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rainyorca · 1 month

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Flowers Don’t Bloom In Winter ❀ Logan Howlett x Reader

Content Warnings: F!reader, angst/no comfort, character death, kissing/make out, implied smut, mild gore, strangers to friends to lovers.

Summary: “Are you scared?” he asks, voice low but there's genuine curiosity in the gentle cadence of his voice. Your eyes meet his. “You could never scare me.”

You'll wilt, all flowers die. But he'll bloom again.

Notes: I’ve been a wolvie fan since i was suppperrr young and I am so glad him (and hugh) are getting attention again. This is my second-ish time writing for him, I just got done rewatching the movies for the first time in a while so hopefully I did him a little justice. His hair in origins will forever be my favorite but in this you can think of him from any movie, there is no set one, no set timeline wolvie.

Words: 6,121

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘

You're not a weapon.

You’re more human than everyone else.

Human was a funny word, to Logan at least. Being human meant a lot of things, mutant wasn’t one of them. Stuck as a mutant with the heart for a human, what a tragedy. Actually, did he even have a heart? Oftentimes he would spend nights trying to find his own heartbeat, a hand laying on his chest while he stared up at the ceiling.

When he met you he wondered if you knew what he was, the way you stared at him when he came in and sat down at the bar made him curious. Most don't know, he looks normal on the outside, so how would you know? But he did have a hard time keeping his eyes off you too, you smelled human but there was something so sweet about your scent, it made you different from others.

Wisteria, sandalwood, jasmine and maybe a hint of vanilla, he couldn't really pinpoint what you smelled like (however it reminded him of forests, nature, his old home) all he knew was that he wanted the scent to last forever, like a candle he could buy over and over again. He would only watch the stage when you got up there and when you're done, he would be too.

You came to the bar shortly after to get yourself a drink, your eyes resembled a rabbit’s; innocence and beauty all in one, and they immediately found him. There was something else in your eyes, deep within like you were trying to figure him out. When you got closer to him your scent got stronger, so strong it was almost overwhelming. No human has ever had that effect on him before, at least not enough to make him physically react like he did, squeezing his glass a little tighter.

“Hello,” you smiled brightly, like a blooming flower, voice gentle whilst you greeted him.

“You must be new, I haven't seen you at the bar before.”

“Just figured I’d try out a new place,” he responds, an attempt to try and be friendly despite his intimidating looks. You smile again, swallowing down the remains of your liquor and then putting the dish in the sink. “Glad you came to us,” your eyes travel down to his somewhat empty glass, “you want another?”

Your kindness was obvious, but no one that kind is ever really okay. There was something off about you, something deep down was bothering you or maybe you just had some other problem he couldn't figure out. You're kind but in a calming way, not overwhelming. What's the word? Tranquil? That's what he thought of you.

You knew Logan wasn’t human when you first met him. He looked human just like a majority of the rest of the mutants but you had a keen eye for finding them. It was a talent to some people, being able to point out who was ‘real’ and who was not. Logan was no exception, you could practically see that mutant blood underneath his thick skin as if you had x-ray vision.

A human trying to befriend a mutant, what an odd thing to most of the world. You should be scared of him. People would say, many warning you to beware the mutants, stay away from the entities wearing human skin. He's only going to hurt you, stay away from him.

Logan wasn’t an entity, he had a human heart just like the rest of them. But to you, he was a little more human than the others. To you, he looked like a winter flower, strong and capable of handling whatever comes its way, but flowers don't bloom in winter. He was too good to be true.

You don’t really remember the details of how you met Logan (besides making small talk that first time), but what always stays in your head is what happened a few months later upon meeting him.

There was a little dispute in the parking lot of your job. Being a dancer doesn't mean you do all the hard work at your job, that's up to the servers and bartenders. But of course you were always the one to go clean up after people. Your coworkers assigned you the role after you broke up a bar fight on your first night, so all the dirty work (dealing with rude customers or fights in and out of the bar) was left up to you.

Kill them with kindness is an extremely real and full proof method, people find your kindness a little off putting (though you are unsure why). You don’t know what the guys were fighting about but it got messy quickly, they both started swinging at each other and when you tried to split it up suddenly you were the problem.

Pushing you up against the car, threatening you instead of each other. Your coworkers who were once watching from afar were now safely back inside. You braced yourself for some hits, maybe you would get a cool scar out of the situation, a story to tell to your future children (if you even had any). But all that confidence from before was dropped as soon as the guy got on his knees, grabbing your injured face as you leaned lethargically against the car, making you look at him.

Your bare legs hurt on the asphalt, rocks digging into the softness of your skin, leaving marks. He held a knife up to your ribs, pressing and pressing until you felt a sharpness, the tip of the blade digging into your flesh. The other guy had run off, probably took his chance and instead let you take the beatings.

You remember him getting ready to stand up, his face getting closer to you while he continued to threaten you, that was until he went silent. There was the sound of flesh ripping, or a knife sheathing you weren’t really sure. Blood splatters onto your face, the only thing you could hear was gurgling and a gruesome choking sound from the man. Slowly opening your blurry eyes, the sight in front of you almost made you scream if your throat wasn't so dry.

The man had been silenced, three blades stuck out the front of his face, the tips of them so close to yours you could feel them poking into your skin. A shaky gasp escapes your lips when you see him move, his body lifting up. Standing behind him, the man's blood spilling onto his knuckles, was Logan (Haemanthus, in that moment).

The look of fear on your face was clear in the dark, Logan could see it, hell he could probably smell it. You watch him toss the limp body aside and then he crouches down in front of you. Flinching away, you watch those metal claws slide back into his knuckles, the openings they tear closing almost immediately. Then he cups your face with that same, blood soaked hand, trying to wipe the blood that had splattered onto your face (useless, he was only smearing it).

That was the first time you ever saw Logan use his powers and it was to protect you. What you should’ve done is run, call the cops or something but instead you stayed, you stayed in front of him, letting him pick you up and carry you back into your job.

Humans are curious creatures, thirsting for an explanation of something they don't understand, even if that explanation could kill them. So, after that, you would stay after hours on your job, as long as he was there. After you got done closing you would ask him to show you, show you his claws so you could feel them, look at them. Maybe even worship them if you were that kind of person.

“Does it hurt?” You ask, trailing your fingers up the blades. “When they come out?”

“Every time,” he responds, watching you intently, no one has ever seemed to show this much curiosity over his claws, at least no human has.

“There’s something sort of humbling about them,” you speak slowly, looking at your reflection on the blades, “the fact that you could so easily kill me, kill anyone, yet you choose not to.”

Your fingers trail back down the blades until you stop at his wrist, wrapping your hand around it to feel them when they return into his body. You could feel his muscles move every time his bones shift to allow the metal to escape the cavity of his arm. His eyes stay locked on your face, watching every tiny change in expression.

“Are you scared?” he asks, voice low but there's genuine curiosity in the gentle cadence of his voice.

Your eyes meet his. “You could never scare me.”

It was hard to say whether you really liked Logan after what happened, a part of you knows what he did was illegal, but he did it to protect you, maybe you could rule it out as self defense if the cops come searching. You took an interest in him honestly, this was your first time getting to know a mutant, your first time being saved by one too.

But there was a part of you that wanted to protect him, keep him safe and out of harm from humans and mutants alike. Logan is stubborn but not as stubborn as you. You would do anything to keep him safe, even if it meant risking your own life, although he argues that you shouldn't do anything like that for him. Humans are much more fragile, at least that's what he would say to you. He compared you to a flower, prone to breaking, prone to destruction. He feared that he wouldn't be able to keep you safe.

