#can't get this out of my head must be so disheartening | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

schoenht · 2 years ago

Note

*Trembling with anticipation* How about something for a soulmate au with the octotrio (separately)? I do love myself some soulmate aus, no matter what kind.

↳ soulmate aus

characters: octotrio.

genre: fluff, soulmate au.

a/n: HELL YEAH had to pull up a list but omg these were so fun ESPECIALLY JADE'S I WAS GIGGLING THE WHOLE TIME

tagging: @taruruchi bc. octotrio. and azul's here

enemy’s name on one wrist, soulmate’s on the other au

There was only one name on Azul’s wrist. He had seen multiple people with names on both wrists but he only had one. Was that his soulmate? His enemy? Who was this person to him?

Maybe his enemy. He had seen you so many times in his classes and from the first meeting, you had crashed heads. He was too confident and you were too prideful. It was a bad combination, thus why the classes decided amongst themselves to separate you two to different ends of the class. But it was impossible to say that your name on his wrist meant that you definitely were his soulmate.

Perhaps there were more people with your name. He knew it was a stretch, he sensed it in his gut, but he was not going to allow himself to think you were his soulmate. You were his enemy, above all.

"Boss! Have you found your soulmate yet?" Floyd waltzed into his office with a mischievous grin on his face. "Oh wait, it might be your enemy!"

"Very funny, Floyd." Azul pulled up his sleeve after studying his wrist for the umpteenth time, as if trying to will the person to come out from the elegant lettering on his skin. "What do you want?"

"Perhaps we can help." Jade proceeded to come in, and already Azul knew that neither of these two was up to something good. As long as both the twins were involved in something, it only meant chaos and reckless abandon. Azul did not want that. Jade continued, "Maybe Y/N is your soulmate and your enemy. As the Vil fan accounts constantly say, 'Enemies to lovers 500k slowburn angst hurt to comfort fic'. It could work."

Azul's glasses were askew from the sheer mayhem he had just heard spew from Jade's mouth. "What in the Great Seven did you just say? I did not understand a word, but all I am getting at is that Y/N is a great pain."

"Oh, I'm sure, Azul. Might you consider that you staring at your wrist so frequently, just to see their name, could say something else?" Jade's smile was worse than Floyd's. They had matching Cheshire smiles, but something in Jade's face made Azul want to erupt into flames. His face was red, that much he knew, and he ordered the twins to leave. They left, trying to hold back their laughter.

He sighed, slouching on his desk. He needed advice, but maybe Jade was right. Maybe...you were his enemy and soulmate. The thought of that made him cringe and his face was pulled into a grimace.

But something happened to him that made him question everything he thought he knew. Whenever you weren't there, he found himself missing you. What was worse was the fact that when you were there, you drove him up the wall. He didn't understand this feeling and he would not tell the twins. If they knew, they would mercilessly bully him about it. They could not know.

When he was researching this feeling, he didn't know you were right behind him. You were snickering, shaking your head. "Studying about love, Ashengrotto? You've stooped to a new low if you can't decipher your own feelings. Who's the poor sap?"

Azul's face was red and he could feel his glasses steaming up. "If you must know, it's no one you know."

"Ah, come on, describe them to me! I'll put in a bad word for you." Then you were thoughtful. "Is it me?"

"What?! No!"

If Azul didn't know better, he would've said you were disheartened before you quickly pulled yourself together in record time. "So? What's up?"

"Why do you care?" He took his glasses off, cleaning them before putting them back on. He was taken aback when you suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Hey! Watch it, I just ironed my shirt!"

You cautiously peeled his sleeve away, inching it down. Your eyes went wide as you saw the elegant lettering of your name on his wrist. It was just like yours. You only had one name on your wrist and it was Azul's. You had known from the start, but felt as though he was just your enemy, since he acted like he hated you from the moment he saw you. You even thought you didn't have a soulmate. You did not expect your soulmate to be the guy you had crushed on, yet bantered with. "No way."

Azul gulped, his free hand tugging at his collar. "So...this is awkward."

"No kidding. Can I guess that it's actually me you're studying about?"

"Perhaps...we can come to a mutual compromise."

"That's a shitty way of asking me out. But yes, I accept."

reincarnation au

Jade had heard multiple things about soulmates, but he was a rare case. There was a legend surrounding the pairing where they would die and in every next life, they would find each other, true soulmates. The only mark they would have were star shaped moles under their eyes that shone at the sight of their soulmate. It was said that these moles meant that they had been together since they were stars. They had reincarnated over and over again, and found each other multiple times.

He would sometimes stay up at night, his stomach in knots for reasons he did not understand. His heart palpitated in his chest as speeds that were seemingly impossible to reach, but no matter how much he tried to calm it, it would not slow down. The only way it would finally stop was when he stared at the mirror, his eyes solely focused on the star shaped mole underneath his eye.

"Still haven't found them yet, Jade?" Floyd asked lazily when he pushed the door open to his brother's room without permission. But Jade only sighed. He usually was more patient than his brother, yet nowadays, he felt just as restless, if not more.

"No. It feels as though I'll never find them. Do you know the legend of the stars?"

Floyd smirked. "Yeah, duh. That's all anyone talks to me about! 'Your brother's part of the legend', or whatever. You're the next Chosen One."

Jade didn't know when he came down with a desire to ask his brother for advice, it was usually the other way around. The legend itself brought his hopes up. Maybe he would find his soulmate soon. Maybe. "What did you feel when you found your soulmate?"

Hearing his brother's quiet tone, Floyd decided not to tease him. Thoughtfully, he answered, "I don't know. I felt this sense of...fireworks! No, I'm lying to you. To be honest, it's a feeling of calm, y'know? No, you don't know. You will, you'll understand it soon."

What Jade didn't know was how accurate Floyd was. He knew that he was anticipating something, he didn't know what it was exactly. All he knew was that he needed to get his thoughts in order. Something was telling him to go to the same place he loved to go to think: an enormous tree overseeing the ocean.

It was nighttime and the stars were making their appearance, a full moon rising slowly, as if tentatively waiting for Jade's presence. When Jade was nearing his spot, he froze, seeing someone already there. That same person barely turned their head to catch Jade's gaze, and for the first time in a very long time, he was thrown off guard. The eye contact was enough to make him wonder who you were and as he got closer, the very feeling Floyd described poorly infiltrated him. He felt calm, but he felt as though he had finally found what he was missing, what he so desperately wanted.

On the other hand, you were staring at Jade as though you had seen him before. He got closer, yet you weren't moving away, you were not afraid of him. The second you made eye contact when you were close enough to see each other's faces, the memories came rushing in. Memories of your past life, of your past lives, of your previous love. The star under his eye was glowing and you were sure yours was too.

Jade's eyes welled up with reminiscence as he carefully took your hands in his. "I looked for you everywhere, my love. I did not want to wait for you, I wanted to be with you again, just as the stories said. I would rather be burned alive than be separated from you. There is nowhere I would go, without you at my side. I will cherish you even if I can't see you, and I will cherish you if I see you everyday. My love for you shall live forever."

feeling the same emotions as your soulmate au

Floyd was known for his mood swings. No one knew what his next step would be, the only thing they did know was how unpredictable he was. He would sometimes be angry when he was supposed to be happy, and sad when he was supposed to be happy. It all frustrated him internally because he knew it wasn't his fault. His soulmate was attached to his emotions, and as long as he didn't find his soulmate, he'd be stuck like this.

It all came down to going to NRC, where he was still having the mood swings. He thought that, at that point, he'd have found his soulmate. A lot of people that he knew had found their soulmates. Vil, Jade, even Trey had found their soulmates. He didn't want to ask any of them because they all thought he had mood swings. How was he supposed to explain that his soulmate made him angry at the worst times?

But seeing how happy people were when talking about their soulmates, it made him want to meet his more. He was constantly moody in class, not even because of his soulmate, but because he was so tired of not finding them.

"What if I don't have one, Boss?!" Floyd wailed as he dramatically draped himself over the couch that Azul had in his office. "What if I am destined to die alone? What if, for the rest of my life, I have to third, fifth, or seventh wheel?!"

Azul looked at him exasperatedly. "For the last time, this is not a therapy office and I am not your therapist. Get your shoes off my leather couch or I am taking away money from your salary."

"You're not listening!"

"Yes, I was."

"What did I say last, then?"

"Something about the invention of wheels."

"See?!" Floyd flopped backwards, even more frustrated and saddened than before. "I just want to have my normal emotions again. I hate feeling angry when I should be happy. How did you find your soulmate? It couldn't have been easy."

Azul shrugged. "There's this story about the beginning of time, regarding soulmates. They were little atoms that circled each other the entire time that they existed. Throughout time, they always found each other, no matter what. Do not push what is already set for you, Floyd. They will come."

"How did you know they were your soulmate?"

"Simple. I did not have to think about it."

Floyd was encouraged by this, thinking that within his upcoming years, he'd finally find his soulmate. He wouldn't push the topic any further, waiting instead. It was his second year and he was walking around, trying to find the Prefect that everyone talked so much about. He did not have to tell people to move aside, they stepped aside without a word.

You had been with Ace and Deuce, ignoring their plans to put salt instead of sugar in the shakers so they could prank Trey. You were weirdly neutral, and it was strange. Your soulmate was someone who had a lot of emotions, so the fact that they weren't doing anything made it even more suspicious. Lost in your own thoughts, you crashed into someone and bounced off immediately, rubbing your head. "Sorry, I--"

Ace and Deuce winced from beside you. "You're dead."

"So you're the Shrimpy!" Floyd was smiling before he tilted his head, a frown on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little hurt." Something inside of you was twisting and it felt as though you had been involved with this guy, who you just met. "Do I know you?"

Floyd perked up and saw your face perk up against its own will. Once he placed his hand on your shoulder, your face relaxed back to its bewildered expression. He found you. After that talk with Azul of "atoms" being able to find their way back to each other, he found the piece of him that had been missing all along. It seemed like you knew it too, based on your stunned expression. "You're my soulmate!"

"It would seem so."

"Come on! We have so much to talk about, I've been waiting for the longest time, and I don't plan on letting you go for a while!"

716 notes · View notes

paladin--strait · 4 months ago

Note

Prompt 5: “listen to me, everything is going to be alright.” W/ Jamie Drysdale @ reader

sorry this is so short! i couldn't really think of what i wanted jamie to comfort reader for and i'm sorry for it taking me so long to get this out!! seriously, so sorry! y'all i literally cried writing this...

tw: bad car accident, surgery, mentions of death, readers best friend is implied to be a christian but it's not said, comfort

when i got the call from my best friend's boyfriend that she had been in a horrific car accident early this morning and that she was the only one still living, my heart sank.

he told me they had taken her into emergency surgery and that she's been in there for a while. but he knew she would want me to be there, even though i would be freaking out.

jamie helped me pack a few things, not knowing how long we would be there and then drove me to the hospital. my leg bounced up and down and my nails were bitten down to a quick. my breathing was heavy and ragged, waiting for the nurses, doctors, and her boyfriend, adam, to tell me that she's gonna be okay.

when we pulled up to the hospital, we got out of the car quickly. jamie grabbed the bags, and we made our way inside. when i tried to sign us in, writing down names, addresses, and phone numbers, jamie had to set down the bags and write for me.

my shaking hands could no longer function from the amount of anxiety i was under. i can't even imagine what adam and her family must be going through.

the walk to the waiting room was long and despite the blazing heat outside, surprisingly freezing. earlier before we left, i snatched up a blanket from the couch in the living room, not sure if it was going to be cold in the waiting room or not. and now i'm glad i brought it.

adam's head perks up when he sees jamie and i, walking over to us. "adam, how is she? is she going to be okay? how are you holding up? where's her family?" my mouth is running at a hundred miles per hour before jamie stops me.

