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writingindulgence · 4 years ago

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Illumi x F.Reader - Expectation

Pairing: Illumi x Female Reader

Story tags: Arranged marriage, typical Zoldyck behaviour, angst-ish, heavy manipulation, ILLUMI, unhealthy one-sided dependence : ) my guy just toxic

3,200+ words and why? I don’t even like the dude. Also, two points of view.

The sound of fancy porcelain tea cups clinking against the glass table is soothing, along with the warm rays shining on your face. Times like these are what you are thankful for. The smell of purposely picked flowers, arranged to please the eyes. Not the stench of trash dumped for the sole convenience of other countries. Colourful butterflies and bees, instead of flies and disease ridden rats. A home cooked meal ready for your consumption rather than scraps of rotting food that you more often than not nearly died for.

Kukuroo mountain is infinitely more beautiful compared to Meteor City.

“(Y/n) dear, it’s unbecoming of you to make noise with your tableware,” a powerful feminine voice chastates your mistake. The woman sitting opposite you is none other than Kikyo Zoldyck. Or as she forces you to call her, mother.

Your heart flutters in relief, an apologetic expression weaving onto your face. She must be in an agreeable mood since her fan hasn’t struck your hand. Sometimes you are let off with a warning if she spots a blunder on your part. Sometimes, she resorts to physical punishment. It always depends on whether or not a family member said anything to ruin her day. In fact, any matter concerning Killua will set her off in a positive or negative direction.

Just like Illumi whenever you bring up his younger brother.

“I apologise mother, I’m too excited because Illumi is returning,” you proceed to take a sip and this time around, gently settle the tea cup down.

A content hum comes from her direction, her visor flashing for a split second. “Oh (Y/n), you’ll make such a good wife one day.” She picks up a fork gracefully and stabs it into the cake she asked for from the family cook.

The compliment ignites a multitude of feelings in your chest. It spreads out, only one thought in your mind.

How immensely grateful and happy you are to hear it.

Many of your friends from when you were young, starved to death. Some were beaten up by other desperate residents. Others lost their will to fight, a state you threaded on a magnitude of times.

Being taken away by the mafia one day was what gave you back the spark, a life in the city no more out of your reach. Until you figured out what type of work they wanted to sell you and other kids for. Stories from the older girls back in Meteor City came rushing back.

Your bloodlust and instinct to survive are what happened to change your life for the better. Out of all the line-up of children, you were selected by the Zoldycks. Instead of being the pet of some old pervert, you found a home within the assassin family.

There were many times when you felt like giving up. When the training you went through was worse than simply dying. However, you promised yourself to never throw away the chance you received all those years back.

You were indebted to the Zoldycks.

Hearing words of encouragement from one of the people you looked up to the most brought tears to your eyes. You wiped them away with your thumb.

Mother is a role model to you. It helped when you found out that she originates from Meteor City too. In a sense, it is easier to place yourself in her shoes and strive to achieve what she did. Being an amazing assassin, wife and mother.

A sudden scraping of a chair brought you back to the presence, startling you into a defensive pose. The knife under your sundress clasped in your hand.

Out of the corner of your eye you notice Kalluto coming out from behind the bushes, his paper fan also ready for action.

“My Kil, what is he doing?! Quick, we have to stop him. Kalluto go call for Milluki right now!,” she orders shrilly before running into the mansion.

Without hesitation, you rush after her. It is expected of you. A nagging feeling in the back of your head also foreshadows that whatever is going on, it will have dire consequences if not stopped.

Killua is in the foyer, being kept idle by the servants. But not for long. You can see the irritation growing on his face, his muscles tensed.

You’ve known Killua since he was a baby, having been inducted as a future family member when mother was pregnant with him. There’s no doubt that if something wasn’t done, it would lead to a messy aftermath.

A few seconds after you make it inside, Milluki shows up and the servants are all dismissed.

“Kil, my little Kil, what’s wrong? Why did I hear that you’re leaving to take the Hunter’s Exam?,” mother’s voice is aghast, the idea of her favourite child abandoning the nest filling her with pain.

You too are taken aback at the news, a protective sensation coursing through you. Your fingers flex at your side.

“It’s boring here and I heard that the Exam is difficult so I’m going to test my skill,” he shrugs her worry off and spins his skateboard. Your heart begins to pound uncontrollably.

Hearing the disrespect, Milluki steps up and lashes out at Killua. “You brat, what’s with that arrogant attitude you-,”

“Stop that!,” mother’s voice sharply cuts him down.

She begins pleading with Killua to stay, her voice cracking multiple times. It pains you to watch someone you respect growing so desperate.

Killua is too young to understand what he’s putting the ones around him through. Of course, a rebellious phase is healthy-

A prickly discomfort surges through your head and you clutch it. Your unexpected movement grabs everyone’s attention. You try to brush it off, not wishing to be a burden.

It isn’t expected of you to be one.

“Killua, you should stay here. The world is a dangerous place,” your words try to reach him. “Illumi is coming home today, why don’t we-”,

“I don’t want him around! Just leave me alone,” he angrily interrupts. The air grows heavy. Heavier than it’s been since the beginning.

Mother gasps in shock at his behaviour since Killua never really yells at you. Yes, he gets annoyed as much as any other kid but when he shouts, he doesn’t really mean it.

It’s expected of you to coerce him into calming down.

“You’ve changed during the past few weeks (Y/n), after Illumi came back before leaving again. Anyway, I will kill you all if you try to stop me,” Killua promises in a cold voice, his blue eyes a piercing ice.

This rouses an onslaught of insults from Milluki and a mix of agony and happiness from mother.

However, you’re currently stuck in your own mind, reflecting on Killua’s comment. It is true that during the past three weeks you doted on him more than ever before. Usually you try to split your attention between him and Kalluto when you have free time. What changed?

Nothing should have changed, Killua is the priority of the family.

A high-pitched scream echoes around the foyer and your clouded head awakens. The sight in front of you freezes your blood and it takes immense strength not to bite your tongue.

Mother is kneeling down on the ground, her hands covering her bloody face. Before you can take a step, Milluki rages and charges at Killua. The young boy bounces back and proceeds to plunge the knife into his older brother. Milluki curses and grabs his wound.

On impulse, your hand is already equipped with a knife and you’re ready to protect yourself as well as mother Killua.

Killua mistakes your movements as an attack and strikes his own knife across your arm. A long gash appears on your skin, the blood seeping out moments later. You take in the pain as punishment. Punishment for letting it get this far and failing.

You’re a failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.Failure.

Taking the chance to escape, he kicks his skateboard up and runs out.

And you were helpless to stop him.

It’s been a while since Illumi has been back home on Kukuroo mountain, his previous mission requiring him to travel across multiple locations. The target was a cautious person so they moved from place to place, leaving lousy decoys. That did not impede Illumi at all, it was simply an inconvenience at worst.

After all, nervous-wrecks are the ones who put their emotions out on display. They are the first to slip up due to the fact that they care about others.

Which is concerning because Killua is at a stage where he is showing his rebellious streak more often. It is crucial that he can snuff it out before his dear brother falls further down the slope of idiotic fantasies . In which case, it is a slight relief that (Y/n) is here. She tries to keep Killua in check in a subtle way instead of hanging over his shoulder or perpetuating his moody behaviour.

Though the last time he visited there were hints of her growing soft and losing her devotion of raising Killua to be the next head of the family. He is ashamed to confess that it irked him to some degree. It’s expected of her to put her desires down for what he wants. And he wants Killua to be the next head.

Even so, he thought that he dealt with this the last time.

However, imagine the surprise he felt when his mother came wailing to him, begging him to follow her little Kil to the Hunter’s Exam. To think that instead of a joyful family reunion, the news of his stray younger brother reached his ears before anything else.

That won’t do.

Currently, it’s close to midnight which is the time (Y/n) comes to his room to say goodnight. Why she even bothers is beyond him. The effort of keeping up with formalities could be used for better activities. It’s already indisputable that they are arranged to marry in the future at the request of his parents, so there is no reason to be close together in any romantic sense.

In fact, Killua will succeed as the head which is why there is no point in thinking about his own future.

A sigh leaves his mouth.

There is only one positive outcome that came out of this whole arrangement. He has an extra set of eyes and he’s sure that she will listen to him without question. All he has to do is play into these formalities and she’s wrapped around his finger.

An affectionate hug here, a tiny smile there...Normally he’d be concerned that a future Zoldyck , even if not by blood, would be so easy to deceive. However, since every carefully planned step is coming from him he’s not surprised in the slightest.

It’s expected of (Y/n) to be loyal, just as much as it’s expected for Killua to take over the family business.

The wooden clock hanging opposite his bed strikes 12 but there is no sign of (Y/n). She never runs late.

The fact that she hadn’t even greeted him when he came back is also unusual. Normally she’d be pacing in front of the entrance door but today his mother took over that role. He heard that she got injured by Killua but (Y/n) has experienced worse so what’s the fuss?

It’s not his problem, he’ll just take a bath before bed. She’ll come running eventually.

Illumi’s right arm is beginning to grow numb. He hasn’t moved from the water in over an hour. Not because he needed a break to relax, taking time off for yourself is inefficient. No, he hasn’t moved because he’s been waiting for the familiar steps and hesitant knock to come from outside his room.

Discerning who someone is from the sound of their footsteps and how they carry themselves is second nature to any professional assassin. For instance, Milluki hovers in one spot when walking while Kalluto creates soft patters with his toes.

On the other hand, (Y/n) always shuffles her feet forward just before his door. It takes her approximately 2 seconds to knock when she’s unsure, 1 second when she’s in a normal mood and 0.5 whenever she has news deemed worthy enough for him to hear. Reading the mood of someone before they see you face to face is important.

Coming to terms with the fact that today she won’t pay him a visit, he steps out of the bathtub, water dripping down his naked body. He throws on a plain black bathrobe and leaves the bathroom. Giving his bed a quick-over, he walks out the door.

Guess it’s time for him to pay a visit instead.

If he actually bothers and gives it some thought, it’s not a mystery as to why he hasn’t even seen her shadow today. She’s ashamed. Ashamed of being a failure for letting Killua go.

Her scrambled mind is most likely trying to piece together what she should say. How she should ask for forgiveness and repent.

He wonders if she’s starving herself or if she’s contemplating about going to the self-confinement room.

Normally he’d push her into whatever she makes up but a stick approach by itself won’t be enough. There needs to be a push and pull factor involved if he wants her to listen to him unconditionally.

And what better way than to appear before her, disheveled and still wet in his robe? She’ll jump to conclusions.

Further guilt will set in, how she unnecessarily worried him by skipping the usual goodnight. His state will continue feeding her imagination, connecting unrelated dots to make her believe that he cares for her.

Truly, a puppet and its real master.

Soaking footprints follow behind him on the floor, the dim candlelight making them difficult to notice. He knocks once before letting himself in and shutting the door, back turned to the only other person inside.

A small gasp penetrates the silence and a rush of steps follow suit, stopping just behind him.

“Illumi, welcome back,” (Y/n) is the first to speak. He stays silent.

A nervous shuffle. “Is..everything okay?”.

The voice quietens downs the more she speaks. That should be enough for now.

He turns around and looks down at her concerned face, with no emotion of his own. Her eyes widen a fraction after registering his condition. Before she can open her mouth to question him further, Illumi crinkles his eyes and smiles.

“It’s nothing. I was just worried since I didn’t see you today,” he gazes away, giving her enough time to fix her expression. It’ll be harder for him to get her to open up if she thinks that he sees through her lack of control.

“I missed you too-,”

Presumptuous to think that he missed her.

“-and I’m sorry for not saying anything. I just…,” she stops right before confessing her shortcoming.

He doesn’t provide her with any more time to compose herself, a full day is already generous. Grabbing the door handle he gives it a slight tug but her hand shuts it and pulls his sleeve. That’s new. (Y/n) rarely takes the initiative.

He allows her to drag him over to the bed, slightly curious about her next move. Is she trying to entertain him as an apology or simply trying to put distance between him and the door?

Both tactics aren’t half bad when it comes to simple targets.

He sits down on the covers and analyses her.

A long white nightdress, face ready for bed, barefoot, and a long knife wound going up her arm.

A shred of pride for Killua’s work passes through his head but he doesn’t showcase this. If by any chance she spotted the look, it would demolish the picture he wants to paint.

(Y/n) kneels down in front of him and takes his hand into hers. It’s warm, though not as soft as it used to be. Her breasts rest atop his knees.

His attention migrates from the sudden action to her face, looking for answers. He made sure that she will only expect affection coming from him, not the other way around. It would be too tiring to keep up a loving demeanour- no, scratch that. It wouldn’t be tiring but the expectations would eventually rise and it would result in less time spent on bringing up Killua.

Oh, he zoned out.

(Y/n)’s eyes are full of regret and desperation, the hand holding his trembling just enough to tell him that today’s event is eating at her. Is she waiting for him to say something?

Finally after what feels like an unprecedented amount of time, the scene unfolds.

Her smaller hand pulls his to her face and rests it against her cheek. The second his skin touches hers, he detects slight heat radiating. She must have not treated the cut. The knife was probably dirty too, Killua slacks off in that regard.

“I’m sorry for being a failure, I’m very sorry Illumi. I have no excuse,” the apology flows out of her mouth, bottom lip quivering. The pain of looking at someone she disappointed forces her eyes to shut close. Her free hand latches onto his thigh and she digs in before continuing.

“You can slash my other arm as punishment. Or hang me upside down in the self-containment room,” she throws out. “But please, please don’t give up on me. I can do better Illumi”.

And as if to prove how determined she is, her eyes open up again, staring deeply into his own. Unwavering. Confident.

Though the thumb that he has under her jaw gave the hammering pulse away.

1,2,3. 1,2. 1,2,3.

He stretched out the silence, pretending to ponder over his answer. The unsettling emotions influencing her thoughts will prove beneficial when he flips her assumption around.

He removes his hand from her cheek and moves the one on his thigh to her side. (Y/n) adopts a look of relief, believing that he agreed to her conditions of punishment. What he’s about to do is infinitely more cruel though.

She catches her breath when he follows her example and kneels in front of her. He pulls up the sleeve of her nightdress that’s slipping down before grabbing her shoulders, gently.

“How can I not give up on you when you give up on yourself,” he lectures her, peeking down at her wound. Make the target question their actions.

An expression of remorse adorns her face, a downward tug of the mouth.

He pulls her in, arms encircling and resting on her lower back. The material of the nightdress is light enough for him to make out the feeling of skin.

“Though I won’t give up on you.” Affirmation and a moment of reassurance.

One of his hands travels deliberately slowly up to her neck. It rests on the back of her head, fingers entangled in her hair. Illumi locates the present that he left her the last time he visited and pushes it back into her head. It has moved slightly out.

This prompts (Y/n) to hug him in response, her previously hanging arms now resting comfortably around him. Good, as for the finishing line.

“Though your failure is a disappointment, I know that you will not repeat the same mistake, because you

love me, right?”.

Her head moves to rest between the crook of his neck, nodding in agreement. She doesn’t ask him if he loves her.

It’s expected of her not to.

#illumi zoldyck #illumi x reader #illumi zoldyck x reader #hunter x hunter fanfiction #hunter x hunter #This took 2 long but now I can focus on other things yay

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mabelsguidetolife · 2 years ago

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current mood: [family guy death pose]

#haleylyfe

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fancyphoenix · 4 years ago

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Flora x Helia; 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18. I'm sorry if that's too many. You can just choose to do a couple of those. Or ignore me completely. :)

Hey. Don’t worry i love answering so no biggie.😊❤️

1.Who’s the big spoon/Who’s the little spoon?

Well I think that most of the time the big spoon is Helia, because Flora loves being the little spoon. So he dosen’t mind being the big spoon, but Yeah Flora wants to him feel as protected as she does while being the little spoon, so they switch.

2. Who wakes the other with kisses?

It’s defently Flora, shes not a person who sleeps much, so she always wake him up with a LOT of kisses. And that makes him stay in a good mood for the rest of the day.

