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void-kissed · 2 years ago

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For the SI development meme: 4, 5, 6, and 8 for any or all of your Xenoblade SIs?

Sure thing, friend!! Thank you very much for sending these in, it really means a lot!~

(question source: "Self-insert Development Meme" by blushpanda)

Hmm.. You know what? I didn't catch this when I first read your ask, but I now see that you wrote "for any or all", rather than just "for any". So how about I answer all four questions for all four (well technically three but functionally four) self-inserts? ^-^

..That'll make this quite a long ask answer, so I should probably go under the readmore, haha.

Alright, here we go!~

4. Do your self-inserts have a backstory? Tell us about them! How do their backstories, if any, define who they are? How do they reflect their relationships now? Their hopes and dreams? - ..In short, yes to the first question, so to elaborate:

Sapphire's backstory is that she was born on Gormott to Gormotti parents, but while they were sailing across the Cloud Sea, their boat was swallowed up by the Urayan Titan and became shipwrecked. Sapphire was still a young child here, and sustained many serious injuries, mostly to her back and her arms. A team of Garfont Mercenaries led by Vandham himself went to the mouth of the Titan to investigate, and found Sapphire in the wreckage - none of them had brought any healer Blades with them, so Vandham picked her up and ran all the way back to Garfont Village with her in his arms to get help. To this day, none of the mercs are quite sure how she survived, considering the extent of her injuries and the time it took for her to be healed - but she did, and Vandham immediately decided he would adopt her as his daughter (naming her Sapphire), so from then on she grew up in the village amongst everyone else and training alongside the mercs until meeting the party when they arrive in Garfont Village themselves.

Aline's backstory is that she was originally a resident of Torigoth Village, one day unexpectedly becoming a Driver after unearthing Avalon's Core Crystal in a field. When the village was razed, she fled, becoming separated from Avalon in the process - Lora and Haze, at Avalon's request, found her hiding in a rainy forest nearby. There wasn't much time for her to introduce herself before the party were attacked by Gort and his mercenaries - Addam and the others were impressed by Avalon's abilities, so they asked him and Aline to accompany them on their journey, and Aline was somewhat nervous but tentatively accepted (mostly both for Avalon's sake because they actively wanted to help, and also because she had nowhere left to go now. And also to get to know Lora more).

Calanthe's backstory is that she was initially a programmer in Vector Industries' First R&D Division; specifically, she was part of the team responsible for coding KOS-MOS' emotion module. She had been working on a modification that would remove the limiter placed on KOS-MOS' emotions, allowing her to express emotions whenever she desired as opposed to only when her module deemed it necessary; she was in the middle of fitting this modification when the Gnosis attacked the Woglinde, causing KOS-MOS to self-activate and resonate with the Zohar. Since Calanthe was in physical contact with KOS-MOS at that moment.. she accidentally gets transported across universes into Alrest, appearing outside the room where the Conduit (as it is known there) is kept. In the process, she also accidentally awakens the Blade version of KOS-MOS from her Core Crystal, and has a very confused conversation with the Architect himself before wandering out of Elysium. She gets as far down the World Tree as the 7th Perimeter Skyport before accidentally falling off, causing KOS-MOS Re: to jump down after her; the two fall through the Great Void before it completely closes and end up falling into the Land of Morytha, where Poppi spots them and flies up to help them both before they hit the ground. This then allows Calanthe and KOS-MOS to meet and join the party.

Citri's backstory is that she grew up as a resident of Colony 9, and has been friends with Shulk in particular (as well as his friends by association) since her childhood. When Colony 9 was attacked by Mechon, she was injured and captured, being taken to be turned into a Face unit alongside Fiora (who suffered a similar fate). Due to Citri's friendship with Shulk, who had since begun to wield the Monado, she was chosen by Vanea to pilot Face Nemesis and become the vessel for Lady Meyneth's soul. The soul transfer worked, but Citri ended up retaining her memories and consciousness coexisting alongside Lady Meyneth, allowing her to start to get to know both her and Vanea.

..Ah, this is already a long answer. Oh well!

5. Do your self-inserts have any magical talents or otherwise special abilities? Are they passive, like the ability to befriend animals, or dangerous power that the villains want? Or if they're evil - any powers the heroes want to stop? - This varies across the four!

Sapphire has the somewhat mysterious power to crystallise atmospheric ether! This ability is rather strenuous for her to perform, and she can only do it on a small scale. However, it enables her to fix Blades' Core Crystals that have been cracked, allowing those Core Crystals to be reawakened again when they would otherwise not have been able to. She doesn't know why she can do this - in part, some of her initial motivation for joining the party is to see if she can find out - but it's because she has shards of Avalon's Core Crystal inside her, and ether crystallisation was how they used to be able to heal both Drivers and Blades, so the fragments of their Core Crystal in her body are what meant she essentially "inherited" that unique ability of theirs.

Aline doesn't really have any particular magical powers, but she does have the aptitude required to become a Driver, as she found out when accidentally resonating with Avalon! She is also quite good at befriending or calming down scared animals or creatures, but this isn't really a magical talent so much as it is just "her natural personality makes her comes across well".

Calanthe also has aptitude despite not actually being from Alrest, as she discovered when she awakened the Blade version of KOS-MOS. You could argue there's also some potential for magical stuff by virtue of having literally gone through a gate between universes despite being an ordinary human, but.. so far nothing is planned for that. She's just a very out-of-her-depth-in-a-whole-new-world programmer.

Citri may also not really have magical abilities (at least, unless the whole "harbouring the soul of a goddess inside her" part counts), but she is unique for being able to pilot Face Nemesis. Her new robotic body also makes her a lot more resilient than she would have been as a Homs, and probably also gives her faster reflexes and higher strength and things.

6. Do they fight? What’s their weapon of choice? Do they stay on the sidelines? What would it take for them to get off the sidelines? Revenge? Saving a loved one? What’s the motivation for them to fight, or to stay OUT of a fight? - Yes, all four fight in various ways and levels of willingness to fight!

Sapphire is fairly skilled in combat thanks to growing up amongst the Garfont Mercenaries, who taught her how to use a fair few different weapons (sometimes at a bit too young of an age, but it was fine). She doesn't actually become a playable character until after Chapter 4, when Tora decides to go back to Gormott with his father in my version of events and she takes up the role of Poppi's Driver (since Poppi is an artificial Blade). When this happens, she is excited to finally be on equal footing with the rest of the party, and doesn't shy away from fighting if it seems like the right thing to do!

Aline does not enjoy fighting, but sometimes has to as part of travelling alongside the others. Her weapon of choice is a sickle that she'd previously used while farming, and she starts off as the wind element, but can change this. Her non-combative disposition may be a large reason of why both the Blades she awakens during the TTGC story are healers. If she does have to be in a fight, she much prefers supporting her allies and staying back from the main fighting - the most offense she will choose to muster is self-defense if something gets too close or possibly debuffing enemies to make them easier for the others to take down.

Calanthe also isn't that much of a fighter, but is more willing than Aline - it's moreso that she isn't used to it, but can adapt fairly well. Her main weapon ends up being KOS-MOS' Ether Cannons, which is good because it keeps her a bit further back from the action while she's inexperienced; she tends to pass the cannons back to KOS-MOS for her to do specials very frequently, especially initially when she has no idea how to use these two massive Zohar-shaped cannons she's just been thrown. But with how overpowered KOS-MOS is, Calanthe still definitely holds her own (and gets flustered by KOS-MOS' awesomeness often).

Citri can also fight pretty well! In my version of events, she takes Fiora's place as the seventh playable party member (since.. she kind of fills in a lot of what her role in the story used to be, oops). She isn't naturally someone who starts fights, but at the same time she isn't afraid of fighting, especially considering the story parts she is playable for because she is confident in what needs to be done and who needs to go down (especially after the events of the Mechonis Core where she is a lot more driven to defeat the villain).

8. How do they fit into their canon world? What’re their roles to play, if any? Do they have big destinies? Or do they more live as side characters that’re helpful for the protagonists/antagonists? - All four have different roles, but the extent to which they are "main" or "side" characters varies a bit!

Sapphire is a member of the main party from Garfont Village onwards, though she only becomes playable herself after the end of Chapter 4. I think she would be quite prevalent in the story due to her relationship with Pyra, and the fact she is with the party for a lot of the overall story, especially since Tora leaves after a certain point in my version of events so there are less characters sharing the spotlight. I also think being a more important character suits her in terms of her personality, if that makes any sense!

Aline joins the party right before the first fight against Gort, and continues to be a playable character within "Team Aline" (which consists of her, Avalon, and later Ursula) for the rest of the game! From there, she acts as a supportive character to the others. Despite the fact she appears so early in the game, TTGC comes across as very focused on Lora, Jin, Addam, and Mythra specifically, so I think she would be an important but not necessarily "main" character (especially also considering her naturally more introverted and less spotlight-hunting personality).

Calanthe would join the party during Chapter 8, when they encounter her and KOS-MOS in the Land of Morytha. I think she could be playable, given that KOS-MOS being her Blade indicates that she could go on to awaken more Blades, but at the same time that's very late in the game to have a new party member join. She doesn't have that much story relevance considering she's not from the world of Alrest, so she'd be more of a side character who only gets developed more if you make the effort to go back to Alrest and do sidequests and things in the final two chapters before beating the game.

Citri is quite important within my version of events as the vessel for Lady Meyneth, whom she ends up forming a close familial connection with! She and Fiora both share the whole theme of "reasons for Shulk and Reyn to fight the Mechon and figure out what happened to them both", as well as being a link between the Homs and the Machina by virtue of being a Face unit (although Citri has a notable difference in a) the whole Lady Meyneth thing but also b) she's the only Face who retains her original hands, due to a mechanical defect in the ones she was meant to have had).

Overall, I would say that Sapphire ends up the closest to a "main character" out of the four.

Phew! That was a lot of writing! But, hopefully it was all okay - this, if nothing else, will serve as an excellent reference post for introducing new people to my Xeno self-inserts. So, thank you very kindly for the opportunity to write all this out!! ^-^

#a call from the void #heart of the void #selfshipping #self-inserts #oh boy here we go this is going to be a lot of tags. let's go in order of mentions so I don't miss anyone hopefully #self‑insert: gem of garfont (sapphire)#father: the dad from down under (vandham)#self‑insert: hope without courage (aline)#friend: shattered light (avalon)#love: knight of the people (lora)#friend: windfall memories (haze)#self‑insert: in a world displaced (calanthe)#love: power of another world (KOS‑MOS)#daughter: poppi power! (poppi)#self‑insert: vessel of nemesis (citri)#love: a wish for peace (vanea)#mother: soul of the mechonis (lady meyneth)#is that everyone???#of gods and titans (xenoblade chronicles)#familial F/Os #platonic F/Os #out of the inbox #selfship asks #berry tag!#*phew!*#maybe this should be the only one for today. but! it's done! hopefully! I didn't really proof-read it but hopefully it's okay #echo's info posts

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peace-coast-island · 2 years ago

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Diary of a Junebug

Campfire sweets and starry nights at Ruby Lake Mountain

Spending the week at Ruby Lake Mountain is a fitting way to end the year. Along with getting some much needed alone time for a couple days, I also got to hang out with good company to celebrate the future.

Reserving a cabin at Ruby Lake was sort of a last minute thing. While the holidays were good, Daisy Jane and I felt like we could use a break to decompress and take some time to figure things out. As another year comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about how life’s been so far.

Overall, this year’s not much different - ups and downs, memories that I’ll treasure, low moments I’ve learned from - that’s basically my life these past few years since running the camp. As for the future, I don’t have any big ambitions other than to just keep living life to the fullest.

I came up here first because Daisy Jane had some things to take care of at home. Then a couple days later we met up with Raiden, Qingmei, Chihu, and Sunni, who are staying in a nearby cabin. They were up on the mountain for official business at first and now that’s over they’re on a well deserved break.

Raiden and Qingmei filled us in about Chihu and Sunni, two kids who they’re taking care of at the moment. Qingmei and her sisters occasionally work for some devil hunter group, so they have some connections there. From what I’ve heard, it’s the kind of faction where you don’t expect to live long. In other words, you only work for them if you’re ready to give up your life. Raiden says she won’t get in their way but she finds their philosophy and general outlook on life questionable.

Of course, most of the people Raiden and Qingmei know from there are dead - well, except for a couple who got lucky and left as soon as the opportunity arises. Nara was one of fortunate few who managed to survive for so long despite not being a particularly skilled devil hunter. According to Raiden, she was forced to become a devil hunter in order to provide for her parents and elder siblings. Despite being a bad fit for the group, Nara managed to survive as well as escape from her shitty family. After she left, Raiden and the others kept in sporadic contact with her.

The devil hunters also occasionally take in “strays”, meaning people who are part demons like Chihu and Sunni. Even though Chihu’s a teenager he was working as a devil hunter for some time before the higher ups realized that maybe using a kid as a potential weapon isn’t such a good idea. Poor kid’s been through shit so they decided to pair him with Nara, a young kid who’s also considered special and have them both try to live as normal lives as possible while being closely monitored.

Several months ago Nara took Chihu and Sunni under her wing after they were injured in a car accident. Some possibly drunk driver crashed into a bus stop and disappeared. Chihu and Nara were badly injured while the third victim, a classmate of Chihu’s, died after being in a coma for over a month. Nara had heard about the accident on the news and insisted on taking the kids in.

Things were going well until a couple weeks ago when Nara suddenly had a stroke. Chihu said it happened so suddenly - he didn’t even know what a stroke was until a doctor explained it to him. One minute they were talking, then he noticed that she didn’t look well and next thing he knew, she was slumped over and he knew that something was wrong. Somehow, he managed to get her to the ER by foot at record speed, which was what probably saved her life.

Since Nara’s in her early twenties and appears to have no genetic issues, the likely cause of her stroke seems to be due to injuries she sustained during her devil hunter days. So even though she lived to tell the tale, it seems like no one leaves the group unscathed. Qingmei says that it seems like most of Nara’s cognitive skills are intact but in terms of movement, there’s a lot of things she has to relearn.

As if that wasn’t difficult enough for Nara, her parents are trying to interfere. Chihu says that the only reason why they want control of Nara is so they can kill her. They even tried to pay him, claiming that they were doing him a favor because “a bright kid like him shouldn’t be saddled down by a worthless invalid bitch”. Some caring people they are.

Raiden says the devil hunters are doing all they can to help Nara at Chihu’s insistence. Even though he’s a minor, it’s possible for him to become her caretaker depending on the circumstances. Although he thinks he can handle taking care of Nara and Sunni, the others don’t want him saddled with that responsibility, at least not alone. Qingmei says her sisters are trying to help Chihu and the devil hunters work things out. I hope they’ll be okay.

Chihu’s an interesting guy, to say the least. Like the others said, he can be a little off-putting at first, but once you get past that, he’s got a good head on his shoulders - most of the time. He’s one of those kids who’s forced to grow up quickly and fend for himself so it’s understandable why he’s the way he is. Qingmei feels for the kid but she admits that she finds it a bit hard to get along with him. At least Raiden’s the kind of person who won’t hesitate to put someone in line if they act out and Chihu usually gets the message.

Sunni, I’ll admit, is kinda strange, but she didn’t have a normal upbringing either. Compared to her brother, she’s a lot more subdued, almost blank. Sometimes she acts like any other kid her age, other times she seems much more older. Raiden says all she knows is that Sunni is highly unusual and that’s why the devil hunters felt it was safer for her to stay with someone who might be able to give her a sense of normalcy, whatever that means. She usually either off doing her own thing or hanging around Chihu.

For the past couple weeks the kids have been staying with Qingmei and the demon slayers. Sunni doesn’t seem to be affected too much by what’s going on, though she does care about Nara in her own way. Chihu, on the other hand, needs all the distractions he can get, so the others have been helping him keep busy.

They say he has a tendency to get obsessed with certain things, basically something that ties to his abandonment issues. While getting to know him, he told me that he’s currently obsessed with finding two people. First is finding out more information about the girl who died in the accident. According to him, he and Sunni survived because she pushed them out of the way. All he knows about her is that she was orphaned after her mother was killed by a devil and she was ostracized by the class after another unrelated incident with devils. Chihu said he spoke to her a few times but other than that, he doesn’t know her at all.

His general impression of her is that she’s one of those people who puts up a wall because she’s lonely - like him, I suppose. He admitted that she was also put off with him at first but for some reason she decided to stick around. Sunni liked her and that’s saying something as she doesn’t warm up to people easily. Even though Nara never got to know her, Chihu thinks she and Miya would’ve been good friends. In the few times he talked to her, he said she felt real, like she really understood him even though they weren’t close.

