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strange-lace · 3 years ago

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I've been meaning to write something in response to the spider Wukong design that @winterpower98 and @ninja-knox-ur-sox-off have drawn for my Spider Monkie AU! Also features my ship with this AU of Wukong/Spider Queen/Macaque. So here you go!

But content warning for body horror and brief descriptions of blood! Also has brief spoilers for the season 2 finale.

It felt almost like the end of era to Spider Queen when she and the others ventured back down to their old home to start cleaning things out without the threat of the Lady Bone Demon looming over them all. It was one thing for her to start living on Flower Fruit Mountain with the idea in mind that it is a temporary arrangement but this made it feel all the more permanent to her. The idea of never having to live in the ruins, the constant reminders of her fallen reign, and instead live surrounded by greenery, sunlight, and fresh air…

Well, it made the scars, angry and red from where her skin met the scalding liquid of the brazier, not as difficult to look at.

It was enjoyable in a sense, going through her things for moving. Old spell books, faded robes, half finished blueprints. Having Wukong and Macaque there certainly helped, the two monkeys providing their own brand of commentary that never failed to get a chuckle or exasperated groan from her.

Though that changed once they inevitably had to start clearing out the lab.

Syntax, understandably, chose to start transporting things back to the mountain at that moment, Goliath and Huntsman making the decision to go with him. The former because he was concerned about leaving Syntax alone with how shaken he looked and the latter… well even now, Spider Queen couldn’t quite understand those two’s dynamic. They certainly weren’t as antagonistic towards each other like they used to but that didn’t leave them bickering any less than before.

Even though Spider Queen had long since adjusted to the constant gnawing of guilt, it definitely felt like a jab to the gut to see Syntax as he hurried to leave and be back above ground. Far away from the lab and the memories that came with it.

He was in such a hurry that he had not noticed the screwdriver which he had left on the ground.

A gentle prod from Macaque snapped her out of it.

“Hey, c’mon, let’s get through this old junk quick before someone else gets any ideas, okay?”

She could still hear his screams when the experiments were at their worst. How he was barely coherent afterwards, looking so small and vulnerable as she did her best to make sure he was comfortable. How the pain persisted despite the experiments being a “success” and the burning hatred in the Monkey King’s eyes as he glared her down with Macaque in his arms.

“Right, yes, of course,” she mumbled. Macaque was about to say more before all four of his eyes went wide at the sight of something behind her. Spider Queen turned as quickly as she could with her mechanical spider legs and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of Wukong picking up an unused glass tank of her venom that was twice his size.

“Wukong, for all that is heavenly, be careful with that!”

“I got it, I got it! Don’t worry, I’ve carried heavier things than this,” he said as if that actually made either of them feel any better.

To his credit, he kept his balance and grip on the tank well enough that Spider Queen and Macaque felt like they could breathe.

Until he stepped on the same screwdriver that Syntax had accidentally left behind in his rush to leave.

And try as he might, Wukong couldn’t right his balance in time.

Spider Queen swore the world had gone into slow motion in that moment.

The Monkey King landed flat on his back, eyes going wide in horror at the sight of the tank right on top of him. Before he could even move, the tank landed on his body with the glass casing shattering on impact. Without thinking, Spider Queen grabbed Macaque and leaped until they were on the ceiling, far from the reach of the spider venom as it spilled all over Wukong and the lab floor with nothing to contain it anymore.

For a brief moment, they were both silent in horror as Wukong remained motionless before jolting upwards, coughing up a storm.

“Oh gross, I think it got in my mouth!” He sputtered in outrage and Spider Queen let out a sigh of relief. He was still cognizant and not a mindless slave, that was a good sign that the venom didn’t work that way without the spider robots. Perhaps it had become less potent, simply left down here without anyone to maintain it?

That didn’t stop her from insisting that she or Syntax look him over for any possible side effects back on Flower Fruit Mountain, despite the Monkey King’s protests that he was fine. Though, eventually, he caved in.

And to her great relief, there didn’t seem to be any.

“See, what did I tell you? Everything’s fine and I’m fine. You don’t gotta worry about me, that energy is better spent somewhere else.” His eyes wandered towards Macaque as he said that. The monkey demon in question was trying and failing to hide the pain on his face as he rubbed at his back. Spider Queen conceded on that as it looked like she was going to have to brew another muscle relaxer for Macaque and just her luck, they just ran out of the last batch.

“Fine, then help me expend that energy by helping me get the herbs for Macaque’s medicine,” she grumbled, running a hand through her choppy hair. It was still strange, having her hair cut so short to what was a pixie cut, but it was… a welcome change. It also being that way MK did for her while she was recovering and extremely uncomfortable with her hair touching her burn scars helped but… no need to say it out loud.

Wukong followed her lead without any complaint, yet stopped for a second when he felt a weird twinge in his sides. The call of Spider Queen snapped him out of it and rushed to follow her. Yet in the back of Wukong’s mind, he couldn’t help but wonder if that wasn’t just a random pain in his sides.

Almost felt like…

Like something was squirming underneath his skin.

‘Eh, it’s probably nothing to worry about.’ He thought to himself, reaching behind him to scratch at a sudden itch on the back of his neck.

Days passed like normal after that, the permanent move to Flower Fruit Mountain a success, much to his monkeys' chagrin. They were just beginning to warm up to Goliath and were able to be around the others without Wukong having to stop them from pelting the spider demons in fruit. Typically by reminding them that, like it or not, they were also MK’s family and asking them if they wanted to make MK upset by throwing fruit at his mother and “uncles”. That usually did the trick.

Good thing too since Wukong was starting to notice he was feeling… off.

The twinging at his sides had only seemed to worsen in the following days, the sensation escalating from only happening once every two days to it happening three times a day. And while they didn’t become painful, each time it felt like there was more… force behind them every time they happened.

The ignored voice in the back of his head compared it to something almost trying to poke its way free.

Eventually, these “episodes” were enough to stop Wukong from whatever he was doing to try and catch his breath once his sides calmed down. He figured it was only a matter of time until one of his partners confronted him about it. This time being Macaque.

It helped that he had caught Wukong during another one of his “episodes”, this one enough to make him stumble his footsteps and make Macaque rush to catch him before the Monkey King fell ungracefully to the floor.

“Alright Wukong, what’s going on with you?”

A part of Wukong wanted to insist that it was nothing but a passing thing. But passing sensations don’t last this long.

Something was wrong.

“Remember when I dropped that vat of Queenie’s spider venom on me and she didn’t find anything wrong with me?” Horrifying realization came to Macaque’s face at that question, all four of his eyes immediately looking over Wukong for anything out of the ordinary.

“I don’t like where this is going Peaches.”

“Well… a bit ago I started feeling something odd in my sides. Like somebody was poking me. It didn’t really hurt so I thought it was no big deal and would go away on its own, y’know? It… it hasn’t gone away. In fact it’s been happening more often and getting stronger.” As he spoke, Wukong lightly rubbed at his sides, not looking directly at Macaque out of guilt.

“Peaches, I love you, but why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I thought I could handle it on my own! And we have more important things to worry about than me, like you and Queenie, y’know the people who aren’t indestructible and-” He was cut off by a light smack behind the head from Macaque, the demon looking exasperated and frustrated more than anything else.

“You idiot, just because you’re indestructible doesn’t mean that you should have kept this from SQ and me. God, you sound like the kid. We have no idea how the venom could impact your systems compared to me and now who knows what we’ll find. C’mon, we’re having Queen look at you again, no arguments.”

Wukong couldn’t find it in himself to protest. Only hope that it was merely them all being paranoid and stressed.

Those hopes promptly went out the window when Spider Queen had him take off his shirt.

On each side of his torso underneath his arms were two pairs of lumps, each the size of his palm and seemed to almost twitch when she had cautiously prodded at them to feel for bone. He was worried for a moment that everyone was going to see the peaches he had just eaten as nausea squirmed within his stomach.

“This is not good, pretty sure these same exact kind of bumps developed too when we…” Spider Queen trailed off, eyes lingering on Macaque who didn’t need to say anything to show that he understood what she meant. “But this doesn’t make any sense, it took weeks for them to develop at this stage and yet it’s been little more than a week, barely two.” She looked extremely frazzled, trying to make sense of this. Syntax didn’t look any better himself, lime green hair a tousled mess compared to its usual put-together appearance.

“It could be a case of biology, my queen. Wukong’s biology is… incomprehensible to put it politely. With all the methods put into extending his immortality and Macaque’s own biology, it would be pointless to try and compare them and their reactions to the venom. And with how fast these limbs seem to be developing in comparison, it may have already been too late to use the antivenom the moment his skin made contact and he ingested the venom,” he rambled yet Wukong didn’t miss the look of sympathy sent his way at that final statement.

Wukong felt numbness, not sure how to process knowing it was too late for him from the get go.

The sensation of something squirming hitting him again and knowing that it was new limbs developing right under his ribs only made his nausea worse.

He barely noticed Macaque gently pulling him into a hug until his face was buried in coarse purple fur, four arms holding him while the monkey demon nuzzled his cheek.

“Hey, look on the bright side, Peaches. It’s looking like you won’t be growing any new eyes like me. Can’t get any worse than that, right?” Wukong could only give him a small, fond smile that could not even begin to communicate his exhaustion, fear, but relief that Macaque was at least trying to comfort him. For a brief moment, he felt a bit calmer and wasn’t bathed in dread about what was inevitably about to come.

That temporary peace was shattered the moment Wukong felt a stabbing sensation in his sides.

A pain which only seemed to intensify by the second.

He had to leave. Now.

“I-I’m so-sorry, I have to-” Wukong cut himself with a scream of pain as it spiked for a brief moment to a level that his mind was only white hot agony. He stumbled out of Macaque’s embrace and ran off, no clear destination in mind except that he needed to be away.

He could faintly hear Macaque and Spider Queen calling for him to come back, yet he didn’t listen.

The trees blurred as he ran past them and he stumbled into the first temple, nearly tripping on the stone steps and slamming the door behind him. In his blind, pain-filled panic he was able to pile the dusty and old furniture in front of the door to keep anybody out before the pain left him to fall to his knees. Wukong struggled to breath, his lungs feeling like they were on fire.

He couldn’t breathe. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Wukong could only open his mouth in a silent scream of pain, writhing on the floor in a poor attempt to alleviate his suffering. White hot pain ran down his spine as it felt like someone was pulling at it like taffy, skin stretching and organs rearranging underneath his flesh. He gasped in air once the unbearable heat seemed to recede only to let out a groan as it traveled down to his legs. Wukong swore that he could hear the bones in his legs creaking as they grew and thickened, muscles following their lead to fortify them as if ready to carry a great weight.

He sighed, feeling like he could breathe again while noticing that his clothes didn’t feel right anymore.

The brief moment of peace was shattered as Wukong was overtaken by pure agony as he felt something trying to push through his sides.

This time, he couldn’t hold in the screech that bellowed from his lungs.

Spider Queen and Macaque, desperately searching for Wukong, nearly jumped out of their skin as a roar of distress echoed through the forests of Flower Fruit Mountain. They two shared a silent look before running off in the direction of the sound’s origin, his ears leading the way as they twitched to and fro to track their idiot partner down.

“It came from here, I can hear him inside,” Macaque said yet the grim look on his face told her that that wasn’t all. The door didn’t budge when she attempted to pull it open, something heavy on the other side. Rapidly losing patience knowing that Wukong was on the other side and already in the throes of the transformation, Spider Queen felt she could be forgiven about what she needed to do next.

She stepped back before charging at the doors, her shoulder taking the brunt of force.

The fact that she caused the makeshift barricade on the other side to go flying across the temple was of no concern to her. The sight of Wukong curled up in a fetal position on the floor was.

“Peaches!” “Peachykins!”

They were both at his side in an instant, Macaque gently taking the Monkey King off the floor. Immediately he could feel something had changed. Wukong was taller, heavier in his arms.

Gods if that didn’t bring back memories he’d much rather bury.

“You shouldn’t… you two shouldn’t be here,” Wukong wheezed, voice raspy for obvious reasons.

“Quiet you, if you think for a second that we were going to let you deal with this alone, then it seems that venom messed with your brain too. I wasn’t alone for this, so neither should you.” Spider Queen nodded in agreement, running his fingers through his fur in her best attempt to offer him comfort.

Wukong whimpered as the heat and pressure against his sides seemed to grow and grow. Faintly in the back of his head, he could feel that wasn’t the only thing changing. Peach fur darkened as it grew thicker and longer into what was practically a mane. His claws became longer and sharper. For a moment, his entire world was bathed in green instead of gold before his vision returned to normal.

He should feel horrified, to feel himself changing, shifting without any sort of control or way to stop it in front of his partners to add salt to the wound. Feel helpless, powerless, weak.

Yet all that remained on the forefront of his mind was the pain.

“You’re doing amazing Wukong, I promise it’ll be over soon.”

“You just need to hold on a bit longer.”

Just when the pressure and heat had become borderline unbearable and Wukong was on the cusp of passing out, he could just barely hear the sound of ripping past the pounding in his ears.

Cloth ripping as well as something else. Something wet.

Macaque and Spider Queen were knocked back by the force of something punching its way out of the Monkey King's sides, their backs meeting the opposing sides of the room.

Wukong could feel blood dripping down his sides and his entire being ached, not too different from when he had been freed from under the mountain after 500 years. And yet all he could feel was sweet relief, body already working over time to heal his wounds and stop the bleeding. Letting himself a moment to breathe, he cautiously pulled himself up into a sitting position.

Or at least tried, as he fumbled back to the floor the moment he saw just how much his body changed.

Evidently even his “biology” felt the need to one up Macaque as Wukong tested his four new arms. He couldn’t help but mourn the fate of his clothes as it was obvious they were a lost cause, his shirt nothing but scraps of cloth barely able to contain his broader chest and orange stained with red. His pants, while not torn, were now much too short to cover his legs entirely. He could feel that his phoenix feather headdress had managed to get tangled up the much thicker fur which trailed from his head.

Cautiously, he began to move his new appendages. His limbs were clumsy but he slowly began to get the hang of it, belatedly noticing that the fur of his new arms got progressively paler. The second pair more closer resembled his old fur color while the third pair was pure white, all the colors converging around his sides. Or at least it looked like that, since the fur of his sides was sticky and caked with dried blood which stained it a dark red.

Groans of pain pulled him back to focus to see Spider Queen and Macaque pulling themselves off the floor, nursing bumps on the back of their heads from colliding with the walls.

“You… two alright?” His voice was still scratchy and now he had exhaustion weighing on his eyelids.

“Bit of a bump but we’ll live. Shouldn't have been so close honestly. What about you Peachykins?” Spider Queen asked, offering her hand to help him up while trying not to stare at the dried blood crusting his fur. Without hesitation, Wukong took her hand and let himself be lifted back on to his feet. He winced, muscles aching both old and new ones and started to try stretching out the new kinks in his spine.

Spider Queen meanwhile blushed at the fact that she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes now, doing her best to not stare at his muscled and bare chest. Macaque was no better as his eyes looked over Wukong's form, though he had the benefit of fur to hide his flushed cheeks. Their eyes met and they both came to a similar conclusion.

They were doomed.

"Feels weird and I ache all over but…" Wukong gave them both a slow grin once he noticed that he had to look down to see them both, "I think I could get used to this. Got a feeling you guys don't have a problem with it either, am I right?"

Oh they were so doomed.

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lego monkie kid spoilers #spider monkie au #three bastardeers shipping #sun wukong #spider queen #macaque #my writing #fanfiction

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mommymilkersswag · 3 years ago

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How I wish pt.2

Warning: detailed descriptions of death, angst.

Pt.1

“ Y/n, you’re so beautiful you know that..”

Not beautiful enough for you to love me back, those words in which I wanted to scream at him, for a long time now. Why did I have to get stuck with him.?Why couldn’t he love me back.

“ In a friend's way right ?” I asked so selflessly, Why couldn’t I just say “thank you” or nothing at all.

“ Of course, everything is platonic. I will only ever love you as a friend nothing more”

After the incident with his fan girls, I never spoke to him again at school, we had separate classes so avoiding each other was easy, but seeing him in the hallways with girls always on him hurt me. The way he looked at them, did he ever look at me like that ?

When I would go home my phone would go off from him trying to come over because he missed me, because he hated not being able to see me. I wanted to believe those words so badly but I knew it would only be a matter of time for him to crumble my heart completely, a matter of time before he would no longer find a purpose for me anymore. I knew that would happen, I was mentally prepared for it but not emotionally.

As the days grew colder and darker, I started to envy people with happiness. Atsumu had stopped texting me, I was okay with it I guess. He was the only ‘friend’ I had, the only person that came up to me, to talk to me. Though I wish he didn’t.

The next couple of days were dreadful, a new girl showed up at our school, she was pretty, glass skin, and had beautiful long hair. Oh how I wish I was as remotely pretty as she was. Of course he fell for her.

Couple months later

He had invited me to his house, I don’t know what I was so excited for. I guess I was expecting him to tell me” I love you more than a friend” or something of the cliche spectrum. I had forgotten I was still his best friend though. The air was thick, I was happy to leave my house when I could because it was always so cold there, so dark, and so lonely. Atsumu knew that.

I was contemplating knocking on the door, I should've just stayed home.

“ ah y/n you made it!’

“ I want you to meet somebody, This is my girlfriend!”

Definitely should've stayed home.

I tried to muster up some words but nothing would come out. Everything I didn’t want to happen happened, and now everything is gone. I have no one anymore. It's evident that he will stop talking to me completely. I was happy for him though, I was happy that one of us was able to end up happy.

“ oh congratulations, she's perfect for you”

“ RIGHT ?!, Isn’t she just breath taking”

“ ...she's my star, the star that shines the brightest”

Tears started to form, my vision started to get blurry. It felt like I was going to throw up. It felt like I was having a sleep paralysis episode but the only thing is that I was never asleep to begin with. Of course I was never gonna be the bright star, I was never gonna be anything to him. What broke me the most is that he used to tell me that. I used to be his shining star. I knew that he only said that to make me want him more. What can I say, Atsumu is a man that constantly craves attention, anyone that doesn’t give that to him at all times he leaves. I don't know why it's taken him so long to throw me away.

“ Y/n ? Are you okay ? you look pale.”

“ yeah I’m fine I just realized I had some homework I need to finish “

“ oh okay, get home safely”

I didn't say anything after, If i was being honest I wish I wouldn’t get home safely. Like a crazy person I just started sobbing, I had no purpose in life anymore, I had nobody, nothing.

“ Hey y/n are you okay?”

I didn’t expect Suna to be looking at me like this. I could only stare at him.

“ hey it’s okay, let's get you home though it’s late”

Without saying anything you got up and started walking. No other words were exchanged between you two. He didn’t ask any questions regarding why you were in the state you were in. You appreciated that.

“ thank you Suna”

“ yeah yeah no problem, please let me know if I can help with anything”

You shut the door, and you’re back into your home. The one that is empty with nothing but your thoughts. You can’t properly function. You knew he didn’t love you back but you chose to keep following him. You did this to yourself. There was still a part of you that thought now that you were no longer part of his life you could tell him how you felt. As the final goodbye.

You sent him a text message telling him to meet you by the garden you two used to play at. It took him a while to respond but there you two were. The same thick air that seem to have lingered now is extremely dense.

“ what did you need y/n ?”

“ I need to tell you something”

“ Oh what is it ?”

“ I love you, I love you so much, I've always loved you and I always will”

“y/n i-”

“Atsumu please don’t say anything, I know I don’t mean anything to you and I’ve come to terms with that, nor am I trying to ruin your relationship I just wanted to let you know”

“ So please remember me when I lose this insufferable battle against myself”

Tears now running down your face, with a polite smile.

Atsumu was at a loss of words, he didn’t know what to say so he just left. As you expected, leaving just like everyone else did, and with that your final goodbye, you were finally at ease. The pain had gotten so much worse that you felt numb.

After that you had stopped eating, going to school everything that you found enjoyment in, gone. Atsumu noticed that you hadn’t gone to school and felt that familiar peng to his heart as he felt the first time when he saw you sobbing on your bedroom floor after the fangirl incident. Though as always he found himself getting lost in the attention that his girlfriend was giving him.

