#i just like.. capturing character interactions..... it's not enough to just slap them over a fitting textpost

[moe-broey]

I HAVE. A DRAWING. But it has a mini comic that's like a companion piece to it that makes it sillier and in my opinion highlights greater characterization going on here but I Can Not for the life of me get the dialogue for One (1) panel. To the point where I'm like split on posting it as a standalone thing BUT........ idk I just feel like you lose so much.... it's such a cute interaction.....

LIKE. First part works as a standalone piece. It's fine. Second mini comic part adds to it. I am always thinking about Dynamics and Characterization. To separate or even scrap the second part I feel like both halves suffer. IDK IDK.......

[deke-rivers-1957]

Roustabout Review

Marred by pre-production issues, Roustabout took about 3 years to put out. Announced in 1961, Elvis didn't start filming until March 1964 at 29 years old (well after he stopped playing bad boy characters). This film also had Colonel's influence as he wanted the film to be portray carnival life as a respectable profession.

Made after VLV and Kissin Cousins, this is the last film from Elvis' 2nd Hollywood phase (lighthearted musical comedy travelogues). Does Roustabout have enough of a gritty yet colorful edge to make it enjoyably different, or was it trying too hard to capture a movement and emotion that was no longer relevant? Let's find out.

The titular song "Roustabout" gets us off to a great start. The colored lights are tolerable for those who are photosensitive. The song itself is very enjoyable but I'm not sure if it fits the movie's characterization of Charlie. He's characterized as a ruffian with a chip on his shoulder. I personally recommend looking up "I'm A Roustabout", an alternate opening title song that I think better suited Charlie's character.

So we get introduced to some college kids that only show up for this one scene and I don't like their attitudes. They get all uppity with a waitress who insists on giving them non-alcoholic drinks despite one of them claiming they're all 18 (unless this takes place in Louisiana, states even back in 1964 had the purchase age at 21 to buy alcohol so that argument is moot). The establishment has the right to enforce underage drinking laws, so regardless of their actual age, the waitress has to at least check.

This is the first example of the movie telling us to think one way about Charlie despite showing evidence suggesting otherwise. The college students start heckling him and then get mad when he heckles back. "Poison Ivy League" is an entertaining song that calls out the rich college students and has a unique sound for an Elvis song.

When the song is over, we're made to believe that Charlie is some type of bad boy who picks fights because he's got a chip on his shoulder for being an orphan. That isn't the case at all because Charlie didn't start the fight. Him being an orphan has absolutely nothing to do with this interaction. The college boys started it by making remarks and if you look closely, the one in the blue actually started to swing first. Despite this, Charlie is the only one who gets arrested then gets slapped by the waitress who bailed him out. She's upset that he wouldn't take her with him, when in reality he's not obligated to do anything more than pay her back.

"Wheels On My Heels" is a good song that properly fills in what otherwise would've been dead air. You want to believe that Charlie is content with being on his own as he travels to his next job. However, given the circumstances that lead to this, you still don't get the idea that he's a bad boy. He's acting like a relatively reasonable person that doesn't like getting blamed for things he didn't do.

Which is what makes Joe running off the road so frustrating. Charlie flirts with his daughter, Cathy, and he just completely loses his mind. He verbally stated his intents on killing Charlie, yet still makes it like it was Charlie's fault. What's worse is that, Charlie is forced to work with Maggie and the family until his motorcycle is fixed. Instead of offering to buy him a new bike all together, this family makes like Charlie should be honored to work there as opposed to being held against his will.

We get a walk through of the carnival and I immediately get the idea that Colonel contributed to the script. Cathy uses all this carny talk and then compares it to doctors using Latin because it separates them from the common man. I'm all for wanting to break stereotypes, but Cathy saying this makes her come off as nothing but high in mighty. At least with Cody and the other carnival workers, they have a realistic perspective of trying to take pride in their work despite their low status. It's just a shame none of them show up again to do literally anything. Charlie so far is quite personable and even tries to be nice to Cathy by going on a Ferris Wheel ride singing "It's a Wonderful World." It's a beautiful song with unique tracking shots of the Ferris Wheel moving.

Joe is still unreasonably awful when he's not even the boss. He would literally rather pick on Charlie than accept his half dollar coin for using a ride. We later find out that Maggie is also an irresponsible carnival owner for keeping him employed there. Joe as we learn, was drunk on the job and rigged a ride that ended up killing someone. As a result of not having insurance, Maggie now owes the bank compensation. Instead of doing literally anything, she still insists on keeping Joe employed and only blames herself for letting the insurance lapse. In reality, she'd likely be forced to shut down her business and Joe would definitely be out of a job. There's no way she'd be in business if she kept Joe working there as she'd be complacent in his negligence.

It's the first night of the carnival and while there is business, Cathy simply isn't doing enough to get money at her booth. So what does the bad boy Charlie do? He sings "It's Carnival Time" to attract business on a toy ukelele. Wow that's such a bad boy move /s. Charlie was so bad that he actually manages to earn the carnival a lot of money for that game.

The song itself is still good but I don't think it was lip-synched well. In the shots like this one, Elvis sometimes isn't even moving his lips while he's singing. But ultimately I still buy the idea of using him to attract customers since his songs are entertaining. If only the movie also properly utilized the Wall of Death since we know Charlie is a motorcycle rider.

We get a double header of "Carny Town" and "Hard Knocks" which both do a good job of entertaining the crowd. In the meantime, we get an introduction to the so called "villain" of the movie. Harry Carver is meant to be this no good carnival owner that buys out dying businesses. However, given what we know so far about Maggie and co. I don't hate this man at all. Maggie has shown that she's unwilling to get rid of Joe despite him actively being cruel to other workers, while Harry Carver actually comes off as a reasonable man who just wants to provide the highest quality entertainment possible.

