by a hoard of the dead. She wasn’t ready for a fight. She knew that this was only going to go one way judging by the firepower that these men had and how clean and well-fed they looked. With any luck she could lose or injure the guy in the building and run out through a back exit.

“You know, I don’t want to hurt you. People always look at me like a monster, but I’m not. If you come out, there doesn’t have to be a struggle.” Harper could hear him in the corridor outside of the abandoned office she’d dived into. The way he sounded so chilled, almost bored or uninterested, made her want to deliver a swift kick to his smug face.

She’d always been a fighter. When the kid in 9th grade pushed her to the floor and laughed, she’d got up just as quick and head-butted him without a thought. When Sophia had looked at her brown curls with a sneer, she’d quickly pulled on the blonde locks until the girl begged for mercy. Of course, her spitfire nature came with consequences. She’d found that out pretty quick when her father started to use a firmer, more brutal hand in order to get her to comply, and her mother had pulled her out of school and begun to slip light sedatives in her food. They were afraid of her, she knew that. They were afraid she’d inherited that rage that had sent her grandmother into a mental hospital at the age of 39 until she died in a medication induced coma at 46. It wasn’t until her brother died when she was 18 that things began to change. Her fire had been reduced to nothing and she walked around the house like one of the dead even before they’d started to rise. Malachi had been her rock. He’d been the only one to believe in her and used that anger that burned within her belly to train her how to wrestle. She soon grew hungry for the sport and had aspired to join the independent wrestling scene as soon as she could break away from her parents. Malachi’s death had changed all of that though. The once bright-eyed girl had been reduced to a withered husk. The fire within had been extinguished and the thought of fighting made her feel nauseous. Her parents had been quite relieved; they’d have rather have her broken than be the monster they were sure she’d have turned into. From then on she’d been a shadow of her former self; she spent most of her days sleeping or pretending to listen to her mother prattle on about one thing or another whilst her father went to work.

She could feel that familiar ache in her chest. She wanted to get up and fight, but her legs felt like jelly and her head was about ready to explode. So, she waited. Her eyes clenched shut as the door to the office slowly closed. She heard the thud of a gun being put on the table near the door and the heavy footsteps of army boots make their way across the room.

“I know you’re under there.” A squeak left her mouth as two large hands slammed down on top of the desk. “Won’t you come out? You don’t even know what I have to offer to you. Those apples you were so desperately reaching for? I can give you a whole basket full… if you just come out.” He made it sound so goddamn easy and simple. “I said: come out!” The sudden anger in his voice made her gulp and slowly stand. Her green eyes met his; despite the anger that had been in his voice, his face was blank as he drank the sight of her in.

Her cropped top was torn and covered in blood, her shorts were dirty and her boots were worn. She was clinging to life by a thread and they both knew it. Her 5’7” stature was dwarfed by his large 6’1” body. He could tell she had been quite fit and muscular before all of this, but poor nutrition had left her looking withered and underdeveloped. He could easily see her ribs and hipbones from where she stood. She was completely filthy and he noted bruises and scratches on her legs from where she had been running wild for who knows how long. It was her eyes that got him the most; he’d seen those eyes before, he saw that same determination and anger every time he looked at his own reflection. She didn’t want to give up, but she was so tired. Her body wobbled in place and she sucked her chapped bottom lip between her teeth in an attempt to keep the sob that was building at bay.

“Come here.” When she made no effort to move Troy quickly reached forwards, grabbed her by the neck and lifted her over the desk so that she was in front of him. He laughed as his free hand quickly caught her wrist as she sluggishly tried to get him with her knife. “Drop it.” Troy murmured softly.

“No.” Her voice cracked from lack of use. “No.” A heavy sigh left his mouth before he tightened his grip until he could feel her ligaments and bones creak under his grasp. “Agh!” Her other hand came to claw at his fingers desperately as she felt like her wrist would break.

“Drop. It.” He hissed with no intention of loosening his hold until she complied like a good girl. The knife fell with a clatter as she swallowed down her pride and submitted. Immediately his once vicelike grip turned into a soft hold and he allowed his thumb to carefully rub the already bruising skin. “Do you see what you made me do?” He spoke like he was talking to a child. “I’m not a bad person. You just need to listen to me.” Troy watched as her face crumpled and she stared at her feet. He was so used to looking at people like an experiment that he was shocked to find his mind wasn’t trying to work out how long it would take this weakened girl to turn. He looked at her in wonder instead. He could tell that she was broken inside. It was easy to see as the swell of defiance was in her gaze but it was overpowered by the lost look. She needed someone to lead her. She needed direction… purpose… He’d give it to her. He could see her at the ranch with him. She’d be in the living area waiting for him to return from a hunt with a smile on her face and no shoes on her feet. She wouldn’t need shoes; shoes were only necessary for people going outside. He was all she would need. She would be his.

Harper carefully looked up at the soldier and blinked as she saw the concentration in them. “Who are you?”

“My name is Troy. Yours?”

“H-Harper.”

“Where are you from?”

“England… originally. We moved to the States after my brother died… too many memories at home.”

“How’d your brother die? Was he sick?” His head snapped to the side as her hand came up and connected with his cheek. Harper was breathless from the exertion but the carelessness in which he talked about her brother made her blood boil. Malachi was a subject not meant to be touched. “Hm… wrong move.” Troy’s grip tightened once again on her wrist as he spun her around, pushed her front onto the desk and pulled her limb until an aching pain grew in her shoulder from the angle. He used his own body to hover over her so that she couldn’t straighten up. “Apologise.” He wedged his legs between hers as she started to flail and kick out in order to avoid the low blow that she was aiming to deliver; his hips stayed firm against the back of her thighs despite the movements she was making. A deep groan left his mouth as her actions awakened the primal urge within him that told him to claim her. Harper suddenly stilled as she felt a heavy, hard length begin to grow against her ass. “Apologise.” He simply repeated, suddenly breathless as his body buzzed from the stimulation. He wasn’t used to this reaction. Sure, he could see pretty girls from those that would probably be a last pick, but he’d never felt this need to claim before. He’d had sex before, meaningless and ultimately disappointing sex with girls that had wanted to get closer to his perfect brother or had wanted a better standing within the ranch and chosen the somewhat vulnerable youngest Otto to try and make that happen, but this felt like more than just an urge to find his way into the warmth between her legs. This felt like something he needed; like the blood in his veins and the air that he breathed. She felt like a piece of the puzzle that would fit perfectly into place and make him feel that little bit more whole.

Harper could feel his hot breath shakily release against the back of her head and shuddered. “I- I am sorry.” She whispered gently in an attempt to appease the unpredictable man behind her. She felt him slowly release her wrist but he made no motion to move away from her. Her back tensed as his hands slowly went to her sides and gripped her hips. He stayed still for a moment, almost as though he was using his hold on her body to ground himself, before stepping back with a low chuckle.

“Good girl. You’re learning already.” Troy leant down and grabbed her knife, a knowing look in his eye as he pocketed it for himself before pulling something else out of his jacket. A thin strip of plastic was in his grasp. “Put your wrists out and together.” Harper exhaled as she looked at the cable tie. Exhaustion was defeating her and he’d taken what little energy she had left. Her body was propped up by the table behind her and she knew if she stepped away then her legs were likely to collapse.

“Where are you going to take me?” She asked softly understanding that she had no way out of this in her current state.

“Back to base. It’s safe there.” Troy stated proudly as though he was saving her and not taking her against her will. “Do you understand? I’m going to keep you safe. I’ll feed you and get you clean so I can see exactly what is under all of this filth.” Harper’s mouth watered at the thought of food and a shower. Her basic human needs screamed at her to obey as she shakily held out her hands to him. He carefully looped the plastic around her wrists and tightened it until she winced; only stopping when her eyes looked into his pleading for some form of mercy. “Are you thankful?” Harper gave a shaky nod under his intense stare that seemed to strip her naked and glare into her soul. “Use your words.”

Harper swallowed down her bile as he raised his brow expectantly. “Yes… thank you, Troy.” His grin was the last thing she saw before her body finally gave up and she dropped to the cold ground unconscious.

---

You look for me Inside the dark I am the ocean You are the shark You hunt me like Your last goodbye Oh fallen angel Of the night

---Plastic Heart by Ciscandra Nostalghia---

[flying-nightwing]

Act III: The First Date

Hey guys!!! Fist of all thank you for 300 followers, I know it might not be a lot to some of you but it’s more I ever thought I’d even get! With that out of the way, I finally got to write part 3! I’m happy with this one, I hope you do as well. It’s got a bit less action... Or does it? 🤔  haha you’ll see. Enjoy! 

Part 1 and 2 in Masterlist!

Part 4 out now!

Pairing: Time Drake x Reader

Word count: 3234

Warning: violence, language

Tim had called you if you were alright.

You had been surprised at first by his alarmed tone, remembering you were supposed to be by the pits when the race car had gone through. You had reassured him you were fine, startled but fine, and then you had talked for a while. The call had ended up on him asking you out on an official date, which you had obviously agreed on.

So there you were, following the waiter into the fancy restaurant. He had not believed you when you said you were there for Tim Drake, but after a death glare and veiled threat that made his smug face fall, he had invited you to come with him. He led you to a more intimate area, where you finally made eye contact with Tim.

You could have sworn his jaw dropped. 

He clumsily stood up and wiped his hands on his pants, making you smile. You ignored the waiter and whatever he said before leaving, taking in your date for the evening. He was wearing a probably expensive midnight blue suit and his hair was gelled back like the other day at the track. He finally shook out of his stupor and smiled, walking around the table to properly greet you. 

“Hi” He breathed out. “I’m glad you could make it”

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything” You winked, letting him pull your chair for you. What a gentleman. He sat back in front of you, the candle on the table reflecting in his bright eyes.

“You look stunning” He complimented, his cheeks reddening. Your outfit was black with a red accent, and it was like he couldn’t tear his eyes away from it. You actually put a lot of effort in it, as you didn’t have a lot of occasion to dress up for another reason than for a costume change. It felt good to pamper up. 

“Thank you” You inclined your head politely. “You’re not too bad yourself”

He chuckled, fidgeting with his fingers in a way that seemed restless. “Thanks”

“How are you?” You asked with a tilt of your head. “You seem stressed”

He blinked quickly, taken aback by your directness. But he knew you were right, and if he had learned anything from your few conversations so far, it was that you were just very forward. That’s kind of what he liked about you. He sighed. “It’s just… A lot is going on a work and to be honest, it’s kinda driving me nuts”

Your hand enveloped his in a reflex, giving him a concerned squeeze. “Oh my, if this isn’t a good time I swear I won’t be mad if you wanted to reschedule--”

“No, it’s fine” He shook his head with a small, grateful smile. “I think this is what I need, actually”

You grinned bright, and the sight alone made his heart melt. “Then let’s take your mind off of work”

Dinner went even smoother than you would have expected. The conversation barely had the time to die down to let you eat, so much that both of you had to finish your plates after the food went cold. It didn’t bother you much as Tim proved himself to be far more interesting than food. You learned a lot about him, especially after the first glass of wine kicked in. While he had been slightly awkward in a cute way and had trouble initiating the conversations at first, he had easily become chatty. He was quite the funny guy, and you could see why he had proclaimed himself the smartest of his siblings. His mind was quick and sharp, and he knew way too much about way too many things. But the way he kept babbling about his interests was quite endearing, you found out. 

“No but seriously” He said as he placed back his glass on the table. “You have some serious reflexes. The way you dodged the champagne? Like are you kidding me?”

“I told you” You shrugged lightly, barely hiding the smirk on your lips. “It’s always like that! The waiter could drop the bottle of wine and I’d catch it, I swear”

“Should we try?” 

“To make him drop it?” Your eyes widened. “Are you really ready to waste perfectly good wine?”

“You said you’d catch it” He challenged. “Are you saying you wouldn’t manage to catch it?”

“Of course I’d catch it” You scoffed playfully. “But the probability of me not catching it is never 0. While the internal factor is guaranteed, the external factor is not. I don’t control what happens around me. What if the waiter drops it outside of my reach? What if the fish tank explodes?”

Tim laughed heartily at that one. “Alright, alright, I’ll give this one to you”

“Thank you” You smiled, your chin high. “On that note, I need to go to the bathroom”

“Knock yourself out”

You chuckled and stood up, heading for the bathroom. You paused in front of the door and turned around to scan the room, making sure nobody was coming or looking in your direction. Your eyes paused on Tim, who was looking down at his cellphone. When you were sure the coast was clear, you swiftly turned around and went through the kitchens. You walked alongside the wall, avoiding the actual kitchen buzzing with staff, going past the pantries and freezers. You pushed the last door through the storage rooms, then paused and crouched behind a pile of potato sacks.

You really didn’t want to do this while on your date, but the reward was too good to ignore. Since it was a solo mission as well, you’d get the full pay to yourself. An entire million for a single bullet made you put your principles aside. You reached for your gloves first, slipping them on, then your handgun hidden in your outfit and the silent. You assembled it on the nozzle and made sure your magazine was full. The restaurant, while an actual high end and high rated place, was also a front for one of the ascending crime families of Gotham. Falcone wanted the patriarch dead, and you were glad to be of assistance in the matter. 

You lifted your left arm and folded your eyebrow, then rested your gun on it, aiming for the surveillance camera at the threshold of the other room. You needed it to be a precise shot to disable the camera without making it sparkle like a firework. You took a deep breath and set your sight on your target, then pressed the trigger. With a quiet sound of metal breaking, you observed a small, but barely noticeable spark and you knew you were clear to go. You moved into the next room, still hiding behind various piles of ingredients. There was one guard at the bottom of the staircase leading to the big boss hideout.

You grabbed a turnip from an open bag and threw it back in the room you were before, making sure to hit the spare pots piled up on a shelf. Like a dumbass, the startled guard left his post to go investigate, letting you more than enough time to slip in undetected. The stairs gave into a dark room clouded by cigar smoke and years of uncleaned grim on the walls, from which came a voice in a phone conversation. The man was yelling profanities on the phone, coughing every now and then. You waited in the shadows for the eventual click signalling he had hung up, then the sigh coming from him.

“Rough night?”

The man jumped at your question, his eyes widening at your presence. Then, a sneer twisted his already hard features and he reached for a red button on his desk. He never made it to the button. You were a fast shot, and before he could comprehend anything that was happening, his head was sent back with a bullet hole in between his eyebrows. 

“Carmine Falcone sends his regards” You took off the silent and hid the gun again, unbothered. “Should have said that before I shot him uh? Whatever”

You walked to the body, carefully folding the arms on the desk and lowering the head on them, careful not to spill blood everywhere, so it looked like he was sleeping. It wouldn’t fool anyone on the long haul, but it might buy enough time to delay the news stories and give you the time to put enough distance in between you and the crime scene. You then headed for the open window and sneaked out through the fire escape, rounding back to the merchandise entrance and sneaking back inside the restaurant as you took off your gloves. You returned to your table as if nothing happened, making Tim look up in concern.

“Is everything alright?” He asked as you sat back down. 

“Yes” You huffed, but gave him a smile nonetheless. “My mom kept blowing up my phone, so I took a moment to call her and politely requested her to stop asking me how to change her settings on her tablet. I’m so sorry to have made you wait”

“It’s okay, don’t worry” He chuckled. “I understand annoying family”

“Alright then, which one of your siblings is most likely to annoy you on a date?” 

“Are we playing 21 questions now?” He raised a playful eyebrow and you tilted your head. He pursed his lips, thinking. “Most obvious answer would be Grayson because he knows no boundaries”

You laughed. “Then what is the least obvious answer?”

“Huh, well, I’d say Damian” He replied. “He doesn’t even call often, but when he does, he doesn’t give a shit if he’s interrupting something”

“The youngest one, right?” You asked, and he nodded. You had gotten around to talk about family, and you managed to mostly remember the order of his siblings. You didn’t want to research them either--even though you knew you easily could--because you didn’t want to be that creep that googled their date.

“Is everything alright for you?”

Tim seemed surprised at the sudden interruption of the waiter. Like every other time he came by, he completely avoided looking in your general direction. He still was shaken up from your earlier threats, probably, and it made you smile internally. 

“Yes, actually, can we get the check?” Tim replied, then turned his glance to you. “What do you say we go, maybe take a walk outside?”

“Absolutely” Your smile widened.

“Very well, sir”

The waiter walked away, leaving you once again alone. You began reaching for your purse when you felt Tim’s unwavering stare on you. He looked a bit confused as to why you were taking out your card. 

“I’ll pay my half, I owe you that”

“No, no, I can take it” He shook his head. “It’s really no problem”

“That bottle of wine was expensive, let me at least--”

“(Y/N), I forbid you to even look at the tab”

You raised an eyebrow, your lips curling up slightly. You were surprised by his sudden display of authority, as you had been so far the most forward of the two. But he was a CEO after all, and you suspected he let this side of him take over just a little moment. Still, you couldn’t say you disliked it. “Bossy” You remarked. “Okay, fine. But rest assured I will make it up to you”

“You really don’t have too” Here came the shy side again.

“Oh, but I want to” You winked, and he blushed. He cleared his throat when he noticed the waiter coming back, then hurried to take the tab before you could snatch it. He was you in action already and he knew you had fast reflexes enough not to take any chances.

He paid for dinner, then pulled back your chair and offered you his arm. You gladly took it and exited the restaurant. You waited outside for the valet to fetch his car, and opened the door for you when it came to a stop in front of you. He then rounded up the car and took his place in the driver’s seat.

“Damn” You whistled as you looked around. “Nice ride”

“Thanks” He chuckled as he started the engine and left the restaurant. “Perks of being a CEO I guess”

“And here I thought my new Toyota was somewhat luxury” You joked, and he grinned.

“Not bad, you could have done way worse” He conceded. “Although, I would have pegged you for a Tesla kind of person”

“Would you now?” You raised a playful eyebrow. 

“I mean, don’t get me wrong” He began, shooting you a quick glance before his eyes returned to the road. “But you don’t seem to be the type to settle for anything less than the best"

Your lips curled up as your eyes travelled up and down his form. “I don’t, indeed” 

He shifted in his seat, well aware of your gaze on him. He truly looked like a work of art, sitting deep in his seat with one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear arm. He was visibly forcing himself to focus on the road and not on the distraction you caused, and it made you smirk. You definitely enjoyed seeing his reaction to you, how he would mostly shy away or blush at your obvious flirting. 

Tim pulled up in a private parking garage and stopped his car in his own designed spot. He turned off the engine, and once again, rounded up the car to open your door for you. You took his offered hand to get out, and with a press of a button, the doors closed and locked behind you. Arms in arms, you got outside under the clouded sky, a soft, warm wind caressing your skin. The building gave onto a small park lit up with fairy lights along the pathways, and you could hear a violin playing some tunes in the background. You sighed, content. 

“It’s a beautiful night” He commented after a moment. “It’s rare we have one like this”

“I had heard the city was gloomy all the time” You lied smoothly. You lived here, you knew. “I’m pleasantly surprised”

“It’s too bad you got to Gotham during such a bad weekend, crime wise” He began. “I mean, it’s like that most of the time, but it’s been a little intense in the last days”

“Yeah, it’s a bit concerning for outsiders” You agreed with a nod. “But tonight did make up for it pretty well, if you ask me”

A smile graced his lips as he looked at you. “It did”

You walked around the park, talking about nothing and everything. You stopped by a street musician, taking the time to dance for a moment despite his reluctance to do so. You could still see the timid smile threatening to widen as you swayed to the sound of the balad, though, even more so when you parted and left a hundred dollars bill in the little jar at the violinist's feet. The walk ended at the front of his apartment building, where he turned to face you without letting your hand go. He looked down to it, then back up to you.

“This was really nice,” He spoke. “I really did enjoy it”

“Me too” You smiled, squeezing his hand.

You watched as he slightly leaned in, then backed away, unsure of where to go from now. There was a doubt in his eyes, a calculation of boundaries he was hesitant to challenge. Yet, he didn’t make a move to get away from you either. You could see he was overthinking it way too much, so you decided to step in.

“This is the part where you kiss me” You pointed out, your smile not dropping. 

He cleared his throat like he was taken by surprise. Still, his hand cupped your cheek as he leaned down, pressing lightly his lips on yours. It started as a sweet little goodnight kiss, but he quickly let his restraint go when your eagerness got to him. He pressed you against him, caging you in strong arms as your lips moved in sync. You felt his hands grip your hips tight and let out a surprised squeal against his mouth. He parted from you, his breath ragged and pupils dilated. You definitely were interested in seeing more of this side of him.

“Come upstairs?”

“I thought you’d never ask”

----

Tim hadn’t had a morning this smooth in years. He still had a lazy smile from the night before, and he truly noticed how good he felt when he actually took the time to pour his coffee in a mug. He even surprised himself when he reached for a sugar cube and dropped it in the dark beverage; he couldn’t remember when was the last time he drank his coffee anything but black and bitter. The only thing that could have made this morning even better was if you had been there with him, wearing one of his shirts and holding your own mug.

You had seemed so heartbroken when you told him you couldn’t stay the night, he wasn’t even mad. A little disappointed, yes, but not mad. After all, it was only your first date together, it was to be expected. But he was whipped already. Your charm got to him so hard, and he was still amazed by how easy everything was with you. You were really expressive, but you didn’t make him feel inadequate for not being instantly as open as you. Instead, he felt like you bridged the gap for him and offered a hand. He had only met you a few days ago, but it was like you knew each other forever. Yup, definitely whipped. 

He hummed, walking to his living room and turning on the TV. It was set to a news channel, and right as he was about to change it for a less depressing morning programm, something caught his attention. He furrowed his eyebrows, listening intensely to the newscaster. They were talking about the restaurant you had your date at last evening, where it was shown footage of police tape and ambulances crowding the place. A bad feeling formed in his stomach as he waited for what he knew inside was to come.

The owner, and rising mafia boss Marco Rizzo, had been found dead in his office. 

Before he could even formulate his thoughts, his brain sent him pieces of the puzzle he had already ruled out. All he could think of was one’s an accident, two’s a coincidence and three’s a pattern.

The gala. The racetrack. The first date.

There was one person, beside himself, who he could without a doubt position in all three crime scenes, who had both the place and time suspiciously right. One person that had smoothly changed the subject, now that he thought about it, everytime he mentioned a job, a family, or the events that took place in Gotham. One person of whom he saw the scar on the left forearm when they were laying naked in bed, that gave a half assed explanation of how a fresh mark the size of his batarang ended up there. 

And that person was you.

He squeezed his mug so hard it broke in his hands, spilling coffee everywhere.