As for you, well you were moments away from finally being free. Rose petals started to come out of your mouth as thorny stems sprung out of your mouth. The petals of the rose had finally all fallen. Vines inching out of your mouth. The only thing you could do was lay there and wait, wait for the pain to disperse. Finally the last petal gently flies out of your mouth as you take your last breath. Now there lies the lifeless body of a girl who only wanted to be happy. But instead she got love that was unrequited. The house seems colder now, darker, now completely empty. Blue veins cover my body, skin pale, but finally there are no more worries, no more stress, no more pain. At least I got to tell him how I feel.

A/n: sorry this was dark, I’ve had this happen to me before.

#haikyuu!!#haikyu x reader #angst #atsumu scenarios #hq atsumu #haikyuu angst #atsumu angst

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sometimes-love-is-enough · 4 years ago

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re: your last ask about the time travel shenanigans—holy fuck yes please more of this. like, not only is it funny as hell, which i appreciate, but it's also a. more c!thomas and b. points to just how interestingly both the plot and characters of this series have grown over the years and i am ALL for it

"Janus!" is the first thing Thomas exclaims when he sees the Side Formerly Known Exclusively As Deceit rise up where Logan would usually stand. Which just might be a mistake, if Janus’s expression is anything to go by.

Okay, in Thomas's defence -

This is a really, really weird day, even by his standards. Because, like, Logan's currently standing in front of the stairs, and that's not where Logan's supposed to be, and his shirt and tie are all wrong. And had had been grinning. Openly. He had been openly grinning when Thomas had first woken up and looked in his wardrobe and realized that his favorite t-shirt apparently doesn't exist anymore and all his clothes are a half-size smaller than he's used to but also they still fit and - okay, no, back to Logan. He'd gone downstairs and tripped over a chair that wasn't supposed to be there and called out Logic. And he'd been about to ask him what's going on and why everything feels so off and also why Logan's standing in Virgil's usual spot instead of over to the right of the stairs. But then he'd noticed all the aforementioned Very Weird Clothing Things. And he'd stopped and said, "Uh, Logan?" and Logan's grin had dropped and he'd stared at Thomas for a full ten seconds then whispered, "what the fuck," with great emotion.

And then Patton had shown up with a ridiculous amount of pun-riddled cheerfulness that Thomas had been able to clock as sixty-percent fake within about half a second. And his clothes had been all wrong, too, and after a lot of confused, borderline-incomprehensible yelling at each other, Roman had showed up and added to the chaos.

"I am scared and confused and on the verge of completely losing it!" Thomas had declared at some point, which had been the cue for an ominous music sting somewhere to Thomas's right that made everybody jolt in terrified unison.

"Did somebody say scared and confused and on the verge of completely losing it?"

"Virgil, thank god!" Thomas had practically yelled, and just about thrown himself across the room to get to him - before pausing midway and allowing his brain to process... wrong hoodie. Wrong amount of eyeshadow. "Wait. No, hang on, is this - "

"FUCKING WHO," Virgil shrieked, leaping backwards half a flight of stairs, which had led to another round of confused yelling, with Thomas trying to assure them all that he's fine he hasn't had some sort of strange head injury or whatever, he's just really happy to see Virgil and no of course that's not weird, what do you mean who's Virgil, that's Virgil right over there, Roman please put down that sword things are already out of hand -

And at some point Thomas had got it into his head that the most reasonable course of events was to summon the one person who always seems to know everything that everybody else doesn't, which brings everything up to speed, more or less. Roman had gone, "Thomas, what are you doing," and Thomas, feeling slightly manic at this point, had said, "I'm trying to summon a demon, obviously," because the best way to get hold of a certain someone probably is blatant lying, and boom, instant Janus.

"Jeee-sus Christ on a cookie-shaped canoe, what is he doing here?!"

"Janus!"

So, Janus pops up, he looks literally the same as he always has (except maybe with shorter hair? Wait, they all have shorter hair, including Thomas, wait a second -) with his half-snake-face and his hat and gloves that cosy-looking capelet of his. And although his expression reflects faint bewilderment and that very particular 'wait, what' emotion that results in being pulled abruptly away from something you were busy with, he looks so normal that Thomas thinks for a moment he might be the only sane person left.

But then Janus makes a series of start-and-stop noises of incomprehension, and gestures wildly towards Virgil, who's crouched midway up on the stairs behind Logan, looking like a cornered wild animal, and snaps, "Why for the love of everything that's holy would you tell him my name?"

"You think this is me?" Virgil retorts, hands going up to grab desperately at the bars lining the side of the staircase. "I don't understand anything that's going on! He somehow knows my name! He's - he's being nice to me!"

It suddenly occurs to Thomas that this might just possibly be a time travel sort of thing. It would explain the clothes shift. And the altered layout of his house. And the fact that when he'd checked his phone this morning it had told him it was 2016, and also it hadn't been his phone, it had been the one he'd broken a few years ago in a tragic piano-moving-related accident.

...Okay, yeah, this is absolutely a time travel thing.

"Is somebody going to explain why Thomas ruined all of our heartfelt name reveal moments in one fell swoop?" Roman demands. "I thought we agreed we were going to do them gradually and draw them out as long as possible for dramatic effect!"

"I agreed to none of that," Virgil snaps from his position halfway up the stairs.

"Yes," says Logan, "yes, I think we all would like to know what's going on. Thomas? What's going on?"

"Uh - " Thomas, who has just come to a rather startling realization about time travel and also about how shitty his Sides' taste in costumes were pre-wardrobe change, doesn't really have a prepared answer for this. "I have... I am - I just - "

Thomas struggles for words. Really struggles. And everyone's just standing there, watching him with expressions that range from terror to confusion to suspicion, and they all look so weirdly young in a way that's hard to pin down. It's the clothes. It's probably the clothes, or maybe it's the way they hold themselves. Roman, carelessly confident, without a doubt in the world. Patton, still wearing a fixed dad-grin, politely baffled and looking back and forth. Logan, who hasn't been systematically beaten down and pushed back over the course of many, many years. Virgil, who's basically just a ball of grey-and-black anger and acerbic anger at this point. Janus, who's... Janus. Who's looking at him in a way that Janus has never looked at him before.

And Remus is probably lurking somewhere in the back of his mind, too, doing whatever Remus does, and - would Remus be any different now, four years prior? Thomas hadn't had any significant problems with intrusive thoughts, not back then... or, well, back now. Maybe he's calmer, maybe Thomas could actually talk with him. Try to work something out, try to understand.

But wait, he's still got to give the Sides right here and right now an answer.

Hm.

...Thomas has been through a lot in the past four years. Not, like, fantasy protagonist a lot, but more like a extended psychological journey of self-discovery and mental health crises. Now, he wouldn't trade any of this for the world, because he's learned a hell of a lot about himself in the process - but also? The Sides have put him through a lot of horrifying realization-type things.

Which is why he absolutely one hundred percent deserves to do what he's about to do next.

"I," says Thomas, with an extraordinary amount of confidence and self-assuredness, "am psychic."

And the dead silence holds. Now even Patton is staring at him in disbelief. Janus has graduated into outright horror, his face twisted up into a oh god no I am somehow responsible for letting him delude himself this far expression.

"Thomas!" Roman gasps, almost instantly lighting up with genuine enthusiasm. "Oh, Thomas, I'm so proud, we've been working on this for years. Tell me, does this extend to telekinesis, or just somehow knowing all our names and nothing else?"

"What?" Janus says. "What - no. No, you can't seriously be going along with this - what? That... what? That doesn't even make any sense?" He turns wildly from left to right, and - okay, it's very enjoyable to see him out of his depth, to be perfectly honest. Thomas likes Janus a lot, knows he has his best interests at heart, but the whole courtroom thing had been a major dick move. This is satisfying. "Are any of you getting this? Does anyone here understand what's going on?"

"I'm psychic," Thomas repeats doggedly. "I acquired magical psychic powers and now I know all of your names and tragic backstories. Surprise! I unlocked my full potential and the ninety-percent of my brain power that I wasn't using."

"That's - that's a widely-perpetuated and wildly incorrect myth," Logan says weakly.

"Nope. Turns out it's true, and I was only using ten percent of it, and now that I've gone full big-brain, I know that Patton's repressing all his bad feelings because he doesn't want to bother anyone with them, Virgil acts all scary and menacing because he thinks it's the only way that I'll ever listen to him, and Janus is secretly a huge dork with a heart of gold - uh, yellow, I guess."

"How dare you," Janus breathes, looking horrified.

"Wha - " Patton suddenly looks very pale indeed.

"Also, Roman, you're my hero; Logan, please never stop smiling like that ever again, it's literally my favorite thing in the world and if you ever stop being enthusiastic about teaching me things I will cry - and Virgil, I love you."

Virgil lets out a choked little noise like he's just been punched directly in the stomach.

"I love all of you," Thomas adds, an afterthought. "I never say that enough. Janus, that goes for you as well. You're right, I need to take care of myself more."

"I'm - " Janus is still looking around at everyone in complete disbelief, but now his gaze fixes onto Thomas, his eyes wide. "I'm what?"

Thomas is now on a roll. An extremely cathartic sort of roll. "And Remus -"

Everybody immediately panics. Virgil and Logan's hands both immediately leap up to clasp over their mouths, which seems to be a reflexive reaction on Janus's behalf. Patton lets out a deranged-sounding high pitched giggle that edges into genuine hysteria.

"Brother? What brother? I don't know what a brother is!" Roman says loudly. "I've never had a brother in my life! Thomas, your glorious psychic powers are malfunctioning. Have you tried turning them off and turning them on again?"

" - I'm not going to lie and say I love him, but -" Thomas stops abruptly, and staggers backwards to catch himself on the couch as a thought strikes him out of literally nowhere. "Son of a bitch -"

"Does being psychic make you swear a lot?" Patton asks weakly. "Because, uh. Not sure I like this side of you, kiddo - "

"Logan," says Thomas. "Logan, what's the date today? This is so, so important, what's the date."

"It's... October," Logan says, very slowly. "October twentieth. 2016?"

"Holy shit," Thomas whispers, and then says it louder, "holy shit. Okay, listen. I was going to sort out all of our collective psychological issues in one impressive emotional speedrun, but I've realized we have something much more important to do." He pauses, and takes in a very deep, shuddering breath. "Guys. We can save Vine. Excuse me. I've just realized I’ve got to make a lot of calls."

#storytime #timeswap au #asks #please note that everything in my storytime tag is (by definition) rushed and unedited content and this is no exception #that being said. enjoy.#character!thomas #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #sad to announce that remus is once again not here :(#Anonymous

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natashxromanovf · 4 years ago

Text

Injuries

Pairing: Sirius Black× fem! reader

Warnings: swearing, vomiting, alcohol, injuries

Word count: 2k

A/N: I’m kinda proud of this one. I can definitely see the progress. I hope you like it! I started writing it 2 weeks ago, but lost motivation and now I’m here finishing it today. Also @voidmalfoy wanted to be tagged in here. Thank you for deciding to read it.

You and Sirius were best friends since the second year. You have never imagined him as something else. Something more.

Your dorm was very bright from the sun shining through the windows. You could feel the warmth on your body. It was a perfect afternoon.

“Hey Y/N.”

“Hello, Marlene”

“I need to ask you something”

“Sure”

“What’s going on with you and Sirius?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, are you two a couple or something?”

“What?” the question caught you off guard. “No. You know we are not.”

“Babe, I have seen the way you’re looking at him. You look like your heart is about to melt into your hands.”

“What, no-” and then it hit. The realization that you are, indeed, in love with your best friend. it didn’t happen all of a sudden, no. The feelings were built through the years. It started with a little crush, you developed in fifth year. You pushed it at the back of your mind, convincing yourself it’ll go away. But it didn’t. It just kept growing and growing, until it was too big for you to deny it anymore.

“Fuck” you sighed “No, no, no this is not happening! It can’t be happening. I can’t. He doesn’t feel the same I’m just going to end up heartbroken.” a million thoughts were running through your head. But the loudest and strongest one was He doesn’t feel the same. How am I gonna tell him?

You decided not to worry about it. Not tonight. Tonight is time for fun. The marauders planed one hell of a good party (Sirius was in charge of the drinks, Remus planned the whole thing and James and Peter made sure that teachers won’t hear a thing) and there’s no way you are gonna ruin yourself the night. Tonight is time for drinking and celebrating Gryffindor's win in the match against Ravenclaw.

When you got there the common room was already pretty full. Your eyes started to search for Sirius before you even realized it. And there he was, flirting with a girl as always. The new feeling hit you. You immediately knew what it was. It felt like a stab in the chest, like someone was trying to tear your heart out of your chest. No, don’t you thought. What did I promise myself? You got lost in your thoughts before someone tapped your shoulder.

“Hey Y/N/N.”

“Oh, hey Lily.”

She looked at Sirius and then at your face. “Marls told me” she sighed.

“Oh news travels fast around here.” you rolled your eyes.

“Let’s go somewhere else. Drinks!”

Soon all of your friends joined. You danced, drank, you had fun. Maybe a little too much. You tripped and fell, but somebody caught you.

“Wow, you okay, love?”

Sirius.

“Yeah, I’m all good, Siri” you giggled. Trying to steady yourself, you once again lost balance but there were hands quickly to wrap around your waist.

“Okay, I think you had enough.”

What? No. I didn’t know you were such a party killer.”

“Believe me, I’m not, but I think you should go up.”

“Whatever.” He escorted you.

“Thank-” you couldn’t even finish the sentence. As soon as you came up you ran straight to the bathroom. You don’t tolerate alcohol very well. You knew that. You started throwing up and someone's hands grabbed your hair.

“See. Told you.” joked Sirius but there was a hint of worry in his voice.

“I’m okay. Thank you.” you smiled. “But I think I’m gonna stay here for a little bit. I don’t think it’s over yet.”

“Then I’m staying too.” he sounded pretty sober, looking at a fact he drank nearly as much as you.

“No, you don’t have to. Go, have some more fun.”

“It’s okay.”

“You sure?” you raised your eyebrows.

“Yes.”

Soon your urge to puke went away so you fell asleep.

The morning came quicker than you wanted. Your head was pounding and you felt sick. What you didn’t expect was to wake up to the black-haired boy sleeping on the floor beside your bed. You couldn’t help yourself but stare at the beautiful being sleeping in front of you.

No worries, no school, no quiddi- “Quidditch!!” you shouted “Sirius wake up! Wake up, idiot!” you screamed, throwing a pillow in his face.

“What?!”

“Quidditch, Sirius, quidditch”

He looked at you confused.

“Practice, James saying it was important, don’t you remember??”

“Oh, shit!”

“YES! We have exactly five minutes to get ready. Oh God, my head! Do you have any painkillers?

“Yes, in my dorm. We get ready and then meet me down in five?"

“Yes, now go!”

As fast as you could, you got ready, took your broom, and ran down the stairs. Sirius was already waiting for you with a water bottle and three pain killers. “Thanks.”

“No worries, now run.”

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

“Where have you been!?! You’re late!”

“I know, I’m so sorry James”

“Do you even have a good excuse? I told you this training is very important!”

“Does hangover count?” half-joked, half asked Sirius.

“What? Oh, the party. No, it doesn’t count! And where even were you, you didn’t come back to our dorm last night.”

The boy looked at you and then started speaking “In girls’ dorm.”

“What were you- You know what I don’t wanna know, just get ready quick!”

You quickly swallowed the medications, saddled the broom, and pushed yourself from the ground.

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

The practice was quite enjoyable. The fresh air helped with your headache. Or was it just the medications, you didn’t know. The ending of the practice was approaching when James called you all down for a quick word.

“So, many of you are probably wondering why the hell was this training so important. No, it wasn’t just because I wanted to have it, it was also because professor Mcgonagall informed me, that Hufflepuff’s seeker broke her arm, so they can’t play in their game against Slytherin next week. Which means that we have to play instead of them.

You enjoyed playing quidditch. Tho matches against Slytherin were never fun. It always ended with at least half of the team in the hospital wing. By any chance, that half of the team often included you. The raven-haired boy, who stood next to you, bumped your shoulder.

“Excited for the game, y/l/n”

“I don’t know, these matches always end the same.”

“With injuries and annoyed Madam Pomfrey.” you two said in sync. The laughter filled your lungs, echoing through the changing room.

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

The week went through pretty boring yet normal. Lessons, tons of homework, intense practices, a couple of pranks, and fun evenings with friends. Saturday came again quickly and nerves settled into your body. You were tense, anyone could see that from a mile away. You tried to eat, but your stomach refused.

“Come on darling, relax.” said Sirius massaging your shoulders and neck.

“I don’t even know why I’m so stressed, it’s just a normal game. But I have a feeling something will go terribly wrong!”

“Hey, hey, look at me” whisper- yelled Sirius. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll do good, I’ll do good, James’ll do good.” staring at those beautiful grey eyes of his, you calmed. They took your worries away and your lips formed a gentle smile. His expression soon mirrored yours, looking away from you.

“Thank you so much Pads, I have no idea how you do it but it works. You’re the only person that can calm me.” He would probably throw some flirty remark back if James hadn’t cut him off.

“Attention, attention my dear teammates. The match will take place at 9.30 so we have exactly 30 minutes-”

“29″

“29 minutes, thank you, Williams, to get ready. So lift your ass up, take your brooms and lets go to changing rooms!” James yelled, clearly determined to win today's game. He can be sweet and nice but when it comes to quidditch there is no joke.

When you changed into quidditch ropes the team went through all your tactics again. Soon enough you heard Madam Hooch's whistle that announced the game is gonna begin. Two captains shook hands, roughly than they should.

The game was pretty tight Gryffindor only leading by 10 points. If James doesn't catch the snitch soon you're all screwed.

"Williams throwing a quaffle to y/n, y/n passing it to Andrews and Andrews right back to y/n... And y/n scores!! The result is now 180 for Gryffindor and 160 for Slytherin." Right as the commentator announced your goal you saw James diving after something very small, something golden... a snitch! "And Potter caught the snitch, Gryffindor wins!!" Loud cheering was heard from all directions. Cheering people in scarlet and gold, some Gryffindors some even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

Right as you were about to land someone knocked you from your broom. As you started falling you saw a familiar face behind you. You didn't give it much a thought tho as blackness took over all your senses.

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

The moment you woke up you felt a pair of familiar hands around your own. Your head was pounding, your vision was blurry and you had to blink a couple more times than normal. You tried to sit up but your body strongly disagreed.

"Siri? What happened?" the black-haired boy quickly looked up and a smile formed on his face.

"You're awake, thank god." he said with such a caring voice and your stomach immediately started doing flips. "You were diving when somebody knocked you off your broom. Nobody saw who it was tho." as the memories started forming themselves in your mind you remembered who you saw. It was Goyle.

"I know who it was. But you have to promise me you won't do anything stupid!" Sirius' face darkened. Hesitatingly he said "I promise. Now please tell me."

"It was Goyle." Goyle has always been short-tempered. He probably couldn't take the Slytherin's loss so he took his anger out on you.

"I'm gonna kill him! That son of a bitch. I knew it, I knew it!!"

"Sirius Black! You promised you won't do anything stupid. Now please calm down. Nothing bad happened."

"Nothing bad happened?! Y/n you're in a hospital wing!"

"Yea, but I'm okay." That was obviously a lie. Every part of your body hurts. With every move, every word, something hurts. As you could saw, Sirius didn't buy it but decided to play along anyway.

"Oh, you're okay? Fine, then please sit up for me."

Again you tried but couldn't do it. "I can't."

"Oh, I know you can't." a smirk appeared on his face but was soon replaced with a worried expression. "You fell from 8 meters, you can't be okay."

"You know me too well, it's creepy really. You know more about me than I do myself." he laughed, leaving you no other choice than to join him.

"Please don't make me laugh, it hurts." you said through chuckles and pain.

Soon enough, you both calmed down and a comforting silence fell over you two. That was until Sirius interrupted "You got me worried there, you know."

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault what in the world are you sorry for, love?"

"Don't know. For destroying a happy feeling after our win?"

"You didn't. I'm just happy you'll be okay." he smiled. Overwhelmed with emotions you said something you didn't intend to. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"No Sirius, I'm in love with you." no stopping now, you thought. He was caught by surprise, hundreds of thoughts running through his mind. You miss judged the silence, looking away with glassy eyes. He broke out of his thoughts by the sight of you almost crying.

"I- I'm in love with you too."

"What?" you have to hear him say it again. Was this just your head playing with you? You waited so long for these words to come out of his mouth, you didn't know if they were real.

"I love you too." he said right before pressing his lips against yours. It didn't take you long to melt into the kiss. Your lips felt like they were made for each other.