After the accident, only Chihu, Nara, and Sunni visited Miya in the hospital. He said it didn’t seem right, a pretty girl like her lying alone attached to machines in a bleak room. He’d see her whenever he could so when she woke up, she wouldn’t have to be alone. What made it worse was that no one seemed to give a fuck about her. Only Nara understood because like him and Miya, she was also all alone in this world. He was so sure that she was gonna wake up one day and when she did, he would ask her out. While I’m not so sure about the dating part, I think it would’ve been nice if they became friends.

Raiden and Qingmei tried to find more information on Miya too but came up with nothing. Funny how an unknown person can keep you up at night. After hearing Chihu’s story, I can see why he’s obsessed with knowing more about her. There’s just something tragic about Miya’s short life, the fact that if it isn’t for someone like Chihu, no one would’ve care about her. To live and die in complete obscurity, it really is sad. With no one to remember you, that person might as well have never existed. And to make matters worse, it seems like we’ll never really know what kind of a person Miya was.

His second obsession is hunting down the bastard who ran them over. There’s not much on that either except that the driver was probably under the influence. It happened around 3am so there wasn’t a lot of witnesses. As a result the case remains unsolved much to his dismay. I can’t blame him for that either - after all, that person has proven themselves to be reckless and irresponsible, not to mention they killed an innocent person. Since he has even less on that, there’s really nothing he can do about it.

For now, the demon slayers are doing their best to help the kids out, especially during the holiday season - not that they were the kind to celebrate but it can get pretty lonely when you have no one to spend them with. Qingmei’s sisters have been putting Chihu to work with some missions since he has experience and they say that’s been doing him some good. Then he got teamed up with Qingmei and Raiden to go to Ruby Lake and since it’s a short one, they figured why not take some time off and bring Sunni along.

When the weather’s not too cold we’d spend some time hiking and fishing. The main thing we’ve been doing is making sweets like cookies, mochi, jam, and custard. Some things we did together, others alone, and though some of these recipes take a lot of prep, it felt nice doing all these little things. Especially when I’m by myself I tend to slow down so I can enjoy the process without feeling like I have to rush to get things done in a certain amount of time. It’s so easy to get caught up on completing tasks that it takes effort to remind yourself that it’s okay to slow down.

Life isn’t a competition so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be allowed to move at your own pace. As long as you’re moving towards a direction that feels right for you, that’s what really matters.

We ended up trying a bunch of different recipes that we never thought of attempting before. Chihu and Sunni seemed to take a genuine interest in making desserts so that was nice. Maybe that’s why we decided to take the plunge and step out of our comfort zones.

Earl grey milk jam was one of those things. I didn’t even know that milk jam was a thing until Chihu mentioned wanting to try making it. Out of all of us I didn’t think he would have the patience to make it and it ended up pretty good. He also made fruit preserves with help from Qingmei and those were successes too.

Raiden taught us how to make red bean paste so we used that for other desserts like mochi, taiyaki, and red bean soup. We also made creme caramel custard and even though they could’ve looked better, they tasted good. It takes a bit more work but I wouldn’t mind making all of these once in a while.

Of course to go with all those sweets we made tea and cider. We considered bringing a bottle or two of wine but decided on beer instead to celebrate the new year. The kids obviously won’t be drinking but they’ll be staying up too. Since Raiden and Qingmei’s cabin is bigger, Daisy Jane and I will be joining them there.

There’s nothing like sharing sweets and hot tea under a starry mountain.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #headcanon ramble #Diary of a Junebug

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soccerdailyuk · 1 year ago

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“Never before" Ancelotti Laments Strange Happenings in Real Madrid vs Barcelona Clash

“Never before" Ancelotti Laments Strange Happenings in Real Madrid vs Barcelona Clash Real Madrid had an unfortunate evening, experiencing a 3-0 loss to Barcelona during their pre-season friendly in Texas, despite creating numerous opportunities. Reflecting on the performance later, Carlo Ancelotti conveyed to the media: “It was a good game with and without the ball and we created a lot of chances, but the negative is the result. It’s quite strange to hit the post five times in one game. I don’t think that’s every happened to me, but I’d rather it happened in pre-season. It seemed there was a wall in front of their goal. The result isn’t the important thing, but we don’t like to lose.” Ancelotti on Vinícius as the team’s penalty-taker The coach was questioned regarding Vinícius, who attempted a penalty in the match but unfortunately missed. When talking about the future primary penalty-taker for the team after Karim Benzema, the coach stated: “Vinícius was very dangerous and was centimetres from scoring. He was a positive star of the game, even without scoring. Modrić wasn’t on the pitch, and he usually took penalties if Benzema wasn’t there. It could be Modrić, it could be Vinícius, it could be Rodrygo. We’re looking at that.” Ancelotti on his decision to not start Kroos or Modrić in Real Madrid vs Barcelona Clash As for the decision to start with a very young midfield, the coach explained: “I wanted to see the youngsters in a demanding game like this, and I think the youngsters did well. I already know what Kroos and Modrić can do. In the next game, I’ll give more minutes to others. That’s a normal approach to pre-season.” Ancelotti on the injuries to Mendy and Güler in Real Madrid vs Barcelona Clash The coach gave an update on Ferland Mendy and Arda Güler. Mendy sustained an injury during the game, while Güler is dealing with a significant knee problem. The coach said: “With Ferland, it’s an muscle injury and we’ll see exactly what happened. Until now, he hadn’t had any issues and we hope it isn’t anything serious. As for Arda, he has his knee issue and I hope we can fix it in Madrid. It made sense for him to return there already.” “Never before" Ancelotti Laments Strange Happenings in Real Madrid vs Barcelona Clash Read the full article

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gaysimpsstuff · 4 years ago

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Accidental Turn-Ons; Hawks x Dom! Reader

Genre: angst to fluff to smut

Type: Oneshot

Summary: Hawks returns home from a mission, clearly exhausted, and you take the time to give him a little massage! However, it doesn’t quite have the effects you expected.

Word Count: 3.5K

Warnings: minor dub-con (Y/n doesn't know that what they're doing is sexual for Hawks), stress, minor injuries, Keigo's adorable bird tendencies, sexual innuendo, dom y/n, wing play, feather play, nicknames, edging, dacryphilia, handjobs, aftercare

Other: Yo this might actually be my best smut yet

Inspiration: This was actually inspired by my own piece of work, MHA Characters + Their Biggest Kinks where I spoke about Hawks’ wing and back kink and how it relates to his avian traits.

Taglist: @smolchildfangirl @mandalorian-baby-bird @waffleareniceandfluffy @catcherisvibin @thesubtlewhore @popcatx0

You paced the living room, glancing between the TV and the door. The news station had cut away from the fight five minutes ago, which meant your boyfriend was either in the hospital getting treated for any injuries he might have sustained, dealing with fans, dealing with paperwork, or on his way home.

Your phone buzzed and you raced to grab it off the couch, fearing an incoming call from the hospital, or a news alert about the well-being of the man you loved.

You bit the inside of your cheek as you realized it was just an email from work, not even marked important. You tossed your phone back onto the couch with a groan.

Wasted build-up. Your mind grumbled

Your eyes flicked back to the TV, watching as the reporter rambled on about yet another stupid thing America had going on as you waited for something, anything to happen. Right when you were getting ready to pick your phone back up from the couch cushions when you heard a light tap tap tappity tap against the thick glass of the sliding glass door that led to your balcony.

You dashed across the living room, accidentally knocking a chair over as you raced to reach the sliding glass door that led to the balcony. You'd recognize his special knock any day, even if he changed it all the time whenever he forgot it. You always had patience with him, you knew he had too many things on his mind with Hero Work to always remember a random knock.

You grabbed the handle, yanking the door open with a wide grin, finally laying eyes on your bird boy. He had a hand stuffed in his pocket, the other rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Hey, Y/n. So sorry I'm late, been flying all day so naturally I'm a little sore. No excuse for missing movie night but-"

"I'm just so glad you're here!" You exclaimed, taking his cheeks in your hands and rubbing at his cheekbones. "I'm so sorry you're hurting, come inside I'll get a heating pack, or a cooling pack, maybe some lotion and I could give you a massage." You babbled, tugging him inside.

"A massage and some cuddles sound great," he sighed, eyes tired. You never liked the fact that Keigo was a hero. He worked too hard, too much, and for so long. He was still young, he should be appreciating life and spending time on himself and with his lover and not with the commission. "Oh I uh, I found this for you."

He took one of your hands off his face, taking his other hand out of his pocket and pressing something cold and smooth into your palm. You opened your fingers, a soft smile growing on your face at the sight of a smooth pretty white rock with grey and black speckles.

"Oh, Kei, this is beautiful. I love it~" you pressed a kiss to Keigo's cheek, loving the way he trilled. He was always so excited to pick up random items he found pretty or interesting, and he'd always give them right to you. It was truly adorable, you loved his gifts. His wings fluttered in happiness for a moment before he winced slightly in pain, happiness vanished in a reminder of his stress from the day.

"Ouch, okay, sitting down time," he muttered, stumbling past you to flop down on the couch. You grabbed the lotion from the kitchen counter (you kept it there for whenever he came home with sore muscles). You set the stone down on the coffee table, tapping it twice in a small show of affection before sitting next to Keigo.

"Shirt off Birdie," you said, squirting some lotion into your palm before rubbing them together.

"Hey, at least buy me a drink first," he chuckled, tugging his jacket off and peeling off his tight hero shirt. You sighed, deciding not to comment on his tacky flirting, knowing you'd been dating for almost a year now.

He turned his back to you, crossing his legs. He folded his wings, lowering them to give you access to his shoulders and shoulder blades. You pressed your fingers against one of his shoulders, finding a large knot almost immediately. You heard him hiss, and your frown increased.

"I know it hurts but it will hurt a lot less when I'm finished," you told him, pressing a gentle kiss to the nape of his neck. The hair there rose against your skin, a shiver shooting down his spine. You blinked, confused at his reaction. Maybe it was uncomfortable for him. You resolved not to kiss there again.

You continued to rub against his tightened muscles, listening to his soft hisses and groans. You pulled away after about six minutes, picking up the lotion bottle and squirted some more into your palms.

"Hey, when you finish with mm~ when you finish with that shoulder could you do around my wing joints? Down my spine, y'know?"

"Are there muscles there?" you asked, most people didn't have muscles down their spines, usually it was just the ridges of said bones.

"Yeah, I do," he explained quickly. You nodded pressing into his knot, slowly working down when it eased up. You moved your fingers downwards, feeling his shoulder blades and spine before reaching his wings joints. He shuddered, similar to when you kissed his neck, but a little larger. You hummed, pressing your fingers down and finding another knot, right where his skin turned to bright red feathers.

"Oh, yeah, yeah right there that's perfect." You glanced back up at him, confused, he didn't usually speak when you massaged him, he'd also never asked for a massage so close to his wings, he was usually very cautious about having his wings touched. Maybe he'd just gotten tired of dealing with wing pains by himself, it was probably a lot different from other knots.

"I'm so sorry you have to deal with this," you cooed. "You really deserve a break, it's not healthy to work this hard all the time."

"I know, Little Feather, but it's nng- n-not my fault. The citizens need me." he panted. You sighed, moving your other hand to work out both wings' knots at the same time.

Keigo's head flopped forward, and his hand flew up to slap over his mouth, holding back a soft whine. You lifted an eyebrow in suspicion, there were only a few times when you heard him make noises like that.

Slowly, you pressed your fingers down closer to the underside, right over a few of his downy feathers.

"Oh fuck~" he hissed.

"Okay, that's it." you lifted your hands away from them, holding them in the air. "What the hell's going on with you?" His head whipped around so fast you were surprised it was still attached to his neck. His golden eyes widened, pupils blowing out, nearly completely covering the honey iris.

"W-what?" he exclaimed, feathers puffing up.

"I'm sorry if I seem mad, I'm not, I'm just- very confused. You're literally moaning. I am giving you a massage and you're moaning. Explain."

His cheeks dusted over in pink, and his eyes fell down to his lap.

"Okay uh- fuck I- this was not how I planned on telling you, erm- I promise I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable-"

"Keigo, it's alright, I'm not uncomfortable, just confused. Take a breath darling,"

"Okay, okay, okay." he took a deep breath. "My wings and back are... sensitive, like- in a sexual way. It's why I never let you touch them, I didn't want you to get uncomfortable with that."

"Oh Keigo, you should have just told me, it's perfectly alright, you know I love you, and I love your bird traits. I'm not uncomfortable with this." you smiled sweetly, pressing a hand to his cheek.

"You're- you're not?" he glanced back up at you, golden eyes filled with hope.

"Not in the slightest. To be honest, I don't see why anyone would be uncomfortable with it. It's just another erogenous zone, like someone's neck, ears, or nipples would be. And lots of people keep those bits on display."

"Thanks," he murmured, rubbing his nose against yours. "That does make me feel better, but uh- there's something else.." he trailed off, nervous.

"Your obvious boner? I was gonna leave you to take care of that yourself, but I'll gladly do it for you if you'd like."

"Oh uh-" his cheeks brightened as if attempting to match the tone of his wings. "I would very much like that," he admitted, offering you a slightly nervous smile.

"Anytime, Birdie~" you stood up, hands landing on either side of his waist as you pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "But I would very much like to experiment with those wings of yours, see what we can do with them. Just how far can we go?" You smirked at him, tongue darting out to moisturize your lips. Keigo let out a soft breath, shifting against the couch to make room for the tent in his pants.

"I- I have thought about using them before- my feathers can move fast, so they can act as a vibrator if I focus, but I could never use it on myself. I know I'd get distracted, then the feather would stop moving, then I'd have to start all over again. I'd basically just be edging myself all night. I know I'd just give up and jerk off."

"I can work with that~" you pressed your lips against his, surprising him. He whined into the kiss, hands flying up to fist your shirt.

Unfair. He thought, he already had his shirt off, and he knew he'd be naked in just a few minutes, but you hadn't taken anything off yet. Knowing you, you would stay clothed just to tease him. The most you would do was lift your shirt a little to show him your stomach before quickly covering it again. That was what you usually did when you dommed. At least for the foreplay.

You pressed the tip of your tongue against his lips, pushing past his defensive barrier of shiny white teeth, perfect for the press, and you licked along the top of his mouth. His whole body shuddered against yours, his hips jerking upwards.

You grabbed his thigh with one hand, squeezing. A warning, he knew, against bucking up again, against disobeying. He tasted your saliva, feeling it pool onto his tongue. His eyes finally drooped closed, enjoying the taste of leftover's from last night's dinner on your tongue.

He whined against the back of your mouth, feeling you move your other hand up towards his back. He already knew what you were going to do. Without pulling away from the kiss, you plucked a feather about the size of his hand from his wings, running a finger down the stem, brushing it against the little red bristles. Soft against your finger, yet forcing Keigo's restrained cock to grow even harder than he ever thought possible.

You slowly pulled back from the kiss, taking his lower lip hostage between your teeth, tugging it as far as it could go before finally releasing it. You felt Keigo's hot breaths fanning out across your face, and your grin only grew. You loved breaking him apart, the strong, well-put-together Hawks was an act only for the cameras, only you could ever know the real him, the horny, whiny, needy baby he truly was.

"Look at you, falling apart already? I've barely done shit to you."

"Fuck- that's just 'cause it's you~" he purred

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, doll." Your shit-eating smirk only grew, and Keigo could feel himself melting into the couch cushions. "C'mon, take 'em off, you're a big boy, I'm sure you can do it yourself."

He nodded, hands flying away from your shirt and grappling with his belt buckle faster than you could say 'Hawks.' He tossed his belt behind the couch, not caring if it hit anything, and quickly shimmied out of his pants and underwear, letting them pool around his ankles. His cock slapped against his stomach, six inches and throbbing.

Looks like his prediction was correct. He was naked. You were not. You didn't look like you were planning on undressing anytime soon, which left Keigo feeling slightly disappointed. However, any negative emotions vanished the second you ran his bright red feather down his nose, over his lips, then under his chin. He knew immediately you were trying to lift his face with the feather, despite the single feather not being strong enough by itself, not unless it was under his control. But he was not in control, you were, and fuck it if that wasn't the best part.

"Good boy~" you praised him, sliding a hand up his bare thigh, brushing it carelessly close to his dick. He bit his lip, eyes flicking between your hand and your eyes.

"Please, please touch me," he whispered, slightly embarrassed by the situation. It had been a long while since you'd last had sex, and an even longer while since you had been the dom. He'd all but forgotten how to properly beg. You could tell.

"Come on, doll, I know you can ask me nicely, or at least better than that." He groaned, hands gripping your hips and attempting to tug you into his lap, a plan formulating in his head that ended in an amazing thighjob. But his plans never worked, not at least with you involved. No, you were too stubborn, one of the many things he loved about you. But not really in this precise situation.

"Nah ah ah~ hands off the merchandise." Your hand squeezed his thigh again, twice this time. That was all he needed to let go. He found purchase in a nearby pillow, moving it behind him and tugging on the little dangly bits on the corners. He forgot what they were called but he was ninety-five percent sure it started with a 'D' or something.