[skinks]

I see your “fake/pretend dating” scenarios and I ask instead of you: “we’re secretly together and desperately trying to hide it” scenarios

Richie and Eddie finally get their shit together a week before Bev and Ben’s wedding, and after a whole lot of arguing and contingency plans and naked, sweaty discussion, they decide that if they don’t wanna steal that hetero thunder, they have to try their hardest to act like they’re not a Thing

and it’s a mess. They spend the whole week of bachelor parties (Losers plus Patty sans Bev get sad drunk and wish Bev was there) and bachelorette parties (Losers plus Patty sans Ben wear feather boas and get sorority drunk with Bev’s fashion friends, gossip about Ben and sing karaoke) pretending they’re not sneaking off to bone in every unoccupied room they possibly can

It’s a MESS. Richie figures the years of practice at pathetic, secret longing mean they should be better at this than they are. Like yeah, they’re still hovering in this awkward limbo stage where it’s both terribly exciting and horribly embarrassing to be crossing meat swords with your long lost best bro, while knowing you’re both totally into it, but they already acted so couple-y beforehand that it’s probably WEIRDER if Eddie stops smiling all fond and fixing Richie’s hair, or if Richie stops slinging his arm around Eddie at every opportunity. But that’s letting their guard down, and they keep freezing and jumping apart in the middle of casual conversation. They’re standing with Bill and Audra and Patty and Mike in some hotel function room, discussing whether or not stealing Ben’s yacht is feasible when Richie oh-so-gently says “hey—c’mere,” and wipes a smudge of chocolate fondue (contains nuts!!) from Eddie’s mouth with his thumb. Everyone stops talking. Everyone stares. Eddie stares. And Richie needs to duck and cover so he sort of - slaps him? Not even hard enough to make a noise, it’s more of a tap-then-push. He pushes Eddie’s face. “Is that Staniel I hear,” Richie says, after a moment.

“I don’t hear anything,” Patty says.

“No no, that’s definitely Stan,” Richie says, backing swiftly to the door. Eddie’s eyes are on him accusing and hot, dark brown like the chocolate smeared on Richie’s thumb. Later, Eddie will suck the taste off where it’s stuffed in his mouth to keep quiet as they fuck below deck in Ben’s stolen yacht, Mike and Bill fighting overhead about who gets to wear the blue and white captain’s hat. Eddie’s pants are barely even pulled down. Richie does his Quint From Jaws Voice and goes duh-dun, duh-dun as Eddie pushes inside so Eddie will bite his thumb and fuck him harder. It’s all very undignified, and illicit, and stupid. Eddie loves it. “I have great ears, Pattycake, and Stanley makes this sort of, uh, echolocation type noise when he’s having issues with hotel staff. I should know, I went on vacation once with his family, to the Catskills? Stan spilled soup on a waiter and every bat in the fuckin’ place came right outta the forest and flew into the buffet. Don’t ask him about it though, one man’s vigilante origin story is another man’s traumatic childhood. Okay bye.” Richie definitely doesn’t run, but running away is more about aura than gait.

Audra frowns. “Did he just imply Batman didn’t have a traumatic childhood?”

“Haha,” Eddie deflects, stuffing his hand in his pocket, and missing. “He must’ve had the shrimp. Fucked up that he’s the one with the actual shellfish allergy, right? Isn’t that irony, or something?”

“That would be ironic, if you didn’t know everything we’re all allergic to by heart and would never let Richie eat shrimp,” Bill says, still staring.

“I would,” Eddie says immediately. He can’t find his fucking pocket. “I would totally let Richie eat shrimp.”

“You slapped his slice of pizza out of his hand last week because there was oyster sauce in the marinara,” Mike says, but Eddie is already actually running away. Wow, he’s fast.

Even with the Losers, Richie’s only out by implication, but it’d still be weird if he, for some reason, brought a woman as his date. He thinks about bringing Sven the Sound Guy because he’s as opposite to Eddie as it’s possible to find on short notice since Guy Fieri was unavailable, but he can’t decide whether this is genius cover or so on the nose as to be damning. He goes stag in the end, which is perhaps most damning of all. Eddie is in Schrodinger’s closet, because he doesn’t have to answer either way if nobody fucking asks him, and nobody does, because Eddie always starts doing whatever he’s currently doing to an incredibly intense level whenever the conversation turns to dating. One time at dinner when they were all in the same city for one of Richie’s tentative, low-key comeback shows, someone mentioned post-divorce dating apps, and then someone simply said the word Grindr not even in Eddie’s direction and Eddie cut his steak so hard he scratched the plate. This was an achievement in and of itself seeing as the clown took Eddie’s fork-arm, but Richie was spearing his steak for him while he cut it. He’s an enabler. An enabler to steak, and freakouts.

Anyway, even with all of this, it’s still weird that Eddie brings a woman. She’s Paula. From work. Stan sees her checking her phone so often that he figures out she’s one of the women in the matching white wedding dresses on her lock screen. Stan nudges Patty, who becomes very insistent that they should tell Eddie before he gets his heart broken, but Eddie is probably too busy periodically kicking out the backs of Richie’s knees to make him wobble and buckle against the bar to notice, or care.

Bev has great fucking aim, is the thing. There’s a lost catapult and a space-alien dead as a dodo can attest to it, but she’s still facing the opposite direction and could never predict that her bouquet toss would bounce off two different bridesmaids’ heads, straight into Richie’s hands. They’re so beautiful. White and orange and a rich, nautical blue that matches Eddie’s suit, tidily pinned up at the right shoulder and pressed hard into Richie’s side. Bev is laughing delightedly and Ben is taking a photo, and Eddie has been getting steadily drunker ever since he got back half an hour ago from gratefully sending Paula home to her wife in an Uber with some cake. He’s all pink across the bridge of his nose and he looks so fucking adorable with Ben’s blue and white yacht captain hat tilted on his head at a rakish angle, and the others are all catcalling so hard that Richie figures they might as well give up the pretense. He kicks out the back of Eddie’s knees so he’ll buckle into Richie’s flowery arms and fucking DIPS him like that old wartime photo even though Eddie’s the one with the sailor hat getting knocked off his head because they’re kissing so enthusiastically, clinging to the back of Richie’s neck and snortlaughing into his mouth, but suddenly everyone’s shouting, and they all sound - not pissed, exactly, but certainly indignant

“Are you guys serious,” Bill says, “you’re stealing their thunder right now? One major childhood romance realized isn’t enough, you’re gonna crash theirs?”

“Wait,” Richie says

Bev throws up her hands. Richie can’t see, because of her dress, but he’s pretty sure her foot is actually tapping. “Why didn’t you tell us!”

Eddie is still dangling off him like a monkey, all stunned-drunk limp with the bouquet shoved in his face. Richie hears what uh oh sounds like muffled by flowers, and Ben silently takes another photo, like he’s cataloguing a crime scene.

“You guys... didn’t know? We actually kept it a secret?”

“Until now, you jackasses!”

“What secret,” Audra asks, appearing with like eight plates of cake. “What’s happening? Oh wait, I’m caught up.”

“But—but—the fondue,” Eddie says, and seriously, it’s not like the clown ripped his legs off, he could try standing and facing this with Richie like a true bro, but Richie’s kind of enjoying the weight of him. Plus he’s pretty sure Bev won’t dare to go through Eddie to kill him, so. Human shield it is.

“What about the fondue?” Mike looks like he did after the end of The Usual Suspects. Like he’s re-evaluating every time Richie and Eddie left a room together, and wishes he wasn’t. “You guys are like that all the time.”

“Then why were you all staring!”

“Nobody was staring! It was a natural lull in conversation, we were weirded out that you were being weird about it! Have you always been this self-centered?”

“I guess so,” Richie shrugs. He looks down at Eddie, covered in pollen and thoroughly confused. He’s so drunk he’s looking kinda cross-eyed. “You hear that, dude? We were killing it, until we fucked it all up!”

Eddie grins up at him. “Good enough!” he slurs, and then lets go of Richie’s neck for a high five. Everyone’s gone back to ignoring them in favour of dancing to Journey, so at least nobody notices Richie’s so eager to return it that he drops Eddie on the floor instead

[withthekeyisking-writer]

Not the original anon but can we hear your unhealthy sladick headcanons? Love me some pain 😂

Haha absolutely! I definitely agree 😁 Some unhealthy Sladick headcanons for your reading pleasure:

(Putting it below a read more because these got away from me lol)

Slade knows exactly how to press Dick’s insecurities to get what he wants from him

Dick is touch-starved and practically affection-starved, a longing that growing up under Batman has only increased (since Bruce is certainly not one for physical affection, nor one who gives out praise or kind words easily)

Dick also is of the belief that he needs to be able to handle all of his problems on his own, and ends up taking quite a lot onto his shoulders. He also feels like he always has to be there for his family, which means taking on their problems as well.

This all serves Slade’s purposes very well; acting as a calm presence, a willing ear, providing an easy, gentle touch—it’s enough to make Dick melt, even if he doesn’t know why he always turns to Slade for comfort

Slade makes it very easy for Dick to turn to him, never making it seem like he’s pressing, just wanting to be there for him, obviously this is out of the goodness of his heart, Dick you don’t have to be so suspicious...

As the relationship grows, Slade is able to push the boundary more. Things that Dick had been uncomfortable with in the beginning are slowly inched into their lives anyway

Because Dick saying No will make Slade stop, but it will make him stop with a look of great disappointment, and then he won’t answer Dick’s calls for a little while

When Slade returns, the affection-starved Dick allows Slade to do whatever it was he’d wanted to do before, and then soaks in the praise that falls from Slade’s lips

Slade takes great pleasure in pushing Dick further and further, seeing how far his little bird will go to please him

One time, out of curiosity, Slade doses Dick with fear toxin right before they have sex. The screaming becomes a bit annoying, but the way Dick tightens around him and thrashes in his grip is quite enjoyable

(And then, after it’s over, Slade administers the antidote and holds Dick while he cries, pets his hair and tells him how good he was, how happy Slade is, how isn’t Dick glad Slade was here for him? How his family has left him all alone. And Dick clings to his kindness desperately, barely understanding what’s happening at all)

Separate from all of that, in another world, Dick goes to Slade when he’s feeling a particular brand of self-hatred or doubt

He lets Slade use him, hurt him, spit degrading words in his ear. Because he knows he deserves it, and at least Slade is honest about it

His own personal brand of self-harm

Slade is all too willing to take the young hero into his bed, amused by how desperate Dick is sometimes, how broken he is and his family doesn’t even see it, which makes it all the easier for Slade to use

It’s easy for Slade to manipulate Dick’s feelings, to make him keep coming back to him time and time again. Because while Dick is desperate for someone to punish him he’s also desperate for someone to make everything feel ok and offer him praise, even if that praise is nothing more than What a good little slut you are for me

Look at you, spreading your legs for me. The Bat might think you’re a failure but at least you’re gorgeous like this

Again, in another world, one of Dick’s coping mechanisms is to meditate. He does it deeply, truly becoming dead to the world when he does it

Slade drops by Dick’s apartment one day for information and finds Dick sitting cross-legged on his bedroom floor, completely unresponsive

So Slade decides to have a little fun, using Dick’s pliant body for his own enjoyment

It becomes a habit, every once in a while finding Dick in that state and enjoying himself. He never says  a word about it, content to keep on being able to use Dick to is heart’s content, with the boy being none the wiser.

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this dark little list ;)

You will find the post with the healthy Sladick headcanons here!

[horizonwitch]

The Archangel Theory - A Possible Explanation to MCR's new symbolism

Hello! This is a very long post, but I hope it’s worth the reading. Sorry.

I am Nana, and today I bring you a fan-theory on the meaning behind MyChem's symbols presented to us in the occasion of the band's return announcement and later on, at the actual reunion concert day.

First Considerations:

1. being it, as the title implies, a fan-theory, I do not claim any of the exposed to be factual when associated to MCR. I bring this thread to you guys in hopes that we can discuss, expand, teach and learn with each other, and maybe come to some sort of conclusion. Riddles are fun to play, especially together. I love riddles in fandom experience. :)

2. I highly apologize for my limited vocabulary and weird phrasing. I am not a native english speaker, but I'll try my best to make this understandable to everyone;

3. Despite my personal beliefs and stupid jokes, I mean no disrespect to any religion or symbol mentioned in here. (just as much as I believe MyChem also doesn't, on the wild possibility of this thread being on point with what they planned, lol).

That being said, before we start, I have some thanks to give:

this theory was only put together thanks to my lovely mychem group chat, composed by Raffs, Clara, Caroline and Hana. thanks for all the time and effort we shared, and for holding my brain with your bare hands when it was about to melt, friends.

Also thanks to Frank Iero himself, for laughing at me on twitter for me not being able to understand the reunion clues, despite "wearing a California 2019 shirt for 6 years". I humbly accept the possibility of this theory having nothing to do with the truth, but I sure hope I can laugh back at you in the end, rat. I love you.

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

Now, let's finally head to The Archangel Theory, or, as I like to call it, The “If We're Not Careful We'll Turn Into Catholics” Theory, and how it all started.

It was Halloween. Everyone here was minding their own damn business (I was being a clown on twitter, Hana was putting on her badass revenge-themed makeup. You know, the usual). And we all know what happened: MCR raised gracefully from the dead, dropping brand new symbolism and a stunning angel image to our poor panicked hearts. A few days later, when Hana’s crying ruined makeup was long gone and everyone calmed the F down a little bit, people started to ask themselves: okay, cool, but what does it mean?

Like many of you, the first thought that crossed my mind was tarot. Because, well, how f-ing cool would it be, right? I draw tarot everyday. I just loved the idea. Mychem posting a latin countdown with some eerie photo was just… yea, I was very excited with this.

Many of us also associated the symbols with past albums and even with the members themselves. All of these theories are very valid to me, and I loved reading them. I agree with many points raised.

Well, everything was fine (as fine as it could be, because I am so damn curious). The Return concert happened at the faithful date of December 20, California. We all freaked out and enjoyed the noble services’ of days_fate and diet_shampoo’s streaming. All that jazz.

But then: well… another angel. I started to think to myself: is this a pattern? The show ends, we get very emotional, everything is okay (i hate this pun) with the world. Frank Iero makes a post-concert post on instagram, talking about how everything was pure Magick. With a K.

For those unfamiliar, this is an occultist term related to Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, to differentiate the religious concept from the “stage magic” that we are used to. A very carefully picked name that I highly doubt someone would drop around without knowing what it implies.... Don’t even start me with the K and C keys being so damn far away from each other on a keyboard.

At this point me and my groupchat were starting to be very done with Frank’s clownery (we indeed love him very much for that), and so we started to hurt our minds every single day since then. that’s the result:

THE ARCHANGEL THEORY

Let’s Return™ to the basics: angels and, probably, tarot.

Funny enough, there are actually angels in tarot cards. There are many types of decks, but for this we are using the most famous one, which most people believe holds ancient symbolism, The Rider-Waite Tarot.

There are many angels and archangels mentioned in the Bible (only a few by name, tho), but only four of them made it into being represented in tarot cards: Uriel, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Let’s get the gang together and meet the holy crew (please, forgive me for the puns).

Uriel:

whose name means “the light of god”, “the flame of god”. It’s the Wise Angel, often pictured as the one who holds books and scrolls and bears holy knowledge and understanding. or Clarity, if you will. They’re sort of the goth one™, associated with the Tartarus and being pictured as pitiless as any demon would; even holding the key to Hell during the end of times, Uriel is described as the angel who watches “over thunder and terror”. Uriel is sometimes even mistaken for a demon (apparently, the eastern catholicism accepts Uriel identity as an archangel, while the western catholicism gives more credit to its dark side, and does not encourage worshiping); this duality comes from the notion that very often, enlightenment may be the end result of dark times. Every archangel has many, I said MANY symbols attached to them, so other elements associated with this angel can be found on the image attached to this post.

About Uriel’s Tarot Card: if you were raised in a catholic family and slept through as much catechism as I did as a kid, maybe you’ll be surprised to know that Lucifer, Satan and Uriel are all different beings. Let it be a lesson: no matter how edgy of a teen you are, please accept knowledge from any possible source. Putting this thread together would’ve been so easier to me now if I did, haha... That being said, our angel Uriel is actually the Devil in the Devil Tarot card, which meaning touches on addiction, obsession, feeling imprisoned or restrained, but it being only an illusion of powerlessness. This card is an invitation to free yourself, fight distractions and temptation, and finally fulfill your destiny. Please, consider that tarot readings are very deep and variable; there’s extensive books only on tarot meaning, so I won’t explore much on each card. that’s just a very general notion.

Some sources also consider Uriel to be the responsible for the change represented in the Death card, despite not being directly pictured in such card. As stated before, Uriel is associated with the concept Death brings, being a turning point, and ending route.

The symbolism presented in the Devil card (as for the Rider-Waiter deck):

“At the foot of the Devil stand a man and a woman, both naked and chained to the podium on which the Devil sits. They appear to be held here against their will – but look closer, and you will notice that the chains around their necks are loose and could be easily removed. Each has small horns on their head, like the devil’s, a sign that they are becoming increasingly like him the longer they stay here. Both have tails, a further symbol of their animalistic tendencies and raw instincts, and the grapes and the fire on their respective tails signify pleasure and lust.”

Poor people. If only they knew better. A lil bit of Clarity, huh?

That’s it for MCR’s clarity symbol, conveniently shaped as a candle.

Michael:

whose name means “who is like god” (being it a rhetorical question, to mean that no one equals to God). It’s the Protector Angel. They’re the leader of angels in the battle against demons, Defender of God’s realm against Satan in the Book of Revelation. Michael is a warrior, and is often seem with the sword in hand, to allure to the idea of bravery. They’re described as the angel of strength, protection and Courage.

About Michael’s Tarot Card: Michael appears on the major arcana Temperance. In fact, even the name “Temperance” comes from the process of refining and strengthening materials in metallurgy. this one likes swords a lot, huh. That’s a card which meaning touches on patience and prudence. It means already having a clear vision and knowing what you want to achieve. Now It’s all about thinking before action, and accepting the balance of things, blending the opposites to achieve an ideal solution. Apparently a very suited card for a warrior of faith. Prepare yourself: in my research, I’ve found a source that associates this card with the color blue (the very same of the archangel) and the musical note G. Yes, the universe has a strange sense of humor.

The symbolism presented in the Temperance card: “The vessels in the angel’s hands represent the vessel that contains eternal life. The flowers are Irises symbolising the goddess Iris who links God to humanity. Iris travels from one end of the world to another, into the depth of the sea and the underworld. The angel’s feet, one on land and one in water, symbolise the unification of the external and internal, conscious and subconscious. It also represents testing the waters before jumping into the unknown. The red wings on the angel represent blood which symbolizes life. The sun conceals a crown which represents a connection to higher power. The triangle on the angel’s dress is an equilateral triangle and symbolise spirit, divinity, fire, life, prosperity, and harmony. It can also symbolise God and the holy trinity. The square outside the triangle represents protection and stability.”

The MCR symbol for Courage is a drop. is it a drop of blood? for an warrior angel and their endless battles on God’s behalf? Of water, the waters of unknown? The water of balance of life? I don’t know.

When Michael / was a young genderless being,/ their father…

Gabriel:

whose name means “strength of god”. It’s the Messenger Angel; Gabriel is often portrayed playing the trumpet, to make announcements of God’s will. (many angels play the trumpets on Revelations book,, but Gabriel seems to be the most intimately attached to this concept). In the hierarchy of angels, Gabriel seems to occupy a very high position, being knows as the “Left Hand of God” (our Michael aforementioned being the Right-hand angel).

Their famous appearances on the Bible includes appearing to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. Islam also has Gabriel appearing for many prophets, telling them the divine plans. In a way, all those messages are basically callings to a higher purpose, a proof of faith, a personal Sacrifice. This idea is reiterated by the symbolism of Gabriel’s tarot card.

Gabriel is also one of the Angels of Death (depending on the religious we are speaking about, there are over 14 different angels with this role). Not in a dark way, their role is to comfort and bring peace to the deceased, guiding them into the light. Gabriel is therefore an angel of mercy, redemption achieved through a proof of faith (often a self-sacrifice, of any nature), after a fair judgement. speaking of which…

About Gabriel’s tarot card: Gabriel appears on the major arcana Judgement, which meaning touches on taking responsibility for your actions, speaking the truth. It’s a beginning/ending type of card, but a different kind of change than the one represented on one of Uriel’s card, Death. While Death brings something unstoppable, more powerful than anyone’s options, Judgement usually portraits something you can actually choose to take part in. But it also your responsibility any consequences of not taking this step. A fair judgement, indeed.

The Symbolism presented in the Judgement card: “The angel with the Trumpet could be a reference to the angels and the seven trumpets in Revelation, bringing apocalypse and resurrection. The white banner with the red cross can be St. George Flag, and a reference to Saint George gives Judgement the symbolism of sacrifice done in the name of our faith. Both the flag and the trumpet are military symbols of authority. A man, a woman and a child are being called from the tomb of ego consciousness. The three people are reflected on the other side of the river, another symbol of the soul’s victory over death. The three people are also a symbol of the three pillars of the tree of life. The man and the woman has changed side from the familiar feminine on the left and masculine on the right. In Judgement it is the other way around. Perhaps it is to unify us and to tell us to look at a situation from a different perspective, from within. You are seeing the pillars from the Angel’s perspective. This symbolises to raise your thinking and ask for Divine Perspective. The mountains represent the structure that surrounds us all.”

Calling all units! Time for the ultimate vibe check.

I guess that’s it for our third MCR symbol, Sacrifice, shaped as hand. Is it a left hand, just like one of Gabriel’s titles? that would be interesting.

But not so fast.

Now we come to an interesting point. Gabriel is the first of our angels to have a sculpture used by My Chem. :) It’s actually endearing how, if this assumption is correct, they chose the messenger archangel to bring the good news: mcr is alive!

About Gabriel’s sculpture: our Return angel, as some of us already know by this point, is actually a piece called “Angelo e Alma”, by italian artist Pasquale Rizzoli. It is located on Cella Magnani, a memorial chapel of the Magnani family, inside Certosa di Bologna, which is a very antique monastery, later transformed on a monumental cemetery for many italian families. You can take a look here, it’s stunningly beautiful.

Finished in 1906, this piece was a commission by the widow of a war veteran called Natale Magnani, who apparently died young. As far as I understand written italian, since I speak portuguese (latin languages perks, yey!), it’s still difficult to me to do further research on this family. Being it an old, traditional italian family, there’s tons of Magnanis, but there’s little to no info on Natale or his wife’s lives on the internet, it seems. If you’re italian and have any info about this, please comment. It can actually be relevant to this thread.