Like you two were made for each other.

#sirius black imagine #sirius black × reader #sirius black

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heir-of-talon · 4 years ago

Text

Another chapter with my favourite ship. But maybe I should wreck it?

HEIR OF TALON 3

Warnings: explicit/underage

Summary:

Garret and Ember spend a day together trying to have fun.

Boy of summer

Garret

I woke up aroused and confused entangled in Ember's warm body. She was asleep, with her thigh carelessly thrown across my hips, her arm resting on my chest with the palm over my rapidly beating heart. I laid motionless for a while enjoying the touch of our bodies, feeling her breath on my neck and wishing that we could stay like this forever. But how could we with all the work awaiting us? This was not a good life for a young girl. Not that I knew much about it, yet still I could see her fading away, every time I saw her she was less lively, less herself and more tired, sad or angry. She insisted that this was what she wanted, that this was important to her. But the Order was less and less important to me. With each group of survivors emerging I could see, that the Order of St George was founded on values, that I could no longer share or excuse. I only continued as their commander to ensure, that the Order will not bounce right back and attack the dragons. But maybe being away in order to protect Ember from a change of hearts in the Order I was failing her in other ways, that were just as important. There, bleak thoughts chased away excitement and pleasure. I needed to get up and get active to clear my head.

I tried gently to wriggle free of Ember's limbs when she tensed and a pair of green eyes snapped open pinning me with intense gaze. The tension and expression melted away almost immediately and she smiled lazily. "Good morning commander" she said raising on one elbow to gaze down at me. Her fingertips slowly traced irregular patterns on the bare skin of my chest sending sweet thrills into my stomach. She pouted her lips and my thoughts strayed to another time, when she was touching me like that, a cargo bed in a clearing in some forgotten end of woods. I wanted her so much, I gathered her closer to my chest with my one arm. "Good morning ma'am, any special wishes for your humble servant?" She giggled and patted me mockingly. "Don't! Think if somebody hears us now? That would ruin the alliance. They would think I have you in thrall." She teased. "Maybe you do?" I said solemnly. "I do what?" She asked. "Have me in thrall. Because I feel that I would do anything for you without giving it a second thought". I looked deep into her eyes letting the joke and the truth sink in. Ember smiled and kissed me, pressing her body closer to mine. I ran my hand down her back and ass and felt heat kindling again in the pit of my stomach. She felt my cock pressing at her thigh and purred with delight before she straddled me grinding her breasts and belly against my upper body. I held her and kissed her, tasting her tongue and breath. I wanted her, my loins were on fire aching with desire and she was right there on top of me, warm and eager. I wanted her to burn me again, if she must. I just needed to be as close as possible. Some part of me seemed melting and running into her already. I felt my heart burning for her when my hands slipped under her t-shirt and stroked her back and sides of her breast, that were pressed tightly against me. I gripped her ass with my other hand. We needed to get her out of these clothes. I peered into Ember's eyes to tell her that and my voice caught in my throat. I could feel blood chilling in my veins. The impression was there and gone but I suddenly felt strange premonition and a thought crossed my mind, that she could just as well be on another planet the way things were. As if some illusion got dispelled by whatever I found on the bottom of the smiling green eyes. So I took her face in both my hands, kissed her briefly and asked. "What do you want to do today?"

"How about nothing?" She said. "I should probably go to my office and grant a ratification of Viper's agreement." She mused, her forehead creasing. "What are you going to do?" She asked. "I'm taking a day off to maintain my dragon girlfriend" I said smiling. "She can literally breath fire and bite my head off and I've been rather neglecting her lately..." Ember smiled happily and kissed me. "Deal. I cannot believe it is the soldier who talks me into skipping work!" She laughed. I rolled to the side making her to lay down beside me and kissing her. We kissed and touched for some time and it was great even though some of the strangely unpleasant feeling lingered in my chest. At last Ember declared herself famished and we decided to leave the bed and seek some breakfast.

*****

I walked towards the waterline with my newly bought and waxed surfing board. Ember let herself woo into buying a new high-tech board that doesn't require waxing by the attendant at the surfing shop and course centre by the beach. Then she proceeded to huff and puff and roll her eyes when I waxed mine with the attendant giving me tips and talking about how fine the weather was for surfing. When I was finished she ran towards the water and now waited for me in shallows beckoning for me to hurry. "Come on Garret! What is it? Are you regretting our bet?" She grinned. I said nothing watching distant surf ahead. "Don't worry, I'll treat you kindly when you lose." "How generous of you." I answered and started deeper into the water. I was exhilarated I could almost feel the vastness of the ocean surrounding me, the freedom calling to me. I looked at Ember and could see, that she had the same revelation. She was grinning madly with her eyes shining, there was nothing left of the exhausted girl in crumpled suit from yesterday. She might be CEO of Talon but she looked more like an overworked intern. It was quite a swim to reach the swells, but neither of us complained. Finally we were there and the wave was coming. Ember's attention focused completely on getting ready to catch it, so I decided to strike back. "How much money?!" I shouted. "What?" She seemed confused her eyes still focused on incoming swells. "How much money you bet on me being pounded more than you?!" "Million dollars soldier boy, you are going down!" She shouted and made to stand up anytime. "I cannot match that!" I teased her. "Million dollars against a daim!" She grinned madly and tried to stand up. I followed her suit and after wobbling a bit went tumbling off into turquoise waters. When I emerged and got water out of my eyes I saw Ember already recovering her board visibly enjoying herself.

Her enjoyment was somewhat diminished when, after three more approaches, where we both got wiped out, I managed to catch the wave and ride it without falling. The experience was almost overwhelming, after months of running, fighting and then managing what was left of the Order, I have almost forgotten, what it is like to do something for the sheer feeling of it. Three more rides and Ember was scowling, she fell off every time and finally, I could not enjoy this anymore. "Let's call it a day!" I shouted to her. "No! You don't get to win this easily!" She seemed close to tears and I could not stand the thought, that I have somehow caused this. I could not remember Ember being such a sour loser. I waded all the way to her and hugged her tightly. "Ember, it's not fun anymore. Let's go and get something to eat." Food managed to lift her spirits nine out of ten times. She looked at me as if she was about to say something nasty, but then she seemed to relax.

We got out of water, changed into dry clothes and drove to a steak house not far away. Over a steak that could cover her whole upper body Ember seemed to cheer up a bit. I watched amazed as the enormous piece of meat disappeared fast in this slip of a girl. It was fascinating, how could I ever have missed this ravenous appetite?

"Go on. Mock me. I deserve it." She said. "Come on Ember, can't we let it go? Or maybe agree on best out of three..." I did not care a bit about this wager, and it definitely was not worth Ember's discomfort for me. "No! I've lost miserably and now have to explain to Archivist, why exactly we have to transfer one million dollars to you." I was dumbstruck. "Don't even think about it! I wouldn't accept it. I didn't mean it seriously." She must have hit her head. "A bet is a bet. You might not have meant it, but I did." She said. "Why? Why would you want to bet a million to a daim on anything?". I was incredulous. "Because I was sure I'd win? Because I have all this millions and apparently can't use them on anything that would bring me joy..." Ember was tearing up again, it pained me to see her so fragile, she was definitely not well. I stood up and slipped into our booth on her side of the table. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to my chest. "I don't want your money Ember. I love you. I want you to be happy. I know you feel that changing Talon is your responsibility, but maybe someone else could help to administrate the changes?" She looked at me doubtfully. "If you have that much money, maybe pay uncle Liam and aunt Sarah to take care of you in Crescent Beach until you turn eighteen? You could surf every day after school with Lexi and Calvin." I stopped seeing her gaping at me. Then she started to laugh, somewhat joyless, until it turned into sobs and she was weeping and I had no idea what to do other than to hold her.

At last she came to herself. "Oh Garret, how wonderful this would be. But it's impossible." "Why? Why is it impossible Ember? I am sick of the Order. They are adults, let them clean their own mess. We need to do other things in our lives than their bidding. Isn't that why you've rebelled in the first place?" She watched me in silence. "I would gladly leave the Order. Even if that meant I'd have to go to school and work at a gas station. If it meant that I could be with you." I stopped having said all I had to say.

"Oh my! Garret, you truly mean it?!" She said at last. Then she looked very conflicted. "They will never let us go Garret. I don't know if I can live a normal life. This is too much!" But I could feel that she was considering it, so I said. "You don't have to decide right now. Just think about it. I want very much to be with you. Even if you stay in Talon. I could be your bodyguard." Finally Ember's gaze softened. "You would do that for me? Leave the Order?" She said. "I already did. Something just got messed up underway and we ended up exactly, where we started." I said. I have been thinking a lot about our current situation and with each day, when I was away from Ember, fighting Order's battles in a war where there was neither honour nor fortune for me to win, I saw clearer how life was slipping through my fingers. It was possible that it would take more than human lifetime to change the Order and Talon. And even though I was granted extended life by Riley I felt, that this time would be wasted just as well. We would not be as we are, to move on, once the process is advanced enough to let it continue on its own. Ember was already changed beyond recognition after mere months of this life. I caught myself more and more often at hating the Order of St George and Talon and all the mess I was handling on the behalf of both. We had a choice. We've made this choice once, we could make it again. So I put my arms tightly around her and said. "I want to be with you Ember. You've told me, I can live for centuries. But my mind and heart are still human. I miss you. I feel I'm wasting my life being away and struggling to keep control of an organisation, that I'd rather leave. We could be together. I would take care of you while you're taking care of your business." Ember twisted in my embrace putting her arms around my waist and pressed her face to my chest, hugging me tightly. I held her feeling once again the rightness of this, this was where I was supposed to be. This was what I should be doing. At last she looked up at me with shining eyes. "I want that Garret. I miss you too. And Talon can be too much. But I'm afraid that if I just cash out few millions and leave, I'll wake up surrounded by Vipers some time soon. Talon must be at least partially dismantled before it's safe to leave it alone." She started frowning her look vacant. "Then let us work towards this together." I said. "Okay, let's do this together." She said calm now.

I moved back to sit in front of my cold food. Fortunately I have eaten enough before Ember started crying. We ordered waffles with softice for dessert and headed for Ember's apartment. In the car Ember spoke suddenly. "I think I'll give you the million anyways... don't protest. You don't have to use it if you don't want it. Think about it as something you're keeping safe for me, should I ever need it. Like an emergency trust found." It did not sit well with me. "Only if you consider my offer." I answered. "About Crescent Beach." "Deal, I'll think about it." She answered a bit too smugly. We drove back to city listening to old rock songs playing from the radio. Sun was slowly setting and the world was cast in this unreal light, that made it look like a place from a fairytale, like anything was possible.

***

We tumbled onto Ember's white sofa right after entering the apartment. Any weariness from being pounded and peddling for hours left me instantly. Ember pulled off her t-shirt and I cupped her warm soft breast in my hand feeling her heart beating wildly inside it. I bent to kiss it, tasting her skin and hard pointy nipple when my phone rang.

Only two people had this number, it was only to be used in case of emergency. "Ember it's emergency number." I said apologetically and fished the phone from my pants. It was Tristan. It could wait. I put it on silent and moved to lay between Ember's legs again when she braced her hand on my chest. "If it's an emergency shouldn't you check it?" She asked. I should but I don't want to. I thought, and aloud I said. "It's Tristan, he probably wants to know when I will be back." "Still you should check." She said pulling on her t-shirt and pressing her knees together leaving me with few other options. I groaned with disappointment and nestled in another corner of the sofa.

"What is it?" My voice was raspy and my tone was slightly impatient. I cleared my throat. "Have I interrupted something commander?!" Tristan sounded uncharacteristically sour. "Yes, get to the point." I was sure my discomfort could match whatever he felt. "An hour ago commander Knight, six of his people and his wife and daughter arrived. He claims to be commander of some southern chapterhouse, that I have never heard about. He says they're top secret intelligence team. Anyways he's already questioning alliance with dragons, threatening us all with persecution for treason and claiming command over Western Chapterhouse including you and me. So you better get here before he executes someone commander." Shit. Apparently I could not catch a break either.

I quickly reported news to Ember. "You should go right away Garret." She said solemnly. "This sounds serious and dangerous.... for our plans. You and Tristan are the only people inside the Order of St George, that I can trust. We can't risk you getting sidelined by some conservative bloodthirsty commander." As more and more blood circulated in my body I could see her point and had a few of my own to add, but I hated leaving her like that. "I don't want to leave you." I said. "You are not leaving me. You go away to make preparations for our escape." She gave me a brave smile and I kissed her hungrily, letting my hands roam her body, trying commit to memory as much of her as possible, the touch of soft warm skin, the taste of her lips, scent of her hair. I was about to suggest we wait with it till the morning, when she pulled away. "Go Garret. Call me when you know more. I'll help you any way I can, remember." She kissed me again. "I love you Garret. Even though I can't surf anymore." She added and followed me to the doors where she kissed me once more and stood watching, when I waited for the elevator.

#ember hill #fanfiction #julie kagawa #talon series #talon saga #garret xavier sebastian

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lilikags · 4 years ago

Text

Melody of Fate

Back to Me part 3!

--Your POV--

For once, you were looking forward to a party. Well, it wouldn't be accurate to say you were looking forward to the party. It was more like "I guess I don't mind going; after all, I might meet this 'soulmate' of mine, if he even exists, but if not, then, oh well." You were already awake, reading a novel one of the suitors had sent you. At first, you were going to throw it out, but when you read the first few pages out of curiosity, you couldn't stop reading. It was a romance novel, obviously, since it was known you loved romance novels, and it was about a girl who made a contract with a demon. Their contract included "no romance with any humans", but she fell in love with someone.

It was about time to get ready for the party, and you could see the sun starting dim its glow as it prepared for sunset. Your maids entered the room with an elaborate dress, which was adorned with carefully crafted flowers and the finest fabric. You let them change you; after all, this was normal in noble society. Well, the dress is quite difficult to get into, so this time, you actually didn't mind as you thought of what could happen next in the novel.

After a while, you were all fixed up. You had your lavish dress and makeup on, and your hair had been fixed into a beautiful (hairstyle). You were just about ready to leave when you almost forgot you wanted to wear a certain pair of earrings. You asked Elisa to bring it out for you, which she did right away. No one else had earrings like these; they definitely weren't in fashion, but you still wanted to wear it anyways. Hanging earrings were in fashion these days, especially since they're easy to notice, but you went for a more modest look with the accessories. It wasn't something a noblewoman would usually do, but you were different. The earrings you chose were small (favorite color) studs, nothing fancy and definitely not easy to notice compared to everyone else's earrings. You saw it in your dreams, all the time, actually. The girl who always appeared in them wore them every day, and it seemed precious to her. After seeing it so many times, you began to wonder if you would feel the same way she did if you got those earrings. There was no logic or reason to it really, but you had them made anyways and decided to wear this to one of the most important parties of the decade, at least to everyone else.

Once you were done putting on your earrings, it was time to get going to the party. You made your way to the front door of your home, and a carriage was waiting for you. You hopped in and looked out the window as the carriage started moving. On the way there, you thought about many topics, from the plants growing on the side of the road to the party itself. It was a party arranged by the Queen herself, so she could meet all the (marriage) candidates she had selected for her son. It was a given that it would be the most lavish party you would ever go to; any party that included the Queen was as elaborate as you could get.

As you arrived at the party, you stepped down from the carriage and heard the click-clack of your heeled shoes for the first time in for what seemed like forever. It was just outside a lavish garden, and tables were carefully laid out in strategic positions where it would not just look good but also be in a location of perfect convenience: no one should bump into it, it shouldn't fall, it wouldn't get in anyone's way. Of course, that much was expected to be planned out- this was a party arranged by the Queen herself. She always made her parties absolutely perfect, and she was definitely known for it.

The sound of your heels on the tiled pathway signaled your arrival as the guards announced, "Lady (y/n) of the Dukedom (l/n) has arrived," playing a part of the national anthem in your honor. Each of the Queen's Candidates was given one of those upon arrival, as soon as they stepped onto the stone tiles painted with delicate swirls. You gave a slight smile to the crowd and joined in the party, gravitated to the smell of the food on the tables.

They had pearl-white tablecloth on them, long enough to cover the legs of the table, but also not long enough to cause anyone to tip over it- the right height. You were offered a drink, (favorite drink) by one of the Queen's servants, and you took it to show some gratitude. You were kind of accepting everything, only thinking about the food you were smelling. After all, food can be your best friend, right? Always there to support you, and you literally need it to survive. You giggled at that thought, and you went to find something good to eat.

Well, everything there was bound to be good. Of course, everything had to be the best at this party. You got yourself a small plate to put a couple of crackers decorated with a variety of ingredients. Those were the light snacks of the party, and they were quite popular among the dukes and duchesses. The plates were impressive as well; they were decorated with fine details of flowers and gold patterns using the finest brush. Each of them, however many there were, was carefully crafted and painted by the kingdom's best artists. They would definitely catch an extremely high price, one would normally just keep in a curio cabinet, but the royal family of the entire kingdom had the ability to use them at a party.

You were about to take some food for yourself, eyeing one with (favorite dip sauce) on it, which was formed into a beautiful swirl, when someone approached you, "Greetings, Lady (l/n)." You looked behind you to see another Queen's Candidate, Langelica of the dukedom Barswald. She was the most favored of all of them among the masses, and you could see why. She often went out to commoners festivals and held lavish charity parties to raise money for the poor, often interacting with both commoners and those of a higher social standing. She formed many connections that way, and her name was well known across the country. That wasn't all though; she was considered a prodigy in studies as well. She had breezed through the curriculum as a young child, allowing her to study subjects much more in-depth than anyone else. That convinced everyone that she was a prime candidate with excellent talents and support from the majority of people.

Honestly, you had no idea why you were even selected as a candidate when Langelica existed. You thought she should be the Queen and that would be the end of it. Done. No need to spend an exorbitant amount of money on various parties and no need to make people put in the time and effort into trying to become Queen when there was basically no competition at this rate. Maybe you were included solely because of your family. All of the daughters of dukedoms had been invited unless they declined beforehand, which no one would dare to do.

You greeted Langelica back with a, "Greetings, Lady Barswald. I see you're enjoying the party." "Yes, I am. It's quite magnificent, I have to say. I see you've been enjoying the party as well." "Yes, parties made by her majesty are always so enjoyable." "Oh, have you tried the (favorite dip sauce) cracker yet? I heard you like (favorite dip sauce)." For a reason you couldn't see, Langelica continued the conversation for quite a while. You had no idea what her intentions were, but you were honestly getting fed up with her. She was just having a conversation with you, but you would rather be somewhere else. You didn't belong with a person like her, so why should you be talking to her?

Really, you just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible- but abruptly leaving would be considered quite rude, and you really had no way of ending the conversation in a nice way. Social interaction was a high risk activity, in your mind. A simple sentence could ruin the entire existence of a dukedom or even get yourself killed. Words carried the weight of your entire being in high society, and you really didn't want to put in the effort. But here you were, in the highest-class party just about anyone there had been to. You couldn't say anything even if you wanted; she was talking much more than you were, and at this point, it would be quite rude to interrupt. Once she became Queen, who knows what she might do to you. Honestly, you didn't know if she was the type of person who would remember a conversation with you on a night like this, but you could see it. You didn't know if you were just being paranoid, but you were scared to end the conversation.

Luckily, it seemed Langelica had read your mind and excused herself to talk to the Queen. You sighed in relief as she walked away in the direction of Her Majesty, and you were finally able to get some food. Your plate was still empty, and the (favorite dip) crackers were almost gone. You reached for the last few to put on your plate when you hit somebody's arm, making you gasp in surprise, "Oh, I'm so sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Are you alright?" "Yes, I'm fine. It's alright; no harm was done," the lady smiled as she walked away. You were literally so scared. The look she had in her eyes when she left meant something like, "I'll talk to you again." and you were really scared of what she wanted to talk to you about. You had absolutely no idea what her intentions are or what she was planning. Heck, she could be trying to undermine your family. There really wasn't a reason to, but who knows. This could all be a front. It probably was though; who could really be that perfect?

Anyways, you just wanted to be away from people. No social interaction, no worries about doing or saying something wrong, just being you- and that was your absolute comfort zone. You couldn't even do that with your own parents. It was by yourself, doing whatever the heck you wanted, without any worries or opinions. In this society, there were always opinions on whatever you did, no matter how inconsequential.