When Charlie's show ends up being a success, Joe still can't even have the guts and admit that he was wrong. He still thinks Charlie is the bad guy here. So of course when Charlie is still salty about the damages Joe caused, Cathy is mad at him for being ungrateful when Maggie gave him a new guitar. Do you see how messed up that is for Cathy to not only defend her father's awful actions, but then have the gall to get mad at Charlie like he's the heel? I'm sorry but the movie is actively trying to gaslight its audience into think Charlie's this bad boy when in reality Charlie's the victim. I just can't support this downright unreasonable and unlikeable family.

At Charlie's next show we get "One Track Heart" and it's one of the best songs in the movie for how entertaining it is. That being said, I have no idea why Charlie changes his mind out of nowhere when he signs Maggie's contract. Nothing we've seen indicates any major change in his status there. This is where not giving his relationship with the other male carnies any development, really hurts the movie. It just feels like the script is forcing Charlie into this instead of naturally establishing reasons to make him change his mind. That's bad storytelling where you're telling us this is what needs to happen as opposed to showing us how Charlie grows.

Cathy also comes off as being super unlikeable by getting mad at Charlie for so much as being with Estelle, the fortune teller. They are not dating and she didn't even tell Charlie how she felt. Charlie is not at all obligated to stay loyal to her. She just comes off as high and mighty like Charlie should never dare have affections for another woman and it's very annoying. I just don't get any chemistry from these two at all and it's another aspect of the story that just feels forced.

After signing the contract with Maggie, Cathy is seen running the dunk tank with Joe and my god do we get the most obnoxious couple I've ever seen in my life. This couple actually makes me feel bad for Joe when they accuse him of stealing their wallet when they have been nothing but a nuisance and started a fight with Charlie. Then again, this family gets mad at Charlie having dared feel concern over Cathy's wellbeing. I was so mad at Cathy when she slapped Charlie because I have no idea why I'm supposed to get at someone who just wants to help. How I'm supposed to like anyone in this family over Harry Carver when they've all treated Charlie as nothing but dirt?

Estelle the fortune teller and Cathy are just awful love interests. They wanna make like they're interested in Charlie, but just when Charlie shows interest back, they get all disgusted. That's not a bad boy. A bad boy wouldn't listen to Cathy when she says she's not a one night stand type of girl. Like Estelle gets mad at Charlie even though she was the one who wanted him to have sex with her. It comes off as these women being so flakey and unlikeable as opposed to Charlie actually being wrong for pushing.

So he finds the wallet and like a good friend decides that Joe needs time to get sober. The next morning, he gets his bike back and is about to leave when he sees the Wall of Death. In a scene that absolutely serves no purpose outside of wasting time before the big reveal, Charlie tries his hand at it. Once he had his fun, Charlie tells Maggie and the other carnies that he found the man's wallet last night. As rational, reasonable people, every single person gets mad at Charlie for betraying Joe. They think Charlie was a heel for having dared think it was a good idea to keep a drunk man in jail longer than he should've been.

I just can't stand any of these people. Charlie actively tries to keep an absolutely terrible person in jail just long enough to sober up and HE'S THE BAD GUY! I think everyone in this carnival is insane. The colonel wanting to make this a specially coded business with rules ended up making this a straight up cult. If you don't drink the kool aid and support your fellow carny no matter how much of a horrible person they are, you're the bad person. I want this carnival to fail and go out of business because of how awful they are. That's a complete failure on the writers part to just completely fumble the ball when making Charlie this "bad boy" who has to change his ways. I want Charlie to get as far away as possible from these people.

Charlie of course signs with Harry Carver and I refuse to believe he's supposed to be the bad guy like the movie wants to make him. He's an actually reasonable man who runs a far superior business. This is a whole theater with numerous performers providing a quality show. However, "Little Egypt" is by far the weakest song in the movie. I hate the sound effect used as it hurts my ears and is completely unnecessary. It ruined what would've otherwise been an absolute banger and a good reason to believe that Charlie is a good performer.

We see Maggie's carnival and of course it's failing. It's almost like they didn't realizing casting Charlie out would have consequences. Cathy and Estelle talk and despite literally watching her kiss Charlie multiple times, Estelle says "she didn't even get to first base". I have never seen a movie completely mess up on its own continuity this badly. It gives you this feeling of anxiety that you're being gaslight as the movie tells you one thing despite being shown something completely different. We never once see Charlie use anyone like Estelle says he did and it's completely ridiculous.

I love "Big Love, Big Heartache". It's the quintessential Elvis ballad but if Charlie had an actual character arc this is the perfect way to show that he actually does love Cathy. It's such a shame that he doesn't have any character arc at all. Cathy just shows up because she wants to manipulate Charlie into coming back and he does. I think Charlie is absolutely insane for leaving a legitimately superior job for an actually toxic work environment. Based on what we're shown, no one at Maggie's carnival is likable enough to make Charlie want to be there.

I honestly feel bad for Harry Carver because he's a reasonable man who actually cares about his business. He even cares about Charlie being in love with Cathy and tries to give him advice. Charlie just gives him the shaft because we're near the end and this has to have a "happy" ending where Maggie's carnival is saved.