This sculpture portraits an angel ascending to heavens, guiding a soul (represented as a woman in a long dress). There’s rose branches and lilies at the feet of both the angel and the soul, as they fly together. These flowers pay homage to Magnani’s family blazon, as stated by the Storia i Memoria di Bologna Project website, that also offers on their site a brief explanation on the meaning behind the many other plants on this piece. they all basically allure to death, sleep, and resurrection. you can check it out here.

The presented symbolism, being an angel appearing to a soul in their travel to the spiritual realm, and even the flowers used, lead me to conclude that this sculpture very likely pictures our Archangel Gabriel, in their judgement roles again.

Now, our holy rpg party already has a mage, a paladin and a bard. It’s time to introduce the most underappreciated (and my personal favorite) class:

Raphael:

whose name means “God heals”. Raphael is the angel for healing, thus making ‘whole’ everything that has been broken. They’re also a patron for lovers, role that he plays by using his healing powers in a non-literal way. Pay attention to the “fixing the broken and making it a whole again” part, that’s the connotation.

Both of these titles come from the roles Raphael played, depicted on the scriptures: the most famous ones being when Raphael was sent by the Lord to heal Tobit of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his future daughter-in-law, from the demon Asmodeus, who killed every man she married on their wedding night before the marriage could be consummated.

Another famous role commonly related to Raphael is about the Pool of Bethesda. Despite not being mentioned by name, manuscripts of John 5:1–4 describe an angel that blessed this pool, healing the illness of those who touched its waters:

"an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". It’s usually given credit to Raphael for this action, since they’re seem using healing power to fulfill God’s will in many occasions through the Bible.

About Raphael’s Tarot card: Raphael appears on the major arcana The Lovers, as the angel blessing the couple depicted. This is a card about romantic, even sexual, attraction, but not purely that. It’s about finding peace within yourself, and in someone else, about the journey to pick “the one” for you. Making a whole out of two halves is a common concept associated with this card.

Symbolism presented on The Lovers card: “the man and the woman in the image are being protected and blessed by an angel above. The couple seems secure and happy in their home, which appears to be the Garden of Eden. The fruit tree with the snake behind the woman is a reference to that story, which tells of humanity's fall into temptation and into the realm of flesh and sensuality. The angel depicted here is Raphael, the angel of air - who is of the same element of the zodiac sign that governs this card: Gemini. Air is associated with mental activity, and communication in particular, which is the foundation for healthy relationships. His blessing seems to give this card a sense of balance and harmony, the symbolization of union in a grand and cosmic sense between two opposing forces.”

Another source adds: “The couple stands in a beautiful, fertile landscape, reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. Behind the woman stands a tall apple tree, with a snake winding its way up the trunk. The serpent and apple tree represent the temptation of sensual pleasures that may take one’s focus away from the Divine. Behind the man is a tree of flames, which represent passion, the primary concern of the man. The twelve flames suggest the twelve zodiac signs, the symbol of time and eternity. The man looks to the woman, who watches the angel, showing the path of the conscious to the subconscious to the super-conscious, or from physical desire to emotional needs to spiritual concerns. The volcanic mountain in the background is rather phallic and represents the eruption of passion that happens when man and woman meet in full frontal nudity.”

Despite the latter being a bit too horny for my tastes, lol, both descriptions reiterate Raphael’s influence on the role of patronizing health and union, a journey of Devotion.

Oh, about the MCR symbol, shaped as a half-sun. at first I couldn’t find a correlation to Raphael and this sun shape, as for the first three angels it was very clear to me since just as I started reading about them. Then I realized the huge sun portrayed on The Lovers card, behind Raphael.

Despite holding its individual meanings, Tarot cards are not meant to me taken isolatedly. (that’s one of the reasons many people are not found of the single card yes-or-no type of drawing). That being said, it is not a surprised to find traces of one card on another, and many shared symbolism. As for the sun, it appears multiple times on the Rider-Waite deck, but only one card holds the same exact half shaped, upside down, centered sun as the MCR symbol. and that’s The Lovers. :)

Now, our romantic archangel lead us to a very lovely part:

About Raphael’s Sculpture: as we waited for MCR to dramatically drop the curtain at the reunion show, we were being watched over by a piece nicknamed “Angel of the Waters,” from the Bethesda Fountain (have you heard this name before?), located in the Bethesda Terrace, Central Park, in NYC. sculpted by Emma Stebbins in 1864, this piece’s history, together with Central Park’s history can be fully read in this awesome article that my friend Clara found: here.

But since we’re already here, let’s try to make a shorter version, focusing on what’s relevant to this thread.

Upon release, the angel, which stands and above and blesses a water fountain, was directly associated with the Bethesda Pool mentioned in the Bible, and the healing acts of Raphael. On the dedication pamphlet it was quoted the very same passage from the Gospel of John, chapter 5, verses 2-4 I’ve mentioned before. It’s a shame I couldn’t find any pictures of this pamphlet on the internet. Old documents, huh. NY people, if you have access to this, I’d love to see it.

If we stopped there, it would be enough evidence to assume the connection to Raphael, but there’s more! There’s some particularities about this statue.

Its conception was a huge deal: Emma was the first woman to receive a major sculptural commission in New York City. Also, she had a female lover, the world-famous American actress Charlotte Cushman, who, for Cedar Miller, historian that wrote about Central Park and Emma’s statue, holds a huge impact on the Angel of Waters actually making into existence. In 1869, Cushman was diagnosed with breast cancer. In addition to having two mastectomies, Cushman tried water cures in England. (Water cures were a big craze from the 1830s through the 1860s). The historian who wrote about them finds it another connection to the statue itself. Unfortunately, Cushman's treatments were ultimately unsuccessful, she passed away in 1875. Emma followed her not long after, in 1882. To this day, the statue remains, and to NY is a gathering place to find tranquility, peace of mind, even in the darkest times through the its 141 years of existence. It’s a place to heal yourself.

It’s not your average Raphael statue.

We have the archangel connection, a devoted couple's backstory, and lesbian/sapphics rights. I don’t know about you, but I can even picture Gerard Way carefully picking this himself, haha.

Oh, a spicy fact I’ve learned while writing this: This angel sculpture is actually even older in MCR’s history, tracing back to revenge era merch. (I didn’t have much access to mcr merch back in the day so I didn’t know about this, I apologize!)

I guess someone got nostalgic for some catholic aesthetics, huh. Bless!

Angels in tarot, bonus addition:

It is valid to mention that not only all of the 4 mentioned archangels have their individual cards, they also appear together in a single card, The Wheel of Fortune. In this card, each angel can be seen in a corner: Raphael (Aquarius) is upper left, Gabriel (Scorpio) is the eagle, Michael (Leo) is the lion, and Uriel (Taurus) is the bull, appearing in disguise, a common thing for angels though the scriptures, it seems.

If you draw tarot, you understand how big of a deal it is. If you’re not familiar, here’s the basic notion: “The wheel of fortune is a card about cyclical change. The wheel keeps on rolling, churning events in a ceaseless progression of ups and downs, either way freeing us from the past. No one can escape its cyclical action, which can feel somewhat terrifying -- no matter whether we are rising or falling. When one is balanced on top of the wheel, there is a moment of crystal clarity. However, the only part of the wheel that's actually not going up and down is the hub, which represents your eternal self. Every one of us will occupy all the points on the wheel at one point or another. The cycle of the wheel is its lesson -- and we can learn to take comfort in it. If you don't like the look of things right now, just wait -- things will change. Of course, if you do like the look of things right now, enjoy it while it lasts, because that will change too!”

It is quite a powerful card that holds all of the aforementioned symbolism. Woa.

More symbolism seem on this card includes:

“The Wheel of Fortune card shows a giant wheel, with three figures on the outer edges. Four Hebrew letters – YHVH (Yod Heh Vau Heh), the unpronounceable name of God – are inscribed on the wheel’s face. There are also the letters TORA, thought to be a version of the word Torah, meaning ‘law’, or TAROT, or even ROTA (Latin for ‘wheel’). The middle wheel has the alchemical symbols for mercury, sulphur, water and salt – the building blocks of life and the four elements – and represents formative power. On the outer circle is a snake, the Egyptian god Typhon (the god of evil), descending on the left side. The snake also represents the life force plunging into the material world. On the right side rises the Anubis, the Egyptian God of the dead who welcomes souls to the underworld. And on top of the wheel sits the Sphinx, representing knowledge and strength.”

THE SECOND SET OF SYMBOLS - STILL A MYSTERY

So, after all this, if any of this is correct at all, we just learned the meaning behind the first four MCR symbols, released on halloween: Clarity, Courage, Sacrifice and Devotion.

Now, what about the ones released at the reunion show, on the merch truck? Well, my friends, we still have a lot to think about.

I am a doctor, and in my profession there’s a saying which instruct us to always think of what seems like a complicated situation, with many possibilities, as a single disease causing many effects. That was my train of thought as I tried to associate these new symbols with the Archangels that we already have. It may have nothing to do with that at all, but it’s worth trying.

Differently from the first set, the second set didn’t get an official release, and does not hold text captions to guide us on it’s meaning. the symbol shapes, however, are easier to associate with tarot cards than the first ones, in my opinion. I’ve seen people online trying to guess it too.

Having the angels and their aforementioned traits as a guiding line, I used some symbolism associated to each one to connect them to a new symbol, as you can see on the picture attached to this post.

I have some major problems with this, tho, the biggest one being the order of the symbols not matching the first set sequence. We had Uriel (Clarity) / Michael (Courage) / Gabriel (Sacrifice) and Raphael (Devotion). The second set order was Sword / Moon / Tower / Wand, so the sequence goes like Michael / Gabriel / Uriel / Raphael. It doesn’t match. Please, help me.

THINGS THAT KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT: ABOUT WITCHCRAFT AND… SOLDIERS?

During the past weeks of my life I’ve been researching all types of things to break this down, so I came across some very unsettling things that may be just wild coincidences or... something else? Just in case, I am putting them here in case anyone finds some connection that I couldn’t.

Sigils and Pagan influences, maybe?

As some people on twitter and reddit noticed, Gerard was using a sigil on his arm that reads “My Chemical Romance”. Every Archangel mentioned here also holds its own sigil, which is shown on the picture attached to this post. While I was excited about the dates for new concerts, I started to think, is there anything special about these dates? I tried to not overthink it because we probably have major influences of disponibilities and,,, Label issues...I don’t know? some very practical stuff going on. But still, I came across an interesting match.

There’s 8 sabbaths, composing the Wheel of the Year, “an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them.”

eight sabbaths, eight symbols, huh. Initially, I tried to connect each symbol to a sabbath, but it was very… not satisfying enough to me, so I’m leaving that out; nonetheless, I still believe they hold some meaning similarities.

And it doesn’t stop there.

That our lovely wheel of the year: here. We’re using a northern hemisphere version, since MCR is based in the USA.

The band returned on Halloween, which is the Samhain that occurs between Oct 31 / Nov 1. There’s some minor variation on dates because the Celtic day begins and ends at sunset.

Return Show took place in California, Dec 20: which marks the start of Yule. (Yule dates range from Dec 19 to Dec 22, for the Celtic calendar reasons)

The next sabbath is Imbolt, that takes place on Feb 1 / Feb 2. MCR has nothing announced for this date until now.

2020 concerts will happen during the week of March 20, 21, 25, 28 and 29, In Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as for now. That marks the start of the Ostara sabbath, which start range is March 20/21.

so… can we expect something (anything?) being announced at Feb 1 or 2, or near that? What about all the remaining sabbaths? Is that a reach? is it related at all? oof.

Who said Danger Days isn’t goth enough?

Another VERY interesting thing my group chat found on the internet during our MCR tarot obsession. If this theory is correct, this is not the first time they would be alluring to it. Please look at this pic of Grace Jeanette, The Girl in DD universe, posing with the mailbox on the set of the “Art Is The Weapon”/“Na Na Na” video shoot (2010). (Exact source and photographer unknown; likely taken by Jeanette’s mother). (big thanks to tumblr user killjoyhistory).

Bellow the big “OH HELL” we have four tarot cards, on the very same deck we used for this thread, the Rider-Waite deck. The cards are The Tower, The Devil, Death and Three of Wands.

Please note that it may have no correlation to future works, since DD itself had religious symbolism with the Phoenix Witch and this mailbox (go read the comics if you didn’t already. DD rights!), it may be a DD-only thing. Also, please note that 3 out 4 of theses cards were already mentioned in this thread, all possibly related to archangel Uriel.

To wage this war against your faith in me, MCRMY.

So. This one will sound weird and maybe a reach too, but, hey, mychem is alive and breathing, I guess there’s nothing really impossible, haha….?

Are we all familiar with Gerard liking a lot that green coat? After all those years, I guess so.

Indeed, our lovely frontman used yet another green jacket as his return outfit. This time, it was a military one. As a foreigner, and being very ignorant on how the US Army works, I got curious about the badge on his jacket. Maybe that’s common sense to you guys and I’m just embarrassing myself, but hey! be kind to someone who’s sort of dying inside after all this thinking process, would you?

The badge on Gerard’s jacket happens to be from the 1st Armored Division, a.k.a the Old Ironsides, named after an old ship (and the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat).

Actually, the nickname “Old Ironsides” trace back to England in 17th century, during their Civil War, but I didn’t find many relevant content / possible connections, besides them being mostly Protestant, in terms of religion… referring to them after all this catholic-conception angel talk is some sort of metaphorical war going on, MCR? Who knows. History-loving english folks, I’m counting on you too now to confirm this, lmao!

The American side of the “Old Ironsides” term, after being passed down from England during their Independence Wars (please be kind with me, my knowledge about american independence is almost 100% from Hamilton the musical lmao, help me) apparently resides, mostly on the US Army/Navy.

Interesting coincidences (?) about this: the Old Ironside ship, aka USS Constitution, has a familiar date on its history: November 1. I’m quoting its construction period info: “Her keel was laid down on 1 November 1794 at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Captain Samuel Nicholson and master shipwright Colonel George Claghorn.”

I didn’t read much about it since I’m already at edge with everything I’ve been researching but, it seems it was a very adored ship. In fact, one of the reasons it’s still in active service it’s because a poet even made it a famous poem about this ship, that you can read here. It’s symbolic and adored, it seems.

About the homonymous 1st Armored Division of the US Army, which badge Gerard used during the return show: being the first armored division of the U.S. Army to see battle in World War II, it also holds a huge historical meaning.

Again, I don’t have much info to share about this and I think some of you will find possible connections on this better than I would.

But wtf does it have to do with all the angels, Nana?

Well, as mentioned before, angels fight battles in the name of God. They’re heaven’s military. Michael, especially, is a warrior angel and leads God’s troupes against the demons.

Something interesting I’ve found relating Gabriel (which statue, let’s not forget, was commissioned by a war widow) to the war concept was the hebrew poem "Elifelet" (אליפלט) written by Nathan Alterman in 1958, often turned into music and played on the israeli radio. it tells of a heroic, self-sacrificing (hm…) israeli soldier being killed in battle. Upon the protagonist's death, the angel Gabriel descends to Earth, in order to comfort the spirit of the fallen hero and take him up to Heaven. It’s very touching, and you can read it here.

I’m not saying any particular work like this poem is relevant to MCR’s possible new concept. (let’s not be political here, but also be honest: Israel wars are a delicate matter to bring up). We’re solely working with symbolism and history. Please keep that in mind.

MCR has touched on war thematics before in many occasions (I will not mention all of them, as I believe that as a fandom, we’re aware of that, and we can help new fans to understand it if needed. This text is already TOO LONG). Maybe it’s time for them to talk about some conflicts again, literal or metaphorical? Let’s wait and see.

Oh, one last thing. There’s actually a whole another navy air test and evaluation squadron, the Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6 or ANTARCTIC DEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, The Puckered Penguins). They’re based on California (lmao) and their motto is… Well, “Courage, Sacrifice, Devotion”. Uriel kinda left behind again, huh. I’m sorry sweetie.

Again, I apologize if this last section (or even the whole thing..haha…) looks far-fetched, but I just… had to take it out of my chest, sorta? Sorry.

That concludes our Archangel Theory. Thank you if you took your time to read through it all.

List of things to maybe expect in the future:

Something on Feb 1 / Feb 2

Two more angel statues, being them related to Uriel and Michael in some sort of way. I’ve tried to find any suitable matches but… there’s just too many, and as we’ve seen it may even not be officially claimed which angel is portrayed. So let’s wait and see.

More pagan symbolism?

Something about War??

Cryptid posts related to UK and paganism, January 17th and January 24th.

## EDIT (01/12): about new mcr cryptid posts...

If you’re following MCR new updates, as for now you’re aware of the United Kingdom Stuff going on... Interesting coincidences (or is it?) about those:

Both posts were made on the same day the lunar cicle changes. This month, the moon shows up a different form every friday, so maybe prepare you heart for January 17th and 24th. Also, I believe they’re using London time for the updates. in fact, the most recent post (the video with theban alphabet) was posted only 30 minutes after midnight in London. So I’m adding that to our list of things to expect in the future.

Also, someone at warner might be in trouble right now. the ig account for Warner Music Artistic Services (@wmas) posted a variation of the video posted by MCR, only a day later, featuring another order for the theban caracters, a slightly different UK flag (it was somehow merged with a picture? it’s difficult to tell), and a new frame that consists of a forest, similar to the one Gerard posted on his own instagram, and the one featured as background for the skeleton holding a witchcraft-related dagger photo from 2 weeks ago. Differently from the previous mcr video, which was silent, this one featured a sound, if my ears are not mistaken, a very dramatic C# note played on piano or organ (church instruments, huh. funny. but it could be worse, at least is not a G note...)

The video was labeled as LFG, that could mean a million of things. the most relevant ones, I believe, could be “Looking For A Group”, a classic D&D/RPG term (If I close my eyes long enough I can hear distant circus music playing in my head, for I have compared the four archangels to a holy RPG party weeks ago...)or “London Forest Gate”, a neighbourhood in London. please tell me if you have any ideas about what else it could mean, haha....

This video was deleted, but you can still find it around on twitter.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll keep updating this post as more content is released. Keep running!

[glassworkspiderlilies]

like wildfire, windblown

Kimetsu no Yaiba | Kochou Shinobu, Tomioka Giyu | AO3 Summary: They can pretend that this moment is tender, that they are not drawn to each other’s pain, that they aren’t going to use each other for comfort, that this isn’t going to spiral out of control until they cannot get out of it even if they want to. —Giyu, Shinobu, and when times are bad for thinking. Notes: woops, almost forgot to post this here! some longer notes on ao3, but ultimately i wanted this to be like...more morally awful than it is LOL.  Edit: belatedly adding on that I rated this M on ao3 for what I can only describe as like...overtly implied sex. it’s there, but distinctly non-explicit, haha.

.

.

.

Some things are damned to erupt like wildfire,

windblown, like wild lupine, like wings, one after

another leaving the stone-hole in the greenhouse glass.

Peak bloom, a brood of blue before firebrand.

And though it is late in the season, the bathers, also,

obey. One after another, they breathe in and butterfly

the surface: mimic white, harvester, spot-celled sister,

fed by the spring, the water beneath is cold.

— Temper, by Beth Bachmann.

 .

.

.

 I.

Her head jerks up at the snap of a twig, and her shoulders are no less tense when he walks out of the foliage. She knows who he is, of course, and knows that the snap had been a warning, since he would never do such a thing by accident.

“The others are looking for you,” he says, and she glares at him. Tear tracks are drying on her cheeks, and she must look a wreck with red, puffy eyes. She didn’t want to be seen like this, and she’s also furious that he found her. She’d thought she’d been careful.

“If you were smart enough, you’d know that I didn’t want to be found,” she snaps, and he has the audacity to look surprised, though it is just a slight widening of his blue, blue eyes.

“I waited until you were done,” he says after a pause, not meeting her gaze now.

She laughs, harsh and grating, her throat raw from crying. Her irritation grows, because that means he’d found her while she was sobbing and stood there for who knows how long.

“Am I supposed to be appreciative?” she says, an edge of hysteria creeping into her voice. No, she has to keep it together. Kanae may be newly dead, but Shinobu is newly a Pillar now, and her sister—well, she’d tell her to smile.

He doesn’t say anything, and she stalks over to him, pushing him with both hands. He doesn’t move; he’s taller and bigger and this only infuriates her more. She keeps trying to shove him until she’s just hitting him, and he lets her have at it for a while. Eventually he seems to have enough when he catches her wrists, and she lets out another sob, caught between sorrow and fury.

“Time cannot be unwound,” he says finally. “Be furious. Say it’s unforgivable. A pure, strong anger…let it become an unshakeable driving force such that your limbs can’t be moved. Frail resolutions will not save you, nor will it defeat your enemy—your sister’s enemy.”

She snarls at him then. How dare he, how dare he presume to know her feelings, how dare he invoke Kanae like that?

“You talk big, Tomioka-san,” she spits, pulling at her wrists, but he doesn’t let go. “You talk so high and mighty for someone who keeps setting himself apart! Is it so great, to be capable of so much? Does it feel good to think yourself better than everyone else?!”

He flinches, then, and the force of it is enough to give her pause. But she’s still angry, she wants to hurt, and so she keeps pushing.

“It must be nice, to be so good at the Breath you wield,” she taunts, “How easy must be, to save people! A hero, you are, swooping in, protecting the innocents, leaving no one behind—”

“That isn’t me,” he cuts in, his eyes flashing. He’s caught between pain and anger himself, and Shinobu is glad for it. But it’s not enough.

“Quit pretending to be modest now,” she snarls, “Isn’t it what you wanted? Surviving the Final Selection must have been a piece of cake—!”

“It wasn’t me!” he yells, and Shinobu jerks back at the uncharacteristic outburst, but he still holds her wrists fast. He seems to have forgotten he’s holding them, and his grip is starting to hurt, but she doesn’t notice, right now. Giyu’s eyes go wide, then flat, and his lips twist into something bitter. “That person—wasn’t me. I’m not the same as you guys. I only survived the Final Selection because Sabito saved me. I hid the entire time. I didn’t kill a single demon. I’m not, I’m not a real Pillar. Sabito was better at the sword, better at the Breath of Water, better at being a Demon Slayer. But he’s not the one who survived. Because he saved a worthless life like mine.”

Shinobu stares at him, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks again.