It's strange, just a few months into this little friendship and you already feel this instinct to take care of him, to nurture him, treat him like he's the most perfect piece of art in the whole world, and also the most breakable. Like he's the most precious, rarest flower you’ve ever seen. The type that you discovered, not some random traveler. Even a few months in he allows you to meet all the other mutants, the ones he calls his family. You hit it off with Storm pretty quick, she knew how to be your voice of reason, your help when it comes to figuring out your feelings for Logan.

You also enjoyed staying at the mansion, being able to interact with all the students. This place was wonderful to you, but you didn't like having to stay behind when Logan went on missions.

Every time you watch him walk out that door you feel like you're left with nothing but desperation, the desire, the need to go with him. All you want to do is help him. But you were also left with fear, strangely enough. No matter how many times he came back, everytime he left it felt like he was never gonna come back. They’re just missions, he’ll be back soon. That's what you always told yourself.

You don't know why you cared so much, you two weren't even dating. But you don't really know what to call the relationship you two had, you were much closer than just regular friends. Yearning was never your thing until you met him. Usually you try to avoid relationships, your fears always making it hard for you to stay with someone.

I wanna be a part of you.

You would tell him. Always touching him, that was your thing. He liked that about you, that you felt safe around him, comfortable enough to always be touching him, a hand constantly on his shoulder or fingers wrapped around his wrist. It was something you did every time you were with him, even if you were safe from harm.

His most favorite thing was that scent of yours, it drove him crazy in all the good ways. He could tell when you had just been in a room and he could follow your scent out of that room if he so pleased. He remembers the first time Charles talked about you after you had left the room just a few minutes before he arrived.

“She's quite a unique one,” he says, watching Logan adjust to your scent filling the room, “isn't scared of mutants, believes we are all equal. I'm glad you found her, Logan.”

“Yeah well, I knew she’d be good here,” Logan responds, leaning against the wall. Charles is quiet, but there's a growing smirk on his face. “What?” he asks a bit harshly.

“You like her,” Charles says, “I don't have to read your mind to tell.”

“Yeah well a mutant and a human won't really work out, so forget it,” Logan grumbles, pushing through the doors and leaving the room before Charles could protest.

The dynamic was weird (for a pair that wasn't dating), but considerably normal to the other mutants. Many seek him out for protection too, he's just the type of guy you gravitate to, despite that grumpy face and angry attitude. You know that's not who he is on the inside, he's much more gentle than what others seem to think about him (Hibiscus, a delicate beauty, Gypsophilia, pure of heart).

When Logan was out on missions, you would spend your time distracting yourself with flower hunting or spending money on bouquets just to make you happy. You would leave them around the mansion, around your work.

You love seeing him in the audience when he returns, usually sitting at the bar. He leans against it, facing the stage, eyes only on you (Sweet daffodil, you're my only one. The sun shines when I'm with you). When you were done for the night you would run to him, wrapping your arms around him, finding so much comfort in those large arms.

You imagine Logan would be a kind lover, gentle and caring. The type to freak out if he accidentally hurt you. The type to sit you on his lap during dinner even if there was a chair for you. You know he would take care of you, he's said it a million times before.

“I’ll take care of you,” he says softly one night after you get off work. You're standing behind the bar, watching him drink the last of the whiskey.

“You can't be near me all the time,” you hum, teasingly, unaware of his seriousness. You figured it was just him being a little flirty.

“I can if I want to,” he responds, his smile often a little rare to see but present in this moment.

He made it very hard for you to try and hide your flusteredness. Logan can be very flirty, more unintentionally than not. In all honesty, maybe you did want him, wanted to be with him. For once you can see a future with someone, something rare for you (usually trying not to look ahead). You could see the future where you live in a cabin with him, somewhere in the woods, probably in Canada or somewhere cold. He would get a normal job, you would make him breakfast and then kiss him goodbye before heading to your own job. Maybe it was a sad, pathetic thing to think about at night but you couldn't help yourself, it was the life you always wanted and you finally found someone to have that life with.

The day you really realized it, was when he came back from a longer mission, longer than usual. For once you didn't work that week, taking a break to give the new dancer a chance to earn some money. You spent that week cleaning your place, organizing, doing the things you didn't usually have time for. That's when you received a call from the mansion, Ororo had called you, letting you know Logan was back.

You’ve never driven so fast in your life, that long trip turns into a few quick minutes. The snow didn't stop you, instead it only made your adrenaline spike, your excitement. You practically slipped when you got out of the car, running to the front door of the mansion.

When it opened to his handsome face you felt a tingle in your spine, electricity coursing through your veins. He starts to walk forward, snow starting to stick to his dark hair, his arms open waiting to catch you.

In that moment, when you ran into his arms, feeling them wrap around you again and cover you in that familiar warmth, that familiar scent, you felt something more. More than fasciation, more than adoration, you felt love (A blooming orchid).

“Miss me?” he asks with a smile when you pull away, your arms still wrapped around his neck. He sets you carefully back down on your feet.

“Always,” you breathe, tears pricking at your eyes. You don't know why you felt like crying, you blamed it on the fact of how much you missed him, or maybe you were just incredibly overwhelmed.

You knew the problems with wanting to be with Logan. The major one you realized while rewatching Twilight (Ironic given your situation, Edward a vampire, Bella a human. You a human, Logan a mutant). Logan is practically immortal, honestly you don’t even know how old he is now. You’ll grow old, eventually succumb to your age or maybe even a sickness if you're lucky. Logan will still be living, just older, a little more grumpy.

You’ll wilt, all flowers die. But he’ll bloom again.

But unlike Twilight, you won’t get your happy ending. Logan can’t bite you and turn you into a mutant like Edward does with Bella. His fangs are dulled, they don’t secrete any special type of life changing liquid.

Unfortunately you’ll be human forever. What a curse it is to be human or to be living at all.

…

The first time you and Logan kissed was outside his place, surrounded by nothing but trees, fresh snow falling to the ground and sticking to your hair. You had embarrassingly fallen on your ass walking up to his house, he quickly rushed out to help you up, dusting you off and asking if you were okay. But when he picked you up you never let go, keeping your arms wrapped around his neck while he held you on your own two feet. There was that buzz in the air, the flutter right before a kiss, that tingly feeling in your spine knowing it’s going to happen.

And when his lips graze over yours you practically shove his head down to kiss him, pressing your lips against his without even considering the situation. To your surprise, he kisses you back, wrapping his arms around you a little tighter and lifting you up so your legs wrap around his waist.

It was like something out of a movie, just missing a mushy love song. You wished you could hold that kiss forever but your lips would get sore and you would probably get frostbite.

When you pulled away he stared at you, eyes piercing into yours before he freed one of his hands. His fingers curl around the chain of his dog tags, and then he pulls them up and over his head.

Then he puts them around your neck, the jingle of them coming to rest on your collar bones makes you shudder, but from warmth, excitement.

You hide them under your shirt most of the time, always toying with them to make sure they are still safely around your neck. It’s like he transported his warmth with them because they were always warm no matter how cold it was outside.

Sometimes, if you see him before he leaves somewhere, he’d press a hand to where they hang, rough palm warm against your chest. It was like his little special way of saying goodbye, just in case he didn’t return (which you hated to think about).

Logan eventually gave you the spare key to his place, allowing you to visit whenever you so pleased. And when he was gone sometimes you would curl up in his bed, inhaling his scent and usually getting the best sleep of your life. His scent brought you comfort, you always wanted to be surrounded by it, drowning in it.