"Fuck, please, I need it, you know I need it, I-I've been nothing but good all day, please touch me, please~" He whined, eyebrows furrowing. That plus his reddened cheeks made just the cutest face. You couldn't wait to make his eyes go crooked and for him to drool.

"That's it, good boy~" You ran the tip of the feather up his cock, circling the tip. He shivered in response, biting back a loud moan. "Come on, don't make me mad, vibrate yourself with your feather~" you cooed, teasing tone making his stomach churn in the best way possible.

He bit his lip, looking down at the feather slowly circling the tip of his dick. It had already nudged his foreskin downwards, leaving the red skin fully exposed. He took a deep breath, trying to block out your presence, and how hard he was, just focusing on the single red feather, twirling around in loops.

He felt it twitch against his skin, before finally starting to shake, then at last it was vibrating. He twitched it away from his dick, slightly nervous about how it might feel. You sighed, pressing it directly onto the little hole at the tip.

"Ghhh- oh fuckkkkk~" he moaned, pressing his head against the couch cushions. It felt better than he ever possibly could have imagined. Feeling the feather on his dick, his dick against his feather, it was double the pleasure. He whined loudly when the vibrations suddenly stopped. "Nooooo I want it, bring it back, please," he begged, looking up at you with wide eyes.

"Doll I didn't even do anything. You lost focus. You gotta try a little harder." you said, tapping the feather against him again. Pre-cum stuck to it, making red glisten with a little bit of white. He cursed at the sight (and feeling) of his own pre on his feather.

Soon enough, it started to buzz again. And you put it back on him. This time, you traced it up and down his base, running it over the tip again. One of his hands flew up to his mouth, knuckles pressing against his lips. His hips bucked up against the vibrating feather.

"Ooooohhhhhh fuckfuckfuckfuck so goooood~" he moaned loudly. Again, the buzzing stopped without warning. "Nooo fuck no! I need it please fuck!" He looked like he was on the verge of tears- no way it was really that good. You'd have to ask him to use his feathers on you sometime.

"I know baby, I know," you ran your fingers through his hair, tugging lightly. His breath hitched, golden eyes filling with tears of pleasure. "But you gotta focus to get it done, okay?" he nodded, wiping his tears, but he only managed to spread the warm, salty liquid over his face, making him appear even more debauched.

How cute

You wrapped your hand around his dick when it started to vibrate again, the feather curled up between your palm and his dick. Slowly, you began to jerk him off, feeling the feather vibrate faster than you'd felt any toy vibrate, and his dick throbbing and pulsing against you left you feeling like you just might cum in your pants.

"FUCK!" he shouted, back arching off the couch. One of his legs flew upwards, toes curling around the air. He was shaking at this point, looking like he was just on the verge of cumming. "Oh, Godddd fuckkkmeeeee~" he wailed, tears overflowing and falling down his flushed cheeks.

"No god's gonna fuck you, darling, only I will because you belong to me. Isn't that right?" You pulled on his hair and his moans grew louder, the vibrations intensifying, which you thought was impossible at the rate it had been buzzing against your skin and his.

"Youuuuu fuck- I- I belong to youuuu~" he moaned, hiccuping a little.

"Fuck, you're so fucking cute like this, so adorable when you fall apart beneath me, gonna break soon?" He sniffed loudly, nodding. His moan broke out into a disappointed wail when the vibrations stopped again. He tried to get it to move but it just wasn't going to. You opened your palm, revealing the feather, the stem bent awkwardly. Hawks sighed, sadness filling his eyes.

"I was just 'bout to cum too..." he whimpered.

"Oh, you'll still cum. We don't need anything else between us anymore~" you tossed the feather aside before spitting into your palm, beginning to jerk him off again. It certainly didn't feel nearly as good as it did with the feather, but at this point, he was so close he just couldn't give two fucks about how good it felt, just that it would get him where he needs.

"Oh yes yes yes fuck yes more more- gonna cum gonna cum ooooh fuck baby you're gonna make me cum!" He cried out, bucking up into your hand, sobbing as pre ran down the sides of his dick and onto your fingers.

You pulled him to you by his hair, loving the loud moan he let out from the pain. You pressed your lips right up against his ear.

"Then fucking cum, my baby boy~" you purred seductively. Moments later, his whole body spasmed, legs shaking violently and wings flaring outwards. He wailed, screaming as he finally came into your hand, white ribbons landing on his legs, stomach, and even a little on the couch. Subconsciously, he knew he'd have to clean that up later, but he was not about to worry about that right now.

"Godamn! If that wasn't the hottest thing I've ever seen!" you exclaimed, truly in awe at just how good his orgasm looked. He had gone limp, flopped back against the couch, and panting. You pulled your hand away from his dick, licking away the bits of cum from your skin before sitting down next to him, tugging his body closer to you.

"Unf, that was the best damn orgasm of my life," he murmured, voice a little hoarse.

"Looked like it, you alright darling? Can I get you anything? Water, blankets, bath?" You worried a little, hoping you didn't completely brain-fuck him.

"Jus' some cuddles." his head flopped down on your shoulder, eyes fluttering shut as he yawned.

"Hey birdie, don't fall asleep on me," you chuckled. "We still gotta get you all cleaned up and put in bed."

"Not... a problem..." he whispered, breath tickling your skin as he nodded off.

"Heh, that's a problem," you smiled affectionately. He deserved his rest. You resolved to stay still for a little while, then clean him up as gently as you could before carrying him to bed. He wasn't that heavy, after all. "I love you, my darling Keigo~" you whispered, resting your head on top of his and closing your eyes.

Maybe the mess could be cleaned tomorrow, you were also very tired.

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badlydrawnmanic · 3 years ago

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this wasn’t an ask, but i thought it would be cool to go over the whole hedgehog family in this universe! details under the cut!

from left to right, we have...

- uncle chuck (51): brother to jules, bernie, and paulie. he’s the oldest sibling of the four and lives in a little shack on the edge of knothole forest. he’s usually working on simple robots and electronics, finding ways to improve things that already exist. he took care of sonic for the first 12 years of his life, so the two of them are very close!

- queen aleena (40): mother of the triplets and the only child of the current monarchy (it’s less of an absolute power thing and more like whatever britain has going on where the queen is more of a public figure). she and her husband have been through a lot, but things have calmed down recently, especially now that her son is acting as mobius’ resident hero! though she may seem ordinary, she’s actually very skilled in the use of magic, and isn’t nearly as helpless as you might think!

- jules (38): father of the triplets and the youngest of the adult siblings. he was the first person to ever be roboticized at age 22, shortly after the triplets were born and eggman first started causing problems. sadly, it cannot be reversed due to an injury he sustained just before being transformed (trust me, they’ve tried), but he's had some work done since his initial roboticization (thanks to chuck), and can stretch his limbs in a similar way to the werehog. it makes for some really good group hugs!

- manic, sonic, and sonia (all 16): you know these guys! while they were all born at the same time, technically sonia was born first, followed by sonic and manic respectively. aleena’s magic seems to have been passed down to them, affecting sonic the most with his intense super speed and other powers. sonia has enhanced strength and speed, though she isn’t as powerful as sonic, and... well, manic seems to have gotten the short end of the stick, but he still has more stamina and can run a little faster than the average person, despite his somewhat lax lifestyle.

- tails (8): while not related by blood, sonic’s taken him into the family, treating the kid as a little brother of sorts! he doesn’t interact with the family as a whole very much, but he does get invited to reunions when they happen!

- bernadette “bernie” (39): the only female sibling of the four blood relative adults, bernie acts as the cool aunt to the triplets and a somewhat annoying older sister to jules, teasing him when they were younger. today, she’s a successful explorer, and she actually took part in the investigation into the mystic ruins! she’s usually travelling the world, but when she comes home, she always has cool gifts for her loved ones!

- muttski (6): just a dopey, lovable mutt of a dog that lives with paulie and his family on their property. he isn’t that good at being a guard dog, but he’s really good with kids and loves a good nap! he’s a bit spoiled when it comes to food, and he usually makes off with some portion of the family’s supper one way or another.

- paul “paulie” (47): the second oldest adult sibling, he lives on a farm with his wife and two children. he works for the region’s postal service, delivering mail by air in his biplane! he’s always wearing an aviator jacket and carries a pipe, but he never seems to be smoking anything with it. he doesn’t see sonic or the triplets a lot, but when he does, he loves to tell bad jokes and he has the loudest, heartiest dad laugh you could ever imagine.

- nicholas “nikki” (12): paulie’s young son. he’s very quiet and pretty anxious, but he looks up to sonic very much, wanting to be like him when he grows up. unfortunately, he has a somewhat severe case of asthma and isn’t known to be very graceful or athletic. still, he doesn’t let that stop him, taking his time off of school to go exploring the forest with his little sister!

- tania (6): nikki’s little sister, tania is excitable and full of energy with a very powerful personality. she isn’t afraid of anything, despite her age and how small she is, and looks up to amy as her personal hero. her dream is to join her on her adventures when she’s old enough, and is very excited to bust up some badniks!

- brenda (43): the wife of paulie and mother of nikki and tania, brenda owns and operates a little bakery in a town near to their family home. she loves baking and gardening, and is the only character here (besies muttski) that isn’t related to sonic by blood. she’s a bit concerned about the effect he has on her children, but supports their adventurous nature nonetheless. :)

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aquilaofarkham · 3 years ago

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title: the little death rating: T+ word count: 2,409 summary: Two years after his fight with Death, Trevor’s injuries start catching up to him while Alucard realizes that humans are more fragile than he thought.

For @trevorsmellmont ❤️ Thank you so much for commissioning me!

READ HERE

There’s a sharp pain pooling beneath his right arm, coursing through his ribcage. Trevor ignores it just as he’s ignored all the other aches, jabs, and stings over the past two years. Two years of building something better, something sustainable to last far longer than its young, admittedly green founders. Countless days, weeks, and months erecting homes, gardens, and pens for those dumb gentle animals who think the entire townscape is their personal pasture. Not another mistake of allowing them to wander aimlessly straight into the castle. As if heifers need to learn how to craft medicine or conduct what’s being referred to as “electricity”.

The work will never be finished. Even on days like this when the sun burns hotter than any circle in hell. A few drops of warm salt-ridden sweat crawl past Trevor’s pressed lips and into his dry mouth. Pain and thick heat were never enough to stop him before—he tells himself this, barely certain of his own supportive thoughts (a new concept taking root in his mind). Take it slow, don’t push yourself, idiot. This cabin made from the earth will get built eventually. Another family will receive their forever home to fill with lots of babies. Old wounds beg to differ as Trevor’s arms begin to weaken, each movement slower than the last, struggling to keep up with Greta’s superior pace. She’s always known her way around a mallet.

Another bead of sweat gets caught in Trevor’s lashes, sparing his eyes from temporary discomfort. Though it wouldn’t have mattered as they’re already past any sort of respite. He looks for distraction but can only see the blurred shapes coming from a huddle of bodies, despite being a short distance from them. He knows it’s only Sypha and Alucard with the village children, which gives Trevor some relief.

There’s more comfort to be felt when he remembers that one of those little monsters is his own, nestled in Sypha’s lap then placed in Alucard’s gentle arms. She has a name far too long for any toddler to pronounce—Elizabeta Belnades Tepes Belmont—so what rolls off her developing tongue instead is simply “Liza”. She’s innocent now but once she leaves this little man-made paradise and ventures into a harsher world, she will take more after her mother and father. Grabbing whatever life offers with both fists, clawing and biting her way through every obstacle until her teeth are reddened with bloody meat. For the time being, they relish Liza’s soft cheeks, wispy hair, and the way she throws herself at whichever adult happens to be in her nearest vicinity. The other children are helping her socialize by playing games and embracing frivolity; a tactic Trevor remembers from his own upbringing, though with less games and even less frivolity.

“Think you can handle one or two more?”

Greta’s voice manages to cut through Trevor’s mental fog. Funny how she asks if he can “think” about anything especially at this suffocating moment. She must have noticed the way his lips curl into a happy doped up grin while observing his family and couldn’t help but inquire. As any close, loved and valued friend would.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“What’s wrong with looking a bit further into the future? Now that we all have one.”

“Looking is one thing, but seriously suggesting is something else completely. My… performance in certain areas isn’t as up to snuff as it used to be.”

As Trevor says this, things deteriorate and get a bit fuzzier from his eyesight down to his chest. Out of focus. Painful. He keeps talking, keeps ignoring the inevitable. Always ignoring what his own body screams for.

Greta wrinkles her nose at his statement. “There are children present, Belmont.”

“What? I’m referring to the house. I barely managed to get one wall up while you’re already on the fucking roof.”

“So dramatic. You three really do deserve each other. And you’re still young.”

“On the outside, maybe.”

She laughs at his lie, misinterpreting it as another piece of mild self-deprecatory banter he might never be able to live without. Greta says something else, perhaps her own personal jest to counter his, but Trevor cannot hear. Breath grows heavier, forcing out a raspy “it’s fine. It’s just my chest”. Barely able to tell if Greta actually said anything about his sudden condition. Or rather, not so sudden. No, this has been building over quite some time now. His muscles and bones screaming, begging for relief or death, and end to everything—whichever comes first. Feelings that only worsened over the years.

Trevor loses control over his legs, now practically boneless. The collision between his head and the ground is nothing compared to the inner war over his heart. Whether it will finally succumb. Greta immediately calls for help—he thinks without confidence, once again. Trevor can still hear voices, but not their exact words. Not Sypha when she demands to know what happened. Not Alucard when he begs for him to stay conscious. Not even Liza as she cries for her papa.

Then all the chaos in the world fades into slow darkness.

Alucard stands outside the closed bedchamber door, contemplating how often he’s touched Trevor’s body. Lithe fingertips have memorized every crevice, scar, soft and rough spots alike. Not just as a lover with wandering hands underneath blankets in the dead of night. Or a friend who holds him steady on both feet when he needs it. But as this family’s self-appointed physician.

Perhaps the prince of two worlds took after his father after all. “Polymath” is what Alucard used to describe Dracula and the very same word others have referred to him as, mostly in the realm of medicine. He knows more than anyone, little offence given towards the herb dispensers and leech farmers (only to be polite for his own townsfolk). Thus, through the anxieties and trembling hands, Alucard gave Trevor his diagnosis: heat exhaustion along with a muscle somewhere in his chest that decided to go rogue and strain itself.

The son of Tepes, the only local doctor worth trusting, and arguably the co-leader of their little prospering hamlet paces across the hall like Trevor did the day Liza was born. He’s on the other side of that closed door, resting. Bedridden from heat exhaustion and a fucking pulled muscle. It bothers Alucard. This shouldn’t have happened to someone who stood up to the personification of Death and pissed in his eye. A stupidly common and easily treatable inconvenience to the human body shouldn’t be the end of a fucking Belmont.

It shouldn’t—unless Trevor’s scars have anything to say about it. The ones on the inside and outside. Inside, unseen, and untreatable. There’s a harsh revelation to be found there; one which the prince has been purposefully avoiding up to this moment. Alucard can try as he wants, use the tools left behind by his father and mother as though it were their final death wish, but he might never tend to what pains Trevor on the inside. He’s a Belmont, undeniably so, but Belmonts are human despite the many recurring signs pointing to the contrary. Then there’s Sypha with her magic, but she’s human as well. Greta and Liza are still human. Humans are more susceptible to dying easy, little deaths even when they follow world-saving victories.

Where does this leave Alucard? Thoughts spiral down, down towards darker places the longer he nervously hovers outside the bedroom. He’s been known to awkwardly stumble into deflection, insisting he’s only half human whenever certain someones bring up this topic of necessary conversation. Meaning he might as well not be human at all. Not when the bodies of those he loves change so rapidly while his remains petrified. It’s only been two years, filled to the brim with countless hours he wouldn’t ever want to trade for the entire world. But the thought of one night as they nestle themselves into bed and Alucard touches either Trevor or Sypha’s chest only to feel an anomaly within their hearts. The earliest sign that time and age will eventually betray them as it does for all mortals—it could be the one thing to break him.

Alucard stops himself at the opportune moment, right before he starts thinking about his mother and father. Did Dracula ever contemplate Lisa’s mortality? Was the decision to never turn her easy or the hardest thing he forced upon his unstable, immortal conscience? Arms crossed over his chest like a protective cage, fingernails digging into the fabric of his shirt until it hurts, Alucard swallows a bitter glob of spit and reaches for the doorknob. Sypha will have to accept the fact that he couldn’t wait for her. He quietly thanks her for the lessons she taught him. If he needs to talk about something—truly talk, no sarcastic wit or banter, just the raw emotions—Alucard no longer hesitates. He won’t, not as he enters the room and immediately sees Trevor still in bed, not quite altogether there. At least he can manage a decent smile and wave of his hand.

“Evening.”

“How does your chest feel?”

“Still a bit tight, but I’ve been taking deep breaths like the doctor ordered.”