“Kanae died in my arms,” she says after a long pause, her voice shaking. Now that she’s dragged this out of him, she feels like she has to offer something in return. “And do you know what her last words were? She told me she wanted me to live the life of a normal girl, and then—when I made her describe the demon that killed her, she told me, but…even though she didn’t finish what she was saying…she didn’t believe I could do it. She wanted me to abandon everything we did and promised to do, to grow older and get married like a normal girl because she didn’t think I could kill that demon and avenge her or our parents. Not on my own. “    

Her breathing is erratic as she tries to calm down, but his breathing is erratic too, having some of his worst memories torn out of him.

“So we’re the same,” Giyu says, tone heavy, and she sob-laughs again. He catches on quick, despite their tales being different.

“So we’re the same,” she agrees, and looks up at him to meet his gaze. “…I’m sorry, I...went too far.”

He shrugs, but she can see both sorrow and relief in his eyes. She knows the feeling. After a moment, he seems to realize that he is still gripping her wrists, and lets go of them with a light gasp. She’s bruising, and she curses her frailty in this regard.

“I’m…sorry,” he says, a little frantic, and the corners of her lip quirk up—it’s the second time they’ve repeated each other’s words in succession.

He goes to move back, but she’s the one who grabs his wrist this time.

“No. Stay,” she says, and leans her forehead against his chest. “Just…stay.”

He does. She closes her stinging eyes and rests for a while. Giyu stands stiffly, but she draws out the moment, exhausted, and eventually, with nothing else to do, he rests his chin on her head.

It is a quiet moment, and they can pretend that it is tender, that they are not drawn to each other’s pain, that they aren’t going to use each other for comfort, that this isn’t going to spiral out of control until they cannot get out of it even if they want to.

.

.

.

 II.

One sweltering summer night, when Shinobu cannot sleep, she goes out for a walk. It is more a patrol, because she doesn’t go anywhere without her sword, anymore, but she is at least not dressed in her uniform. Even Kanae’s haori is at home, and truth be told, Shinobu feels odd, in regular clothing that isn’t Demon Slayer issue. It feels like she is playing at being a common, normal girl.

She laughs to herself. Aside from her sword, she’s got the knives in her shoes and hairpins dipped in poison—there are other monsters out there aside from demons, and she must defend against them, as well, with more common weaponry. This is about as normal as she’ll get.

But it’s difficult, when such a thing was Kanae’s dying wish. There’s no going back and she hardly thinks Kanae will fault her for not following it, but sometimes, in the deep dark hours of the night, she can’t help but wonder if she could—should—try. What was life like, before her parents were killed? What would it be like if they hadn’t been? Girls from families like hers had marriage talks when they came of age; Kanae was nearly ready to enter that world until tragedy struck.

In truth, Shinobu cannot fathom what a normal life would consist of—what on earth would she fill her days with? And above all, how could she live under a man’s thumb?

Why would Kanae want such a thing for her?

Shinobu clicks her tongue and shakes her head, as if she can dislodge her tumultuous thoughts that way. She looks up for a moment, the moon bright and stars littering the sky, before jumping onto the roofs of the houses. Aimlessly, she begins to run, flipping and fluttering through the air as if she were on a training course.

The movement distracts her, but so much so that she realizes too late that there is someone sitting on one of the roofs. Startled, she jumps to avoid a collision, but she misjudges the distance and is in danger of plummeting into the space between houses. As she falls, though, she sees hands reach for hers and she stretches to grab them, knowing help when she sees it—they swing her around, and she lands almost gracefully, skirts swirling around her legs.

Her eyes widen as she looks up to see who saved her.

“Tomioka-san,” she says, surprise evident in her tone.

“Kochou,” he says, just as surprised.

“What are you doing here?” she blurts, baffled by his presence. It’s quite late, and she doesn’t exactly know where she is, so why on earth would he be here?

He blinks at her.

“I live here,” he says slowly.  

“Oh! Do you?” she says out of embarrassment.

They both notice they’re still holding hands, and they both drop them at the same time.

“Yes,” he says. “What are you doing here?”

“I was…taking a walk. Just…trying to clear my head,” she says, unsure of how to explain herself.

The side of his lips quirk up ever so slightly.

“A walk?” He asks, and something about his tone and the way he’s questioning lets her know that it’s not actually a question.

She looks back up again, and with some mortification she realizes that he’d been watching her, for who knows how long, as she was doing acrobatics in the air.

“I—you—” She stutters, and now his eyes crinkle at the edges too. She’s never seen him smile, and he isn’t, not really, but it’s close, and at her expense, and she doesn’t know how to feel about that.

“I was curious as to who it might be. The movements looked familiar, but I didn’t know what to expect,” he says by way of explanation, with a slight shrug. “You look different.”

She might be blushing, but she’s trying very hard not to. Either way, she’ll never know the results.

“A walk,” she confirms adamantly. The amusement remains on his face. “What were you doing on the roof, anyway?”

“Thinking,” he responds, and the almost-smile fades away, his expression darkening.

Ah. She knows, with sudden clarity, what he might be thinking of, or about. It’s those hours of the night, and she knows how unkind they can be.

“It’s a bad time for that,” she murmurs, and he looks sharply at her. She does not shy away, and stares back.

He holds her gaze for a while until some tension drops from his shoulders and he looks up at the moon. She does too, and they stand in silence for a while.

“…Would you like some tea?” Giyu asks eventually, and she looks at him in mild surprise.

He’s seeking her company. But then again, she really shouldn’t be surprised. They’ve dragged each other’s wounds out into the open once already, there’s no going back after that.

It’s late, they’re awake, and neither of them wants to be alone with their thoughts.

So Shinobu says “yes, please,” and drops from the roof with him, following him inside.

It’s a small place, and sparse, containing only the necessities. He goes to the refrigerator, pouring two cups of cold barley tea. Shinobu accepts hers graciously and sips at it, unsure of what to do now that she’s here. They lean against opposite sides of the wall near the window, still close enough to talk, but they stand in silence, looking out at the sky again. But it seems like Giyu is in a talkative mood tonight, and so it’s he who initiates the conversation.  

“May I speak?” he asks, and Shinobu turns to him. He’s not looking at her, his eyes downcast, and so she matches his seriousness.

“Yes, of course,” she says.

But he hesitates, drinking from his cup to extend the silence for a bit longer. His body is tense, his expression stressed, but she waits patiently for him to continue. She tore something out of him he hadn’t wanted to say last time—this time, she’ll give him the choice.

“Have you ever thought about quitting the Demon Slaying Corps?”

It rushes it out him in a breath, his voice defeated, and she almost drops her drink. He’s not looking at her, but her silence seems to unnerve him, and so he glances back. She must look incredulous, because he turns away, the vulnerability in his eyes shuttering closed—

“Wait,” she says, the word coming out of her like she’s gasping for air. “I just—I didn’t think….that you would have too.”

He turns back to her again, and he doesn’t look—hopeful, but it’s a wary, sad sort of relief, that someone else has thought the same unfortunate thing.

The question and answer sits heavy between them.

“It would be irresponsible. There are still things that have to be done. But I was never supposed to be here. I was never supposed to be the one to survive. But I’m still here.”

Giyu’s eyes are blank and faraway, and Shinobu pushes off the wall and steps closer to him to draw his attention to her.

“I told you that my sister’s dying wish was for me to be a normal girl,” she says. “I think, sometimes, about giving it all up and trying. I don’t think it would have worked. But maybe I should be trying harder. But I’m still here.”

He stares at her.

“I’m sure you could do it, if you wanted to,” he says. It’s not the right thing to say, and bitter laughter bubbles up in her chest. But she knows why he says it, because he still believes himself lesser, somehow.

She waves a hand dismissively, but he doesn’t seem to want to let the matter go.

“If you became a Pillar, I’m sure you could do just as well otherwise,” he says absently. “But it would be a shame. You developed your own Breath. You made your own place. You’re even in charge of the healing for the Corps. If you left, you would certainly be missed.”

Shinobu stares at him with wide eyes—it sounds like praise, and she didn’t know he paid this kind of attention to her.

“You’re worthy of being a Pillar,” he continues. “So you should stay. Maybe it is I that should be trying to live a normal life. There are others who can be the Water Pillar, and do it better. Ah.”

Her head snaps to him—that tone, that realization, she doesn’t like where it’s going. He continues before she has a chance to speak, and she grips her own arms and begins to tremble, letting him get the words out though she feels an awful sense of foreboding.

“I held onto the place because I thought I had to hold it. If I don’t—then someone is free to step into it.”

“Don’t!”

She drops the cup, the remainder of its contents splashing over his floor, tackling him. He stumbles, dropping his own cup, and she cups his face, squeezing his cheeks together.

“Don’t,” she repeats, and his eyes widen at her expression.

“I’ve just—been thinking—”

“Stop thinking,” she hisses, “It’s a bad time for thinking.”

He looks at curiously.

“You said that earlier,” he murmurs, and his gaze darts away from her, then back, seeing as she’s occupying his field of vision. “But you can’t just—”

She kisses him. It’s harsh and desperate and she doesn’t know what she’s doing, but she’s afraid for him. They’re friends, or something like it, and she hadn’t realized how possessive she’d become since Kanae’s death. She doesn’t want to lose him, she doesn’t want to lose anything anymore. The demons still take, and she becomes angrier for each thing she continues to lose. But here, where he is in her grasp and solid underneath her, she wants to keep him—no, she’s going to keep him.

He goes still from shock, but she digs her fingers into his hair and he leans in, his returning kiss gentle. It’s too gentle, and the tears prick at the corners of her eyes. He slides his hands around her and his touch is gentle too, but he presses her into him like he’s rediscovering what touch means. He might be, she realizes. He’s been alone for a long time. A traitor tear slides down her cheeks and he pulls back with concern when he notices, but she wipes it away with the back of her hand.

“No,” she whispers, “It’s not that. Keep going.”

He brushes her hair behind her ear, searching for something in her eyes.

“Stay?” he asks, after a moment, and she laughs. She’s seen him kill demons—it’s elegant, and beautiful, but merciless. One would not think him a kind man at first glance, but now—his touch, his words, his expression, they’re all gentle. She’s the unkind one, here.

“Yes,” she responds, and leans into another kiss.

They don’t really know what they’re doing—when Giyu’s hands work their way beneath her kimono, she pauses to consider the sensation. When she splays her own hands on the bare planes of his chest, she can feel him trembling under her touch. None of it is fear—fear, they are used to. But this is unfamiliar ground; bodies that they aren’t cleaving or stabbing are unfamiliar ground.

It’s doesn’t matter. They learn together; she arches her back when he presses a kiss to the base of her throat, he rumbles low when she drags her nails across his collarbones. Shinobu is fascinated—she has the potential advantage of anatomical study, and so as she explores his body half-academically, the expressions and sounds that Giyu makes a wonder. This stoic man, opening underneath her like a butterfly’s wings—and the look he gives her as she traces a line down his chest…  

She smiles, and something about it kindles something in Giyu; his kiss is hungrier, and so are his hands. It’s the hunger she wants, destruction imminent in a very different way. But despite it all, they are quiet in the act—such a thing is their modus operandi, after all—the disruption in the night air only soft pants that quicken until they are short gasps, the sound of skin against skin, then the exhale of breath in a sigh that sounds like surrender.

.

She’s still there when he wakes. Somehow, he hadn’t expected this. She is curled towards him, and he reaches out a hand to touch her face before he retracts it, afraid that he will wake her. Her face is soft in sleep, her hair unbound and splayed over the pillow. It’s nearly dawn, the skies still dark, but lightening.

Giyu feels…fine. Content, unburdened. A part of him recognizes that normally, he’d be worried—fraught, even, with self-loathing thinking that last night was a mistake, that Shinobu deserved better, that he’d taken advantage of what she started out of selfishness. But he feels content, unburdened. Shinobu had made it very clear what her intentions were, and had it been merely impulse, she would have stopped before it had gone as far as it did.

It’s trust, really, that he isn’t beating himself up over this—in Shinobu, if not himself.

Still. He wonders how she feels about this. She is young, and unmarried, and though the Demon Slayer Corps creates its own sense of morality, it is undeniable that certain standards are prevalent outside of it, and even sometimes in. And she’d talked last night about being a normal girl. Has he ruined her chances, if it’s something she ever truly wants to pursue?

He has to ask. He will ask.

He’s scared to ask.

Delicately, he brushes a lock of hair from her face, traces the curve of her cheek. When she doesn’t stir, he grows a little bolder and cups her cheek with his palm. He studies her, memorizes what she looks like in this moment, then pulls away.

Giyu turns, half-rising in order to get out of the bed. But before he has a chance to do so, he feels an arm drape over his side, and then a soft body press against his.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Shinobu says into his ear, her voice throaty from sleep.

“Were you awake the whole time?” he says, a slight flush rising in his cheeks. He feels her smile against his neck.

“Not the whole time,” she says. “You were thinking.”

He turns to her, though he can’t quite see her face. But he feels her chest against him, her breath tickling his neck.

“It’s not quite a bad time for thinking,” he says, looking at the window, at the sun beginning to rise.

“No,” she murmurs, “But I’m not sure I like what you were.”

She pulls him back beneath the blankets, and he relents without protest.

“Are you running away?” She asks, and the question holds no accusation.

“No,” he says. Pauses. “Yes. I…I don’t know.” He pauses again. “Was it a mistake?”

“It wasn’t to me. If it wasn’t to you, then it wasn’t.”

He nods once, and she smiles, lifting a hand to trace the curve of his cheek, this time. But she doesn’t stop there, moving down to his jaw, his throat, down his chest. He pulls her close, then rolls her over so that she is on her back as he leans over her. He kisses the corner of her mouth, her neck, the dip of her collarbones, the space between her breasts.

Their movements are less frantic, now—slower, more languid. As the sun crawls higher in the sky and their breathing becomes more labored, the sounds of their joining are an echo of triumph.

.

.

.

III.

They spend Sabito’s death anniversary in bed, where she puts her mouth on him and doesn’t let him think beyond her touch, her body, her scent, and the only word that she lets pass his lips is her name.

They spent Kanae’s death anniversary in bed, where he traces patterns on her body with the lightest of touches so that she’s already shivering when he dips his head between her thighs.

More often they are at Giyu’s small house, since he lives alone and in an area of people who know him simply as a neighbor as opposed to the owner of an estate. Sometimes they are at Shinobu’s when it is late at night and the rest of her household is asleep.

It has been many years since Sabito’s death, but Giyu spends the anniversary either alone and struggling with dark thoughts, or throwing himself into the most grueling mission he can take as a distraction. Kanae’s death is more recent, and Shinobu cannot stop replaying the moment in her head when she finds her sister, thinking she is okay from her back profile, only to have her turn to show the blood all over her front before she collapses. Giyu has become more numb to the pain over the years, but the thought that he shouldn’t be the one alive, that he’s more or less a dead man walking, is persistent. Shinobu’s pain is still fresh, and sometimes the loss of her kind, talented sister is so overwhelming that she cannot bring herself to move.

Neither of them know if losing themselves in each other instead of honoring the dead is better. But surely it must be better than wanting to die.

They don't talk about what's between them. It's a partnership; they know they're using each other and that they're both okay with it. It doesn't affect anything else; they go about their daily lives, unencumbered by the other. There are no stolen glances, no coincidental brushes of the hand, no meaningful words. It's fine like this. 

But.

They do, inevitably, become attuned. Giyu may be famously inscrutable, but Shinobu knows when he's fed up or tired by the hold of his shoulders, the degree of stiffness to his posture. Shinobu never seems like she's in a bad mood, but Giyu knows when she is by the way her eyes crease, and the angle to her smile. They become very familiar with each other's bodies, both in and out of the bedroom. 

The rest of the Pillars don't notice anything different—for the most part.

Mitsuri is keen about this kind of thing, and she watches furtively to confirm her suspicions with her fist pressed to her chest, her emotions about to burst. But she can't ask, surely she can't—shouldn't—ask. It's not her place to just bring up of her own accord. But she's glad that Shinobu's smile is less shadowed, and that Giyu's countenance is just a touch softer. 

Kyojuro can sense that there is a slight difference in his two fellow Demon Slayers, but he questions it no further, only taking note of things when he's faced with them. He thinks that compared to how they were before, this is better. Tengen is similar; he recognizes a slight difference, though that's all the attention he chooses to pay to it. 

Regardless—it doesn't affect anything, nor should it. It's simple give and take. If anything, they're fighting a little better, their movements less reckless and desperate.  

But it isn't without its own problems.

The problem is when they wake up in the morning and Giyu smiles faintly at her in greeting when he opens his eyes and realizes she's been watching him. Her breath catches in her throat and a flutter of panic rises in her—this is not a smile he shows anyone else, it is not a smile he's ever had cause to show anyone else, but here she is, and here he is, and she wants to trap the warmth of that smile in between her hands. 

The problem is when Shinobu turns to laugh at him, hair trailing over her bare shoulder, and Giyu savors the sound of it like a refreshing summer drink. It makes him want to kiss the corner of her mouth, the hollow of her throat, the inside of her wrist; it makes him want to catch ahold of her, as if she is a mirage, because she's not here to stay. Lately, when she leaves, or when he has to, he finds himself wishing for another moment, hoping for another murmur, another hum. 

It's betrayal—to themselves, if not the other. There are boundaries that have been set. There are parameters that need to be followed. 

In the space of the bedroom, they can pretend that this is only ever going to be what they want it to be, and nothing else. 

.

Two conversations happen in the spring, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. 

The first: Shinobu is over at Mitsuri's for tea, something they haven't been able to do lately because they've been so busy. They're having one of Mitsuri's favorites: pancakes with butter and lots of honey, and black tea. Shinobu cuts up her food neatly, and Mitsuri is steadily eating her way through her second stack, all the while staring at Shinobu with huge, round puppy eyes.

Shinobu knows she's watching, but gives her friend a chance to initiate. When it drags on too long, Shinobu pops a piece of pancake into her mouth and finally meets Mitsuri's pale green eyes.

“You may ask, you know,” she says, amused.

“May I really?!” Mitsuri exclaims, her voice pitched high with excitement, then coughs, adjusting her tone to a more polite one. “I mean, may I really?”

Shinobu nods. Mitsuri drinks some tea, then stares at Shinobu with a more sober gaze, though her eyes are still twinkling.

“Are you happy, Shinobu-chan?”

Shinobu flinches at the question, then goes absolutely still. Mitsuri looks at her with concern but doesn't apologize, and eats another pancake to give the Insect Pillar time to respond. 

“I...don't know. I might...be afraid that I am,” Shinobu says, her voice wavering ever so slightly. “Isn't that stupid?” 

The Love Pillar shakes her head vehemently. 

“It's scary sometimes, to know that you are,” Mitsuri says, stirring her tea. “I mean, I know this is different, but—I'm really happy right now, you know? Pretending to be who I wasn't before made me so miserable, but now I have Oyakata-sama and the Pillars and the whole rest of the Corps. I can use my strength to help people, and I can spend time like this having fun with you, with all the pancakes and tea I want! I wasn't able to do this before, you know? And I absolutely, absolutely don't want to lose it. But there's always a chance that I will, because...that's how things are, aren't they? And I don't like to think about it. So that's why I think that if you're happy now, you should absolutely focus on it as much as you can. Because you deserve it. And because...nothing is certain.”

Mitsuri's expression is downcast at the last bit, and he drains the remainder of her tea. She also seems a bit embarrassed to have spoken so much, but her lip protrudes stubbornly, as if daring Shinobu to contradict her.

Shinobu blinks and chuckles a little, reaching over to refill Mitsuri’s teacup. She gazes at the other Pillar fondly, and Mitsuri puffs out her cheeks.

“What?” she says, and Shinobu smiles wider.

“Nothing,” she replies innocently. “I was just thinking how much I like you.”

She can practically see the steam rising from Mitsuri’s head, and she smothers another laugh.

“Well, I like you too Shinobu-chan. And that’s why I think you should be happy, whatever it takes.”

Do you have time for happiness?

The dark and ugly thoughts reach up from behind, and Shinobu stares at Mitsuri as she tries to organize her mind.

You swore to get your revenge. Are you abandoning it? Did Kanae only mean that much to you, that you can go off and live your life without her? Kanae, who protected you when you were so weak? Do you have time for happiness when even now you only amount to so much? Do you deserve happiness?

“Shinobu-chan. Being happy isn’t wrong. In fact, it’s more important now than ever.”

Mitsuri’s voice is as serious as she’s ever heard it, and Shinobu’s eyes flicker to hers again.

“Mitsuri-san. Are you happy?”

“I am! Because after all, aren’t there still things worth living for?”

Shinobu stares, and takes a deep breath. The cherry blossom petals flutter over the table. The pancakes are sweet, the tea is wonderfully brewed, and she is in the company of a very good friend. And these are not the only moments she appreciates.

“Yes. You’re right,” she says, and Mitsuri smiles.

“Shinobu-chan. Are you happy?”

She gives the Love Pillar an uncertain smile.

“I might be,” she says slowly. “And—I think I’d like to be.”

Mitsuri nods and looks satisfied with the answer. She puts another pancake onto Shinobu’s plate, and there is a momentary silence as both girls work on their food. Once Shinobu has eaten half a second pancake and Mitsuri has eaten another stack, she props up her elbows and puts her chin in her hands and stares at Shinobu again.

“Okay,” she says, “Now tell me everything about you and Tomioka-san.”

Shinobu has to laugh at this normalcy, and complies. Mostly, anyway. Some secrets are still hers to keep.

 The second: The truth is, there are a few times when Giyu has left Shinobu’s household that he has been seen. That person has never made a fuss nor initiated any conversation, merely bowed in greeting and walked away. Though he’s thought about telling Shinobu, it slips his mind because the interaction has been so…negligible. The manner in which it’s happened is so normal, so insignificant, that it hardly even registers as something “bad.” It feels like any other time, greeting an acquaintance from afar, not having time or not wanting to initiate conversation, walking away. 

That changes in spring, on a cloudy night. 

Giyu is leaving the Butterfly Mansion as he has done many times before. He doesn't startle when he is spoken to, suddenly, though the voice does surprise him.

“Do you love her?” 

He turns his head to see Shinobu's tsuguko leaning against the wall, melting into the shadows. He wracks his brain for her name—ah, Tsuyuri Kanao, he remembers.

“Excuse me?” He asks, stalling for time, as he inclines his head in greeting.

Kanao smiles faintly and inclines her head as well, but she does not repeat her question. She waits expectantly, and Giyu looks up at the sky for a moment before he sighs.

“I don't know,” he says honestly, and Kanao nods at this answer. He raises an eyebrow at this easy acceptance. 

Before he can say anything else, however, Kanao holds out her hand, and Giyu sees the small coin on her palm before she takes it and flips it high into the air. She catches it deftly on the back of her hand, even with the lack of light, and lifts her other hand just enough for her to see the outcome. Giyu waits for an explanation, but none comes, and starts to walk away before he speaks to stop her.