This is the most forced ending I've ever seen in an Elvis movie. Absolutely nothing is earned here. Absolutely nothing in this movie was properly developed as we're introduced to things like Charlie being an orphan and the wall of death only to have neither of those things matter. It's not like Loving You where Deke being an orphan actually matters as he learns how to heal and accept that he's good enough to have friends. With the Morgans you can't help but think this is the most unlikeable family you've ever seen. It's so badly written that the only way you can make sense of it, is to come up with the conspiracy theory that Joe is abusive towards both of them. It would other wise make zero sense for Maggie or Cathy to defend Joe.

Charlie can't accept the Morgans as his family because despite "There's A Brand New Day On The Horizon" telling us things are going to get better, I just don't think it will. Joe didn't have his epiphany and realizes Charlie is a good guy. Joe only accepts Charlie coming back because it's the end of the movie and the script tells you that he does. It's all so forced and I have no reason to believe Joe will get better. A complete mess of a story that is absolutely frustrating to watch.

I said in my Clambake review that it was the hardest film to develop a solid opinion on whether I liked it or not. Roustabout to me is like a Clambake but in reverse. Clambake had bad production and some bad songs but had the best character writing I've seen in a mid 60s Elvis movie so far. Roustabout meanwhile had good production and an amazing soundtrack (outside of the sound effect used in Little Egypt.) but the worst character writing I've ever seen in an Elvis movie.

Since the writing is the worst part of the movie that singlehandedly ruined my ability to enjoy it, I have to give it 5/10. This movie's production and soundtrack just wasn't enough overcome the failures of basic story telling. I personally didn't vibe with it so I can't say I'd recommend it but if you're someone who only watches Elvis films for the songs or doesn't care as much about the writing, then I think you would have a great time.

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AN: Thank you @xanatenshi for requesting this review as well as @thedaisymaisy for providing input about the film. If anyone wants to send a request, feel free to send it in.

Tagging: @lynettethemadscientist, @motht-eeth, @ash-omalley, @spooky-hazex, @teamnefarious, @blighted-star, @ab4eva, @oh-my-front-door, @father-of-2cats, @stormie-ryan23, @yksuwyksud, @tacozebra051, @alienelvisobsession, @vintageoldsoul, @ohmygiddd, @lovininapinkcadillac, @stephthestallion, @mistyspresley, @bisexualwvtson, @ahundredlifetime, @karel-in-wonderland, @elvispresleywife, @georgefairbrother, @moonchild-daniella, @musiclover712, @worldofyns, @sillybookmarks, @g00d2balive, @leighpc, @generoustreemystic, @peskybedtime, @thetaoofzoe, @renegadewarrior, @vintagepresley, @tupelomiss, @myradiaz, @pinkcaddyconfessions, @kiankiwi, @presley72elvis, @delulubutidontcare, @januarypresley1969, @livelaughelvis, @all-hookedup-on-elvis, @slayingjd, @ilivebecauseiamforced, @dusintv, @cattcb, @jaqueline19997, @richardslady121, @iloveelvis2, @lett-them-eatt-cake @if-i-can-dream-of-elvis and @lookingforrainbows.

[whoopsieintheuniverse]

Comfortable

AN: It’s herrrree! Illumi smut as promised. If you like this, feel free to commission me for your own, personalized smut with your favorite character!~  ko-fi.com/whoopsieintheuniverse

Also, this can be read as an addition to my Illumi series, or separately. This is honestly just tooth-rotting fluff and smut. No plot. 

CW: body worship, Illumi. hair pulling and some spanking. Minors, pls do not interact. Thnks. 

A hand rested on Y/N’s stomach. It stayed there, basking in the warmth it found, before trailing down and settling on plush thighs. Illumi regarded the sleeping figure tucked firmly into his form. Y/N. They differed from the Zoldycks, from Illumi, in every way. Where Illumi and his family were blood and iron, hard lines and even harder features, Y/N was like cotton on a cloud. Soft. Gentle. Comfortable. 

Illumi allowed a smile to crack his stony expression. His hand that rested on Y/N’s thighs travelled back up to their stomach. He squeezed before trailing his nails up to their chest. Illumi paused and closed his eyes, allowing himself to count their heartbeats as their chest rose and fell. 

Yes, this was comfortable. If he had to steal, to kill, it was no problem. He was used to carnage, destruction, death. Illumi was raised as a Zoldyck; he was to make the shadows his home, and death a constant ally. Illumi looked down again as Y/N snored. No, now he was home. 

Y/N shifted again, pressing themselves further into Illumi’s embrace. He closed his eyes, basking in the warmth that they had to offer. Illumi pressed himself further into Y/N. Soft. Maybe he could have more…

Gently, Illumi reached up to Y/N’s face and stroked it. He breathed a kiss over their lips before whispering their name. 

“Y/N. Wake up.” 

Y/N groaned and turned over. Illumi shook their shoulders. 

Blearily, Y/N smacked their lips together. 

Illumi huffed humorlessly, and he slowly caged Y/N’s body under his. Illumi started to pepper kisses on Y/N’s cheek before trailing down to breathe on their collarbone. 

“Illumi?” 

Illumi grunted, continuing his movement. Y/N’s back arched as they felt teeth dig into their shoulder. Y/N looked down into Illumi’s eyes. They watched as his eyes crinkled before closing in bliss. Y/N laid back and relaxed into the bed, sighing as they felt their shirt lift from their body. They raised their back off the mattress to help Illumi undress them, and Y/N giggled as eagerly, Illumi’s hands found their shoulders and guided them back to the bed. Illumi’s tongue traced the curves of their chest, taking time to explore every dip Y/N’s body had to offer. Illumi’s lips caressed one of Y/N’s nipples before locking on tightly. Y/N hissed at the contact. 