The amount of strain heard in Trevor’s voice worries Alucard. Hopefully the Belmont has learned something from the recent past, so he won’t be stupid and suggest anything having to do with leaving bed or getting back to work.

“I think I should get up.”

“I think that’s a poor decision.”

“Are you saying that as my physician or because you’re letting that pretty little blonde head of yours get too worked up?”

No. Yes. Both? If only Trevor didn’t look up at him with those glassy eyes (can he still see him?) the colour of stained glass windows erected in cathedrals he felt so unwelcome inside. If only that smile, somehow both soft and shit-eating, wasn’t in place of a more serious expression. Then maybe Alucard could voice his concerns without being accused of acting overbearing—an accusation grounded in solid evidence but he’s not ready to admit that yet. Not out loud.

“Normal, healthy adults do not become bedridden after pulling a small muscle in their chest.”

“Belmonts aren’t normal… or healthy in my case.”

Alucard’s brow furrows. “I want to think you’re healthy—” I need to. “—that you’ll live long enough to see the children of this village have little ones of their own. Liza included.”

“God’s sake, she’s only two years old. You and Greta, always talking about looking one step too far into the future. Let her be a child before adulthood rears its ugly maw.”

“Try not to change the subject.”

Trevor lifts his head off the indent pressed into his sweat drenched pillow. “Alright. Fine. I feel much better. I won’t push myself and give my heart some more time to recover.”

No response coupled with broken eye contact; sure signs of Alucard’s reluctance to accept his rather weak assurance. The Belmont has no other choice.

“Come here. Sit.”

Another moment’s hesitation before Alucard complies. Feeling his weight upon the mattress, Trevor blindly reaches for his wrist until calloused fingers grip cool, unblemished skin.

“Now lie down. No, no. Not like that. Place your head right here.” He pats his chest and with a fleeting amount of guidance, Alucard’s cheek fits perfectly between his breasts. Two hands smooth over the dhampir’s curves before one before one rests on his silk smooth head and the other against the small of his back. Alucard lied about one thing: his own body can change in small yet noticeable ways. Without the need to fight for the lives of others, whether today or tomorrow, sharp edges turn softer. Trevor and Sypha have finally let themselves breathe as well, let go, and enjoy all of life’s pleasures.

“Hear that?” He asks Alucard.

“... It’s slow.”

“Slow and strong like it should be.”

Alucard wishes he could bottle up that heartbeat or place it in a box. Preferably a music box to listen to its soothing melody long after its original body and soul are both eventually gone from this world. Who knows? It might make things hurt a little bit less like when he redrew his parent’s portrait or built a much larger nursery where his own used to be. Not a lot, but Alucard could possibly live with just “a little”.

“Speaking of Greta…” The baritone of Trevor’s voice sends deep vibrations through his broad chest, tickling Alucard’s cheek. “She said something about more children.”

“More orphans joining us?”

“No, even though I know how much you love those damn orphans. She asked if we could handle one or two more.”

“What did you say?”

“I implied that she was taking after Sypha’s influence by being wonderfully insane.”

Alucard chuckles in agreement. That sounds like Greta. “You never know. It might be good for Liza if she has a younger sibling.”

With the sound of Sypha’s well timed arrival, he’s mercifully saved from Trevor’s lengthy speech about how patience is apparently a virtue and tirades about his “performance” or lack thereof. Greta reveals herself shortly afterwards with a still crying Liza in tow. So many bodies gathered around one inebriated individual, here for him and him alone. Trevor’s consoled yet exasperated expression directed at Greta in particular says “isn’t there someone more important you could be helping right now?”

Sypha is the first to voice her gratitude after fussing over her exhausting loved one. “I will never be able to thank you enough, Alucard.”

“I think the bed did most of the heavy lifting, love.”

Trevor is given an affectionate, somewhat caring glare in response but his focus is demanded elsewhere once he suddenly notices Liza jumping onto the bed. She snuggles herself between him and Alucard, wetting their shirts with her tears.

“Easy there, you little monster. Papa’s still a bit tender.” Not that she can understand or care.

There’s an aura of relief felt amongst everyone in the room—less with Alucard who smiles bittersweetly. It’s a truth he knew he had to acknowledge before it tore his heart open. Trevor and Sypha will die one day and he will have to bury them. He’ll bury Greta, he might even bury Liza. Not today thank all the gods, or tomorrow, not for the next few decades if fate is kind enough.

But the day will come. And it will be Alucard’s own little death.

#castlevania #castlevania spoilers #castlevania fanfiction #trevor belmont #alucard #alucard castlevania #sypha belnades #greta danesti #trephacard #trevorcard #my writing #*cvfic

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demonslayedher · 3 years ago

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any random trivial thoughts you have about the lives of the slayers? i like to think that nezuko keeps the acorns inosuke gave her in a jar as a collection and that inosuke is determined to fill the jar completely, hehe. also, do you think an official announcement of nezuko’s existence was made to the lower ranked demon slayers or did it travel through word of mouth. imagine oblivious demon slayers visiting the butterfly mansion, only to be greeted/encountered by nezuko

If I may add to that thought about Nezuko having a jar, Gotouge has stated that Nezuko is okay getting tossed around and bumping her head in the box because she heals from it immediately, but one of this days Tanjiro is going to open it and it will pour with acorns and glass shards, and she'll just be sitting there glaring with disappointment. (Hopefully Nezuko keeps the jar in a safe place at the Butterfly Mansion instead!)

As for telling the whole Corp that Nezuko got the OK from Oyakata-sama and the Pillars, I can see that being like a low-key announcement that spreads like a rumor, just kinda whenever the crows get around to that detail between missions. It makes sense that Oyakata-sama wanted to tell the Pillars first, and since the Pillar meeting was coming up pretty soon when Tanjiro passed the Final Selection, Oyakata-sama had probably planned as soon as he got Urokodaki's letter than he was going to have Tanjiro and Nezuko at that meeting. Even if we set the Pillars aside, though, there's wide-spread hatred against demons throughout the Corp. It probably helped to have the Pillars generally on board first. I can imagine the rest of the Corp being very curious (if cautious) about Nezuko, and although we see characters who get the pleasure of spending time with her getting to baby her, most Corp members who meet Tanjiro probably don't get to meet Nezuko face to face. Daytime is problematic, or Nezuko would otherwise be asleep a lot of the time even if Tanjiro is busy in settings when he'd meet other Corp members. Still, I think Tanjiro's reputation as a nice guy would spread even faster, so even people who were iffy about Nezuko would probably get to know Tanjiro and be like, "oh, she's probably fine."

But if we're going to get into trivial headcanons about the Slayers' everyday lives, you know who I think gets babied more than Nezuko?

Inosuke. Most of the Corp members are freaked out by him at first, but as it dawns on them that Inosuke grew up all alone, it may bring out a nurturing side in them, and it makes everyone happy to see him get better at fitting in among humankind. They get to feel proud of him as he picks up on limited amounts of etiquette and gets marginally better at picking up names, but most of them are still likely to make a quick exit when he starts getting too rambunctious.

Zenitsu, however, is someone who should know better and most people find him really annoying until they go through Pillar Training with him, as that's the strongest bonding experience most of the Corp members have ever shared, aside from the really close bonding that probably occurs a lot among members of the same Final Selection batches. However, the Corp members who have witnessed Zenitsu in action (and who were rescued by him) have nearly the same awe for him that they have for the Pillars, so they never say anything to him about how indebted they feel.

Since more of the Corp members have met Inosuke and Zenitsu than have met Nezuko, Tanjiro's saintly reputation mostly stems from how much of those two numbskulls' company he can stand, and how he can keep them in line (keeping a demon sister in line must be easy in comparison). Also, Tanjiro is not just good at tending the fire to make good rice, his sense of smell makes him a master at seasoning food perfectly, and many Corp members have cried thinking of how their own mothers never cooked so well. Tanjiro is also very good at tending to people when they fall ill.

The Pillars are so advanced in Breath technique that they don't generally catch colds unless they are recovering from serious injury or like, poisoning themselves. Normal Corp members catch minor illnesses all the time, though, and that's part of why they're so slow to advance. They tend to have to take time for lots of little things instead of just major injuries sustained in battle. They still train as much as possible to make sure they don't get rusty when it's time to take a mission again. These recovery periods are some of the only times when they can maintain a reasonable sleep schedule, many of the members who survive to old age feel long term effects of sleep deprivation in addition to lingering injuries. Since the Corp members can't very well engage in long-term goals, simple pastimes are encouraged in the daylight hours to help keep them in the moment. The Butterfly Mansion and most of the Wisteria houses are well stocked with board games like Sugoroku and card games like Karuta, as well as tools for shuttlecock and paper for origami.

While many of the Corp members try to be virtuous, and in indeed there are other circles that have their own sort of main-character like Tanjiro equivalent, there are still those who have less polished, or certainly far less positive character. The rougher members tend to spend their salary and free time on vices. Oyakata-sama understands his children are under a lot of stress and turns a blind eye to it (or two blind eyes, I guess).

Different Breaths tend to come with their own cultures, and overtime different Cultivators tend to get different reputations based on the members they send into the Corp. Like, "Oh, Yamada-sensei? Then you must be a stickler for the 10th form" or "Yamaguchi-sensei? Are you okay out there? I heard he's real half-assed on Breath technique." There is a certain amount of awe that students of former Pillars automatically get, and although some of that is due to pride and jealously, people who have been in the Corp long enough tend to get over these notions and just realize that everyone's doing their best. Since they're core Breath styles there may be other Thunder and Flame Breath users throughout the Corp from different Cultivators, but, pardon the pun, they can't hold a candle to the students of former Pillars (or the Rengoku clan in general) and it's highly, highly unlikely any of them would ever get close to the same level of mastery. There's plenty of Muratas in every Breath, basically.

Speaking of Murata, he and others like him probably had an easy time of settling down and getting married after retirement. Years of experience as swordsmen certainly gave them a mature edge over the average Joes they otherwise would be compared to, but they also have the advantage of not being freaks. Takeuchi remains life-long friends with Yushiro.

The young maidens of Wisteria houses get flirted with all the time. Many of the Corp members are starved of TLC, and while the maidens of the Wisteria houses are polite and have deep respect for the work the swordsmen do, they know they likely will not know most of them for long. However, when there is a true connection between a Corp member and a Wisteria House family member, they tend to make very solid matches. Girls make up a slim percentage of the swordsmen in the Corp, and this is why they tend to get sent on undercover missions a lot more. Demons tend to put their guards down more around women, as they'd more likely be on the look out for male swordsmen.

Girls make up a larger proportion of the Kakushi, and traditionally feminine skills are highly prized. Gotou is very proud of his sewing skills, even though he only does small repairs and has never been tasked with tailoring full uniforms. The Kakushi use a lot of code words and have a very insular work culture that is hard for outsiders to break into; even Oyakata-sama finds himself confused by a lot of it, but he appreciates that it makes them efficient and mostly leaves them be to organize themselves as they see fit (his orders are still absolute, though, so none of them are aware how much autonomy they effectively have.)

Hand signs like "don't breathe" and "don't listen" are unique to the Corp (yes, I have looked them up, consensus in the Japanese fandom is that they are unique to KnY), and taught by Cultivators. Inosuke didn't have a Cultivator to teach him so it took him a while to catch on the existence of hand signs. He makes up his own confusing hand signs to impress people with how flexible his joints are.

For many, Pillar Training was harder than undergoing Cultivation (but still less harrowing than the Final Selection). In Cultivation they tend to get specialized attention from someone who cares about them and actually knows a thing or two about how teaching works. Pillar Training does not fit this explanation at all, especially in the teaching department. As mentioned before, this is when a lot of Corp members who used to find Zenitsu insufferable come around and start to appreciate him more, for they survived different stages of training together, and every time he blew his top and complained, they were grateful he gave (loud) voice to what they were thinking but were too afraid to say. Instead of getting down and depressed, it riles them up enough to keep at it, however ridiculous the Pillar's demands are. Suffering under the Pillars also broke down perceived barriers between different ranks, building a more solid level of comradery among a lot of the Corp. However, this was also the most time most of the Corp members ever got to spend with the Pillars, who they always felt were untouchable and who they feared bothering. They feel very genuine affection for them by the time they all enter the final battle.

Once Inosuke figures out that Zenitsu can only bring out his full abilities in his sleep, he tries to goad Zenitsu into fighting him at full strength by insulting him in his sleep. He did throw a really good punch at him one time, but usually he only sleep-argues back. Other times Inosuke hits a sore spot and Zenitsu starts sleep-crying, in which case Inosuke gets bored and leaves. Once Tanjiro realizes this about Zenitsu (thanks to Inosuke having point-blank explained it to him), he puzzles over it and figures Zenitsu may not be aware of how powerful and helpful he is, and this hurts his confidence, but then again, how can he not know if he's so aware of his surroundings even in his sleep? As Zenitsu sleeps, Tanjiro has been puzzling over this a long time and how he might best be able to help Zenitsu reach his full confident potential, and by the time Zenitsu wakes up and drowsily looks over at Tanjiro, Tanjiro looks him in the eye and very seriously asks, "Zenitsu, what is your problem?" Naturally, Zenitsu interprets this as Tanjiro suddenly being very disappointed in him, and Tanjiro has unwittingly done more harm than good.

On the contrary, Tanjiro has unwittingly done a lot of simple good for most of the PTSD-suffering Corp members with his little throw-away positive comments, just like he did for Muichiro and Aoi. Most of the Corp members have never met Oyakata-sama, so Tanjiro is to many Corp members what Oyakata-sama is to the Pillars. It's like they all have an Oyakata-sama shaped hole in their hearts and Tanjiro just falls into it like a good proxy. After all is said and done and Tanjiro and Nezuko read all the kind wishes left for them in deceased Corp members' wills, Tanjiro is consumed with some guilt that he can't place faces to all the names, though he remembers the majority of them. While his memory is still fresh he works hard to recall the ones who escaped him, and then he makes sure to refresh his memory every year with annual visits to the graves.

#kny fandom theories and meta #or just general headcanons #but they have their basis in little fanbook details like favorite games and such #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer

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peakyscillian · 3 years ago

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Adored | Cillian x Fem!Reader

Summary: Cillian Murphy, Movie Star and Sugar Daddy. Warnings: Sugar daddy/Sugar Baby relationship, smut, language & age gap relationship, a tiny little daddy kink (ok maybe it grows as the series goes on). Requested: No Parts: 19/? - oh this is getting a tiny bit angsty! A/N: My mind works in overtime, Cillian as a sugar daddy? Yes Please! I never mention Cillian’s real family, all mentions of a family are fictional.

Adored.

Adored Masterlist | Masterlist Part Nineteen

Cillian was trying his hardest to concentrate on the numerous emails he had arriving in his inbox, it was nearly time for him to get back into the swing of filming. The first argument you'd had, had resulted in you storming out of the house and you now weren't answering your phone, it was driving him insane. Cillian had given up on his emails, heading to the kitchen for his third cup of coffee. His phone ringing out in the office made his heart skip finally you were just letting him know you were at uni safe.

He frowned at the unknown number, usually he wouldn't answer but he did. "Hello, is that Sillian?" The young voice on the other end spoke as soon as he had answered.

"It's uh actually Cillian, who is this?" He lent against his desk.

"This is Angela from St. Thomas' London, we have a Y/N Y/L/N in the emergancy department, there's been an accident, we're trying to get in contact with her next of kin, you were her emergancy contact" "Sorry, hold on, an accident?" he was sure he'd stopped breathing

"We can't go into detail, we need next of kin details, do you have them for her parents?" The lady was obviously just doing her job.

"It's just her sisters, I uh can get hold of them, is she ok?" His mind was in overdrive.