Almost visibly sighing, you made your way over to the garden part, away from all the people. Everyone could be seen in little groups and circles, talking and making it seem like they were the most intelligent person in the world. You knew from experience that it was tiring, and you wondered how they could put up with it so long. Thinking about it made you annoyed, so you tossed it and started thinking about happy things.

The garden was a tulip garden, a flower you thought was quite pretty. They were arranged in a huge tulip, with small benches scattered so people could sit. You wandered through the large tulip, looking at the roses and commenting on them. You talked to yourself, which was honestly better than talking to other people. You could voice your opinion, and no one could criticize you. (because they wouldn't have heard it)

You were there for who knows how long, losing yourself in your thoughts in the garden. Your feet started to ache after walking so much; you were in heels and walking with heels hurt. Honestly, you almost forgot you were at the party. You were so far from everyone else that you couldn't hear them anymore, and you had completely forgotten about it.

Sometimes, you liked to sing. You weren't the best at singing, of course, but you didn't consider yourself terrible either. Singing wasn't popular in society. The singing they knew was opera singing, which was way too difficult and in your opinion, not worth it. For the amount of effort put into the song and the enjoyment of listening to it wasn't at all even slightly balanced. You had no intention of singing opera or even trying to. What you liked to sing was songs you heard in your dreams: songs on the radio, ones the girl listened to, the songs played in malls and public places. To you, those were much more enjoyable. They had a much catchier beat and better lyrics, in your opinion.

The girl in your dreams most often listened to (favorite song), and by this time, you had essentially memorized it. Not just the lyrics, but the beat, the notes, everything. You often sang it when you were able to be alone, which was rare. The girl in your dreams, who you knew like your own self, often sang it as well. She often had her boyfriend listen to her. He looked like he didn't care, playing games as she sang, but you could tell that he loved hearing her sing. You wished to have someone like that, someone who appreciated that kind of music too. Though, you knew that was quite impossible, since there was no music at this time even remotely similar to those songs. Maybe you could make it possible, maybe.

Singing was one of those things you did when you were happy, one when you felt you could be yourself. And right now, that's what you felt. You definitely were still at the party, but you were so far away from everyone else that you had completely forgotten about it. Your singing filled the air only you could hear, your brain imagining the beat as you sang. You focused only on singing, and you couldn't hear the footsteps coming closer.

Before you knew it, one of the most prominent figures of the entire kingdom was standing almost right in front of you, and you didn't even notice. He listened to the familiar tune, feeling a sense of nostalgia. He knew that song very well, so well, yet he hadn't heard it before. Then, it clicked. "(y/n)...?" the girl's name was called and you looked at the prince.

A/N: Hey, Lili here! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry it took like a month to upload; school's been busy. Check out the other chapters and my other works here!! Word Count: 2423

#back to me #kenma #kenma kozume #kozume kenma #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyū!!#haikyuu x reader #kenma x y/n #kenma x you #hq kenma #part 3 #lili kags #royal au #haikyuu royal au

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janvangouden · 4 years ago

Text

CHRYSANTHEMUMS

a hunter investigates a ghost in the woods that has been plaguing the village & terrorizing the other local hunters, only to find it to be a long lost friend. longer short story, about 20 pages in normal format. written by jan van gouden.

The hunter Genjirou liked to fancy himself a bit of a local celebrity, as he brought in the majority of the food for the village– fat pheasants, meaty rabbits, even sometimes a wild boar. The village was one that did not so much pride itself on its inhabitants’ individualism as it did their sense of community. They didn’t care to have the claim to fame of any famous actor born there, nor any famous samurai… they cared for one another deeply, & silently agreed not to get caught up in any selfish ambition. The artists of Passions collaborated & worked on elaborate projects together, the children always played together, the hunters often hunted together.

Despite his self-assurance, Genjirou was actually quite unpopular amongst the villagers, & considered rude for hunting individually. They did not care for his talent, and while they ate his food, they did not do it with so much enjoyment, perhaps finding it soured by his individualism. Nobody in Passions liked to gossip, but if they did, there would certainly be some cruel words exchanged about the hunter behind his back, especially from the other hunters, who were deep-down jealous of the considerable stock he seemed to always bring back every time he hunted.

Genjirou did not pay these sentiments any mind, even as he was intimately aware they were abrew. He’d grown up parent-less and knew he at least had some of the village’s sympathy over at least that fact, & that they presumed he was so stand-offish because he felt he was alone in the world. Sometimes a pretty young maiden, Fuku, sought him out and offered him lilies from her garden, but he rejected her kindness. He did not do so cruelly, only smiling and asking if she didn’t have anybody more handsome to tend her attentions to, that a pretty girl like her shouldn’t worry over a guy like him…

This only spurred Fuku’s interest in him, & she’d secretly follow him on hunts sometimes, watching with intense interest as he played his game. Fish, deer, wild boar, & even a bear once! Over the course of a few weeks, her friends finally convinced her to stop following him & offering lilies, & she did, although deep in her heart she still loved him.

“Look at that Genjirou, there’s a storm brewing on his face,” a village elder murmured to her husband, fanning herself as the two sat on a bench outside a small store. “He’s probably realising he can’t stop pushing the world away, but is in denial,” her husband chuckled, as he knit away at what looked like a baby sweater. “He’s young, isn’t he, only twenty-two? He’s probably going through a phase… not too long ago, he used to be quite social.”

They chuckled quietly but averted their gaze when Genjirou stomped by, pale, rushing into the store. The store owner couldn’t help but to giggle when he walked in, propping her arm up on the counter. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she remarked, choosing to busy herself with dusting off some vases.

“Why did nobody tell me a man was murdered in the woods?” Genjirou exclaimed, staring at her like she was a monster. He had come across a corpse earlier that day, already purplish from decay, bloated beyond recognition, & on full display in the middle of the grounds where he usually hunted. “You would have known if you hunted with the others,” she scolded him, flicking her feather duster towards him. Genjirou grit his teeth. Sometimes the people of Passions worked on his nerves insatiably– he was introverted by nature, shy, & didn’t like to constantly associate with others like everyone else seemed to, & it always seemed to blow up in his face. Namely, everybody always knew “the scoop” on everything, while he was left blind as a bat on any news, & had to practically beg.

He already knew the shopkeeper knew the story behind the corpse. His demeanor suddenly grew much more meek, and sheepish, as he asked, “What is the story behind him? It’s odd a body just lies so disgracefully in the middle of a clearing like that.”

She pursed her lips. “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask the hunters; they told me not to tell you the story… as for why he was there…” A hum; she wrinkled her nose in disapproval and lowered her voice. “That was a mean prank; they were messing with you because you never hunt with them… I don’t like to gossip, but I think it was very rude, not to mention disrespectful to the deceased, that they did that… I think they’ll be lucky if they’re not haunted on their next hunts.”

A glint of curiosity shone in her eyes. “What did you do when you saw the body? I think I would have passed out, tee hee.”

“I buried it,” Genjirou said simply. He found it disgraceful already how the disfigured corpse was laid out in the middle of the grass, even if it was clothed in burial robes, but he found it even more disgraceful somebody had placed it there on purpose.

“You buried it!” she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “That’s even more scary… what if it wants a grave? What if it haunts the whole village? Oh, oh….” She paused. “...one more thing… please don’t tell the hunters I told you about what they did when you get with them. I have a bit of a big mouth, if I’m being honest. But, you weren’t supposed to know they moved the corpse. Only ask about the corpse itself, ok?”

Genjirou felt his mood entirely ruined, but, grumbling, he agreed, then left the store to find the hunters.

He found them easily, like they were hoping to be found, outside a building exchanging words & laughing. When Genjirou approached them, they fell silent, and the humour in their eyes turned a reproachful coldness. They wore their hair in prim and trim top-knots, as was customary, while Genjirou wore his uncut & loose, only inviting more scorn from the villagers. Scorn, scorn, scorn. He sometimes just wanted to go wild, feeling like no matter what he did, it wouldn’t matter; he wouldn’t be accepted anyways!

“Good afternoon, Genjirou,” one spoke up, putting a hand up to him. “How was the hunt?”

“What was with the corpse in the woods?”

The hunters exchanged a few odd looks with one another. “Oh, you saw it, too? Wasn’t that scary? He wasn’t someone from our village, we know that for sure.”

Genjirou wanted to ask them to cut the bullshit, but he was too polite. Still, a wrinkle in his brow conveyed his frustration. “What’s his story? Who was he? Why was he just out in the open like that?”

After a long silence, one finally said, “Choyakoshi. We’re guessing that’s his name, anyways, since the characters were crudely written in ink on his kimono somewhere.” Choyakoshi had worn a slightly tattered, dirtied white kimono. It was folded right-over-left, meaning he must have been buried in it. “Why wasn’t he buried?” Genjirou repeated his question, but worded it differently.

The hunters exchanged glances with each other, & ultimately shrugged. “We don’t know, either. We’re sending one of the morticians to the mountain tomorrow to see what he can figure out.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Genjirou said hesitantly, drawing questioning glances. “I already buried him.”

“You buried him!” one of the hunters exclaimed. “What if he isn’t happy with the burial, & he haunts our village because of it?!”

“Then let him!” Genjirou spat. “I’ll be happier with that!”

He stormed off, blocking out the commotion the other hunters caused in his trail.

Did you hear that? I know Genjirou isn’t very social, but I think he totally hates us!

How dare he! We haven’t done anything to him, & now he’s practically wishing some ghost would come haunt us?

What nerve! What if this Choyakoshi is a cruel and vengeful spirit?

Genjirou didn’t let their words get to him– he knew that no matter what he did, they’d find some reason to dislike him. Same old same old.

At least, he thought their words didn’t get to him. That evening, nobody touched a lick of the considerably-smaller-than-usual bit of food he’d brought to the village dinner, and not even Fuku attempted to say a word to him, averting her gaze when he pleadingly looked over at her. She giggled instead with her friend, ignoring him as he stared emptily at his plate.

In times of good weather, the village always insisted every dinner be shared, outside, and the village leader would make a big deal about having a vast space cleared out, and every person who could cook or hunt or farm bringing something to the great potluck. Genjirou attended because he felt obligated to more than anything, but after quietly finishing his food, his sense of obligation disappeared, along with him, as he receded to his house.

It was considered very rude to leave before everybody had finished eating, and of course, there was a tiny uproar and a string of murmurs as Genjirou left. He’s so cold; what’s his problem?

It’s bad enough that he already hunts alone… does he really have to make such a point out of being an outcast?

I wish he would just be friends with us already. Can’t he see how hard we’re trying to help him fit in?

Parents or no parents, you’d think that after twenty-two years of living here, he’d know how to behave. Tsk.

Genjirou felt immensely weak and pitiful as he brushed tears from his eyes that night, silently sobbing himself to sleep. He didn’t get out of bed the following morning to hunt as he usually did, finding he couldn’t work up the energy nor the passion to. In fact, he slept until about noon, and even when he officially woke up, he just lay there, contemplating if in fact he was very rude and dislikable, and whether he should work on his personality. He self-consciously fretted, melting into a puddle of his own thoughts, and crying, for a good two hours, unable to piece together just why he was feeling so miserable.

He was fairly well-off from what money he did make selling furs & other homemade goods from the leftovers of his prey to other villages & sometimes the villagers. He was very fit, & had someone who he knew had a crush on him, even if he wasn’t interested, so he couldn’t be ugly. He didn’t feel particularly sad, so why was he still crying? If nothing else, he was very thankful no one from the village could see him in such a pitiful state.

Right as he thought this, a knock sounded at the door and he stifled a yelp, quickly wiping as much from his eyes as he could. The knock sounded again, more urgently, and he squinted as he opened the door, the sun glaring at him from up above. “Genjirou, I don’t want to sound accusatory, but–” It was the shopkeeper, Toyo, rapidly fanning herself. “–have you been hunting today?”

“I just woke up,” Genjirou said so earnestly she knew he wasn’t lying. “Oh, it’s just terrible… the hunters sent me to come get you; they want you to come to my shop…”

“Why didn’t they come get me themselves?” Genjirou asked, irritated. Toyo fanned herself, hiding the lower half of her face, eyes shifting to the side. Genjirou didn’t ask again. “Fine. May I at least know what happened?”

“They wanted to tell you themselves… don’t tell them I told you already, but the hunter Hideto died today… he’d been pierced by an arrow! Please follow me… they’re trying to blame you for it; they’re very sore right now.”

Genjirou didn’t bother cleaning up, & garnered some odd looks as he followed Toyo through town, still wearing his sleeping robes, hair disheveled and eyes heavy. It was clear that, at two o’clock in the afternoon, he had just gotten out of bed. For the villagers, who usually operated on a clock from eight A.M to nine P.M, this was very unusual. At the store, Genjirou was immediately confronted by the remaining seven of the eight hunters. “Were you out hunting today, Genjirou?” one spit accusingly, jabbing a finger against his chest. “I was not!” Genjirou immediately defended himself, covering his chest, half to protect it, and half self-consciously, as he realised it was mostly bare.

Toyo pretended to be busy in the background, feverishly organising some trinkets on a high shelf in order from small to large and then back to large to small. The hunters glared at him suspiciously, but like Toyo, they had no reason not to believe the man who looked like he’d just woken up. Good thing I wasn’t, he thought to himself, thinking back on his profound moment of sadness. As awful as it had been, it saved him from getting tangled up in these accusations. “Hideto died,” another hunter lamented, fiddling with an arrow from his satchel. “He was shot by an arrow, like this one… but it wasn’t any of ours.”

The men all suddenly seemed very sheepish, and looked downwards, realising how pointless it was to question the man. They knew he made an easy scapegoat, and they knew they were accusing him for no reason. Not all seemed to let the matter go so easily, however, as one suddenly spoke up, “It must be that Choyakoshi ghost! He’s probably furious he wasn’t given a proper burial!”

The other hunters were quick to agree with him, and again, Genjirou was put in the negative spotlight, this time blamed for the hypothetical haunting. Now he was the one hanging his head low, not having the energy to argue with them. Instead, he quietly trudged out of the store back to his house. The hunters took this as a victory and yelled behind him, but this time he truly paid them no mind, only wanting to sleep again. At least when he was asleep, he didn’t have to deal with any of the villagers’ drama. When he returned, he noticed a trampled bunch of chrysanthemums scattered in front of his house. He paid them no mind.

The following morning, he woke up with a splitting head and stomach ache, and remembered he hadn’t eaten, let alone drank, a thing the day before. He pulled on a proper robe and fixed his hair, hoping to be able to make it through the village unbothered. He left his bow and arrow and his swords at home, still not having the energy to hunt, and also not wanting to risk any more serious accusations. On his doorstep, he found a fresh bundle of pure white chrysanthemums, bound by a silk ribbon that smelled of lilac.

Smiling and suddenly feeling much better, he picked up the bouquet and carefully set it in a long-empty stone vase atop his dresser. He made a mental note to thank Fuku for the kind gesture later.

He purchased a bowl of soup, a lamb chop, and some water from Passions’s inn and restaurant. The shopkeeper had a sort of sad look in his eye as he watched Genjirou eat, and Genjirou avoided looking at him at all– he knew well what his reputation was in the village by now, and this man, like the rest of them, surely either pitied or hated him. He wanted to associate with neither sentiment. After he finished eating, he set out to find Fuku, walking a few rounds around the village in hopes of catching her outside. He found her, but when he did, she avoided his gaze and acted like she hadn’t heard him after he called out for her, instead turning to her friend and murmuring something. The two giggled and Genjirou froze, not daring to approach them anymore. He hated how timid he was sometimes, but decided it was better to be the dog with its tail between its legs than the lamb on the cutting board.

Still, it was perplexing. Why would she leave him flowers, then not even acknowledge him? Complicated feelings, maybe, or her friend didn’t like him. Whatever. He already had more than enough stressing him out as it stood; he certainly didn’t want to trifle with yet another thing.

As soon as he got home and was about to close the door behind him, a sandaled foot wedged itself in the doorway. Toyo! “Genjirou– I really hate to bother you again, but you-know-who is asking for your presence again in my humble shop.” She muttered, “Why don’t they do this stuff in one of their own places, anyways? I’m seriously about to ban them from entering more than one at a time.”

“Let me guess,” Genjirou huffed. “Someone else died?”

“Actually, yes.”

He immediately went pale, biting his lip. “Why do they keep bothering me about it?! I’m very sorry this is happening, but at the rate things are going, I might not even want to attend their funeral!”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Toyo hissed, fanning at the air as though she were combatting mini-ghosts. Her kimono was a brilliant white, decorated with koi and tangerine trees. The white reminded Genjirou of the corpse’s burial clothes, & he wondered if maybe this really was a haunting, & if he really was to blame. He suddenly blushed and apologised for his rudeness. “There’s no need to apologise; I don’t think they’re ghosts, yet… I say, you can do or say whatever you want as long as you know you won’t suffer any consequences. That’s why I’m very careful with my words.”

Right, Genjirou thought. How many secrets had she let loose in her lifetime?

“Anyways, please come with me… as you can imagine, they’re very bitter, and I’m sure it’s better you meet them in my store, which at least I know they don’t want to burn down.” She laughed nervously, looking the house in front of her up and down.

And so, Genjirou once again trudged to Toyo’s store, and he was once again chewed out. “I saw the ghost!” one hunter declared, putting up an arm high above himself. “He was this tall, but was definitely the corpse from the other day… he was armed with a bow and arrow surely laced with evil energy, and shot down poor Genta…”

Again, a finger was jabbed against Genjirou’s chest, with such force it knocked the younger man back a few steps. “...this is your doing, Genjirou!! If you hadn’t buried him… what did you do, just dig into the dirt a little and toss his body in there?!” Genjirou flushed a deep shade of crimson. That was exactly what he had done. “It’s better than letting his body rot out in the open!” he half-heartedly asserted, knowing there was no way he’d win this argument. “Tell that to Genta and Hideto!” the hunter sneered. The remaining six of the eight hunters seemed very self-assured they wouldn’t be the ones to die next, all their noses stuck in the air with a sort of pretentious air as they confronted Genjirou.

Deep in his mind, Genjirou couldn’t help but to ponder if anyone had even died at all, or if this was all just some twisted scheme to get back at him for hunting alone. The hunters didn’t seem particularly fazed beyond rage at their friends’ deaths; then again, they rarely ever showed any real emotion, and liked to poke fun at men who did, insulting them by calling them womanly. Genjirou always wondered if they were at all self-conscious of how insulting it was to find womanhood a “bad” trait, and if they were, if they cared.

Having no comeback, Genjirou dared himself to quietly retreat. Seeing that the hunters made no effort to stop him, he ran back to his house, not caring that they saw him as a total coward. Let the negatives stack up. A coward, a traitor, a bringer of evil, an asshole… what difference does it make if there is another bad thing said about me, when there is already so much? Genjirou, rolled up inside his blanket, found himself sobbing again, unable to control it. He had always felt at least tolerated in Passions, but now he felt outright disliked. The only pleasant thought he had as he drifted yet again into sleep, having nothing else to occupy himself with, came with the whiff of his chrysanthemums’ scent drifting by, evoking images of Fuku, who he felt was his only possible friend in the village.

He woke up very early in the morning, and found, yet again, by his doorstep, a fresh bundle of white chrysanthemums, tied with a silk ribbon. He managed to squeeze them next to the other bundle in the vase, and added some water. It was six in the morning; nobody in the village was awake yet. Feeling emboldened by this striking solitude, Genjirou retreated to put on his hunting clothes and grab his bow and arrow, deciding that he’d either confront the ghost or do what he enjoyed, hunting, without letting himself be dragged down by his fears & insecurities.

& so, with only the light of the barely-rising sun, he set out to go hunt, secretly hoping he wouldn’t encounter anyone in the woods, let alone this allegedly fearsome, murderous spirit. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a ruse. Genta and Hideto were probably hiding out somewhere in the village to throw a scare into Genjirou, & maybe even to keep him away from the mountains, since the hunters were always jealous of how much he brought in by himself.

The dew of the grass brushed against his sandaled feet and the air smelled crisp and fresh. He drank some water from a river to refresh himself, then hunted marvelously as ever, carrying, two hours later, four pheasants and a boar. He found the site where he’d buried the corpse and leaned by it, frowning as he dug down a foot or so, revealing the rotting face. I really did bury him poorly… I hope he isn’t actually insulted, Genjirou thought, deciding then & there to dig a deeper hole. He shuddered a bit, feeling as though somebody was watching him… he shook the feeling off.