“Will you not show me?” he asks, and Kanao gives him another faint smile as she turns back to him.

There's a pause as she considers her words, tilting her head a little.

“This result is merely for my own satisfaction,” she says, “Your answer...you will have to find yourself.”

He raises an eyebrow; there's familiarity in the way she speaks. She's Shinobu's student, indeed. 

“How inscrutable,” he says.

“The words are derived from my master,” Kanao says. “She said they were derived from yours.”

Giyu can imagine Shinobu's smirk and laugh here—if they had come from his own words, hadn't he just called himself inscrutable? He sighs, then looks at Kanao. She stares back, her face expressionless. He sees no distaste or hatred, no judgement. Somehow, he had expected some. 

“You do not...disapprove?” he asks before he can stop himself. He wants to groan at the childishness of the question, that he poses it at all, especially since the girl is younger than him and Shinobu, for goodness’ sake.

Kanao tilts her head, blinking at him.

“It is not my place to approve or disapprove,” she says solemnly. “I love my sister, and I trust her.”

“As you do not trust me,” Giyu says, picking up the implication. But Kanao's eyes widen marginally, and she blinks again. 

“I don't think that's the case,” she says, furrowing her brows. “I don't distrust you.”

“That does not mean you trust me.”

She considers this, looking conflicted.

“Perhaps not. But I don't distrust you.” 

Giyu doesn't know what he's looking for from her—he's stressing her out, he can tell, though he doesn't mean to—but she's Shinobu's sister. He'd had his opinion of Tsutako's husband-to-be when they were alive (that opinion had improved with time), and he's not desperate, per se, for an opinion from Kanao, but he does want one, strangely enough. 

This half-opinion is—excruciating. He thinks he'd rather have Kanao dislike him—it would make more sense. Her disapproval would shame him, and the shame would keep him within bounds. 

“The coin is for me,” Kanao says slowly, “What's between you and Shinobu-nee-san is for you, and her.” She speaks the words as if she is trying very hard to convey her meaning after failing the first time. “It is not my place to interfere, but nor do I have a desire to. It's—” She frowns here, struggling with what she wants to say. “The answer is yours,” she says finally, wilting a little at the inadequacy. 

Giyu blinks at her, then, after a moment, reaches up a hand and places it on her head.

“Okay,” he says, slowly, as if considering it. “Okay. Thank you.”

Kanao blinks up at him, then nods her head. He removes his hand, and she bows before walking back into the estate proper. 

He comes away from the conversation—not ashamed, unfortunately. If anything, quite the opposite. He doesn't fully understand what Kanao was trying to say, but what she did say, he is turning over in his head. The answer is his, and Shinobu's, and that—that is how things are.

He opens and closes his hand, flexing out his fingers. There are choices he has to make, decisions he has to come to for himself. Shinobu's will be hers, his will be his, and together will be theirs, if there will be a together. But Giyu must set his own terms; there needs to be an answer.

Okay. Okay.

.

It's raining, the next time they are together. She comes to his house drenched, her thoughts clouded; her skin is ice cold as they peel each sodden layer off of her, but her kisses are hot and demanding and idly he thinks he likes it when she takes control, though he is eager enough to provide warmth of his own as she slips her hands beneath his clothes and they press their bodies together.      

It's still raining when they wake, the window still open; Shinobu moves first, halfway out from underneath the blanket and ready to dress and leave. Giyu catches her wrist before she can fully untangle herself, his touch light, but sure.

“Stay,” he says, voice still rough from sleep. 

She looks back at him, her heartbeat quickening at his expression. Half-lidded from sleep, but soft, and open, and vulnerable. He does not mean just for this moment, for this day. He's made his decision. Shinobu must make hers. 

Are you happy, Shinobu-chan? Mitsuri's voice rings in her head. I think you should be happy, whatever it takes. 

She bends down to kiss him.

“Okay.” Shinobu murmurs. 

She slides back underneath the blankets, goosebumps raised on her skin from the chill of the air. Giyu puts an arm around her waist, and she presses her body flush against his, soaking in his warmth. She touches him, languid, slow; he brings the heat in her body alive again underneath the blankets.

The rainfall drowns out their breathing. In here, in this small house, small room, there is no one but the two of them. Moving together, their minds are blank save for thoughts of the other, almost as though there are no barriers, as if they cannot tell where one ends and the other begins. 

Outside, no one is the wiser; the world continues to turn, with or without them. 

[zestycompress]

Ultimate Duo! CH. 2

Forgot to post it here.. oops

anyway chapter three is gonna come out.. probably today or tomorrow. i’m on a roadtrip with my family so i probably have more time to write now

AO3 Link

The car malfunctioned, giving the Japanese tourist some time to catch up with Giorno. Coincidence? Probably. Looks like he needs to get a new car. At least he was able to use Gold Experience and turn his luggage into a frog, he didn’t want to leave empty-handed. Too bad he lost money to the security by paying them to keep quiet. Of course, he could always get it back by pickpocketing some unlucky people.

The blond teen turned around to see a man dragging a shovel. One of his eyes was watery, and at that moment, he knew who that was.

“You’re Giorno Giovanna, right?”

So he knows his name.

Giorno nodded. The man turned around, gesturing to a bench with his head and walked towards it. “We haven’t met before, have we? Giorno, you have any clue who I am?”

“Leaky-Eye Luca. You were in a dispute a while back and when it turned ugly, you took a knife to the face but kept fighting and swinging despite your wound,” He replied. “The complications from that little scrap left you with a perpetually leaking eye, hence your moniker.”

Luca sat down while Giorno stood in front of him. “Here, take a load off and make yourself comfortable.”

The half-Japanese teen stared in silence.

“What’s the holdup? Pop a squat. Looking up at you is hurting my eyes.” He said, Giorno moved over and sat next to him.

“So, how old are you?”

“Fifteen and change.”

“What, really?! Haha! You’re a baby,” Luca grinned and laughed, but his face quickly changed. “Here’s the thing, Giorno, any true friendship has to be built on the firm foundation of the three T’s. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you?” He wiped his eye as he spoke while Giorno stared ahead. “In case you’re drawing a blank, the first one is truth, the second one is tolerance, last but not least you have the third T, tribute, and voila the three T’s of true friendship.”

Giorno turned his head to the older man and asked, “Was there something you needed?”

Luca quickly grabbed his shovel and pushed it right against the teenager’s cheek. “I wasn’t finished showing you the ropes so shut your face hole! Nobody said you could ask questions, as for what I needed, I hear you started a hustle at the airport, huh? Surely you can see how this would be confusing, after all, I don’t remember receiving any tribute from you-” Giorno could really use a distraction right about now. “-and without tribute, how could we remain true friends? Now hand over your wallet.”

“Signore, you’ve got it wrong. I’ve already paid your tribute. I don’t have any money,” Giorno said, only making Luca angrier.

“You talking about that guard?! You have to be a special kind of stupid to think I’m working with that old- huh?” He stared at the bizarre image in Giorno’s wallet of the one and only Dio Brando, but he didn’t know that.. “What the hell is this, a family photo?” He brushed it off and continued to shout. “I know you’re holding out on me, so fork over the cash right now blondie!”

“Signore Luca, I really hate having to repeat myself and as I’ve already said, I don’t owe you anything.”

“Huh?”

“Now please don’t make me say it a third time-”

Luca swung his shovel at Giorno, almost hitting him. A frog - the one that used to be that certain Japanese tourist’s luggage - appeared and was next to his foot. It then hopped onto his leg.

“Time out, kid. What the hell is that?” It’s… a frog… isn’t it obvious?

It continued to hop upwards on Giorno. “So he came back…”

“Flick it off!” The man shouted.

“No, the frog has nothing to do with this. Please don’t ask me to do that.” He responded.

Luca raised his shovel and pointed at the innocent creature. “That wasn’t a freakin’ suggestion, amico, and you still haven’t paid the taxes you owe! Are you seriously going to refuse both of my orders?! You’ve got some brass balls, kid! (more like steel balls haha am i right sbr fans) No one says no to Leaky-Eye Luca twice!”

“This frog is a living creature with the will of his own,” Uh, yeah, we know that. “He thinks and acts for himself. Let’s go our separate ways.” Giorno really wanted to go back to his place, even if that meant sitting in awkward silence with Kars. This guy was holding him up.

Luca swung his shovel at the frog despite Giorno’s warnings. The small green creature slipped out from underneath the tool. Unfortunately for Leaky-Eye Luca, he was dead, all because he tried hitting a frog. Should’ve listened, now the back of his head was caved in. The frog transformed back into luggage and Giorno walked away.

~~~

Kars tried on the clothes Giorno bought for them. To be honest, they weren’t that bad. Obviously, they could be better, the white collared shirt was too plain for Kars. He pulled out some other clothes that could be fitting. He examined a thin turtleneck sweater which was a wine purple color, similar to his hair color.

Good enough.

He already completed reading every book Giorno owned and he wasn’t planning on rereading them. Kars practically memorized every word written on the pages. Staying inside Giorno’s room isn’t something he’s going to do. If the blond teen returns before he does, he better be prepared for waking up in the middle of the night to see Kars entering his room by compressing his body to go underneath the door.

Obviously, it’s not going to be a pleasant sight, especially when you’re only half-awake.

As he walked through the streets of Italy, he received many stares from random humans. Kars either saw admiration or envy in their eyes and sometimes fear, he couldn’t blame them. After all, he was the perfect being. And he was pretty tall too, he towered over everyone else. Not only that, but the Pillar Man was also pretty intimidating, not that much of a surprise.

People scurried out of his way with their head down to avoid eye contact with Kars. If they looked up at him, he would send a cold glare and force them to quickly turn away. But not everybody was scared off. A few people politely waved and smiled, maybe even wink at Kars. Some humans were bold enough to ask him to dinner. Of course, he harshly declined their offer. It wasn’t the first time a human requested to have a meal with him. Kars is fully aware of how attractive he is compared to others.

Soon, the Pillar Man found himself near a beach, it was mostly empty. There was just one single person standing on the dock holding a fishing rod. Kars would’ve ignored them and continued walking, but a part of him wanted to go towards the person. He tried convincing himself that he only wanted to go near them because of their bizarre lime-green hair. Honestly, he wasn’t a big fan of it.

When Kars got closer, he felt the same kind of energy as Giorno’s Stand, Gold Experience. It caught him a bit off guard. This person had their Stand out… while they were fishing? Now he was confused, why would he need a Stand to fish? Did it help? Kars needed answers.

“You.”

The person shrieked loudly, dropping their fishing rod, turning around with a fearful expression and wide eyes.

“You’re a coward, aren’t you?” Kars sighed. “I can tell just by looking at you. Now, tell me your name.”

The person stumbled over their words a few times before blurting out “Pesci!”

By their appearance and the sound of their voice, Kars concluded that this human was indeed male. He stared at him for a while before asking another question. “Where’s your Stand?”

Pesci panicked, looking around to see if Prosciutto was nearby. He just left to go smoke, knowing full well that Pesci hates the smell. He probably needed to go buy more cigarettes and was now coming back.

...The blond man was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey! Answer me!”

“I-I, um, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The only option he had was to play dumb. It wasn’t working.

“What kind of fool do you take me for? I can feel its energy, tell me, what are you using your Stand for?”

Pesci couldn’t take it, the man was just too intimidating! Hopefully, he’s not from another gang, a rival one to be exact, the whole team would get angry at him for revealing information. Even if it was about his Stand, weaknesses would be exposed and he would get taken out.

“My Stand is Beach Boy, it's the fishing rod! I’m only using it to fish, don’t hurt me!” He shut his eyes and tensed up, unable to bear staring into the tall man’s eyes.

Kars blinked. The damn fishing rod was a Stand? Did Giorno seriously lie about how only Stand users could see Stands? He picked up the dark blue fishing rod and examined it. It certainly was pretty odd.

“I thought only Stand users could see Stands, was I wrong?” He hummed, poking the skull on Beach Boy.

“...Well, that is true but… only for most Stands… there are some exceptions I guess…” Pesci replied, wincing when Kars turned his head to him.

“Is that so?” A smirk appeared on his face. Looks like he learned something new.

Before Kars could ask any more questions, the sound of footsteps alerted him. A blond man with a dark-colored suit stood there, frowning. The Pillar Man returned the same look. Pesci felt relieved that Prosciutto finally came back, he was probably going to get scolded and punished but that’s better than answering any more questions about his Stand.

“Who the hell are you?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Prosciutto stepped closer, glaring into Kars’s eyes without a hint of fear. Despite the man being a foot taller than him, he wasn’t intimidated, or at least he didn’t appear to be. That’s something Pesci admired him for. The intense staring continued and Pesci started to get uncomfortable.

“Leave,” Prosciutto commanded. “Now.”

“Or what? What are you going to do?” He laughed. “You’re just a pitiful human. There’s nothing you could do that can hurt me.”

“Is that what you think?” The blond man hissed. “Fine, I’m sure The Grateful Dead will change your mind!”

Kars felt something grabbing onto his legs but didn’t look. He knew it was just his Stand, so why panic? He found amusement in Prosciutto’s bewildered expression. The Grateful Dead wasn’t working. Even though the Stand’s making contact with Kars, he isn’t aging. Was there some kind of Stand ability that canceled the effect? Prosciutto glared at his Stand as if doing that would start the aging process. Nothing happened.

“Well? I’m waiting,” Kars hummed, his smug grin grew wider which made the Italian man more frustrated.

“Impossible! You should be getting older, more weaker!” He growled, his Stand’s grip became tighter. “Pesci, do something!”

“O-Oh! Right!” He was about to summon his Stand before he foolishly realized that Kars already had it in his hand. What was he supposed to do, reach out and grab the damn thing?! The Pillar Man looked down at him, sending shivers down the young man’s spine.

...Surprisingly, he returned Beach Boy. Prosciutto eyed him suspiciously. Pesci hesitated, then quickly snatched his Stand back. He stared at Kars, trying to figure out if there was a hidden motive, but he wasn’t sure.

“Demonstrate your Stand’s abilities, I’d like to see how it works. Don’t keep me waiting, I can wait all day but I’d prefer not to.” He said.

The hook and fishing line was now inside Kars, he can feel it traveling up his arm. It was a strange sensation. However, he couldn’t see it moving. There was no outline of the hook and line in his skin. The hook found its way to Kars’s heart, but Pesci became hesitant. Was this all a trap? He glanced at Prosciutto, the man was silently encouraging him to use Beach Boy. Something was off about Kars. Instead of finishing off the two Stand users, he instead waited for their Stands to do something. Waiting for your foe to display their abilities can help with figuring out their weakness, but it can also put yourself in danger. Kars did not seem to care about that, he just seemed curious about their Stands. Prosciutto kept his guard up, you can never be too careful.

Pesci used Beach Boy’s hook to tear apart the beating heart, but again, Kars seemed to be unaffected.

...Or perhaps it just didn’t work.

There was simply no way to kill Kars. The sun was no longer his enemy, Stands were useless, even lava couldn’t do it. He was the perfect, undefeatable being.

Kars felt the hook desperately tugging on his heart as Pesci became more visibly anxious. Prosciutto was also getting quite upset. The Pillar Man has never been so entertained before. Chuckling, he walked away from the duo.

“That’s enough, I supposed. Pesci, your Stand has potential, you know that, right? However,” He glanced at Prosciutto with a bit of a frown. “What’s the point of yours? It doesn’t seem like it can do anything interesting.”

As he left, Prosciutto muttered curses and insults, not knowing that Kars could hear what he said. Pesci thought the compliment was rather nice, even though the man was strange.

If only he knew his name.

~~~

He ran into that Japanese tourist again, this time he found out he was no ordinary being. And he didn’t have to get a new car after all! Well, maybe someone took it after he ran away. But that didn’t matter, the tourist was a Stand user. He was the reason his car came to a stop. Luckily, Giorno got away again. The stranger didn’t seem so bad though. He had a good soul and Giorno felt a bit of pity for robbing him.

He opened up the window in the funicular and stared at the passing buildings. Before he could think about what he’ll do next, he heard a coin drop. A man wearing a white suit with oddly shaped black dots appeared and picked it up.

“This yours?” He asked Giorno.

[allgirlsareprincesses]

Another Search for the Lost Husband: Reylo as the Ballad of Tam Lin

This was originally going to be just a short post (HAHA) to cover a variation of the Search for the Lost Husband folktale type that wouldn’t fit into my previous metas, but then I did more research and BUCKLE UP, friends, because there’s lots to unpack here. Among my illustrated fairy tale collection is a version of popular Scottish ballad Tam Lin retold by Jane Yolen, and I noticed pretty quickly that this was another Cupid and Psyche tale (ATU 425) when I was doing research for my first post on the same topic. With the benefit of further research on Swan Maiden tales and various ways to disenchant fairy husbands, I realized that the Sequel Trilogy aligns surprisingly well with Tam Lin, and the story may offer yet more clues as to the ultimate fate of our heroes in The Rise of Skywalker.

While there are many, many different versions of the Ballad of Tam Lin (which dates to at least 1549 and probably well before), the basic outline of the story is thus: In the Scottish borderlands, young women are warned not to venture into the enchanted woods of Carterhaugh, where the faery prince Tam Lin dwells to steal their symbolic or literal maidenheads. A headstrong maiden, usually called Janet or Margaret, brazenly defies this warning and enters the wood to seek flowers, or to lay claim to the land which she says is her birthright. When she plucks a rose, Tam Lin appears asking by what right she enters his wood and “breaks his wand.” Unintimidated, Janet tells him that she is the rightful heir to Carterhaugh, and that she will come and go as she pleases.

Tam Lin then takes Janet by the hand or the waist, and she returns home to discover she is with child. When her family realizes it, they try to pressure her into marrying a suitable man, but Janet declares that her baby’s father is a faery whom she will not forsake. She returns to Carterhaugh to question Tam Lin as to whether he was ever human. The faery prince shares his sad story, that he was a mortal man who many years before was traveling in the wood when he fell from his horse and was abducted by the Queen of the Faeries and forced to serve with her knights. He tells Janet that he has been a captive for seven years, and he fears that on Halloween he will be offered as a tithe to Hell. However, Janet may free him if she carefully follows his instructions for breaking the enchantment.

[Original Art by Wylie Beckert]

At midnight on Halloween, Janet returns to a crossroad or bridge in the enchanted wood once more to carry out her lover’s rescue. When the faery company appear, she sees the knights on black, brown, and white horses. Recognizing Tam Lin on the white horse by his signal of having one glove off, she pulls him from his mount and holds him fast. The Faery Queen demands his return but Janet refuses, so the Queen transforms Tam Lin into a series of terrifying beasts in his lover’s arms. They bite and scratch her, but still she holds on until finally Tam Lin becomes a burning coal or cinder. At this moment, Janet plunges the fiery coal into a well, and Tam Lin emerges as a naked man. Still following his instructions, Janet throws her green mantel over him protectively, and the Faery Queen must acknowledge that the curse is broken, lamenting that she did not replace Tam Lin’s heart with stone and his eyes with wood.

That might seem like a lot of unnecessary detail, but what’s fascinating is how closely the Sequel Trilogy tracks with the folktale. To begin with, we have the menacing faery prince, Kylo Ren, who threatens the righteous and is feared throughout the galaxy. The heroine, Rey, ventures into a forest and finds him there, after we have seen rose imagery once in her AT-AT home on Jakku, and the “broken wand” in the form of the legacy lightsaber that she discovers in Maz’s castle in the same wood. She has in that sense “plucked” the rose which rightfully belongs to the Skywalker child, thus summoning him to demand of her why she treads on his birthright. When Kylo tries to intimidate her in the interrogation, she rebuffs him by turning his own powers back on him.

Just as Tam Lin takes Janet by the waist as a sign of his sexual conquest of her, so Kylo Ren lifts Rey into the distinctively romantic bridal carry in The Force Awakens. While Rey is of course not pregnant after this encounter, a bond has been forged between them, which is effectively the purpose of the pregnancy in the folktale: it signifies that the lovers now belong to one another and that they have a bond that is not easily broken. Soon, we learn more of Kylo Ren’s tragic past, that before he was the faery prince, he was a mortal man, Ben Solo.

Much as Tam Lin fell from his horse to be then abducted by the Faery Queen, young Ben fell from his path when his uncle Luke betrayed him, then turning to the controlling and manipulative Snoke. We further learn in the novels, comics, and other supplemental content that he was twenty-three when he fell to the Dark Side under Snoke’s tutelage, and we know that he is twenty-nine in The Force Awakens. We have been told that the events of The Rise of Skywalker occur roughly one year after TFA and The Last Jedi, which means that by the end of the story, Ben Solo will have spent seven years as a captive of the dark otherworld. In the folktale, Tam Lin has been a captive of the Faery Queen in her realm for seven years, after which he loses her favor and fears that he will be offered up as a sacrifice to Hell on Halloween.

A note about Halloween in this tale: Scottish folklore blends pagan and Christian traditions in its stories, so this holiday can also be understood as the Celtic celebration of the new year, Samhain. This was a time of change, when the barrier between the mortal world, underworld, and faery worlds became very thin and the likelihood of the dead visiting the living was high. This might not have had sinister undertones when it was first practiced by ancient Celts, but with the arrival of Christianity, such pagan rituals were assigned demonic connotations, which is why Tam Lin expresses his fear that he will be sacrificed to Hell (as he claims the faeries do every seven years). On Halloween, the faery company will cross into the mortal world, which is when Janet will have a chance to rescue her lover.

In the trailer for TROS, we hear Palpatine rasp “Long have I waited, and now, your coming together will be your undoing.” It seems from all the hints that have been dropped so far that the timing of his return is due to some event that offers a conduit from whatever state he’s in to greater influence over the mortal world. He’s either returning in corporeal form, or he’s somehow able to control the corporeal world enough to threaten our heroes and the galaxy as a whole. There are various theories as to how this might happen, but the point is that Palpatine has mythologically been confined to the otherworld since Anakin chucked him down the Death Star II shaft, and only now, at the same moment that Ben finishes his seventh year on the Dark Side, can Darth Sidious return.

Still more parallels appear when you consider the Knights of Ren, though we don’t know their full story yet without Charles Soule’s much-anticipated The Rise of Kylo Ren comic run. However, just as the Faery Queen forced Tam Lin to join her company of knights, so it seems that Snoke manipulated Ben Solo into joining the Knights of Ren and finally becoming one of them. In the folktale, several of these knights ride forth before Janet is able to identify her lover, a motif suggested by the appearance of the helmeted Knights in TROS along with the now-helmeted Kylo.