"Could I take those details? She is currently being seen by the team" Cillian sighed "let me get the details for you" **

Cillian was sat outside the hospital room, your sisters had arrived before him, the moment they spotted him they were rushing over. Now they were all huddled together waiting for the doctor to leave your room. Your teenage sister Pia, was clutching at his hand, trying to hide the fact she was so anxious. Sadie, your oldest sister was up first as the doctor left the room, his eyes fell on Cillian, possibly recognising him but respecting his privacy, he cleared his throat. "Are you all family?" He asked, eyes flitting between the three of them. Cillian went to speak up, but Sadie got there first yes "We're her sisters, this is her husband" she spoke with such confidence, no one would argue. The doctor nodded leading them to a separate room, asking them all to take a seat. Pia was still holding Cillian's hand, he could feel her shaking. "You're alright, love" he pulled her into his side as she sniffed away the few tears. "There's a nasty cut on her head, she's a bit groggy but initial head x-ray's show no concerns, she's bruised and needs a lot of rest but otherwise very lucky" He spoke in a calm tone, waiting for the details to sink in. "What happened, do you know?" Sadie asked, the doctor checked his notes "It seems a car crashed into the side if y/n, which in turn sent her into the side of a van and the car behind hit at such force that's how she sustained the head injury" All three of them nodded, trying to digest the facts "You can go see her, but try not to overwhelm her, she needs a lot of rest, she'll be able to leave tomorrow morning" He gave them each a smile leading them back to the main hall. ** You were knackered, head pounding, eyes stinging still trying to process what the kind nurse had told you about the accident. "Y/N, oh look at you" your sister Sadie rushed in, followed by Sophia and Cillian. "Y/N" Pia was crying as she gently took hold of your hand. "Oh baby look at you" Cillian stepped forward, your eyes darting over his face, you frowned. "Uhm hi, I uh sorry, who are you?" you asked trying your hardest to recognise him. The look on the mans face would have been enough to shatter anyones heart. ** Taglist @missymurphy1985 @janelongxox @queenshelby @heidimoreton @being-worthy @elenavampire21 @datewithgianni @cloudofdisney @magicalpieex @uchihacumdump @vhscillian @otterly-fey @noctvrnalmoth @inkandpen22 @pocket-of-possibilities @cilleveryone

#Cillian Murphy #Cillian x Fem!Reader #Cillian x y/n #Cillian series #Adored #series #angst #masterlist #Masterlist #Taglist #Requests Open #My Writing

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dongofthewolf · 4 years ago

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A Heart’s a Heavy Burden

Abby Anderson x GN! Reader

After arriving on Catalina Island, Abby is afraid to let her guard down. She lives with this constant crushing weight on her chest that she fears will never leave her. It’s not until she meets the reader that things begin to change.

Warnings: Copious amounts of fluff, swearing, basically just a lot of cute shit lol

Anon requested one where the reader goes on a hike with Abby and Lev, I hope you guys enjoy (especially if you requested it) <3 it’s been really nice getting back into writing and this request was so adorable aaaa.

A/N: I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted and for that I apologize. In the meantime, I hope this will suffice. Also peep the Howl’s Moving Castle quote I used for the title lol

After the death of her father and that night in the theatre, Abby has come to the realization that pain and suffering is nothing if not inevitable. There has never been a point in time in which an instance of joy or peace is not soon followed by the truest forms of human depravity. When Abby and Lev arrived in Santa Barbara she thought things would be different. She was filled with this brand new feeling of optimism that she thought was long forgotten, and for the first time in forever she had hope.

Then—almost as if some higher being was mocking her for finally letting her guard down—the Rattlers happened, and it all came crashing down. As easily as a sandcastle is destroyed by the tide, that newfound happiness was gone in an instant and that feeling of despair returned once again. She had almost become accustomed to the suffering and heartache that accompanied those short increments of happiness.

So when Abby and Lev arrived on Catalina Island, naturally Abby was incredibly grateful, but she was also fucking terrified. The moment that she stepped onto the shore, Abby vowed to never let her guard down again. She never wanted to see Lev hurt again, especially after everything he’d already been through.

It’s easy to imagine how difficult life can be when every happy moment is squandered by the fear of something inevitably terrible happening. It’s been months on Catalina Island and that normalcy Abby has missed so much was beginning to return, yet she is still afraid. A large part of Abby knows that being captured by the Rattlers isn’t her fault, but nevertheless she still feels this tremendous weight on her chest. Bearing down on her, compressing her into something small.

There is something different about Catalina Island though. Something that makes Abby feel as though—despite everything that has already happened—things will be different here. It’s you.

You were one of the first faces Abby saw when her and Lev arrived on the shore. She had sustained multiple injuries and was suffering from severe starvation and dehydration, Lev the same. You however were in the infirmary for a fractured ankle, and due to the shortage of space she was placed in the bed next to yours.

There was something you noticed about Abby the moment she sat down next to you. You couldn’t quite place it at the time but thinking back, it was definitely her eyes. There was so much pain behind them. You didn’t know why or how you knew, but it was there. Maybe it was because you had seen that same pain in the mirror that sits idle in the darkness of your room, the one covered by a tattered white sheet. It didn’t matter though, because all you knew was that the pain was there, and you wanted nothing more than to show her that life can be okay.

You woke up early today, laying in bed and trying to shake the sleep from your body, you counted the dust particles that floated in the small beam of sunlight that peeked through your window. While you lay basking in the warmth and stillness of your bedroom, you heard a quiet knock on your door. A small voice followed, it was Lev.

“Y/N? Are you awake?”

“Yeah, just give me a sec.” You carefully rolled out of bed before slipping on a hoodie and answering the door.

When you opened the door Lev had a huge smile on his face. “Hi Y/N!”

That was something you really admired about him. Even after everything him and Abby had been through, he was just full of this giddy optimism that continued to wonder you every day.

“Hey Lev, what’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come on a hike with Abby and I? Apparently there’s something she wants to show you.”

“Of course, I’d love to! Just let me get ready and I’ll head down in a bit.” Just as the words slipped out Lev embraced you tightly. You giggled as he leapt into your arms.

“Awesome! I’ll go let Abby know.” Lev released you from his grip before hurriedly running downstairs.

When you found the two waiting outside your room, you couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Abby and her adorable freckles. She looked so much happier now, having grown her hair out a bit and built up some of the muscle mass she had lost.

“You ready to go?” Abby had her hands hooked in the straps of her backpack as she took a small step closer to you.

“You bet your ass I am.”

As Abby led you and Lev along the shoreline you noticed how her skin was almost glowing. You figured it was most likely a product of all the time she spent helping out in the California sun.

Rather than resting like any normal person would’ve, as soon as Abby was back on her feet, she was desperate to help out as much as she could. Whether it was patrolling the beaches or running the farms, she didn’t care. She just wanted to help.

It seemed like it was a way for her to somehow compensate for being rescued off of the coast, and you wished you could tell her that she didn’t owe anyone anything—that after everything she went through to get here, there was nothing to repay. Of course though, it’s difficult to console someone when they haven’t exactly told you what was troubling them.

The shoreline bordered between an abundance of rocky cliffs and the tide, and the area was littered with lush greenery. Lev walked ahead of the two of you, jumping from rock to rock with surprising ease.

“Be careful Lev! There are sharks in that water you know.” Abby yelled at Lev to no avail. It was sweet how protective she was over him, even though she knew he wouldn’t fall.

You lightly nudged Abby’s shoulder with yours, the warmth of her skin against yours was comforting. You gave her a small reassuring smile. “He’ll be fine Abs, you know he can handle himself.”

Abby sighed, looking down for a brief moment before continuing. “You’re right… I just worry you know.”

“Yeah, I get it. You know, you’re actually pretty cute when you get all protective.” You said it teasingly, but you’d be lying if there wasn’t a small ounce of truth to the words.

Abby smiled, blushing at the comment, but it was difficult to tell in the sunlight. She was grateful the sun had already made her cheeks a light shade of pink. “Shut up.”

It was nice with Abby and Lev. You spent the day burying Abby in the sand on the beach and chasing the crabs that hid under the rocks with Lev. Abby had packed a whole bunch of food in her bag, and the three of you quickly devoured it all.

While Lev was building a shark out of sand, you and Abby laid side by side as you basked in the warm sun. After a bit you felt a shift next to you as Abby rolled on her side, leaning on her arm while she looked down towards you.

“Hey.” Her voice was quiet, soft, similar to Lev’s when he woke you up this morning.

You opened your eyes and nearly melted at the sight before you. Abby was completely shielding the sun from your face which created a halo effect that outlined her entire head. The small strands of hair that stuck out of her ponytail glowed like threads of gold, and you could see clearly now the freckles that danced across her face all the way down to her arms.

You replied with a soft smile on your face as you laid there admiring all the little details of her face. “Hey.”

“Can I show you something?”

You gave her a small nod. “Do you want me to get Lev?” As you began sitting up Abby put her hand on your arm to stop you.

“Actually, I was kind of hoping it could just be us. Is that okay?” There was a small hint of nervousness in her voice and you weren’t sure if it was due to the thought of leaving Lev alone, or if it was from something else.

“I would love that.” The corner of Abby’s mouth curled into a small smile at your answer.

The both of you stood up from the sand, brushing the excess off of your pants. Abby jogged over to Lev and whispered something quietly before quickly returning to you.

When you and Abby began walking away from the beach you heard Lev’s voice in the distance. “Have Y/N back by ten o’clock young man, I have a hunting rifle and I know how to use it!”

Abby rolled her eyes as she yelled back in response. “Yeah, yeah.”

You looked at Abby with a confused face. “He has a hunting rifle?”

“Nah, I think he got it from a movie. I need to stop showing him those old rom-coms.” Abby chuckled as she responded and you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as well. It’s almost annoying how infectious her laughter was.

Eventually, the two of you reached a long stream of rushing water. It wasn’t too deep, but if you were to fall in, the current was definitely strong enough to swiftly sweep you away.

There was a tiny path of rocks that travelled in a crooked line across the stream, and it was obvious it hadn’t been used in a long time. “Please tell me we aren’t going this way.”

“Come on Y/N, I got you. You trust me right?” Abby didn’t wait for a response as she grabbed your hand and led you across the mossy rocks.

As you reached the last rock, you let out a breath of relief. All you had to do was prop yourself over the log in front of you and you were home free. Carefully, as you reached your arms up to grip onto the ridges of the bark with your fingertips, you somehow lost your footing and slipped. You yelped and nearly fell face first into the jagged rocks below you, but luckily before you could, you felt a strong arm grab your waist. Abby almost on instinct quickly hoisted you up and onto the log just before you fell to your death.

While you laid your body down on the dirty log in an attempt to calm the adrenaline that was coursing through your veins. Abby nonchalantly stood up next to you with a huge grin, acting as if you didn't just see your life flash before your eyes two seconds ago. “See? I got you. Now let’s go.”

You groaned. “Can I get a second? I nearly just died back there.”

“Don’t be so dramatic Y/N, you know I’d never let anything happen to you.” Abby grabbed your hand and dragged you over the log. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

She wasn’t wrong about it not being far (and for that you were extremely grateful). It only took a couple more minutes until you finally reached your destination, and the moment you saw it, you were speechless.

Before you was a small clearing that had a view of the entire island. There were two large trees with ripe oranges hanging from it’s branches, and an abundance of wildflowers that danced in the wind like small fairies. The sunlight that shone through the leaves on the trees reminded you of the small beam of light that you were admiring this morning, except this was a thousand times more beautiful.

“Holy shit Abs.” It was one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen, and to get to see it with Abby was seriously a dream come true.

“You know, if you don’t like it we can always head back.” Abby teased.

“Oh shut up.” You plopped down onto the soft grass beneath you, breathing in the warm air and letting the blades encompass your body. You noticed Abby was still standing and quickly patted the grass beside you “Lay down with me, you gotta experience it from here.”

Abby lowered herself tentatively beside you, and although she tried to hide it, you could tell out of the corner of your eye that her gaze was fixed on you.

Things between you and Abby have always been pretty platonic; sure you guys flirted every once in a while but it never extended beyond that. And as much as you’d like for the two of you to be more, you never wanted to overstep your bounds. You didn’t want to burden Abby with your feelings especially if she didn’t share them, and you definitely didn’t want to ruin your friendship. It was hard sometimes trying to ignore the longing in your heart—trying to ignore the urge to jump into her arms and kiss her whenever she gave you that adorable freckled smile, but you knew it was for the best.

However, with her gaze fixed upon you, and your fingers just inches away, something in you couldn’t help but move your pinkie just slightly in search of hers. It was a small touch. So small it could almost be accidental, but something in both of you knew it wasn’t.

You heard Abby’s breath hitch quietly and nearly pulled your hand back, but then you felt hers move towards yours. Slowly, Abby’s fingertips traced lines against your hand before lacing them together with yours. The gesture was so sweet you nearly melted.

When you turned your head to face her, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes squinted closed like she was waiting for a bomb to go off. It was in that moment that you realized she felt the same longing that you did—that she knew of the ache that occupied your heart, and everything just clicked.

You tightened your grip on her hand as you brought her fist to your lips, planting a soft kiss on her knuckles. The act softened her expression and she opened her eyes to look at you with that damned smile on her face.

Abby propped herself up the same way she had at the beach, looking down at you with those beautiful blue eyes. The wind blew loose strands of hair across her face, and you reached up to brush them behind her ear. But instead of retracting your hand, you rested your palm lightly against her cheek, tracing small circles with your thumb.

Leaning closer, Abby finally broke the silence. “Hey Y/N?”

Your voice was quiet and raspy as you responded with a small. “Yeah?”

She was closer now, her nose against yours and her warm breath fanning across your face. “Can I kiss you?”

You didn’t respond. Instead you closed the small gap with your lips, kissing Abby tenderly. It was the kind of kiss you couldn’t ever explain to anyone, like a dream you couldn’t quite recall but knew was good. It was perfect.

You could feel her smiling against your mouth as she ran her fingers through your hair and down to your chin.

When Abby pulled away she had this stupid grin on her face, and it was easily the cutest thing you had ever seen.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that for.” Abby laid back down next to you as she let out a sigh of relief.

As you rolled over to rest your head on her chest, Abby’s arm moved to hold you closer. “You’re kidding, right?” She looked at you, urging you to continue. “Abby, I’ve been waiting to do that ever since you gave me that seashell in the infirmary.”

Your heart swelled as you recalled how nervous she was—how she didn’t say a word to you the entire time there, until that day when she shakily introduced herself. It was one of the sweetest gestures anyone had ever done for you, and you’ve adored her ever since.

Abby blushed when you brought up the seashell. She remembers that day clearly; you were leaving the infirmary because your ankle had finally healed, and she saw her opportunity to meet you begin to narrow. Abby initially wasn’t going to go up to you because she was way too afraid, but Lev had seen the way Abby looked at you and forced her to go over and introduce herself.

He is pretty much the entire reason you and Abby were here in the first place, having given Abby that small purple seashell so she could give it to you.

As you lay there listening to the sound of Abby’s heartbeat you heard a rustle in the bushes nearby and nearly jumped out of your skin. Abby quickly stood up, the both of you backing away from the noise. Reaching for the closest thing to you, you grabbed a stick and pointed it towards the source of the rustling. “Who’s there?”

Relief flooded through you as Lev jumped out with his hands up, screaming sarcastically. “Oh no! Please don’t murder me with that tiny stick.”

While Lev giggled hysterically, both you and Abby groaned.

“So did you guys finally kiss or did all my work go to waste?”

Abby rolled her eyes as she reached out to nudge Lev. “You’re such a goober.”

Lev looked at the two of you suspiciously as he crossed his arms. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Abby gave him an amused face as she reached for you without warning, picking you up bridal style. And you couldn’t help but giggle as she leaned in and planted a short kiss on your lips. Abby then pulled away and placed you back on your feet, looking at Lev as she spoke “Did that answer your question?”

Lev excitedly embraced the both of you with a gigantic smile of his face. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”

You and Abby looked at each other happily as you answered in unison. “Trust me, we know.”

The three of you spent the rest of the evening in that small clearing. Abby held Lev on her shoulders as he picked ripe oranges from the trees, and when the sun began to set you lay in Abby’s arms as you watched the cascading pinks and oranges in the clouds paint the sky.

While you lay in Abby’s arms she looked at you with a sense of contentment that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Time had healed the wounds that decorated Abby’s arms, and though the emotional baggage still weighed heavy on her heart, life was brighter here with the Fireflies—with Y/N.

She knew in that moment that it didn’t matter if things came crashing down as it almost always did. The pain and suffering of life was worth enduring because Abby no longer feared the inevitable. She had found something to fight for here and as long as she had you and she had Lev, Abby would continue to fight regardless of the obstacles that stood in her way.

#abby anderson x reader #abby anderson imagine #the last of us imagine #request #one shot #fluff #gn reader #abby anderson #abby tlou #tlou #tlou2 #the last of us part 2

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korgidorgi · 4 years ago

Text

The Avengers reactions to You getting into a fight at school

Warnings: cursing

Reader wrote to be female (pronouns are only used like once so i mean, anyone can read it ig). (Thinking I'm writing an actual fic out of this)

(idk what/where this gif is from)

(Also I don't own any of the Gifs used)

You got into a fight because some girl was being a bitch to someone you like 😏 (it can be whoever you want, irl crush, Peter, MJ, etc. your life, not mine)

You don't normally pick fights with people so this is like, a big thing for you

The bitch hit you first

You dodged her second attack

and broke her nose

You ended the fight

You ditch school and come back to the tower

Peter told Tony

Tony told everyone else

Peter saw everything go down

Fucking snitch

Don't worry, your crush helped you clean up after :) (you were bleeding a bit)

Tony:

Not too happy about hearing about it

He was passive-agressive to you when you got back to the tower, made you ✨uncomfy✨(He's scary when he's upset ok? He also lowkey has an army of robots)

He finally asks you about what happened and you tell him

Teases you about doing it to get Peter's attention (whether that's true or not, you deny it)

He's very much like a dad about the whole situation

Steve:

When he asks you about what happens, you start cursing

Comes at you about cursing

"Language."