This time, he carefully placed the body in, taking care to fold the arms over the chest and neatly adjust the burial clothing. Satisfied, he placed a pheasant atop the body, then carefully covered it in dirt again. He’d taken a chrysanthemum with him to put on top of the grave, which he hoped was this time less crude. He said a quick blessing, then found a nice spot next to the river to enjoy the spoils of his hunt alone. He knew this was an area of the woods the other hunters rarely visited, so he felt confident starting a fire to roast a pheasant there, until he heard a clamour in the distance, coming closer.

Genjirou scrambled to put out the fire and panicked when he saw the silhouettes of the hunters in the distance. Unable to find anywhere to hide, he dove into the river behind a rock, breathing only when he was certain they couldn’t see him. He cursed that his pheasants and boar had been left behind, knowing that the hunters would surely take it as their own. It was unlikely they expected him to have regained his confidence so much as to go hunting, let alone dare to to begin with given the recent events. Genjirou vigilantly listened. He heard some laughs, as they engaged in idle chatter, and some excitement as they stumbled upon what was supposed to have been his breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then some. He then heard shouting.

Looking behind the rock, his eyes locked with one of the hunters. Terrified he’d been seen, he submerged himself in the river, holding his breath for his dear life. Even through the water, he could hear the shouting on land had gotten louder, and cursed himself for being alive. Why? Why’d they just have to come out hunting so soon? Why couldn’t I have finished my meal in peace?

Unbeknownst to Genjirou, Fuku had followed him into the woods as she’d done in her lovesick days– however, her motive wasn’t as sweet as it once had been. Gento had been Fuku’s cousin, & following his death and the rumours in the village, she’d grown awfully cold and suspicious towards Genjirou, & secretly followed him to see if he was up to anything suspicious. So far, her surveillance had been futile, but that day, as she followed him into the woods, she was certain she’d catch him in the act of killing, confirming her, & the villagers’ suspicions.

She got more than she bargained for, however, as she had to put her hands over her mouth to stifle a scream when an arrow pierced through one of the hunters’ shoulders out of seemingly nowhere. Scrambling to find the source without giving away her position, her eyes went backwards from where the arrow had landed, resting upon an awful-looking creature hidden behind a tree like she was. Its aim was off; it seemed to have been distracted by something in the water. It drew another arrow from its bow and aimed steadily at the same hunter. Fuku wanted so badly to call out to the hunters, but she didn’t allow herself to, and before the next arrow could hit, the six of them had already started to run out of the woods, screaming and cussing and hollering.

Ghost!! They quickly told the villagers, running around like mad. The hunter whose shoulder had been pierced barely even paid it any mind, too thankful he was alive, and too frightened, to do so. It’s an awful, evil, vengeful ghost in the woods of the mountain... it’s going to kill anybody who enters them! Once is a coincidence, twice is revenge, but three times…. It’s evil! It’s an evil spirit that won’t rest until every one of our villagers is dead!!

In those very woods of the mountain, Fuku was still standing behind the tree, hands over her mouth, doing everything in her power not to scream as she watched the ghost emerge from behind the tree. She found it horrifying– its skin was a sickly, corpse-ish grey with tinges of purple, and it had long, wavy, unkempt black hair, which it tossed over its shoulders with its hand as it strode forth, picking up the prey the hunters had dropped. It wore a flowing, tattered white kimono, burial clothes. Moving more quickly, it waded into the river, grabbing an object… Genjirou!!

In the heat of the moment, Fuku had totally forgotten the entire reason she’d come up the mountain in the first place! She wanted to cover her eyes, terrified to watch the surely gruesome scene that was sure to come unfold, but couldn’t, hands glued to her mouth and eyes to the ghost. To her surprise, no gruesome scene came– the ghost carefully lay Genjirou upon the ground, pressing firmly on his chest. Genjirou sputtered water. Water, water, and more water… he would have surely drowned if the ghost hadn’t pulled him out.

The ghost disappeared for a minute and Fuku’s heart dropped, certain it had sensed her and was going to kill her. Maybe Genjirou was controlling this cruel mountain spirit? No… she immediately shook the thought out of her head. She was bitter over her cousin dying, certainly, but she wouldn’t so quickly assign blame now that she had no proof. Besides, this was the man who she still secretly loved… she knew him, to an extent, and she knew he was a very simple person, absolutely incapable of something as sinister as the dark arts. Revenge on the hunters for talking badly about him was so silly, anyways. She felt embarrassed for having taken part in his ostracisation, knowing that more than anything, he needed at least a friend, if not a romantic partner.

She reminded herself to be more friendly to him.

When the ghost returned, she’d expected it to come maybe with a knife, or a sword, wanting to kill Genjirou personally and watch the life drain out of his eyes… but all it returned with was a handful of chrysanthemums. It shyly placed one in his hair, and then one on his chest, scattering the rest around his body as it played with his hair, running the long black strands through its scraggly, ashen fingers. Fuku couldn’t believe her eyes.

A short while later, Genjirou’s brow furrowed and he coughed. As quickly as it had come, the ghost ran away, leaving Genjirou alone. Determining the scene was safe, Fuku ran out from behind her cover to Genjirou’s side, placing a hand on his cheek. He grabbed the hand and flared his nostrils, recognising her by the scent of lilies. “Fuku?” he mumbled, managing to pry his eyes open. “Yes, Genjirou!” Fuku breathed, beaming. “Are you alright? You almost drowned…”

Genjirou promptly sat up, wide-eyed. “The hunters! I… I saw them earlier; it’s why I…. oh, it’s a long story. Are they alright? The ghost didn’t come again, did it?”

In her gut, Fuku felt even worse for doubting Genjirou. He was stand-offish, but not a selfish person, & even after nearly dying himself, was more worried about what became of the hunters. She couldn’t help but to nervously laugh. “The hunters are alright… Genjirou, I– I’m really sorry about how the villagers have been treating you, including me. I’ll be honest, I came up here because I saw you leaving to hunt, and wanted to see if I had any basis for my suspicions… I didn’t.” She stood up, and bowed deeply. “I’m very sorry.”

Genjirou wanted to stand, as well, but didn’t have the strength to. “It’s alright; I’m sorry, too…” He also laughed a bit. “I really am too stand-offish, to be honest, I’m not good at socialising at all!” Fuku elegantly sunk to her knees again. From the crisp condition of her kimono, you would never have guessed she’d been running around in the woods. “Then let’s be friends!” she suddenly declared, holding a hand to her chest. “I saw everything… the ghost, it did appear, but… it missed; it only shot one of their shoulders.”

“That’s very good… say, Fuku. May I ask two questions?”

Fuku nodded.

“One–” Genjirou picked up a chrysanthemum, spinning it between his fingers. “Are you the one who’s been leaving these flowers at my doorstep the past few days?” Fuku bit her lip. She knew none of the women in the village grew or sold white chrysanthemums; in fact, up until that day, she had never seen anybody who had them. She hated lying, but this was too good a moment to let pass. “Yes, I am,” she said shyly.

“Two, are you the one who saved me from the river?” Fuku prayed internally the ghost wouldn’t come to her house personally and beat her upside the head. Please forgive me, ghost, but this is the man I really love!! She couldn’t even verbalise the lie, this time just nodding, blushing more. Genjirou thought it was because she was shy, but really, it was because she couldn’t stand to lie! Genjirou smiled, gently touching her hand. She allowed him to hold it. “Then may I ask you a third question, Fuku?” She nodded again.

“May I kiss you?”

Wide-eyed and blushing profusely, she turned to him. She’d been waiting to hear that question her whole twenty years of life! “Yes! You may!” Genjirou delicately pinned her to the ground, his wet, but soft, long hair falling over her kimono as he kissed her, placing a hand tenderly behind her neck. Fuku blushed even more profusely, hugging him. She wanted to kiss him forever and ever, but she eventually let go, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and looking up at him in awe and disbelief.

“You’re wonderful!” she felt awkward as she blurted this, and immediately put a hand over her mouth. “Have you ever had a girlfriend before?”

It was a silly question, for she’d known him his entire life, but still felt the need to ask to be sure. “I haven’t,” Genjirou affirmed her knowledge, and she embraced him again. “Could I be yours?” she asked suddenly, letting the heat of the moment spur her on. “You may!”

She kissed Genjirou again, and the two walked down the mountain to the village. Fuku braced herself, anticipating all the while that an arrow would be lodged into her back, but no such thing came, and she let herself relax as the couple strode into the village safely. “Genjirou is innocent!” she declared, attracting the attention of some people sitting outside. “He is innocent, and he is mine! The ghost haunting the woods is beyond any of our control, & is ungrateful for the beautiful burial Genjirou gave him!”

She needed to say no more. Faithful to their tradition, the people of Passions spread the news around like wildfire, and within that single day, Genjirou’s reputation was restored & renewed, & he was even met with praise, for pairing with such a fine woman as Fuku. That evening, after the village dinner, they were wished well as they went arm-in-arm to Genjirou’s house, where they engaged in passionate affairs until they fell asleep, content in one another’s embrace. While Genjirou slept peacefully and deeply, his troubles seemingly behind him, Fuku slept lightly, certain she heard a weeping outside, but not daring to look.

She took care to rise much earlier than Genjirou– at four in the morning, she crept outside, and found outside his door a bouquet of fresh white chrysanthemums, tied tightly by a silk ribbon. She snuck to a farmer’s house and discarded the flowers in a pig pen, a pang of guilt coursing through her as she did so. She shook the feeling off. What business would a ghost have with a human? It would be better for the both of them if he just passed peacefully and left him alone!

Still, as the weeks went on, her guilt only grew stronger every time she had to throw away the chrysanthemums, or pretend she’d gotten them for him, making up some tale about someone from another village who grew them just for her. One day, she couldn’t stand it anymore, and while Genjirou slept, she snuck into the mountains, surrounding herself with the most positive energy possible, hoping she wouldn’t be torn into shreds by the ghost. She hadn’t dared bring a hunter with her as the ghost seemed to carry a special vengeance for them, but as she ventured further and further, she felt dumber and dumber she hadn’t even brought some sort of a spiritual weapon.

“Ghost?” she called out, clinging onto a chrysanthemum she’d brought with her as she stood by the side of the river. Her face was painted ghost-white with crimson red eyeshadow and lipstick, and she wore her finest clothes, hoping that by putting such extra care into her appearance, she did not insult him by appearing in any way unsightly. One could mistake her for a geisha, but that she was most definitely not.

“Misses… or, erm, Mister… Ghost?” she called again, fidgeting with the chrysanthemum, pulling on a petal. She froze as she felt a firm hand over hers just as she was about to pull. “Mister Ghost,” said a voice that was too pleasant to be able to belong to that terrifying being she’d seen in the woods, and Fuku yelped, staggering forward a bit, almost falling face-first into the river. The ghost grabbed her and steadied her, and she slowly turned to face him, doe-brown eyes locking with his, bloodshot and ebony. Up-close, he was almost handsome, but the fear factor still won out in her mind, not allowing her to appreciate any aestheticism. “Have you come to return these to me?” he murmured, gently taking the chrysanthemum from her.

“Are you the one who has been leaving them at Genjirou’s doorstep?” she asked, her voice wavering even as she tried to make it as firm as possible. “I am,” the ghost admitted, staring at it distantly. “Do they smell good?” Fuku gathered all her resolve and nodded. “They’re very nice… where do you find white chrysanthemums?”

“I used to grow them,” he sighed, handing the flower back to Fuku. “I thought ghosts couldn’t touch things,” she suddenly blurted, then immediately felt embarrassed. Her fear made her speak her thoughts out loud. The ghost laughed a bit. “I can if I want to, just like I can make myself seen if I want to. As for the white chrysanthemums– I grow them in a village on the other side of the mountain, where the weather’s much better for them.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve been throwing them away,” Fuku almost whispered, pulling at the petals again. “I came here to tell you that… I won’t say I’m sorry because it won’t do anything; I have been acting out of selfish desire & will accept it if you kill me like you killed those hunters if it will let you rest in peace.” She kneeled, head lowered. Fuku was very spiritual, and believed, more than anything, in the importance of a peaceful death, & felt she had disrupted this somehow.

The ghost’s expression suddenly darkened. “Get up,” he said in a voice so commanding Fuku didn’t dare object, shakily getting back up on her feet. In the background, leaves gently fell from the looming trees of the dark woods. His hair, ivory black and long, shone slightly in the moonlight, & his white burial clothes, for as dirty as they were, had an eerie glow to them. The odd, off-putting kindness from before had somewhat dissipated, and Fuku was met with a slap across the face– it wasn’t hard enough to be disrespectful, or hateful, but it was firm enough to sting slightly, and cause her to pay very close attention. “Genjirou loves you, doesn’t he?” the ghost asked coldly, glaring down at her. Fuku pondered this, then felt silly for doing so, & nodded. “I think he does, yes.”

“Then how dare you offer your life so lightly!” the ghost wailed, and Fuku noticed he was sobbing, odd, white streams of a heavy gaseous substance oozing from his eyes. “How miserable would Genjirou be not to be loved? You must cherish him more deeply! You must think more heavily before making such rash decisions! To be in love with him, you must tie your heart to his with an iron chain that will cause both to burst if it is severed! Do you understand?”

Fuku seldom considered the somewhat taboo fact that men could fall in love with other men, but she considered it deeply as the ghost spoke to her. It suddenly struck her that the chrysanthemums likely symbolised more than respect or an innocent friendship, and her face flushed a bit, hidden under the heavy makeup. She hadn’t known she’d acted so rashly she’d snatched away another person’s love, even if he was a ghost! “I understand,” she breathed, aghast.

“Then return to him– love him like no other, and remind him of how much he means to you every day… spoil him not with gifts, but with words, and raise his self esteem, so that your relationship may be meaningful like no other! Kiss him every day and linger so that he knows you do not wish to part ways, and hold his hand so that he knows he is not alone… drown him in sweet nothings that grow to be somethings, so that in old age he can look back on all these moments and say, I was a loved man!”

The guilt Fuku felt was so great she almost wished the ghost had just killed her the second he saw her, but she took his words to heart, just nodding along, still holding the chrysanthemum. She wondered why a ghost was so attached to Genjirou…. had they known one another in a different life? No, it couldn’t be; she would have surely seen him. Everybody knew everybody in Passions. Still, she ventured to ask, “Before I leave, Mister Ghost… may I ask your name?”

The ghost hesitated, before he answered, “Chikayoshi, although that name has not been spoken in years.”

She had no desire to ask how he died, nor why he killed the hunters, deciding she’d probably done enough damage, and that she should definitely head back. As she turned around to leave, the ghost implored of her one final thing, “Please do not mention this name to Genjirou… he will be tortured, & I could never forgive myself.”

She said nothing, unable to lie and say she wouldn’t, & quietly left, ultimately leaving the chrysanthemum with Chikayoshi. She couldn’t put the thought out of her mind– she never quite understood the concept of a man falling for another man, but if it were indeed true that this happened… oh, how cruel she was, how heartless she’d been, throwing away all those chrysanthemums & taking credit for the rescue, forcing Chikayoshi to watch as she did just that! She had never ventured before to think it was anything like that! She slid back into bed– it was only four in the morning, but she couldn’t sleep, haunted, quite literally, by Chikayoshi’s words & the expression he’d made when she offered herself to him.

Chikayoshi. Chikayoshi. She held onto the name like a prayer, determined not to forget it. After Genjirou woke up, things proceeded like normal– she was met with an array of kisses, the two went out to get breakfast, then lazily hung around the village. Nobody dared go into the woods for the time being, and the village leader was making arrangements with a self-proclaimed “expert of spirits and the supernatural” from another village to get rid of the ghost. Of course, this news spread around town like a wildfire, and the second it hit the couple, Fuku absolutely had to ask.

“Genjirou,” she whispered, as the two flipped lazily through texts in the library. “Could we go home? There’s something I really want to tell you.”

Genjirou raised a brow but put up no objection, and the two returned to his house. “Have you ever had any friends I haven’t known about?” she asked, biting her lip. She didn’t dare to ask boyfriend, the word not seeming right on her tongue, let alone seeming terribly informal. “Not that I can think of, no,” he replied earnestly, pouring himself a cup of tea from what remained in the teapot from that morning, placing a cup in front of Fuku as well. She ignored it, shifting uncomfortably on the mat. “Do you know the name Chikayoshi?”

Genjirou nearly spat out his tea, his eyes turning a terrible dark Kufu had never seen before. She immediately regretted the question, but it was too late now. “Why do you know this name?” His voice was calm, but some deep-rooted emotion was masked behind it, threatening to come out like a storm from a drizzle.

“It’s…..” she whispered, staring blankly down at her tea. “I– please promise you won’t be mad when I say this, Genjirou…” She also regretted saying this, knowing it was an infamously useless phrase. Genjirou only nodded. If he was going to get mad, he would get mad. She was prepared to handle the consequences. “I… I wasn’t the one who rescued you from the river, and I’m not the one who’s been leaving you chrysanthemums… that was Chikayoshi.”

“He’s back?!” Genjirou exclaimed, something wild about his expression. Fuku shook her head. “No, that’s – he's... the ghost on the mountain. Please don’t take this the wrong way, or think that our relationship is built on a lie, but I only took the credit because I thought it would be better for the dead not to interfere with the living…. I didn’t want to shock you.” And I was being selfish, she thought but did not say, leaving Genjirou to make that determination. There was a terrible period of silence, and when Fuku dared look up, she saw that Genjirou was sobbing silently, streams of tears pouring from his eyes as he wrung his hands aggressively, knuckles turning white from the pressure.

With a long sigh, he responded, “I haven’t taken it the wrong way, and I appreciate the sentiment…” He seemed to be mulling over his words, choosing each one very deliberately. “I don’t think you’re a liar, Fuku.” His eyes were filled with an indescribable sort of sadness, as he looked over at the vase of chrysanthemums. They were old, as Fuku had thrown away the ones from the past few days, and their petals fell to the surface of the dresser. “I have… I had… a friend you didn’t know about.”

THREE YEARS EARLIER

Chikayoshi struggled to catch his breath as he and Genjirou rolled and rolled and rolled in their special corner of the mountain, the exact center of the walking distance from the village of Passions to the village of Water’s Blessings. Genjirou placed kisses up and down Chikayoshi’s torso, who in return curled his toes in pleasure, wrapping his legs around the other’s hips. The two had met a year earlier during a hunt, or, in Chikayoshi’s case, a scouring-of-the-mountainside for flowers. They’d hit it off and become wonderful friends, only realising it was something more when Chikayoshi had sprained his ankle while Genjirou chased him. Once Genjirou caught up to him, he carefully tended to the wound, kissing it jokingly afterwards. When smiling at Chikayoshi, he was met by a cold, terrified gaze, & recognised it as longing. Daring himself, he moved his face closer– & closer– until he was finally met by a trepid, evolving into passionate, kiss, and the two realised their friendship was no more.

They made careful sure to not be seen by anyone else– Chikayoshi’s parents wanted so badly for their son to have a loving wife and have children, and Genjirou’s village wasn’t known as the most tolerant, infamously once having had kicked out an esteemed samurai after he flirted brashly with a male shopkeeper. Just as Chikayoshi was halfway through undoing Genjirou’s robes and the two felt daring enough to take the next “step” in their relationship, they froze as they heard the crackling of branches not too far away. Chikayoshi rapidly withdrew and Genjirou pretended to be busy with some mushroom, but it was too late; the two had been spotted by a hunter from Genjirou’s village who’d ventured further into the woods than his peers, and was met with quite the shock as he saw one of his fellow hunters arms-up with a strange man in the woods. Convinced his friend was of the female persuasion and that this was an assailant, he swooped in, throwing Genjirou as far as he could, sending him tumbling down a bit before he landed against a tree, and passed out immediately from the blunt trauma.

Unbeknownst to him, the other hunter had already drawn his bow and arrow, but too late– Chikayoshi took off like a mad dog into the woods, and the hunter chased after him, calling to his peers to help. They searched, and searched, and searched, all convinced Genjirou had been violated and that this man must die, but could not find him anywhere.

Just as how in the future, Genjirou hid from those very hunters in a river, Chikayoshi hid as well, but waded too deep into the water, and, unequipped with the ability of swimming, drowned. His corpse resurfaced soon enough that the hunters found it, and they buried it gracelessly in a ditch, leaving it to rot.