“‘Lumi. It’s the middle of the night. What’s gotten into you?” Instead of answering, Illumi’s right hand plucked at the empty space on Y/N’s chest while his other floated to the side of their face. Y/N leaned into his touch, sighing and smiling at the sight in front of them. 

Illumi sensed Y/N’s eyes on him. With a soft pop, Illumi let go of Y/N’s chest, a thin string of saliva still connecting them together. 

“I didn’t realize I’d have an audience,” Illumi said. 

“You’re just so pretty, I couldn’t help myself.” 

Illumi huffed again before quickly kissing the corner of Y/N’s mouth. Y/N took the time to run their fingers through his hair, appreciating the silk that ran through their fingers. Illumi sat back on his haunches, and he pulled Y/N closer into his lap. Y/N squealed as they felt themselves and Illumi fall back on their bed, and they shivered when they felt his lips connect with theirs once again. 

Slowly, Illumi’s body started to rock against Y/N’s, and Y/N let out a gasp as they felt his clothed erection press into them. 

“Mm.. Illumi…”

“Hm?” 

Y/N sat up, straddling Illumi’s hips. They placed their hands on his chest and smiled as they felt him grind against their backside. Illumi gripped Y/N’s hips tightly, before moving his hands back to Y/N’s behind and reveling in the cushion he found. Y/N giggled as Illumi squeezed them, and they let out a squeak as they realized that Illumi was pushing them further up his body. 

“‘Lumi, I don’t know,” Y/N trailed off. Illumi froze and looked up at Y/N, who was now straddling his chest. 

“Did I misread the situation?” he asked. 

Y/N felt their face and shoulders burn. They stared at Illumi’s forehead instead of meeting his eyes. 

“We’ve never done this before.” 

“No. We’ve had sex plenty of times, Y/N.” 

Y/N groaned and tried to roll off of Illumi, but his grip stopped them. 

“Not that,” Y/N said. “I mean, what you’re about to do.” 

“Sorry, but now I’m even more confused. I’ve given you oral sex before as well, Y/N.” 

“Not in this position, Illumi!” 

“So?” 

“I’m nervous. My thighs are bigger than your head.” 

Suddenly, a slap sounded through the room. Y/N jumped as they felt a sting on their behind. Y/N looked down and was met with hunger in Illumi’s eyes. He looked up at them, and a small smile cracked across his face. 

“I know.”  

“Illu-hey!” Y/N’s body swayed as Illumi heaved them up to his mouth. They grunted as Illumi’s lips started to peck at their inner thighs. Y/N reached down and threaded their fingers through Illumi’s hair and bucked into his mouth as he started to suckle on them. Y/N grinded themselves against Illumi’s mouth, softly moaning as his tongue explored their core. 

“Shit! Illumi…” Y/N rocked against his lips, and Illumi’s muffled chuckle sounded from between their thighs. Illumi’s hand came down again in a harsh strike on Y/N’s ass, and they moaned at the contact. Heat started to build in Y/N’s depths, and without warning, Illumi lifted Y/N from his mouth with a smack of his lips. 

“What the hell? Tease!” Y/N complained. They tried to scramble back up to Illumi’s lips, but easily, Illumi flipped the pair over so that he was on top of Y/N. He sat back and examined Y/N’s form sprawled before him. Illumi let his hands grope their stomach, squeezing the soft flesh. His hand travelled down to Y/N’s parted thighs, and Y/N moaned again when his fingertips found their saliva slick center. One finger breached Y/N’s center, and Y/N hand flew down to grab at Illumi’s wrist. 

“Too much?” Illumi asked. Y/N nodded, and carefully, Illumi withdrew his finger and crept to the side of his bed to retrieve a small bottle of lube. Y/N watched as Illumi slicked his fingers and returned to part Y/N open again. This time, Y/N hissed at the cold, but soon found themselves rocking along to Illumi’s movement’s inside of them. Slowly, the heat Y/N lost just moments before started somersaulting in their stomach. Still, it wasn’t enough. 

“Lumi...want more…” Y/N said. Illumi tilted his head before nodding. Y/N watched as Illumi freed himself from his briefs. They licked their lips, eyes fixated on the straining flesh in front of them. 

“Illumi...” Y/N whined. Illumi trapped Y/N underneath them, bringing their legs up to wrap around his waist. Y/N let out a breath as Illumi ground against him. Their nails raked down his back, and they bit their lip as Illumi prodded their entrance. Y/N squirmed at the intrusion and moaned as Illumi captured their lips in another searing kiss. Slowly, Illumi started to rock into Y/N, carefully caressing their sides. Illumi buried his face into their neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses. Y/N scratched at Illumi’s back, and their hands found their way to his behind. Illumi groaned as he felt Y/N press into his backside, spurring him on. 

“Harder...please. More.” 

Illumi’s hips rolled and Y/N moaned as he started to pick up the pace. The heat in their core ignited again. Illumi’s hips slapped against theirs brutally, and tears pricked the corners of Y/N’s eyes. Illumi’s hands found purchase against Y/N’s thighs; he lifted them into his hands and pulled Y/N even closer to him. Y/N wailed at the change in angle. So close, yet so far away. Each strike of Illumi’s hips sent them further careening into bliss. The room was heavy and hot, the muffled sounds of gasps and pleasured moans sounding off into the night. Y/N’s skin was ablaze, and a sheen of sweat started to cover them. Y/N looked up at Illumi, and found themselves staring at deep, dark eyes full of desire and love. Just as Illumi started to hit the spot that made Y/N see stars, Illumi dropped and draped his body over Y/N’s. Illumi pressed his forehead to Y/N’s, and Y/N smiled as they felt his breath ghost over their eyelashes. 