"baby, slow down, let him answer all your questions and then maybe you'll feel better." jamie sets down the bags in a chair, walking over to me and holding my hand. "i'm sure he knows the answers to your questions." jamie says with a smile, trying to comfort me.

i look back at adam, waiting for him to speak. but i don't see the face jamie made at him, hoping that he has the answers or to just make something up for now for my sake. adam sees how worried i am, and begins to speak.

"she's still in surgery, but as far as i know, she's doing well and she's gonna be okay. her family is on their way, a couple hours out on the plane." he says, slowly, making sure i process all the information.

"and you? how are you, adam?" i place a hand on his elbow, looking up at him with a disheartened expression. i nods, telling me that he's okay, just hoping that she makes it out of the surgery okay.

i nod, taking in the information a little bit at a time. a few minutes later, we're in our seats in the waiting room. jamie is holding my hand and rubbing my palm with his thumb. he's talking to me about afternoon skate from yesterday. he always tells me about it when he comes home, but i was asleep last night.

i hear what he's saying, and i'm processing the information, but it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. "baby? did you hear what i said?" jamie says, poking his head out in front of mine, trying to search for attention from my distant eyes.

"yeah, uhm..." i say, snapping back into reality and rubbing my temple. "he took a really big fall and had to go to the medic..." i say, recalling the story about his teammate from my memory and turning to face him.

jamie has always cared about me on a deeper level than the usual boyfriend. he knows me inside and out. every flaw and every perfection. but, i've never seen him look at me like this before.

his face has contorted into a look of genuine concern and sadness. the waterline of his dark eyes is full with sparkling tears that have not yet fallen down his chubby cheeks. "baby...i'm sorry, about your friend. she's gonna be okay, i just know it." his words are soft like velvet, and smooth like caramel.

my eyes water, tears threatening to fall. "jamie...i'm so scared..." he pulls me into his arms, wrapping me in tight embrace. "what if..."

"sweetheart, no what ifs. only a when. when she's better, i'm sure that she'll be grateful to you for being here." he pulls away, cupping my wet face in his soft hands. "i'm sure of it. listen to me, everything is going to be alright." he pulls me into his arms once more while i cry, my anxious tears finally being let out.

hours have gone by and i'm now on the floor. i'm accompanied by jamie, who's behind me, leaning against the wall to prevent my back from hurting as much. his hands are resting on my hips while his face is nestled in my neck.

a nurse busts through the doors, and the three of us whip our head up, as we've been doing for every nurse that walks in. she looks at adam and calls my best friends name, we all stand quickly, walking to the nurse and waiting to listen to what she has to say.

"the surgery...was a success." her words calm us. i put a hand of my heart, feeling my steadying heartbeat. "but, unfortunately, she had a brain bleed, which we had not caught. it spread quickly throughout her brain. and...i'm so sorry, but..." the world around me buzzes while it becomes blurry.

i don't need to hear the rest of her words, only the cries of adam, while he falls to his knees on the white, cold, floor of the waiting room. tears leave my eyes slowly. it's unusual, you would think i would be sobbing, screaming my best friend's name while i fall backwards.

but instead of that, i find myself almost at peace with her passing. i can almost see her standing over adam, a hand on his shoulder while he cries. she's looking at me, no emotions on her pale face. i can tell that she was fighting. fighting for her life. but, the world had other plans for her.

she always loved the quote, "take her to the moon for me." and i can hear her saying it to me, speaking about her boyfriend, who kneels alone on the cool floor. i smile, tears barely falling as i kneel down to place an arm around adam.

"adam, she fought. she fought harder than her and we ever thought she could. her body was tired, and it needs its rest. i can tell you right now, she's always going to be with you. she wouldn't want us to be sad, she would want us to be happy that she's no longer in pain anymore, thats she's going to a place where she won't feel pain at all." my words soften his cries while he looks at me, eyes bloodshot and lip wobbling.

he thanks me, hugging me tighter than he ever had before. "thank you...thank you..." i nod and rub his back, sniffing.

i stand back up and look at jamie and he's looking at me, i can see the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. i can tell he's unsure of whether he should cry or not, he barely knew her. but my jamie is a sweet boy, who cares about anyone and everyone that he's ever met or never met before.

i nod at him, signaling that he can let his tears go. he breaks down, sobs racking his body. i sniffle and hold him while we both cry in each others arms.

i can't help but imagine that she's there, waiting for us to leave so she can hand me her memories. the ones that i don't remember but she does, and the ones neither of us remember at all. she's waiting for me to be alone to remind me of all the good and bad times we've had. each of those moments creating a memory that may be forgotten, but truly lasts forever in our hearts.

#nhl #hockey #jamie drysdale #jamie drysdale x reader #philadephia flyers #x reader #paladin's 100 follower celly!

31 notes · View notes

otterskin · 1 year ago

Note

Does you actllty like odin because I thought everyone hated him.

...Why would people hate him? I struggle to understand that, even now. I have my theories, which I've spoken off in other places.

I think, and I don't like to say this, because there are certainly takes that aren't, but in general, that opinion is very juvenile. There's a desire to want to 'defend and protect' people from him, which betrays a lack of understanding of the dynamics in the films, and a tendency to side with children over adults, even grown children, and to see older people as symbolic of institutional power, as well as parental power, over them, and therefore a yoke that needs throwing off. There's a childish 'shut up, DAD!' to the criticism. More seriously, the desire to paint him as abusive reminds me of the problem of people confusing conflict for abuse, something that's a major issue in online spaces and real life. Outrage and extremism are rewarded and sought after, so everything is heightened. In that lens, a father who tried to do right by his children but who was in a unique circumstance because of his desire to challenge the status quo and fated enmity of two warrring peoples, a king who can't put the needs of his children over the suffering of his people and risk to his kingdom, now becomes a monster who delights in playing favourites and abusing them for kicks. It's disheartening.

There's precious little sympathy for characters like him, especially in this genre. Superhero fare is pretty black and white, and even characters like Loki rest pretty firmly in the 'good' side of that. But Odin is that rare character who not only doesn't play by that simple dichotomy, he doesn't get to live in a world so neatly divided. It's part of his isolation from the others. So usually, people see the gray and decide he must not be 'good', and if he's not 'good', he must be 'bad'.

The films have little time to explore him or his motivations or how he chooses to navigate his murky situation, and it's all the worse because he's a secretive person who actively disguises his motivations and goals. He's a minor character in screen time, but looms large over the plot and other characters' motivations, so most of what we see of him is what other people tell us he is. Most of which is, of course, untrue. That's the Odin that lives in their heads, and not the actual man, who is the rare character in the MCU you actually have to watch and pay attention to to understand. In universe, no-one bothers to do that - they are content with the version they've created to hate. So the audience thinks that version is also the real one, because it's easier to understand and categorize.

I love Odin, in mythology, and in the MCU. He's a much kinder person in the MCU for sure! But I'm glad that, even in a fairly straightforward world, they gave Odin no clear answers. He remains contradictory and deeply flawed, a thoroughly miserable person but with something compelling him to try and change the destined end of the world. How could I not love someone like that? How could people who say they like Loki not like a character who is so similar?

I get depressed when I encounter Odin haters. I feel like they've completely misunderstood and missed out on a fundamental part of the story, and I worry that if their sentiments infect the actual MCU, it will besmirch the efforts of those who came before and the humane story I fell in love with. Odin was not intended to be a bad parent or a bad person, and I don't think he is. He is intended to be someone that people IN UNIVERSE see as a full villain or as a full hero, but he is neither. He is a person who was faced with difficult choices, and he chose to do some radical things that many others of his kind would never do. He paved the way for a better future and better choices for others by defying the prejudices and traditions of his people, but because he was a trailblazer, he did not have the benefit of learning from others' examples, like Thor and Loki have because of him.

Comparing him to Thanos or other actually abusive parents is repellant. Never once have I seen anyone who claims to hate him actually engage with the character as depicted, nor how they would cut through the Gordian Knot of compromises the character had to contend with. They handwave away the moral questions as 'actually super easy to solve', which is something I abhor in fiction (it's also why I deeply dislike Spider-Man: NWH, which handwaves away the motivations and tragedies of villains from previous series). No, nothing was easy to solve about the choices presented to Odin, and I think the character had both logical and emotional rationale for his choices. He actually made pretty bold and forward-thinking plans, they just all tend to suffer from his fatal flaw - he thinks about them as logical, but they're really motivated by emotion that he keeps at arm's length, which leads to him showing vulnerability and being punished for it.

This is something that goes by so fast in the films, but I loved it because it is such a fundamentally male experience. Odin is someone being crushed under pretty much every expectation of masculinity, from man to warrior to father to husband to king, and whenever he tries to show regret, fallibility or vulnerability, the other characters find it disturbing and swiftly reject him, forcing him back into the performance and the misery that comes with it.

Odin may ponder what is the correct decision, but does not mistake that for what is the most moral decision. He is someone who is both logical and emotional but who hasn't integrated those two halves of himself together very well.

If you hate the character, I'd be happy to talk about it. It is okay to just not like characters! Including gray ones. But for me, I can really think about Odin, and I like that he can't be easily written up for a bland Fandom page that requires everything be spelled out or it 'doesn't count'. He exists in the between spaces of the story, and it is a very sad and lonely tale.

TL;DR : He's a complicated man in a simple story. In the Squid Game of Sugar Cookie, he got the Umbrella. I am sad that such a fundamental character to the foundation of the THOR franchise's quality and themes is so misunderstood and unappreciated by this fandom. I don't think you can love this franchise and not have some care for Odin.

#odin #Q&A #odin appreciation

86 notes · View notes

msnihilist · 7 months ago

Note

Do you think you'd ever talk about/explore your dynamics for Juan/Cupid? I love them a lot and the concept you shared is soo... omg perfect

I'm just such a sucker for unrequited love, it's probably my favorite trope ever.

I'm not sure if I'd say that Cupid is "cursed" or if maybe the universe just has a sense of humor, but the irony in him always falling for people who are in love with someone else is both hilarious and cruel.

It just doesn't make any sense, you know? Why would Cupid fall for someone like Juandissimo? They don't have anything in common, and even their personalities are total opposites. (They both have a flare for the dramatic, though, haha.)

It took them thousands of years to even approach being friends for that very reason. There's only so many fairies in Fairy World, you know? Given enough time, you meet everyone. And sometimes, you keep running into them.