3. Usually who has nightmares?

It’s mostly Helia, he has this constant nightmare about Flora falling into the deep end, and when she stops falling, he sees that everyone he loves is death. So sometimes this gets so intense that he wakes up in the middle of the night and with that wakes Flora up. But he dosen’t want to worry her so he stays quiet. So then she makes tea for both of them, and insist that he should see a therapist and talk about it to someone.

4.Who ask out who in the first date?

So since Flora took her biggest strengh by telling him her feelings. He decided that he should be the one to take her on a date, so on their first date Helia toke them to an exposition and later eat in a vegan restaurant.(since Flora dosen’t eat animals)

6.Who loves to be held by the other?

So basically it’s Flora, she loves the feeling of being held and carried by Helia. So when that happens she just goes nuts, But she hides it with a little smile.

7.How do they flirt with one another?

So basically Helia just give her little notes with quotes or things he loves about her. And sometimes whispears her, if they’re in public. Flora is not much of flirt, because she feels like so ashame, like shes doing something wrong. But when Helia flirts with her, she just jiggles. But shes working with it.

8.How many children do they want?

They actually talk about it recently, and they want 5 kids. They want a big family, and LOT of kids to spoil.

9.What does the other when one feels sad?

Well for Helia when Flora feels sad, it’s really easy to tell. You can find her in a corner of their house, crying. She just cries a lot, and when Helia tries to talk her about it, she just apologize for it. But after a long path of apolozaing, she explains what wrong and they think on ways to find a solution while giving her comfort.

What Flora does when Helia feels sad, it’s kind of hard when she starting to feel bad, because he’s really good at hiding feelings, but then in some moment of the day he opens up, and Flora just listens to him carefully and gives him some advice, and offers to pose for a new paiting.

10.Are they a supper sappy couple?

Yup, they’re. Maybe Flora dosen’t flirt much, but when she’s around him there’s no second she’s spend with him. They always hold eachothers hand, or just walk with Helia arm around Flora shoulder. Or when they sit, Flora brushing his hair. So yeah they’re like koala bears.

15.What small quircks do they love from the other?

That’s easy, Flora loves the fact when Helia is writing some poem or drawing something he bits his lips because he’s so focused. Or how messy his hair waking up, or the fact that when he’s nervous he just taps his food doing a little melody. Or when he blushes he moves his head and some of his hair fall into his beautiful face.

And Helia, well when Flora is testing some plants experiments, she usually does her hair in a messy bun with the only thing holding her head is a pen. Or that when she’s super excited she repeat everything like five times. Or when she’s eats in the middle of the night, and the next morning her face has a little of chocolate.

16.How they act in public?

At first it was hard for Flora especially to express herself with her boyfriend around their friends, but Helia, note by note made her lost a bit of shame. So now they simply stay by eachother side holding their hands and showing little hints of affection. Their friends clearly said and I quote Stella “You should loose it up a bit, kids.”. But they’re getting there.

17.How do they help eachoters fears?

Well, Helia fear is losing everything he loves, and he keeps having nightmares about, but he tries to ignore it. So Flora dosen’t get worried. But she helps him in a subtle way, so he dosen’t feel presure, like a bottle of water beside their bed, so i he wakes up he hydratates. Or like puting little postives notes around the house. She even tried to take him into a therapist, but that gived them the biggest fight they ever got into. So she’s waiting to propose it again. But moving on, right now she’s sticking with little things to show him that she’s there.

And Fora biggest fear is loneliness. She is terrified about the idea of her alone, she hates being long times alone. Her big conection with plants its because they don’t make her feel empty. So when Helia leaves to missions, he gave to her a shared necklace that had a light, letting her know that he’s ok. And face times her whenever he can. And she’s currently seeing a therapist.

18.How do they make blush eachoter?

Well to make Flora blush, Helia just gives her little poems. And sometimes just telling her how much he loves her eyes.

And Flora, well she enjoys seeing her boyfriend reaction when she whispers her boyfriend, lets just say +18 stuff. So she loves having that efect on him, so she used when she’s bored or whants to leave some place. Or in their house just tease him.

(If you want to ask here’s the link of the questions is here.)

https://fancyphoenix.tumblr.com/post/645828747563614208/i-would-love-guys-if-you-sent-a-ship-and-number

#winx club #winx questions #OTP #winx Flora #winx Helia #winx OTP #fun shit!

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echoweaver · 3 years ago

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Your thoughts on the Sims 1-4

Guess I’m in the mood to do these. Grabbing a tag from @mosneakers.

Sims 1: The big thing I remember about this game is that it could take your sim hours to cross from one end of the house to the other. Thus, if the sim got up at the normal one-hour-before-work, they often wouldn’t have time to both pee and eat. I got obsessed with designing and efficient house, with the kitchen right outside the bedroom door, so that my sims could get to work with the best mood.

Then I let the garden go bad, and it would destroy my sims’ mood on the way to the carpool, and it took me forever to figure out what was going on :-D

Sim 2: I remember being thrilled by how much easier it was for sims to get around their house. The introduction of lifespans intrigued me. However, I hadn’t really figured out what I wanted to DO with this sandbox game yet. Playing Sims gets boring if you don’t have some kind of a goal. I’d never heard of a generational challenge, much less rotational gameplay, and I hadn’t plugged into the fan community yet.

I did dabble in mods -- mostly the mod to drastically increase the chance of a sim being abducted when using the telescope so I could make alien babies. I built a household from two CAS-built sisters who were of different races. One of them married a man, and the other a woman, and then I got frustrated that the lesbian couple couldn’t make babies. They adopted, but I was annoyed by how genetically boring their adopted son was. Then I got obsessed with trying to get one of the lesbians to cheat on her spouse to make a baby without being discovered. Where is artificial insemination when you need it?

Later, I created a new sim who married into the Broke family. I got bored and tried to starve Dustin to death to make a ghost. when I removed the door to his bedroom and his needs got very low, he got down on his knees to beg the Watcher for his life. I felt so guilty that I actually turned off the game and never went back!

Sims 3: This is where it happened for me. Open world and a town that aged with my active household just better matches the way I imagine playing. I even figured out generational play, at least somewhat, before really plugging into the fan community.

I didn’t realize until reading @mosneakers and @natolesims‘s memes that there was so much hate floating around for Sims 3 art style! I admit that I do dislike the child faces. I thought Sims 2 faces were too long and thin. Sims 3 faces seem to have overcompensated by being just a bit too round. Otherwise, I’m quite sure I don’t know what you guys are talking about. LOL.

I don’t think I’d still be playing if it weren’t for NRaas, though. Sims 3′s open world was pretty ambitious, and their data management was totally not up to the task. I spent years offering tech support on people’s blogs when they started to suffer data corruption in generation 2 or 3. You just can’t play without at least minimal mods to clean up save files. It’s unintuitive that a modded game is more stable than vanilla, but it’s just true. Sad, but true.

Sims 4: I have played this very little, not because I hate it but because I am stubbornly determined to finish my 10-generation legacy. A lot of folks just rebuilt their household in Sims 4 and continued to play. At the time Sims 4 came out, I was playing supernatural-heavy games with custom skintones, so I’d lose almost everything if I ported them over. It also turns out that it’s hard to face going from a heavily-modded, 11-expansion experience to a game with base or just one expansion. I have a lot more sympathy for Sims 2 players who skipped Sims 3 entirely.

I have a hard time facing the color presets and closed world, but the game in its current state really seems to have done great things with gameplay. If/when I get the Samples done, I’ll take a look at making the switch. Of course, by then Sims 5 will likely be out, so maybe I’ll skip....

What is your favorite Expansion pack

Generations and/or Seasons. But it’s really hard to choose.

Small pets or Horses?

I really, really love Sims 3 horses. Since I’m modding pets, it can probably be guessed that I like the animals in general :).

What is your favorite active career?

Yes.

I have had a ton of fun with almost all active careers. If forced to choose, I might go for firefighter.

What is your favorite Lifetime Wish?

Buh. I really dug the Photography one I guess. I just like doing different ones.

Whims or Wants?

I’m sorry. I have no idea what this question even means (blush).

What is your favorite Occult?

I feel like all the occults in TS3 are kind of underdeveloped. That said, witches are pretty cool.

Cowplants, Bonehilda, or the Social Bunny?

Bonehilda

How do you pick your sims names?

I am absolutely OBSESSED with names. I’m sorry I only got to name one flesh-and-blood child, so I let it all out in naming my simmies. I get into the head of the parent(s) and come up with lists from whatever they would like. My saves are very gameplay-directed, and tend to randomize most traits, so I intentionally don’t build a sim to a name or try to make a sim’s name suit their personality at all. After all, when we name our children, we get no say over who they eventually become :).

Do you create a spouse for a sim, or do you go after a townie?

Townie! My gaming style is heavily gameplay-oriented. I want my sims to choose their partner using wishes and attraction and whatever else the game provides. However, I also am incredibly interested in genetic experimentation, so I do allow myself to change the physical appearance of some sims before making babies with them if they are too bland. I populated my Samples save from scratch, largely using downloaded simalikes of real people. I have NRaas set to use existing sims in the town or in my sim bin, to generate new ones. So basically I do my best to have the most interesting genetics pool I can so I don’t need to edit faces.

Do you prefer to follow storytelling Simblrs, or do your prefer gameplay Simblrs?

I’m not totally sure what this is asking either :-D. Are “storytelling” simblrs the ones that largely use the game as an artistic medium for screenshots using poses and whatnot? My play style is to play the game and build stories from it, so I’m not entirely sure what category I fall into myself.

I suppose it doesn’t matter because I follow both. I’m not terribly drawn to dressup challenges and lookbooks.

What year did you join Tumblr/Simblr?

I have absolutely no friggin idea. I tried to look back in my email archive to track notifications, and that failed. I came back after three years, so it has to be at least for years before I returned....?

#echoweaver #memes #sims #get to know you

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ephyla · 4 years ago

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Boss Lady

Hey guys, I hope you had an amazing Christmas!

This story was inspired by a post I saw a couple of months ago on a subreddit called MaliciousCompliance. I immediately thought that this is something that Hiccup and Astrid would totally do and just hoped I would be inspired to write it at some point. Well, today is that day, so enjoy!!

Summary:

MODERN AU

Her boss’s insistence on changing her dress code leaves her in a fit of rage. Good thing that she has an amazing boyfriend to help her maliciously comply to his stupid requirements.

***

‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘I’m just saying that it would be more appropriate if you dressed more like a professional.’

Astrid was internally fuming, but she tried to keep her cool in his office.

‘And what do you mean by ‘professional’ exactly?’ The young woman asked, her teeth grinding.

‘You know, dresses, heels, skirts.’ Her boss replied nonchalantly.

‘With all due respect, why am I the only one you approached with this request?’ If murder was legal, she would have skinned him alive a long time ago.

‘Because they’re not my assistant.’

***

Hiccup was preparing dinner when he heard the door slam brutally. He turned the heat off and placed the pan on a cool surface. His girlfriend, in a fit of rage, was struggling to untie her shoelaces as he walked into the living room.

‘Bad day at work?’ Astrid just grumbled. ‘Who was it this time, Thuggory? Lars?’

‘My obnoxious boss.’

‘Ah.. Should’ve guessed it. Why did he call you in his office this time? Your shoulders were distracting him? Did you show your ankles again?’ Her boyfriend dramatically gasped.

Astrid worked in a small company where the employees were not required to dress professionally since they’re not facing any customers. There’s still the A/C turned on full blast, so it wasn’t like Astrid was showing a lot of skin to begin with, not that it mattered. But her dirty old boss thought it would be appropriate to point out her attire on an almost daily basis. She quickly got tired of it and decided to have part of her closet dedicated to unflattering clothes so she could avoid being grossly objectified by her superior. Today, however, he crossed a line.

‘That pig decided that I should be wearing ‘corporate clothing since I’m his assistant’ while the others are free to wear jeans and t-shirts.’ Astrid fumed as she violently threw her bag on the sofa and stomped toward the bathroom to take shower. Not having the time to reply, Hiccup simply walked back to the kitchen to finish the cooking.

When Astrid came back, she seemed to have cooled off a bit. They sat at the table as they ate their dinner.

‘You know my dad would hire you if I asked him. You’re smart, focused and hardworking. He would love to have you as an employee. And he loves you. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even his son seeing how much he dotes on you.’ Hiccup laughs. A small smile formed on his girlfriend’s face. ‘You know he loves you to death. I’m not the one that’s getting my ribs crushed every time he hugs me because he missed me. Besides, I don’t think it’s fair for me to suddenly be hired on the spot by your father just because I’m dating you. Some more qualified people might need it more than me. I already have a decent paying job, it’s just that I hate the people I’m working with.’

‘I know, I know. But it’s also not fair for you to endure all this just for your boss’s sick pleasure. You’re not paid to be his eye-candy. You’re paid to be his assistant, and right now he clearly is trying to force you to make his disgusting fantasies a reality. Just please, think about it, alright?’ Astrid looked away, but Hiccup scooted his chair closer and caressed her cheek, making her face him again. Her frown still visible. ‘I’ve noticed you know.’ He stated.

‘Noticed what?’

‘You’ve been stressed a lot since you got this job. You barely eat or get a decent night of sleep anymore’ Hiccup traced the dark bags under her eyes. ‘You always seem irritated by something’ He brought a hand to her hand on his sleeve, trying to relax her death grip. She released him and he grabbed her hand, holding it to his chest. ‘You barely have the time for your friends and family. If we didn’t live together, I probably wouldn’t have seen much of you either. I worry about you. I miss you’ Astrid looked away again.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realize th-‘

‘It’s not your fault babe. What I’m trying to say is, maybe it’s time for you to be a bit selfish. You’ve worked so hard to get where you’re at, and your accomplishments are not being acknowledged because your boss is only thinking with his dick. You deserve so much better than this. Please accept my help. Not only will the job my dad offer you will be more high paying, but also less stressful. Well, as stress less it can get with Snot and the twins.’ The pair laughed. ‘But most importantly, you’ll also be working with me.’

‘Now that last part seems very tempting.’ Astrid smiles. Working with Stoick and Hiccup definitely sounds much better than being stuck with her current job.

‘Well I sure hope so! I would take serious offence if you told me you’d rather work with that sleezy old man over me!’ Her boyfriend replies while laughing. ‘But in all seriousness, I’ll talk to my dad, I know he’ll be more than thrilled to help you. If by some thorsaken reason he refuses, then I’ll help. I mean you’ve been by my side for the longest time. You stood by me when I lost my leg and had to learn how to walk again.’ He stomps his prosthetic on the floor to prove his point. ‘It’s really the least I can do.’ Astrid sighed.

‘Alright, just this time, I’ll let you help me. Because I really can’t stand working in the hellhole anymore.’ Hiccup beams and raises the hand he’s holding to his lip, kissing her palm. ‘Great! I’ll call dad now and will let you know as soon as I’m sure you got the job. Then you can finally send your two weeks notice letter.’

‘Already written since the end of my first week on the job. For now, I just have to worry about this dumb new dress code made specifically for me.’ Astrid rolled her eyes.

‘I think I might have an idea. Let’s go to the mall this weekend.’ Astrid saw Hiccup struggling to hide a mischievous grin as he got up and walked to the bedroom to pick up his charging phone.

***

‘Hiccup, you’re missing a leg, not your sight, this is very obviously not my size.’

‘Exactly, it’s perfect, I’ll lend you one of my belts so you can keep these up.’ The piece of clothing in question were a pair brown dress pants in the size M from the men’s section. ‘Now let’s check if they have a matching blazer. I’ll also lend you my dress shirts since they’re not the main focus.’ Hiccup picked out a matching blazer in the same size and held it out to Astrid. ‘Actually, let’s find you a dress shirt so we can see how the whole outfit looks like when you go try it.’ Astrid followed Hiccup as he walked towards the shirts and picked one out.