"Sorry, BuT sTiLl!"

Crosses his arms at you, trying to be angry with you

Is secretly proud of you for standing up for someone because, he too, is a goody two-shoes and probably would have done something similar

Picks up that it may have been your crush who compelled you to do it but doesn't bring that up

Bruce:

Indirect about approaching you about it

When he does bring it up, he's a lot more calm than Tony, but gives you a mini lecture

"If that had been me approaching that situation, I never would have because the Big Guy would have probably killed them and we don't want that."

Makes sure you're ok tho

Natasha:

You can't tell if she's disappointed, proud, angry, what

She simply asks what happened, casually springing the topic on you right as your taking a sip of your favorite drink (you choke on it)

At first, she just listens intensely which scares you a bit, but is secretly proud of you that you stopped a fight with one hit (strong bby :3)

She gets you to tell her why you started bickering in the first place and you just come out and tell her about your crush

She encourages you to ask this certain someone out ;)

Clint:

Stalks you from the vents for a little bit before dropping down to interrogate you

Damn near break his nose

At first he scolds you for fighting, but loosens up

"If you were one of my kids-"

He's said too much

You weren't supposed to know he has a whole ass secret family (let's just pretend okay?)

Oh well, cat's out of the bag now

He tells you to not tell anyone what he said

Crawls back into the vent and disappears

Thor:

Isn't the best judge of scenarios like this because things are so much different on Asgard

Praises you for doing the right thing

The two of you talk about fights you've been in and the worst injuries the two of you have sustained (Thor wins that obviously)

You excitedly tell him how it felt getting hit for someone and he fangirls with you as well

He offers you alcohol (despite you being a bit young) (Do you take it?)

Tony yells from the other room

"Don't encourage her, Thor!"

Bucky:

Doesn't really approach you about it, he doesn't really talk with you much tbh (he doesn't really talk with anyone other than Steve, or younger people) (Look, idc if the timeline's screwed up)

Kinda proud you took a punch for someone tho

Gives you a thumbs-up when you pass him after talking with Steve about it

Sam:

Much like Steve, he's a bit stern with you, crossing his arms

Tells you to not do stupid shit like that (without him)

He only loosens up when you tell him that this certain someone has unconsentually stolen your heart

Won't stop teasing you about your crush but doesn't spread it to the other Avengers

Rhodey:

"You fucking what!?"

High-fives you when you tell him the story

Also encourages you about the ordeal like Thor

He's a bad influence on you

"You shouldda just gone in, hit her, and been like 'Boom, you looking for this?'"

Everyone in earshot just freezes and just blankly stares at him

"Not funny, okay. Bad joke."

Tony looks at him, daring him to encourage this behavior

Wanda:

She doesn't confront you about it, more like you race up to her and giddily tell her about it

Asks if you're okay (which you confirm)

Lowkey wants to see what it looked like

"If you want you can look in my head if you wanna see it it was sO aWeSoMe!"

Refuses your offer but looks anyways because she's curious

Nearly freaks out at your memory when you get hit

Very satisfied when you hit the bitch back though

Sees your crush that way, she'll talk with you about your crush when you bring it up later, she doesn't want to ruin your excitement

(I'm considering her a possible crush insert too now so maybe she already saw it and is like, still horrified you'd do that for her bc she doesn't think shes really worth getting sucker punched for so let's do this:)

(She's concerned that you're excited about taking a hit for her but thinks its sweet)

Peter:

He fucking SAW IT HAPPEN! (Ned saw it too)

He freaked out and helped you clean up outside before you buggered off to clean up elsewhere (with the help of your crush, unless it was him, then he leads you somewhere to help clean you up better)

Doesn't know whether to be horrified or impressed

When he tells Tony, he's screaming about what happened and is really blown away by the incident

Really worried about you afterward

Regretted telling Tony because he thought you'd kill him for it (I mean, you might ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ )

Won't shut up about it for the next 3 weeks

Vision:

He really only brought up that you looked different

Asked if you got hurt somehow because of the bruise and cut on your face

You tell him what happened

Doesn't really understand why you of all people would get into a fight

Warns against the (obvious) results of taking physical damage

Isn't much of a supporter or disciplinary figure on this whole ordeal, very neutral

#avengers x reader #x fem reader #tony stark #marvel #fanfiction #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #vision #wanda maximoff #peter parker #sam wilsom #thor odinson #clint barton #bruce banner #bucky barnes #rhodey #headcanon

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the-last-kenobi · 4 years ago

Text

I... I wrote a thing... goddamnit...

Based on this post

All credit and love to @latenightsomewhere and @americankimchi for the idea!

(keep in mind this is not canon compliant. I have aged Obi-Wan down to ten, for one thing. I wanted smolbi-wan💕 and dammit, that’s what I wrote.)

___

It was supposed to be a simple mission.

Then again, that was something that could be said after all missions. “It was supposed to be simple,” Jedi would say, shaking their heads ruefully. “Simple.”

They had known they were walking into unpleasant territory.

The Outer Rim was safe for no one — least of all Force-sensitives.

Least of all, Qui-Gon reflected, gripping the hilt of his lightsaber so tightly that he could feel the ridges carving lines into his palms, least of all young Jedi Padawans. Who had training. Who had skills. Who carried kyber in their sabers.

Like Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon hadn’t quite realized what had happened— not at first — not with his head ringing with the force of the blunt instrument someone had slammed against his head during the scuffle. He had dragged himself to his knees, first, heaving for breath, then slowly rose to his feet, breathing deeply to chase away the nausea.

And then he had discovered he was alone.

Completely alone.

The slavers were gone, and so was his ten-year-old apprentice—

They took him, he thought, stunned. They took him right from under me, where he should have been safest. I didn’t leave him alone on the ship for a reason, but they took him—

As he reeled, flashes of memory started to filter back through the confusion.

Obi-Wan had been behind him, shielded — and then they were unexpectedly surrounded, outnumbered by what was clearly more than a roving pack of criminals — Obi-Wan had ignited his saber and fought back — Qui-Gon had dropped with a blow to the head, and he heard — shouting —

— a startled cry, a thin and high-pitched voice — a muffled scream, a child’s scared voice —

“Master!”

And a powerful fury rose up inside Qui-Gon, both focused and wild, and he did not feel inclined to subdue it.

•

“It’s not natural, is it,” complained one of the group, a young nautolan with grey skin. “Look at him.”

“Shut up,” one of the others said, shooting a slightly wary look in the direction the first was gesturing.

“He’s a kid,” a third said dismissively. This was easily the most eye-catching of the group, an enormous burly Besalisk that was even taller than Master Krell. “And he’s drugged. He can’t do anything. Forget him.”

“He’s a fucking menace is what he is,” the first muttered.

Obi-Wan grinned at them, a slightly manic expression. This was not helped by the blood streaked through his ginger-blonde hair, or the gag they had tied tightly around his mouth.

He said something to them, muffled by the cloth.

“What?” the Besalisk suddenly turned from dismissive to angry.

“Leave him, he’s just being—” one of the others began, but the enormous reptilian humanoid shook his head violently, stalking towards their captive.

“I asked what you said,” he repeated.

Obi-Wan actually rolled his eyes, gesturing towards the gag with his bound hands. The nautolan looked gobsmacked at his nerve.

The Besalisk rumbled low in his throat and jerked the cloth roughly out of the boy’s mouth, catching painfully on his lower lip as he did.

Obi-Wan winced and blinked rapidly, shaking his head as if to clear it.

“What did you say?” his antagonist repeated.

“I said,” Obi-Wan answered, staring plaintively up at the much taller creature, “you’re going to be very sorry when my Master catches up with you.”

The Besalisk laughed, but it was not a happy sound. One by one the others all joined in, although some more hesitantly than others.

“Your Master didn’t put up much of a fight,” the kidnapper goaded him. “And even if he could, he’d have to put in a lot of work to find you. I don’t think he’ll bother, do you?” He leered. “He’s a Jedi. He’s got a job on his hands, and you come second.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes flickered.

Then he smiled. “I was wondering something earlier, but you just answered my question for me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Obi-Wan said, mocking the elder’s drawling accent. “You made it obvious that yes, you are exactly as stupid as you look.”

Several of the slavers gaped.

“Or even stupider,” Obi-Wan added.

There was a bellow of rage, and an enormous fist collided with the boy’s face, leaving grooves up his cheek and forehead that were none too shallow. The gag was forced back into his mouth.

Obi-Wan went back to smiling manically at anyone who looked his way.

•

It took Qui-Gon three and a half standard days to find who had taken his apprentice and where they had gone.

Every minute of those three and half days were spent utterly focused; healthy amounts of sleep were sacrificed in exchange for tracking down information and planning his rescue.

And every minute was also spent with quiet thoughts murmuring in the back of his mind, where not even Jedi calm could quiet them.

They could have moved him again.

They could have had a buyer waiting for the next Force-sensitive they managed to catch.

They’re hurting him. They’re hurting him right now and you’re nowhere near enough to help.

And, perhaps the most quiet, most desperate truth in his heart — If I lose this one, there will be no coming back for me.

•

Obi-Wan bit the hand in front of his face.

The slaver yelped, somehow not expecting the attack despite what Obi-Wan considered fair warning in the form of a venomous glare before the gag had been removed.

“Little brat!” the slaver hissed, shaking his damaged hand that the apprentice was a little pleased to see was bleeding.

“Get him up,” one of the others snapped. “We’re taking him to the deep market tonight, and he needs his attitude fixed first.”

“Not likely,” the ten-year-old said cheerfully. “I was an incorrigible child and my mentor is not exactly—”

He was struck again.

“That’s getting kind of repetitive,” complained Obi-Wan, kicking his bound feet a bit where they hung a foot off the floor, trying to get the blood flowing. “And the same side every time, too. I’m going to get permanent damage and then how much will I be worth?”

“He’s gotta point,” said the newcomer unhelpfully.

The one who had been bitten scowled mightily, then sneered down at his captive, a mean little gleam in his eyes that the boy did not like the look of.

A moment later, a hand closed tight around the boy’s throat, right above the thin collar that had been set there, rigged to blow if he managed to flee.

Obi-Wan choked and began to struggle.

The hand squeezed tighter. “The punishment should fit the crime,” the male mused aloud. “And it’s your back talk that’s going to get you in trouble with your new master, and lower your value on the auction block. Seems fair to get rid of your voice, then.”

The other slaver watched appraisingly. “Just don’t kill ‘im, Frid.”

“Course not,” said the man who was evidently Frid, watching with vindictive pleasure as Obi-Wan writhed weakly, his face turning white and then blue.

Obi-Wan was dropped.

He gasped, his breath rattling in his constricted throat, and kept his head down this time.

This is why Master always says I need to redirect that urge to talk back, he reflected, feeling a little queasy. He’s not going to be happy about my injuries at this rate.

•

Qui-Gon was no stranger to bypassing the local authorities on the planets he visited. He was notorious for it, in fact.

This time, he had chosen to work with the authorities — and then ditched them at the last minute.

Now everything was as legal and tidy as he cared to make it, and the government would be able to arrest and shut down the entire operation, over the course of mere weeks if they were focused about it.

...After Qui-Gon had gone in after his apprentice.

He was quiet and careful about his approach, stealing his way into the underground warehouse that was the gateway to the infamous black market of the planet, a place where spice and banned items were passed from hand to hand — and sentient beings, too.

He could sense his Padawan, albeit barely.

Drugged, most likely.

Sustained exposure to Force suppressants could kill him.

Shaking off the intrusive thoughts, Jinn followed his instincts down several flights of stairs and down a hallway, listening intently.

Bang.

A door flew open to his left, and he melted into the shadows as two figures emerged, one a hulking Besalisk with a permanent scowl and the other a gangly human male with very scruffy hair.

“—not my responsibility,” the human was complaining. “I didn’t sign up for dealing with him. I didn’t even catch him.”

“I did,” the Besalisk grunted. “Little whelp. Squirmed around like a worm on a hook and wouldn’t stop fucking screaming. He would’ve alerted the whole neighborhood just moving him from where we picked him up to the truck.”

“Why didn’t you just gag him?” the human laughed.

“Didn’t have anything to do it with,” the other shrugged. “Tried using my hand and the brat damn near snapped his own neck trying to scream anyways.”

They chuckled a bit.

Qui-Gon held his breath, both wanting and not at all wanting them to be discussing who he thought they were—

“What do the bosses expect us to do, work miracles?” the human went back to complaining. “I hear he’s a spitfire. And they want him ready for sale, in what, three hours?”

The Besalisk grinned. “Three hours is plenty of time. Frid told me that smacking the kid around doesn’t do much good, but he half-strangled him earlier and that shut him up. Jedi whelp.”

And there it was.

It was all the evidence Qui-Gon needed.

The two slavers turned around in alarm when they heard the distinctive hiss-snap of a lightsaber igniting.

All they caught a glimpse of was a towering figure seemingly appearing out of thin air, his expression serene but his eyes blazing, an emerald blade glowing in his hands, and then they were down for the count.

•

Obi-Wan decided that lying facedown on the floor was the better part of valor for the moment.

He was sore and bruised and scratched, and his throat was swollen while his neck chafed against the collar, and he could no longer tell if the nausea was caused by the drugs in his system or from being mistreated.

They had forgone the cloth gag in favor of sealing his lips shut with tape, which Obi-Wan considered a compliment to his ability to annoy them, but it also hindered his ability to breathe.

The slaver standing over him was dusting his hands off rather gleefully.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut and wished very very hard, knowing that even without being able to touch it, the Force was with him—

And like a miracle, the door swung open, and there was his wish.

The slaver didn’t stand a chance. He only had time to let out an undignified squawk of surprise before he was flying into the ceiling, smacking into a rafter with undue force and then dropping neatly onto a nearby cot that rattled under his weight.

Obi-Wan sighed and let his eyes drift closed.

The man in the doorway was at his side in an instant.

A warm hand touched his shoulder, then slid upwards to touch his neck, looking for signs of life, examining his damaged throat.

Then, very carefully, the tape was peeled away from his mouth.

Obi-Wan smiled into the cold flooring and forced himself to open his eyes again.

“Hullo, Master,” he murmured.

•

Qui-Gon had thought, for one heart-stopping moment, when he had reached Obi-Wan just in time to watch him close his eyes and go limp—

But he was awake, now, those enormous bright blue eyes twinkling up at him out of a battered face.

“Hullo, Master,” said a very small, hoarse voice.

“Hello, Padawan,” Qui-Gon said softly, running his hand up and down the boy’s back, unnerved by how chilled he was to the touch. “How does a warm shower and some proper sleep sound?”

Obi-Wan pretended to think about it, and Qui-Gon had to fight down a laugh at his antics, even now. “Do I have to see healers first?”

“Yes,” answered the Master. “But I believe I can manage to have them release you quickly. We’re leaving for Coruscant tonight; we can sleep on the ship.”

“Oh, all right,” said Obi-Wan, but he didn’t move.

“Can you stand?” Qui-Gon asked.

“Possibly.”

There was another pause, then: “...not really.”

Without another word, Qui-Gon stood, scooping the boy into his arms as he did, cradling his head against one shoulder. Obi-Wan murmured something that he didn’t quite catch.

They moved out of the room and into the hallway, then began to make their way back out of the warehouse. Qui-Gon was stepping over bodies as he went... most of them merely unconscious.

He spotted the scruffy-haired man who had been laughing about the screaming Jedi whelp, and didn’t begrudge himself for trodding accidentally on the man’s outstretched fingers as he passed.

“I... am sorry, Padawan,” Qui-Gon said heavily. “I should have protected you better.”

The ginger head shifted; the boy murmured something vague into his tunics again and then said softly, “It wasn’t your fault, Master. Besides...” he winced as they crossed beneath a bright light that threw the injuries on his face into glaring relief that made Qui-Gon’s stomach clench with self-recrimination. “...I knew you would come for me.”

And those seven little words did a great deal to ease the rage and guilt still swirling inside the tired Jedi Master.

“Always, Padawan,” he said quietly. “Always.”

Obi-Wan was asleep in his arms by the time they emerged into the twilight, surrounded by the movement of law enforcement as they swarmed upon the compound, and therefore he didn’t know it when Qui-Gon, near-shaking as the adrenaline of the past several, stressful days began to fade, murmured: “Thank the Force for you, little one.” And pressed a soft kiss to the sleeping head.