Cupid and Juan were much the same to begin with. Accidentally running into each other, having smalltalk... Cupid thought Juan was annoying, and Juan thought Cupid was boring.

It comes to a head when Wanda breaks up with Juandissimo. Heartbroken, he goes to Cupid to find out why. He's not the first angry fairy to show up at his door, so Cupid explains that his arrows give people nudges along, but that sometimes people make these decisions all on their own. Wanda left because she doesn't love him, and Cupid can't (won't) change that.

And it surprises him when Juandissimo cries. Cupid has never seen this side of him — so soft and genuine, as opposed to his brash exterior. He awkwardly comforts Juan, who apologizes for taking his frustration out on Cupid. He gathers himself and determinedly declares that he will not give up on Wanda that easily, before leaving. Such devotion only further increases Cupid's opinion of him... But I wouldn't call it love. Not yet.

Cupid and Juandissimo end up spending more time together — on purpose, as friends now. In those early years, it was mostly Juandissimo asking for advice on relationships and winning people over. As time passed, it became just... Talking about themselves and their lives and enjoying each other's company. They both have a greedy/manipulative side that really clicks.

I think that the "falling in love" part happened slowly. Cupid getting mildly irritated whenever Juan brought up Wanda, and dismissing at as annoyance over hearing the same old story all over again. Cupid considering Juan his best friend and wanting to spend more and more time with him. Cupid feeling disheartened that Juan decided to be a godparent, because it means they get to see each other less.

I'm not sure if Cupid even realizes how he feels. I think, subconsciously, he must. He is the god of love, after all. But even if he does know, he'd never say anything — not while Juandissimo is still in love with Wanda, anyway.

#fairly oddparents #ask #anonymous #fop cupid #juandissimo magnifico #still no clue what their ship name would be but whatever

27 notes · View notes

my-st0ff · 1 year ago

Text

Love and Paranoia

Chapter Two

Fandom: Red Dead Redemption

Pairing: Kieran Duffy x female reader

Chapter Song: Dress - Taylor Swift

You'd spoken what you know to be thoroughly with the stable master in Valentine. But to Kieran's ear, you two were blabbering and not getting down to the important things about buying a horse. You were just being friendly with a man you see fairly regularly. He seemed in high spirits this morning. Your orders were accurate. The only issue in this situation was Kieran's chronic nervousness / worrying - which you could see becoming exasperating.

"You just wait there, I'll go out back and see what I've got"

You smile and thank the man before taking a seat on a rickety wooden bench, brushing off a stray few pieces of hay before doing so. The barn smell infected every inch of the area.

You: "Sure is fresh smellin', huh?"

You smile in an attempt to dampen Kieran's disheartened thoughts and feelings.

Kieran: "Yeah, sure is"

He answers promptly in a tone that leaves you with slimmed eyes, wondering why the hell he didn't seem sarcastic.

You: "I was- you like the smell of horse shit?"

He sits silent for a moment.

Kieran: "I'm... used to it"

His voice pitches up in a reasoning tone. You can't help yourself from bursting into laughter.

You: "Oh, boy"

You chuckle. You calm yourself down a bit and peer over at Kieran again. He sat awkwardly smiling in an attempt to not let you notice how unfunny this really was to him.

You: "Hey, what's the matter wi'chu'?"

Your smile completely faded.

Kieran: "Nothin Mi- y/n"

You: "It's alright. Now your a free man, sort of"

You grumble at 'sort of'.

You: "You can go and have yourself a nice long soak in the lake, can't ya'? No more menuire smell"

You smile grimly in a teasing manner.

Kieran: "Oh, I don't know about that"

You: "Why?"

You shuffle in your seat to face him, who is sat beside you. You boot stomps on the ground when doing so, making Kieran jump ever so slightly.

Kieran: "I don't really feel like gettin' out all my bits in front of everyone"

He huffs in laughter.

You: "No, dummy. Someone'll take you a bit away from camp and so you can do it there. I'm sure. That's what everyone else does, heads off a bit and bathes in the lake. Other than Bill and Uncle, maybe"

You chuckle.

You: "You'd just have to be supervised is all, for obvious reasons"

Kieran hums in displeasure and grimices at the idea.

You: "Fine, whatever"

You brush away your moment of helpfullness and face forward once more to carry on waiting.

"Just getting some tacking and whatnot"

The stable master calls from the yard. You wait for a few moments longer, fairly peaceful until the trembling hands of Kieran enter your peripheral. You turn your head and blatenly stare at them. Kieran obviously notices.

Kieran: "Sorry, my hands are shaking from all of this silence and patience"

He huffs in laughter but speaks in an apologetic tone.

You: "You nervous?"

Kieran: "Yes, y/n"

You: "Well, I must say. I ain't never seen a grown man desperately waiting for anything like this... you really love horses, don't ya'"

Kieran: "I just-... what if he screws me over?"

He whispers, under the assumption that the stable master who was all the way across the barn from you both was going to be able to hear him.

You: "What? Christian? He'd never screw me over, you kiddin'?"

You answer with a volume that makes Kieran utterly uncomfortable.

Kieran: "I-"

He hesitates, whipping his head over to Christian, who is contently whispering as he gathers supplies. He then looked back into your eyes with deep brown and emotional ones. His eyes were always full of feeling. It was as if he felt every emotion more intensely than others.

Kieran: "Not us, he might screw me over. You saw the dirty looks he was giving me, surely"

You slap a hand down onto his knee in an attempt at compassion.

You: "He, now, I get it, kid. It's tough being different from everyone around ya'. Either for being a woman in a gang a' stinkin' men"

You smirk and laugh.

"Or for being... well... kind hearted"

You peer to the ground beside him for only a moment, gathering yourself after a small flutter of joy emerged in your core. One that carried realisation that Kieran Duffy was nothin' but nice.

"They key - you just gotta act confident. Be strongheaded, ya' know? Everyone thinks that they know us, but they don't know the first damn thing, kid"

Kieran: "All due respect, you make it look easy"

He lets out a sort of relieved huff of laughter.

You: "It ain't"

You add, finally reeling your arm back in and leaving it at your side. You face forward again. That's when Christian calls.

Christian: "You're lucky, few breeders tried to take this fella' off my hands a few days ago. He's got one hell of a coat, if you don't mind riding a pretty boy of the horse world"

He chuckles, bearing yellowed and chipped teeth. A tall and wide animal led beside him, one with a muscular build that still carried a healthy and warm amount of chub. This horse had a lightly coloured torso. This colour stopped abruptly at his cheeks and some spots of his legs, replaced by a golden brown. His eyes lay half-lidded. He was not aware of his magnificence and never would be... damn, maybe I'm starting to get why Kieran loves these stinkers so much. You ponder. Kieran peers over at you for some sort of permission. When you shoot him a look of reassurance, he approaches Christian and the horse.

Kieran: "Can I take him off your hands?"

He asks politely, and Christian passes him the reigns. Kieran brings the palm of his right hand to meet the horses forehead and softly rubs the spot.

You: "Wow, Christian. You sure?"

Christian: "Course, just if you by any chance have him breed with a mare, I'd love to take a look at those little golden eggs"

He grins.

You: "You got it, sir"

You give him a firm and dominant handshake.

Kieran: "Those markings are just amazin', really amazin'"

He pipes up, yet his focus remains on the horse.

Christian: "Sure are, you better take care of him, son"

He almost threatens.

Kieran: "Don't you worry one moment, sir, I'll give him the best life you could imagine"

You could hear the giddiness he was doing his very best to conceal in his voice. Resulting in one of the corners of your lips to curl upwards smugly. You felt quite... proud? Of yourself for bringing such bliss to your otherwise rather miserable tag-along. Once you had collected all the things you needed for Kieran's new friend (best friend by the looks of things as he couldn't keep his affectionate touches away from the gentle giant), you eventually made your way out of the stable. You stood outside the front of the desolate stables together, divided by the horse, who looked contented enough to stand still for the rest of the evening.

You: "Right, now now the hard part"

You explain, walking around the the front of the horse and giving him a nose scratch.

Kieran: "Namin' him?"

He smiles, and you respond with furrow brows. He feels inclined to awkwardly mumble "joke" with a grin. You take a deep breath before breaking the momentary silence.

You: "Well, go ahead"

You take a few steps back, pinching the bridge of your nose. You'd felt a little sweet towards Kieran for a moment back there but had now remembered yourself. Kieran strokes the forehead of his companion. He whispers something with compassion and then moves to the side of the horse. He puts a foot into the closest stirrup and then pats the horses back before moving onto the next step. He pushes himself up with support from the saddle and flips his other leg over, successfully slipping it into the stirrup with the trouble. Kieran laughs in relief whilst petting the mane.

You: "Alright, this ain't his first rodeo for sure"

You erase the distance between you and the horse, from where you had stood back just in case. You stroll over with one hand comfortably on your hip. You utilise the other grab ahold of Kieran's reigns. Without warning, you begin moving at a considerate pace out of town. The horse doesn't seem to mind, but your tag-along decides to make a fuss anyway.

Kieran: "Hey!"

You: "Yeah?"

Kieran: "Weren't ready"

He mumbles.

You: "What was that?"

Kieran: "Nothin'"

He sighs.

You: "Just bought you a whole horse, it better be nothin'"

You'd rode gently through the forests near Valentine for barely that long, and it already felt like hours to you.

You: "God damnit, Kieran. Are we even close to the herbs?"

Kieran: "Matter a' fact, just across that swamp"

You peer up at him from where he sits upon his relaxed and obedient horse to see him pointing forward. Distraught is the only way you could describe your reaction. You crouch to rest your elbows on your legs, face in hands.

You: "Let me up on your horse"

You speak into your hands.

Kieran: "Huh?"

Your head whips up at him. You exclaim your demand through grit teeth.

You: "Let me up on your horse!"

Kieran: "Oh, uh, course"

He shuffles up the saddle. Upon approaching the saddle, you see the horse antsy for the first time. Hooves trotting in place and grunting uncomfortably as your long leather jacket brushes his leg.

Kieran: "Ah, ah, ah"

He gives soothed scratches to the horses neck. Each time you try to get close enough to the horse to get up, he shuffles to the side, away from you.

You: "What's the matter with ya', boy?"

Agrovation evident in your voice.

Kieran: "I don't think he likes the feel a' the leather"

You: "The wha-, oh c'mon. Don't be silly, boy, it's a god damn jacket"

You speak directly the horse.

You: "Just do it swiftly, he won't even notice"

You reach an arm up and pace towards him.

Kieran: "I- I ain't sure, y/n"

You widen your eyes, communicating urgency as you get close. He lets down an arm for you to grab, but his expression is the epitimy of anxiety. And his hands are shaking from all this, again. The horse freezes completely for a moment when you manage to sit flat behind Kieran, your hands on his waist.

You: "Ha!"

You exclaim in proud excitement.