But how does Janet identify Tam Lin? He has one glove removed as he rides. This is certainly an image that appears in the Sequel Trilogy, as Ben Solo removes one glove to touch Rey’s hand in TLJ. It is this action that finally allows her to recognize him as his true self rather than as Kylo Ren. As I’ve discussed in other posts, seeing or knowing a lover is often the key to rescuing them from the dark power of the otherworld, as is being seen and known oneself. The removal of the mask and the removal of the glove serve the same purpose: these allow the mortal lover to recognize her true husband and claim him as her own.

While we eagerly await the ending of the Sequel Trilogy and the saga as a whole, the folktale offers tantalizing clues as to what might happen. In the ballad, Janet must hold tightly to Tam Lin as the Faery Queen transforms him into various beasts and finally into a burning coal, in an effort to make Janet release him. This Protean motif might appear in TROS as Palpatine trying to convince Rey that Ben is not who she believes him to be, that he is a monster beyond saving. The motif of fire is also likely to appear, as leaked concept art suggests that Mustafar is likely to make an appearance in the final film. Transforming into a fiery coal is another expression of burning the beast’s skin, a sort of baptism by fire which cleanses the faery husband of his beastly form.

Speaking of baptism, the last thing that Janet does to save her beloved is throw the burning coal into a well, after which Tam Lin emerges as a naked mortal man. The connotations here are obvious: the healing power of water appears in all mythologies, so the well in this instance serves to douse the fire and baptize the fallen prince, both healing and cleansing him of his connection with the faery realm. Many have theorized that Rey’s association with water in the production design suggests she may gain healing powers, but even if she’s not the explicit agent of Ben’s healing, we know that water in several forms will factor heavily into his redemption, as we’ve seen both snow and a raging ocean in the trailers so far. It seems likely that Ben Solo will rise from the water at some point a new man, no longer under the power of the Dark Side and ready to be united with his true bride.

While the original ballad does not record much beyond the Faery Queen’s anger at losing Tam Lin, the children’s book version I have has Janet marrying her prince and having children with him at Carterhaugh, her inheritance of which kicked off the whole story. This enchanted wood is the magic of the folktale, so it seems to me much like the Force is to Rey and Ben Solo. Ben was the original inheritor of a Force legacy, but after his fall, that legacy eventually went to Rey. Only when they are united can the Force be new and whole again, rather than the forbidding ruin it has become. This is why I find it so intriguing that John Boyega said he had expected Episode IX’s title to be “Heirs to the Force.”

So there you go; yet another rambling post about how the Sequel Trilogy is totally the Search for the Lost Husband and Rey is going to get her man by the end of TROS. I hope you liked this latest installment, and please let me know if you discover other variations of this folktale!

[mell-bell]

It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do- Part 3

Yon-Rogg x Reader

Words: 3943                      

Series Summary: You and Yon-Rogg were friends. You trained together. You fought together. But what happens when you realize you’re on the wrong side of the war? When everything you thought you knew was a lie. When the day you had been dreading finally arrives….when Yon-Rogg has to choose, you or the war?

Author’s notes: (posted March 24, 2019) SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I was planning on having it up early but I was at urgent care all day yesterday so that didn’t happen (I’m all good no worries). Anyways you guys have been drowning me in love and I sincerely love every single one of you. I really hope you guys enjoy this! This was the last chapter I had planned out so I’m gonna do my best to get the next part out next weekend but I gotta do some soul-searching to figure out where I’m taking this story haha anyways enjoy!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You ducked as a blaster shot over your head, pieces of the building above you raining down on your head.

“Watch your head, Y/N!”

You threw a quick glare at Yon-Rogg and he replied with his usual smirk. But then his eyes grew wide and he motioned behind you. As you turned you came face to face with a blaster.

You woke startled, reaching for your blaster before realizing that you weren’t out in the field. You were in your room back on base.

Yon-Rogg had been gone for almost a month on a mission. One you hadn’t been allowed on. You weren’t sure for what reasons and when you had tried to argue, Yon-Rogg had shot you down immediately.

You were grounded. And you were going crazy without anything to do. As you waited for word back from his mission, you took the time to wander around the planet and explore. As you walked around the waterbed, skipping over the rocks to get to the other side of the river, you paused as you grabbed something out of the water, dropping it in your bag with a smile.

When Yon-Rogg finally returned from his mission, you were waiting outside the door of the conference room.

The second you saw him, you bounced up next to him, “Did you bring me back anything from the mission?”

He snorted, “What are you, a child?’

“I fucking hope not. Not with the way you two flirt.” Came a voice from behind you.

“Lora!”

“What!”

You rolled your eyes as Yon-Rogg followed you back to your room. He leaned heavily against the wall as you placed your hand on the scanner.

“And why did we need to go to your room first?”

You motioned for him to go into your room first and his eyes narrowed as he peeked in, as if expecting something to jump out at him. You pushed at his back and followed him in.

“Since you didn’t get me anything, which I’m still crying about thank you very much. I have a present for you!”

You grabbed something from your desk and chucked it at him.

Snatching it out of the air, he looked down at it, “It’s a rock.”

“A very cool rock.”

“There are a million just like it out in the river.”

“Not one shaped like a dragon though.”

Yon-Rogg was silent as he looked down at the rock.

You cleared your throat, holding out your hand with a smile, “If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”

Shaking his head, he closed his hand around the rock and he slid it into his pocket.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Four years later, one day after being reunited with Yon-Rogg:

You struggled to pull yourself from unconsciousness. You weren’t sure how long you had been out, but your head was pounding. You knew you should be worried about having a concussion but all your mind was focused on was Yon-Rogg.

The last thing you remembered was staring into his eyes before everything went dark. But this time when you opened your eyes, you were met with just darkness.

Swallowing hard, you pushed yourself to your feet and began to feel around the room blindly. The room was small. The walls rocky. A chill burrowed deep inside your skin and it took everything in you to stop your teeth from chattering.

As you reached the furthest part of the room, something pulled you back with a jolt. Shaking your leg, you heard jangling and reached down feeling the chain attached to your ankle. Yanking hard on it, it didn’t give way in the slightest and fear began to well up in your chest.  

A loud familiar sound echoed through the room, and by the time you realized what it was, it was too late to close your eyes as bright light flooded the room. A whimper came from your throat as you shut your eyes, but the light still burned against your eyelids.  

The sound of heels clicking on the ground echoed across the stone floor and you knew you were as good as dead.

“Ah, my rebellious slave still causing me problems. I knew I should’ve killed you months ago.”

“So, why haven’t you.” You croaked, your throat still dry from the dust and debris that had been falling from the destroyed buildings outside. You peered out into the bright room meeting your master’s eyes. Her own narrowing as you didn’t look away in submission.

The woman before you tsked as she strolled around the room. Her heels still clicking. You hated that sound. You hated this place. You had only been in here once. It was her jail room. The one she used when she wanted to punish her slaves for misbehaving. The first time she had put you in here you almost went insane. Six days alone in the dark. No sound. No food. No water. Nothing. But after you came out, she had claimed that she needed you sane and workable and instead turned to whipping you when you disobeyed.

“Because I’m curious.”

Your brows furrowed.

“About the man.”

Your heart was pounding as you tried to casually peer around the room.

“Ah, so you do know him. He’s not here.”

“Where is he?”

“Who is he?” She questioned curiously.

“No one.” You lied.

The woman tsked again and reached out threading her fingers through your hair, roughly pulling your head back.

“No lies. You’re friends with a Kree warrior. And I want to know why.”

You spit in her face, but she didn’t even flinch. She pulled back slowly and wiped off her face with a handkerchief. Not pulling her gaze from you, she raised her hand and the door opened, two of her other slaves walking through the door carrying an unconscious Yon-Rogg.

“What did you do to him?” You spat out, your eyes hovering of his body, trying to see if there were any obvious wounds.

“Nothing he won’t recover from.” She said as she walked over to him slowly. She looked down at him as she ran her nails across his face in carnal fascination.

“Get away from him.”

She let out a noise of realization, “You care for him.”

“No.” You swallowed hard.

“Take him away.” The slaves froze as you shot forward, startled by your sudden movement. You had worked with them before and had always treated them kindly. But they knew if they didn’t obey they would be beaten. One of the young girls met your eyes and you pleaded with her.

“Please.”

Your master’s eyes flashed and a sinister smile crossed her face before she turned and swept out of the room, the other slaves dragging Yon-Rogg out with them behind her.

You let out a scream as you pulled against your chain hard but you fell to the ground, the chains pulling you down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your master came back every few hours. She questioned you. She beat you. But when you wouldn’t give anything up, she would leave. But then she would return. She would threaten. She would hurt you again and again. But all you did was lie on the ground, silently taking it.

It could’ve been hours or even days later when the door finally opened again. Expecting it to be your master again, you just laid there on the ground, defeated.

But when you felt someone pulling at your chains you looked up. It was the younger slave girl from earlier. You had never learned each other’s names and weren’t even allowed to speak to each other. But you had always made sure she had food, water, and something warm to wear. She couldn’t have been more than eleven. One of the youngest slaves under your master’s rule.

You had given away most of your belongings to the younger slaves, hoping that they would stay alive and strong enough to one day be free, even if you weren’t.

The young girl did some motions with her hands and your brows furrowed. But when she did them again the same exact way, you sat up. She was communicating.

“You’re going to get me out of here?”

The girl’s face lit up and she nodded motioning down to your chains.

You pulled at them, the chains clattering loudly against the stone floor, “I can’t get out.”

She held up a finger and reached down into her pants pocket, pulling out a key. Your eyes widened as she held it out to you.

“Thank you.” You said reaching out and taking the key,  “I’m gonna get you out of here.”

The girl smiled sadly and shook her head, beginning to walk backwards.

“No, wait where are you going!”

A loud explosion sounded outside the door and you threw yourself to the ground, covering your head as stones rained down around you. And when you looked back up, the girl was gone. But where she had once stood, was a hole blown through the wall of the cell.

Using your shaking hands, you quickly unchained the locks and stumbled to your feet, your legs weak from lying on the ground for so long. You clambered through the rubble, the stones cutting into your hands as you tried to steady yourself. As you peeked out into the hall, all you found was chaos.

This place had been your own personal hell for so long, that to see it up in flames, warmed your heart. As you ran down the hall, you stopped picking up what looked like a bar, which you could use as a makeshift weapon if you ran into any of your master’s guards.

You knew you should leave but you needed to find Yon-Rogg and you had unfinished business with your master.

Room after room was empty and you continued running and running passing dead bodies, mutilated bodies, people crying, people fighting. The slaves were fighting back and it looked as if they were winning. All you wanted was to stop and help them but you needed to take care of your master first. With her dead, this whole thing would finally be over.  

When you finally reached her command room, you paused, clutching the bar tighter in your hand before pushing open the door.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Your master sat on, what could only be described as a throne. Her pristine white dress, smeared with dirt, her hair a mess. Her eyes had a deranged look about them.

She was on the verge of losing and she knew it.

You twisted the bar in your hands and took a step forward. You could see the fear in her eyes.

She snapped her fingers and you looked over at a loud sound in the corner of the room. Yon-Rogg was kneeling there. Blood dripping down his face. A gag in his mouth. Two guards standing over him.

“If you think him being here is going to stop me from killing you, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Let’s make a deal.”

You shook your head as you grew closer to her, “There’s no deal I would ever make with you. You beat me. You branded me. You beat children. You killed children. And for what?”

“For the greater good.” She stood up, her eyes mad.

“If this is your greater good I want no part of it.”

“I’m trying to save this planet. Clean it out. Get rid of all the weak, sniveling poor masses.”

“If you had just helped them instead of hoarding your wealth!” You yelled.

She scoffed, “They deserve nothing from me. They’re weak.”

“No, you deserve nothing.” You growled. All those poor innocent people she had killed, just because she wanted to cleanse a whole planet.

“You’re not going to kill me.” She said, but you could hear the fear in her voice.

“You’re wrong about that.”

The woman reached down grabbing one of her guard’s swords and brought it up aiming at you. She swung it at you wildly, but you easily blocked it. You circled around her and she quickly moved trying to follow you, still waving the sword around violently. You stopped suddenly when her back was to her guards and Yon-Rogg. As you feigned a strike at her, you met Yon-Rogg’s eyes, nodding slightly. His gaze dropped to your left hand and you held out two fingers.

As your master slammed her sword down at you again, you let the bar slip through your fingers. She smiled and tried to cut you down, but you dropped to the ground, kicking the bar over to Yon-Rogg. Knowing he would take care of the two guards, you turned back to your master and grabbed onto her sword hand, both of you struggling to take control of it.

A loud cracking sound sounded through the room and you looked up watching a wide crack form in the foundation of the ceiling. As pieces of stone began to fall, you grabbed your master’s wrist, twisting it around, pulling the sword from her grasp and slamming it straight up through her stomach.

You met her eyes and then the ceiling collapsed on both of you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You woke with a start. Your body screaming. You could feel where the stones had crushed into your body. When you opened your eyes all you saw was darkness. And all you could think was you were back in your master’s cell. That somehow she had survived. And locked you up again.

But you weren’t. As your eyes adjusted you noticed you were in an old hotel room. Light was shining into the dark room from the window. The shadow of a figure illuminated by the sunlight.

Easing yourself off the bed, slowly and silently, you snuck up behind them, and just when you went to take them down, they dropped to the ground sweeping your legs out from beneath you and pinning you to the ground.

“What did I tell you about sneaking up on people? You need to be silent.”

“I was!” You argued and you pushed against Yon-Rogg’s chest. He stood, holding out his hand for you, but you ignored it pushing yourself to your feet.

“Where are we?” You asked as he turned back, peering out the window.

“A hotel on the outskirts of the city. The Kree won’t be here for another few hours. We have time to come up with a plan.”

You wander aimlessly around the room, refusing to look at Yon-Rogg, “So, what happens now you kill me? Turn me over to the Supreme Intelligence?”

“Of course not.” He scoffed, turning around to face you.

In the back of your mind, you knew that you shouldn’t be arguing with him. But you didn’t know what he had been through. If the Supreme Intelligence had gotten to him. You had seen in the chip on his neck. He had tried to kill you. You had to be sure.

“Why does that seem so out of the question? I mean you did drag me unconscious into a hotel in the middle of nowhere.”

“Do you really think me so low?”

You finally looked up, “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

His eyes flashed with hurt, “I’m still the same person, Y/N.”

You laughed derisively, “No, you’re not. And I’m not the same person either. We haven’t been around each other for over a year. Did you really not think my time here as a slave would impact me?”

“I didn’t know. “ He ground out.

And you read the second meaning behind that sentence. That he didn’t know you had been sent here. He didn’t know that you had been going through hell.

“Maybe you didn’t. But you also didn’t fight back.”

“I couldn’t.”

“You could! You gave up on me. Was everything a lie between us?”

He stepped right up to you, “I never gave up on you. The reason I didn’t fight back is because I’ve been working with the Skrulls behind the Supreme Intelligence’s back. I have pretended to be her perfect soldier and have been feeding them information. And you know why?“

You took a step back, but he just stepped back into your space.

“It’s because of you. It’s always been you. I’ve loved you since the moment I laid my eyes on you.”

“You’re lying.” Your voice wavered.

He let out a disbelieving laugh, “Why would I lie? I’ve been told my whole life that emotions destroy. Yet you’ve destroyed me. Even with all the pain and torture, the Supreme Intelligence put me through, all I could think about was you.”

You turned away from him. Your heart was pounding, you had been waiting for him to reciprocate your feelings for so long. But now that it had happened you didn’t know what to do.

“Then prove to me your on my side. Help me save these Skrull supporters. Help me save my former master’s slaves.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yon-Rogg passed you one of his blasters as you took off down the street, jumping over the rubble of the city that once stood there. Your finger immediately moved to the trigger, ready to take down anybody that got in your way.

Shooting down soldier’s left and right, you finally reached the Skrull supporter’s den. Knocking on the door, you slipped inside, waving back at Yon-Rogg silently telling him to remain behind. But he didn’t listen and as he followed you through the door, all the blasters went up.

“He’s a friend. I promise. We need to get you off this planet.”

Micu, your contact, nodded, waving at the other’s to drop their weapons. Everybody obeyed and immediately turned back to their debate, though they were still throwing wary glances at Yon-Rogg, who was standing silently in the corner. You stepped up, pulling the map toward you and set out the pathway for them to follow. They had a few ships left, but getting to them would be a problem.

As you laid out your plan, Yon-Rogg watched in amazement as the Skrull supporters looked at you with respect.

“We’re going to meet here. Gather all your people. I will meet you once I get all the slaves from my former master’s house. They’re innocents. Please take care of them.”

Micu nodded and held out her hand to you. You grasped it and pulled her into a hug.

“We’ll meet again one day. Stay safe.”

The explosions were growing closer and you and Yon-Rogg once again took off into the streets. As you reached your former master’s house, you went to shoot down a Kree warrior that had just stepped out the door, but Yon-Rogg beat you to it.

Turning toward him, you were shocked when he just nodded and turned, aiming back down the street. Knowing he had your back, you slid into the demolished house and ran toward the slave rooms.

The door was busted shut and you holstered your gun in the back of your pants before reaching down and grabbing a piece of wood to pry it open. As you groaned, under the pressure, the wood finally gave way and you were able to pull the door open.

The young girl who had helped you escape was the first person you saw. You motioned for her to follow you but she was shaking hard. Reaching out, you grabbed her hand.

“She’s dead.”

Her brows furrowed and you just nodded as realization dawned on her face.

“She can’t hurt you anymore. We need to go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Yon-Rogg put his ship on auto-pilot, you stared out the window, you couldn’t be more happy to watch that hell hole burn. You and Yon-Rogg had saved as many slaves and innocents that you could. But there was only so much you could do against Ronan and the Kree forces.

You heard him step up beside you as you watched the planet burn, “So what do we do now?”

“Well, first you need a shower.”

You threw him a mocking glare, “Yeah, well if you had been a slave for over a year I’m pretty sure the last thing on your mind would’ve been getting clean.”

Yon-Rogg held up his hands in mock surrender, but you just rolled your eyes taking the towel from his hand and stalked off to the washer in his room to clean up.

The feeling of hot water running over your skin was something you never thought you would feel again. And as you stood there in the shower you felt the tears welling up as all the pain and suffering you had endured this past year finally hit you. And as you cried for the first time in over a year, you let out all the pain you had kept inside.

As you scoured Yon-Rogg’s drawers for some clothes to steal, for the time being, your hand hit something hard buried deep in his drawers. As you lifted it out with shaking hands the door behind you opened.

“Y/N, I-“

You could tell the moment he saw your scars and wounds from being whipped over and over again. You bowed your head and you heard his almost silent steps behind you. You stiffened slightly as a warm hand began to trace over the scars on your back. The hand retreated and your heart stopped for a minute before you felt him wrap one of his shirts around you.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

His voice was deep, “You can tell me that for the rest of our lives. But I’m always going to know I played a part in this. In hurting you.”

You whipped around, “You didn’t hurt me. Don’t say that.”

But before he could respond, he caught sight of the rock you held in your hand. He swallowed hard before meeting your eyes.

“You kept it all of these years. You love me?”

He nodded slightly, “I do.”

“I’m not sure-“ Your voice caught in your throat.

He took a step back, his eyes darkening.

“- when I fell in love with you. It definitely wasn’t the first year we knew each other. You were an asshole. And it definitely wasn’t when you almost pushed me down a flight of stairs to test my ‘reaction time’. Maybe it was –“

But before you could finish your sentence he shot forward, his fingers threading through your hair as his mouth came down hard on yours.

Without a moment’s hesitation, you pressed back. His lips were soft but unyielding against yours. A soft sigh tore from your mouth as he deepened the kiss, his other arm coming up to wrap tightly around you. His hand that had weaved through your hair pulled you even closer to him.

You knew you were moving too fast. But on the other hand, this had been a long time coming and you couldn’t deny how safe you felt in his arms.

You pulled your face away with a gasp and tilted your head back, your eyes snapping closed with a moan when you felt him pepper kisses along your jaw and down your neck.

As your hands ran through his hair, his slipped under the back of the shirt he had just wrapped around you, his hand burning like fire against your skin.

You wished you hadn’t wasted so much time. You had known him for almost six years. Six years wasted. You would never be able to go back from this moment. You would never be able to forget how his lips felt on yours. How his hands burned into your skin as he touched you.  

You pulled away with a gasp and he reached up, his fingers dancing across your cheek before he brushed your hair back behind your ear.

“Together?”

“Together.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author’s notes: Once again sorry this took so long I’ll do my best not to die again haha also if there are any mistakes sorry about that I’ve edited so many times. Anyways I think (I HOPE) I tagged everyone who asked. If not I am so so sorry and please just shoot me a message in which I will apologize profusely. Also looks like a few of the tags didn’t work so that’s probably tumblr being a bitch like always so I’m sorry :( Anyways I really hope you enjoyed! 

Part 4 is up as of April 1, 2019!!!