“Y/N,” Illumi breathed. 

Sensing how close they both were, Y/N reached for Illumi’s hand and wrapped their fingers around it tightly. 

“Illumi, sweetie. Cum with me, okay?” 

Illumi inhaled sharply and groaned. Y/N reached up and threaded their fingers through Illumi’s hair, tugging lightly as they went. They watched with glee as his eyes rolled back and his lips parted to let out a breathy moan. Y/N’s legs stretched and clamped around Illumi as the pressure in the pit of their stomach hit its breaking point. Y/N was first to tumble off that cliff, with Illumi chasing them not long after. Y/N whimpered, overstimulated, as Illumi slowed inside of them, sighing in relief when he stopped. Illumi and Y/N stayed connected, hearts slowing and breath quieting down to a lull. After a while, Y/N started to giggle. 

“What’s so funny?” Illumi asked. 

Y/N shrugged with a smile on their face. 

“I don’t know. It’s funny I guess...I’m just...I’m comfortable...like this. With you. I’m comfortable.” 

Illumi fell silent for a moment, before placing a small kiss on Y/N’s forehead. 

“I am as well.” 

[refriedweeb]

LOVE ME WHEN YOUR WRISTS ARE BOUND (18+ SMUT)

A/N: I’ve had a feral-ish predator/prey smut idea roaming around in my head for the past couple of weeks now and I finally figured out a premise for it to exist on which has lead to this sinful post.

Prompt: You’re Pro-Hero Prisma, the name speaking for itself as your quirk is being able to turn yourself and others around you invisible just by touching them. Hawks, your on again off again fling that is far too arrogant for your liking, is sent off to go to a training retreat where you’re there. An old age game of hero and villain tag goes underway...but what happens when the stakes are raised?

word count: 4,957

warnings: rough sex, feral sex, sex.

Your hands smooth back any flyaway hairs that might have come out of your slicked back ponytail. When dressed in your pro-hero costume, you try to remain as sleek as possible. It makes being able to turn yourself invisible far easier when there isn’t as much for you to focus on turning invisible. You’d been in the pro-hero game for a few years now, having your own fair share of rescues and criminal takedowns that has quickly procured you in the top ten heroes. While the listing isn’t as important to you as managing to do the job you’d dreamt of doing since you were a little girl, it is a nice ego booster to know that the public thinks so highly of you. Being able to help people, to bring peace to a troubled community, had done a lot for your confidence and journey of self-love, and you’re in a place of your life where you feel content with things in your personal life the way they are.

When the commission had told you that you would be heading to a resort with a handful of other heroes to get some training out of the way, you were stoked. It wasn’t as much of a vacation as much as it was a chance to reconnect with some pro-heroes and old friends that you didn’t get to see half as often as you would have liked given the demanding nature of your job. You’d packed your bag for the week long course and had jetted off to the foliaged location that kept the exact location of the hero training grounds a secret from any prying criminal eyes. And just as imagined, you got to see plenty of your old friends who were assigned to different distracts of work that you hadn’t since your days at UA. 

And then...

“Well, well, well.” There was that infamous drawl that could send shivers down your spine when it was right at your ear. A voice that was so silken and rough around the edges at the same time just earring it sent a spark down your spine no matter how annoying the owner of it was. Son of a bitch. Or in this case, a hawk. “I see they’re just letting any old talent in the resort now.” And as arrogant as ever.

You turned around, your bag bumped against your hip. Hawks somehow managed to look as smug as he ever had, being none too subtle about the way that his body swept over your frame until he was looking you in the eyes. Damn those honey glazed eyes that had always managed to suck out the air in your lungs. But that wasn’t a temptation you were going to give into right now. The last thing Keigo Takami needed was a boost in his ego. You did the same, looking him up and down while you crossed your arms under your bust. “Look who it is, a lost chicken.” Your tone was drenched heavily in sarcasm, not one to have ever backed down from Keigo’s taunting and arrogant status. In response, Keigo stuck his tongue against the corner of his mouth, letting loose a dry chuckle. “You should go back to the city before a fox makes you lunch.”

“So hostile, kid,” Keigo murmured, coming to stand close to you. Close enough that his thigh bumped the edge of your bag and you were glad for that bit of buffer. It’d never been easy to have him close to you. “I’m just here for a little bit of fun.” His eyes dipped over you once more, the sun rising and setting in how he did. Damn him. Finally settling over your lips, Keigo smirked. “Among anything else worthwhile I might find.”

Hawks pushed past you, his shoulder brushing past you. While you’d been able to keep your cool at hearing his voice after months passing since the last time you’d seen one another, the physical contact between you stole a breath from you the moment the electricity crackled from the curve of your arm. You turned after Keigo, mouth hung open, expression narrowed at the audacity of this man.

Damn him. Damn him and everything that he was.

That interaction had been two days ago, and thankfully nothing had happened with Hawks. You were each given your own room to settle in for the next week, and you were living in the lap of luxury. Mount Lady was on the resort with you and you’d been spending most of the group training exercises with her. Strengthening your quirks, decreasing the weaknesses that came with overuse. It was similar to the ones you’d went on as a kid with UA, though this one was far more intense and there was less leniency with messing up as there was when you were still a student. But you didn’t mind. It drove you to be better, to refocus your purpose on why this was your calling. You felt good about the progress you made, the blinding spots and lights that came with overuse of your quirk fading quicker than they had in the past. 