On occasion but rarely, he would come home to you still in his bed, buried under the covers and sleeping soundly. He’d pull the blanket back gently to see your face, sit down on the edge of the bed and stare at you while he waited for you to wake up.

But usually you would be gone, his bed would be empty but he would always know you were there. Your scent would seep into sheets, the mattress drinking up your smell. He could smell you, like you were still present (Soft jasmine, beautiful wisteria).

Now the first time you two ever slept together was at his place of course, you were slumped from work, muscles aching, head throbbing. You’ve never been this tired before. You push through the door, unlocked as usual when he’s home. He’s already in bed when you're there, awake but he looks just as tired as you. He sits up when he sees you, turning on the lamp so you can see. You don't even say anything, instead you just drop your things by the doorway, tugging your shirt off over your head letting it pool on the ground.

He doesn’t seem to care, instead he just watches you as you curl into bed next to him. “Rough day?” He asks a few moments later, turning the lamp off.

“Don’t even get me started,” you mumble back, voice muffled by his pillow. You can already feel yourself relaxing, his scent like a calming drug (the smell of peaceful lavender).

He doesn’t hesitate, he turns to his side, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest. You let out a sigh, melting into his warmth. It started out as a normal night, sleep coming to you quickly. But it wasn’t until you felt Logan stirr, moving a little in his sleep. He lets out a quiet grumble, and then a louder one.

Then you feel a sharp pain, agonizing, stinging, right in the back of your shoulder. You let out a yelp, jolting up, your movements pulling whatever it was out of your flesh. You look back, reaching a shaking hand back to feel the wounds. “Damn,” you groan when you see blood on your hand, Logan’s claws unsheathed, the tips covered in your blood. You can feel the warmth travel down your back, the sight of the blood trickling down your back and staining the sheets makes you feel dizzy.

Logan stirrs again, sniffing the air, eyes fluttering open at the scent of your blood. He acts as soon as his eyes land on your back, fear and worry clouding his head. “Fuck,” he curses, “fuck, fuck.”

“I’m okay, I’m fine.” You breathe through clenched teeth, getting up to go to the bathroom. He quickly picks you up, carrying you to the bathroom. He sets you on the bathroom sink, maneuvering around you so he could clean your wounds. You open your eyes, staring at his face. He’s focused, brows furrowed, lips slightly parted as he continues to wipe the blood from your open wounds before finally getting them to stop bleeding. You watch as he slowly starts to wrap you up with the gauze and bandages.

You reach up, softly cupping his face with your free hand, making him halt his actions. His eyes meet yours, your reflection so visible in his pupils. Unsure of how long you stared into his eyes, he had somehow finished wrapping you up without taking his eyes off you. You could feel yourself inching closer, getting closer and closer to his face until you can feel his breath. His lips graze over yours and you flinch back, as if you haven’t kissed him before. It’s been a few months come to think of it, but still you shouldn’t be nervous.

Logan just has that effect on you. It only takes a few seconds until your lips meet, kissing him gently, your fingers finding their way to the nape of his neck. Fingertips brush the shore of his hair, almost like an invitation.

And he takes it, kissing you with a little more vigor. His bloodied hand comes up to your face, smearing a little bit of your blood on your cheek. He’s careful with his movements, gripping your waist with his other hand to keep you up on the sink, to steady you. His kisses are starting to get more aggressive, pressing you a bit further back onto the sink.To make sure you don’t slip in, he reaches underneath you, his large hand coming to rest on your ass as he holds you still.

You can feel that familiar heat start to pool between your thighs, and he can feel it too, or in other words smell it. Your legs clench around him, squeezing as if you're trying to pull him into you. He frees his hand from underneath you, feeling up the bare skin of your waist, his rough fingers leaving goosebumps in their wake. He pulls away, resting his forehead against yours while he stares down at your semi-bare body, debating on unclipping your bra to feel you more. His breathing is rushed but even, mouth open.

“Logan,” you breathe, coming out more as a desperate plea. He hums, pressing your lips together again, open mouth kisses, tilting his head for better movement and access. There’s a thin string of saliva that keeps your mouths connected when he pulls away.

He can see it in your eyes, the desperation, not only that but he could smell it too. Your scent was strong, if he got closer to your core it would be overwhelming, and he's not sure he’d be able to stop what he's started.. “You’re hurt,” he says quietly, “I don’t wanna hurt you anymore than you already are,.”

“You won’t,” you respond, a smile on your kiss bitten lips, “Logan, please.” He kisses you again, slower and softer this time. “I can't,” he whispers against your lips, keeping them close even after pulling away again.

“Why not?” you speak softly, scratching his scalp with your nails. He hesitates, his thumb rubbing your cheek. “You know why.” He smiles, gentle and small before licking his thumb and wiping the small amount of blood off your face. “C’mon,” he mutters, lifting you off the sink.

…

Logan gave you all kinds of nicknames but your most favorite came from you showing up to his place with flowers. You loved orchids, always have so you bought a small bouquet of them to put on his coffee table. He accepted gracefully, and then from then on he started calling you by that name. A simple nickname but it was lovely.

Orchid, my little orchid. A nickname uniquely your own (Orchids, love, beauty).

It wasn’t long before you two had officially agreed to being in a relationship, having a label. And not long after that you decided to move in with him, a bold move but you spend more time at his place than yours anyways. At night the moon will shine through the windows, lighting up the room with its cool toned glow. You’ll lay your head on Logan’s shoulder, your hand resting on his chest. You’ll both lie awake in silence while you draw circles on his chest with your finger.

Some nights you’ll sit on his lap while his back rests against the headboard, your hands cupping his face. On occasion, you’ll run your thumb over his bottom lip until he parts them for you, then you’ll feel his abnormally sharp canines, his fangs. You test them, pressing the pad of your thumb into the sharp point to see if it’ll make you bleed but he always stops you before you ever do. When you're asleep he’ll stare at your face till morning, gently rubbing his thumb over your cheek. He stares at his dog tags around your neck, always warm from your body heat and always safe.

He admires your beauty, especially when the sunlight hits you just right. When you're hiking in that tank top and whatever pants you decided to wear that day, he stares at your backside, your silhouetted figure. And when you bend over to tie your shoe, looking back at him with a smile, his eyes not only fixate on your face, but your scars. The scars he left engraved on your skin.

The scars you admired, the scars that comfort you, a reminder of him always.

It’s past 11 pm, you’ve been in the bath for almost an hour now, the water starting to get cold. The room is dark, only lightened by the light seeping through the open bathroom door. You lean back, head resting on the edge of the tub, fingers toying with Logan’s dog tags.

The familiar sound of the front door opening echoes through the silent bathroom, Logan's heavy footsteps can be heard walking around, like he's looking for you. You slide down further into the bath, trying to hide yourself playfully, peaking over the edge while you wait for him. That's when he peeks into the bathroom, a smile creeps over his face when he sees you.

“Hi, gorgeous.” he says in that comforting gruff voice. He crouches down by the side of the tub, dipping his hand into the warm water. “Hi.” You smile, sitting up and resting your head on your hands, holding onto the edge of the tub. He brings a hand up to caress your face, gently rubbing the warm skin of your cheek.

“What did you do today?” you ask, watching him reach for the loofa and dip it in the water. He grabs your arm gently, rubbing your skin softly with the item. “The usual,” he responds, staring at the suds on your skin while they wash away. You hum, sitting back in the tub again, making him let go of you and get further. “C’mere,” you beckon, tapping the edge of the bathtub. He complies, getting up and sitting down on the edge. He leans down so he could be close to your face.