Tagged: @blind-daydream @overlydramatichuman @damnittjim @thebookandmoviefangirl @unitednerdyness @topsyturvy-dream @nanoquin @furiouscomicsmcufan  @carolinesbookworld @farihafangirls @gaygottago @captain-almighty @looking-for-a-shootingstar @arantxaglz @spycii @lilp2018 @help-i-am-obssessed @gespirida @winchesterandpie @wehatepeopletheyhateus @smallsadjellyfish @fookingmuffins @fancy-chansey @iraniq @rattle-thestar-s @lacontroller1991 @wittywallflowersworld @whovianwriter @cllaraoswallds @woeisbutwoe @markusstraya @theroyalbrownbarbie @lycan-magic

[fulgensun]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻.

repost,  don’t reblog

BASICS.

full name.   Tidus pronunciation.    Teedus nickname.  Ace, Star Player, Jecht’s son gender.  Male (he/him) height.   5′9″ or 175 cm age.  17-18  &&  20 in ‘Will’  zodiac.   His true date of birth is unknown, so we can’t be sure. if we follow the trend of also Zidane and Squall etc DOBs, Tidus would be born on October 10th and be a Libra. but given he’d be the most dysfunctional Libra ever I personally doubt it ahah I headcanon him being born on July 19th, the day FFX was first released, so his zodiac sign here would be Cancer. spoken languages.   Common Spiran which is the same language spoken in his Zanarkand, tiny bits of Al Bhed learnt during the pilgrimage.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair color.   Dark blond with brown roots. As a child, he had light-brown hair. eye color.   Sea-blue irises, the same as his mother’s. skin tone.     Quite tanned, mostly the result of hours spent outside - probably practising under the sun. Actually, he isn’t fair-skinned even as a child - nor his parents seem to present a particular pale tone of skin which may have genetic reasons involved, but teen/adult Tidus would still be more tanned than he himself looked like as a seven-year-old boy. body type.   He has an athletic built, which comes from his years of swimming and blitzball practice. He’s a little underweight for his height and age, though. At the age of seventeen, Tidus’ muscle form is already very defined and toned. accent.  Tidus present a rather funny and child-like sounding accent most of the time - or when he’s not being too serious or firm; for example, his original dub has him ending sentences in --SSU, which is a very informal and friendly deflexion, also used by very young people. That makes it sound like he sometimes changes words in a rather playful manner (in the japanese dub), which would simply translate in him just sounding very informal. voice.   He has a very sharp voice, that leans on higher tones when he’s relaxed or excited. When more serious, instead, he tends to drop some tones in his voice pitch, but he doesn’t really notice it, and when he does it doesn’t bother Tidus.  dominant hand.  He is right-handed, he’s seen throwing the ball in Blitz with that and he is also seen mostly kicking the ball with his right leg too. posture.   He’s an athlete, swimming agonistically has proved to make back muscles stronger and firmer, so standing correctly straight comes as something natural and effortless to him. Still, Tidus tends to slouch forward very often when he sits, it’s very rare to see him sitting straight anywhere when he’s made wait long periods of time or when he’s particularly bored. In those cases, he really looks nothing like the athlete he is -- as he props his weight whenever it feels more comfortable. scars.   Nothing major or too visible like his father, the few scars he’d have would mainly be the result of the most physical Blitz matches he has attended or just peculiar and tougher battles fought during the pilgrimage. tattoos.   // birthmarks.   // most noticeable feature(s).   His vivid eye-color, probably the contrast between skin tone and hair color too; weird clothes for Spiran standards.

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.  Dream Zanarkand. hometown.   Dream Zanarkand. birth weight.   7 pounds. birth height.   Around 20 inches. manner of birth.   Natural birth. first words.   The common ones all toddlers learn first, or his own name. siblings.   // parents.  Unnamed mother and Jecht (father) parental involvement.   His mother would difficultly care and hardly give proper attention to the young Tidus whenever her husband was home from work; she was still a very docile and gentle figure to the boy, a composed yet often distracted kind of mother. She’d often cater all her strengths and attentions to Jecht, sometimes ignoring or neglecting the child’s cries or pleas till her husband would make her notice at last; as a child, Tidus simply didn’t notice this side of her or chose to forget about it, thinking instead his father would keep her away from him on purpose to monopolize her affection - a fact that did add to his childish reasons to hate Jecht. His father would be home for way less time than Tidus’ mother, because of his work. He was a rougher and brusque type of parent and despite loving his son, he could never express it clearly nor found a way to show him. Still, his father was somehow the one who sparkled in Tidus his sense of competitiveness and his passion for blitzball, no matter if the man would often verbally belittle his weak son’s poor attempts with a ball – that’s the type of father Tidus has believed to know. Still, Jecht was involved in his growth, the novel even reveals it was him who taught Tidus how to swim as a child. Once Jecht disappeared and was believed dead by his fans and city, Tidus’ mother fell chronically ill and depressed, ceasing to care or tend to her son. She died of sheer heartbreak shortly after Auron came to Zanarkand to become Tidus’ guardian. 

ADULT LIFE.

occupation.   Ace Player of the Abes Team back in Dream Zanarkand; Guardian when brought to Spira; post X-2, Tidus returns being a Blitzball player (most likely playing for the Aurochs) and quickly regains his once-lost fame and popularity. current residence.  Verse dependent. Dream Zanarkand before the events of FFX. Right after X-2, Besaid, but it is heavily implied he left the island to move to Bevelle a couple of years later his return, living near what’s called Mika-Road, the recently built street which leads to the new blitz stadium. close friends.  Yuna, Wakka, Rikku, Auron, Kimahri, Lulu. A part of me really wants to add Clasko to this, too, while he’s obviously not as close as the others for Tidus. relationship status.   Canon-ly speaking, in a relationship with Yuna. financial status.  I’d say, he’s in the financial middle class. Considering Spira’s hierarchy, nothing can really top the clergy, the monks, the priests and priestesses, not to mention the ex Maesters which I would consider the higher class. As Blitzball is considered an integral part of Spira, but it is not a humble job, that’s the class he would be part of. driver’s license.   Dream Zanarkand had cars and all but I guess he never got a license back there, and that kind of stuff just don’t exist in Spira; he has the chocobo riding license, haha, directly earned it through Calm Lands weird races. criminal record.  By Spiran Temple standards and teachings, he’s accused of heresy for having entered the sacred Cloisters when still not a guardian twice; he’s also accused of having conspired with Al Bhed and joined their insurrection back at Home, and of having interrupted an important Yevon wedding in the holy capital. He’s also accused of having opposed and most likely killed warrior monks during the wedding crash, not to count Guado guards in Macalania and Home. He escaped prison and became a ‘most wanted’, too, with a bounty on his head. Plus, opposing Yunalesca and Yu Yevon could be associated with blasphemy. He did partake in the murder of Seymour, a Maester of Yevon, not to mention the fact Spira did believe Tidus and the others had killed Kinoc too. I guess the accusations all fell with the following crisis of the Temple and the disappearance of Sin but… vices.   Being too loud, daydreaming, being too impatient. Pride.

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.  Heterosexual romantic orientation.  Heteroromantic preferred emotional role.   submissive  |  dominant  |  switch preferred sexual role.   submissive  |  dominant  |  switch (?) libido.  Average for his age and curiosity, I guess. A little above that if we consider the novel. turn on’s.  // turn off’s.  // love language.   He’s anything but subtle when it comes to relationships and partners, even to a fault sometimes. He is a deeply affectionate boy despite the way he was raised, so he likes to prove it physically: hugs, hand-holding, pecks, kisses - love and tender signs and gestures, little favors and gifts, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. On a darker note, I guess it’s to be expected given his fear of loss and abandonment, but his love language is sincere nonetheless. relationship tendencies.   He was and is still seen as a charismatic boy. At home, he’d have many fans and girls fawning over him at every given occasion over him (and his bond with Jecht) - and while the attention is something that did fuel him, sorta, I bet it was something that was seen as a way to get into first relationships. Maybe even out of fear of solitude. It changes once he leaves Zanarkand for good, I guess his devotion for Yuna speaks louder than any other word.

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.    X hobbies to pass time.   Swimming, playing blitzball, cooking and eating, reading Al Bhed primers, practising fighting and time-related spells, napping, daydreaming. mental illnesses.   Anxiety disorders, fear of abandonment. physical illnesses.   // left or right-brained.   Right-brained. fears.   Loneliness, to disappear, abandonment, silence. self-confidence level.  It’s a rollercoaster... it goes from high to low depending on both situation and mood. vulnerabilities.  To be considered weak, or too emotive. Also... Yuna?

tagged by: ......... i stole. ohohhhh tagging:  @painsrequiem​  @sunstolen​  @sabazio​ / @exciofides​  and whoever else

[pacificwanderer]

This is a complete crack anon post, but... every time I see a GIF of Ben from TLJ turning around shirtless, I have the Diet Coke Break commercial (available on YouTube but I can't include a link) from the 90s playing in my head. Tell me that Rey wasn't one of those women gawking at him before she turned her head. I dare you. :D

LOLLLLLLLLLLLL

It’s been a while since I last thought of that commercial. Readslike a modern fanfic AU. In case anyone has no idea which commercial this is, here’s a video.It’s probably the most 90s thing I’ve seen in a while hahaha but hey, nice tocater to that female gaze a bit.

I remember thinking this commercial was so dumb when I was a kidHAHAHA NOW I’m like, shit I want a diet coke.

Ahahaha this made me laugh and inspired me haha.

Up on Ao3 for housekeeping purposes (I don’t trust this site notto delete my work). Best read while listening to this song by Selena.