#star wars #my writing #not my idea #smolbi wan #tiny bean #my baby #obi wan kenobi #qui gon jinn #obi wan and qui gon #star wars au #tw child harm #tw strangulation #dad qui is Not Happy #little obi is just giving vibing and waiting on his dad #i love them your honor #somebody hug him

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soccerdailyuk · 1 year ago

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“Never before" Ancelotti Laments Strange Happenings in Real Madrid vs Barcelona Clash

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moved-to-void-kissed · 3 years ago

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Split of Twin Flowers

After being rescued from the realm of darkness, Aria seeks a way to give Ves a chance at living her own life, while also continuing to survive in her own right. Aqua brings her to the scientists at Radiant Garden to see if they have a solution, and for Aria to explain her situation, but the only option available may carry some worrying implications.. (3937 words)

Takes place after the ending of KH3. Content warning for mentions of battle scars, talk of a character being possessed, an event comparable to an exorcism (it’s kind of hard to explain in non-series-specific terms, sorry), and rather a lot of self-insert-focused exposition.

(Comments on and reblogs of my work are always okay, and appreciated, but are by no means required. I recommend reading this piece on the original document, but if that doesn't work, a transcript has been copied and pasted under the readmore.)

This is a piece I have been working on for a long time, and am very proud of, so I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it. I hope it isn’t quite as heavy as the content warnings may possibly indicate. I’m also using it as my post for the twenty-ninth day of sapphic September; there’s just one more to go!

Document transcript:

The door to the laboratory opened halfway, and a young woman tentatively poked her head around it. Upon seeing that she was not interrupting anything, she smiled and emerged more properly, brushing a lock of blue hair from her face.

“Oh, Master Aqua!” The lone scientist in the room smiled warmly as he noticed her. “Thank you for coming. I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

“Thank you, Ienzo.” Aqua replied, even if she did still in fact look rather tired. The long battle to defeat Master Xehanort and the true Organisation still felt fresh in her mind, and although it was a fight that the light had eventually won, it had still taken quite a toll on her. Not only that, but she hadn’t had the same chance to rest as the others - though thoughts of locating Sora still weighed on everyone’s minds, Aqua had been more concerned with finding a way back into the realm of darkness in order to rescue Aria, her partner who she had so unwillingly abandoned..

Now that Aria was finally free as well, Aqua could let herself relax a bit more, and with that lowering of her guard came much contemplation of everything she had gone through.

“Um.. Master Aqua?”

“Ah!”

She’d been staring off into space again, judging by Ienzo’s worried expression half-visible under his hair.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, don’t worry!” she replied, slightly embarrassed at her lapse in concentration. The young scientist did not look entirely convinced, but he seemed content enough to continue.

“I’m the only one here at the moment, but I should still be able to help with what we talked about over the Gummiphone. Did you happen to bring Aria with you?”

At this, the half-open door Aqua had come through continued to swing open as if of its own accord, only to reveal another young woman entering the laboratory with a somewhat nervous expression. She had clearly been through a lot, and the realm of darkness she had reportedly been trapped in for aeons had definitely left its mark on her; several large patches of darkness could be seen spanning her face and body, with one reaching down her left eye like a melting wound.

“Yes, I’m here..”

Her catlike eyes flickered nervously around the room, and it soon became apparent that what Ienzo had thought was a cape were in fact a pair of black feathered wings, both subconsciously curling around her shoulders. It was only upon recognising that Ienzo was the only one present, and that his initial reaction to seeing her was not as negative as she was expecting, that she was able to relax slightly and explain herself from behind a now-steeled facade.

“My name is Aria.” she said, looking up at the scientist from under her messy blonde hair. “Aqua said you might be able to help me achieve something. Has she already.. told you about, well-”

“We’ve already spoken a little bit using the Gummiphone I was given before, but he said it was best for us to come and talk in person to try and get everything clear.” Aqua stepped in after sensing Aria’s hesitation and took her hand to support her partner. “It’s alright - you can trust him,” she whispered close to her ear.

Trusting only in her love’s reassurance, Aria started to explain her intentions to Ienzo, who seemed content to listen even considering the clear presence of darkness she had; this silent gesture of tolerance was greatly appreciated. She appeared hesitant to reveal much of her true nature as a Heartless, but she did what she could to inquire whether the young scientist knew any way for a heart to be released from its current body and inhabit a different one, allowing the dormant self within the original body to reawaken. Unfortunately, Ienzo remained pensive, even after she had said her part.

“So, you’re looking for a way for a heart to enter a new body? I’m sorry, but.. I’m not sure we’ll be able to help you. Any of the resources we could have used - which is to say, the replicas, they would have been perfect for this - were taken by Roxas, Xion, and Naminé’s hearts.”

“Oh. So, there is nothing you can do?” Aria persisted, but Ienzo shook his head.

Then came a flash of hesitant inspiration.

“Unless..” He trailed off and turned to look down one of the corridors leading away from the main lab space. “Could you two come with me, please?”

“Of course!” said Aqua brightly, as Aria nodded in assent.

==========

The three left the main hub of the laboratory to walk down the corridor, which felt as though it was turning downwards into a basement level of sorts. Once there, they came to a tall door which Ienzo unlocked with some sort of biometric scanner, and this opened out into yet another laboratory space with a similar layout to the first - however, this one seemed in a less presentable condition than the other, and its lack of windows seemed to be what was giving it a more foreboding presence. There was a distinct sense that something bad had happened here, once upon a time.

“After you and the other Guardians of Light helped to defeat Master Xehanort,” Ienzo was saying to Aqua, “we went back to the Keyblade Graveyard to see if there was anything to salvage from the battlefield, and we were able to bring this back with us.”

He gestured to a container at the far wall, in which the two Keyblade wielders could now see a strange white figure suspended inside, resembling a featureless mannequin. It appeared to be dressed in some kind of dark robes, of a dull purple colour inlaid with sharp red motifs, worn over pieces of tarnished metal armour. A number of scuffs and dents littered the otherwise-smooth surface, and Aria could sense traces of a dark presence seeping from the container, despite the blank nature of the figure itself.

“What is this..?”

“This is one of the replicas that Even created, back when he was still Vexen, and a member of the first Organisation.” Ienzo explained. “The first twelve were prototypes, initially abandoned as failures, since they were made before his assistant provided the data needed to perfect them, but.. From what I understand, the real Organisation - which Vexen was also a part of at the beginning - repurposed those twelve into vessels for Xehanort’s heart, as backups in case the people they brought through time fell in battle again.”

“That’s right, I remember fighting these now.” muttered Aqua. “But, didn’t they fuse into one form, eventually?”

“That’s what I thought, too, from your accounts of the situation.” replied the scientist. “I’m not sure if Sora defeating the replicas in battle made them all separate out again, since they weren’t really designed to be fused, or if this one was already too damaged to combine with the others in the first place. Regardless, it was the only one we recovered.”

He now turned to face the blank figure with a concerned expression. “We’ve been running some experiments to see whether it can be repurposed for anything, but.. There’s a lot of darkness still lingering within it, so it wouldn’t be safe for a heart of light to inhabit without risking it also being afflicted by that darkness. And we haven’t found a good way of destroying that darkness without compromising the replica, either.”

“I could sense the dark power when I saw it, so corruption would seem a likely outcome.” Aria mused. “This would also be darkness from Xehanort, so.. it isn’t that surprising that some part of it stuck around. Persistence did seem to be his only worthwhile trait.”

She had crossed her arms in contempt at this last part, but seemed satisfied enough to relax after studying the replica further. “It shouldn’t matter any more than he did in the long run, though.”

“Hmm..” Aqua seemed concerned about the prospect, but was trying to keep an open mind. “What do you make of it, Aria?”

“Well..” She took a moment to examine the figure with an unchanging expression. “The replica body itself has sustained some damage from the fight, but I don’t see why that would affect my ability to inhabit it - it’s just possible that those injuries would reflect in my new appearance, which is.. nothing I’m not accustomed to. And, if the heart within a replica determines its appearance, then maybe what’s left of my heart - or, I suppose, the heart that I once was - would be able to smooth over those gaps. Though, if it’s the latter, that could mean my appearance ends up changing, which.. is not what I want.”

Aqua tentatively nodded, but Ienzo seemed more visibly confused.

“I’m sorry to interject, but- what do you mean by “the heart that you once were”? You’re saying that that’s different to your heart, somehow?”

“..In a sense, yes. How do I explain this..?” There was a slight pause as Aria tried to gather her thoughts, and it was clear she was still trying to think by the hesitant nature of her words that followed. She had seen right through to the heart of the man standing before her, which glowed with a newly-restored lustre. It was a heart that sought to help people, and sought knowledge in order to do that, though there were visible flickers of a long-seated regret present as well. Still, it was a heart that she judged would not judge her, so she decided to provide it with the truth she hoped would sate it.

“Though I look mostly human to you, this- isn’t technically my body, however much I treated it as such. If I were to let go of this vessel, or be driven out from her, you would see me as I really am - a Heartless, a flowering thing. However, Heartless are created when a heart is consumed by darkness, so.. surely the appearance I would take if I were to possess a blank replica would be that of the person this heart - my heart - used to belong to. Only, I don’t- I don’t really see myself as him, or as Ves. I am different, I am my own- well, person, if I can even call myself that. Yet, when I imagine my appearance outside of this vessel, I can only see myself as a Heartless. Does that make any sense?”

“I think I follow..” the scientist mumbled, though his still-furrowed brow seemed to indicate otherwise. “So, you kept your memories of who you were, even after turning into a Heartless? Kairi had implied that the same thing happened to Sora, but.. I’d just attributed that to him turning the Keyblade of heart on himself to free her, so it wouldn’t have happened to anyone else.”

This claim caused Aria to shake her head. “To my knowledge, the method is irrelevant; what matters is the intention. The more willingly a person opens their heart to the darkness, the more of their mind they keep when their heart is consumed, and they become a Heartless. I believe this is what happened with Ansem, though he actively sought after darkness so strongly that he retained a human appearance as well as mind. The emblem on his chest was the only way an onlooker could tell his true nature. When it comes to my original self, he was a Keyblade wielder, very similar to what I know of Sora, but… though he certainly did not willingly or deliberately let his heart be consumed, he was able to accept his fate in his final moments, and that is what allowed the Heartless formed at his demise - so, in other words, me - to retain some semblance of mind and self. Just.. not as much of it.”

“Oh. Yes, I think that makes more sense now. Thank you for the clarification.” said Ienzo. He was writing something furiously in a book that seemed to appear out of nowhere, then became startled when he realised his blunder. In an instant, he opened his mouth to ask something, but closed it with relief when Aria’s expression reassured him she did not mind him making notes about her.

It was Aqua’s turn to speak up now. “It’s so interesting to hear about this from you, Aria - but, I can’t say I’ve seen that kind of behaviour in any of the Heartless I’ve fought before. Had you noticed it at any point while we were in the realm of darkness?”

“Not that I can recall.” she replied. “It isn't exactly that common of an occurrence, considering most people’s disdain for the darkness. And, not only that, but..” She turned away from the other two here, and her next words came much more reluctantly again.

“Before I took over Ves, I remember feeling that I was losing myself - all I was driven by was this desire to be complete again, to be human again, but that was fading away over time. Then, when I found her, I didn’t necessarily feel more human, but what sense of humanity I did have was no longer fading away. So, if I hadn’t found her or someone like her in time, I probably would have lost my sense of self completely, and become just as mindless as most other Heartless are. It’s only thanks to the type of Heartless I became that I was even able to possess her in the first place, and.. I didn’t start to truly feel more like a person until I met other Keyblade wielders, and they interacted with me.”

“I see, I see.. So you’re saying that, in those Heartless that retain a sense of who they were before becoming Heartless, the remnants of normal heart behaviour - of humanity, if you will - have to be nurtured by others in order to be sustained, and will just be lost to the darkness if not actively encouraged?”

“Yes.”

Ienzo paused to finish hastily scribbling this knowledge down in his notebook, then lifted his head in realisation once he had had some time to think. “I think I might remember something of that from the old Organisation, actually.. Though, the memory is very hazy..”

To stop his mind from wandering as it wanted to, he returned to address the matter at hand.

“From what you’ve said, Aria, it does sound like you’d be able to make use of this replica - and you may well be the only one who could. I don’t think there’s any other solution here for you, and.. I say there’s no better way to find out than by experimenting. Give me a moment to get everything ready, and then we’ll be set to see if it works!”

Aria nodded, content with the proposal, but Aqua reached out to take her hand with a worried expression.

“Aria, are you sure you want to do this..?”

“Of course I am, Aqua. This is why I came here.” she replied. Then she hesitated again. “..Why, is there something wrong?”

“Well, no, it’s just-” Aqua took a moment to settle her whirling thoughts, holding both of Aria’s hands in her own now. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when I use my Keyblade on you. I don’t want to hurt you, or even destroy you. And, if something happened with the darkness infecting the replica, then..”

Aria couldn’t bring herself to meet Aqua’s gaze, but it was clear she appreciated the consideration, and did her best to reassure her love. “If I could leave of my own accord, I would have done so by now, but.. we’ve become too intertwined for me to do that myself. And Ves is not quite strong enough to drive me out from within - it’s enough of an effort for her to stay existing in the first place. So.. an outside force seems to be the only way to separate us. And there isn’t anyone I’d trust to wield that force, other than you.”

Despite herself, Aqua couldn’t help but smile at the last admission, and she felt her normal confidence returning. “..Alright then. If you’re sure about this, then.. I’m happy to be able to help.”

The two embraced for a moment, then there was a pause of silence as Aria took a few steps back to stand in the middle of the room. Once Ienzo had brought the replica out of its container, he carried it around to the other end of the laboratory, closer to the other two. Aqua summoned her Brightcrest Keyblade, then slowly raised its tip to be level with the X on Aria’s outfit. She took a deep breath, then pointed the Keyblade directly at her partner, echoing the movement used to open the paths to new worlds.

Aria instinctively flinched when a thin beam of bright light shot forward from the tip of Aqua’s Keyblade, striking her directly in the chest. She was then forced down into a kneel as an aura of pink-tinted darkness began to escape from her body. Her expression was grim, as if she was in pain, but Aqua caught sight of a hint of a smile before the darkness now emanating much more rapidly from her form started rising up to create something above her. It almost completely engulfed her body as if to pull it upwards too, seeming particularly concentrated around her head and wings, before disconnecting entirely to drop a drained figure to the floor. This left a dense collection of dark pink wisps, amalgamating in the air.

Ienzo was now well off to the side, looking rather alarmed, but his expression was replaced with complete surprise when the amorphous cluster of darkness coalesced, giving way to what looked like a floating mass of pink petals. Eventually, it turned around to reveal a large jagged mouth and piercing yellow eyes, staring with an expression he found difficult to interpret. The Heartless stayed floating in place for a moment, as if disoriented, then suddenly appeared to notice Aqua, staring at her curiously.

“Aria..?”

Her tentative call was clearly recognised by the flowering monster, which began to float cautiously towards her. She still had her Keyblade summoned, and her hand was trembling ever-so-slightly - whether with nervousness, uncertainty, or something else entirely, it was impossible to tell. Then, Ienzo stepped between the two and lifted up the replica body, hoping that Aria still remembered the plan.

“Here!”

It seemed the Heartless remained aware, as she moved forwards more purposefully after this, and collided directly with the empty vessel’s centre. A few petals scattered from the force, but it took only a few moments for the Heartless’ form to disappear entirely, appearing to be absorbed into the replica body. This caused another aura of darkness to manifest, enveloping the blank surface of the replica and making Ienzo recoil from the body - but it caught itself as it fell from his grasp to end up kneeling on all fours. A few more moments passed, as the darkness engulfed the entire body in a shell, before gradually dissipating after a few gold sparks were seen being forced out of the system.

The figure that stood up was slightly smaller than the replica had looked in the container, with catlike ears now poking upwards from a fluffy head of golden blonde hair. As she lifted her head, a cluster of cute freckles were seen scattered across her face, though in what Aqua thought was a slightly different arrangement than before. There were other little differences here and there, as well - the shape of her face, the way her hair fell at the back, how she stood dressed in the unfamiliar clothes from the replica in the middle of the silent laboratory.

But all of Aqua’s worries disappeared when the girl standing before her opened her eyes. Neither the bright, empty yellow of the lesser, mindless Heartless, nor a piercing orange like the seeker of darkness, nor even the harsh cold shade between the two that Aria’s eyes had been before, but a warm and resolute amber was the colour that met Aqua’s gaze, and regarded her with a renewed sense of gratitude and love.

“Aria!”

The Keyblade Master ran across the room towards her partner and nearly knocked her over with the energy of her emotions. Aria was nervous, but comfortably allowed herself to melt into Aqua’s embrace, now able to feel the connection between the pair even more strongly than before. Something felt so much more tangible about her presence now, and the relief coursing through her new body was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“Aqua, it really worked..!” she smiled, speaking in a quiet voice filled with gratitude.

“I’m so glad you’re alright!” exclaimed Aqua, who also had a few tears in her eyes. “How do you feel? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, it’s all fine, I promise.” she asserted. “The replica’s darkness was not organised; it was just remnants that my presence has removed. I feel.. different, but in the best possible way. I could never have done this without you here with me - thank you, so much, for being here..”