“I was thinking about you today,” he says softly, cupping your face, “I always am.” Smiling a little wider, you reach up with both hands, grabbing his face and pulling him down to kiss him. He kisses you back, much to your pleasure. You're quick to part your lips, giving him access to use his tongue.

It's an aggressive kiss, open mouthed and borderline messy. He pulls away to say something but you block it out, too focused on the feeling of his lips to even notice. You try to pull him back down and you successfully do, he doesn't put up a fight or anything. The kiss becomes more vigorous, more violent but so passionate.

He slips, falling into the tub fully clothed, making the water rise and spill out over the sides. You laugh softly in which he responds with a small laugh too. He’s laying on your side, face inches away from you and just a little lower as he allows himself to slip into the bath more comfortably. Your lips graze over his again, his smile fades as he kisses you and then pulls away.

You adjust your trapped arm behind his head, scratching his scalp as he gets closer and closer. Then he kisses you again, leaning his whole body forward and cupping your face with a wet hand once again. You close your eyes, but he opens his just slightly while his lips slowly slot against yours. Open mouth on open mouth, his lips never leaving yours. The only noise that fills the space is the quiet sound of water sloshing, soft breaths from the both of you while you kiss until practically sucking the oxygen from each other.

Pressing his lips against yours a little rougher now, he eases on top of you. Your hands travel up and down his flanks and back, feeling him through his soaked clothes tight against his skin until you tug and pull at the bottom of his shirt. He sits back, breaking the kiss for once and taking his shirt off, immediately returning to your lips. A gasp escapes your mouth when you feel him press his hips against yours, his cock clearly wanting to be freed from the prison of his jeans. He can smell your arousal, your need for him. His lips move down your jaw and to your neck, kissing at the supple area while he struggles to grind against you. His fangs graze over your skin, making your body shudder at the feeling.

Water spills out the tub with every erratic movement, but you can feel the warmth returning. He uses his other hand to hold the dip in your spine, making your back arch by habit, by command almost. Your eyes go all hazy and the more he presses his bare skin into yours you swear you feel like you're melting into his body.

“I love you,” he whispers, into your neck.

…

You loved flowers, always have. You loved what they represent depending on what type they were, you loved how colorful they usually work, how unique they are. You loved how they bloom again even after death, even after they've wilted and lost all their color. The petals turned into something wrinkled and rough, unlike their usual clear, softness.

Even after they die, they still bloom again in springtime. Daisy, lavender, day lily, aster, they all bloom again. Flowers don’t mourn the dead, they respect it, embrace it. They become one with the dead, seeping into the ground and back into the earth in which a person is buried.

To him, you were a flower. Delicate and soft, something he wanted to protect, to see everyday. Your color, he couldn't quite describe it but it was uniquely your own. Over 10 million colors and somehow when he sees you and it's something separate from the million to choose from. When he thinks of you, that's the color he sees. When he thinks of you, he sees an orchid.

But is a flower still a flower after all its petals have been ripped off, gored and left to rot and wilt on the ground. Is a flower still a flower after it's been torn out of the ground, roots ripped, its purpose gone?

You think of all the times you’ve woken up beside him, smiling when he opens his eyes, murmuring a soft “good morning” as he reaches up to touch your face. You remember the times where he would soothe you on your tough days, running a bath for you and gently rubbing the loofa on your skin. So many good moments, very few bad ones.

Words of affirmation weren't your love language, at least not usually. But Logan had another super power, and it was exactly that. He knew what to say and how to say it at all the right moments. He was a generous lover, attentive, caring, when you were with him you felt like yourself.

“Winter came early this year,” you hum, clutching the white orchids in your gloved hands, “my first one without you.”

“I keep buying orchids for you, whenever I have the time. But even when I don’t you're always on my mind.”

You go silent, tears starting to bubble up in your eyes. “I just- I-” you stutter, voice breaking as you grip the flowers a little tighter. You fall to your knees, snow wetting your pants while your tears run down your face. Your sobs slowly pick up in volume every time you try to speak, only to get choked up and give up. “I just wanna see you,” you sob, pressing your face into the snow below, “I just want to see you.”

You drag yourself further up the ground until you're met with the headstone, Logan’s name engraved on it, freezing to the touch. You press the flowers into the snow, laying down on top of them while your hands move to clutch his dog tags tightly around your neck. The snow and soil drink up your tears, and you can only hope they reach him.

He was a flower, a dangerous one on the outside but oh so beautiful on the inside. But you seemed to forget one thing.

Flowers don't bloom in winter.

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘

I don't know flowers that well so forgive me flower fans ahaha

#⋆｡𖦹°‧ukume!#logan howlett x reader #wolverine x reader #logan howlett #wolverine x you #wolverine #logan howlett x you

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princesssarisa · 25 days

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Autism headcanon: Snow White (Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs")

*She loves animals and talks to them as if they were people.

*She's naïve and trusting to a fault. She's friendly and open with everyone she meets and never suspects ulterior motives from them. She assumes the Queen will never find her in the woods, despite the Queen's reputation as a powerful witch who knows everything. Nor, despite having been warned to beware of strangers, does it seem to occur to her not to trust the "old peddler woman" or not to believe what she says about the "magic wishing apple."

*She doesn't always follow social rules. For example, when she first arrives at the dwarfs' cottage and finds it empty, instead of waiting outside until the owners come home, she goes in, cleans the house, cooks supper, and then falls asleep on the beds without permission.

*She constantly sings and hums, which can be seen as a form of stimming, as can her clapping along to the music as the dwarfs sing for her in "The Silly Song."

*Furthermore, music seems to be a special interest to her, and a source of comfort and emotional stability, as is often the case for people on the spectrum. She sings entire songs about how singing can make you feel better ("With a Smile and a Song") and pass the time when there's work to be done ("Whistle While You Work").

*When she interacts with (seemingly) ordinary humans, she often seems shy and withdrawn. She's frightened and runs away from the Prince when he first comes into the courtyard, and even while smiling down at him from the balcony as he declares his love, she doesn't say a word, but non-verbally conveys that she returns his feelings by sending a dove down to "kiss" him. Later, she's clearly intimidated by the strange, overly forward "old peddler woman," though she doesn't seem to suspect that she's the Queen. By contrast, she's outgoing and confident when she's with the dwarfs or the animals; she seems to feel more free to be herself when she's with beings who are smaller than she is and who live outside of normal human society.

*She doesn't have normal egalitarian friendships. With the dwarfs and the animals, she behaves as a leader and a mother figure, while with other people (the Prince, the Huntsman, and the disguised Queen), she's shy and lets them do most of the talking.

*She's a stickler for cleanliness. When she finds a dirty, disorganized house, she can't bring herself to leave it that way, or to allow the dwarfs to come to the table with dirty hands.

*She covers her ears when Sneezy is about to sneeze at the end of "The Silly Song," knowing it will be too loud for comfort.

*Her skill at domestic work – although she learned it from having it forced on her by the Queen – seems like a specialized talent, and cooking in particular seems like a special interest of hers. She uses it as a skill to offer in place of money in exchange for lodging, as a way to help those in need (e.g. when she thinks the dwarfs are orphans), as a way to show affection (e.g. the "Grumpy" pie).