‘Go try this first, I’ll go find a few other outfits you can try.’ He shoos Astrid to the changing rooms.

‘First outfit?’

‘I mean if you want to wear only one outfit every single day until you leave that place, that’s your choice. But it would be wiser if you had a few spares’ He replied sarcastically. Astrid scoffed and left to change.

Hiccup took his time finding a few other oversized outfits for his girlfriend. Once he was satisfied with his choice, he walked towards the changing rooms.

‘Astrid?’ He called out.

‘In here’ She replied from the very end of the corridor. ‘Honestly, I hate the outfit, but this is a great idea.’ Astrid pulled the curtains aside and dramatically posed. His bewildered expression made her laugh.

‘Well, what do you think?’ Hiccup quickly recovered from the initial shock. ‘In all honesty, terrible, but at the same time you seem to be able to pull it off.’ Astrid twirled around.

‘I think if I styled it a bit and asked Heather to sew a few things, because we all know I can’t sew to save my life, it could become a nice outfit. At least we’re not wasting money. She said as she rolled up her sleeves.

‘That’s a pretty good idea.’ Hiccup grins. ‘Is it weird that I want you to bend me over a table and call you ‘Sir’ or ‘Daddy’?’

‘Eh, maybe. I’m used to you being weird though.’ Astrid laughs. ‘But please don’t call me that, it creeps me out.’

‘Roger that. Here, I got you some other outfits. I don’t think you need dress shoes, that might be too much. You can use your pair of loafers.’ Her boyfriend handed her the clothes and went to take a seat while she tried the rest of the clothing.

***

Astrid closed the door behind her. More gently than last time indicating her much better mood. Hiccup’s head popped out of their bedroom’s doorway. He smiled when he saw her good mood and walked towards her and kissed her.

‘I assume things went well?’

‘You should’ve seen the look on his dumb face! I spent the entire day trying not to laugh!’ She rejoiced as she circled her arm around his neck. They swayed for a couple of seconds before ungraciously landing on the sofa. ‘He couldn’t really say anything, because technically, I did what he asked for. I dressed professionally. I just decided to ignore his suggestions about wearing a dress or heels. I mean, who does he think he is, my stylist?’ Her boyfriend laughed and hugged her.

‘I wish I was there to see it all. But I’m happy it worked out for you.’

‘It’s all thanks to you. Things would have gotten way worse if you didn’t have this idea. I most likely would have shoved my heel down his throat or something, probably getting myself fired in the process. Then again that’s not such a bad outcome.’ Astrid rambled.

‘What can I say, I am pretty amazi- Ow!’ He cried as Astrid lightly punched him in the shoulder. He sulked as he held on said shoulder. ‘Whyy?’

‘I could see your ego poking its head out of your oversized mop of hair of yours.’

‘Harhar, if it’s not the leg jokes then it’s got to be the hair jokes. I should’ve seen that one coming.’ He mumbled that last part. Astrid smiled and kissed him.

‘But you’re right, you really are amazing. You’re the best.’

***

I’m normally not a big fan of Modern AUs, so I kind of struggled writing this one. Either way, hope you liked it!

Happy New Year!!

#fanfic #Hiccup Haddock #Astrid Hofferson #modern au #dorks go shopping #hiccstrid fanfiction #Hiccstrid #httyd

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makeste · 5 years ago

Text

BnHA Chapter 270: Harry Potter Rules

Previously on BnHA: Present Mic punched Ujiko in the face! It was awesome. I’m thinking about getting a tattoo of it. Meanwhile Endeavor saved Mirko’s life by setting her on fire (reason #15 why I will never become a superhero), and Aizawa did some sexy Spider-Man poses for our viewing pleasure while fighting the rest of these Noumus which are still annoyingly refusing to die. Anyway but back to Present Mic, the undisputed MVP of this chapter. Because you see, in addition to the punching, he also used his Loud Voice attack (literally the actual attack name; Horikoshi will steal all of my jokes and leave me with nothing) to smash open Tomura’s Noumutank! Which I really thought was going to immediately lead to Everyone Dying, but apparently I was wrong! Anyways so yeah, right now Tomura’s just lying down all heart-stopped and not-breathing. Which seems very anticlimactic, BUT I JUST HAVE THE CRAZIEST FEELING that maybe, just maybe, the super powerful villain lad who just spent the last three arcs slowly upgrading his bad self just in time to wage war on the world as the story reaches its climax, might not actually be dead though.

Today on BnHA: DON’T MIND THAT OMINOUS ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND, IT’S NOTHING, IGNORE IT. Ahem. So first of all, as some of the bolder among us dared to speculate, Tomura is not, in fact, dead. He’s still very much kicking it with his nipple-less pecs and truffula tree hair, putzing around in his mental landscape filled with crumbled buildings and disembodied Theatrical Gesture Hands. For some reason he doesn’t have shoes or a shirt in his mental landscape, which was a very interesting choice on Horikoshi’s part, but we will speak no more of it. Anyway so to sum things up, Tomura’s family is all “TENKO WE LOVE YOU” and he’s all “oh hey” and then AFO fucking appears and he’s all “COME HERE MY BOY” which is exactly as creepy as you would expect, and for some fucking reason TOMURA ACTUALLY DOES COME HERE. And lol it turns out Ujiko gave him AFO. Like the quirk. Yes, that quirk. So long story short, Tomura is about to be possessed by AFO’s evil soul or some shit, and to put the cherry on top, fucking Deku out of fucking nowhere, MILES AWAY, is all “HE’S COMING.” Because of course he can sense it, because AFOFA IS REAL, AND FUCK ME THIS IS ALL HAPPENING TOO FAST, FUCK.

I know this chapter has been out since like 1pm, but I’m not getting to read it until 5 hours later because for once in my life I was trying to be responsible and actually get some work done on a Friday. I thought this might lead to less oh-god-I-still-have-to-get-that-done anxiety hovering over my weekend, but instead it just led to oh-god-I-have-to-get-the-chapter-recap-done anxiety hovering over my now! anyways so this might be a bit rushed lol

(ETA: yeah turns out this wasn’t exactly the kind of chapter you could just read quickly and get on with your life lmao. so, then!)

what a nice panel of Present Mic taking out the trash

you heard ‘em fellas. the doctor is secured. good job everyone we did it, manga over, congratulations. now to cut away to a two-page spread of Dark Shadow comically smothering Dabi’s flames with a giant stock pot lid, and that’ll be that! what a wonderful, extremely short and strangely underwhelming arc in which we haven’t even seen the actual main characters do anything yet. but I guess we don’t need them since the main bad guy is lying dead on the floor! everything is just so fucking dead and secured!! do you think if I keep repeating it enough Horikoshi will finally be like “okay geez I get it” and reveal his hand already

Mic is now ordering Ujiko to power down the Noumu, which again, I’m sure he will definitely do without a fuss since after all the good guys have clearly won the day

OH SHIT OH FUCK

rip X-Less. gonna just take a moment here to imprint your beautiful face onto my memory before it turns into a pile of ash. your face, I mean. not my memory. well my memory more or less already is a pile of ash but that’s neither here nor there ANYWAYS

:’)

what are these little sound effects. I think that’s supposed to be a buzzing noise?? anyways whatever it is PLEASE STOP IT, I AM NOT HAVING A NICE TIME SO STOP

ffff Horikoshi sure has done an excellent job of setting the mood in such a way that all of these panels of X-Less doing incredibly mild things are sending my stress levels through the roof. like is anyone else reading his lines more or less like “WELP, TIME FOR ME TO DIE, ANY SECOND NOW, WE’RE REALLY DOING THIS, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING, HERE IT COMES”

(ETA: when is this poor sweet innocent man going to fucking die already.)

LET’S CUT BACK TO MIC ESCAPING THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY

I have the clearest mental image of Horikoshi standing by with a walkie talkie in one hand and one of those remote bomb detonation clicky switch thingies in the other, patiently waiting to receive the go-ahead once all of the important characters have gotten to safety

anyway so now Ujiko is talking again

no fear everyone this is just the beginning of his verbal noumu deactivation sequence. nothing to worry about. everything is fine

yes for some reason his code phrase to put all the noumus back to sleep involves going into rambling detail about his work researching quirk singularities and shit. it’s fine. it’s not a big deal. code phrases are just like that sometimes all right

just ignore the increasingly panicked look in Mic’s eye as he slowly realizes he was way too fucking keen to just leave the “dead” Tomura back there with his laser-eyed hero buddy. anyway so let’s continue learning all about the Quirk Illuminati or whatever the fuck

okay so... he faked his own death? 70 years ago, at age 50 or thereabouts? I mean, that’s interesting and all I guess. not saying I wouldn’t be thrilled to spend the rest of this chapter learning all about Ujiko’s boring evil life. I don’t need to say it because it’s implied on account of Ujiko sucks and is the worst. so yeah can we get a move on though

oh shit?!?

WHOSE NARRATION IS THAT IN THE BOXES TOMURA IS THAT YOU OH GOD OH GOD

also, comparing AFO’s smile to a buddha’s really sent an actual shudder of disgust down my spine for some reason lmao. I personally would have steered that comparison in a different area, maybe less to buddhas and more to Norman Bates from Psycho, but to each their own

oh shit wait up

okay but this is actually a pretty big revelation though, isn’t it? because it’s been hinted for a while now that AFO and Ujiko had some method of duplicating quirks (the fact that all the Noumu share the same regeneration quirk was the biggest clue, but there was also John-chan’s quirk, as well as Hood’s Muscular-esque quirk), but as far as I can recall, this is the first time we’ve had it confirmed. though to be fair I wasn’t joking when I said my memory really has been shit lately sob

anyway so for real though, can you really call it a BnHA chapter if you’re not spending a good chunk of it being hopelessly confused over the ownership of some ambiguous thought bubbles. WHO IS THIS. I do seriously feel like it’s Tomura, because he’s the wrathful one, but another hallmark of a typical BnHA chapter is me constantly questioning everything I know as I muddle my way through

(ETA: yeah I’m pretty sure it was him. still impressive how vague it is though! it could also potentially be Ujiko, Mic, or even Deku. hopefully Caleb’s translation on Sunday can shed some more light on this. though he wasn’t really helpful last time this happened lol.)

SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

didn’t... you just... say that “preservation” was your quirk?? what do you mean that you wanted it?? CAN YOU JUST FINISH YOUR SENTENCES LIKE A NORMAL PERSON

anyway so here’s a summary of this chapter thus far

present mic: okay goodbye forever x-less

x-less: what a strange thing to say! :) also is it just me or is this machine fucking staring at me

present mic: turn the noumu off please

ujiko: seventy years ago... society... singularity... he’d be 120 years old now...

??: [REPULSIVE FEELING EW WHO’S TOUCHING ME]

ujiko: all for one has the smile of an angel...

??: [SON OF A BITCH I’M SO FUCKING WRATHFUL]

ujiko: my quirk... preservation... the truth is... my quirk... preservation... the truth is... my quirk...

all caught up?? grand. also btw is anyone else super disturbed by the fact that Ujiko recognizes Mic as being “Kurogiri’s friend”, like holy shit though? how would he know that. I can’t think of any implications of this that aren’t super disturbing tbh

anyways back to -- LOL WHAT THE

Horikoshi Kouhei: [furiously scribbling notes to himself at 3am] BUT WHAT IF THE FOLDING CITY FROM “INCEPTION” HAD MORE GIANT HANDS

jesus christ. is this like some mental representation of what shit is currently like in Tomura’s mind? lots of crumbly destruction and traffic lights and the house his father built (isn’t it? I feel like it looks familiar), and SO MANY HANDS, HE JUST LOVES HIS HANDS

anyway so at this point it’s a coin toss whether or not anything in this fucking chapter is ever going to make any kind of fucking sense! but here I am voluntarily along for the ride while Gene Wilder sings that creepy boat song right in my ear!

DSFKLDSJ

ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN FLOATING IN A JAR FOR THREE MONTHS TBH. that is some luscious quarantine hair

SDFLKJSDLFKJSLKFDHLKSDJFLKJLKSDJL:FKJSDL:KJ

(ETA: that Tomura in the top left may be my new favorite panel. look at him. all he is is a nose and chin and ~*~HAIR~*~.)

HANAAAAAA AHHHHHH OH MY LORD OH MY LORD! OKAY I’M FINALLY PAYING ATTENTION NOW FOR REAL! NO MORE JOKES! EVERYBODY SHHHH!!!

FFFFFFFFFF

“LOOK AT ME I’M A MAIN CHARACTER I CAN HAVE STRANGE VISIONS AND TALK TO DEAD PEOPLE IN MY DREAMS, SOUND LIKE ANYBODY ELSE YOU KNOW?” TOMURA SHUT UP I DON’T HAVE TIME TO ANALYZE THIS SCENE THEMATICALLY RIGHT NOW I’M TOO BUSY BEING SAD ABOUT YOUR DEAD SISTER WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY CALCULATING THE ODDS OF THIS SOMEHOW BEING FORESHADOWING FOR HER NOT REALLY BEING DEAD. OH GOD, OH FUCK YOU GUYS, I’M FREAKING OUT

WHAT KIND OF YOUNGER BROTHER DOESN’T CALL HIS OLDER SISTER “NEECHAN” TOMURA WHAT KIND OF ANIME CHARACTER ARE YOU

AT THIS POINT HIS HAIR IS ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER WITH THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS WOW

HORIKOSHI PLEASE STOP SHAKING THIS CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE OF SIBLING FEELS SO VIGOROUSLY I AM SO TERRIBLY AFRAID OH GOD

“BY THE WAY TENKO I JUST HAVE TO SAY, YOUR MAN BOOBS ARE SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE AND YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD.” YES HANA I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY. HOW ASTUTE OF YOU TO POINT THAT OUT. BOY HAS BEEN HITTING THAT BOWFLEX

WTAF IS HIS HAIR THOUGH SERIOUSLY??!

IS IT JUST ME OR IS THIS DIALOGUE BUBBLE ACTUALLY COMING FROM THE HAIR ITSELF. TOMURA. TOMURA BLINK TWICE IF YOU ARE IN DANGER

SJJKJSKJSW

TENKO IT’S ME YOUR GIANT MOM I’M BEHIND YOU HONEY TURN AROUND AND LOOK HELLO HI I LOVE YOU DO YOU STILL WANT TO BE A HERO

ffff why is he so pretty all the time lately

you are very handsome with your billowy hair and ken doll abs, you. sure are having a lot of trippy visions for a dead guy too there

HEY!!!!

WHO SAID YOU WERE ALLOWED -- DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST -- ffffffffff I need to be alone with my thoughts for a few minutes fuck

okay well. but since it is getting late I guess we’ll just pack these feelings up real quick and put them inside a box and neatly label it “feelings I have about Tomura having a vision of his mom and immediately turning back into his innocent little boy self in said vision as soon as he sees her.” not too sure about the contents of this box yet but I will have to explore them thoroughly at a later date

oh hey it’s this asshole

“THAT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO, DAD.” jesus Kotaro. get over it

and also guess what, if you go and get Tomura all riled up so he wakes up grumpy and disintegrates the first hapless guy he sees, I will hold you solely responsible for that poor man’s death. I’m just warning you now

oh my

I remember this conversation going a bit differently the last time, but hey

LOOOOOOL

HIGH FIVE. PUT ‘ER THERE

WHY WOULD YOU LOOK SO SURPRISED LOL DID YOU NOT JUST TURN TOWARDS HIM WITH A SINISTER MURDER FACE LIKE TWO SECONDS AGO. LIKE WTF DID YOU THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN

OH NO OH SHIT

FUCK ME, GUESS IT WOULDN’T BE A DRAMATIC BNHA DREAM SEQUENCE IF THIS ASSHOLE DIDN’T MAKE AN APPEARANCE AT SOME POINT OR OTHER NOW WOULD IT

-- HOLY SHIT?!