Chikayoshi’s body did rot, and his bones were taken away by wild animals. His spirit was very weak, and it took him three years of constant wishes for vengeance to manifest in a way that he could take on a physical form. He immediately sought out Genjirou, and also, his revenge, stealing a random corpse and marking it as his own– however, he was not at all well-written, & did not realise he had misspelled his name.

In the meantime in those three years, Genjirou distanced himself from his peers. The hunters agreed not to speak of what had happened to him in the mountains, finding it too shameful, and Genjirou could not stand to hunt alongside them anymore, choosing to hunt alone, hoping all along he’d encounter Chikayoshi, though he never did, & drearily presumed he’d been chased away by the others. The villagers started to grow cold towards Genjirou as they realised that he less and less interacted with them, let alone the fact that he so arrogantly hunted by himself– at least, they found it arrogant, as they did not know the true reason the hunters left him alone.

PRESENT

Fuku pursed her lips as Genjirou had only told her what he knew, personally– that he & Chikayoshi had once been involved in an affair, only to never see one another again after the incident on the mountain. Neither of the two had a clue as to how he’d died, but they didn’t want to think about it, knowing deep in their hearts it had to do with the hunters. “You must think I’m very silly,” she finally sighed, slightly laughing. “That I would so persistently chase after you even when your heart belonged to somebody else…” she blushed a bit. “I really do feel very foolish.”

“Don’t feel foolish,” Genjirou said pointedly, holding her hand in his. “Women should never feel foolish for trying to make their feelings known to a man… it shouldn’t be something to be embarrassed about, & I do appreciate you wholeheartedly for your support.” Fuku’s gaze was a bit empty, & that word was written across her brow: FOOLISH. “Please don’t think I’ve used you in any way,” he added, tightening his grip slightly. “You were not just a body for me to cling to, a soul for me to pour all that missing love into. Your friendship was always meaningful to me, and I always appreciated your reaching out to me where others wouldn’t, and our relationship was wonderful. You’re an amazing person, Fuku, and I wish nothing but the best for you.”

Fuku’s grip tightened in his. “We’re over, aren’t we?” she whispered. She had a gut feeling, even before she knew exactly how close Chikayoshi had been to Genjirou– she had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to love her anymore, knowing what he did. “Please don’t find me superficial,” Genjirou pleaded, searching her eyes. Fuku smiled wryly, reading his every facial feature. “I don’t,” she responded quietly. “I think in another life we would have paired quite nicely.”

“I think so, too,” Genjirou whispered, then stood up, taking the tea cups. He disappeared that same day, not offering Fuku a good-bye, as he knew it needed not be said. He did leave Fuku his house and possessions, and with that, she knew he would never return. She wished to have a love so powerful it could bring her back to life… she eventually got her wish, as, a couple years later, she met a beautiful, kind man from another village, who showered her every day in his affections and never failed to remind her how much she meant to him, even in the hard times, or when they argued. They never fought, making them a couple rather envied by a large sum of the villagers, who couldn’t seem to go a few days without fighting with their spouse.

The two married, and after their marriage, Fuku found a magnificent bouquet of chrysanthemums by her doorstep, wrapped in a silk ribbon….

#historical #ghosts #romance #fantasy #Japanese #shortstory #chrysanthemums #genjirou #chikayoshi

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brisfanfictions · 4 years ago

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Chapter Two [Andy Biersack]

"I'm almost certain at one point or another every friend I've ever had has asked me how I'm not three hundred pounds." he laughed softly. "I can pretty much eat all day, everyday and not gain any weight, it's crazy" he said tracing a finger over one of the many tattooed lines on his wrist slowly. "But you do have a point. Everyone always talks about that sort of thing, which I've never actually noticed before." he said chuckling softly.

He shook his head slightly with a smile on his face. "But I am absolutely positive it's not like the Justin Bieber scenario." he said seriously. "The only reason I know for sure is because at that time I was in a very committed relationship, well at least for me it was" he said as he rolled his eyes slightly at the memories. "Anyways, bottom line was the person I was with was the only one getting anything from me. So it was practically impossible for it to be my child. Besides, the paternity also came back negative for mine too" he said with a shrug.

She smiled when she heard him talking about this sort of thing. It was nice to just talk to somebody and not really have to worry if she was being too cynical or hateful towards the opposite gender. "High metabolisms for the win!" She cried out in a joking manner. Then she noticed him tracing one of his many tattoos. She looked very curious at each of his tattoos. Of course, she won't ask because she felt it would be rude so she looked back into his eyes. "Sadly, I never pay attention either. I just remember people saying it at baby showers and stuff. Baby showers seems like its so fun."

She continued to smile when he did, listening to what he said. Her smile drifted off into a frown. "What happened to Juliet?" She politely asked. She remembered her friend talking about that he was with a girl by the name of Juliet and that she never heard anything after. So she thinks they broke up. She smirked when she heard him say that she was the only one getting anything. "So she was the only one getting your Andy Biersack sack? And I'm glad to hear it came back negative. I hate people who lie just to get something from their favorite artist or band or whatever. Unlike them, I wouldn't lie about that sort of thing. If I do accidentally get pregnant by my favorite band member or artist, I wouldn't tell them because I wouldn't feel like they would believe me. I would keep the child, abortion is just wrong in my eyes but I understand that some women have their circumstances." She shrugged as she avoided a bit of eye contact with him afterwards. Her face a bright pink color in embarrassment.

He laughed, shaking his head slightly. "Trust me, its all about who's throwing the baby shower as to whether or not its fun" he said half jokingly. "I remember being invited to a baby shower once where we literally sat around doing nothing while the mother-to-be talked about how her life was going to be after having the baby, needless to say I didn't stay at that one long" he said, chuckling. "Most of the time you play games, and it's actually enjoyable." he shrugged slightly, only knowing from experience.

He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair slowly. "Juliet and I, we just had our differences like any other couple and after awhile we decided that we should go our separate ways." he said, "We figured if it was really meant to be we'd find our way back to each other in the future." he looked at her, rolling his eyes at her comment. "I'm going to pretend you did not just say that" he laughed, "But I hate that people try and do that to what is supposed to be their favorite artist or band, I mean it just ruins a lot of things for that person or people, and it kind of ruins the experience of doing what we do." he said softly. "Not everyone is going to do it, but those that do really could be the reason that bands don't do meet and greets or things like that anymore, and it would really suck for both the band and the fans if that happened." he shook his head slightly, looking over at her and chuckling softly noticing she was avoiding eye contact with him.

"All the ones I've been to were fun," she admitted, laughing. "Then again, my family seems to be a big party family... Which explains why I am not that much of a party person. Parties are just boring to me... Lily dragged me to this one when I would have rather stayed inside, reading or drawing..." She shrugged afterwards.

Then her smile disappeared when she heard that about Juliet. Sympathizing with him a lot. "I got out of a relationship a few weeks ago," she admitted to him. She remembered hanging around an upcoming band's drummer, Brandon, and he just didn't really care much. He would rather have flirted with the girls around him than spending time with her. She tells Andy this and explaining that is pretty much the reason why she doesn't want to date bands or singers again. She laughed when she heard his response to her "Andy Biersack sack" comment. It made her smile and relax around him. "Yep. Those kinds of people really annoy me. One person ruins it for the rest of the people. I'm lucky that I'm a girl and not a guy because not all girls get that kind of spotlight shined on them. If the female singer is pregnant, everybody would know it by month five or six because she would be showing." She finally glanced over to him when she saw him chuckling, blushing a little darker as she shyly smiled.

"My family never really ventured into the party side of life" he chuckled softly, "Guess that might be part of the reason I enjoy coming to parties, though don't get me wrong I don't do this often and most of the time it's more like I'm being told to do it rather than making the decision myself." he said with a small sigh. "It's just one of those things though, you're either into it or you're not" he shrugged.

He nodded along to her story, completely understanding where she was coming from. "Well coming from a guy in a band, trust me when I say we're not all like that." he said truthfully. "I'm really sorry about how he treated you though love, it was a real dick move for him to do that" he said shaking his head. "You deserve so much better than that. You deserve to be treated like a queen, and eventually you'll find the right guy who will treat you the way you're supposed to be treated." he smiled at her, hoping she knew that it wasn't her fault and that she deserved better. "You're exactly right though. It's a lot easier for female fans to try and say that a male band member 'fathered' their child, but for a male fan to do that to a female band member is a lot more complicated"

"I guess it is," she agreed with him, smiling warmly at him. She had slowly warmed up to him and it was a good thing. Because it means that she is trusting him with stuff about herself. Something that only Lily really knows a lot about since they had grown up together. "Either parties are your favorite or you despise them. Personally, some parties can be fun. I prefer other people's birthday parties above all else. Mostly because I'm not the center of attention. I like to be in the limelight and off to the side." She waved her hands around her surroundings as proof. Since she is in the corner and avoiding almost everybody.

She listened to what he had to said, smiling with a bit of a blush to her cheeks as he called her "love." Usually she would get on somebody's case about it. She didn't like to be called that very much if it is by somebody other than her best friend, family or boyfriend. Yet, she didn't mind hearing it from him. "I agree that he was being a complete and utter dick about it," she said, nodding in agreement. "After talking to you for about five to six minutes, I realize that you're nothing like him. Despite you having been in a scream-o band." She was joking with him. She knew it wasn't her fault and she appreciated him trying to comfort her. It made her heart skip a beat in a bit of joy from it. Her smile grew, laughing as she heard him. "Of course it's easier. I could easily go to my phone, use the internet and look up a child that would probably have some genetics from us and say that he or she is mine. And that you're the father. We'd both know it was a lie because I didn't meet you until today. Sadly, that is the life that we live in today."

"Exactly, like, I enjoy going to parties, but just for the simple fact that I enjoy being with my friends" he smiled, "And of course sometimes meeting new people that make me question every decision I've ever made in life" he joked, laughing softly. He was honestly happy that he had met her, what began as a quest to gain her adoration turned into him wanting to be friends and find out more about the mysterious girl that sat in front of him. "I don't mind being the center of attention actually, I just don't want to be the center of attention all of the time, if that makes any sense at all"

He smiled at her. He really did feel sorry for how that Brandon guy had treated her. Not only did he believe that no guy should treat a girl that way, but he really did feel like she deserved the best. "Well, I'm glad that I'm nothing like him except for the band aspect of things." he said with a small smile on his lips. "That's exactly right though! Anyone could go and google an image or even style their own child to resemble the band member they're going to try and say is the father. I mean, people are just that crazy these days" he rolled his eyes slightly at the thought of how many people have tried to pull that trick on other artists.

She laughed alongside with him. Glad to make have think a bit about his life and his choices that led him up to this point in his career and life. However, she was glad that she stopped with her cynical self and just let him in a small bit. She did like him and it made her want to listen to his music, which she will do later. "And that makes complete sense," she said, laughing a small bit again. "You being a musician and artist, you like to be the center of attention. However, you have to have a break at some point so you don't always want to be the center of attention."

She didn't feel like she deserved the best, but she did feel like she deserved to have some of their undivided attention. Which was what Brandon didn't do very well. Andy is the one that is currently making her feel special. Especially since he had came over to talk to her. "At least you know how to properly treat a lady," she commented with a warm smile. "Since you've been with Juliet for a long time. Even if you guys did break up." She nodded to what he said, agreeing with him. "Or the woman getting lucky with genetics and saying that stuff. Sometimes genetics isn't very kind to the lady. But, sadly, this is the day and age where people lie, cheat and be a complete douchebag." She shrugged, believing that its rare to find such an honest, loyal and sweet guy these days. Same goes for being a girl.

"Exactly! It's one of those things that people just don't get. I mean, I'm human too and I need alone time just as much as anyone else does" he said. "Just because I'm famous doesn't mean I don't need time to myself" he chuckled softly as he went over the thought a couple of times more in his head. It truly did baffle him that no one seemed to get that celebrities needed time to them self, or that celebrities had anxiety or things of the sort.

He nodded his head along with her words, "Yeah, It shocks a lot of people that I actually know how to properly treat women." he laughed softly. "Juliet taught me all about how to treat a girl while I was with her." he said, his finger tracing over the tattoo on his hand again absentmindedly as he looked at her as he tried to decipher what she thought about him. "Trust me though, I totally understand" he said watching her carefully. "The amount of people that lie and cheat in their relationships is ridiculous. Honestly, its probably a majority of the reason that most relationships don't work these days" he said

"Unlike those people, I know that everybody needs time to themselves," she said, shrugging. "Even if you're in a relationship with somebody, you're gonna want some time to yourselves eventually. You can't always be doing things together all the time. Save that kind of stuff for marriage, honeymoon, random trips around the globe and pregnancy."

She was just quietly listening to what he said. Completely understanding his words. "It definitely did shock me to hear that you treat women better than my ex did," she teased him, laughing a bit to herself. "And he's not even in a scream-o band. Its more of a pop boy band-ish type of band, too. Which makes it seem less surreal that he treated me horribly." She grabbed a piece of her hair and moved it behind her ears. Just as she shyly glanced up at him. She thought that he was a decent guy. Despite him being in a scream-o band. "Its hard to find people who understand the way you think or act a certain way..." Her face scrunched up a little in pain at remembering her ex. However, she forced the emotion off of her face as she glanced over at him. Mostly to flash him a small smile. "I truly want an honest relationship... Almost everybody thinks I'm stupid because of my blonde hair... Which is prejudice, by the way. I'm not stupid. I read books every day. Even if said books are romance books. So, it kind of sucks that the people like me, who want an honest relationship, isn't going to get one because of the cheating bastards in the world..."

"I think the world definitely needs more people like you then." he said truthfully, watching her carefully as she spoke. "I feel like in order to actually have a successful relationship nowadays, or at any time each person has to give the other some time alone or else things will never work out but most couples don't understand that."

He chuckled softly, "Believe it or not it shocks a lot of people when they find out how I really treat women, and in a way I kind of think I should take offense to it but then again, well, I don't" he shrugged slightly. "Though I totally get where you're coming from, especially in special circumstances." he started, "Most people looking for a relationship now only consider themselves and only consider their own feelings and not the other persons. Which causes a lot of the issues that most couples go through. You have to take the time to get to know who you're with and learn why they do what they do and why they say what they say, and if you don't then things will always be complicated." he finished, running his fingers through his hair once more, it was a nervous habit that even he didn't know he had. "I never once doubted your intelligence, though I know the stigma attached to having blonde hair.. would you believe I was once blonde myself?" he laughed softly, "That was an interesting feat." he said with a smile. "But in a way I think everyone wants an honest relationship, some people just aren't mature enough to appreciate it when they first have it."

"Because its mostly the girls that have this fantasy that if you're in a relationship, then you need to spend time with them all the time," she explained. "I don't have that view point. Mostly because I use books to release my fantasies into. Even fan-fictions are a great place to do such a thing with."

She giggled with him as she listened to what he has to say. "You really like to play with your hair when you're nervous," she stated to him. Not poking fun, but just letting him know of his habit. "I do that with my own hair, but I twirl it. Its really soft and I always keep it well kept. And it did surprise me when I heard you treat women better than most guys, but your brain is fully matured at the age of twenty-five for men. Women's brains are fully developed at age 21 and 22. Anyways, I do believe that people should become friends first before beginning a relationship with the other person. Since you know them well and have developed feelings for the other. However, not all relationships are like that because the other person could like another and keep you in the friend-zone." She nodded in agreement with what he said about the stigma against blondes. "I do believe that you were blonde once." She pulls out her phone, going to Google Images and scrolling until she found a photo of him with blonde hair. "Lily showed it to me when you got it done. She's a huge fan of yours. Followed you from Black Veil Brides to your solo career." She giggled quietly afterwards. "I agree that Brandon wasn't mature enough to be in an honest relationship with me. He'll regret later in life when I'm successful and he's on drugs and alcohol."

He nodded slightly. "I've read a few fan-fictions, quite an interesting thing they are" he laughed, "But seriously, some of them are actually quite good and others, well others really should have been left in the drafts for the rest of humanity and should never have been published." he joked

"I do not" he said slightly defensively, his hand going up to his hair again before he forced his hand back down to his lap. He shook his head, a smile on his face as he realized she was right. "That's what they tried teaching me in one of those sociology classes anyways" he said, referring to when men's and when women's brains fully develop. He did remember hearing it in one of those classes he took years ago, but he couldn't for the life of him remember which one or anything else regarding the matter. "Your friend sure seems to be a huge fan" he agreed as he laughed softly, looking at the photo on her phone. "Though it wasn't the best decision I've ever made, it certainly wasn't the worst.. and to be honest, some days I actually think about going back to it" he shrugged. "Brandon didn't know what he had when he was with you obviously. I've barely known you that long and I can already tell you're a catch that shouldn't be taken advantage of."

She laughed at what he said about the fan-fictions. "The dirty ones or the clean ones?" She joked with him. Her face a light pink as she admitted that she read the slightly mature ones. The ones that shouldn't be viewed by children. "If I find a story has a lot of mistakes and errors, then I don't really read them. I like the ones that are like a book to me."

She laughed again as she saw him going to play with his hair, but stopped since she pointed it out. "I told you," she pointed out jokingly. "Anyways, I don't even take psychology. I just know because I was curious one day and looked it up on Google. Don't ask me why that popped into my head." She was referring to the men and women's brains maturing at different stages in their lives. "She is a huge fan. That is for sure. She's been trying to get me to listen to your music for weeks now since your The Shadow Side album came out. And she wanted me to go to one of your concerts. I said no because of Brandon, as you know." She giggled as she put her phone away to continue talking to him. "I think you looked better as a blonde than a black-haired punk-ish guy." Her face turned a bright red at his compliment about her being a catch. "I-I don't think I'm a c-catch at all... Most guys t-think I put out because o-of my hair color since the s-saying is 'Blondes have more fun' and all t-that..." She was stuttering because she was embarrassed.

"Oh god, I've been asked to read just about every version of fanfiction there is, and the worst part is, I'm always the main character. Like I would rather not know that half of the database is full of writers who write out these elaborate ways to have sex with, well, my character. No thank you." he laughed, shaking his head slightly at the memory one of the stories had left in his mind. "I agree though, the ones that are well written, grammatically correct, and lack error are far more intriguing and likely for me to read than anything else. I don't know why, but that's just how it is." he said with a shrug.

He let out a small laugh, sending her a playful glare, "Oh shut up" he joked, "Leave me and my hair habits alone" he smiled. "I think you should listen to your friend. Check out the album, come to a show; I could even get you two the best seats if that's what it would take to convince you to give me a shot" he smiled softly. "You never know, I could become your next favorite artist" he winked playfully at her. He smiled over at her, arching his eyebrow slightly at her comment. "You think I look better blonde?" he asked curiously. "Oh and trust me, you are a catch, and that whole 'blondes have more fun' thing, yeah, its not always true" he laughed, a fond smile on his face as he heard her stutter, which he in a way found kind of cute.

"The fanfics I read have nothing to do with you," she said, laughing. "Since you know that I hated you before I even spoke to you and got to know you as a person. Anyways, so the ones that I'll recommend you are the ones that definitely have nothing to do with you." She nodded her head in agreement. Her eyes widening as she nodded to him. "I agree whole-heartedly. However, I know why I like the novel-like stories is because of it reminding me of books. I love to read books."

She faked a gasp, pulling off a hurt look when he gave her a glare. She knew it was half-hearted and she was trying so hard not to laugh. "I will not leave you and your hair habits alone!" She teased him some more. Then she quietly listened to what he was saying, giggling a bit. "Why don't you sing a sample song for me? I'd really be interested in listening to your album if I heard a song." Her face was a light pink at his suggestion about a concert. "My friend would kill me if I passed up the opportunity. I will definitely take you up on your offer to getting the best seats for your concert." She didn't want to be on the stage for him to serenade her in front of his thousands of fans. It wouldn't bode well for her since many girls, who are die hard Andy Black fans, would be sending her hate mail and telling her to kill herself and everything. She's definitely heard those stories before. "It all depends on if you can 'wow' me with your performance at the concert." Her face was now a scarlet color. "Yes I do... I don't see a problem with people dying their hair for fun. As long as you yourself like the color put on you. I wouldn't die my hair since I like to keep mine nice and soft. And its easier to take care of." She didn't know if her face had gotten hotter at his compliment about her being a catch. She didn't really believe it since it was just a self-confidence thing that she lacks. "Well, most guys' definition of 'fun' is inside a bedroom... That is where I draw the line..." Yes, she stuttered when she was very embarrassed. It was something that she hated about herself.