*When she runs through the dark forest, she panics when branches catch on her skirt or when she falls against them, and her imagination runs wild and convinces her that the trees have sinister faces and claws, that the logs in the water are alligators, etc. Now, of course any young girl who's never been in the forest before, and who is fleeing from her home for fear of being murdered yet has no idea where to go, would be equally terrified. But in addition to all this, who can say that the darkness and all the startling, uncomfortable physical sensations she goes through – the wind, the branches "grabbing" her, falling into the water, etc. – don't overwhelm her in and of themselves? The end of the scene, where she spins in all directions only to see scary glowing eyes everywhere, and finally falls to the ground and lies there sobbing, feels familiar to those of us who have panic attacks or meltdowns from sensory overload.

*She's very empathetic, sometimes at the expense of boundaries. When she initially thinks the dwarfs' cottage must belong to seven orphaned children, her compassion for them drives her to clean their whole house and cook soup for them before she even meets them. Once she meets the dwarfs, she wants to be friends with Grumpy despite his rudeness, when other people would have dismissed him as an annoyance. And later, her compassion for the "old peddler woman" makes her ignore all the dwarfs' warnings and bring her into the house. While of course not all people on the autism spectrum are either more empathetic than other people or less so, either highs or lows of empathy are common.

Of course, the Disney writers and animators didn't mean for Snow White to come across as autistic. They just meant to create an innocent, likable young girl. But all the same, she's easy for some of us on the spectrum to relate to.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @themousefromfantasyland, @the-dark-storybook-prince

#disney #snow white #snow white and the seven dwarfs #fairy tale #autism #autism headcanon #autism spectrum #asd #autism spectrum disorder #actually autistic #headcanon

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divinitybeings · 1 year

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Beware of the friendly stranger

#my art #spooky month #bob velseb #spooky month bob

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theundeadsnake · 1 year

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Toby x introverted future S/O that lives in a cabin, away from the rest of society

Out of all the inhabitants of the forest, Toby seems to be the friendliest of them all and the least calculating so things will move with him very fast.

He hears you; he sees you; he wants you.

This curious criminal will approach you directly within days of first seeing you.

“Hello, I’m Toby” he will greet you with a wide smile and an open palm. A weird skinny man, suddenly showing up in front of you and acting far too friendly, will raise some red flags for you. As it should.

Nevertheless, your hesitance won’t make him back down. You will see him again over and over again; he won’t take the hint.

The more distance you will try to establish, the more effort he will put into getting close to you. This is ironic. You have to spell out your dislike for humankind. And even then, he won’t be staying away for long.

He will try for sure but his desire to see you, hear your voice, the way you move, that productive little organized stranger in the woods will grow on him. And so will his curiosity.

Expect to find yourself waking up to a stranger in your house, a stranger that is slowly crossing the line into an acquaintance, then a friend, and maybe even a lover. He helps you up in the morning, makes you an oddly sweet breakfast, and brightens up your day. You wonder how he has so much time – how you can get him out of your life? Yet his persistence and constant presence in your life will become a norm for you every day.

And then you start finding out about his own little quirks, his ticks and you get to find out a bit about the anxious mess that’s hiding behind that overly confident outgoing mask.

This is the Toby most others don’t know.

The inner self of a person who grew up having to contain an act of being “normal”, an act he was never able to maintain enough to please his parents, something they used against him to hide him away. To try to fool him into accepting it all.

And slowly you begin to realize that the “Toby” you met is an illusion for the shell of a person that lost someone very dear. You are allowed to see behind the pretend and meet the reckless, possessive, revenge-focused man that he is.

An odd combination of honesty, sweetness, and cruelty.

Lucky for you, he thinks of you as someone he likes, someone he will protect. Your isolated forest life remains mostly the same. You have an extra layer of protection.

While he can visit his favorite person almost as often as he would like.

Though, beware Toby has not had many close ones that stayed, he won’t tolerate that happening again. He will not let you leave.

You’re now his little hidden obsession.

#creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta #ticci toby #ticci toby x reader #creepypasta headcanons #creepypasta x reader #ticci toby headcanons #toby creepypasta #x reader #gn reader

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syiy27 · 3 months

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who's that next to basil?

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cookiesupplier · 6 months

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Every Rose Has Its Thorns - Part Thirty-Four

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc x Chris 'Motionless' Cerulli

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language, online bullying, panic attacks, stalking, mental health issues.

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. For everyone involved.

author’s note: Unbeta'd, readers beware as always lol.

To read from the beginning, check out the Masterlist Here!

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34 @black-damask1999 @jilliemiw86 @ilovesamkiszka @lyschko666 @lacktoesandtoddlerants @bngurngheart @collapsedglasshouses @laurpartyprogram @sunsshinesunny @malerieee @talialovesmiw @shilohrosechicken @thatchickwiththecamera @tamtam-elizabeth

Tag List is Open, please let me know if you would like to be added to it or in general.

Between the morning at the doctors for Chris, and then spending all the afternoon talking and dealing with the emotional revelations that were coming about from these tattoos. Something that none of them really could have fathomed how they would change their lives. How they might still. Talia wasn’t sure if she wanted to think about it. She was still just a visitor here. Sooner or later, she should go home. Right? She needed to, that was where her life was, wasn’t it? Her job, her friends, some of them, anyway, could she really abandon them? Talia was only supposed to be here to support Ava with her bond with Vinny, and even then, she still wasn’t sure how much she’d done that at all. Did Ava even need her, it felt like everything was the other way around.

Not to mention, that reason, that was when she knew Ricky wanted nothing to do with her. Sure, it was nice that at least that had changed, he seemed to at least want to be friends even if he didn’t want a relationship. He still hasn’t said anything about that changing, and she wasn’t about to make an assumption just because he had been more friendly towards her. These tattoos forcing them closer together wasn’t his fault any more than hers, and she wasn’t going to assume he felt anything for her. The worst part, as much as she still wanted to hate him just a little, for the things he’d done to her before, she kept seeing the glimpses of how wonderful he could be too. It was just, it… he… he was making it impossible not fall in to want more.

He didn’t want more, though, and she had to remind herself of that.

Then there was Chris.

Was it right, to have the feelings she did?

What was happening with this tattoo that was changing on his shoulder? The way it was reacting the same way Ricky’s and hers were reacting was, it was, she wasn’t going to say it was obvious, because she had a feeling that Ricky was right. The sensations were subjective. They couldn’t know what they meant, what they were supposed to mean. A bad feeling could be anger, upset, jealousy, or even fear. Who could say what emotion was causing them at any time. Some they thought were obvious, such as when Chris had kissed her, or when Ricky had touched her tattoo. Both times their tattoos had gone absolutely crazy.

Even then, for all she knew Chris’ tattoo would change back, for all they knew it was just, temporary. Whether for Chris, or for one of them? They should wait to hear from the people he was going to talk to before she let her mind spiral down that path about what his tattoo changing meant, for any of them.

How could they even know if any of their feelings were real, and not from these tattoos pushing them closer. Or, were the tattoos the way they were because of their feelings? How could they possibly know? That in itself was the biggest problem with the phenomenon of the soulmate tattoos, and everything being theoretical.

That was what terrified her.

She couldn’t have certainty, and after her time in that hospital, spending those moments when she started questioning herself, she didn’t need to feel that way again.

Swallowing, she shook her head, no, not again.

“Guys, I should probably go. Ava is probably wondering where I am.”

Ricky looked over at Chris, for some reason, something about the way she’d been looking while they’d been chatting just now made him wary about her leaving on her own, was that wrong? Was it him being an asshole? Chris help him here. They’d been looking over the photos of Chris soulmate tattoo, making out the shadow of the mark and seeing if they could figure out what it was changing into. Sure, Ricky could say exactly what he thought it was turning into, it looked like it might be, but there was still too much of Chris old mark blurring the detail to be able to tell for certain. When it got darker, and the mark more visible, separated from Chris former tattoo, maybe.