RECORD SCRATCH, FREEZE FRAME??

holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit. holy shit

holy shit. fuck

...okay so

is this implying that AFO has been Noumufied? but that doesn’t make any sense, does it? he already had multiple quirks. what other advantages could there be to him becoming a Noumu. well whatever I’m just typing out all of my thoughts real fast for the time being and I’ll try to make sense of them later

or is it because he sees Kurogiri as a father figure? and AFO also?

or is he using Kurogiri’s quirk????? IS HE SOMEHOW WARPING INTO TOMURA’S DREAMS

because that third one, to me, is what this panel most looks like? Tomura says he looks like Kuro, but he doesn’t though. Kuro has a very distinctive face which this is very much lacking. instead it looks to me much more like one of Kurogiri’s portals, with AFO’s buddhaesque smile sticking out. so yeah. I got nothin’. except, again, fuck

(ETA: yeah I obviously have more thoughts about this now, but we’ll get to those in a bit.)

...

.......

-- !!!!!!!!!!LKJLK!JLKJ

oh shit oh shit oh shit

OH SHIT

NO BABY NO DON’T DO IT

GASP

THEY’RE TRYING TO SAVE HIM AHHHH

I HAVE LIKE TEN THOUSAND THOUGHTS IN MY BRAIN RIGHT NOW YET SOMEHOW MY MIND IS ALSO STRANGELY BLANK?? I DON’T EVEN KNOW?? I’LL JUST KEEP READING

KOTARO ARE YOU TRYING TO HELP HIM OR ARE YOU PULLING HIM TOWARD AFO??

OH HE’S PUSHING HIM BACK!! OH SHIT IT’S A WHOLE FAMILY EFFORT

THEY’RE TRYING TO SAVE HIM AFO IS GOING TO TAKE HIM OVER AND THEY’RE TRYING TO PROTECT HIM OH GOD OH JESUS

BABY TENKO EYES OH MY GOD HE LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE DEKU THAT I THOUGHT IT WAS DEKU FOR A MOMENT

NO TENKO!!!

FUCK -- DOES HE NOT CARE? HE ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN BUT HE DOESN’T CARE?? IS HE TRULY SO PROFOUNDLY MISERABLE THAT HE’D GO AHEAD AND ACCEPT THIS FATE WILLINGLY

NO SOUNDS. NO WORDS. YOU COULD HEAR A PIN DROP IN MY ROOM RIGHT NOW

except that I have the most incredible, chilling, disturbing, electrifying feeling that my mental soundtrack is about to start blaring AFO’s theme from the anime on full blast...!

LOOOOOL SOB OH FUCKK

THE MOST TERRIFYING, DRAMATIC KIP UP YOU’VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE!! THIS IS IT, IT’S BEEN REAL FRIENDS, THIS IS WHERE WE DIE

-- ARE YOU REALLY, TRULY, GENUINELY SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW

NOW OF ALL TIMES IS WHEN WE FINALLY CUT TO THE TRIO, I’M CAN’T, I’M FUCK

AND THAT’S THE END AHHHHH

holy shit holy shit holy shit. wow

okay so. I don’t really have any sort of neat and tidy way to wrap up this hot mess of a recap lol. so, just... have a whole mess of all of my stupid whirling thoughts

those first four pages really did nothing to brace me at all lol

okay, so. here’s my understanding of all this, I guess. basically we’re going full Harry Potter rules here. AFO horcruxed his quirk, and from the looks of it, a piece of his soul (perhaps even the main piece) along with it. he then passed it on to Ujiko to implant into Tomura

horcrux!AFO then wakes up, and takes over Tomura. so then my understanding is that he’s going to be possessed by him. and I also got the impression that he’s fully aware of that, but just doesn’t care at this point. he knew his family was trying to warn him, but he didn’t care. and that look in his eyes when he disintegrated them just seemed so fucking resigned to me, though. jesus

but now the more interesting thing! so we can liken Tomura to the resurrected Voldemort from book 5 and onward, reborn after transferring his power into a new vessel. which would go a long way toward explaining how AFO was able to sense what was happening from all the way in Tartarus; because if we liken it to Voldemort and his horcruxes, it would mean that he still has a connection to them (similar to the connection between Voldemort’s mind and Harry’s)

but so now comes the really interesting thing -- what does this then imply about the connection between AFO and Deku? because you’ll recall that AFO alluded to a similar mental connection back when Deku first activated SIXQUIRKS. and now we have Deku somehow being magically aware of AFO’s sudden resurgent presence in this chapter. but why?? if the reason AFO and Tomura share a psychic link is because of a shared quirk, why would Deku also be experiencing the same link? the answer is, he wouldn’t -- unless he, too, had the same shared quirk

in other words, I think All for One for All is fucking confirmed you guys. I can’t think of any explanation for this other than that OFA is also a horcrux quirk. a little piece of AFO broken off and embedded in his brother, and then passed along through the generations. and now residing within Deku

anyway. so that’s a hell of a lot to ponder lol. I guess we can at least be grateful for the fact that we’re not waiting two weeks for chapter 271 like Hori originally planned. can you fucking imagine. what a fucking asshole lol

133 notes · View notes

novapark · 4 years ago

Note

4, 8, & 12 please!

So this is gonna be a long post, brace yourselves and thank you. :D <3

2. Sims writing has a visual component. How do you utilize color/objects and settings in your stories?

I feel like Shadows Know utilizes the most purposeful use of color. I don’t even know if people noticed it but it was definitely deliberate.

Like all the scenes in the NKU are very dark.

Even during the day^. This is before I fully decided they were shades of blue, grey, black, and white in their true forms but in my head Kasri “originally” come from a pretty icey planet so when they left there they looked for another world that had a dim star. So the reshade I chose for the scenes set there reflected that. The only exception is at Fin’s house which is right on the edge of the habitable zone because in my mind this planet is tidally locked so in places where it does get direct sun it’s extremely intense.

Adding to this atmosphere is the fact that in their culture shades are more sacred than color so all their homes are usually black, white, or greyscale inside. Generally black for personal quarters and white for public spaces as seen in The Chamber of the Five.

Meanwhile when they are in The Fed, the color schemes are more varied and generally quite bright. The main planet Estra lived on is supposed to be a very large terrestrial planet with a wide tropical band so it’s a pretty warm place.

And even in Mal’s apartment he’s taken to employing more color there despite being Kasri.

---

With REM I’ve been trying to develop more unique spaces but I’ve only really just started that process. For example in my mind Myshuno and Newcrest are supposed to have sort of a Cyberpunk feel to them but I haven’t quite gotten in the mood to fully engage in building those sets.

3. Which process do you dedicate more time to, editing visuals or editing your writing? Why?

I think in counting making poses, sets, and doing special effects for the “magic aliens” the visuals probably get far more attention than the actual writing. I do a lot of development work though behind the scenes that help me write a bit better. I also have at least three documents per chapter before I write any full draft, one for outlining, one for blocking/pose needs, and another for dialogue ideas. Then there could be any number of drafts. The current chapter of REM went through four or five revisions. So maybe it’s actually pretty equal?

4. What scenes do you find hardest to write?

Since I suffer from cptsd there’s actually a lot of subjects I find difficult to write about but I always sort of press on because I find it helps me face some element inside me that’s struggling with that feeling. The following subjects hit me particularly hard though because of personal experience with them:

- All the abuse, especially towards children. - Abandonment/Rejection - Severe injury/physical disability/illness - Death, I kind of put off Ollie’s mom’s scene for a few days because I knew it’d be hard on me. Cara did nothin wrong man.

5. Answered here. <3 Though there are more scenes I could probably drop in there from other projects.

8. Are there any plots or characters that have changed dramatically since you initially began writing them?

Yes, 100x yes. This happens a lot actually, here are some major things that changed about REM:

- Mal and Estra were not going to run into each other so early. In fact had I followed my original timeline, they still would be living seperate lives. I have no chill when it comes to my otps. - I was not going to give Inika another chapter until after IIIOp2 but I changed my mind. - Andy and Eva were going to run away together instead of Mal and Estra but I kinda thought it didn’t fit either of their characters to do that. They both are pretty spoiled by their parents and generally don’t like upsetting them. - Fin was going to show up in DSV in the middle of Andy and Eva reconnecting but I liked the idea of him fuming online instead. Just fit him better, he’s a tiny bit of a coward. - Luna was supposed to have a chapter far earlier but I keep trying to align her stuff with Ollie’s because they are so close and I haven’t reconciled all that yet.

And there’s just tons more small things on top of that. A lot of the changes were made because I realized it didn’t line up with the way I had written or wanted to write the characters involved.

10. If you could choose to be one of your characters for a day, which one would it be?

Technically answered this already but I kinda wanna do another because I keep thinking about it after answering. Grace’s life, I haven’t shown her yet. She’s coming up soon but aside from her job the rest of her life is actually kind of close to a lot of the better parts of my life.

12. What is your favorite thing about the simblr story writing process?

I love how as a community we all inspire each other and sometimes work together to build stories or families. I’ve always found myself most engaged when I can enjoy the process with others on here and in various chat situations.

I also like how the visual aspect to sim story telling makes it so easy to get attached to your characters. Like I write full form novels but I gotta tell you, I am not as attached to the characters in those stories as much as I am my sims.

Thank you guys so much for all these asks! I really had to think about some of them. <3

#queenofvraquin #xldkx #boolproppin #story development #Character Dev

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raksh-writes · 5 years ago

Text

The Born King comes (King Arthur x Reader) part 3

Of family and responsibilities

Fandom/movie: King Arthur: Legend of The Sword

Pairing: Arthur x fem!Reader

Warnings: fluff, light angst, minor character death (y’know who, I’m sorry)

Words: ~5,400

Chapter: 3/4 (1 | 2 | 3 | 4)

Series: “Of friendship and love”, all parts linked in the Masterlist and also published on my AO3 (Rakshasha).

(A/N): This one was hard, y’all. I think it could probably be better, but I also feel like I've reached my limit and it's the best of what I could do with those sequences - I'm no text-Guy Ritchie, so that's a given, lol. The next part is almost written, but I'm still deciding how to write the last, so it can take some time, as usual. Thank you for all the likes, reblogs, asks and comments, they always make my day! Hope you'll enjoy!

As on their first day, when they were going the opposite way following Bill, the road to Londinium stretched long and tedious, even if the landscapes were beautiful to look at. Every one of their little rag tag group felt the effects of riding horseback hour after hour for so long. Already sore and tired, she was thankful when Bedivere ordered a break, a bit further than halfway to their destination, but hid her exhaustion from Blue, yet again sitting with her. He seemed happy enough and it’d be a pity to damper his mood. Helping him down the horse, she patted the animal’s neck and looked around, only to smile under her nose at Wet Stick’s unstable step.

„Are you alright there, mate?” she mused, her smile growing to a smirk when he groaned, almost doubling over.

„I almost forgot how awful that was,” he said back, no bite in his words.

Back Lack, standing at his side, grumpily agreed. Only Blue still looked fresh and happy, scattering off just when they turned away from him.

„Oi! Don’t wander off!” Lack called, following his son, although with a tilted step and painful expression.

She smiled sympathetically, before turning to Stick with a certain pointed look.

„What?” He straightened, furrowing his brows.

„Maybe you’d help out a friend?”

„And you can’t?”

„I’m–” She looked to the side, where Art has broken off from the group and sat at a small current, Excalibur at his side.

Wet Stick followed her gaze and caught on, his shoulders sagging.

„Alright, go on.” He waved a hand at her, already turning away. „I’ll handle Lack and Blue, you handle that.”

She snorted, amused, but it didn’t ease away the slight edge of worry in her heart. Nodding to Wet Stick, she slowly made her way to Arthur, aware that some of the others were watching them, but ignoring it wholly.

Coming up beside him, she stopped at his right side and lowered herself to the ground. He was already looking her way, his body slightly leaned closer. It always warmed her heart, how attuned he was to her, how attentive. But it was time to turn it around.

„Are you brooding, darling?”

Arthur chuckled, the lines of his face softening. His arms loosely rested on his knees, hands hanging between his legs. He looked every bit relaxed, but she could spot the slight tension in his jaw, in his shoulders, in the sharp line of his brow.

„You know I’m not one for brooding, love. That’s not my style.”

Their gazes met and she took a second just to look at him, soak it all up.

She hummed, mirroring his pose with her right side, the left open to him, hand supporting her at his side.

„No, it’s definitely not,” she said, smiling. But he caught the look in her eyes, hidden deep down. It must’ve been on his mind for some time.

„But it may end up being part of it, after all.”

All the softness and relaxation drained out of his face, leaving a blank, emotionless expression in its place.

It almost broke her heart then and there.

„Let’s hope it doesn’t, then.”

The quiet, calm air around them, filled with bird chirping and others resting behind them faded somehow, as they naturally, moving like one, shifted closer, their shoulders pressing together, her head resting on his shoulders and his cheek pressed to her hair. Warm and soft. Their hands clasping together, fingers entwined, resting on Art’s leg. She sighed, content, but it still only took few minutes before his shoulders tensed with intent.

„I’m not fond of the idea,” he said, low and soft, but there was strain in his voice too.

Moving slightly so she could look up at him, she raised one brow in a silent question.

„Being a king,” he clarified, a somber, wistful tone in his voice. He squeezed her hand a bit tighter. „I don’t want it.”

He meant it, she could see it in his eyes, but more – she knew it, deep down in her heart that he never wanted such power, such responsibility. He took it in stride, if it meant his close ones were safer, but to lead a whole country? It made her heart tremble and she wouldn’t even be the one to do it.

„I know,” she said softly, her thumb making slow circles on the back of his hand. „It’s terrifying, isn’t it? The power that comes with it... I used to hear all the time that the more you got, the more corrupt you would become. And look at Vortigern.”

„A prime example.”

These days seemed like their thoughts were going the exact same road a lot. It was comforting, even if the topic wasn’t.

„I don’t want to become like him,” he admitted, like it was a burden he carried for weeks.

„You wouldn’t.” That she was sure about, if nothing else.

His brows furrowed, a barely there spark in his eyes.

„And how’d you know it, love?”

Leaning close, she raised her free hand, placed it lightly atop his jacket.

„Because you care, Art." He needed that answer and she was determined to make him see, to ease his doubts. „You already had power, such as it was, but had it because you wanted to protect, not inflict fear or pain. You achieved it, because love guided you. This here,” shifting her hand, she placed it right above his heart, pressing lightly, „this is the most important thing. As long as your heart is in the right place, you won’t get lost. I know it.”

As she talked, Art’s face began to soften, the tension slowly leaving his jaw, his muscles, his shoulders sagging. And as she was done with her little speech, his mouth curved into a delicate smile, his eyes warm and full of tenderness.

„Then it seems I won’t,” he murmured, his hand covering hers, both still pressedabove his heart, „because it’s yours, love. And I know it’s in the best hands possible.”

She couldn’t possibly suppress the smile that stretched her lips then, even if she shook her head at him.

„You’re so foolishly romantic sometimes, I swear,” she mused, entirely too happy with it. And he knew.

„You love it, darling.”

She hummed under her breath.

„Yes. Yes, I do.”

◥✥◤

The kids were free, the slave routes were interrupted, their plan came to fruition. But it was already too dark to go back to the cave, so the rag tag group hid in an abandoned building on the outskirts of Londinium. Not quite as safe as they’d like, but it was better than right under the Blacklegs’ noses. At least they hoped it was.

But Arthur felt restless.

A weird kind of feeling wouldn’t leave him alone, making his skin crawl, and the famous sword by his hip didn’t help – sometimes he thought he could feel it pulse under his fingers right alongside his heartbeat, but that was ridiculous. He didn’t dare use it, yet kept it at his side at all times.

With a heavy kind of sigh he left the main group with Bedivere to take care of shifts and making the place presentable, and instead went deeper inside.

She sat beside a flickering flame of a small lamp, holding her two daggers to the light. They were the same ones she had on herself when he asked her to join them, so long ago.

„You’ve never changed your blades...”