And, much to your determination not to give him the damn satisfaction, you’d only been mildly distracted by the bird man who knew how to drive you up a wall. It was hard not to watch him speeding through the air, the way he moved so graceful. Hawks had always been impressive even before he’d become a pain in the ass. His frame was lean, not exactly the type of body that you saw unless it was on a power quirk. But there was hidden strength in muscles that were hardly shown due to the jacket he wore as part of his costume. He was a show off, of course, but it was hard to ignore moving art in the sky.

Today was a different day in the training course, and as the group of pro-heroes lined up outside of a deep foliaged area, you had a twisting sensation in your stomach. This wasn’t going to just be a group training idea, there was something special about this one. And for some reason...your eyes went to Hawks. He was talking to Masaki Mizushima, otherwise known as Manual, when his eyes flickered to you. There was that dangerous curve of a closed-mouth smile that had your eyes snapping away. You chided yourself for even looking.

“Alright heroes,” your attention turned back to the instructor leading your training exercise today. “Today we’re doing capture and releases. You’ll be teamed up with a hero that has a quirk meant to makes yours difficult, and vice versa.” Your eyes widened, that sensation in your gut twisting. Son of a bitch. “This is to help adapt you to situations you’ll be in as pro-heroes where you’re not always the best suited quirk to take on your opponent’s.” The instructor’s voice faded away. This was some sort of karmic punishment for something that you’d done in a past life, you just knew it. You knew who the opposite of your quirk in that line up was, and it’d been the one person that you’d been trying to avoid all week. You listened as the instructor went down who was paired with who, and what role they’d be taking in the touch and go. You were grimacing, knowing what was coming.

“Prisma and Hawks, you’ll be teamed up. Prisma can turn herself invisible and will challenge Hawks to use his vision to the best advantage to spot her through the foliage. Hawks, you’ll be the Hero.” you gave a small groan. “Prisma, you’ll be the villain.” You turned to look at Keigo, letting out a sharp exhale through your nose to see that it was now he who was watching you, that smug expression larger than what it’d been several minutes ago. There was a waggle of his brows as he pushed his goggles over his nose and slapped his headphones on. If you were playing the role of villain through this exercise, it’d only make sense for the character if you killed him, right? Right?

You walked over towards the section of foliage you were assigned for your specific training exercise, Hawks watching you like a starved man as you swaggered over. One of his favorite parts of your body had always been your hips, curved and full, what your mother and grandmother had always stereotyped as ‘birthing hips’. He’d never been able to get enough of it, hands digging in at any given moment the two of you were together. There’d even been a point in time where he’d bit your ass because he’d been unable to help himself. Keigo Takami was a man who knew what he liked and had no problem showing it, and considering that your hero costume was as skin tight as it could possibly be due to your quirk, he was practically drooling. Frankly, you wouldn’t be surprised if he had some part in this.

“Shut up.” Is all you need to say before Keigo chuckles, zipping his mouth shut with his fingers and tossing the key. You know it’s not something that’ll last for long, but it’ll give you enough time to get over the blush you feel at your cheeks and ears.

“Prisma, Hawks. The objective of this training exercise is to exploit your weakness and strengthen it. Hawks, your weakness is that you can fly high up with great speed, but rely on your feathers too much. You’ll be challenged to look with your eyes on something you can’t see. Prisma, your weakness is that the longer you stay invisible, the worse your eyesight gets until you can’t see. You’ll have to focus on using your quirk intermittently with staying out of Hawks’ line of vision from the sky. You have until nightfall to either, as the villain escape, or as the hero apprehend the villain.”

You tip two fingers against your forehead in a lazy salute, sighing as you center yourself on what you’re about to do. Like hell you want to be caught by Hawks, dedicating your focus to avoid getting caught. You want to win, you want to work on straightening the limitation you have on your ability so you can help serve better. The two of you are stood at the entrance to your training area, a thick forest with trees of varying height that are either going to work to your advantage or disadvantage depending on how Hawks uses them. Speaking of the devil...

As your instructor walks away, Keigo comes to stand behind you, leaning forward just enough that he’s not touching you, but you can hear his voice in your ear. That same sarcastic drawl, dripping in arrogance like he’s already won. “How about we raise the stakes, kid?” Your stomach drops lower to the spot between your hips, and your back goes rod straight. “How about if I catch you before you make an escape, I get to fuck you where I find you.”

Your breath caught as the shivers raced up and down your spine. The feeling of Keigo’s fingers whispering against your hips almost enough to make your knees buckle. If there wasn’t a worse person that you could have been paired up with. It had to be the on again off person that you fucked. Your eyes rolled to the sky, taking in a deep breath. “Because you know...” he continued, breath hot against your ear. “I’ve always been a fan of catching prey when they’re on the run.” Your heart is hammering in your throat and you’re sure he can hear it. It’s hard to remember what it is to breathe in that moment, and you almost lean back into his body because, after all, old habits die hard. 

“Who says you’re going to catch me?” you ask, turning your head so that you can catch his eye over your shoulder. That feeling hits deep in your belly once more once you see the narrowed slit of his pupil. Usually round, you know this look on Keigo. It’s predator, it’s hunter, it’s Hawks. And you know in that moment you’re going to be fighting more than one enemy in that simulation. It wasn’t just your weakness with your quirk that you were working against. It was your weakness with Keigo Takami as well.

“Because, kid,” Keigo’s eyes drop to your mouth. “I don’t lose.”

Damn.

“Well, Hawks,” you turn to him, taking slow and measured steps back into the foliage that was going to either aid you or ruin you. You made sure to lean into your hip heavily, swaying back and forth that had Hawks’ attention almost immediately. “Catch me if you can.”