“Are you sure? You could stay for dinner, Chris makes a mean vegan chilli, it’s actually fantastic, and I’m not always big on the vegan dishes. Stay, Sweetheart, I don’t think any of us have had a night in a little bit that we haven’t had something to worry about.”

Well, they sort of still did have worries, but, as much as they could, they could at least try to relax, couldn’t they?

“Let us make you dinner, Chris can make his chilli, and I’ll make,”

Ricky paused, pressing his tongue behind his teeth slightly as he considered. With the way now, that Chris was looking at him expectantly, he had this little knowing smile on his face, as if he just knew Ricky was about to try to bullshit his way out of something. Damn him.

“Dessert.”

There, he didn’t have to give a specific answer, yet, right?

“What’s going to be for dessert, Rick?”

Drawing his eyes back over to Chris, Ricky, give him a look, really, really, Chris?

All he got back for the expression was a wide cheeky knowing grin, and a raised eyebrow, smart arse. Turning his focus back to Talia, Ricky smiled, ignoring his smart arse best friend.

“Chris will make chilli, I’ll make dessert,”

“Which hopefully won’t kill us-”

“It will be fine!”

The fact that she started laughing at that Ricky was going to count as a win, no matter how much Chris had decided to be a comedian at his expense right then. Absolutely worth it.

“Now I have to say yes, just to see what Ricky makes, but, Rick, what ever it is, has to be made with whatever is already here. Though, if Chris has to leave to get something for the chilli, then I guess you can give him a list of ingredients to pick up while he’s out.”

Ricky blinked at her for a moment, Talia just smiling at him, he turned his head to look back at Chris, he held his hands up.

“I had nothing to do with this, don’t look at me.”

“So this is a challenge now?”

“Absolutely.”

Talia grinned, he was the one that was putting it out there, she was just making it a little more interesting.

“That is, unless you’re not up for it?”

Oh, he couldn’t have that.

“You’re on.”

Chris had chuckled as Talia, and he watched as Ricky got up from the couch and marched his way into the kitchen and started going through his pantry, his fridge. Mumbling to himself while he did. Probably considering all the different things he could make no doubt. Chris doubted this was going to end well. Next Ricky was scrolling on his phone, Chris tried to peek over his shoulder, only for Ricky to notice and make a disgruntled sound and shove him back, Talia giggling in response at his antics, Chris just rolled his eyes.

“You got ten minutes before I go out to get what I need for dinner, since there are things I need, had I known you wanted chilli yesterday..”

“Well it doesn’t have to be chilli..”

Chris shook his head as he looked over at Talia, smiling softly,

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s easy, and I love making it, it’s one of my favourites, and I know Ricky likes it.. And don’t worry, it's pretty mild, I don’t amp it up until I feel like going really crazy, and that is not going to be tonight.”

He was in no mood to test limits with everything that had been happening around them.

“That sounds perfect Chris, thank you, though now I’m wondering what the amped up version is like.”

Chris offered her a wicked grin at that, laughing, considering the last time he made the intense version of the chilli and how that had gone down,

“Well, I won’t try to sway you with my opinion, others though, I’ve been told it burns off taste buds.”

Watching her expression freeze in place, her eyes going wide slightly.”

“Here! He’s also not wrong.”

Ricky had walked over to them, brandishing a slip of paper at Chris with a few items scribbled on it for him to get from the store that he didn’t already have in the house. He had no doubt that whatever Ricky was preparing to make was vegan, he knew how it went, or at least, he could make a vegan version for him.

“I’ve tried the amped version, if you don’t love spicy, and value your life, don’t do it.”

It was actually Ricky’s fault he made the stronger spiced version in the first place. Chris might never have gone to such extremes if he hadn’t taunted him about vegan food being bland and tasteless, despite him claiming to never really being one to enjoy eating it anyway. This was back when Chris was still learning more about cooking vegan foods, because it was really sink or swim when you were vegan, you either learned to cook it yourself, or struggled like hell half the time. Ricky, had been his chilli taste tester, and boy did he regret it for a time when it came to the spicier version… Suffer that he did.

“Serves you right, telling me vegan food was bland.”

That earned him a giggle out of Talia, he had a feeling she got the picture on how exactly that all went down from that alone. Ricky just rolled his eyes at him.

“Hey, you still can make a kick ass chilli now, can’t you? When you aren’t trying to kill me with it.”

Fair point.

This time when they were sitting around the dining table, Ricky would definitely say that it was far more relaxed despite the day that they had all had. Somehow they seemed to had let that go, Ricky grinned as he watched Chris and Talia tease each other across the table. Chris seemed to have more control over the effect of his tattoo’s reaction to being closer to Talia still. Ricky figured it was either because his tattoo wasn’t fully formed, or just that he had more self-control, he didn’t know. Ricky, chose to stay on the other side of the table for all of their peace of mind.

Maybe it was just him. Possibly Chris felt it all too, he just could handle it better. The fact was that every time Ricky touched Talia he was right back to those moments when they were alone. The way their tattoos flared up, and they were almost crippling with the need for release. He’d been in the middle of mixing the batter for his dessert to put in the oven, reaching across the counter. All she’d done was put her hand out in front of him at a certain angle and all three of them had felt it. Ricky had grabbed the edge of the bench, gasping for breath.. Not Talia.. He stopped himself.. He had enough control to do that, without Chris saying a damn thing, and Talia had excused herself as well.

A splash of cold water, and they all calmed down.

Now though, with their dinner finished, Ricky lifted his glass of water to his lips to take a sip, Talia was looking across the table.

“Is something burning?”

“Oh shit, the dessert!”

Ricky couldn’t run back to the kitchen fast enough, the sound of the other two laughing was his backing track.

Talia sat at the table with Chris, laughing, she couldn’t help herself, it might be mean, okay, it was a lot more than just might be mean. She saw first hand how much work that Ricky had put in trying to get that dessert right. She’d watched him. Checking, double-checking, triple checking that list on his phone as he mixed the list of the brownie batter he’d been baking for them. They were supposed to be some fudgey amazing delights, and he had sounded so proud when he slid the tray in the oven that he’d gotten the batter just as the description had said it should be. Smiling, she had hoped that it would work out just as it should.

Everything seemed to be going to plan, just as it should.. Until they were eating dinner, and Chris caught the smell of something burning in the kitchen. She didn’t know what went wrong, whether he had set the timer wrong,

“Rick, do you need any help?”

She bit her lip as glanced over to Chris when he called out to Ricky after they heard a bit of clatter followed by a very colourful string of curses from the kitchen. Only for them to earn a shout back at them.

“DO NOT COME IN HERE!”

This of course had them pearling into more laughter, leaning into Chris’ upper arm as so she didn’t just slide right out of her chair as she laughed.

“Rick, you did set the timer, right?”

The groan that came from the kitchen in responses did not help her stop laughing at all,

“Of course, I set a damn timer!”

The grumbling that followed, she couldn’t make out, but she grinned, moving to get up from her chair only to have him should out again,

“I said don’t come in! I have a backup dessert, you stay out there! Both of you!”

“Okay, okay!”

Grinning over to Chris as he agreed and they both sat back down at the table. Twenty minutes later, Ricky was bringing out a tray of roughly decorated chocolate dipped strawberries. Of all the things she had thought he would make, she would never have thought he would make something that most people would assume to see as something so, romantic. Talia felt her face flush warmed at the very thought.

She cleared her throat seeing Ricky bite into one of the strawberries, with that knowing grin of his as if he knew exactly where her mind was going. Quickly she glanced over at Chris, and with the smirk as he licked his lips from a smear of chocolate on them, he was no better.