His voice was low and soft, expression thoughtful. Surprise shone in her eyes, as she looked up to him, seemingly woken up from her own musing.

Blinking away the surprise, she smiled, sheathing one of the blades.

„No magic daggers for me, unfortunately,” she said, amusement colouring her tone.

„You’re not missing much, darling, trust me.” He sat beside her, Excalibur in his hand, inactive and yet a ghostly sensation prickling at his skin. „Want to try it out?”

She hesitated, even though nothing wrong could happen, the cursed blade only reacted to him, fortunately or not. But when he drew it out of its sheath, her daggers were put away and she took the handle in a sure grip. Only her face showed what it meant while she inspected the weapon, trying out light moves and twisting her wrists to switch grips. It suited her.

As the blade stilled, a thoughtful hum left her lips.

„I could use a sword like this,” she said finally, drawing out a chuckle from Art.

„Want to switch then, love?

It was her time to snort.

„Like you could use two daggers at the same time.” She smiled up at him, a spark in her eyes, before handing Excalibur back to him. „I’ll leave swords to you. You’re better with them.”

He took it, still too careful for his own liking, but didn’t put it away. The flame’s light danced on the edge, on the patterns and runes. It did look magical then.

„I’m not that good with this one...”

„You will be.”

Looking up, their eyes met, and he knew she had all the confidence in him. But there was no pressure there – just trust and calmness.

He sheathed Excalibur, putting it at his side.

„If these stunts ever end in our favour, I’m gonna give you new daggers. Maybe even magical. What’d you say, darling?”

„I could use new blades.” Her gaze shifted to the old ones for a second. „They’ve seen better days... Hopefully they won’t give out on me before this ends.”

He was tempted to ask when it’ll end, but it was cruel even in his mind. He didn’t want what would happen next, there was no desire for even more responsibility on his shoulders, and what of the others? He knew they’d follow him anywhere, but was it what they wanted? Arthur had no answers.

„Do you think George’s okay?”

Her soft voice tore him out of his musings, thankfully, but the question itself made his brows furrow.

„Why wouldn’t he be?”

A heavy sigh left her lips.

„Jack’s Eye turned, didn’t he? What if–”

„Hold on, love.” He turned his body to her, catching her unsure gaze. „He wouldn’t gain anything by that and, besides, Blacklegs’ wouldn’t get far anyway. You know George and the lads.”

She smiled then – a tiny, delicate thing – but it was enough for him. George was his friend, he knew the feeling all to well.

„We’ll keep him out of it for as long as we can,” he vowed, not only for her, but for himself, for his friend, the uneasiness coiling around his gut even tighter.

„I know.”

They all worried. But now they had themselves to worry about more – when they’ll need George’s help, and they will, then he’ll worry about it. It was of no use now.

◥✥◤

The restlessness didn’t subside, though. Everything went according to plan and yet Arthur couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right. He knew they watched him, all the time, either Goosfat or Bedivere, their eyes glued to his back when they thought he wouldn’t notice. But he did. More so, he had the inkling that the more time he spend with (Y/n), the more love he showed for her (and he had plenty to show), the more attention they paid. It was getting on his nerves – and on top of those overthrowing plans he tried to push out of his mind as much as he could. He really couldn’t take a break.

Hiding his frustrations under a cloak of nonchalance, he strolled through the cave, looking for someone, something, to get his mind off of everything that was happening. Normally, he’d go to Wet Stick or Back Lack, but they’ve seemingly fallen under the earth and she wasn’t anywhere in sight too – most probably outside with Blue. He was already correcting his path to go look there when something finally caught his attention.

Voices echoed from a scarcely used alcove – not hushed, but sounding like they were failing at trying to keep it quiet. Tension coloured them, tinged with frustration that was so close to him these days.

That was something new.

Getting closer, he didn’t much care to be sneaky, but they’ve also seemed too engrossed in their conversation to notice his light steps. But exactly what they were discussing – that made white hot fury flare through Arthur’s chest.

„You know that he can’t marry her when he becomes the king!”

It was Bedivere’s voice. That, at least, shouldn’t surprise him.

„But he will and you know it, Bedivere, you saw them. They’re in love.”

Goosfat was defending him? Well, that was new.

„But he won’t be able to forge alliances when already in marriage!”

„There are other ways to forge them...” Calm, quiet voice quipped in.

Thanks, Percy, appreciate it.

„You know what must be done. We can’t let it happen–”

At this point, Arthur had enough.

All the frustration gone, he felt only the flaring up rage, licking at his inside like flames, his veins burning under his skin.

„Can’t let what happen?” He asked aloud, his voice clear and strong, even if a bit strained with tension.

They’ve almost jumped, whipping to him with wide eyes. Goosfat sat at a table, his fingers twitching and shoulders rigid. Percy was perched beside him, leaned on the rock wall before Arthur went in – now he stood straight, his eyes darting between them. Bedivere stood tall and proud, but his posture was as tense as his expression.

Arthur looked all of them in the eye, back straight, hand at the hilt of Excalibur at his side and calm fury at the tip of his tongue, before stopping his gaze on Bedivere.

„Well? You have something to tell me?”

If his skin wasn’t so dark, Art could swear he saw the proud man blush.

Bedivere exchanged a look with Goosfat, who seemed already too tired for anything, before his gaze went back to Arthur.

„No,” he said, voice strained under the false calmness. „It was just... a chat.”

„Oh, but it wasn’t, was it?” Arthur’s voice dropped, his tone tinted with sarcasm.

None of them moved much, but the air shifted clearly, tense and buzzing as if a storm was coming over. Bedivere looked almost nervous.

„Let me tell you something.” Arthur continued, stepping deeper in. „And better listen closely, because I won’t repeat myself.”

He made two deliberate steps closer to Bedivere, his eyes fixed on him.

„You keep away from my personal life. My relationships are none of your business. If you ever as much as try meddling in, I’m gone.” Arthur saw Bedivere’s jaw lock and it flared up his chest even more, voice hardening. „I won’t participate in your masquerade any longer. I marry whoever I want and you have nothing to say in this. Are we clear?”

While he talked, he threw a look at the other two. Goosfat’s face didn’t show much, but he seemed resigned and almost embarrassed. Percy looked like he didn’t want to be there in the first place, but he was the only one that clearly understood him, so he got a pass. But Bedivere... Arthur locked his gaze on him and didn’t waver as he finished his little speech. The man either understood or that was where it ended.

Bedivere struggled a few seconds more, clearly not happy with the idea, but finally Arthur saw his shoulders sag and the determination leave his eyes. He nodded, stepping back.

„As clear as the sun.”

Arthur was almost tempted to throw some stronger words at them, but he reined in his still simmering rage – he could use it some time later. Nodding, he made to turn around and go off searching for (Y/n), the one and only that could calm him, when an idea struck him and he stopped, half turned.

„Percy.” He looked at the surprised man and almost smiled. „Want to spar? I could use some... practice.”

Percy straightened, surprise blending into consideration and wariness – clearly he knew the calmness was only a facade – before nodding. Without a look at Bedivere or Goosfat.

Now, this one looked promising.

„Well then, come on. We don’t have all day. Oh, and, ” he turned to Bedivere one last time, „not a word about that to (Y/n). Not. Even. One.”

Only then he walked out without looking behind him, but the silence and soft footsteps told him all he needed to know. Good lad, that Percy, he was beginning to like him.

◥✥◤

Just when they were about to run out of new ideas to aggravate Vortigern, all the plans shifted. A noble woman showed up in their cave, Maggie – Bedivere called her – and their hopes seemingly came to fruition. They had a chance, an opening. But (Y/n) didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit.

A new agitation came over the whole Resistance. The air buzzed, excitement and energy filled everyone – well, almost everyone.

Arthur was outside in the fresh evening air when she found him. Excalibur held in one hand and laid out on the other, almost as if he wanted to lay it down on some invisible table, his gaze firmly fixed on the blade.

It almost felt like she was intruding on something personal, intimate even. But, for all she knew, it may have been just that – she supposed everything was possible with the power and magic Excalibur had.

She tried to be as quiet and sneaky as possible, but he heard her nonetheless.

„Sorry,” she said lightly, as Arthur turned around, blade lowering, „didn’t want to interrupt–”

„And you didn’t, love,” he assured her with a smile, although unsure and fragile one. „Come here...”

His arm outstretched to her, a clear invitation, and she stepped into the embrace with a delicate smile of her own. Sneaking her arms around his middle, she lowered her head to rest on his shoulder. Arthur returned the hug, although with one hand still holding the sword. Strange, how it seemed to have it’s own presence, as if it was giving off an energy no one could resist. And she tried, but even her gaze turned to the blade.

„You’ve been practising,” she guessed, her voice carrying a lilt of question.

„You meant I tried practising? Yeah, sure did.”

He aimed at humorous, but she heard the bitterness in his tone. And when she looked up, he seemed almost tired – deep lines bruising his face and shadows laying under his dimmed eyes. It was terrifying.

Feeling her heart coming up to her throat, she squeezed her arms tighter around him, lips leaving a feather light kiss on his collarbone.

„You’ll find a way, as you always do.”

„Yeah, and what if I won’t?”

Their eyes met and the worry in his gaze almost made her crumble under it. But she kept it together, for him, for them, because now he needed her. Drawing one of her hands up to his chest, she pressed it in the centre.

„Then we’ll find another way,” she said, voice calm and sure, full of conviction. „But you’re going to figure it out, I know it. Besides,” a mischievous smile curved her lips, „I still remember how you couldn’t figure out how to climb walls and I tried to teach you.”

Arthur chuckled, the memory making his face softer and clearing some shadows from his eyes and face.

„For my defence, I was heavier and a lot less agile than you.”

„And you’re not now?” she joked, poking him in the ribs, making his smile grow winder.

„Well, heavier, yes, but I’d venture to say I have some agility in me now.” His nose brushed with hers affectionately. „You’ve been a great teacher, after all, weren’t you, love?”

„I definitely hope so,” she mused, feeling the dread and worry all but gone to the back of her mind, in it’s place lightness, bright and relieving. „Wonder what you’d do without me, darling.”

„Die in a dead alley, for sure.”

A sharp, surprised laugh broke out through her lips, shaking her form. And it was so refreshing, so unexpected, she turned into a mess of giggles, Arthur joining in with her as soon as he felt her merriness reverberating through his body. A childlike, unapologetic joy overtook them for quite a few moments, until their breaths grew heavy and their laugh softly quieted down, a happy, warm feeling left behind.

Arthur tried to lift up his other arm into the embrace, but stopped as soon as he moved, realizing he still held Excalibur. Looking down on the blade, a sigh left his lips. He rose it up, tip to the sky, metal glinting in the sunshine.

„You sure you don’t want to switch blades?” he murmured, but, thankfully, without bitterness or worry, just the shadow of their previous talk.

Curiously, she lifted the hand that lied on his chest and with the tips of her fingers brushed the fuller in the middle. She felt nothing special, just the coolness of metal, yet still Excalibur’s presence was undeniable. But before she could utter even a word, they heard steps coming closer and, turning to the intruder, Wet Stick’s apologetic face showed up. He seemed as tired and unhappy with recent events as any of their gang – unlike the Resistance.

„Sorry, boss, (Y/n). They want you down there.” He gestured behind him, to the cave’s entrance.

Arthur sighed, but nodded to his friend.

„We’ll be there.”

Wet Stick nodded back, threw them one more look and then turned around, quickly leaving their sight.

Just then she felt all the dread coming back to her shoulders, weighing her down. Resistance’s plans filled her mind again as Arthur lowered the Excalibur.

„I have a bad feeling about this,” she murmured, her gaze still on the place Wet Stick disappeared to.

Arthur’s lips brushed her forehead in a light kiss, his breath a bit heavier than normal.

„I know. I sorta hoped he won’t ever leave the castle,” he said, slowly stirring them both to follow in their friend’s path, but didn’t lower the arm that hugged her side to him.

Vortigern could stay there and rot, for all she cared, but destiny, as it seemed, didn’t leave them a choice.

◥✥◤

Chaos.

Pure, uncotrolable chaos.

And just as they thought it was going well – ironic, isn’t it?

She felt Lack and Stick’s suspicion just as keenly when the king arrived. Something wasn’t right.

„Why would he stand like that?” she murmured to herself, but both of them shifted, exchanging glances just as the air changed.

„Exactly my thoughts,” Wet Stick said back, while Lack turned and gave the „no” signal.

And that was the moment when something cold and heavy fell upon her shoulders. Dread. Horrible, boneaching dread. A bad feeling.

„Mates, maybe we should–” She hadn’t had the chance to finish.

An arrow flew past them, pierced the guard’s chest and full blown chaos erupted everywhere around.

„Shit!”

„C’mon, we need to get out!”

Back Lack and Wet Stick’s voices almost blended with the crowd’s panic, while two more arrows flew through the air.

Bloody hell, Goosfat!

They moved with the crowd, keeping together, branching off just when they met with Rubio and Percy, their faces looking like they just found out their swords were made of wood. All of them looked sour, for sure, but she couldn’t shake off the horrible, nasty feeling squeezing her insides as they waited for Art at the back of the building.

It wasn’t long before they emerged. Arthur sauntering out, nonchalant and lazy, Bedivere and Goosfat following, all of them with seemingly no idea what was happening around them, like it was just a normal day, but when she met her love’s eyes, they said everything.

She liked to think that she was above it, but she really couldn’t help that one nasty glance she threw Bill’s way. It was his fault and yet he looked like it was nothing.

„C’mon, love...”

She heard Art’s voice in her ear, one of his arms already laying on her shoulders, so she swallowed down that nasty feeling, letting him steer her the right way. But their way out wasn’t as easy as it should be.

First there were Blacklegs, then they had to run, and before she could even register it, Back Lack was nowhere in sight, Rubio was wounded and they could barely catch their breaths. She was always at Arthur’s side, daggers in hands, but if she had even a second to think about their situation, she’d may crumble.

The way was familiar, but didn’t bring any relief – she could only hope that George somehow knew or at least had an inkling, and that the Mage staying behind was a good decision. They could use some help.

It was close, so close to the old bathhouse.

„Rubio!”

They saw him charge at the Blacklegs – and falling, pierced with their blades. Her heart went up to her throat, but they had to move, there was no time. Before she could even think about it, they were already on the other side of the road, boys were helping Percy up and the rest of them jumped to the ground. George met them, all the boys were there – and Mage too. But they were surrounded. Blacklegs swarmed all the entrances, even came up on the roof with bows and arrows – a flock of ravens flew up, cowering them, Mage’s eyes almost all black.

She heard more than saw Arthur opening up the well and trying to talk the man to go down there. Exchanging looks with Wet Stick they both already knew what the outcome would be.

In a last resort, Art turned to them, his eyes first searching for Wet Stick, then landing on her. But she had her blades already out, stance ready, and a light smile curved her lips up.

„You know we’re not leaving you.”

A sigh broke out on Arthur’s lips, but he wasn’t surprised, no. He clenched his jaw, his muscles tense and twitching, before he turned back, shaking off the fur, growling under his breath. He drew Excalibur out, the blade glinting, and just as sun slid down its length, (y/n) stepped closer to the Mage – her eyes still black and form unresponsive.

The doors gave up with a creak so loud it almost made them wince. George and his men moved as in position. Then the Blacklegs swarmed in, yelling, swords and shields glinting black in the sunlight. A cacophony of sound filled the air, metal clashing, flesh slashed, yells, growls and shouts mixing in with the crows cawing.

When few of them immediately charged her and Mage’s way, she had no time to think. Letting her instinct and muscle memory kick in, she evaded the first attacker and slashed at the other, blood splashing on her arm. Not letting the Mage’s form leave the corner of her sight, she danced between the attackers, blades switching in her grip. For a few seconds, it went well – two of them were already on the ground – but then something shifted in the air. Momentarily distracted, she felt a blade slashing at her side. With a surprised shout she stepped back, only to feel someone kick her leg from behind and forcing her to her knees. Before she could roll and stand up, in the corner of her vision the Mage showed up – with a knife on her neck, held by a Blackleg. Her heart stoped for half a beat–

And then the real chaos ensued.