Thanks for the ask, Nonnie! Cheers.

 ~~~~ 

“What are you staring at?” Rose whispers in her ear, which scaresthe absolute shit out of Rey.

“Me? What? Nothing. What are youstaring at?” she sputters.

Rose rolls her eyes. “Save it. You really thought you could keep ‘Mr.Hot Construction Guy With a Shirt Problem’ to yourself?”

“No, but I kind of hoped to,” Rey replied. “But I’ll share himwith you, and only you. Tell anyone else, and you’re dead to me, Tico.”

“Deal. Lunchbreak time starting now?”

“Looks like it,” Rey murmurs, words trailing off as he comes into view. Construction has been going on for what feelslike forever on the building next to them, but Rey won’t complain. She’s beentaking her breaks early for months just to keep catching a glimpse of the devastatinglyhot construction worker in the lot next to her office.

Selena’s I Could Fall In Love plays softly somewhere in theoffice as Rey stares while he sits, legs spread, sandwich in hand, as he eats.It really is so unfair that someone she didn’t even know could have such animpact on her life, especially considering the main show had yet to start forher.

At first, he didn’t take his shirt off. At first, he just satthere on the rigging, long legs dangling in the air, as he ate his lunch andread. Same book for months, looked like a doozy, and Rey had stopped just shortof getting some binoculars to find out what book it was so she could read ittoo.

Because that would be weird and obsessive and she was definitelyjust taking her lunch break at the same time, every day, in the same spot,because it was a cosmic coincidence and not because she wanted to keep watchingthe hot construction worker from afar. Not like she didn’t have a thing for tall,dark, and handsome, or anything.

Not like it hadn’t been forever since she’d last been out on adate. And, really, who needed dates when you had your own construction workerto lust—erm, lunch date with?

He was tall. So so tall in those work boots, but he moved with akind of grace that could only come after many, many years of working inprecarious situations. He didn’t seem to notice the danger, but he definitelynoticed the change in weather. As spring moved into summer, his flannel wasstripped away to reveal t-shirts that were just a tiny bit too small for him.

Which was convenient for Rey because she’d been trying to decidewhether it was the outline of his abs against the fabric or a trick of herimagination—it was his abs. Definitely. She could see that now.

Until that fateful day came. It was an unseasonably warm day, sohot that even Rey had foregone her normal pantsuit in favor of something alittle lighter and breezier. She’d taken up watch at her normal lunch spot,casually leaning and watching while trying not to look like she was casuallyleaning and watching but then it happened.

He stalked over to his spot, big feet striking against the beam ashe effortlessly balanced that big, broad body. T-shirt today with his workpants—white,thin. Hardhat—horrifically orange, which is the first thing to go. Lunchbox andsoda—probably a Diet Coke. He runs his fingers through his hair before sitting,but it wasn’t necessary. Hat or not, his hair is stupidly and unfairly perfect.

It was like clockwork. He’d eat his sandwiches—sometimes subs,sometimes what looked like pastrami, always two—an apple, break into his sodaand down the entire can in one go before turning to his book.

It was almost Diet Coke time, so Rey popped the tab on hers, andpressed it to her lips. Definitely not because she was imagining what it wouldfeel like to press against his lips. No, of course not. She also definitelyhadn’t picked up a Diet Coke habit either because of him. Of course not. He didn’teven know that she existed, so the idea that she’d do anything because of himwas laughable. She was laughable—her life was laughable—but at least shehad a nice view.

Rey looked away for a moment, contemplating all the ways in whichher life sucked as she sipped from her Diet Coke before she turned back to lookout the window and very nearly spat her soda out. He was sitting there, justlike always, but now his shirt was off. Definitely not like always.

Rey took a hard swallow and nearly choked on her drink as her mindreeled. He was stupid fucking ripped, just casually sitting there, ruining herlife with those broad shoulder and visible pecs. His arm flexed as he slowly liftedthe soda to his lips and Rey had never wanted to be a soda can more in herlife.

She sat, mouth open, eyes glued, pulse racing, as she watched. Shestopped short of leaning against the glass, but it was a challenge. HotConstruction Guy rolled his neck and stretched, almost as if he knew she waswatching, before reaching for his book, but instead of sitting and having aread, like always, he shifted around.

Legs spread on either side of the beam, he leaned back, book inhand over his head, as he lay and read in the sun. Rey looked around as if shewasn’t eating lunch alone and could ask someone whether her mind was playingtricks on her. It was not. He was laying there, sun shining down on hispale skin, as he read on his lunch break.

Shirtless. A little sweaty. Gleaming, even. Okay, glistening. Itwas unfair. Absolutely unfair. Could he see her? Did he know? Was there a god?Should she be embarrassed? Was this real? Rapid-fire questions ran through hermind until she settled, took a sip of her soda, and just stared.

Rey couldn’t be certain, but she thought it must have qualifiedfor one of the best days of her life. And then it happened again. And again.And again. And basically every day the sun was out and high in the sky.

Sometimes, he’d absently brush sweat from his neck or, evenbetter, his chest, while reading and Rey would imagine how it felt to be alittle bead of that sweat, pearling against his bright skin before drippingslowly before drawing his attention. There were all sorts of things she’d liketo do to him. Slowly. Sliding down the length of his big body just likethose obscene little drops of sweat.

Sometimes, he’d run his fingers through that dark, shaggy hair, andRey would wonder whether it was soft, or kind of coarse from the elements. Or whatit would feel like when she pulled him in for a kiss. Did he like having hishair touched? Would he like having his hair touched by her?

And then reality would set in, he’d finish his break, she’d finishher peanut butter and jam sandwich, and go back to work.

She debated going to talk to him, but what was she going to say? “Hi,I’ve been staring at you during your lunch break for months and, also, are yourmuscles as hard as they look?” Yeah, sure. And besides, the rest of the constructioncrew were kind of lewd to the office girls whenever they walked by and that wasthe last thing she wanted to voluntarily deal with. But watching? From afar? Noone could be disappointed by a hot man from afar, especially a hot man who likedto take his shirt off.

The weather started to change, and as summer rolled into fall, theflannel returned—except for those rare, unseasonably hot days where his shirtwas off, and Rey was all hot and bothered under he oversized pantsuit. Reyloved those days. But she also appreciated hot construction guy in flannel too.She contained multitudes.

A few weeks into September, Rey got a nasty case of the flu and wasoff work for nearly a week which was terrible because her benefits didn’t coversick days, so it meant working overtime for the foreseeable future. But theworst part, the absolute worst part? She misses her daily lunch breaks, whichmakes he feel almost as terrible as the flu.

Back at work and still a bit under the weather, she slips into theoffice, waves to Rose who is typing away, before immediately coming to a fullshop about six feet from her desk.

There. There is something on her desk. Something she’d only everseen through the panes of a window.

Big. Thick. Dark. And sitting right on her desk. She’d have knownthat book anywhere, evenif she didn’t know the title. Rey stalks closer to her desk, mistrusting herown eyes until it is in her hands—solid, heavy, well-read. The edges of thepages have been worried so much that she knows he’s read this story more thanonce.

Rey takes a look at the cover and cannot believe what she sees.The title stares back at her and she realizes she’s underestimated just howfucking hot this construction guy really is.

Wuthering Heights. Gothic romance. He’s been readinga gothic romance, over and over so frequently that the pages are worn. Howcould he be any more attractive to her? He was literally reading one of herfavorite novels and for some reason had left it on her desk.

Rey quickly snatches the book up and thumbs though the pages. Theysmell a little bit like gasoline, leather, and book—probably from being on theworksite. She realizes quite quickly that he must smell similar, and thethought overwhelms her so much that she has to take a seat at her desk.

“Fuck,” she whispers and Rose chuckles without looking upfrom her typewriter.

“He came by the other day,” she says while typing along.

“He came by? To see me?” Rey squeaks.

Rose fixes her glasses before answering and Rey just knows she’sdrawing out her answer to drive her nuts. “I didn’t see him come in, but Kaydeltook the book and the note for you—says he was really polite and kind of soft spoken,and dusty, totally dusty.”

“There’s a note?” Rey stammers.

“Oh yeah, she stuck it in the first page. I read it because I’m asnoop—nice penmanship too…” Rose says something else about big hands andtalents, but the blood is pumping so hard in Rey’s ears that she can’t hear athing.

There’s a fucking note and now I have to read it! She canbarely make her hands work as she flips to the front page. A piece of paper slipsout and falls onto her desk.

It has her name on it. He knows her name.

“How does he—?” Rey starts, but Rose interrupts.

“Know your name? Apparently, he’s come in before to ask about you.First time he left anything though.”

“And Kaydel didn’t think to tell me?”

Rose shakes her head. “It wasn’t Kaydel that took the messages—heralternate, Hux. And you know he’d just be jealous. So, are you going toread it, or just let it sit there forever?”

Rey takes a deep breath, and the letter flutters a little as she breathesout. “Okay. It’s fine, right? Only a letter from the guy I’ve been staring atthrough the window for months. Totally fine, right?”

 Dear Rey,

��We’re putting up the wall, so we won’t be able to take our normallunch date together for much longer. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to getcoffee? But maybe not. I had to try. Couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing youthrough the window any longer.

 No pressure. I’ll wear a shirt. Maybe Sarge’s Deli? The pastramiis out of this world.

 Call me?

Ben

 “His name is Ben,” Rey murmurs as Rose nods while watching herreaction. He’d also left his phone number on the paper, which meant she couldactually call him and not just stare at him from her office.

“I think he took his shirt off to get my attention,” Rey marvels.

Rose nods sagely. “I’m beginning to get that impression too. Ben,though? Little name for a whole lotta man. Gonna call him?”

“I don’t know? Should I? He’s known that I’ve been watching him! Thisis so embarrassing!”

Rose rolls her eyes. “Look, hot construction guy just gave you a handwritteninvitation to get to know you town, and you’re worried about looking dumb?He has been watching you too, you know?”

“When you put it that way…”

“Call him. Go out for lunch. See how things go. Tell me all aboutit—spare no details. And then you can thank me later.”

“Thank you for what?”

“For covering for your ass when you come back late from lunch.”

“You really are the best. I don’t deserve you,” Rey starts, butRose waves her off.

“I am and you do. Just do one thing for me?”

“What?”

A devious grin worked its way onto Rose’s face as she demanded, “Lemmeknow whether his lips taste like Diet Coke.”

Rey blushed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

And she was definitely, definitely, going to do her best tofind that out for herself.

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

hey so remember like last year when i was re-reading misadventures and fixing typos? (well, i say that, but it was just an excuse to re-read it and write some absolutely absurd commentary on it...) i found old notes in my phone from january with even more so guess i may as well post it because people seemed to find it funny at the time, it’s basically just The Misadventures of Aish Realizing Things though

[yeah so here’s the original notes i’m not even gonna change anything even though lots of Lore has happened in the show and we Know things now, you just get to see what january aish typed]

ok well let’s go then chapters 31-35 oh god

oh yeah the ML Blackout! I remember that

hm it’s occurring to me maaaaaybe I should post a bit of a warning on this chapter. like “yes this starts off stupid and cracky and fluffy but takes a complete 180 in the middle and you will end up sobbing.”

or maybe I should put that as a disclaimer on the whole fic cause it’s one hell of a ride

THE AROACE SCIENCE JOURNAL YESSSSSSS THAT COMES BACK LATER

yeah the reason why the early parts of this chapter are very lighthearted is honestly because the fic was getting a bit too bleak, I needed something cheerful, so paper planes and arm wrestles it was

wait... isn’t this just that scene from Anansi??? where like Nora challenges Nino to an arm wrestle but then he wins because Someone Else Nearby Did A Thing

also this is Peak characterization, damn Aish, you rly outdone yourself, congration

any time I drop the word “inkling” into a fic it is always 100% a splatoon reference

MAX WOW TONE DOWN THE GAY

heh... BI-ceps...

oh my godddd Max trying to play off his ogling as “ah yes I am scientifically studying Kim’s arm muscles ofc, it’s science I swear” is SO frickin funny I’m already losing it

Alix: “scientifically speaking I’m hot therefore you have to lose this arm wrestle” hshdhdghshskkjkdhshs

^literally the kind of nonsense every single teen I know spouts irl

including me when I was a teen, I just said things

(I still just say things)

you can’t bring up the sports bra thing goddammit, I agree it’s cheating because it has the power to one-hit kill anyone in the vicinity

I love how Max thinks his crush on Kim is “under control” while like. visibly swooning over him

OH MY GOD THE PILLOWS SHHDJDHDHDHSKHS

OKAY SO LIKE I was supposed to put the thing about Kim snogging a pillow in chapter 20 but I forgot or something and then I just had to get it in somehow, oh it kills me dead just thinking about it, I’m dying, I’m dead

and the fact that he admits to it as well, holy moly

KIM

K I M

THAT’S GAY

OH WOW

this is the moment when Alix’s Kimax shipper heart was suddenly feeling validated like “omg wait Kim DOES like Max??? like for real??????”

awwwww Kim, Max doesn’t have those kind of superpowers, you just have a crush on him that’s all <3

THE SKATEBOARDING SNEK!!!!!!!!!!!!

“What the heck is that?” “My snake.” DYINGGGG

Kim trying to figure out if the snake is sitting or standing is a whole mood

ohhhhhhhh my gosh poor Alix trying so damn hard to subtly ask Kim if he likes Max and Kim’s just. so DUMB he doesn’t even get it no matter how obvious she is

she’s even trying to pull out those stupid amatonormative “so is he MORE than a friend???” questions just to get this idiot to figure it out because she knows allo-romos are Like That and he still doesn’t get it,,

[future aish says: the word is alloro, past aish. it’s alloro]

AND SO NOW SHE ASSUMES THEY’RE NOT INTO EACH OTHER BECAUSE SHE THINKS EVEN KIM CAN’T BE THAT STUPID

YOU UNDERESTIMATE HIS STUPIDITY

oh no... oh NO.... the letter.... here we go....

btw yes Gabriel had Kim’s grandad assassinated, it was indeed his doing

...isn’t this lowkey the plot of The Lion King?

or Long Live The Queen

hmmm let’s just say in the sequel poor Kim really will have to deal with the stresses of ruling a country >:D

NO MY POOR SON HAVING A BREAKDOWN, I WANT TO HUG HIM

(also can I just say like... this chapter is actually well-written for the most part? I’m actually kinda impressed)

unfortunately I know the feeling of wanting, needing to return home, but it fills you with dread... *hugs Kim forever*

Kim crying all over Max both hurts me and sort of heals me because Max is so sweet and comforting about it ohhh my heeeaaart

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

THIS IS LOWKEY A LOVE CONFESSION I SWEAR, IT’S SO CUTE

chapter 32 being called “Un chat noir” is kinda dumb af but also it just so happened that I accidentally had the chapter called “Coccinelle” be chapter 64, aka exactly double of 32, so that was kinda neat

Plagggggg!!!!!!!!!!

and Wayhem lol, I think I’ve already mentioned how originally this noble was just some random irrelevant unnamed OC until I decided way later it’s gay stalker fanboy

oh yeah that’s how the nobility recognize the royalty, I forgot lol

(also nobles from countries with widespread newspress or tv will recognize them from news reports and stuff I guess)

the fact that Plagg just hates Wayhem is funny to me for some reason

MISADVENTURES

HOLY SHIT I ACTUALLY THREW IN THE ACTUAL WORD

except it was in reference to Adrien... let’s just say that The Misadventures of Imperial Prince Adrien may or may not make an appearance in the sequel >:D

...the Adrienette is literally just in this fic so that people would read it, ngl

hhhhhhhhhhhh okay it’s true Alix is an aro idiot who doesn’t know anything about romance but for once she’s RIGHT, Kim IS in love with Max, but she assumes she’s wrong hshgshdjhdnsnsh

oh my god noooo timeline twin go away and stop giving me nightmares

I still love how they hate each other, that’s some top-notch self-hatred right there and I need to get on their level

[future aish note: no past self!! be nice to yourself!! you are a cool bean!! own it!!]

YOU FOOL... EVERY CLASSMATE WOULD TAKE A SWORD TO THE HAND FOR ALIX, WHY WOULDN’T THEY

ỳïķèš,,,

honestly I probably should stop being lazy and actually go back to like idk chapter 8 and put in an actual monopoly game (it had to have been before the oracle sessions in ch10 at least)

fun fact!! I have indeed very nearly had a fist fight over the last dark blue card in a monopoly game!! also I blatantly cheated, and the main opponent locked someone else (an 8 year old btw) in a cupboard... it was Wild(TM)

me and my irl friend actually came up with the butterfly thing when we were at the cinema once, she made up this random angry gardener OC who stepped on a butterfly after being fired or something lol

I mentioned Rose liking unicorns!!!! before Captain Hardrock!!!!!!!

shdhdhkshs Alix is such a moody emo brat in this fic I adore it

“The only real difference between you and me is one dead butterfly.” goddammit that’s the creepiest fucking thing, I’m genuinely shaking

technically it’s a butterfly’s fault for ALL the timelines which means that we’re all one butterfly away from death at any moment

cheerful stuff

no, no, you’re not trying to block it out on purpose... I’M trying to block it out on purpose bc I’m highkey shamelessly projecting

god I wish my timeline twin would manifest in the astral plane and punch me in the arm too

“Count yourself lucky you’re not a pillow, idiot.” in-context this is contender for Most Cursed Line I Have Ever Written In My Life

and yes Alix was about to straight-up swear

Mylène rollerskating is extremely blessed and good

pfffffffff Max you coward, I stand on swivel chairs all the time

*me, chanting at the spider in my room* KIMAX! KIMAX! KIMAX!

Kim literally making every excuse to not put Max down is amazing honestly

Kim and Max’s origins story is sooooooooooo cute wtf

THIS IS SO BLESSED OH MY HEART

HE’S JUST STANDING THERE CUDDLING HIM I’M

DECEASED

I,,,, swear to god,,,,,,,

so like. I know it’s now canon in the show that Kim really is as oblivious to his feelings as I wrote him in this. but MY GOD. IT’S FRIGGIN PAINFUL

KIM YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH MAX, FULL HOMO, THAT’S WHY YOU’RE FEELING LIKE THIS, IT’S NOT THAT COMPLICATED DAMMIT

oh yeah I wrote the kimax bits rly early and my old url was @queenkubdel haha

aight now a no-kimax chapter, but at least it’s a goodun

there’s that catradora-esque weather girls frenemyship again

Kim having a full-on breakdown when he finds out Alix’s hair isn’t really pink is actually really blessed, no lemme explain

so this universe has magic, right?? so he thinks to himself that the reason his friend has pink hair is because she must be some sort of anime protagonist or Really Important and Cool or something, and it never even occurred to him to doubt her

in other words he’s betrayed because he WANTED HIS FRIEND TO BE A COOL SHONEN HERO

which is both hilarious AND very sweet

...oh wait I’ve scrolled down and it turns out I literally explained all that in the fic itself hhdgjdvzjdjhs

and yeah honestly I can’t blame poor Kim for taking it so badly, he’s still reeling from his grandfather’s assassination so it’s natural his emotions are not exactly Regulated atm

actually when are his emotions ever regulated

1703-1899 hm... might change that since the fic takes place in 1957-1960 so even though it’s a commissioned history of the empire it was before Gabriel was even born so like why would he even care lmao

“Great Western Ocean” so pretentious, just say the Atlantic omg

I’ve been playing way too much civ because the first thing that came to mind was that everyone’s denounced Agreste due to the high warmongering penalties of the industrial/modern eras

Chloé and Kim is one hell of a brotp okay I still firmly believe that

also Chloé still loves her rococo fashion, she’s just toned it down enough that she can fit through doors and it’s not quite as “in your face” towards commoners

listen I know in the show Kim still liked Chloé for a while after Dark Cupid but in this he got over her quicker because his crush on her wasn’t as deep in the first place

Kim literally tells Chloé he gave the brooch to Max and yet STILL doesn’t realize he likes him!!! KIM!!!!!!!!!!

Chlodemption arc yesssssssss

also she’s a lesbeean

(ye Pollen will be in the sequel don’t you worry)

god I’m so proud of her <3

it feels believable too, so I’m proud of myself!! (I’m trying to be nice to myself before next chapter where I will no doubt roast myself so badly I’ll never recover)

outdated laws about marriage... jeez was that cursed foreshadowing or what

YES IT’S IVAN, I LOVE THIS BOY, HE’S SO GRUMPY AND ANGRY ALL THE TIME AND HE HATES KIM

...actually wait this is sibling culture

I literally speak like this to my brother and he’s my best friend so in conclusion Ivan thinks of Kim as an annoying brother

Jalil why are you a historian. just go be a psychologist and stop your sister accidentally hecking up the country

omg the Antarctica thing, I’m just imagining Jalil in the freezing cold with a massive coat on and getting chased by penguins

I love how the timeline twin’s plan was “escape school, force Adrien to get a venomous pet, then abandon him immediately in the middle of nowhere” and later on it turns out she skipped step two and just ditched him lmaoooooo

being so ace that your brain goes straight to “death and murder” before anything else is the biggest mood, I speak from experience

Jalil knows... he had that conversation with Kim in chapter 20... he Knows

“a bit unsupportive” um that is an extreme understatement good grief he was more savage than ME

RISE OF THE KIMAX SHIPPERS

oh don’t worry the venom death still haunts me too

chapter I Hate You... “A rather rotten winter party” well it should have been named A RATHER ROTTEN CHAPTER DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPOSSIBLE THIS ONE WAS TO WRITE OMG I HATE WRITING MYSELF INTO CORNERS

you see I had to have a motive for the timeline twin to explain things properly so that I could put in a really really dumb pun later but that meant I had to unfortunately suffer many allergic reactions again

[future aish note: forgot to mention, i also needed a motive for kim to stop eating chocolate forever, so i had to Curse this chapter as a sacrifice in order to save his life later on]

alright, alright, here we go, I’ll stop procrastinating and just get this over with

oh yeah it’s chapters like these that the fic’s rated T lol

the Adrikim friendship is indeed important... for later... like, plot-relevant levels of important... life-saving levels...

“some event” is the Peace Ball actually and I can’t wait because that chapter’s actually a good one

KIM BRAGGING ABOUT KISSING ADRIEN LAST YEAR IS SO FUCKING FUNNY OH MY GOD I’M LOSING MY MIND???

like last year he was LITERALLY LIKE “oh boo hoo I cannot tell anyone about this because Adrien is Ã Bøyê” and now he’s just like “yeah I kissed a hot boy and what about it???”

to be fair he is on an extreme sugar rush from all the chocolate he ate, which will... be a plot point in just a moment...

PILLOW GIRLFRIEND

I’m the amused nobles, they are me

oh my god Kim we get it you want to kiss someone (Max) and you don’t want to outright say it

holy shit do any of these kids ever think before they speak??? not to sound like the timeline twin or anything but alix... you could have avoided this if you’d bothered to use your one (1) brain cell

[future aish note: bold of me to assume that alix has a brain cell]

Kim wants to now fight his PARALLEL SELF oh my god, get on my level Kim, I want to fight my actual self like right now so there

stfu all of you, this is poisoning my liver

Max is the biggest mood and at least mildly sensible thank god, but he really shouldn’t have left those two alone for even a second

I AGREE PLATONIC LOVE IS UNDERRATED

the chair... the fucking c h a i r... I’m already lying down but I need to lie down harder just to process the absurdity of this

(I think I was gonna have Alix fall off the chair just because that’s hilarious but I forgot)

look I can’t take heartrate seriously but if you ever write it then you are legally required to put in kissing contests or you’re doing it wrong

fudgin Adrienette kiss offscreen and irrelevant

DJWIFI!!! AND ACTUAL PROPER DJWIFI!!!! I was sick of seeing it treated as some kind of pair-the-spares beta couple so I flipped the script and had them literally call out that trope while treating Adrienette as irrelevant instead, which is also why the sequel will be extremely djwifi-centric

“super swanky bae” please stop misusing commoner slang I’m begging you

THERE’S THE PLOT POINT I WAS TALKING ABOUT

Theo was right here, he witnessed with his own eyes how much chocolate Kim ate, so he knows for a fact that if you give Kim chocolate he will scarf it down without a second thought... so hypothetically if one sent him poisoned chocolates... dyou see where I’m going with this...

oh and Theo still has like every job btw

Alya!!!! no!!!!! hire him again!!!!!!!! then he won’t send the chocolates!!!!!!!!!! aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

there goes me hinting how alyadrininette is the ultimate ot4 again

...do I really wanna scroll down and keep going? no I don’t but I guess I gotta, and relive every one of my most embarrassing school sleepovers in the process

full offence to everyone bothering to read this but kissing sounds gross, actually

(for the record it was probably like... 10 seconds or something idk it was Not Long At All)

“probably not more than 5 minutes” omg I just said it was 10 seconds??? hmmm m okay like 20 seconds maaaybe, Kim just has no sense of time perception

neither do I based on my microwaving skills

SHIT THIS IS LITERALLY A SCHOOL SLEEPOVER

INNOCENT DUMBASS AROACE ASKING “what does that mean? what’s this? what’s that? it’s okay you can tell me :-)”

omg I forgot the snake was there ahshdhdkshfs I’m the snake, probably wants to launch itself out of the window so big mood

most of the fic so far had Alix being really aro so I was like damn... gotta make her really ace too

(if I ever bother writing the Kimdine AU then you actually get an aro character who isn’t ace, because we need more of them, but I won’t say who) (okay fine it’s Luka)

I tend not to be too British in my writing so as not to give the Americans heart attacks whenever they see someone referring to their mother as “mum” etc, but like... sometimes you just gotta throw in the word “snogging”

(I’m typing this out on my phone rn and it has exactly 69% battery, I hate this and also hate that I felt the need to mention that)

THE HOCKEY THING MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN BASED OFF A REAL LIFE THING. *SWEATS NERVOUSLY*

honestly I was soooooo tempted to actually write The Talk bit, it would have been the funniest thing ever, but I was also 99% sure I would have to change the rating to M (despite it not even remotely being smut lol, just a regular biology lesson) and there was no way I was doing that, pretty sure I pushed the T rating at some points as it is

[future aish: god i am still so tempted to write it. man, i’m tempted. it would be the funniest thing. but no... i have sworn not to write anything above a T rating so guess i won’t.]

YEAH THE THROWING UP THING TOO WAS DEFINITELY NOT BASED ON REAL LIFE OR ANYTHING *MORE NERVOUS SWEATING*

(it genuinely wasn’t a flowerpot though. it’s my life’s goal to throw up in a flowerpot and I still haven’t achieved it.)

all of this is an Ace Mood(TM)

also I love how elaborately I’ve worded this, like yeah idiot royal teenagers are too royal and posh to ever bother just saying the word “sex” like a normal person

to any 17 year old aces: you aren’t too young to know, I told myself that aggressively when I was 17 but now I’m 22 and I’m still just as ace as I always was sooooo yeah

I also hope I can wake up tomorrow and forget I read this trash

well tbh... it’s not total trash... it highkey reminds me of my school days, like, maybe that was subconscious or something... god who even knows

jeez if timeline twin slapped me in the face I’d just keel over and die from sheer terror, other than that that’s HILARIOUS

timeline twin: “YOU HAVE ONE (1) BRAIN CELL NOW P L E A S E CONSIDER USING IT”

fuckeninf hell listen,,, so when I was writing this chapter I didn’t know I was aro... I mean, I was kinda questioning it?? but all I knew was I was ace, and that me not knowing that as a teenager almost totally screwed me over because like

to be normal or to feel normal there’s things you do or say that you don’t want, and things you know would happen or whether you want something or not you’ll take it because you think you’re expected to, because otherwise you’ll have to confront yourself with the fact that something is wrong with you and you don’t know what or why or how to fix it

and being aro on top of that is misunderstanding how to navigate close friendships because of this fundamental fear that if you want to be close with someone then friendship can’t suffice, that how much you care about them doesn’t matter

and things I did or almost did, or had the chance to do and only stopped because (awfully enough) crippling anxiety which ironically saved me (let’s just say the dude turned out to be a creep)... yeah basically this is all a callback to that aroace teenager feel where you can’t help not being true to yourself because you don’t want to, because you don’t know what’s wrong or right, only what’s “normal” and the ache of knowing that you’re not, no matter how much you try

and I didn’t know I was aro while writing this but in hindsight it’s easy to see how that played into it too, and writing this definitely played a part in me realizing I’m aro and was somehow trying to work through some very pent-up feelings about friendship and closeness with people, as well as pent-up feelings about being ace and how that tied into everything too

...in short, do not phuck the pharaoh or you will get HOUSE ARRESTED and DIE

(jk jk she’ll just be awkward around you forever lol, and then SHE’LL get house arrested and die, because you’re not commoners so your actions actually have consequences you dumb idiots)

this entire thing is just a whole mood and lowkey my teenage years holy fuck holy fuck I hate that I’m only just realizing how bloody hard I was projecting

I literally read a post the other day about how unrequited love is only ever usually explored from the perspective of the person who’s in love, whereas aros are usually on the receiving end of it and it’s a tragedy in its own right that you might do things that wind up driving you apart because you can’t bring yourself to love them back but you can’t tell them because of the fear that it’ll push them away... and I gotta say, I totally nailed it 💪

...you know what I’ve changed my mind, chapter 34 is good actually, and now I need to make a time machine and go and hug my 17 year old self for living this, and then hug my 20 year old self for writing this, I’m sorry I was mean to this chapter it’s very relatable and I shouldn’t keep beating myself up over it

thinking makes me miserable too!! that’s why it’s optimistic nihilism only lads

impulse control, hmmm... someone who’s good for him, hmmmmmm... it’s almost like someone like that is right there and exists and is already in love with him 😏

so apparently timeline twin’s idea of “fixing her life” is burning all her bridges and then hecking off to the Kazakh wilderness for over a year

did Alix just... ask the snake if it’s aroace too???

I mean it definitely is, but...

UGH SNAKES DON’T BLINK, I’M STILL SO ANGRY ABOUT THIS

chapter 35, thank god, the title “Finally!” is very apt

(because I can finally change the music from Death Valley to something else lol)

oh poor Max, his heart goes on a real rollercoaster these few chapters doesn’t it? it’s okay buddy, in like 10 chapters you’ll get your man...

NO BUT SHE H A S FIGURED IT OUT!!! SORT OF!!!

I just misread “despite” as “despacito”, I’m going to bed and continuing this tomorrow dammit

alright I am now funky refreshed and ready to roll, let’s get this kimax party started

Max is angsting internally like “no one’s realized I like Kim :( well except Juleka but she’s a lesbian so she doesn’t count” ashgdjsghskk that mlm/wlw solidarity is holding out I see

YES ALIX YOU DO NEED TO TALK TO NATH MORE, THAT’S YOUR FREAKING BEST BUD IN THE SHOW MAY I REMIND YOU

this is all so Irony it’s murdering me dead

okay yeah I’m gonna be really honest and salty here for a second, this bit where Max is annoyed that Alix takes Nath more seriously as a contender than him was me being a bit salty over the fact that like... kimnath/tomato ketchup is a great rarepair but got so weirdly popular amongst people who didn’t seem to care about Max as a character at all despite how close he is with Kim in canon, and as a Max Stan it made me sad because he’s already not very appreciated in fandom

[future aish note: HE IS NOW BABEY!]

THERE IT IS

I WANT TO HUG MAX TOO, BLESS HIM

I also want to hug Alix because godddds I’ve been in that situation where if you were allowed to just TELL the idiots that they like each other then all their problems would be solved but noooo, you’re sworn to secrecy... *sigh*

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t change, ever...” me: *thinks about the sequel and cackles evilly while cracking my knuckles* well,,

A R O M A N T I C

listen it was VERY IMPORTANT to me that I actually put in all these actual words in the fic and made them relevant, like gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc (I think the only one I didn’t was trans, oops?? gotta remember that for the sequel, at least Nino IS trans in this even though I never said the word)

[future aish note: i feel like i didn’t say pan either, or nonbinary... more stuff for the sequel folks! i can’t put in everything but i may as well try!]

bc you see all these tv shows where a character is bi but they say they “don’t like labels” or a character with no love interest get suddenly paired up with someone random at the end... like NO I wanted to do the OPPOSITE of that bc people’s identities are IMPORTANT so I wanted to MAKE IT RELEVANT 💪

and even though I didn’t yet know here that I was aro and highkey projecting, there’s already a fair few fics dealing with asexuality but not aromanticism?? so I rly wanted to make the aro side of things important

almost relieved??? Max, you buffoon, she IS relieved, extremely

Malix friendship is good and severely underrated and I still haven’t forgiven myself for not putting more of it in this

“He was never eating chocolate again” HO-HO-HOLY SHIT THAT’S SOME FORESHADOWING RIGHT THERE

Rose is a distinguished bi who doesn’t realize Kim is a disaster bi

Kim oh my god you can’t just out Adrien “just about functional bi” Agreste like that

I love that Rose calls Kim a casanova even though he’s very much not... how many people are even into him over the course of the fic? Max, Adrien, it’s implied Marinette used to be, Lila is ambiguous, same with the lacrosse guy later, oh yeah Ondine highkey lmao along with 90% of the teenage population of Saharan Africa, Kim himself in about 2 chapters time...

Rose giving Kim the gay talk is so blessed omg I need more interaction between these two

“If you swung one way you were gay, if you swung the other way you were straight, more than one way made you bisexual, if you didn’t swing any way at all then you were probably just Alix...” I will literally NEVER be able to outdo this line, this is Peak

hmm I don’t think at any point in the fic Max says to Kim that he’s exclusively into boys... I guess he said it offscreen then lol, point is He’s Gay

OMG KIM, YOU FINALLY REALIZED WHAT THE NOSEBLEED SCENE MEANT, GOD BLESS YOU

this is like in Syren when he realizes the mermaid is Ondine and that she was trying to tell him she likes him... except this is the gay version of that

yeah Rose I really do need to get more sleep, that one was directed at me and I know it was

Kim being all like “fellas is it gay if you take off your shirt and a guy swoons at you 🤔🤔🤔”

no, no... Max is definitely a complete trainwreck at romance, just slightly less than you

god freaking dammit not the sports bra again,,, I s2g later in the fic all Ondine would have had to do is to show up in a sports bra and Kim would immediately go full ot3 mode no questions asked,,,,,,,, (I mean he does see her in a swimsuit but that’s not the same??? sports bras are in a different league okay shush)

psssssst!!! you should read heartbroken!!!! it’s a kimax fic and it’s so good!!!!! this was a lowkey shoutout!!!!!!!!

genuinely tho, even if Kim hadn’t liked Max too here, he’s being so sweet about it?? he’s worried about his poor friend’s emotional state and wishes he could have done better to help!! gahhhh their friendship/relationship is just So Blessèd

hsndhkdhdkshdh I only noticed it after finishing the fic and occasionally skimming back through, but so much of the time whenever Alix shows up Kim’s all like *ungrateful* “oh not you again” like WOW that’s one way to greet your friend?? mood tho

[future aish note: i did the exact opposite in No Romo, funnily enough! kim’s not in it much but whenever he sees alix he’s like “friend!!! friend!!!!!” and she’s just like -_- “oh it’s that guy again”]

he’s not even paying attention to her omg she’s trying to save the timeline here you idiot

POOR ALIX how frustrating,,, and also I’ve literally been there,,, the woes of being a wing-girl indeed

and now Kim wants to fight himself, why am I not surprised

aND YES HERE’S WHERE IT HITS HIM, THE EXACT FUCKING MOMENT

WHERE HE’S SUDDENLY LIKE “OH WAIT MAX’S LOVE FOR ME ISN’T UNREQUITED??? I LIKE HIM TOO HOLY SHIT????”

aaaaaaand he immediately asks the aro for love advice, why is he like this omg

gosh this is sooooo sweeeeeet

I did not let up, did I? just went ahead and made this as cheesy and cutesy and over the top as I could because It’s What Kimax Deserves

(there wasn’t rly much Kimax content yet in the fandom at this point so I had total free reign and went all-out with it)

sfjsgskdhs and there goes Alix getting her wing-efforts sidelined again

“I’m never asking out someone on a whim again. Or, uh, confessing that I like someone on a whim either.” so uh... you know how I said I’m considering making the sequel Kimaxdine? well if I do then uh. hm. this might change. because reasons.

I don’t know why I made nothing Alix ever says make sense but I’m glad I did because she’s so freaking funny

I swear I talk about Max’s eyes being “magnified in his glasses” multiple times in this fic, either that or I’m having serious deja vu

Kim’s so cute dammit!!! now that he knows he likes Max he’s just swooning over every little thing and it’s!!!! adorable!!!!!

(I wonder if this is how it was with Kimdine in the show? it does seem like Kim already liked her but just hadn’t noticed...)

huehuehuehue Kim later on you do indeed recklessly propose to Max on the spot... in like 18 chapters or so

also the fact that Kim thinks things through better when he’s around Max is just the total sweetest and also what Alix was basically trying to aim for

I love Kim showing off that he can pack all his stuff in half an hour like buddy, the porters can literally help you with that, you’re royalty remember

omg I’d forgotten I left a note here later for binge-readers!! being all like “drink water and eat food and go to sleep uwu”

lmao guess I’ll take my own advice then and leave it there for now

[future aish note: same, goodnight]