“You alright there, Sweetheart?”

Clearing her throat quickly, Talia picked up one of the strawberries,

“Just, just fine.”

Taking a quick bite of the chocolate dipped fruit, it wasn’t her tattoo tingling that was the problem, as she pressed her thighs together to attempt to stifle the feelings coursing through her body. Talia had no clue who they were for, because the thought of both the men at the table sent shivers through her.

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

#motionless in white #miw #ricky olson #ricky olson fanfiction #original female character #soulmates #fanfiction #miw band #soulmate au #ricky olson fanfic #chris motionless #chris cerulli #chris cerulli fanfic #fic: every rose has its thorns

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paper-mario-wiki · 3 months

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what are the songs you mashed up in the how many days disappear (interlude)? the background track is so familiar but i cant put my finger on it

Beware the Friendly Stranger by Boards of Canada!

#anon

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phahadhcss · 1 year

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Yo, is there anyone else alive here? Yeah, yeah, I finally got my exams over and successfully applied for college, so now I have some time for this blog and my fanfic. Yes, I'm not scrapping it and I will continue to develop not only it and but AU in which it take place. After all, while I've been away, I've revisited a lot of things and evaluated them more critically. Also, as the author of Bloody Nirbiry informed me, a lot has changed and changed in her canon, so that's another reason to create a real au.

#it chapter two #oc slasher #fandom #it chapter one #slashers #stephen king #art #kasper bob grau #beware the friendly stranger #ship #bloody nirbiry #happy monster au #beautiful clown au #fanfic #oc x oc #kasper bob gray

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howi99 · 10 months

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A saint in Beacon chapter 3

After the explosion

Red: Sorry! Name's Red and again i'm really sorry for the explosion!

White: It's... Fine. You didn't do anything wrong. Not to insult you but don't you seem a bit young to be here?

Red: *thumb on his chest and looking really proud of himself* I got bumped up two years! Stopped a robbery in vale yesterday and Ozpin immediately took me in!

White: ... You know, you don't have to lie to try to one up me, just you being here is good enough. Anyway, happy to meet y- (look behind Red, seeing Jeanne for the first time) -ou... An angel, i just saw an angel!

Red: What? *Turn around* You mean Jeanne? I'm pretty sure she's a human my man.

White: Oh gods, what should i do? Hey, Red right? How do i look?

Red: ... Like someone who just took an explosion to the face?

White: *dying inside* oh no, i can't let her see me like that!

Jeanne, from behind Red: Are you two okay?

Jeanne, as White turns to her and suddenly goes ramrod straight in panic: That explosion looked pretty nasty.

Red: *shaking his head* Nah, we’re fine, right White? *raising a brow at the Schnee as he simply stares at Jeanne in silent awe* White?

White, suddenly blurting out: I’M WHITE SCHNEE!!!

White, quickly holding out his hand to Jeanne with a blush on his face: NICE TO MEET YOU!!!

Jeanne, innocently tilting her head in confusion: Who?

Blake, coming forth: The hair of the SDC. *Crouch to get the red flacon of dust on the ground* You must have heard of them; the main providers of dust in all remnants.

White: I-indeed!

Blake: And a dubious organization using faunus as cheap labor.

White: *visibly deflating* That's also right...

Jeanne: I can't say i've ever heard of them, my village still uses other means for electricity. But even if your family isn't the greatest, i'm happy to meet you White! My name is Jeanne Arc, enchanté!

Blake: ... I was expecting you to react a lot less friendly to him.

Jeanne: Why? My mother always says that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet! *Go in front of Blake* And what's your name?

Blake: *sigh* I'm Blake, but for your own good, i wouldn't trust someone like him. He might look nice right now, but that can be a persona he use for the others to see.

Jeanne: ... A persona? What?

Blake, shaking her head: Nevermind, just beware.

White, clenching his fists: ... I'm nothing like my father, Blake. You shouldn't judge someone's character by what their family did, but instead by their individual actions. Nothing could excuse the actions of my father, but you can be sure of one thing; i am nothing like my father.

Blake: (in her head) wow, I kind of feel bad now. He does seem like a pretty nice guy. But i'm sure he would change his opinion fast if he knew i was-

White, looking directly at Blake's eyes: I am for equity for both Faunus and human alike. If it was of me, i would have readily accepted most of the white fang demands, but my father burned that bridge and it will take time to rebuild it.

Blake: ......

White, continuing: If only he could have accepted Ghira's compromise! But of course he couldn't! It would have been a cut in his profits!

Blake: *visibly sweating when she heard her father's name* O-okay! You made your point little man! I think we shall go, right? Yeah let's go now! *Speed walk*

Jeanne: I hope she is alright, she looked quite red at the end...

#jaune arc #rwby #ruby rose #rwby au #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #red rose #white schnee

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kourabiedes · 6 months

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Carmine and Kieran Roleswap AU: Teal Mask Edition

Sweet Arceus do I have a long AU for ya, because I am Very Normal about the Kitakami siblings and definitely don't go out of my way to find new ways to mess with their heads. Long AU summary under the cut! Beware all ye who enter here, for there are Ogres afoot.

There is now an Indigo Disk continuation to this!

So the most important thing to understand before we start is that Carmine and Kieran still retain aspects of their normal personalities. A 1:1 swap would be kinda boring (specifically, boring for me). However, their life experiences have changed here and that does give us some new juicy tidbits to explore.

Sketches provided by @funakounasoul... except for the Ogerpon sketch. I made that.

Kieran is the older sibling in this scenario. He's still shorter than his sister, but he's now older than the player character and probably has some devilish good looks. He's generally goodnatured, and being the older sibling and having to look out for a younger sister has balanced his personality a little bit. He's more mentally stable and mature than his standard self. He still has a pretty huge fondness for the ogre in the old legend, admiring its independence and strength. The major change to his personality here is that he's not as insanely shy, since he hasn't had a big scary savage sister to hide behind all his life.

Younger sister Carmine is shy of strangers and still wary of outsiders. Her posture visually in the Teal Mask is probably kind of stooped, like she's trying to hide how crazy tall she is. She has a bratty, slightly spoiled attitude in this scenario, because big brother Kieran is always hovering nearby to keep her out of trouble. She appears to be the player character's age or maybe a touch younger. Despite the initial shyness though, she's all aggression when she feels she or her family or really any of Kitakami as she sees it is threatened. She still dismisses Kieran's ogre obsession, but chalks it up to boys liking scary things. (You know, cuz girls never go for that kinda thing </massive sarcasm>)

The PC would meet them both for the first time in Mossui and Kieran is welcoming while Carmine glowers at you from somewhere behind him. Kieran's all about helping your classmate get safely to the community center and probably runs off to help, or perhaps to get the caretaker. Maybe you battle Carmine then because she's definitely not enjoying having these tourists in her fucking town. Whatever the scenario, Kieran and the caretaker get the rest of the Random Paldean Students safely to the community center and you get settled in.

Now, for a while, things don't change much in this scenario, except for Kieran not being super emotionally unstable. The next day, you're being introduced to the Blueberry kids properly and Kieran immediately suggests you and he pair up. Carmine isn't thrilled but as he points out, it's not like they can pair up together based on Briar's directions to make interschool pairs. She sulks off to find a Paldean student to deal with. Your character and Kieran have a friendly battle and he admires your skills. You go find the first two signboards and follow him up to the Dreaded Den more or less the same way as in Teal Mask. Then he invites you to the Festival of Masks and you go back to the family home. Carmine is not overly pleased to see you still hanging around, but she's unbending a little bit since you and Kieran obviously get on so well. They only find the two masks in the shed, Kieran tries to offer you his ogre mask, Carmine stops him, you get to the festival and do some balloon popping and maybe even beat Carmine's score.