A Blackleg bringing his sword down on her shoulder was thrown back, dust flew up in the air like a fog, in lighting speed, air got charged as if before storm and in the millisecond it took for her to blink, the strongest of winds kicked up.

She saw a vortex once in her life, but never a tornado. Now she felt like she was in the midst of one.

An unbelievable rumble overcame her hearing, cracked by sounds too similar to thunder and yet wholly metal like; orange dust completely cowered up her vision, only slashed by blue lightning-like bursts of light and black smudges of bodies flying, but all of it, even though happening so close, engulfing her wholly, kept her in place like some invisible ropes. Pushed on her from all directions, not letting her get swept away with one of the powerful strokes of wind or fall to the ground.

At first, with eyelids pinched almost close, she tried to see something more, but soon she was forced to cover her eyes and just wait till it ended.

It may have lasted minutes, but for her it felt like seconds, or even less. When the dust settled and the air cleared, quiet and calm, she could finally raise her gaze.

Blacklegs’ bodies covered the ground, broken shields and swords littered the space around and orange dust still flickered in the sun. Arthur stood in the middle, his heavy, ragged breath the only thing filling the quiet and the Mage – seeming untouched – had a thoughtful look on her face.

(Y/n) raised to her feet slowly, the wound on her side stinging and seeping blood lightly, but she almost didn’t feel it. Her eyes glued to Art’s form, she slowly wiped and sheathed her blades. He blinked, as if waking up from a trance, and turned to her, a question in his eyes. She only nodded, waiting for him to turn around before reaching for a clean cloth from inside a small pouch on her hip. Covering the wound with it, she followed in Art’s steps.

„I’m going down the well now,” his tired, out of breath voice ringed in the air, breaking all of the others out of their amazed, stunned stillness.

She sighed, catching Wet Stick’s gaze. Before she could utter a word, he reached for a dagger and cut a long strip of cloth from his shirt, all of it while stepping closer to her.

„Here,” he said, when he stopped beside her. „Try to not stretch this side.” He tied it neatly around her middle, over her own made up covering, to keep it in place.

„Thanks, Wetty,” she murmured, giving him a small smile.

He just patted her arm and turned to the others, waving at her to follow. But when she looked up, her eyes met with Arthur’s – his brows creased, eyes hard, trained on her wound. She sighed under her breath, but went after Wet Stick, not letting her gaze leave Art’s.

„Don’t worry,” she said, stoping beside him. Reaching a hand to his check, she raised up on her toes to brush a light kiss on his other cheek. „It’s just a flesh wound.”

He looked down on the covering and heaved a sigh of his own.

„It better be,” he murmured, before gesturing to the well with his head. „We’ll clean you up at the hide out.”

She smiled, lowering her hand and leaving a light pat on his chest.

„As you say.”

Going down the well, she tried not to think about Back Lack and his whereabouts. They all lived through the Blacklegs’ swarm – she could only hope he had it easier.

◥✥◤

A scream tore through the air.

Terrifying, gut wrenching scream that flew from the old bathhouse to their boat, carrying all the pain, loss and heartbreak no child should’ve ever experienced. It tore at her heart like a dagger cutting her open.

„Blue...”

They saw them, Art running for their life with the small boy in his arms – kicking and screaming, crying his pain into the night. Arthur’s own shouts almost drowned in his hurt, hurrying them into leaving, his own face contorted and scrunched up.

She felt tears rolling down her cheeks even before they reached them, Blue sat right beside her, pulled into an embrace tighter than ever, his face hiding in her neck and his sobs breaking out through his small body, raking both of their forms. Arthur’s eyes met with hers while the boats floated down the river, and there was nothing they needed to say or do. He sat at Blue’s other side, drawing both of them in, Wet Stick sitting just in front of them, face in both hands. All the others fell silent.

Back Lack wasn’t coming back.

#king arthur legend of the sword #King Arthur: Legend of The Sword #King Arthur x Reader #charlie hunnam #Arthur Pendragon x reader #King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fanfiction #King Arthur fanfiction #King Arthur x fem!Reader #fem!Reader #my writing #Raksh's writing #of friendship and love series #kalots

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tfw-no-tennis · 4 years ago

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hxh RESUME

back at it again w/the hxh, heres my recap of the last few eps

ok so i totally forgot to recap that one ep at the end of the hunter exam arc lets see what i remember from like 3 wks ago lollll

i thiiiiink i left off in the middle of ep 21 lol. i really dont remember much tbh so im gonna skim the ep to refresh

exposition time! its so wild that if you lose ur hunter card That It like u cant get another or retake the exam hgabjdfuhasjf Ls

also the fact that you can sell it is rlly interesting

leorio & kurapika backing up gon as he confronts illumi again :’) good lil family

illumi u fool. gon is a shounen protag. he can do anything he sets his mind to

the fact that gon thanks illumi for telling him where killua is....hes literally THAT polite like...what a perfect boy

hisoka just fuckgin stepping out of the shadows....ok bitch

the fact that gon fucked up illumis arm that bad with one hand....boi is STRONK

AUGH AUGH AUGHHHH HISOKA IS SO CREEPY AUGHHH I HATE THIS BIIIITCH

ok but like is illumi implying that hisoka is a fr p*do bc uhhhhh thats so nasty oh lord. pls stay away from gon, and killua, and like everyone as a matter of fact

EWWWWWWWWWW I HATE HISOKA HES SO NASTY. PLS STOP MAKING P*RNO FACES IN RELATION TO 12 YR OLD BOYS.

no but rlly what IS hisoka gonna do now. im assuming he’ll show up p soon (tho probs not in the zoldyc arc like i thought bc its shorter than i thought)

ok the fact that they have the internet is hilariously wild to me for some reason....it just seems like this would be one of those fantasy shounen worlds with very little tech (a la one piece) but lol nope we can just google shit hvbhjdhjdfks

gon: it was fun when you beat me up for 3 hours and broke my arm! seeya dude!

i love gon he is so chill and doesnt seem to hold grudges except when it really matters (like hisoka and illumi)

hanzo has.....ninja business cards....thats amazing hvbhsdjkujfnd

dont worry pokkle, leorio was basically carried thru the hunter exam by various people and also won by default. he still deserves his license tho

an exotic game hunter sounds pretty cool! i wonder if we’ll see pokkle again. kinda doubt it? that sounds pretty firmly non-combat based, and therefore probably pretty far from any plot lol

so gons dad is a bigshot huh.....whatever hed be a bigger deal if he didnt abandon his son tbh

gon swinging his feet on the bench....sooo cute

so ging could restore a bunch of ruins but he couldnt raise his son...ok

im just gonna be bitter at this guy for abandoning the most perfect boy vhbhjfbsjhdhbfsk sorry dude but being a good hunter doesnt make up for being a shit father

gon is so precious ;_;

WHAT WAS SATOTZ GONNA SAY TO GON???

why does it look like theyre googling things on MS paint

ah yes, padokea, on the continent of Africa But Sideways

idk if i talked abt it before but the world map is WILD lmao i love how its all the continents/landmasses scrambled around.....im super curious abt that weird island in the top center of the map, thats the only thing that immediately sticks out as not having a real life equivalent

the music in this show is so charming :’) i love the main theme sm

gon is sooo precious i literally cant get over it. and his hurry to rescue killua is so sweet....and i love how naturally charming/charismatic gon is....pretty much everyone he meets likes him, especially leorio and kurapika, who basically adopted him after knowing him for like a day, and continue to be completely taken by him

ok wtf is satotz & co talking abt......do they know something abt ging that they arent allowed to tell gon???? shouldnt gon have access to the same info now that hes a hunter? i need ANSWERS

i bet this whole thing abt the hunter exam not rlly being over is a metaphor abt the hunter exam NEVER truly ending bc youre always being tested, or st

ok the ED continues to be So Much like especially the last shot where the 4 main characters look like theyre posing for a JC Penny catalog while the singer goes FULL metal-screamo

ok ruth and i just rewatched the next two eps woohoo

i love that there are tourist busses that take people to the front gates so they can like pose for pics and stuff vhbhjafdsfkj and its like ‘ah yes here are where the local assassins live!’ thats so funny yet it makes so much sense

i love that leorio passed tf out during the bus ride. big big mood

gon is so cute...hes like ok yes i understand that we’re not supposed to go in but i think they can make an exception for me bc im very polite.

those 2 dudes r so ugly and so dead god bless

that bigass buster sword....sir please

ruth and i rlly thot that the old guard guy was gonna turn out to be grandpa zoldyk or st lol

the fact that the dog managed to eat All their flesh but left some clothes....skill

also the dog is named mike but it sounds like the guy is calling him miku hvbjdfssk

this cant be the first time some morons have been killed here likeeee

i cant believe nobody has visited the zoldyk estate in 20 years damn they all rlly b havin no friends. depressing

the whole gates thing is wild. also that part where gon gets the math wrong on the weight.....BIG mood kiddo

ok the part where gons on the phone w/the butler is soooo good oh man. i love how gon just calmly dials the phone again after hes hung up on the first time and then YELLS....and leorio and kurapikas faces r so good

also the butler guy unfortunately has a point, it isnt foolproof that gon is here Legit....but he IS let him see his tiny bf :(

as ruth pointed out, the butler guy is reminiscent of kuro from one piece. same vibes

maybe if leorio was jacked like he is in the manga/1999 anime he couldve opened the gate that first time around....Ls

god i love this shows approach to Everything so far,....as ruth put it, half the time its like ‘oh wow they should do [x]/i wish theyd do [x] but ofc they wont cause its a shounen’ but then they DO do [x] and its like damn thats dope

anyways i love how gon is increasingly approaching situations with his Plucky Shounen Protag Attitude in full swing, and he pretty much gets shot down every time. BUT his general determination to see killua bc killuas his FRIEND and hes gonna RESCUE HIM is still a good and pure motivating force

like here, when hes climbing over the wall and hes like whatever i dont wanna have to deal w/being tested thats bullshit, i wanna see killua, my intentions are pure, im gonna try my luck with the dog....i was like ok yeah he’ll get over and like tame or defeat the dog and the guard will be suitably impressed bc nobodys ever done That before, and then gon will continue on to get killua

but NOPE instead the guard calls him down and explains that gon Will Die if he tries that, and then the guard will die too for letting that happen. and gon is like oh shit my actions have consequences for people other than me, wow.

and THEN the guard takes them in to meet the dog. and hot DAMN that is a scary creature. not even really a dog tbh. they did an excellent job making the dog Legit Scary and not just like, big and flashy looking....those eyes are so soulless, and the proportions are freaky

and the guard says exactly what i was thinking - that gon would use his Country Boy Woodland Creature Skills to workaround the dog....but then the subversion - this creature is NOTHING like the woodland critters gon is probably used to dealing with. theres no way gon stood a chance here. the guard just saved him from a really unfortunate death

i love all the Super Heavy Stuff in the servant house that seems so inconvenient vbhjdkfasjfld. also forgot to mention earlier but the guard guy being Absolutely Ripped was wild and kinda funny

training montage! gon continues to be so cute. and i love so much how leorio and kurapika are like no, you rest, we’ll take care of this. good parents!!!!

and then!!!! they sync up and use the power of gay love to almost open the gate. but then gon uses the power of Improbable Shounen Protag Healing Speed to toss that arm sling off and help out

i feel like leorio was side-eyeing gon like w8 a sec u broke that arm like a few days ago that aint right.....

oh man i almost forgot abt that scene with the zoldyks torturing killua :( :( this poor kid he doesnt deserve that

also mom zoldyck seems truly awful but i must say her aesthetic does fuck. the victorian-lookin outfit paired with the futuristic cyclops visor thing....excellent. also im betting this face bandages are from killua cutting her face

this family is so fucked up hvbsjdhjfbakdfn

killua telling his mom that gon is definitely gonna make it there :’) hes got such unshakable faith in his bf thats so good.....

back w/the gang, and immediately they run into more trouble in the form of the young girl butler, whose name i dont know, but i love her....her design is SO good oh man. a non-caricature black person? who also isnt sexualized? in MY anime??????

i love how gons approach to conflict is currently ‘let more powerful person beat me up for hours straight in hopes that they get tired or something idk bro’ like....i love him lol, is it in an effort to show how determined he is? he doesnt even try to dodge her blows or get around her....id be tryin to hop that fence lol

oh shit the tiny zoldyk kid from earlier is spying on them....she was w/the mom so im sure thats not good

when he punches the rock part and it breaks....strong boiiii

oh man that little flashback from when killua first came back and told her that he made a friend ;_; bruh

i love butler girl :( she wants to let gon but knows it isnt allowed....and as soon as she starts to waver BAM here comes mom zoldyck JFC that was so sudden and jarring....im assuming butler girl isnt dead cause that would be lame and anticlimactic

also IS THAT NEN??? NEN>>>??? NEN??? HM? NEN?????????

im so annoying abt nen i need to make one of those ‘is this a pigeon?’ memes w/’is this nen?’ bc thats me anytime anything remotely weird happens lmao

i do think its rlly nen this time tho

anyways shit is wild, cant wait to meet the full zoldyck family

PREDICTION CORNER:

as i said above i doubt hisoka will show up now bc this arc is a lot shorter than i anticipated. also im doubting that illumis even gonna show up honestly

i think we’re gonna have this OP for a while, as the part just at the end shows gon and hisoka fighting in what looks to be an arena, and ik the next arc is the heavens arena arc, which im assuming is the tournament arc....

also i have no idea what that weird building in the OP is but my guess is that its the building w/the heavens arena in it bc its tall and,,,,heaven

i predict there wont be much fighting in this little arc bc how tf else is it so short. at this point i rlly think gon is just gonna grab killua and go lmao. im super curious abt how thats gonna go down, considering that killua is currently strung up just bc he wont apologize...so i cant imagine his family would just let him leave w/gon. i wonder if killua will fight them, or if gons determination will impress them and then theyll let killua go (doubt it)

thats basically it....we’ll see abt the next few eps holla

#lj watches hxh #hxh #woohoo continuation

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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 15

Blargage. Sorry about the pause guys, work got crazy there for a while. For the record, I understand that there is a second season to Brotherhood (for some reason broken up into multiple parts on iTunes), I was just expecting that there would be an intro change at the season halfway point cause I’ve gotten used to that from other anime. Granted, the ones that come to mind are one-season or currently-only-one-season shows like KlK or AoT, so that perspective’s probably a little skewed. Onwards with Brotherhood!

Episode 15 - Envoy from the East We open in a city at ni- wait, what’s with the electricity? I thought the Terminator died last episode? Ah, an Alchemist duel, got it. In the alleyway the smoke clears to show what. What is this. Why am I looking at an Evil Mister Monopoly?