You: "See, kid, what did I tell-"

Your speech is cut short when you shuffle and your jacket falls completely over the horses' thigh like a blanket. The animals screeches like it's in physical pain before sprinting forwards only to panic so much more when it's ankles are fully enveloped in thick mud, sinking a few good centimetres into the swamp that now sat around you. It's legs then tensed as it used all of its might to kick itself up from the mud and water. This inevitably knocked you both off. Your body made an unpleasant slap when it slammed down into sinking mud.

You: "Ow"

You whined in defeat.

Kieran: "I told you"

You hear Kieran speak. His voice travelled through the wind as he lay in a similar position from quite a bit away. The horse had retreated to a patch of grass on the other end of the swamp, to make matter so much worse.

You: "You what?!"

Your voice strains to a shout.

Kieran: "I told you he didn't like the leather!"

You: "Don't you talk back to me!"

You manage to get yourself halfway to a stand before falling ass first back into brown and mossy green sludge. Kieran, who's sat on a harder section of still wet mud holding his lower back, couldn't help but let out a few genuine chuckles.

You: "Somethin' funny?!"

Kieran: "Sorry, oh my- sorry"

He pushes out between intensifying laughter.

You: "Oh, that's it!"

Kieran just could not bring himself to feel any bit threatened for once as you pulled yourself finally onto your feet and cautiously made your way to him. The quickest you could as your legs were inches deep instantly when you took each step. As you finally got to where he was and towered over him, he brought his hands up in surrender.

Kieran: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I mean it now c'mon"

A small smile paints his rosey cheeks. You sigh and extend an arm. He takes your offer just so that you can pull him halfway to your level and then chuck his body back into the wetter part of the mud you had just trudged through. The wobbly shriek he lets out immediately knocks the anger out of you. You burst into laughter, having to bend over and support yourself with your hands on your bent knees as you watch Kieran flail about in the mud, doing all he could to stand up without one successful attempt. His entire body was covered head to toe in brown slime by the time he'd gotten up, out of breath.

You: "Oh, god, that is so funny"

You wheeze as you make slow steps towards where the horse casually grazed across the whole obstacle. Kieran trotted his way quickly beside you as you walked past a pool of dark yellow water. You pat his back with unintentional hardness.

You: "I'm sorry, kid, I couldn't help it"

You giggle.

Kieran: "Me neither"

He mumbles.

You: "Huh?"

Before another word, you are flung with one hard push into the ickiest collection of water you'd ever seen. Luckily, it's shallow enough to prevent any struggle in making your way to the surface. When you do, you find Kieran crouched near the edge, looking down at your helpless self. A dynamic you never thought would see the light of day.

Kieran: "You alright?"

He chuckles. You glare up at him for a second before the angry pressure releases and your lips curl into the smallest smile.

You: "You're a real shit, y'know that?"

He bellows out in laughter before extending an arm. You pull yourself up just to discover the two of you are now matching, covered head to toe in mud. Some of his now quickly drying to chips of flat earth on his skin that would crack at movement.

You: "I hope you know this is our first and last ever trip into town after this shit. You want more clothes, ask John to take ya', or Dutch"

You tease.

Kieran: "I think I'd rather walk around with a leaf covering my crotch"

You knees struggle to bend correctly in the swamp to make your way to the dry(ish) land. Kieran quickly notices and brings an arm up under your arms so that he can support you and you him as you mirror his action. Usually, you would shrug off the help of others, but you could not stand the thought of falling another time. You eventually, with many groans and heavy breaths between the two of you, made it to grassed over dirt.

Kieran: "Here, boy! Hey, c'mere ya' big moron"

He calls out to his horse and awkwardly waddles in it's direction, squelching noises emitted from each step. You take this time to yank off each of your boots and tip the water along with a few clumps of dirt out onto the ground. You almost regretted doing so when the horrible cold dampness meets your socks upon sliding them back on. Soon enough, Kieran returns to you with an unbothered horse trailed behind him by the reigns. His half-lidded eyes as they were before, and his jaw moving up, down and side to side slowly and lazily as he grazed. Kieran fiddles with a satchel attached to the saddle before figuring our how to unclip it.

Kieran: "Right, they grow in little clusters"

He searches the perimeter with his gaze, then angles his head down to face his feet.

"Like this"

He adds, leaning over and bunching more than a dozen small thin stalks covered in light blue pearls of herb in his fist before yanking them out of the soft earth. You observe the plant, then take a look for yourself around where you stand, only to be met with not a single dash of blue among the emerald green of tall forest grass.

You: "Oh, c'mon, this is gonna be impossible"

Kieran raises his eyebrows, packing the satchel with the contents he had just acquired.

Kieran: "It ain't"

He extends his vowels.

Kieran: "I found some just now"

He attempts to convince you.

You: "That"

You point at the satchel.

"Was lucky"

A good quarter of an hour passed whilst you busted your back bending over to pick out blue plants. Kieran did the same. Though he enjoyed the simple task, you took a moment to stretch out each limb after filling the satchel a bit higher with a load that you had found. Whilst doing so, you observed Kieran, who had just now discovered a large deposit of herbs that collected around the base of a tall, thick royal tree. He plopped himself next to the group of herbs, and with crossed legs, he began to carefully pick out the healthiest ones. A look of bliss glazed over his eyes and his skin shon in the now retreating sun.

You: "Alright, time out for me"

You yell over. Kieran does not flinch nor cower. He nods with a small smile, only gracing you with a split second to look into his chocolate brown eyes illuminated to a honey colour by the sunshine before bringing his attentions back to the patch of pretty plants. You decide to take this time to make up with Kieran's horse. You approach the animal slowly, It only looking up at you for a moment before lazily dipping its head back to continue grazing.

You: "Hey, boy. What d'you say us two have a little chat?"

You speak quietly. Some of the hidden browns in the horses eyes that would be usually covered by a sooty colour shon through to the surface of his glimmering eyes.

You: "Yeah, your alright, ain't ya?"

You ask rhetorically before placing your right palm on his forehead and stroking down his long face. But when you reposition your hand to scratch his cheeks, part of your leather sleeve brushes his short, smooth fur - pulling a grunt out of him.

You: "Woah, you don't like the feeling of leather, huh?"

The horse whines softly as if he can understand you.

You: "Well, you're gonna have to get used to it, boy, you're my ride home"

Unexpectedly, Kieran speaks from beside you, you not even noticing his approach.

Kieran: "I'd just take it off if I were you, y/n"

You: "huh?"

You ask, a hand to your chest as you do your best to cover up being startled by his sudden presence. Kieran loads up the satchel with a massive bunch of herbs as he speaks.

Kieran: "Your jacket, just hold it on the way back"

An anxiety you hadn't experienced in longer than you remember stirs in your stomach.

You: "I'd rather not... he'll get used to it"

Kieran laughs softly.

Kieran: "That's what you said before"

He moves out his arms and looks down at his own body as an example as he speaks, caked in mud. You do the same.

Kieran: "Here, lemme' get it for ya'"

He says and moves behind your body, placing a hand on each one of your shoulders. You jolt away from his touch.

You: "I said I'm alright"

Kieran furrows his brows ever so slightly in confusion.

Kieran: "You alright, y/n?"

You: "I'm covered in mud. My boots are wet and cold, and my ass hurts from getting bucked. No, I ain't!:

Sounds of people are completely removed from the alive sounding environment you stand in for a few moments. Kieran's eyes dropping to the floor.

You: "Sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- look let's just get home"

You say quickly and turn to the horse, who scurries to the side and grunts a little when you approach him. You take a deep breath, peer back at Kieran (who is looking over at you and his horse with utter silent concern), and then groan in frustration. Balling your fists and then bringing your hands up to your jacket to shimmy it off your shoulders and folding it in your arms. As you do this, Kieran watches the (fair/tanned/olive/sweet chocolate) skin of your arms, untouched by mud, reveal with every inch of leather removed. His eyes jump over all of the big and small scars that dotted themselves all up and down your arms. Your head peers over your shoulder at him, your eyes vulnerable. Unable to portray the annoyed feelings you were experiencing as they were overwhelmed by nerves.

You: "What?"

You attempt to speak bluntly, but your voice comes out a tender sound.

Kieran: "N-nothin'"

His eyes flick away from your body immediately. You chuck your jacket to Kieran, who catches it and re-folds it attentively after your botched job whilst you push yourself onto a farther back part of the saddle.

You: "I fought a bear"

You side-eye him with a tiny smirk, breaking the tension as he resisted to ask anything about your hundreds of marks. He huffs in laughter, and your smile grows bigger. He strolls over and hands you back your jacket before straddling his horse and grabbing ahold of the reigns. Your hands loosely and gently clasp around his waist. When he begins the horse to a trot, he peers down at your wrist discreetly, analysing one of the whiter scars going down the top side of your arm.

Kieran: "Don't tell me, that's why you never take that thing off?"

He asks light-heartedly.

Kieran: "You look so cool, I'd be showing that off!"

His heart fills with pride and content when he hears a small laugh erupt from behind him. A flutter fills him from his abdomen to his chest as he looks into the sunset you ride towards paired with the sound of your gentle laughter. The sensation was something he could not label, similar to excitement. Either way, he likes the feeling.

By the time you make it back to camp, your eyes lay half shut, and the moon lights your way. Nobody seemed to be up, and lights were out. You made your way to your tent as Kieran hitched his horse.

Kieran: "Hey, y/n!"

He calls across camp. Making you tense up and shoot him a look of agrovated shock. Kieran mouths 'sorry' before quickly bouncing over to you whilst you chuck your boots and jacket into your tent.

Kieran: "I thought of what ima' name him"

He speaks low.

You: "oh, yeah?"

Kieran: "Branwen"

He smiles, you shoot him a confused look.

You: "Certainly unique"

Kieran: "Alright, negative nancy, I'll have you know that name actually means-m-"

He trips over his words and then fully stops in his tracks before clearing his throat and turning around once you suddenly pulk your white tank top off and chuck it into your tent also.

You: "It means?"

Kieran: "Uhh-"

You: "You going for a soak or what?"

You put casually, pulling off your trousers now. Kieran stood completely stunned as he stared at the sky. He remains silent other than infrequent 'uh's.

You: "What's the matter with ya', boy?"

Kieran: "I'll leave you to your uhh river- bath- whatever"

He says and then takes quick desperate steps away from you.

You: "Your sleeping like that?"

The dry mud piled on his skin is causing itchy spots over his body, and he is fully unsure of what to do.

Kieran: "I, um, well no, well yeah. I'll go in the morning"

You: "Alright, but everyone'll be pretty busy, so it'll be John who has to take ya' away from camp for it"

Kieran pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a long, shakey inhale when the thought is forced into him of John 'gun to his head' Marston watching him bathe himself.

Kieran: "I think I will actually-"

He says but stops when he turns to see you'd silhouette already close to the lake, wrapping a blanket around your body.

Kieran gently places the ragged blanket he had around his bare body on the sandy shore that contained spots of grass poking through the grains. He walks his way into the water as cautiously as he can to not make a sound. Gripping his fists into balls as he prays you don't turn around and see his entirely naked figure. Luckily, you only noticed the disturbance to the surface of the water when he was half submerged, the water stopping just above his naval. You turn instinctively away from the view of the dark horizon and shoot Kieran a small smile. Your heart beats faster as it's suddenly an uncomfortable atmosphere. Your body is sunk deep enough to only be exposing your shoulders and collarbone.