=======

Previously

#he's my fallen angel #andy biersack #andy black #andy black x oc #andy biersack x oc #black veil brides #black veil andy

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cheerfulmelancholies · 4 years ago

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This is a little something I thought up today that was inspired by a prompt I'd been meaning to try. It's not something I'll do much else with but it was still pretty fun.

The Adventurer's Guild was packed today; Gloria Everheart was there with the highest paying job available. Even Maxwell was too shocked to do much more than stare at the crowd surrounding the woman, jaw slack and teeth just barely visible through his thick brown beard. Richard almost felt sorry for him, having been ambushed like this by perhaps the most powerful woman in existence. If he didn't put up a decent offering, she'd no doubt shut him down and humiliate him.

Somebody tapped Richard on the shoulder and he turned to see his old friend, Simon.

"I hope you aren't about to go over there and grovel for a chance to be her escort," he said.

"No. But it seems you are," he replied, eyeing his friend's gear.

"Don't be ridiculous. I would never soil my dignity for that woman. I'm only dressed like this so I can take on Maxwell's most promising mission. Poor fellow looks like he needs it." The man was currently sweating bullets.

"Ah. The dragon?"

"The dragon," he said, striding up to the counter, armor clinking.

"No! I will not have a weak kneed man such as yourself accompany me to my uncle's affairs." The wannabe knight was lying on his side, cradling his masculinity. She watched the other men take cautious steps back. "Is there no one in this sorry hut you call a guild who can escort me?" she shouted to Maxwell.

He leaned back and looked like he might run at any second. Or drop to the floor and beg for forgiveness.

Simon brought an armored hand to his lips and tried not to make it obvious he was laughing. Should the Guild be closed down for one man taking a heeled foot to his privates, while it would mean he'd be taking jobs from elsewhere, it would be all too funny.

Richard was going to leave--deciding that whatever riches he'd be missing out on could wait for another day, if there was one--when the sound of a heavy woosh caught his attention. It was followed by another, and another, and another still until he realized it was getting closer and sounded uncannily like a-

"Dragon!" somebody shouted, rushing out the front entrance to see the massive, winged beast touch down with a boom. They all crammed out of the doors behind him.

Standing on all fours, towering far above them, was a sapphire blue dragon with blood red eyes. Its scales glinted in the morning sun and it pressed its wings to itself, keeping them from blotting out the light. The thing lowered its head to observe them more closely. Though at least half of the men were armed to the teeth with swords, spears and other weapons, none of them dared to draw one. They could only watch in horror as the beast opened its jaw and sucked in air.

"I would like to inquire about one of these 'quests,'" the dragon said, tilting his head. "I understand you humans will give out gold upon its completion?" The gathering of men only stared. His head tilted the other way. He was certain they could speak.

Richard was one of the ones standing the closest, having been nearer to the door than the rest. He eyed a clawed finger warily. It would easily be able to skewer three men and he'd be the first. Swallowing the fear, he said, "That's usually how a quest goes." He stepped back when the head turned to him.

"And what might I have to do to complete one?"

He couldn't believe his ears. A dragon--a DRAGON--was asking for a quest? An odd job? He couldn't fathom why the creature would need to do such a thing. Didn't it know its kind was hunted?

"You are probably confused as to why I'm asking," he said, lips pulling back into a smile, though the men thought he was baring his teeth. "Well, it's because you humans offer gold. Why is that, anyway?"

"For... That's our payment. It's our money. We need it to buy things." Not steal goats, he kept to himself.

The dragon nodded. "I see. So humans have their own sort of hoards, is it? Well, I shall be willing to do whatever jobs you have to offer me, so long as I am paid in gold."

Before any of them could find the bravery to let out a war cry and attack the thing, Gloria presented herself at the front of the crowd. They could only watch, flabbergasted, as she and the dragon began to speak terms.

"I shall give you fifty thousand in gold for escorting me to my uncle's castle in Varland."

"Fifty thousand!" he said, rearing his head back in shock. "So reckless! Does your gold really mean so little to you?"

"That is nothing. It's decent change for a trip. So, do you accept?"

"Of course! What kind of a fool would I be to decline such a healthy offering?"

"Wait!" Simon rushed to her and blocked her from the dragon. "Why would we trust you? Why would YOU trust him?" he added to Gloria. "This beast has a price on his head. Are we really going to let him leave?" Several other men cheered in agreement and stood by him, weapons drawn. One of them even had a bow, what little good it would do against the scales of the creature.

"A bounty? On me? What for?" His eyes narrowed, pupils becoming slits.

"For stealing our goats!" one of the men shouted.

"And our cattle!"

"You've ruined my whole farm! All my crops, gone!"

"I did no such things," he said, still angry but growing confused. "I haven't even been here before."

"It wasn't a blue dragon, but it was still a dragon," Simon said, pointing his sword. "You and your kind are nothing but monsters."

"It looks to me that the only ones with a problem here, are you humans. Don't hold the entirety of my kind accountable for the crimes of a few." He let out an indignant puff of smoke.

"Well, who's going to repay us for our losses. You?"

He hummed. "Why not. Perhaps we can reach an agreement here." He watched the men lower their weapons in interest, still mistrustful.

"What kind of an agreement?" came a man near the rear of the crowd, beard hiding his mouth so the dragon could not see his expression.

"I won't claim to know much of your culture, but I do know you humans value more than gold. You don't believe that gold is the only thing I collect?" Silence. "I will let you debate. In the meantime, I have work that needs to be done." He lowered his head to the ground, shooing away the men so that the woman could climb onto his neck. He gently raised back up. "I shall return in due time," he said, stepping backwards.

They all watched as the dragon, Gloria perched on his neck like some sort of warrior goddess, stretched his wings and took to the skies, blasting dust in his wake. His wing flaps faded into the distance.

"What... just happened?" Richard stared dumbly at the surrounding men, making sure they'd seen it too and that he wasn't losing his mind.

The dragon, true to his word, returned mere hours later from a trip that would have taken days, and landed in the same spot as before. This time, however, he brought gifts with him. Trinkets from his lair that he claimed he had no use for. Jewels, jewelry, armor and weapons fell from his maw. One of the weapons, a sword with an ornate decoration on the hilt, caught one of the men's eye. He rushed over and inspected it.

"This is..." He turned to the group behind him. "Do you see what this is? This sword was made by Saurus. That man's work is legendary. He's been dead for years, this thing is a treasure." He snatched it back when someone tried to take a look.

It took quite a lot of debate, but eventually the poster for a dragon-killer was pulled down. He'd promised to look for the ones causing trouble and have a word with them. Aside from that, he'd be willing to take on their jobs so long as they gave him gold. His second 'quest' was to protect a family's farm from wolves while they put up new fencing.

"Thank you very much," the father said as he handed the dragon his payment, coins jingling together in the burlap sack. As an afterthought, he added, "I'm sorry but... What should we call you? You have a name right?"

He nodded. "It would be a bit difficult to say in your language, as there is no way to translate it, but the closest it can get from my native tongue is Gerald."

It didn't take long for the other dragons to catch wind of Gerald's deeds and come out of hiding. They offered up pieces from their own hoards in exchange for the human's gold and soon a sort of system was formed. It wasn't always peaceful, but it was nice. Interacting with dragons so closely was fascinating and it spawned several philosophers and studies. There were dragons who were just as fascinated. Many villages began coexisting for the sole purpose of cultural studies.

Things had changed quite a bit in the span of that single day. Richard wasn't sure what sort of nonsense Simon was currently getting up to, now that he was no longer the resident dragon slayer, but he knew the man was just as relieved at the way things turned out. It was certainly a relief to be able to enjoy the beauty of the sky without having to hope the sight of wings wouldn't kill you.

A fun little idea from a prompt about a dragon showing up for a quest because it heard humans will just give out gold like that. The blog the prompt is from is @writing-prompt-s . They've got all kinds of great ideas there and I'd recommend checking them out. Written in one go just for an enjoyable exercise. And yes I just named a dragon Gerald.

#writing #writers on tumblr #writing-prompt-s #just for fun #writing inspiration

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eisforeidolon · 5 years ago

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Episode: Atomic Monsters

I watched this at least a week ago, but just didn't get around to rewriting my notes into a post 'til now. I did actually find this the best episode so far, but lets be real, that's such a low bar to clear at this point it says basically nothing.

The opening sequence is really fun! I found the whole thing genuinely enjoyable, both the action itself and that it included exactly the kind of return cameo I can actually get behind. No retcons or resurrections that make death somehow even cheaper or ruin the original finish to the character's story! Not even to mention that, instead of existing just for the sheer fanservice of it? A sequence like this is actively improved by giving us a familiar face we have investment in to keep it from being all just random unfamiliar cannon fodder getting offed.

Unfortunately, this isn't the rousing endorsement it could be when we know that both expanding to a big action sequence and bringing Benny back for it were actually Jensen's ideas. Not even to mention that the thing which really works best in the episode? It's the dream sequence that's not actually connected to anything else and doesn't have to worry about continuity to work. This is my surprised face.

I enjoyed the exchange between Sam and Dean in the kitchen. The meat man conversation over the bacon was rather silly, but in a fun way. I've seen some people reading things into it (it's insulting Dean doesn't know the slang, Sam is randomly vegetarian now) that I didn't really see there. I did appreciate how Sam was weirdly jumpy and had trouble meeting Dean's eyes after the creepy alternate world dream. I thought it worked really well for both slice-of-life and Sam’s reaction.

In terms of the Winchester's case, well, for the most part it could have been worse. I don't honestly believe even if I hadn't been spoiled that I wouldn't have immediately suspected the parents from their introductory exchange about how Billy playing in the big game was more important than a cheerleader's death. I think it was supposed to be a retroactive subtle clue, but it was more of a clue-by-four. So the “mystery” of tracking down the monster was pretty lost on me. I did like that the one girl having braces was a clue! But I also thought the scene with her rehearsing her speech on a live mic in an empty auditorium was weird and contrived. I straight out cannot forgive that a girl was literally abducted from the school campus and NOBODY checked the security footage near her car fucking IMMEDIATELY well before Sam & Dean. C'mon. Then, of course, a couple random middle-aged suburbanite humans get the drop on Sam and Dean, because Dabbernatural really just loves to make them incompetent so plots happen.

Then the big reveal and blah blah blah, kid accidentally ate his girlfriend. WHAT WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DO??? Um, maybe try not being scumbags? Idiotic scumbags at that, abducting a second girl from their son's own school instead of somebody that wouldn't be missed or even, hey, maybe encouraging him to try harder not to eat people. Don't try to sell me on this pseudo hallmark 'but they just love him so much' bullshit. At least the kid has more self-awareness and conscience than his fuckwad parents.

Then we get to the infuriating character assassination part of the programme. Having Sam and Dean say that they'd do the same thing as the dad for Jack their “son”? Fuck you very much, show. I could maybe, maybe, see Sam or Dean kidnapping and draining the life out of an innocent to save the other at their most desperate worst. Though I think the only time they even really get close to that kind of an actively, knowingly evil choice is with Doc Benton. Not only do I not buy for a second that they would do that for the totally-really-their-actual-child-for-reasons albatross Dabbernatural has shoehorned into their lives? Struggling to do the right thing even when it hurts used to actually mean something – it was always a very important qualifier that while Sam or Dean might make that choice, the other would not let them. So having them both agree this kind of straight up villainy would be a-okay for oh-so-totally-loveable-no-really-woobie-blob Jack ...

Like carelessly assassinating every human in the BMoL headquarters, it fundamentally fails to understand what it is that keeps Sam and Dean from being the monsters. Hint: it's not just that the show centers around them. “We do the ugly thing so that people can live happy” - these moronic hacks seem to be actually trying to parallel Sam and Dean saving innocent victims and the world to human monsters that were going to selfishly help their son eat his way through the entire goddamn cheerleading squad. Am I getting this wrong somehow? Is there some other, less appalling, reading here that I'm missing? This whole scene honestly made me nauseous.

They talkity-talk on for a while longer, but it's really not much better. Sam declaring that God was totally done with them was the writers putting those words in his mouth based on nothing. At it’s very best, it was Sam’s bad habit of convincing himself conclusions he’s come to are true because he wants them to be. So them both just deciding to believe it's true after Chuck has admitted to orchestrating their entire lives … I'm not sure if we should conclude the Winchesters have brain damage or if that's just the writers. Especially when the underlying reason for it is nothing more compelling than , “Watch the Winchesters see-saw on the angst fulcrum completely at random! Yay!” If this was actually well written, there would be some precipitating reason for Sam to suddenly be the one being all fatalistic while Dean is accepting. Instead, the writers just slap some coin-flipped angst angst angst on the page and meander on in a supposedly forward direction.

So then there's the other half of the episode, the Becky storyline. Am I the only one a little disturbed that Becky's first reaction to seeing Chuck was to look scared and try to run away? Like, they're exes and all, sure, but she doesn't know any of the god stuff yet – I think the only thing she even says about their breakup is that Chuck dumped her. Is that reaction supposed to be yet another bit of “new canon” showing how Chuck was just that terrible all along? But then she does let him in, so maybe we're just supposed to take it as Becky still having a tendency towards dramatics? I honestly don't know, but it was weird to me.

I do genuinely love that they had Becky go to therapy and realize just how absolutely fucked up what she'd done was and ultimately sort herself out to become someone who seems to be a well-balanced adult. A well balanced adult that didn't have to give up being a fan for that! Seriously, kudos to the writers for this, because 7.08 is such a loathsome episode that otherwise ruins Becky as a character. Though I do have to nitpick a bit – while I get that they wanted to put SPN merch in Becky's home as a callout to her still being a superfan? In the show's universe, Chuck's books were never that popular, so I'm having some suspension of disbelief issues that there would be Funkos for them. We could pretend they were customs, but she's got at least one Impala, so even that doesn't quite work. I'm not entirely sure who “people only want them sitting around doing laundry anyway” is a dig at, but I'm giving it the side eye.

I also am not entirely sure what to make of Chuck's whole no one needs me I kinda hate me I'm all lost and don't know what to doooooo shtick. Is this a game he's playing? Is he really that wishy-washy? Did some of Dabb's sad internal monologue as showrunner somehow end up in a script by accident?

He goes on like that and laments he's lost the Winchester's trust and had words with them or whatever, and then he zaps Becky and her family away at the end. Like, if he cared enough about Becky to care about her opinion, why does he turn on her, too, just like that? I guess we're supposed to see it as him having found his mojo in her space and vanishing her because taking over her space that's working for him currently is his latest whim. I suppose they're intending to show Chuck as just being that capricious and flighty, but I don't know that it works for me. The way they've been writing him he's acting so randomly and impulsively that it's kind of unbelievable he can even sit still at a keyboard long enough to write another Sam and Dean installment. Again, I definitely find it unbelievable that the Chuck they're giving us now would be capable of playing the long game that he would have had to for him to be actively behind everything. Until he suddenly got impatient and lazy and popped up in the cemetery at the end of the last finale ... for reasons … and is now just … like that … because.

Not to mention that his powers are, big shock, just as arbitrary as everyone else's in the current show. He can't actually see what is happening to Sam and Dean because of the bullet sapping his power or whatever, but we're supposed to be worried about the ominous ending he's writing for them because … he's got those god powers to make it happen, I guess? Uh...

I will grant that the ominous bobbing of Sam and Dean Funkos' heads to Chuck's furious typing was a wonderfully foreboding shot to end on.

#negativity for ts #long post #anti dabb #anti jack kline #writer incompetence #spn season 15 #spn 15x04

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inactiive-shit · 5 years ago

Text

When The Violence Causes Silence

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Warnings: apocalypse, zombies, fighting zombies

Pairing: platonic Moxiety

Words: 2,900

Summary: Virgil has to train the New Recruits.

And he is just ecstatic about it. /s

I’ve been trying to finish anything recently because I am working on a thirteen chapter story and I just need something to be finished to feel like a successful person. So I wrote this. Happy Hunting.

They were on a mission. In full honesty, it wasn’t even a particularly hard mission. They were just going to go into the nearby town for food and supplies, and avoid the reanimated corpses while they were at it. The town had mostly been wiped out of zombies already, which was why it was a great training ground for new recruits.

Virgil, on the other hand, was not a new recruit. No, he was the lucky member of his mid-apocalypse society that was chosen to show the new recruits the ropes.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone. Talyn was chosen to help him, though they didn't get his annoyance with the situation at all. Somehow, they thought teaching the scared people who should know better by now was fun. Then again, Talyn thought puke was fun. Maybe their ideas of what constituted enjoyable were a little fucked up.

But whose weren’t, nowadays?

Anyway, the point remained: Virgil hated this work. He hated doing it, he wasn’t good at it, talking to people and showing them how to do things they should rightfully already know was absolutely not something he could force himself to do with any degree of effectiveness. But they made him, because newbies didn’t die on his watch. What he did could not be classified as teaching; it was coddling and everybody pretended it was a good thing because nobody wanted to be on training duty and Virgil was new enough that he wasn’t allowed to complain too much.

So Virgil sat brooding in the passenger seat of the jeep with the three new recruits in the back and Talyn driving. They were going about a hundred feet back from the edge of the forest and then they’d walk the rest of the way into town, fill their packs, and head back out. It was a nice, easy little introductory trip that let them get used to moving with packs, using their brains to decide what was a need versus what was a want, got them used to seeing zombies, and, most importantly, how to take down a zombie in real time.

Talyn threw the car into park. Somebody whimpered. Virgil tried not to groan.

“C’mon, get your bags and stay quiet,” Virgil ordered. He climbed out of the car and didn’t wait for them to set off for the city. They scrambled after them, and Talyn shushed them before turning to Virgil.

“You think any of ‘em are going to die?” they asked. Virgil snorted.

“That’d ruin my record,” Virgil said back. It was Talyn’s turn to huff a laugh in that silent way you did when in a forest that there could be zombies wondering through. Virgil grinned at them, and Talyn smiled too. It was warm enough out today and there was plenty of sun. Not the best for going unseen, but it felt amazing on Virgil’s skin and it was way better than being cold.

“So, uhm, where are we going?” asked one of the newbies. Virgil shot Talyn a look. They rolled their eyes.

“The town.”

“Are we going to be...ya know? Killing things?” the man asked. He was walking close enough to be stepping on the backs of Virgil’s shoes. They were about to get their first real-time lesson early, and it was going to be about personal space.

“I don’t know,” Virgil hummed. “Are you holding a knife?”

“I-yes?” the guy stammered.

“I wonder why on earth that would be,” Virgil said. He chanced a glance back. The one speaking was eyeing the forest around him like they were going to be swallowed up any minute. The woman was walking cavalierly like she didn’t have a care in the world, knife in her hand and swinging by her side in a way that tickled Virgil’s anxiety. The third man was hunched in on himself, eyes darting around the trees at every noise, knuckles white from how hard he was holding onto his own hands.

Weird. He’d done pretty damn good in training. Wonder what he was so worked up about.

“Oh, well-” the first man started, but the woman cut him off.

“We only kill them if we see them. We’re not looking for them,” the woman said. “That’s what you said, right Tal?”

“My name is Talyn,” Talyn replied, and Virgil knew they were going to have fun with this batch. Conflicting personalities and all. “And yes, if you listened you would know that we’re only here for supplies and some controlled-environment action, should any show up.” The group slipped through the fence and crept up behind the first building. Talyn sent a chilling grin over their shoulder at the newbies. “Word of advice: don’t get bit.” That garnered another whimper, and Virgil sighed through his nose. This was going to be a long day.

They went through a quick round of rock-paper-scissors, which Talyn lost. “Damn. Alright, you two with me. We’re on a food run.”

“We’re splitting up?” squeaked the one Virgil was taking; it was the man who hadn’t spoken at all to this point. Virgil repressed another sign of his exhaustion and nodded.

“They’re on food, we’re on meds. Trust me, we’re better off,” Virgil said. “You know how to make a lot of noise?” He nodded, eyes wide. “Good. Don’t do that and we should be fine.” Virgil spun around, surveyed the empty streets, and then set off. The newbie kept almost on top of Virgil, obviously terrified despite his proficiency. Virgil waved him back, and he only stayed back for a few yards before getting close enough Virgil couldn’t breathe without bumping him again.

“Dude, back up,” Virgil snapped, glaring. “You’re fine. Stop acting like a fucking toddler and get your shit together.”