Mr. Monopoly is chuckling as he fights oh hai Scar, how’s it going? No sunglasses? Heeey, this episode doesn’t have any subtitles. How am I supposed to spell this guy’s name then? (currently boasting that he’s the Silver Alchemist, name sounds vaguely Italian) Whatever, I’ll just stick with Mr. Monopoly. Not like he’ll be around much longer, facing Scar. Mr. Monopoly is certainly living up to his name, Transmuting numerous presumably silver weapons to fling at Scar. Doing fairly well too, dodging the Ishvalan’s attacks when he has a peg leg. Captain Monopoly, then? But it doesn’t last, one scratch is exchanged for a broken peg leg, the Silver Alchemist takes a bath and gets a Face Death Grab. Bye, Captain Monopoly! Ooh, new intro! Seems we’ve got a guy singing the intro this time, pale-shaded Al and Ed before we get normal-colored Ed on a hill reaching towards the sun/title. Hey, the captions are back! Wait no, it’s the gossiping at Central from last episode, Roy walking through the hallway. Guess the captions are broken this episode, turning them off. Odd. Intro continues with clouded skies, Ed and Al sitting under a tree- suddenly panda? Yeah there’s a little girl with a little panda on her head, striking martial arts poses. The titular “Envoy from the East”? Now another new character, older black-haired guy with a ponytail and sword standing on some ruins, what looks like a pair of ninjas drop into the scene before we transition. Quick shots of Roy’s Crew (Havoc, Furey, two others I don’t remember but one appears to be a Big Eater, and Riza) and Roy himself. Now we’re back to Ed glaring at the camera, a clear shot of Hohenheim/Papa Elric glancing back? Ooooh, they’re looking at each other in a graveyard, no doubt over whose grave is between them. Shot of metal-armed Ed getting pulled into the Gate, while a human right hand reaches for him? Dunno if symbolic or if he frak’d up again. Winry is sitting at a desk next to a picture board, we see the Elric Family with Papa Elric’s face still covered. Quick scenes of Scar surrounded by flames (“dang it, I did leave the stove on”), Lust and Gluttony on a rooftop at night (what the heck is up with Gluttony’s face?!), a dark red-eyed face surrounded by screaming masks (charming), an Uroborus left eye that I recognize as Bradley/Wrath, and Father/clearly Papa Elric sitting in his Pipe Chair holding a cup of “wine”. What is his deal, even? More fight scenes, Ed earthbending at Envy and Gluttony, Bradley firebending at Lust, werewolves charging at Panda Girl? Who’s got some neat Alchemy moves, cool! Then we get Bradley swordfighting Sword Man and the ninjas, who are actually getting in some hits? Seeing as we know that Bradley is a Goth now, this makes me very happy! Then Screaming!Scar fighting Screaming!Ed, screen whites out from their attack before we get Ed closing his watch (Don’t Forget Oct. 11), and the Elric Brothers walk along a traintrack into a desert. Episode proper continues with Scar, who does not seem happy and is asking “Who is this?” Inside the dilapidated house is that weasly guy from last episode who led the bounty hunters to Scar, is Scar crashing at his place? There’s also Intro!Girl, who politely introduces herself (going without captions here, apologies for misspelling) as Mei-Chang. And that is a little panda she has with her. Cute! Mei-Chang’s saying that “Master Yoki” (Scar shoots Yoki a look at this) found her collapsed by the side of the road and brought her to the house. Scar tries to shoo her out as she’s feeling better now, but Mei sees that Scar’s leg is cut, and says that she’ll close the wound. She sets up a standard circle-star TC, but puts shuriken at the corners? Oooh, we get to see foreign Alchemy styles now, neat! Scar and Yoki are shocked to see the injury healed so quickly, Mei says that’s it a skill called (please forgive the spelling, not having captions is really annoying) “Alcahestiry from the land of Shing”. Yoki scoffs at Mei’s claim that she crossed the desert from the east, Mei insists that she did it along with Shao-Mei (Assuming the tiny panda here). Scar is shocked when said panda looks back at Scar while Mei’s saying all this, he reaches out to either Hand O’ Doom it or pet it, I can’t tell which. Mei looks back though, and Scar freezes. Which means Mei sees his tattooed arm and identifies it as Alcahestiry? Ooh, Scar family backstory! Scar says that his brother researched both Alchemy and Alcahestiry (so there’s a distinction between the practices, then). Mei is very complimentary of his brother’s skill. Methinks that Scar doesn’t like to think about how he got the tattoo, though. Yoki notes that with Scar healed they can continue on to Central, Mei invites herself along. Saying something about immortality? Yoki dismisses her, and gets a bite from the panda for his rudeness. Ha! We get a mental monologue from Mei that she knows immortality doesn’t work with Alcahestiry, but it is possible through alchemy (Yoki’s behind her still screaming about the panda eating his hand, Scar’s sitting clearly already Done With This). That’s why Mei’s here, to meet the man she’s heard so much about. Wait, what’s with the roses and music… uh oh. Oh dear Leto no. Mei’s got a crush on Edward Elric. As cute as that is, I think Ed’s a little old for you, dear. Also, Winry. Central at night now, a blond woman (looks kinda like Riza) is walking her dog through an alleyway when the dog spins around and starts growling. Creepy laughing? Aw crap I know that hollow-voice, that’s Barry the Chopper! Run! Wait… ha! Ok, sorry for not recognizing you properly Riza, haven’t seen you out of uniform before. When faced with a Soul Armor serial killer, Riza just pulls a pistol from her groceries and starts blasting at the panicking Barry. Who tries to freak her out by removing his helmet? Pfft, sorry dude. That might work for some civilians, but Hawkeye knows Al. She just blasts his helmet away. Which makes Barry start crushing on Riza? Ew, no. Also, props to the dog who’s gnawing at Barry’s cloak. We’re at a warehouse now, puppy standing guard as it seems that Barry’s being questioned by Roy and his Totally Non-Military Civilian Friends. With Barry the crew’s got the lead on the secret lab that Bradley ordered Armstrong not to discuss. Now that Roy’s clued into the military producing Philosopher Stones, he wants to investigate the researchers- but it seems that when their research was done they got used to make Stones as well. Roy also asks if Barry was the one who killed Hughes, but that’s a dead end. Hey, it’s Rush Valley! Finally, we get to see Winry again. How’s her apprenticeship going? The mechanist is walking out of a story when she hears a familiar voice: Edward! Who’s reeeealy hoping that she’s in a generous mood today. Because yeah, Ed’s arm took a bit of a beating in the last episodes. Winry is not happy about this. Later, Winry is patching up Ed’s arm (who is slumped on a table, blood-stained wrench by his side), chiding him for getting into trouble even when their pickpocket acquaintance has an honest job as an odd-job woman. As for the brothers, they’ve made some progress but can’t give any details. Winry’s dones with the patch-job, but still needs a few parts to finish it, so until then she shoo’s the two out to kill some time. Ed’s complaining about there being nothing to do as a non-engineer in a town of nothing but automail shops. But Al’s found something in an alleyway. Aw, do we get a cute “caring for a stray cat” episode? Actually, wasn’t there a white cat in the credits scene? Oh! Not a cat then, rather an unconscious Intro-Sequence character in the form of Sword Guy. And rather than an extended healing sequence, we cut right to the guy (who sounds an awful lot like Vic from Red vs Blue) chattering away at a table piled with dishes, saying that they shouldn’t quibble about who’s paying (not him). Sword Guy says that he’s from Shing (sorry, actual map shows up saying that it’s Xing), and he crossed the desert to visit the ruins of Xerxes. *notes namedrop for future episodes, there’s no way that mention won’t pay off later* Sword Guy (when are we getting his actual name?) is info-dumping about Alcahestiry, saying that it’s actually Alchemy, or probably closer to Bio-Alchemy given the emphasis in Xing for healing. Ed remarks that for Amestris it’s more for military, what with border skirmishes to the south (Aerugo) and west (Creta), with a huge country Drachma to the north, with a sort of Russian Agreement: tentative non-aggression treaty and there’s a wintery mountain range between them, but relations are dicey. Finally there are introductions, Sword Guy says he’s Ling-Yao. Buuuut he’s not actually an Alcahestrist, he’s just in town looking for something: *dramatic eye opening* The Philosopher’s Stone. Aw come on, I was just starting to like this guy. Don’t tell me he’s another “Immortality at the expense of other lives” jerk. Ed claims that he doesn’t know anything, Ling wonders if they’re lying, snaps his fingers and SUDDENLY NINJAS!

*Sigh* Yep, Ling smirks and says he want’s to achieve immortality. Well we did kill off Greed last episode, I guess we needed someone to take his place. Mid-episode pause here, we get character portraits for May Chang (w/ Shao May) and Ling Yao. Ok, so got Sword Man’s name right, I blame Avatar for mistyping May’s name. Back to the show, Ling’s telling Ed to spill the beans, Ed bluffs that it’s a bunch of nonsense. Then he breaks free nope boot to the head. Al gets tossed too, these guys are no joke. But if they can survive Teacher, they can survive these ninjas! Across the city pickpocket-girl (sorry I can’t remember your name) notices the sparks and smoke from the fight, and Ling just laughs as he sees the fight move away and orders some dessert. Sliding along some awfully large pipes now Ed transmutes a metal staff (and of course damaging the infrastructure like that causes no immediate problems), but Silent Ninja is easily beating Ed in this close-quarters combat. Experience fighting other Alchemists? Ed rants about getting attacked just because he didn’t give them information, “you and your boss with the freaky closed eyes”- wow ok Silent Ninja really didn’t like that, tried to poke out Ed’s eyes. Yeesh. Aw, poor baby Ed. He was so proud to finally land a hit on Silent Ninja, but nope another boot to the head. But now that Ed’s seen that Silent Ninja’s weakness is insulting Ling (hmmm, sudden suspicions about Silent Ninja from that), he has a plan. Begin the trolling! On Al’s side of the fight, he’s running down the street when pickpocket girl starts calmly jogging along side him. Al’s happy to see Paninya (thank you!) again, asks her for a favor. Mustache Ninja is thinking about how “every living person emits a flow of ki”, but he doesn’t sense any from Al. So he doesn’t know that Al’s a Soul Armor, then? Quick Al, pull a Barry and remove your helmet! Suddenly Al and Paninya turn around, Mustache scoffs at the aid of one person- and we’re back to Ed vs Silent. Ed is doing what he does best and annoying the crap out of his opponent, a dodge and gutpunch later he’s got Silent by the mask and yup no surprises here that Silent is a lady. Ed is shocked (shocked I say) that he’s been fighting a girl. Buddy, you of all people should be aware that the ladies are some of the biggest badasses in this show. Riza, Winry, Teacher, a quick flash of Paninya aiming her cannon-knee… and Silent’s now neutralized Ed’s arm and dropped a grenade in his face. Ouch. The townfolk panic at the dual explosions (really? You lot live in a town revolving around Automail, I’d think you’d be used to events like this), Mustache is thinking that this county is a force to be reckoned with, when Al swoops in and binds him to the town’s sign and demasks him. Mustache is surprised to see “Alkahistry without an array”, reminder at how special the brothers are to Transmute without TCs. On brother’s end… things could be going a little better. We see Ed’s mechanical arm reaching up through rubble as Silent walks up, and now I need a new name for her as she complains that she overdid it and that Master Ling will be furious- aha, the arm’s detached! A snare is sprung and the ninja’s hoisted into the air, Ed reclaims his arm and chides her for using a weapon that would have killed anyone else. Callback to the island, setting traps for rabbits. Nice continuity! Al and Paninya arrive with Mustache in hand- And then Sword Man shows up all chipper, complimenting their skills and offering them jobs to take over the country. Ed’s giving this the proper response, when… uh oh. The townfolk aren’t very happy right now, somebody’s gonna have to cover all these damages. Ed points to Ling, who suddenly can’t speak Amestrisian good and skedadles. And of course in the few seconds we looked away from the ninjas there’s nothing but cut ropes now.

Welp, now to fix everything back up- oh right, Ed’s armless. Wait, why is it surprising that Al can Transmute without a TC now? This is a recent thing? I honestly thought he could do it from the beginning, my bad. Aw, chin up Ed. Just because your younger brother is taller than you and now he’s got your super special no-TC style as well, it doesn’t mean you aren’t important. Just… less so. Poor, poor Ed, collapsing in despair and writing something in blood. No subtitles here, can someone translate for me? Later that day, the Elric Brothers return to the AutoMail shop where Winry is apprenticing, and guess who they find? [Ling]: “Hello, we meet again!”

Ed immediately bashes Ling over the head with his detached arm, who just tries acting all friendly. Still hoping to hire the brothers? Ah, info on the ninjas! I’m approximating the girl’s name as Lahn-Fahn, and the old man is Fu. Their family (so they’re related? Father/daughter?) has served his for generations, and are quite good as we’ve seen. So what about Sword Man, what’s Ling’s deal that he has ninjas working for his family? (Also, this guy in a purple shirt and suspenders drinking tea with Ling, another employee?) Oh, Ling’s “the Emperor’s son”! The Elrics… burst out laughing? Ling’s a little nonplussed about this reaction, but the Elrics explain that they just didn’t see it coming, that the guy who they found collapsed in an alley and mooched food off of them is a prince. Lahn-Fahn does not approve of this disrespect, yikes. Oh, a lesson in Xing politics, the country’s broken up into 50 clans, and the Emperor gets married to a daughter of each of the clan leaders (yikes). Currently Ling shares the prestigious title of Prince with 23 other sons, with him at #12. Obviously this family setup makes succession complicated, and with the current Emperor’s health iffy all the clans are working to gain favor. Ling’s attempt is to discover immortality, I’m assuming for himself to increase his own survival rather than give it to dear old pops and never get the job. So he asks again for info, Ed refuses to say anything, and the noble Prince immediately latches onto Ed and declares that he’s sticking around until Ed cracks. Ed beings wailing on Ling with his arm, Lahn-Fahn prepares to respond to this aggression- Uh oh. Winry’s just arrived, talking about how there was some sort of fight on Main Street. Just in time to see Ed waving around the broken arm she’d fixed earlier that day. Ling watches with a vapid grin as tools go flying and Ed pleads for nonexistent mercy, until Fu pokes his head through the window for his young lord. On the rooftop, Fu asks why Ling is acting subservient to a commoner, Ling just says that with the fate of 500,000 clansmen on the line a little bowing is a small price to pay. Huh. So is his clan at risk if he doesn’t become Emperor? Inside the shop Winry’s asking where Ed plans to go and break his automail this time, working away at the arm as Purple-Shirt looks on (I’m assuming that he’s the mechanic Winry’s working for right now). Al mentions that they’re planning on continuing their investigations in Central, Winry asks to go along to- uuuuuuuuuuuuugh. [Winry]: “I’d like to go see the Hughes’ family again.” Whyyyyy. Why must these poor kids be heading towards such bad news? Ugh, the scene where they’re told what happened is going to be excruciating. Al asks about Winry’s work in Rush Valley, Purple-Shirt (who Winry calls Mr. Garfield and who I now headcanon as having tea and discussing prototypes with Leeron) encourages her to take a break. [Ed]: “Okay, we’ll all go!” [Al]: “Central, here we come!” [Winry]: *Cheerful giggle* [Ling]: “Oh, we’re going to Central? How exciting!” Snrk. Cut to a wagon, with a sleeping May and Shao in the back (based on tropes I can guess that May’s a half-sister Xing Princess who’s off to try and find the secret of immortality like Ling, although I’d be impressed if the writer subverted expectations by having them be unrelated). Yoki’s chattering about how he doesn’t know Scar’s name, the Ishvalan says that names among his people are considered sacred gifts from God. But he’s renounced his name, and snaps at Yoki to keep moving. [Scar]: “I am walking down a path with no return. So I will leave behind me every gift I have received from God.” New credits sequence! Singing is a mix of English and Japanese, a view of the countryside behind a short white-stone wall. Winry’s standing against a blue cloudy sky with hair blowing, Ed’s looking away from the camera in his red cloak, same with Al, shot of their burnt-down house. The new characters of Ling and his Ninjas get dramatic determined poses, May and Shao get their own against a sunset background. Flashback of Baby!Ed and Baby!Al shopping for groceries, then walking along a path back home as the sun sets. Return to the wall of pictures (with Papa!Elric’s face still covered, come on show we know what he looks like), and then Papa!Elric looking away from the camera towards Central. And back to present Ed and Al walking towards the horizon, sequence ends with a night-time shot of the Rockbell’s home. Alright! New characters from Xing promise some new shenanigans, with everyone going back to Central I’d say things are coming to a head but we’re only a little over halfway through the first season. Bleh, our poor babies learning about Hughes is going to be awful, can we get that out of the way soon so it’s not hanging over our heads anymore? Assuming that they manage to get back home next episode and aren’t delayed by filler, we’ll see how things shake out in Central.

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 15

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thundercracer · 6 years ago

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“Picnic Blanket Chats”

Freezerburn Week 2018 Day 4: Free Day

Available on AO3!

Yang found herself with a rare predicament. There was nothing to do. Well… nothing fun to do, at least.