You: "Sorry we ain't got no soap out here"

You huff in laughter.

Kieran: "I'm just glad to have fresh water on my skin"

He sounds genuinely relieved as he sinks down further, still a fair distance between you both. You submerge your head fully to bathe your scalp, only to bob back up in a different spot, a bit further from Kieran and with your back to him. You take a deep breath and start to run the water up and down your skin, doing your best to complete this proficiently as you usually do. Though you can feel Kieran's resisting stare like a tickle on your back. You turn back around in a casual movement and see Kieran washing himself in your peripheral, currently trying to get dirt out of the shell of his ears.

You: "God, you're a jackass"

You break the silence with a smug remark.

Kieran: "Huh?"

He smiles.

You: "This is all your fault"

You laugh, your sarcasm was being taken completely seriously.

Kieran: "What is?"

You: "Why we're both covered in swamp"

You laugh.

Kieran: "Shut up"

He bellows a genuine laugh as you, more comfortably now, approach closer to him.

Kieran: "You ain't funny"

You: "Then why you laughin'?"

You chuckle. Kieran laughs as he brings his head down into the water and scrubs his hair back and forth. When he comes back up, he keeps scratching at his scalp, looking frustrated as he can't get any of the mud to slide off of his locks.

Kieran: "God damnit"

He mutters.

You: "What is the goal here?"

You tease, washing the last bits of dirt out of your own hair.

Kieran: "This stuff is stubborn. It's Inescapable, I'm not even gonna try"

You: "Hey, don't just scratch your head, jesus"

You huff and come closer to Kieran. You raise your arms out of the water, revealing a tiny bit more of your skin as you bring one of your hands to his hair and gently run the fingers through whilst you use your other to cup collections of water in your hand and pour it over his hair. This is most likely the closest you'd ever been face to face with Kieran, his skin glimmered with millions of beads of pure light from the moon's reflection on the droplets of water. The water around you illuminated with the face of the moon also. It felt like the light was focused on just where the two of you stood. It was like an aura. You did all you could to not peak down at his glistening collarbone and neck and pay attention to his hair. A sigh of content unintentionally fell from his lips when your fingers gently massaged where some of the dirt sat at the base of his scalp. His head bowed and eyes shut, sort of in embarrassment. For the next minute, you both stood in comfortable silence and took in the noises of the drips and swishes each time you moved your arms.

You: "There you go"

You speak low, almost in a whisper. Kieran's tired eyelids separated to reveal the look of pure bliss he was portraying. In this moment, you wished for the artistic skills of Hosea just for tonight so you could capture his expression forever. View it whenever you like. God, now why the hell am I thinkin' like that. Pull yourself together, woman, you think. You bring a thumb to his cheek and push the pad of it across his face to wipe a remaining smudge of dirt.

Kieran: "Thanks, feels a lot better"

He smiles. You're only just noticing his height over you, the discreet dimples that form in the transition between expressions he makes, how his skin looked so soft to the touch and how licks of his hair popped out almost every time he moved. Your entire body stiffens in place when his hand brushes and then clasps your lower arm gently beneath the water.

Kieran: "You alright?"

His brows stitch in concern.

Kieran: "You look worried"

You: "I'm just fine"

You muster up a small smile. Your whispered voices and close warm bodies all contribute towards the ever building tension around the both of you. Kieran other hand is balled up in his best effort to keep holding back from you.

You: "Um, today was actually real fun, Kieran"

Kieran: "Yeah"

He smiles and huffs a small laugh from his nose.

You: "You tell Dutch I said that and I'll skin ya', ya' know that?"

Kieran laughs.

Kieran: "Very irresponsible of you to be running around with an O'Driscoll, y/n"

You laugh a little before clearing your throat and, in a sudden coming to your senses, back off from Kieran, his hand slipping from your arm.

You: "I'll see you tomorrow, don't get yourself into no more trouble"

You say as you wade towards the land.

Kieran: "y/n"

You: "yeah?"

Kieran: "You're very pr-... you're beautiful... don't worry about hiding those battle scars you got"

He speaks with genuine tenderness. You had stopped in your tracks, your back to him as you now stood with your full top half exposed, but you did not look at him nor say anything. You'd rather just acted out a single nod. He watched you emerge for a moment before looking away quickly when your entire body was touching the air. You wrapped yourself in your blanket and shivered as you made your way back to your tent.

You'd gotten a head start on the sun this morning, being up and dressed before it had a chance to bathe the camp fully. A few of the gang were up, but a lot were still snoring in their tents whilst you waited for your piping hot cup of brown to chill enough to be drinkable. A familiar sound of footsteps haunted you as you sat under a tree by yourself. You knew who it was just by the sound of wicked large spurs clunking.

"Well, g'mornin', honey"

You: "Mornin', Micah"

You spoke monotone, gripping onto the slim hope he would for once in his life get the hint and leave whoever he's boring the hell alone.

Micah: "Glad to see your all clean"

You look up from your cup, staring straight forward whilst Micah leans on the tree.

You: "Huh?"

Micah: "I'll tell you what I was sleepin' like a baby till' you two got back last night. And I woke up just in time for a show"

He chuckles, disgusting you to your core.

Micah: "Don't worry"

He waves his hand in front of his face.

"I let you two get your privacy, I ain't no creep"

Sure

"But I saw enough to be able to make demands"

You: "to what?"

You glare up at him.

Micah: "See, they know nothing about you two's little adventure in the lake"

He points discreetly at a group of camp members sitting at a table.

You: "Oh, hell, Micah, we didn't- it's not what it looked like"

Micah: "Well, I only know what I saw, and what I saw is too naked folk touching up on eachother, now what would you label that as, y/n?"

You: "Get outa' here"

Micah: "In that case... time for some harmless gossip with Dutch"

You: "Wait"

You demand in a low and vexed tone.

Micah: "Yes, sweetheart"

You: "What do you want?"

You ask through grit teeth.

Micah: "I want a go at ya'"

He grins.

You: "Oh, for the love of god, Micah. Your disgustin'"

Micah: "Now I wake up by your side tomorrow, and my lips might not be so loose"

You: "Forget it"

Your tone rough and spikey. Micah inhales slowly through his nose.

Micah: "Fine"

Your head flips back and forth as you do your best to resist watching him smugly walk over to the group he had pointed to, with a hand on his belt. Most of the expressions you're catching are not so bothered, but when your eyes land upon Ms. Grimshaw, the look of pure outrage is enough to make a grown woman shit herself. You know, for a fact, she is on her way to speak to Dutch the moment he leaves his tent.

In your best efforts to make yourself invisible, you fold your arms and hunch over as you scatter to your tent. Making yourself physically smaller and subconsciously mirroring how puny you felt inside.

"Y/n!"

You hear the all too familiar voice of your troubles say your name and everything just stops. Including you, mid stride.

"Y/n, can you help me with Puncher, he don't wanna eat these her-"

You: "I'm busy!"

You snap back across the space dividing you. Mindlessly gaining even more side glances than you were already dealing with. Your visions does almost a full 360° as quickly as you can, it does not take long to soak in all the stares. You pace urgently towards Kieran, closing the gap.

You: "Gimme' those"

You hiss, snatching the balled up herbs from his gentle, long fingers.

You: "Wha- get outta' here"

Your teeth are grit as you growl under your breath, your heart thumping extraordinarily as more and more time passes where you are in the company of your assumed secret.

Kieran: "Sum'n wrong, y/n?"

You: "As a matter a' fact, yeah. You're in my god damn way!"

Your hand strikes outwards, gesturing towards your horse hitched up by your tent.

Kieran: "Right"

He momentarily complies, standing aside. But his leaving y/n alone streak of 2 seconds is broken when he turns around and plods after you.

Kieran: "Did I do somethin' to upset you?"

His tender, concerned little voice leaves you having to take in an outstretched and stuttered inhale before confronting him before your tent.

You: "I can't have you followin' me around like no damn puppy. I helped you out. You did the same for me. You made your mark on me and my reputation, now beat it!"

Kieran does not look in any other direction other than forward, but his eyes somehow still convey a perfect portrait of lowness, mixed with confusion and self-deprication. It wasn't, it couldn't have been. But it sure as hell felt like the camp was dead silent for those few moments.

Kieran: "Sure thing"

He musters without a single wobble or crack and makes his way back to his duties swiftly. You watch his figure grow smaller and smaller for a moment as the distance increases, with balled fists and frustrated lines upon your forehea, but soon, catch yourself. You shoot a threatening glare at the few folks that had been an audience to your encounter so that they turned away promptly in some terribly put-together false claim that they were never looking in the first place.

You lower yourself with a grunt beneath your breath next to your horse. You glanced into Puncher's somehow knowing eyes with suspicion before presenting him with the herbs that he apparently refused to accept. The animal, who was starting to regain his strength already, immediately nuzzled his snout into the palm of your hand. You kept your hand there so that Puncher could take his time and enjoy the plants. It was quite the mission to acquire them after all.

You: "Atta' boy... not eatin', my ass"

You mumble.

You: "You just not like him or somethin'?"

You smile and lean in close when you ask, under your breath like he was going to gossip back.

You: "Nah, you'd trust a starved dog starin' at ya' thighs, wouldn't ya'? Ya' big, dumb sweetheart"

The sun was coming close to the stage of setting where it is at peak magnificence. Just like how we saw it last night, you smile, watching the clouds near the sun morph. 'nough of that, you reaffirm in your mind and take your spoon to your bowl of flavour-lacking stew. The log you sat on was bumpy, and the dinner you ate was mediocre. You envied the man your view had shifted to. Kieran brushed each horse so attentively, but none had received such an amount of cooing and smiles until he made his way to Branwen. Though he seemed happy enough, he'd exhaust himself if he still didn't eat, even now he had the option.

You: "Night, boys"

You send your fairwells to your company, Arthur and John. You covertly scooped up another bowls-worth of stew. Thank god stealth was a strong suit of yours, or Pierson would have your head on a spike.

You: "Eat"

You let out a flat word as you offer, rather force, a bowl of stew towards Kieran. Who you had made your way over to, to inevitably make him jump.

Kieran: "I ain't hungry, thanks"

You: "Yes you are"

You sigh.

You: "Don't you dare waste this now"

You scolded with raised eyebrows. Kieran takes the bowl and spoon from you, only to place it on a log beside him.

You: "Kid-"

Kieran: "I ain't gonna waste it, I just gotta finish up"

He doesn't make eye contact once as he speaks.

You: "Kieran, can we talk"

You place your hands on your hips, swallowing your pride. Though nobody in camp was facing the two of you, you were silently making the decision to embrace your new reputation as you did this.

Kieran: "Th-that's what I was hopin'"

He answers breath-ily, still brushing Branwen's back, but gracing you with glances as he does.

You: "Look, it's real rough being taken seriously as a woman in this trade sometimes and... and I... uh... I regret... I regret how I were with ya' earlier today"

The tiniest smile tints his cheeks.