She trailed off, still smiling at her partner, and another wonderful moment came and went. Then, a movement from behind Aqua caused Aria’s expression to take on a slightly fearful quality, and she turned her head to see what was happening. The cause of this movement was the figure left behind when Aqua set Aria free, who was slowly trying to get to her feet, her heart’s light flickering nervously. A bright green eye could be seen darting anxiously around the room from under her hair, but she was too weak to properly move, and quickly fell back to the ground again. Ienzo stepped in to support her, and his assistance was clearly welcomed as she was just about able to stand.

“Please take her somewhere she can recover.” Aria requested hurriedly. “After everything I put her through, she needs every opportunity she can to rest and adjust to being herself again..”

“Don’t worry. We have good facilities here.” Ienzo assured her. “Everything will be fine.”

This did little to ease Aria’s guilt, but the gesture was nevertheless appreciated. “Thank you, Ienzo.”

The scientist nodded, and then slowly helped the girl walk to the corridor. She appeared to be very shaken, and was glancing at everything with apprehension and unfamiliarity, but as she turned the corner of the corridor, she looked back at the couple still standing side-by-side, and met the eyes of both her saviour and her prison.

(For all that you have done to me, I know why you do not deserve forgiveness.

But, this is not the first time we have seen each other face-to-face since that day, thanks to that mirror you found in the darkness.

And ever since that moment, you have sought a way to free yourself from me. To let me live the life you once denied me. To break the hold that any other being you’d call your kind would do everything to strengthen.

You calculated the risks, but you still took them - the risk you would lose everything and the one person you cared for, for the sake of me getting to “get rid of you”.

So, who am I to judge a person - the person you have become - by the actions of the creature you once were..?)

A ghost of a smile flickered over her face, and the long-held vessel finally free again spoke of her own accord for the first time since the age of ancient fairytales.

“Thank you, Aria..”

#a call from the void #creations from the void #kingdom hearts selfshipping #this post is okay to reblog!#sapphicseptember2021 #selfship #selfshipping #love: wayfinding waters (aqua)#selfship: survivors of the dark (aqua/aria)#self‑insert: darkness' champion (aria)#and also featuring #self‑insert: ruby in the light (ves)#read the post carefully before opening the readmore please #or opening the document (which is how I recommend reading this one)#I have spent a long time trying to write this piece #i am proud of it

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realtacuardach · 3 years ago

Text

Deception and Perception

“Con-artist” entry for Obiyuki Bingo 2021, hosted by @snowwhite-andtheknight

I hope you enjoy!

~~~

Leaning nearly double on the folding chair, Shirayuki clutched her ankle and moaned lowly under her breath as the security guard closed the door behind him. His footsteps echoed as he walked down the hallway to the main office, the steady rhythm slowly fading away to nothing. A half-minute more ticked by on her watch, and Shirayuki straightened up. Quickly getting to her feet, she walked over to the filing cabinets stacked against the wall and pulled fruitlessly on one of the handles. It didn’t come as any surprise that the research had been locked up, but she allowed herself a small curse of frustration before extracting a lockpick from her pocket.

There has to be an easier way to get information, she internally muttered to herself as she got to work.

But there wasn’t, she’d already tried.

When the progress on her laboratory’s latest research had slowed down, Shirayuki initially filed it away as one of the typical delays and frustrations of being a researcher. But months had passed, and they weren’t getting any further in their findings - meanwhile, the neighboring lab from Bergatt Enterprises, who had piggy-backed on their research for a time, was making leaps and bounds.

She had asked to see their results, to understand where she might have been making mistakes. In response, they had erected swift, impenetrable walls, stating that their findings were their intellectual property. A bitter pill to swallow, but their offering a thorn bramble when she’d offered an olive branch in the past was just going to have to be a lesson to keep her guard up better in future.

But when she’d returned to her own lab, intent on looking at her earlier notes and samples to start over from scratch, she’d found that her notes were gone. Someone had taken them.

The filing cabinet clicked open, and she shoved the lockpick in her pocket before reaching into the drawer, fingers flying over the tops of the file folders.

She hadn’t wanted to believe that the other lab would stoop to theft or sabotage, but when the lab assistant who’d started work two weeks before their collaboration with Bergatt stopped showing up with no explanation two days after it had ended, she’d had suspicions. Suspicions that were confirmed, at least in her mind, when she’d seen that same lab assistant in the lobby of Bergatt Enterprises when she’d first approached them and been shut down. Calling after the woman had been an impulse, but also a mistake. The faux lab assistance had scurried deep behind the security of ‘limited access’ doors, and Shirayuki had been escorted out.

The guard had rushed her out so quickly that she’d tripped on the threshold, and landing hard on her ankle had hurt but also given her an idea.

The first drawer didn’t have them. Fighting the urge to slam it shut in frustration, Shirayuki instead closed it slowly and started on the next cabinet down. It has to be here, she assured herself, squinting at the papers and forcing herself to keep a steady pace, this is the only place left.

Bergatt Enterprises had four labs within the state; it would have been too much to hope for that they’d have left the research in the first place she’d looked, the facility where she’d seen the spy. But she’d tried anyway.

After a week, she’d gone back, her hair tied back and covered with a bandana to fill out a job application. On the way to fill out the paperwork, she’d walked by a Wet Floor sign and fallen. She’d held her side and groaned, curling around her injury. Frantic to avoid lawsuits, employees had ushered her into a makeshift nurse’s office and left there for a few minutes. Moving quickly, she’d managed to get into the lab offices, only to find the filing cabinets were only for show and were disappointingly empty.

The paper in the file folder at the back of the cabinet caught on her fingers, the paper crumpled and off-color compared to the pristine contents of the other files. Her breath catching, she pulled the paper out and nearly cried with relief. Found you, she grinned, holding the paper tight to her chest. Now I just have to-

Two sets of footsteps were coming closer down the hallway. Shirayuki just managed to keep from slamming the drawer shut, instead smoothly closing it and darting back to the chair. Wadding her notes into a square and shoving it down into her blouse, she drew her jacket around her before bending down to resume the slow massaging of her ankle.

The security guard returned, closely followed by a man who looked distressingly official. Next to the guard with his ill-fitting button-up and baggy slacks, the new man had an air more polished and somehow dangerous, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. “This is the lady?” He asked, tucking his badge into his suit jacket.

“Yes, sir.” The guard glared at Shirayuki. “Procedure said to call you in if we had anything....suspicious happen. We’ve had a lot of attempted break-ins.”

“Have you?” Behind his sunglasses, the new man’s eyebrows raised, the skin pulling taut around a scar over his left eye. “And not been able to catch them yet? At all?”

The security guard puffed up indignantly. “I caught her.”

“Hmm,” the other man stepped around the desk where Shirayuki’s chair had been situated and sat down on a chair behind it. “And you’re sure this girl is some kind of criminal mastermind?” He snorted. “I can see why you had to call me in.”

Flushing red, the guard drew himself up, but got waved off. “Easy, easy. I’m not saying you’re wrong.” The well-dressed man leaned forward, Shirayuki’s breath catching as he moved closer, smooth and sinuous and unpredictable. She stared steadily back, praying he couldn’t hear her heart pounding or the paper crinkling as she struggled to keep her composure. The man smirked at her, then leaned back in his chair. “You can go,” he told the guard.

“What?” The guard hitched his belt indignantly. “Shouldn’t we both-?”

The suited man’s lips twisted into an irritated smirk. “You think I can’t handle one little girl?”

Shirayuki focused on her fake ankle pain to keep from bristling and giving herself away.

“Well, no,” the guard stuttered.

“If it makes you feel better,” the man waved towards the door, “you can wait outside. But this is my case now.”

The two men stared at each other for an agonizing few moments before the guard stepped back. “Okay, Mr. Nanaki.”

Nanaki smiled, his smile full of teeth and thinly veiled malice. “Ah, ah, ah. Agent Nanaki.” He pulled out a badge with a smooth flourish. Shirayuki caught a glimpse of “Internal” and “Security” before the badge was returned to the jacket. Nanaki reached out his hand towards the guard, palm up, and beckoned with his fingers. The guard, his expression simultaneously flustered and cowed, stepped forward and pulled out a manila folder that he’d been carrying between his arm and stomach. He handed it to the agent.

‘Thank you,” the agent snarked smoothly. “I’ll call if you’re needed.”

His tone indicated that the guard wouldn’t be, and the guard stomped out..

Agent Nanaki opened the manila folder, flipping through the pages, his head moving ever so slightly from side to side as he read. Silence grew thick between them, and Shirayuki’s heart pounded in her ears. She took a silent deep breath and licked her dry lips. “So…”

The agent lifted his head to look at her. “Yes?”

Shirayuki gritted her teeth. “Can I leave?”

Clicking his tongue, the agent’s smirk that had previously been twisted with irritation smoothed out into amusement. “Come on, Miss. We both know you’re smarter than that.”

“Excuse me.”

He turned a page and whistled. “Never mind, maybe not. They got camera footage of you that time.”

“What?”

“It’s true.” He picked up a grainy picture of a figure with shoulder-length hair lingering near an office door. “Not the most revealing angle, but these aren’t the most sophisticated cameras.”

Shirayuki just managed to keep from folding her arms; this man was incredibly irritating. She squinted at the photo - even though it was grainy, she could just see the loose sandal strap she’d used as an excuse to linger behind from the group. “I can’t believe you think that’s me,” she sighed. “It doesn’t look anything like me.”

The agent sighed and scratched his forehead. “Okay, so we’ll play it that way.” He turned all the papers over until he reached the first page, which he extracted. “Incident one, main campus. Young woman with red hair comes in for an interview. Falls down in the lobby, sustains injuries, risks suing the company. They leave her alone to try and get her medical attention - and a lawyer.” His mouth quirked. “By the time they get back, the young lady has collapsed by the filing cabinets, saying she’d hit her head.” He flipped the page. “But when they turn around, she manages to sneak off. And the name used to secure the interview was fake.”

Well, she could have hardly used her own name. “I hope the poor woman got help.”

“Hmm.” He rifled through the next few pages before pointing at a new sheet. “Incident two, east campus. Another young woman, also with red hair, was walking out by the storage house. Some guy with a cart ran into her and knocked her over. She got rushed inside, reported symptoms of concussion.” He snorted. “They left her alone for a few minutes to get a glass of water, came back to find an empty room with a cabinet wide open with a safety pin jammed in the lock.”

“Really?” Shirayuki raised an eyebrow in interest. She’d brought a bobby pin along, but it had gotten lost when she’d mistimed her footing to collide with the stockroom employee. She’d been lucky she hadn’t gotten a concussion; less lucky that she’d had to resort to using a safety pin she found on the top of the cabinet. “I didn’t know you could open locks with a safety pin.”

“You really can’t,” the agent looked down at his paper. “I think the lady just yanked it open at some point - the cabinet locks are pretty weak.”

Shirayuki begged to differ, she had nearly splintered all her fingernails in her haste to open the drawer.

Agent Nanaki looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. “You’re still - okay, incident three, south campus. A young woman, again with red hair, joins a group of students to tour the labs. She accidentally,” he smirked, “broke the strap of a sandal and stayed behind to fix it. Tour guide goes back to check on the young lady, but she’s vanished. Meanwhile,” he drawled, “ someone managed to jimmy open a door to the main lab, off-limits to the tour, and snuck in.” He tapped the grainy picture. “Sure this isn’t ringing any bells?”

Shirayuki shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no.”

The agent snorted. “And that brings us to today. Young woman, with red hair,” he shut the manila folder and made a sweeping gesture towards her head, “somehow gets lost in the north campus and twists her ankle. She gets helped to a room, but then the rent-a-cop gets suspicious and calls in the cavalry.” He leaned forward. “Because even he can tell this can’t be a coincidence.”

Swallowing back her anxiety, Shirayuki shrugged. “I couldn’t say about the other times, but this time is certainly a coincidence.”

“Really?”

“Hair like this,” she waved a hand around her crown, “stands out like a sore thumb. Would I really be so dumb as to not conceal it - if I was the person you are thinking of?”

Agent Nanaki leaned back in his chair, springs squeaking, and barked a laugh. “Ah, a double bluff, Miss? Not too shabby.”

She couldn’t tell whether it was pleased pride or irritated frustration that was filling her chest at that laugh, but she chose to ignore the sensation. “If that’s really all you think you have that points to me, I’ll be going. I need to ice this ankle.”

“Oh.” Nanaki got up and walked around the desk in front of her chair, before sitting on the edge of the desk. “No, Miss. That’s all they have on you.” He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small notebook. He flipped open the cover, and Shirayuki could see pages filled with cramped writing. “This,” he licked his thumb and turned another page, “is what I have on you.”

“Oh?” Shirayuki was having a little trouble breathing, although where that was from the revelation of this knowledge or the awareness of how close the agent was standing, she wasn’t sure.

Nanaki took off his sunglasses and tucked them into the collar of his shirt. He looked into her eyes, and she was captivated by warm amber. Leaning forward, his smirk grew as he closed the distance between their faces. Shirayuki swallowed as she felt herself drifting into his eyes. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“Eyes are the windows of the soul,” he drawled smoothly. “Trying to see what I can see.”

Shirayuki’s fingers curled on her lap as she looked into his eyes. “And what do you see?”

“Hmm.” He leaned closer, and she felt her hips tilt her towards him. His tongue brushed his lips - and then he licked his thumb and turned another page in his notebook. “Name: Shirayuki Leon, has doctorate in biology specializing in medicine and botany. First studied in Tanbarun before moving to Clarines three years ago. Been making a real splash in the science scene. Working under Garrack Gazelt, has published two-” He flipped a page. “-three papers in various academic journals.”

Shirayuki took a deep breath, striving for calm. “Sounds interesting.”

“I thought so.” He smirked harder. “Recently working on the same research that Bergatt has been focusing on for the past few months.”

“Ah.” Her fingers shook a little under his scrutiny.

“Research that really picked up,” he continued, “once Bergatt’s current head researcher came from your labs with some classified notes, and possibly after sabotaging your work.”

“I knew it!” Shirayuki cried, and then shrunk back. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” The agent smiled broadly. “Gotcha, Miss.”

Shirayuki slumped back in her chair, brushing a lock of hair from her face. “Yeah, you got me.” She sighed. “Now what?”

“Well…” Nanaki’s watch chime and he looked at it. “Time for us to leave, I think.” He stood up. “Will you come quietly, or do I need to use handcuffs?”

She sighed. “You don’t need handcuffs.”

The agent craned his neck towards the door, sliding his sunglasses back on. “After you, Miss.”

Shirayuki’s feet dragged as she made her way to the door. The agent moved around behind her, his arm grazing her side as he reached to turn the doorknob, and she shivered. Nanaki’s hand encircled her wrist as the two stepped out into the hallway, and the guard roused himself from his half-asleep position against the wall.

“I’m taking the suspect into custody,” the agent snapped, pulling lightly on Shirayuki’s arm. “I expect a full report sent to the department by noon tomorrow.”

The two briskly made their way down the hallways. “Good thing you’re not actually injured,” Nanaki mused as they walked through the parking lot, “otherwise we might not make it in time.”

“You’re in that much of a hurry to arrest me?”

“No.” The agent opened the passenger side door - funny, she’d expected to be put in the back - and indicated for her to get inside. “But time is not on our side.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he leaned in, “the actual agent should be here any minute.”

And with that shocking statement, he closed the door.

“The real agent?” Shirayuki exclaimed as the fake agent slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“Yeah.” He swore under his breath. “Duck down, he’s pulling in now.” Shirayuki could hear the sounds of a door opening and closing, although the sound grew smaller as Nanaki stepped on the gas.

“What in the world-”

“You can sit up now, Doc,” the man grinned, tossing his sunglasses to the back as they sped away from the parking lot. He flexed his shoulders underneath his jacket. “Can’t wait to get out of this monkey suit.”

Shirayuki stilled. The humor and wry tone that had been lingering beneath his officious demeanor was in full force now, and his grin was rakish.

“Who are you?”

“I have many names,” he smirked, eyebrows wiggling, “but mostly I go by Obi. And I think we have a common enemy. I’ve been trying to take down the Bergatts myself for a while now.”

“Okay, Obi,” she tried, and his grin grew. “Now what?”

“Well, first,” Obi answered, “we stash away that research you have hiding in your shirt.” Shirayuki blushed, her hand going to her blouse. “And after that, well, that’s up to you. I figured we could get you someplace safe until things cool down a little. Or-”

"Or?"

“I like the way you work, Doc,” he smirked, “and I think we can bring the Bergatts down a lot faster if we work together. You bring the science smarts, and I bring the infiltration and deception skills. I teach you, you teach me.” Keeping his left hand on the wheel as he continued driving, he raised up his right hand towards her. “What do you say? Partners?”

This was crazy.

Shirayuki smirked back and clasped his hand with one of her own. “Partners.”

#obiyukibingo21 #ans #Akagami no Shirayukihime #obiyuki #con-artist au

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