“I’m sorry,” the man said. “I just-I don’t-”

“I don’t care about your sob story,” Virgil cut in, sighing again. “We all have one, and I guarantee I’ve heard it before. Right now, you need to focus. Don’t think about what’s already happened to you or all the bad things that might right now. You are getting supplies for a community that is depending on you with a partner who is very good at he does. I know this isn’t the first time you’ve been around the zombies, you were out here for a long time before you came to us. You’ve lived this already, you’ll be fine right now. Okay?” The man seemed sorry-confused-embarrassed, but nodded nonetheless and then Virgil continued on. He lead them right up to the pharmacy with no other problems, and he carefully showed the man where to step so that he wouldn’t crunch the broken glass littering the floors and alert every dog-eared dead thing in the town.

“Alright, look,” Virgil said quietly. “Do you see how most of the shelves are empty? That’s because we hid a lot of the meds. It’s so that they’re not all in one place and if we’re sacked or over-run or whatever there will still be some for emergencies. Got it?” The man nodded. Virgil stared him in the eyes for a moment, examining his broken glasses and freckles, the deep brown eyes that...didn’t seem scared. Something else, maybe. Like hesitant or reluctant, but not afraid.

Stranger and stranger.

Virgil looked away. “For now, you’re just going to empty all of this section into your bag.” Virgil pulled open a few sets of cabinet doors hiding a treasure trove of bottles.

“Yeah kiddo, alright,” the man said quietly. Virgil wondered how old he was; if he was any older than Virgil himself or younger. It’s hard to tell, everyone so dirty and tanned and wrinkled and gray-haired well before old age. Anway, age didn’t really matter at the end of the day. What mattered was what you had been through, what had aged you whether or not you had the years to match, and Virgil knew for a fact that this man could not hold a candle to what Virgil had been through already.

He didn’t say that. Instead, he sighed again and started to shove droves of pill bottles into his pack.

The man made quick work of the pill bottles, and he moved astonishingly quietly. They barely even clacked as he dropped them in. Virgil wondered if this had been his primary job with whatever group he’d been with before. Getting in, getting supplies, and getting out quickly and quietly enough that no fighting had to be done. Virgil wondered what had happened to his old group that he had shown up alone in the middle of the night, half dead and being followed by a dozen zombies.

Either way, it didn’t matter. It didn’t do to ask questions about where people had been or who they’d been with or what they’d done. It really was all just one communal sob story, varying a little from one person to the next. Virgil had his own leg of the journey stored away in a locked box; he didn’t need anybody else’s.

Getting all the supplies they needed only took a few minutes, and then Virgil was showing him again where to step. They made back onto the street without incident, and Virgil began to lead the way back at a leisurely pace. There was no way Talyn’s group would be done with the grocery run yet, and even if they were, Virgil wanted all the time away from those two as he could get. They were both so loud and talked so much it made Virgil want to scream. After living so long in silence, loud was hard to adjust to.

The shuffle of feet echoed around a corner a few yards behind them, and Virgil spun around. Perfect. A fucking zombie.

The newbie let out a short, trilling scream and pinwheeled to get behind Virgil. “Let’s go, let’s go. We need to run. We have to go, please. Please, we need to go.” The man wrapped one hand in the strap of Virgil’s bag and started to tug, trying to force him to move. Virgil planted his feet wondered how long it would take before the man gave up and left without him.

“Nah,” Virgil said. He motioned. “That one’s yours.”

“What? No.” The man shook his head wildly. “No no no. I can’t. I can’t do this, I’m not-I’m not made for this, please, we need to leave.”

“We will,” Virgil said. “Just as soon as you kill it.” He reached over and unsheathed the knife at the man’s side and pressed it into his shaking hand. “You know how to hold a knife, and how to dispatch a rotter. I’ve seen you in practice. This is your next piece of practice. Go do it.” Virgil dragged the man to stand slightly in front of him.

“No, no. I can’t. I can’t do it.” The man frantically pushed back against Virgil, but as much as he tried he still had nothing on Virgil’s strength.

“Why can’t you?” Virgil asked.

“I’m scared,” the new recruit whimpered.

Virgil, who had been scared most of his life, said, “We’re all scared. Be angrier than that. Be spiteful. Be compassionate. And do it anyway.”

“Compassionate?” the man whispered.

“They're suffering. If you're too afraid to do it for yourself, put them out of their misery. Bring food back to the kids. Find a reason that’s bigger than your fear and go.” Virgil shoved the man harshly at the zombie. He froze for a second, then brought his knife up in precisely the way he had been taught - he was surprisingly good in practice, caught on quicker than most, but moved with a certain stiffness and fear that they needed to work out of him before he was being depended on for protection - and slashed at it. The swing wasn’t perfect - most things weren’t - and it didn’t completely decapitate the zombie.

Three more rounded the corner.

“Shit.” Virgil ran up to the combat-engaged newbie. “You just worry about this one. Make it stay down.” He continued past him, drawing his own knife. His first hit drove the blade right into the temple of the first zombie to reach him. It went down like a ton of bricks, but the knife caught in its skull. Virgil released it and drew his second knife. Either he’d win and have to time get that weapon back after, or he wouldn’t be needing it anymore. It could wait for him.

The second zombie he kicked in the stomach. It staggered back and then crashed down to lie with the first. Not dead-dead yet, but out of the way for the moment so it wasn’t two-on-one. Virgil brought his knife up and, in a much better rendition of the same move the other man had attempted, slashed through the neck and spinal cord in one. The zombie fell. Virgil dropped to his knee near the last creature and jammed his knife through this one’s forehead. The knife hit concrete on the other side, and Virgil yanked it back out. He wiped the brain matter on the dead thing’s rags, and then man-handled the other knife out of the head of the other zombie. He wiped that one on the same rags and turned around to see whether or not the newbie had lived through his induction.

The man was standing, staring at Virgil with those wide, disbelieving eyes. He looked sick, and there was something on the ground next to him that could definitely have been puke. Virgil stalked over and poked at the zombie the man had killed with his boot.

“Good job, uh,” Virgil said.

“Patton,” the man supplied, still shaking.

“Good job, Patton,” he reiterated. “You did it once, despite not wanting to. Now ya just have to do it again.” Virgil turned and began walking away. Patton looked almost dead himself when he got to Virgil’s side.

“Does it ever get easier?” he asked, and Virgil was struck with the urge to play dumb and pretend he didn’t know what Patton was asking about. Or to lie, and tell him what he probably wanted to hear - what Virgil wanted to be the truth.

Instead, he sighed. “For some people. For some people it gets easier, for some people it was never hard to begin with. But-but for people like you? I doubt it.” Patton let out a breath.

“Good. I don’t want taking life to be easy. Even if they’re already dead.” Virgil stumbled slightly at the words, turned to look wide eyed at Patton, but he seemed to not realize what he’d said at all. He kept shuffling along quietly, gray in the face and eyes scanning their surroundings quickly enough Virgil doubted he was seeing anything that was actually there.

He wondered what Patton was seeing.

Virgil shook himself out and grumbled, “I’ll make sure they don’t put you hunting duty, then.” It startled a laugh out of Patton, who then clapped a hand over his mouth and gave Virgil a sheepish look.

“Sorry. You just-you caught me by surprise there, kiddo.” He smiled, looking actually kind of genuine. Virgil didn’t return it.

“Yeah, well, get used to it. There’s plenty enough surprises out here.” Virgil sped up slightly so that Patton was following him instead of walking even with him, and they made the rest of their trek in silence.

Talyn was back at the jeep with the other two already, leaning back, doing a poor job of concealing their worry. Virgil waved a hand and they jumped up, watching closely as they approached.

“What took you so long? I thought we were going to have to send out the search party.” They raised an eyebrow - something they did roughly as often as Virgil sighed.

Virgil sighed. “We ran into a little trouble.” He stole a glance at Patton, and decided Patton probably wouldn’t want anybody to know that he’d killed anything. It wasn’t going to be a point of pride for him like it was for some. “We handled it, though. Wasn’t a big deal.”

“Did you kill one?” demanded the woman, eyes locked on Patton. “No, I bet you didn’t. He said ‘we’, so you probably didn’t help at all.”

“He was very helpful,” Virgil said.

“Unlike you,” Talyn added, sending a terrifying look at the pair. “They almost got us killed. Not once, not twice, but four times.”

“Wow,” Virgil said, deadpan. “I think that might be a new record.”

“People can always get stupider.” Talyn sighed, rubbing at their arm.

“I wouldn’t feel too bad about it, kiddo,” Patton said. “I cried when the zombie came up.” The woman and man looked oddly relieved at this information, and Virgil looked at Patton.

“Maybe we should all practice together,” the man suggested. “You know, so we’re all better next time.” Virgil made eye contact with Talyn. They shook their head. Virgil had absolutely no idea what was going on right now. He sighed.

“Get in the car. We’re heading back before something else shows up and somebody does die.” He climbed into the passenger seat, bag settled between his feet, and stared out the window. Yeah, what Virgil did? It wasn’t teaching. It was coddling and everybody knew it. He didn’t know why they had to send him out on these missions. He wasn’t any good at it.

In the backseat, Patton started to hum.

#sanders sides #ts virgil sanders #ts patton sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #ts virgil #ts patton #ts anxiety #ts morality #moxiety #platonic moxiety #when the violence causes silence #fanfic #my writing #my fanfiction #ts fanfictin #ts fanfic

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inmytaste-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Secret Love

Word Count: 2.5

Warnings: Boyfriend material Shawn aka ordinary Shawn

A/N: Whoop another update! First of all, I wanted to thank you for showing love to this account by following and requesting and secondly, I am more than thrilled to have received some requests already and I promise I will devote time in order to fullfill them! As always, feedback is very much appreciated and requests or random talks about anything are too! Since next time, happy reading!

______________________

‘’What do you not understand Brian? I hate seeing her like this because of that douchebag. I even wonder how she lets herself feel upset over that… being’’ Shawn tugged at his hair with frustration and puffed loudly enough for his friend to hear.

‘’Well, I don’t know either but there isn’t much we can do now, is it?’’ Brian spoke truthfully and he collapsed on his couch.

Truth is, he didn’t know how she got involved with her ex altogether. It is clear as day that he is the complete opposite of her type in guys yet here she were in her apartment sulking and wiping tears that didn’t really deserve to be spilled for him. Shawn knew she could do so much better and devote herself to somebody who would devote themselves to her just as much if not more. Shawn knew he was the one for her even though her eyes were blindfolded and couldn’t acknowledge that.

Y/N and Shawn had started as really good friends when she had gone out looking for a home in his neighbourhood. He would see her almost every day talking to the landlord of the apartment and he couldn’t stop questioning whether she would finally settle down to that apartment or leave. After some days, his question was answered when he saw her carrying multiple boxes which held her belongings up to the apartment. He was rather excited to know that he had a neighbor approximately at his age and a very beautiful one for that matter.

So when he got out of his house which was opposite from hers to introduce himself to her and perhaps help her with her carrying, she were pretty positive this new way of living would be less painful and rather enjoyable. She didn’t believe she were that lucky to meet a kind and handsome young man so she were pretty hesitant at first. Shawn sensed that and was trying to get her to open up to him and just be more… her. Time proved to be on his side and after some time they did everything together. He even introduced her to some of his friends.

‘’Are you sure you are not smitten with her mate? As long as her name rolled off your tongue, your eyes were gleaming.’’ One of his friends would notice and a small smile would creep up Shawn’s lips.

‘’Nah, you know she is a close friend. Plus, I don’t think I am her type’’ Shawn would explain and his eyes would travel to her figure sitting across the room, eyes fixed on the person in front of her since she always had ears for people who were there to talk to her.

Ever since, Shawn would always stare at her a bit longer and he would start fantasizing about what it would be like to be together, like together-together, with him calling her girlfriend and waking her up with kisses and cuddles. It was a picture he still had in his mind every time he would hear her voice through the speaker of his phone or when she would ask for his help in deciding which photo was better to be posted on her Instagram blog. Maybe he was smitten after all. But he didn’t care because it felt good.

What didn’t feel that good though was when she burst through the door one night, announcing that Jake, at the time being, her ex, had finally asked her out and she were thrilled to go out with him. Shawn pretended to be happy with her news but deep down he felt his heart clenching and his breathing getting harder each second that passed by. He was supposed to be the one asking her out and he was supposed to be the one looking at her beauty all night long not that Jake guy.

‘’Wow, this is some news there… I am happy he finally decided to come around Y/N’’ he had said while his eyes fell to the floor and he tried to ignore the smile on her lips caused by somebody else.

‘’You could hide your frustration better I believe’’ she would playfully snap back without really knowing that Shawn was trying. Hard.

‘’I am happy for you, I really am Y/N. Now if you’ll excuse me’’ he had said ready to get up from the couch ready to abandon her apartment altogether.

‘’Whoa whoa, I was joking you know that. You can stay as long as you want to Shawn, what happened?’’ Y/N really tried to understand but she couldn’t quite put her hand on whatever was going on in Shawn’s mind.

‘’Nothing happened. You need to get ready for your… date’’ he said so bitterly and Y/N was more than shocked at the change of his behavior. She really didn’t know what got him so worked up since they were friends. All she did was share her happiness with him, something that real friends do the last time she had checked.

‘’Well, if you see it that way I can’t do much to change your mind. Thanks though’’ she had said and Shawn exited her house with his heart falling to his guts.

After that date, things escalated pretty quickly for Shawn’s own liking. Y/N was every single hour stuck to her phone, giving all her attention to a screen and not to her best friend and whenever she wasn’t glued to her phone she would be out with Jake. In other words, Shawn felt horrendous. He felt like he was losing Y/N one and for good without really having a say in it. It pained him to see how far they were now all because of Jake and his ‘’love’’ for Y/N. He was sure his love didn’t even come close to the amount of feelings Shawn had for her. He just knew her better and loved her unconditionally.

The thing is that he was a bit out of time and Y/N didn’t particularly wait for him to gather up his courage to confess. But Shawn had learned from his mistake and he was willing not to let more time go by without letting her know that he loved her. Yes, he loved her. He had admitted to himself that he loved her long before he was even sure about it. He loved her for the way she would dance carelessly to her favourite song in her room blasting it through the speakers, for the way she ate her pancakes getting all messy with the syrup or the Nutella, for the way her hands fit perfectly in his own when she was cold and had no pockets to keep them warm. But he particularly loved her for the way she never hesitated to tell what was on her mind, not really caring if she would make a complete fool out of herself. She was real and he loved her for that.

But seeing that Jake was having all of that to himself, made him sick to his stomach. Brian tried to persuade Shawn that Y/N was happy in her relationship and that she would want him to have something similar in his life as well but all his talking was going down the drain every single time.

‘’I want that too. But with her Brian! Why is this so hard to realize? If I could go and erase her completely from my mind, I wouldn’t because I love her damn it!’’ he would shout and Brian would pat his friend in the back.

‘’That hard huh?’’

‘’And even more. It’s just… her. It is the very first time I feel like this and I feel like I lost my shot’’ he was very disappointed in himself and the way things were developing.

‘’Well, I think you can’t blame yourself nor her. You just didn’t want to ruin your friendship and she has no clue that you are dying without her’’

‘’Do you really believe she is happy with him?’’

‘’Well, I see the way she smiles when his name is mentioned and how eager she is to meet up with him every time they arrange to do something together. I don’t know what your definition for happiness is pal but she seems happy to me’’

Shawn wished he hadn’t asked that question because he wasn’t prepared for the answer at all. He wanted to see Y/N happy of course, but with him and because of him.

‘’I know she would be happier with me’’

So when the bomb exploded and he saw Y/N crying her eyes out because of that scumbag he wanted nothing more than to hit his face and make him hurt just as much as his Y/N was hurting. He just couldn’t bear the sight before him; a completely wrecked Y/N being unable to stand on her own feet. He wanted nothing more but to see Y/N glowing with happiness not screaming catastrophe.

Shawn was there for her every step of the way and he would surely be by her side now that she needed him most. He made sure she always came home to vanilla cupcakes and her favourite movie on pause ready to be watched by her. He was willing to let her be the small spoon while they were cuddling close not really caring for anything else but her healing. She was still recovering from her breakup with Jake but she would let go a bit more every day because of Shawn. He was more than pleased to know he was the reason behind her well-being and her old self coming back.

Things were not that easy though. There were some days when she would still lock herself up in her room, completely ignoring Shawn and the cupcakes, the only thing in her mind being her bed and her tears. It was a pretty hard breakup and she was handling it even harder. She didn’t want to let Shawn down but she couldn’t pretend that everything was okay and that she had moved on when clearly that was nowhere close to reality. So she would climb up the stairs, mouthing a ‘’sorry’’ at Shawn and entering her room in complete silence.

Shawn wanted nothing more than to go up there and take her into his warm embrace until her tears dampened his sweater. So that is what he decided to do one of those days.

‘’Can I come in?’’

A muffled ‘’yes’’ was heard from the other end of the door and he hated Jake for making her feel so small and helpless.

‘’Hey’’ he would gently say, careful not to upset her any further.

‘’Hi’’ her voice was rough from all the previous crying and her hands stood numb in front of her, playing with the hem of her shirt.

‘’How are you feeling honey?’’

‘’Fucking shitty but I guess it shows, doesn’t it?’’

‘’Well I wouldn’t have guessed if you hadn’t said so’’ Shawn tried to make her smile and it partly worked. He swore he saw stars every time she smiled at him or just giggled like a small child.

‘’Shawn I never really got to thank you for doing so much for me. I know you have no right to worry this much about me and seeing you try this hard really makes me feel worse’’ she was rumbling by now but this was the way she felt towards him. He made sure she was healing in the best way possible and here she was crying over her lame boyfriend who most possibly deserved nothing but ignorance.

‘’Hey hey hey, where did this come from? If I am not the one who takes care of you then who is it? Please don’t think about it Y/N, please. It is my pleasure to see you every day getting a little better and I completely understand that there are times when you want all the pressure and the hurt to go away somehow. So crying is the only solution even though I still believe he doesn’t deserve it. Not your tears and he definitely didn’t deserve you’’ he said looking deep into her eyes but as soon as he realized what he had just said he looked at the bed avoiding her gaze.

Her eyes widened a little bit at her friend’s words not really being able to accept that her friend might have feelings for her.

‘’Shawn, thank you. I really do’’

‘’Shhh, you have no reason to. Now please calm down and rest a little bit’’

‘’Will you help me to?’’ she asked pleadingly and he was more than willing to lie by her side meaning that he got to hold her a bit closer. He felt at ease watching her sleep peacefully, worries far away and thoughts not related to that Jake boy. He was there with her and it was all that mattered.

For the next couple weeks, things really seemed to become lighter and Shawn was thrilled to see Y/N blooming again. She even took the initiative and wanted to go out to grab lunch with Shawn and not stay in. It was a pleasant surprise both for Shawn but for her as well because she was finally healing and wanted nothing to do with Jake. She was very thankful she had Shawn in her life and she made sure he knew every passing day.

‘’Y/N I know love that you appreciate everything that I do but please this is too much’’ Shawn would giggle at her attempts to pay him back for his services by buying his Taco Bell order for the fifth time in a row.

‘’Nah it is nothing compared to your marvelous personality seriously’’ she would say sitting down next to him and looking him in the eyes.

‘’I have you here all smiley and happy and that is more I could ever ask for as payback’’ Shawn would state taking both her hands in his own and looking in her eyes dearly. If only she knew how much he wanted to ask her whether she wanted to be held like this from him every day and every night.

‘’Shawn…’’ she would say filled with butterflies and hearts inside but not really daring to say the actual words she too wanted to be heard.

Shawn decided that if he didn’t make a move now he would never do it and he would hate himself for the rest of his life.

‘’Y/N I was really hurting when I saw you wrecked over Jake so I had to help you recover honey. It really tore me apart to see how broken he got you. But what really pained me more was when you were smiling because of him and I was not the reason of your so beautiful smile. I hated that he got to see another version of you that I might never get to see’’ Shawn said all in one breath and Y/N stood there dumbfounded and somewhat relieved to know that she had guessed right about Shawn’s intentions towards her, somehow matching her own ones towards him.

‘’What is that version you might not get to see Shawn?’’ she asked curiously scooting a little closer to him.

‘’The girlfriend version of you’’ Shawn admitted shamefully.

Y/N took that as the perfect opportunity to change the sequence of events and she wasted no time.

‘’Don’t be so sure of that Shawn’’.

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