Kieran: "You tryna say your sorry?"

You: "Uh... yeah, that"

You struggle. Kieran laughs at your now familiar and almost comforting stubborn nature.

Kieran: "It's quite alright. Maybe we can work on those outbursts together"

He seems so pleased with himself to be able to shoot jabs at you without the fear of you drawing on him or letting one of your burly friends know if you were feeling lazy. He seemed pleased upon the thought that he trusted you enough, and had somebody to joke with.

You: "Y'know what it'd probably do me some good, kid"

You roll your eyes.

You: "What's the matter now?"

The phrasing of your question is blunt, but your tone is gentle as you nod to his hands as they shake again.

Kieran: "I um... My hands shake, I can't explain this- it's just always happened to me. Since I was a boy, I suppose"

You: "Don't help you with your workin', I bet"

You notice him struggle to keep a firm and straight movement as he holds the horse brush to Branwen's side. You peer down at the other few brushes on the ground, biting your lip in debate before failing to resist and grabbing one in your left hand. You bring it up to a different spot of the broad animal's body. Right before you place it to his fur, you see your jacket sleeve below the hand you're using. You squeeze the wooden brush and then take a deep, long breath. In a swift movement, you drop the coat off of your shoulders and onto the dirt. You freeze in place after beginning to brush when you feel the caliced but warm palm of Kieran land on your bare shoulder.

Kieran: "Thank you, y/n... for everything"

Your eye contact is so deep for such a short note of speech.

You: "Y-yeah, no worries, kid"

Your breath hitched before and after your comment, quickly bringing yourself back to focusing on the horse in quite an awkward state.

You both silently milk the amount of time it takes to groom Branwen's short and not too unkempt coat so that you can watch the sunset as you do. Making off comments but mostly living in comfortable silence.

#rdr2 #red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption two #kieran duffy x female reader #kieran duffy x you #kieran duffy x reader #kieran duffy #smut #fluff #romance #western #kieran duffy fluff #kieran duffy smut

46 notes · View notes

naradreamscape · 3 months ago

Text

Learning about the kinds of weapons the IOF has been testing on the Gazan population is disheartening. Profoundly disheartening. Anyone who still believes the IOF is just "retaliating" needs to get their head checked out.

There is no tactical benefit from throwing explosives and cluster bombs at a group of civilians. If this actually was about trying to suss out who is a civilian versus a "Hamas member/informant", there would be actual procedures for the ground invasion. People would be interrogated in a normal fashion, but the IOF is trained to be savage and destructive, not smart. Worse yet is that I know their motivations for using such bodily-destructive weapons. In my religion, bodily integrity is extremely important, and I know it's quite the same in Islam; a body must be buried in one piece or it's not a kosher nor halal burial. (By this criteria, being cremated is non-kosher, which is a shame because I would love to be turned into a heirloom when I pass many decades from now.)

This is supposed to be a tradition for taking care of the dead, but it has been weaponized for little more than invading soldiers' entertainment: many of the settlers believe in what I've started to call "Accelerationist Judaism" - emotions come before logic, and all that matters is making enough room in the Levant to cram all of us back into, and then eventually rebuilding the Third Temple. Accelerationist Jews are Judaic in the same way that Evangelical Tradcaths are Christian: they have turned a genuine faith into a horrifying abstraction as a vehicle for self-indulgence. The Accelerationist Jews are a vile mockery of anything genuinely Jewish, and, at this point, I hesitate to even associate them with Judaism. I only say they are Jews because they constantly claim to be; they stole the Magen David for their flag, so people can't even criticize their "country" without being accused of being antisemites. I, however, find it infinitely more antisemitic to try to claim being warmongering freaks who eviscerate civilians is inherently Jewish.

There is no reason for the IOF to use the artillery it is using in Gaza. There is no reason for the US/UK to keep giving that artillery to the IOF while knowing it is being used against civilians. Even if there was a "misfire" or an "accident", the IOF has had far too many of those to be considered anything other than a paramilitary terrorist group. Their ineptitude is infamous; they are fuelled by nothing but spite, and the same nightmarish Islamophobic rhetoric that the US military received while terrorizing Iraq and Afghanistan throughout the 2000s-2010s. You accelerationists do not represent me, you live in a sham, and I will never live in your nightmare colony.

#negative cw #notinourname

3 notes · View notes

natedogx15 · 10 months ago

Text

Miraculous Descendent Chapter 53: Fetching Victory

Previous Chapter

Dark Owl holds Stormy Weather over his shoulder while she recovers from Canine's attack. They're resting on a roof a few blocks from the school to catch their breaths. However, Dark Owl is getting slightly restless since he's leaving his object unguarded and at risk of being discovered.

"Hurry up and recover, Stormy Weather. We need to get back there before they find out about Albert." Dark Owl tells her as he looks toward the girl over his shoulder.

"That girl's voice is like being in the center of a storm." Stormy Weather groans as she tries to get out of Dark Owl's grip to signal she's feeling better.

She holds her head for a second, but it looks like she's recovering.

"Yes, we must be careful around her." Dark Owl nods in agreement before Hawkmoth interrupts them.

"I'm glad you two see the danger this new hero poses. I was caught off guard by her arrival as well. Her power seems to be a form of hypnosis that relies on her voice. Luckily, there's a way to counter this. If you can't hear the commands, they shouldn't work. However, it would be best for you to try and keep moving while fighting her, just in case. This power is similar to mine and Ladybug, a continuous one from what I saw." Hawkmoth explains to the two.

"Understood, Hawkmoth. Worry not. We can still salvage this situation and save Paris from these false heroes and their hypnotizing assistant. Hoo hoo." Dark Owl hoos in acknowledgment at Hawkmoth's instructions.

"Be careful. The average Miraculous wielder has around two powers. So, she may be hiding another ability or two besides her hypnotism." Hawkmoth warns before ending the link.

Dark Owl nods in acknowledgment before turning toward Stormy Weather.

"You heard Hawkmoth's warning. We need to tread carefully while fighting this Canine person. By now, the other heroes are likely there as well." Dark Owl informs her.

Stormy Weather grunts in frustration.

"Great. So, we're outnumbered, too. Fine. I'll show them how dangerous it is to face a storm." Stormy Weather says determinedly while tapping her umbrella in her other hand.

However, her attention is drawn to a small, orange object moving at high speed toward them.

"What is that?" Stormy Weather questions in confusion as she narrows her eyes while trying to concentrate on it.

A little while ago with Ladybug and Canine. Canine is explaining her last power to the bug-themed heroine.

"My last ability is called Fetch. It allows me to send this rubber ball after anything it's touched while I'm transformed and retrieve it." Canine explains.

Ladybug looks at Canine in surprise when she explains her power, realizing how powerful it is for dealing with Akumas.

"What did Stormy Weather have on her while you were fighting?" Ladybug quickly asks the newbie heroine.

Canine blinks in surprise before saying.

"She had her umbrella on her. Do you think that's where the butterfly is?" Canine asks.

Ladybug quickly nods.

"Yes. However, it could also be in one of her hair ties like the last time I fought her. But I think it's more likely to be in her umbrella." Ladybug explains, causing Canine to nod.

"So, what do you want to do?" Canine asks.

Ladybug thinks about it for a second before turning back toward Canine.

"What could the other Akuma with her do?" Ladybug asks to get more information on the Akuma she saw before.

"He seems to be based on a superhero. He had a lot of gadgets on him. Things like smoke bombs, boomerangs, and even a way to fly using some sort of jetpack cape." Canine quickly explains.

Ladybug's eyes widen slightly as she hears what he can do, but she quickly calms down and asks another question.

"Do you know where his butterfly might be?"

Sabina shakes her head apologetically.

"No. I think it might be in either his cape or belt. But I'm not sure." Canine says in a disheartened tone.

"That's fine. At least we have an idea of where it is. Let's focus on Stormy Weather since she's the easier one right now." Ladybug quickly consoles the other girl.

Canine nods.

"So, you want me to bring Stormy Weather's umbrella?" Canine asks for clarification, causing Ladybug to nod.

"Yes." Ladybug nods.

"I'll be on my timer after using Fetch. I won't be able to help you with Dark Owl." Canine warns her worriedly, but Ladybug smiles at the girl.

"Don't worry. I have an idea of how to handle him. Worse case, I can hold him off until you and Cat Noir can come back to help." Ladybug tells her, causing Canine to nod with a smile, happy to know Ladybug trusts her to come back to help.

"Alright." Canine nods before taking the rubber ball off her collar and cradling it with both hands.

She closes her eyes and envisions Stormy Weather's umbrella before saying.

"Fetch."

After she says that, the rubber ball glows orange and flies out of her hands after the Akumas, leading to our current situation with the Akumas.

Stormy Weather is watching it in confusion as it speeds toward them. However, Dark Owl's eyes widen in horror, and he looks toward Stormy Weather alarmingly.

"Stormy Weather, stop it! It's probably one of the heroes' powers!" Dark Owl exclaims.

The weather girl's eyes widen, and she quickly raises her umbrella to block the incoming object. Unfortunately, that's what the rubber ball is after. When it crashes into the shield, the umbrella is covered in orange energy before vanishing.

Instead of the rubber ball falling to the ground after the impact, it flies back in the direction it came toward Canine and Ladybug. Much to the villains' shock as they watch it leave.

Once the shock wears off, Stormy Weather releases a panicked scream and bolts after the rubber ball to get her umbrella back.

"My butterfly is in there!" She screams at Dark Owl urgently as she races off.

Dark Owl's eyes widen in horror before he flies after the other villain, hoping to stop the two heroes from destroying her umbrella and saving his partner.

Despite their efforts, the rubber ball is far faster than them and easily navigates through the Paris streets, gaining distance from the villains until it lands in Canine's waiting hands. When it does, the umbrella materializes and falls into Ladybug's arms.

"Nice job." Ladybug compliments Canine before they hear Canine's collar beep, signaling she's on a time limit.

"Thanks. Good luck." Canine wishes before running off to find somewhere to hide until she's ready to transform again.

Ladybug watches her leave before looking at the umbrella and breaking it in half. When the butterfly is freed, she doesn't waste any time and catches it in her yo-yo.

"You're not getting away from me this time," Ladybug tells it as she captures it with a glare.

With the Akumas, a panicking Stormy Weather suddenly changes back into Aurore in mid-air, and she plummets toward the ground with an unintelligible scream that almost sounds like her saying, 'Not again!' if you pay close enough attention.

Dark Owl's eyes widen before he dives toward and catches Aurore before she can hit the ground.

"Thank you, Lady-" Aurore sighs in relief before she realizes who caught her and freezes in fear.

Dark Owl realizes this and looks toward Aurore calmly.

"Not to worry, Young Lady. I'm not going to hurt you. My only targets are the Miraculous wielders." Dark Owl tells her before landing and setting the girl down.

"You should get home." Dark Owl advises before flying off again.

Aurore blinks in surprise as she watches the Akuma fly off before today's events catch up with her, and she cries.

After leaving Aurore on her own, Dark Owl says.

"Albert. What's your status?" Dark Owl asks his cybernetic butler worriedly.