It's Ogerpon's appearance that changes the story dramatically. At first, you are the only one that sees her, but then Kieran comes looking for you after pacifying Carmine. Ogerpon spooks, drops her mask, and you both have a moment of shock as you realize this is not a child, this is the damn ogre. Then Ogerpon bolts, leaving you with the Teal Mask. Kieran is stunned -- the ogre was so smol! And seemed so nonaggressive! And holy shit this mask is beautiful, except there's a chip in the big crystal! He's excited as hell to have one of his childhood dreams materialize before him. He wants to go after Ogerpon, but Carmine turns up at that moment. She has deeply internalized the ancient Kitakami legend of the Loyal Three, and when Kieran excitedly tells her you just saw the ogre, she insists it can't have been, because you and he are both not fucking dead. She and Kieran argue for a minute, long enough that once it's over, Kieran has to reluctantly admit you'll never catch up to the ogre in the dark. He tells you to hold onto the mask and you two can go ask his grandpa about it in the morning. You do, and it's Kieran who is with you when you hear the story of Ogerpon. Carmine appears at one point and is shooed off by Kieran, but overhears the majority of the story herself. Unlike Kieran, she can't believe it -- the heroic Loyal Three, actually villains?? Impossible! She realizes that if Kieran believes this story, he's likely to go chasing the ogre again, and probably get himself killed, a prospect that chills her to the bone. She ambushes you both as you leave the family home and demands that Kieran (and just Kieran, she doesn't care what YOU do) not go chasing monsters, making no effort to pretend she didn't overhear the whole damn thing. Kieran tries to correct her, but she insists you both go have a look at the final signboard, the one that reminds everyone that the ogre murders anyone it comes across without a mask on. You go, but discuss with Kieran how the story doesn't make any sense compared to the ogre you both saw and the story Kieran's grandpa told you. You go back mutually determined to get Ogerpon's mask back to her after gramps fixes it.

You go off to the community center and Kieran goes home. Something he says at home will alert Carmine to your resolve, and that kicks off the next event. Carmine demands you meet her at Loyalty Plaza, where she makes an impassioned plea to her brother not to be fooled into getting himself murderated. He tries to explain that she's still got the wrong impression and she blows up on him, refusing to listen to reason (he almost certainly points out that Gramps has no reason to lie to his own grandkids, for example). Truth is, she's afraid, afraid for his life, and that's making her act irrationally.

And then a thought occurs to her, a thought that marks a huge turning point in this scenario. It's you. You are making her brother act this way. You are the reason he's doing these insane things. She accuses you directly of manipulating her family. Kieran protests, but she's convinced.

Now, in canon, I am convinced that the venom in Kieran's thoughts is what somehow channeled Pecharunt's energy (or some variant thereof) into the Lousy Three's grave and brought them back to life. In this scenario, imagine the same, only it's the poison of fear which is rapidly spreading through Carmine. Her fear is being expressed as anger, but it's still fear, and it's consuming her rapidly. Before either sibling can argue further, the grave splits open, and the Three emerge. No one knows quite what is happening, so no one can really react effectively as they take off to Kitakami Hall. It's only as they're already receding into the distance that Carmine realizes they must be the Three.

You and the siblings rush to the Hall to hear the news of the Three's arrival and retrieving of the other masks before going up the mountain. Kieran starts to rush after them, but suddenly Carmine blocks the way. She is going to save him from himself if it's the last thing she does. You battle her and defeat her, and the idea that you are the cause of all this etches itself that much deeper. She has no choice but to step aside, but you can feel her furious eyes on your back as you run to save Ogerpon.

Poor little ogre is getting the shit kicked out of her and you save her, driving off the Three. She is nervous around Kieran because he smells like a local and therefore Dangerous, but while a little hurt, he is not crushed by this. You take her back to the town (she refuses to enter of course) and consult with Kieran's grandpa. He promises to fix the Teal Mask for Ogerpon if you and Kieran go get a crystal from the Crystal Pool to replace the chipped one, and suggests you and Kieran go pound the shit out of the Three to get Ogerpon's other masks back. Carmine is sulking at home and overhears the conversation. You and Kieran go to the Pool with Ogerpon shadowing you, but Carmine blocks your way at the top, angry at Kieran too now for bringing an outsider to this sacred place. The standoff is broken by Briar also appearing at the summit, distracting Carmine. Kieran slips past her and you stop her from following with a battle. Ogerpon stays near you, and her presence only serves to enrage Carmine more. Kieran retrieves a crystal cluster during the battle and you both bolt back down the mountain to give it to Gramps, leaving Carmine fuming. He begins to work on the mask and you turn your attention to finding the Three.

You find the Three with Kieran's help and return the shit kicking they gave Ogerpon threefold, retrieving her masks. Ogerpon becomes more comfortable around Kieran as you go. You return to the town only to discover Carmine stole the Teal Mask after Gramps fixed it and left Kieran a message telling him to come to the Dreaded Den. Gramps notes that she spoke with him about the story of Ogerpon before she left and seems to be disturbed by how the ogre has acted since the whole mess began -- Kieran guesses her good sense is starting to win out over her fear. You go back to the Den with Kieran and Ogerpon and find Carmine there. Kieran confronts her, finally convincing her that the story of the Loyal Three was indeed wrong, and she's been wrong about Ogerpon the whole time (probably aided by Ogerpon with her sweet lil face staring like a sad puppy at her).

Carmine finally accepts the truth of the matter, and apologizes to him and Ogerpon.

But there's one thing she hasn't let go of. She hasn't forgiven you. And Kieran doesn't realize that she's still hung up on that part because, while he's a lot more emotionally stable in this scenario, he's still pretty oblivious to subtle emotional cues from other people. When Carmine walks away from the Den, it's with a venom-filled look in your direction. Insert Heart's If Looks Could Kill here.

Inevitably, Ogerpon wants you as her human, because you're the damn hero. This version of Kieran is disappointed, but not shattered by this. He's spent a lot of time over the last couple days with you and the little cutie, and he's had time to get used to the idea. It's Ogerpon's decision where she wants to go, and he lets go of the long cherished dream with regret, but nothing worse. He does ask to have a battle with you and her in the morning, after which Briar calls to tell you to get your asses to the community center to finish the actual school trip thingy you'd probably forgotten all about. Kieran also tells you that Carmine has holed up in her room and won't talk to anyone.

You know more or less how this ends, with Briar yoinking the Kitakami sibs back to Unova to prepare for some globetrotting and the antagonistic sibling swearing to get stronger so they can kick your ass. In this case it's Carmine, and boy does she hate you right now. In the end, Kieran came to no harm, and Ogerpon was not a monster, but it doesn't really matter, because rationality went out the window for her where you're concerned a while ago. She's going to get stronger, and she's going to hand you your ass for humiliating her so often, and she's got a great idea for making that happen...

#pokemon #scarlet violet #gen 9 #teal mask dlc #musings #alternate universe #carmine #kieran #ogerpon #fan art #sketch #pokemon carmine #pokemon kieran #okay now for the funny blooper reel tags #I am so tempted to dub this Kieran “Stoner Kieran”#He really has that vibe #Carmine has graduated to Full Unhinged status #The moral of this story is don't be a younger sibling if you can help it #Also starring Juliana's back

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