And with that, the two of you split your separate ways. Hero and villain. Hawks shot into the sky in a flurry of red wings, and you coated yourself in invisibility as you ran into the foliage, careful not to step too heavily as you darted under the trees. Looking up, it was near impossible to spot Hawks speeding through the sky, dipping down and flying up as he looked for any sight of your impressions on the ground. Your terrain was an uphill one, and soon enough your trek uphill had left you out of breath. You dipped under a tree, letting your invisibility fall as you became visible to the outside world. Except, of course, you were not foolish enough. Keigo’s words in your head were still settled deep within your belly, but you weren’t about to lose just yet. You shed your boots, setting them at the base of a tree before you took coverage in a tree that you climbed. With your eyes turned towards the sky, it’s only a matter of time before Keigo’s wings come into focus, beelining straight for the boots. 

He extended a gloved hand as if to grab for the boots and snatch you out, only to stop short and skid along the ground as he realized there was nothing attached to them. “Clever, kid.” He called out, doing a quick swipe around. Luckily, you’d cloaked yourself once more before he’d spotted the tree you were in. That would have been game over, though watching the sweat that clung to his forehead...didn’t seem too bad. You pinched yourself, reminding yourself that you were a villain and it was your objective to get out. “You’re somewhere here, aren’t you?”

But that didn't mean that you couldn’t have a little fun...right? Slowly, carefully, you lowered yourself from the branches you’d been hiding away, wincing at the slight rustle of ground gave in when you hit. Hawks whipped around again, eyes wide, pupils narrowed. “Come on songbird, let me hear you sing.” That static ripped through your belly again, and you took measured steps closer to him. You bent over, cloaking a rock once more before chucking it off on the other side of you that hit a tree. Hawks spun around again, a couple of small red feathers shooting out from his wings to try and pin what he thought was you against a tree. It took everything not to laugh in that moment, looking at how focused he was. 

You were doing your best to ignore the feral look in his eyes. How windswept his hair was from his flying. How you knew what Keigo was like when he wanted to win at something. And to see how determined he was when you were the prize. You squeezed your thighs together, rolling your lower lip between your teeth. “What’s the matter, Keigo?” you asked, doing your best to throw off your voice from your current location, slowly edging up the steep incline. “I thought you wanted to fuck me.”

Hawks shot out from where he’d been, coming for where you’d been only seconds before. You took off running up the hill, ignoring the pain searing through your thighs at just how much you underestimated the sleepiness of the climb. Still, you pushed through it, your vision starting to dizzy as you ran. How long had you and Hawks been at this? It didn’t feel incredibly long, but then again the sun was in a much different positioning than when you’d started, and the sky was starting to turn shades of purple. Almost nightfall. Had the other pro-heroes finished their courses already? Maybe it hadn’t been the wisest decision to take off your boots, either, as you came in contact with a patch of wet mud. Your footing slipped, and with it your invisibility cloaking. A gasp hit you as you saw your hand clear as day, and in that moment you knew you were down for. In a last ditch attempt to redeem yourself, you cloaked back up but the sharp yank to the right as one of Hawks’ feathers tore through your hero costume. 

A yelp escaped from your throat as you found yourself pinned to a tree at the nape of the neck, leaving you dangling from the trunk of the tree. With the gig finally up, you dropped your invisibility as you folded your hands under your chest. On one hand, you were pissed you’d been unable to outlast Keigo. On the other hand...you’d been taunting him just moments ago and knew what that did to him. The sound of rustling feathers came and Hawks sauntered around the tree, looking at you with that same infuriating expression from the beginning of the exercise. 

“So close too, kid. So close.” He teased, running his tongue over his canine tooth. Keigo came to rest his hips against yours, your mouth dropping open at the presence of him there. It’d been so long since it’d been like between you two, but how could you forget that? “And you would have won, too, except you just had to go on teasing me like that. You know what your teasing does to me, kid. Damn near maddening.” he pulled off his glove with his teeth, coming to grip your jaw. “So damn mad.”

Your eyes widened as he dug his hands into your chin, holding you so tight that you couldn’t look either way. Only at him. Your throat was tight as you swallowed, Keigo continuing on as he pulled your hands apart, using a spare feather to pin your wrists to the bark above you by the fabric of your costume. Keigo, despite his earlier disposition, is serious now. And you know how in trouble you are. You can see it in that narrowed slit of his eyes, the color of the sun burning there. “Can’t let that go, songbird. I’ve gotta remind you not to fuck with me.” He leaned in, the hand that wasn’t gripping your jaw in an iron lock trailing down the curve of your side, coming to thumb the space between your thighs that you’d been ignoring ever since he whispered into your ear down at the base of the mountain. “Gonna have to remind you of that,” Keigo murmured, eyes lowering as he leaned in over you. You could feel the length of him against your thigh, instinctively angling it out so you could feel him closer to your core.

“Keigo-” you gasped as he rolled his hips in against you. “Keigo what if we get caught?” Though by the feeling of his presence, you didn’t know if you’d mind that much if you got your itch scratched. 

“And what about it?” he breathed. His thumb slipped over you again, causing you to shudder. “You really think I give a damn who sees me fucking you? Claiming you like the little slut for me you are?” You squirmed against the hand he kept between your thighs, letting out a harsh exhale. “Already so needy for me. I’m starting to think you lost on purpose, kid.”

You opened your eyes, glaring at him. “I lost because I slipped.”

Hawks chuckled, giving a shrug. “If that’s what you wanna say there, kid. All I know is I won...and now I’m claiming my prize.” The static runs straight from your brain to your core, and you let out a whine. Keigo hummed, reaching up behind your back and leaving you with cool air against the heat that had been growing between your thighs as he undid the back of your uniform. “What a fuckin’ prize, huh, kid? I get to ruin this body all over again.”