"Not to worry, Dark Owl. I am fine. The Miraculous wielders haven't realized that I exist." Albert calmly informs Dark Owl in a nasal voice through Dark Owl's earpiece.

Dark Owl sighs in relief when he hears this and continues to fly toward the school.

"I'm in trouble. Stormy Weather has been defeated, meaning I'm left on my own. I can't let the heroes realize Albert exists before I claim their Miraculous." Dark Owl mutters as he flies toward the school.

When he gets to the school, he lands on the roof and looks around urgently, pulling out some boomerangs as he does so. However, he's soon hit with a red-tinted magnetic wave and slammed into a metal pillar.

Dark Owl quickly shakes off the impact and looks around until he sees Ladybug in her Electro-Magnetic Seams suit glaring down at him from behind her yellow-tinted goggles.

"Ah, Ladybug. It's about time you showed up. Where is your partner? Is he hiding away, waiting to pounce on me? I didn't think either of you would show up and were planning to leave it to your new ally." Dark Owl states calmly as he looks toward Ladybug.

That gets a more intense glare from Ladybug, and she says.

"I would never force someone to fight for Paris alone."

"That's good. However, you and Cat Noir are the ones endangering Paris by continuing to use those Miraculous. Hand them over for the safety of Paris." Dark Owl orders while pointing toward her earrings before holding his hand out expectantly.

"We're not the ones who are the problem. Hawkmoth is the one who is using innocent people to hurt others. You need to wake up and see that he's manipulating your sense of justice." Ladybug tries to appeal to Dark Owl.

"Enough of your lies. If you're unwilling to hand over the Miraculous, I'll have no choice but to use force to acquire them from your dastardly disloyal hands to save Paris from Hawkmoth's crusade of terror." Dark Owl announces, his words causing Ladybug to blink.

"People still use dastardly and crusade?" She can't help but ask in confusion.

Her confusion is short-lived, thanks to Dark Owl throwing a few boomerangs at her, causing her to act fast. She fires another magnetic wave and sends the boomerangs back toward Dark Owl, causing him to dodge. As she does this, she jumps down to be on the same level as him.

"I know you're not a bad person. People told me about how you helped them escape when Stormy Weather appeared." Ladybug says as she continues trying to appeal to Dark Owl.

"Yes. I did because my first priority is protecting the innocent, like any good superhero. Because of that, I refuse to allow Hawkmoth's terror to continue and plan to claim your Miraculous." Dark Owl exclaims as he throws another set of boomerangs.

However, instead of all heading straight toward Ladybug, one curves out over the courtyard to hit her in the side. Ladybug's eyes widen, and she instinctively follows that one, getting hit by the other two and pinned to the wall behind her by her shoulder. The other boomerang, thrown to the side, then indents itself into the wall close to her, close to her face.

"I'm sorry. But I can't allow you to get in my way." Dark Owl says calmly before running toward Ladybug, intent on claiming the Miraculous as quickly as possible to prevent Ladybug from attacking or drawing out the battle.

However, Ladybug fires electricity toward Dark Owl. The electricity hits him and sends him skidding back, giving Ladybug enough time to free herself from the wall.

"I need to take his belt." Ladybug thinks before pointing her palm at Dark Owl and firing a magnetic wave to try and rip the belt from his waist.

Feeling his waist pulled, Dark Owl tries to keep ahold of his belt. But he can't seem to keep it from slipping, especially when Ladybug starts using both hands to increase the strength of the magnetic wave.

Realizing he needs to try something else, Dark Owl shouts.

"Albert, activate flight mode!"

"Right away, sir," Albert states before Dark Owl's cape shifts to jetpack mode, and he tries to use it to escape.

However, he can't keep a hold of his belt and loses it to Ladybug. When she gets the belt, she stops the magnetic wave and causes Dark Owl to fly through the roof after he loses the resistance, keeping him in place despite his jetpack being on at full blast.

She then uses her enhanced strength to rip the belt in two. Sadly, the butterfly doesn't seem to be in it. Something caught her attention when she tried to take the belt, though. It's what Dark Owl yelled in his panic.

"Who's Albert? Is it Hawkmoth's real name? That wouldn't make sense, though." Ladybug thinks while looking at the belt in confusion.

She shakes that information off for now and focuses on her next target.

"The butterfly wasn't in the belt. So it might be in the cape, like Canine said." She thinks right as Dark Owl returns.

"How dare you steal my utility belt. I will not allow your transgressions to continue any longer." He warns Ladybug with a glare.

Ladybug glares back at Dark Owl. But before anything else can happen, Canine's rubber ball slams into the side of Dark Owl's head. Dark Owl is sent into the wall while Canine runs up behind Ladybug.

"Sorry, it took me so long." Canine immediately apologizes to the other girl.

Ladybug gives Canine a relieved smile before saying.

"I'm just glad to see you're alright. The butterfly wasn't in the utility belt." Ladybug informs her while showing the two halves of the utility belt.

"Then it must be in the cape." Canine nods before looking to Dark Owl while he's trying to shake off the hit.

"So, the devious dog has returned to her master to try and help her master in her nefarious plot for stardom. Then where would the treacherous alley cat? Or did the master replace them with your new partner?" Dark Owl asks.

That gets an angry look from Ladybug.

"I wouldn't replace Cat Noir! I don't know what's taking him, but I didn't replace him. Also, we're not looking to become stars. We're trying to stop Hawkmoth!" Ladybug yells at him angrily.

"I highly doubt that. You could have easily stopped Hawkmoth long ago and saved so many had you handed over your Miraculous. You obviously aren't willing to let go of that power you have despite how doing so will save lives." Dark Owl calmly tells her.

That gets a glare from Canine.

"That won't save lives. We don't know what will happen if Hawkmoth gets those Miraculous." Canine adds.

"Not true. Hawkmoth has told me about his motive. He's after the Miraculous to save someone he holds dear to his life. Should he gain the Miraculous, no more harm will come to Paris. So, hand them over so I can bring peace back to Paris." Dark Owl orders.

Hearing his words causes Ladybug and Canine's eyes to widen. Seeing their expressions, Dark Owl continues.

"Now, do you see why I wish to claim the Miraculous for justice? Giving him the Miraculous will solve everyone's problems. We should work with him to make Paris a better place instead of fighting." Dark Owl explains.

Ladybug looks slightly hesitant when she hears that, wishing to believe everything can end in such a simple manner. She gives Dark Owl her Miraculous, Dark Owl gives it to Hawkmoth, Hawkmoth saves his loved one and gives up being a villain, and everything goes back to normal. The scenario is very tempting to her. Despite knowing it could be a lie. She doesn't know how to continue this conversation. Luckily, Canine seems to know.

"Is there any way we can talk to Hawkmoth about this? Maybe we can come to an agreement." She suggests.

Sabrina remembers enough of her dad's stories about trying to appeal to different people to at least have an idea of what to do.

In his lair, Hawkmoth grimaces at Canine's suggestion. He then forcibly takes over Dark Owl's mind and begins speaking through him, much to the girls' shock as they back away in surprise.

"If only it could be that easy. Sadly, I can't risk my identity getting exposed in any way. My apologies. Besides, how do I know you will help me or that Cat Noir isn't hiding while waiting for the right opportunity to pounce." Hawkmoth states.

"How do we know you won't use the Miraculous for something else? We can't just give them to you after everything you've done." Canine argues back.

"Yes, that's something we can agree on. So, it would seem we're at an impasse. You have no reason to trust me, and I'm not willing to risk letting you find out who I am." Hawkmoth calmly states before ending his control.

A disoriented Dark Owl shakes his head and looks around in confusion as he tries to understand what happened. He quickly realizes the heroes are still ahead of him and gets in a combat stance.

"Now, shall we handle this the old-fashioned way with fist-o-cuffs?" Dark Owl asks, causing the two to blink again.

Deciding to forget about Dark Owl's way of speaking, Ladybug looks toward Canine.

"Try and get the cape," Ladybug tells her before firing electricity out of her palm toward Dark Owl.

Canine nods and charges toward Dark Owl with her rubber ball in hand while he dives to the side to avoid Ladybug's attack. Canine throws her arm forward and tries to hit the cape with her rubber ball but can't. Instead, Dark Owl uses his martial arts prowess to grab her outstretched arm and flip her over his shoulder. Canine stares up in shock as Dark Owl is about to reach for her Miraculous. Before he can, Ladybug launches another blast of electricity to force him to separate from Canine.

Getting tired of Ladybug's attacks, Dark Owl charges toward the other heroine while leaving Canine on her back. Ladybug isn't letting him get close, though. She quickly fires a magnetic wave at him and forces him to stop. He does his best to struggle against the force keeping him in place but is struggling to do anything without his utility belt. As he tries to escape, Canine shakes off her surprise and quickly rolls off the ground, looking toward Dark Owl.

Seeing he can't move, she throws the ball at Dark Owl and hits his cape. Once it returns to her, she activates Fetch and has it take off the cape before returning to her again. After getting the cape, Canine wastes no time ripping it in half. To her shock, though. There's no butterfly in it.

"It's not here either!" She shouts toward Ladybug in alarm.

Ladybug's eyes widen when she hears that, and she accidentally lets go of her hold on Dark Owl, who laughs triumphantly at their shocked expressions.

"Hoo, hoo. So, you've discovered my secret. Yes, my Akuma is hidden away. You'll never be able to find it, meaning you'll never defeat me." Dark Owl announces before charging toward Ladybug and delivering a flying kick, sending the girl crashing to the floor.

Canine throws her rubber ball in an attempt to hit him, but the villain dives to the side before charging toward her again. Canine takes a martial arts stance and throws a roundhouse kick toward the charging villain. However, instead of getting hit or ducking under the move, Dark Owl jumps over Canine and lands behind her. Canine uses the force from her kick to quickly turn around but is met with a kick to the gut by Dark Owl.

At the same time, Ladybug gets back up and fires electric blasts from both her palms toward the villain. As she's doing this, she's trying to figure out where the butterfly could be or what it is.

"Wait, earlier, he did say someone's name before activating his jetpack. Could that person be keeping his butterfly safe?" Ladybug wonders in her mind.

As she questions this, Dark Owl rolls out of the way of her attack and grabs one-half of his utility belt before pulling out some boomerangs and smoke bombs. He slams the smoke bombs on the ground before throwing the boomerangs behind the cover of smoke at Ladybug, pinning her to the wall behind her again.

Ladybug grits her teeth while trying to pry herself off the wall while Canine charges at Dark Owl again. Dark Owl turns around and is met with a Superman punch from the young heroine. Canine quickly follows it up with a reverse roundhouse kick. After that, she grabs the disoriented Dark Owl by his arm before shoulder-throwing him to the ground and pinning him by twisting his arm while kneeling on him.

"What do we do, Ladybug? Where do you think the butterfly is?" Canine asks the other heroine in a panic.

"I don't know. Someone else besides Hawkmoth is helping him. That person could be anywhere in Paris." Ladybug tells Canine in equal panic.

"Someone else?" Canine asks in surprise.