She could play video games, but Ruby and Blake were out doing something book fair so it would be boring to just play by herself. Pyrrha and the others were all at some sort of event that Jaune had wanted to go to. Even Sun and Neptune were down for the count for the day. Even Qrow and her dad were out at the park with Zwei, having left before she could even ask to tag along.

Huffing an exasperated breath, Yang heaved herself off the couch. No use in sitting around when she had some activity searching to do. She hopped on Bumblebee and cruised around town for a bit, enjoying the soft breeze rifting through her tresses.

She could always work out…

Or go to that new cafe Coco had told her about…

Maybe she could head to the park to join up with her father and uncle, even if it was a bit lame. She changed her course and managed to get near the park the two were most likely spending time in.

Then, out of her peripheral, she spotted something amazing. A beautiful white haired girl sat simply, yet pristine on a baby blue picnic blanket somewhat away from the trail Yang was on. Dressed in all whites and blues, the girl sat and engaged herself in a decent sized book, simply enjoying the day.

Oh shit… she’s adorable.

Yang hadn’t even realized she’d stopped her bike to gawk at this random stranger. She didn’t know what to do when the girl’s light blue eyes swiftly lifted to meet her gaze, appearing thrown off and suspicious of the random woman staring her down from twenty feet away.

“Oh… Uh. Hi.” Yang waved and grinned. She brought Bumblebee over but making sure to stay a decent distance away from this girl. “I’m sorry, I must look really creepy right now.”

The girl looked up at her, having to crane her neck. “It’s certainly a concerning feeling when you look up to see someone just blatantly staring at you.”

“Sorry,” Yang scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment, “but you were so pretty that I stopped dead in my tracks.”

This seemed to catch the girl off guard. Her cheeks flared up, a lovely peony color, until her blush reached the tips of her ears.

“I… don’t believe I’ve heard that one yet.”

“You probably get hit on a lot, huh?” Yang smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a creep. But you really are attractive. Would you be interested in hanging out some time?”

“Well…” the girl twisted loose strands of ivory between slender fingertips, “I’m free right now, if you care to join me. My name is Weiss, by the way.”

“The name’s Yang!”

And Yang situated herself next to this girl, the two of them not knowing a thing about each other. Which shifted slowly at first. She learned that Weiss was a singer and was currently on a break after finishing her final recordings for an album. Weiss learned that Yang was training to become a mechanic and possibly an engineer, should finances get better.

Yang found that Weiss was a bit of a scholar and Weiss figured Yang wasn’t one for traditional university. Weiss was also apparently a business major which helped with both her record deals and with her family company. Yang was basically a mom to her little sister after the death of her step-mother.

After some hours the two of them found themselves on their backs, gold and silver pooling about them as their hair swirled together. They peered up into the clouds, lightheartedly discussing what certain shapes could be.

“Oh that one’s a guitar, for sure,” Yang boasted.

“No way!” Weiss protested. “It’s a motorcycle! Don’t you drive one? How could you not get that one?”

Their conversations shifted into deeper topics.

“My mom left before I knew how to walk.”

“My father disowned me for being a lesbian.”

They discussed good things and bad things. And Yang honestly never felt closer to someone than she did with this complete and utter stranger. Though, after the talk they’d had, she couldn’t consider this girl a stranger anymore. Yang didn’t want the moment to end, but before she realized it the sun had begun to set.

“Oh damn,” she muttered, sitting upright. Weiss joined her, fixing her hair somewhat. “I’ve got to get going. Rubes will probably be back soon and I’ve gotta get dinner started.”

Weiss nodded, though she looked somewhat hesitant for their moment to come to an end as well. “Alright, Yang. Please get home safe.”

“Well wait a second,” Yang took out her phone and handed it to Weiss expectantly. “I’m not leaving without getting your number.”

Weiss blinked in surprise. “You want to do this again?”

“Are you kidding? This was the best free day I think I’ve had. Maybe I can treat you to dinner next time?”

Weiss offered a shy but warm and open smile. “I think I would like that.”

“Well I like that you like that,” Yang laughed. “Oh, would you mind us taking a pic? I’ve gotta show Ruby the beauty I’ve found today after all.”

“You’re incorrigible,” Weiss quipped, but the tone wasn’t as sharp as the words. “Just one.”

“Not one for selfies, princess?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

Regardless, the two of them posed together, easy smiles coming to them in the moment. It was a lovely picture and Yang was excited to show her little sister.

“Alright princess, you get home safe, yeah?”

“You too, Yang… shoot me a text later?”

“You know it!”

Yang arrived home in the greatest mood. The rest of the household plus Blake all had returned home by that point and were amused yet curious about Yang’s more than usual boisterous mood.

“Guys! I met the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen today.”

“Oooh! Do you have a girlfriend now, Yang?” Ruby practically bounced over. “Do you have pics? I wanna see!”

“I actually do!” Yang had been more than prepared. She offered Ruby her phone and puffed out her chest in pride. Though she quirked an eyebrow in confusion as Ruby’s expression shifted from unbridled excitement to disbelief. “I know, Rubes. She’s too pretty to be real, right?”

“Yang, this is Weiss.”

“Huh?”

Blake’s ears quirked up somewhat. “Weiss?”

“Yeah, Blake. Get over here. This is totally Weiss, isn’t it?”

The cat faunus’ ears twitched as her shoulders shook from what appeared to be amusement. “Yang, this is our friend from university. She’s in one of our literature classes.”

“I only talk about her all the time, Yang!” Ruby scolded. “You’re dating our best friend?”

“Whoa there,” Yang’s mind reeled. “We’re not exactly dating and holy smokes, really? I mentioned you a million times but she never said anything!”

Yang realized she’d never used last names while talking. At least, not Ruby’s last name. Holy shit she had totally hit on and asked out her little sister’s friend from school.

“Well… shucks.”

#freezerburn #freezerburnweek2018 #rwby #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #my writing #I'm a day late with this cause of WORK

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bffhreprise · 6 years ago

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Entry 264

“Enough of this. Quiet.” I commanded, examining my daughters. I couldn’t know which was which without asking, and I wouldn’t lower myself to speak with them. These two had been disappointments ever since they were stolen away, never working toward our family’s good fortune.

“I don’t believe the master of this house understands Japanese.” stated Lady Pendreigh, obviously suggesting that I was being rude by speaking in my native tongue.

“Actually, I do.” commented Mr. Somerset in perfect Japanese. Then, speaking in English, he said, “But I would prefer if we all were to stick with English while around my staff. I believe introductions are in order.”

I would speak in English till the day I died before upsetting that one. His strength was as certain as Lady Pendreigh’s, though she seemed surprised by his mastery of my language. Interesting.

Stepping over to a pretty blonde with exquisitely dyed hair, James said, “I believe you already know Mary Wilson. This is her daughter, Emma.”

The girl curtsied, so I nodded. Duncan had been most impressed with her. If his stories of her powers weren’t full of boasting, she would make a splendid addition to the family, assuming she would earn our trust.

“Emma tends to the grounds with her magic, and I can assure you that you’ll find our vegetables exemplary if you dine with us this evening.” explained Mr. Somerset. He went on to say, “I regret to say that the forest is off limits without first signing a contract. I’ve been informed trespassers meet an untimely demise, but feel free to negotiate with my secretary, Aaliyah T. Sypher, if you wish.”

I fought the wave of fear but felt some had still shown. No one spoke lightly of Death and lived, but this one employed her as a secretary. That much of my son’s report was now confirmed.

“That… will not be necessary.” I stated, not wanting to trust my safety to the whims of such creatures. I doubted the Great One would place my value over theirs. My eyes were drawn to a small point of light in the form of a tiny, winged woman. She flew over to James, gracefully dancing through the air, seeming to chastise him. My son had told me of her, but seeing her was something else.

Seeming to catch my gaze, Mr. Somerset said, “Ah. This little one’s a dear friend of mine. Unfortunately, she seems a bit perturbed, having been left behind in my office. Meeting the rest of the fey truly is an interesting experience, so please do consider the contract. Adelmar seemed to enjoy the experience.”

“Oh, my cousin most certainly would recommend the experience.” insisted Lady Pendreigh, smiling warmly.

I nearly bowed to her will, but restrained myself, knowing that I could not show such subservience at the moment. “I will certainly consider your suggestion.”

The fairy landed on Mr. Somerset’s shoulder, sitting and nuzzling against his neck. He didn’t seem to think anything of it. I knew of his magic well enough to know why, but my comparatively feeble arts were helping to dull the sensation slightly from what I had felt in the arena.

James moved onto a black-haired man, saying, “This is Marco Rossi, our phenomenal chef. I have yet to find a meal he doesn’t create exquisitely in a multitude of variations.”

“Too kind. Too kind.” claimed the chef, though he smiled proudly.

The brown-haired girl who came next had perfect posture and an heir of importance to her. “This lovely lady is named Cosette. She’s fairly new to my company, but she is showing tremendous promise.”

“Enough promise that she was offered France, though she has yet to accept.” added Lady Pendreigh lightly.

My head jerked to stare at the Lady, shocked that the Great One would praise this child that much.

“Well, I am just as happy to keep her here.” insisted Mr. Somerset, stepping over to a girl with hair as white as her skin. Signing as he spoke, he said, “Portentia has been with my company since September, and she has proven to be quite gifted as a best friend in my company.”

“Her skills with a staff and unarmed combat are very formidable. I can attest that you would be most impressed with a demonstration.” claimed Lady Pendreigh.

“This would interest me.” I replied, having heard a little of her from my son. I took note of the girl’s surprise that Mr. Somerset would know sign language, saying as much through it.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” agreed Mr. Somerset, while apologizing to the girl with his fingers.

She seemed disappointed that she wasn’t his teacher.

“My apologies. Portentia is deaf, so I was translating and grew distracted.” he claimed, unaware that I knew what he had said.

“No offense taken.” I assured him, knowing I wouldn’t admit offense if he threw a drink in my face and stomped on my foot, though I’d need to set the bones quickly. He was far too dangerous.

“Next is Brandon. He joined my company last June with his sister, but I believe she’s out on a job at the moment.” explained James as he motioned to the relatively tall boy with red hair.

“Sure is, boss. I’m pretty amazing too, by the way. Check this out!” exclaimed the boy, causing his arm to grow in size.

I knew from my son that Brandon would hardly pose a threat to my personal guard. His sister could at least use magic, though poorly.

“He and his sister have different talents, but they’re both valued friends here.” stated Mr. Somerset, making me worry if my disinterest had offended him. “Jarod has been my best friend practically since we met and joined my company soon after Aaliyah. She personally taught him how to fight, as Duncan surely mentioned, and he has great expertise in numerous fields. He easily could have retired already if he was a much lazier sort.”

“Thanks, man.” replied Jarod.

Jarod’s lack of upbringing was readily apparent, but he had very powerful allies. Still, I pointedly watched the fairy, knowing I couldn’t show the slightest approval yet. We were bargaining here.

“Allow me to introduce Mila.” stated Lady Pendreigh as she gestured to the maid. Though she could easily pass for my sister, you surely realize I’m an only child. Mila is quite possibly the most accomplished and capable maid you’ll ever find, Adelmar’s staff included. Being multiple places at once certainly has advantages.”

“Multiple places at once?” I questioned.

“I’m an artificial lifeform. Duncan’s description of me was quite inadequate, I’m sure, but I didn’t have this body when he was here.” explained Mila. Then her voice came from the walls as she said, “I am quite capable of running the house, cars, and numerous other devices without the slightest stress. In fact, my current hardware is sufficient to quite easily electronically isolate your country without the slightest lag in any of my duties, so you can imagine how difficult swatting a company is for me.”

The threat was obvious in her words, but I could do nothing against Death’s creation. Mr. Somerset had overwhelming power at his disposal.

“Thank you, Mila. I am certain she’s not exaggerating even slightly, Mrs. Drache, considering the things I’ve witnessed.” warned Lady Pendreigh, though she smiled. “We try to stay on Mila’s good side.”

“I would not have even known you were artificial.” I admitted. “Who constructed this android?”

Mr. Somerset motioned to his friend, Jarod.

“Mila and I did a large amount of the design and construction, but Aaliyah took care of her skin, eyes, and hair.” explained Jarod.

“You had some great insights for hair growth.” insisted Mila.

He shrugged, perfectly comfortable with his own brilliance. My son might not have been overestimating Jarod’s worth to us.

James then explained “Jarod has his own lab under the garage here, since he’s also kind enough to do some mechanic work for everyone. His engine design is absolutely incredible.”

“Yeah. The boss got Jarod to hook up my sis and me for our birthdays. Our cars are amazing!” added Brandon.

“I don’t want you to merely take our word on Jarod’s accomplishments, of course, so I’ve arranged a little demonstration for you if you’ll be kind enough to follow us into the east wing.” stated Lady Pendreigh, motioning down the hall to the East.

“I would not doubt your word, of course, but I will gladly accompany you.” I replied, feeling trapped. I didn’t need any more knowledge of the boy’s fighting than that a human was capable of beating my son in fair combat. Lady Pendreigh had me in her web.

“Marco, would you mind serving us tea there?” she questioned.

He winked and walked off to the West. I followed Lady Pendreigh at her side while considering how I might get out of this mess. She had known of my visit and made preparations. The staff here was obviously following some script of hers, but there was absolutely no way to win against the daughter of a Slayer in direct combat. I could hear one of my daughters idly chatting with Mila about wedding dresses behind me, another ally to them. My plan was in tatters, but not broken yet.

“What did you think of James’ latest fight?” questioned Lady Pendreigh.

“Impressive. I would not have thought to see a fight such as that.” I admitted.

“What’d ya do, boss?” asked Brandon. “You punch some guy’s face off?”

“What!? No. I didn’t strike him at all. There wasn’t really any fighting, precisely. Walis Shiqatafatu demonstrated his prowess at magic, and I suggested he surrender, which he did.” explained Mr. Somerset.

Brandon guffawed moronically before saying, “Oh man… I bet he was shocked.”

Glancing behind, Lady Pendreigh said, “Quite.” Then facing me, she added “I’m sure James would grant you a friendly sparring session if you get in the mood.”

“No.” I replied, too hastily. Forcing myself to be calm, I said, “Thank you, but I must decline.” I was on edge. Fighting Mr. Somerset would have absolutely no gain and a great deal of embarrassment on my part.

“James, you’re planning on expanding your company to Japan one day, aren’t you?” inquired Lady Pendreigh.

“I’m open to the possibility, yes.” he replied.

“If he and I were to wed, he’d have the right to challenge for his pick of land there. Do you think anyone would oppose him?” she questioned.

She knew the answer. Just as now, fighting Mr. Somerset would be an exercise in humiliation. Young as he was, James was far more powerful than my son had led me to believe, and Duncan had been very impressed by him.

“Please excuse me for a moment while I get changed.” stated Lady Pendreigh. “Emma, would you mind providing some seating for us while I’m away?” Without waiting for a reply, she blurred away with the speed of a Slayer.

“Oh… Well, I didn’t bring any seeds with me. Care if I ruin a bit of your varnish?” questioned Emma, looking to one of my daughters.

My daughter rolled her eyes while pulling chopsticks from her hair, which let her hair fall down. “Let’s see what you can do with bamboo.”

“Hmm... I’ve a few ideas.” claimed Emma, grinning brightly. The chopsticks lost their form, expanding into chairs and a table. Leaves of varying sizes came together to form cushions. “Should be cozy!” exclaimed Emma before hopping into a chair. “Don’t worry. I made super thick cuticles over the leaves, so nothing should stain your clothes.”

“Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. My son had spoke well of you, but seeing your gift in person is a delight.” I assured her, admiring the beauty of her work. The speed and control were remarkable, and I had been informed that she could control vast numbers of plants at once. My son should have worked harder to win her interest.

“These look quite comfortable. Thank you, Emma.” commented Lady Pendreigh, already dressed for combat. Smiling, she then looked to Jarod and asked “Shall we begin?”

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

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