Taking advantage of her surprise, Dark Owl gets out of her pin and throws her off. Before he can follow up, though. Ladybug shoots him in the back with electricity.

"We need to find out where the butterfly is hiding and who's hiding it," Ladybug tells Canine, who gets an idea.

"I'm on it." She tells Ladybug before activating her last power.

"Command!"

She then turns to Dark Owl and says.

"Tell us where your butterfly is!"

An orange-tinted soundwave hits Dark Owl and forces him to spill the truth before he can cover his mouth.

"It's in my computer in the principal's office." He announces before his eyes widen in horror.

Ladybug finally pulls herself free from the wall and immediately bolts toward the principal's office while shouting at Canine.

"Try and keep him busy for a minute!"

Nodding, Canine ignores the beeping of her collar to focus on fighting Dark Owl so Ladybug can get his butterfly and end this. However, Dark Owl isn't making it easy for her. She goes for a punch, which the Akuma blocks before stepping in and going for a spinning back elbow strike. Canine ducks it and tries to sweep his legs, but Dark Owl jumps over her and rushes after Ladybug.

Canine throws her ball at the wall next to Dark Owl and manages to bounce it into his side before charging at him and going for another pin. As she does, it seems like officers are finally starting to arrive at the school, causing her to sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness. It's been forever since they were called."

However, she dropped her guard again and allowed Dark Owl to throw her off again. He ignores Canine in favor of going after Ladybug but is met by someone else trying to shoulder charge him.

"Oh no, you don't." Officer Roger says as he tries to stop the Akuma, only to be slammed to the side.

Luckily, enough time was bought for Ladybug to find Albert. When she sees the state of Mr. Damocles' office, she does a double take.

"Okay, this is officially the strangest Akuma I've fought," Ladybug says in shock as she looks around the office and moves over a wire.

As she walks through, she can't help but feel like something will jump out at her in the dark room. She soon jumps in fright when she hears Albert's voice on all the monitors hanging from the ceiling.

"Alert, alert, intruder detected. Dark Owl, intruder." Albert repeats in alarm.

"So, Mr. Damocles was talking to an A.I. program, and no one was helping him." Ladybug realizes before charging up an electric fist.

"Well, I picked the right outfit for this then. I'm just charging for destruction." Ladybug puns to herself before giggling.

"That was a good one. I'll have to tell Cat Noir about it when I tell him about what happened today and introduce him to Canine." Ladybug smiles before slamming her fist into the ground and sending a wave of electricity through the room, overloading the computers and destroying them.

She sees the butterfly exit one of the monitors and catches it with her yo-yo. After that, she uses Miraculous Ladybug and fixes everything around the school.

Outside the office, Dark Owl suddenly stops his charge and reverts into Mr. Damocles, who falls to the ground on his knees. He groans a little bit as he tries to come to terms with what happens. As he does, Canine helps Roger up, but he lightly pushes her back with a smile as he tests his now unfrozen leg. When he sees that it's okay, he looks toward her knowingly.

"Shouldn't you be getting out of here before anything else happens?" He asks, causing his daughter to realize she's almost out of time and rush to the bathroom.

Roger smiles as he watches her go. He had watched her fight Dark Owl and felt immensely proud.

"That's my girl."

Next Chapter

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous descendent #marinette dupain cheng #sabrina raincomprix #roger raincomprix #ml stormy weather #aurore beauréal #mr. damocles #ml dark owl #hawkmoth #gabriel agreste #dog miraculous #butterfly miraculous

4 notes · View notes

missrosiesworld · 2 years ago

Text

Fallen Embrace Chapter 2

Warning: Hurt, Mentions of Death, Injury, Feeling of Despair

As Nevaeh falls, she braces herself for the impact and the inevitable doom. However, just before she is out the window, she feels a pair of powerful hands grab her and pull her back inside. She is lifted off her feet and slammed against a strong chest, whose heart is beating wildly. The hands holding her arms shake her firmly as a panicked voice demands, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Nevaeh lifts her gaze, only to feel her heart sink at the frustration etched on Noel’s face. However, she can't help but notice the way his wings are drawn close to his body, the panic in his eyes, and the slight trembling in his hands. Did I…scare him, she wonders. In response to her silence, Noel gives her a gentle but firm shake, demanding, "Answer me, Nevaeh! Why were you trying to jump out the window?!"

The realization of what Noel must have thought hits Nevaeh like a cold wave. Oh my god, she thinks, feeling a sense of shame wash over her. Without hesitation, she wraps her arms around Noel and whispers fiercely into his chest, "I wasn't going to jump! I just wanted some fresh air!"

At her sudden proximity and words, Noel's face turns a bright shade of red. He shakes his head and clears his throat, gently pushing Nevaeh back so he can see her face. "You idiot," he says, trying to hide the relief in his voice. "Go downstairs and open the door if you want fresh air. Not a damn window!"

Nevaeh giggles, unaware that the sound causes Noel's eyes to soften. She gives him a closed-eye smile and he can't help but think that her laugh suits her. As she opens her eyes, he quickly tries to compose himself and adopt a stern expression, though his cheeks are still pink. "You're right, Noel," Nevaeh says, her voice laced with apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake DJ up."

At the mention of DJ, Noel can't help but roll his eyes. "That rabbit can sleep through anything," he says with a hint of amusement. He gestures to the bed and moves to one side, indicating that Nevaeh should go back to sleep. "Now come on, off to bed." However, as he starts to move away, he feels a sudden tug on his sleeve.

"Noel, wait," Nevaeh says, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Can you stay with me for a little bit? I... I don't want to be alone."

Noel hesitated for a moment before nodding. He couldn't deny Nevaeh's request, not when he saw the fear and vulnerability in her eyes. Walking her to the bed, he waits for her to get settled in before he sits on the edge of the bed. As he waits for Nevaeh to speak, he looks at her with concern, sensing that something is weighing on her mind. Nevaeh gives him a sad smile, her eyes disheartened. Noel winces internally, thinking that this expression doesn't suit her. Although he would never say it out loud, his wings give a slight flip, betraying his thoughts. He waits for Nevaeh to speak, ready to listen.

"I'm sorry, Noel..." Nevaeh said, fiddling with her fingers. "I know we've talked about how the infection feeds off my despair, and I know I need to stay strong and fight back... it's just that... I'm so tired. I'm so tired of fighting, of trying to hold on." Tears accumulate in Nevaeh's eyes as she looks away, not wanting Noel to see her cry. I need to stay strong, she thought. He can't see me cry.

"The truth is," Nevaeh said, her voice laced with bitterness, "I've always wondered how I died. At least if I die from this infection, I'll know the answer. It's stupid, I know." She shook her head, disappointed in herself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," she said, covering her face with her hands.

After what feels like an eternity, Nevaeh feels the bed shift to her left as Noel sits down next to her. Ashamed of what she said, she doesn't look up. However, she is startled when she feels something flick her on the side of her head. Wincing, she removes her hand from her face and rubs the spot where Noel flicked her.

"Ow! Noel, seriously?" She exclaims, about to scold him for his sudden gesture. However, she pauses as she looks at his face, seeing a mixture of sorrow and anger carved onto his features.

"Don't you ever say that again," Noel says, gritting his teeth as he looks her in the eye. "Do you understand?"

Shocked by Noel's sincere yet stern tone, Nevaeh feels as though she can't breathe as she stares into his piercing eyes. "Noel..." she begins, but he shakes his head fiercely and scoots closer to her.

"No, you're done talking," he says firmly. "Now it's my turn." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a handkerchief and begins to gently clean Nevaeh's face, scolding her softly as he does so. "Don't you dare give up on me," he says, his voice laced with conviction. "Don't you remember what I told you? Even in the darkest of hours, you have something to live for."

Nevaeh stares at Noel in awe as he tenderly cleans her face, as if she is made of porcelain. There is a look of concentration and conviction on his face that fills her with warmth.

Once Noel deemed Nevaeh's face clean, he put the handkerchief away and looked towards her infected arm. He carefully raised his hand and softly placed it over the infected area, caressing her gently. Nevaeh winced, expecting to feel pain, but was surprised to feel nothing but the feather light strokes from Noel's fingers.

Noel looked back at Nevaeh, unconsciously still caressing her arm, as he continued. "Remember, you still have the trials in five years. And if, for whatever reason, you decide that's not what you want, you have me--"

He trailed off, becoming embarrassed by what he said. His face turned red, and he started to stutter as he removed his hand from her arm and shook both hands in front of him. Nevaeh stared at him in awe, her eyes shining with adoration as Noel tried to collect himself.

Coughing into his hand, he coyly looked away from her. "W-what I meant to say was, you have DJ and myself. Yes, DJ and myself."

Nevaeh smiled softly at Noel, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to prevent herself from reaching out and grabbing his hands. "Thank you, Noel. I truly appreciate it."

Noel nodded, looking back at her with a serious expression engraved onto his pink face. "You're welcome. And if there are ever times when you're not feeling strong enough..." He trails off as he notices Nevaeh fiddling with her fingers. Displeased, he scoffs and reaches forward to place his hand over hers. "Just know, you can always lean on me, okay?"

Nevaeh looked down, shocked that Noel was holding her hand, before looking back up at him and smiling gratefully, tears threatening to spill over as she sniffled. Nodding her head rapidly, she said, "Okay!"

Noel smiled softly at her, pleased to see that she was starting to feel better. Giving her hand a squeeze, he said, "Good. Now, time for bed."

Nevaeh glanced up at Noel as she snuggled into the blankets, feeling a sense of peace wash over her. She hesitated before asking, "Are you coming to bed?" She knew that this wasn't the first time Noel had comforted her from her nightmares, recalling her first night with the infection. Noel scoffs as he laid down next to her, outstretching his wings. "Of course, I am. This is my room, remember?" Nevaeh gently laughs as Noel pointed out the obvious, and he places his wings over her, sheltering her. "Of course, how silly of me to forget," she said with a smile. Noel smirked at her, his expression showing amusement and a hint of sleepiness.

“Yes, very silly. Now, time to get some sleep. Remember that there is nowhere safer than beneath a– ”

“Power’s wings,” Nevaeh finished with a smile, snuggling deeper into the blankets, and closing her eyes. “even someone fallen like you.”

Noel's wings fluttered in response to Nevaeh's words as he let out a fond chuckle, rolling his eyes as he settles into bed. "Yes, that's right. Now get some rest, Nevaeh," he said soothingly. She smiled warmly at him as she snuggled into his feathers, whispering a quiet goodnight into his wings as she drifted off to sleep. As Nevaeh lay peacefully, Noel gazed at her with a soft smile before closing his own eyes, preparing to fall asleep. As he drifted off, he made a silent vow to himself.

Nevaeh, I promise to always keep you safe.

Always.

~ And it’s done! Oh my god! Here is Chapter 2 of Fallen Embrace! I hope everyone enjoyed! Again, Noel is from the amazing visual novel game Repurpose made by @residentialrabbit <3 ~

#repurpose #repurpose game #repurpose noel #repurpose visual novel #repurpose vn #repurpose vn noel #fanfic #noel azulite

23 notes · View notes