The feather that had been pinning your wrists together removes itself, reforming to Hawks’ wings as he yanked you around, pressing your face in against the bark. It burned, but it was the furthest thing from your mind as Hawks pushed down the skin tight fabric of your pro-hero costume, his hands finding their way under the fabric and rolling it further and further down until it was just beneath your ass. 

You yelped as the sound of a smack sounded through the air, the stinging sensation hitting your backside seconds later. He’d just landed a sharp slap across your ass and you were about to make another comment when another came again, causing you to squirm. “This is what you get for teasin’ me, kid.” he said, and you were able to catch the way that Hawks was leaned back, his eyes dragging down the length of your exposed back and skin. The leather of his gloved hand struck again, causing you to whine. Keigo’s eyes flashed to look up at you, the look there positively feral. You can feel the heat starting to seep through your legs, and that has Hawks’ attention in a matter of seconds. “So filthy, aren’t you? You like it when I slap you on the ass. You want to be punished for being such a filthy little slut,” the slap came again and your groaning, attempting to push your backside in against his hips. “So fuckin’ eager, kid.”

Keigo places his hands on your hips, pulling you back against his hips so you can feel how hard he’s gotten in the time he’s caught you. This is the whole thing. The chase is what excites him and the most and what better example of his highest fantasy is there then getting to chase you through foliage like the bird of prey that he is? And true to his word, he’s going to fuck you as his victory claim. You grind your backside his, angling yourself so that you can feel the full length of him slipping between you. You groan, your head falling back against your shoulders as Keigo realizes this, pushing up into you.

“I wanna hear you beg, kid. Swallow that fuckin’” a sharp slap comes across your behind again. “Cocky attitude you had earlier.” He slaps your backside again, and you can’t fight the moan that escapes you. “Your mind kid, I’m always gonna fuckin’” another slap. “Win.”

At this point you can feel the wetness between your thighs, and your squirming as he rocks his hips back and forth as if he’s already fucking you. “Keigo-” you whine pushing your hands against the tree so you can be flush with his hips. “Please.”

“Please, what?” You hear the sound of his belt coming undone, the buckle slumping.

“Keigo,” you breathe, only to feel that sharp leather across your backside that causes you to cry out.

“Please, what?” he repeats. His voice is hardened as the cock between his legs. The zipper of his pants sounds, and you can feel the rawness of him against your lips. He’s teasing you. He wants you to beg. To ask nicely. “Beg for it, songbird.”

“Please fuck me,” you gasp just as he pushes himself up and down the length of your lips again. 

Keigo’s hands find their way to your hips again, fingertips digging in as he lines himself up. “Since you asked so fuckin’ nicely...” 

You hold your breath in anticipation. Keigo’s wings puff out on either side of you, providing little coverage for what he’s about to do to you. You catch yourself admiring the beautiful red color of them before he’s slamming his hips in against yours, throwing you forward at the shock and power behind it. The sound of Keigo’s groan behind you turns your knees to putty, almost enough to cause your legs to give out from underneath you. “Ahh, fuck, there it is.” he groans, slowly pulling himself to the edge of his length before slamming back into you with the same intensity. You lurch forward again, hands pressing into the tree in front of you to keep from ramming in against it. “Feel so fuckin’ good, kid.” He fucks into you again, your head dropping to your shoulders once more. Eyes shut, you don’t see Keigo reach out with that gloved hand, and hook two fingers against the side of your mouth. 

The sound of skin slapping against skin starts to fill the area between you along with the sounds of Keigo’s breathlessness and the small whines falling from your mouth. Despite his erratic breathing, he’s kept a good pace, your inner thighs positively soaked from what he’s done to you. He’s entranced by the way your skin bounces and moves each time he comes slamming back into you, filling you up with every ounce of his cock. “You like that, songbird, you like how fuckin’” slap “Good I feel inside of you?”

You struggle to answer him, your head wrenched back at an angle with Keigo’s leather wrapped fingers pulling out your cheek. Your legs are shaking, and it’s everything you can do to keep your muscles from collapsing underneath you as he fucks into you, creating a mess of your insides. Finally, you moan as a response, reaching an arm back just to be able to touch him in some respect. Keigo, not the complete asshole, leans forward so that you can grab onto the front of his jacket. The hand he’d been using to steady himself against your hips slips down to your front, massaging at your clit. This sends you into a spasm, wrestling against the overstimulation that your body was currently being sent through, desperately whining as he continues to tap, circle, and stimulate your clit meanwhile continuing the fluid motion of fucking in and out of you.

Keigo’s got the advantage here too, and seeing you struggle against getting him to lay off before you come, only sends him into more of a fury. His thrusts become faster, more erratic. They starting hurting as they hit into you, causing you to moan in pain and pleasure each time. You’re squeezing your legs together, clenching down around him as he fucks in and out of you. Your high is close, and your knees start to falter under you as it does. “K-Kei-” you’re unable to get his name out as another wave of pleasure rolls through you, threatening to push you over the bridge right there as Keigo starts to fuck you even faster, the wetness on your thighs crawling down further.

“You gonna cum, songbird? You gonna cum around this fuckin’ cock just like you always do?” The whine pushes through you as he yanks on your cheek. “Go on then, sing for me, you’re my fuckin’ songbird.”

And with the permission granted, you unravel around his finger and his cock, your legs spasming as you cry out, your inner thighs becoming even wetter than before. Your moan is none too quiet as it rips through you, your back arching as the shivers run up and down your spine once more as you ride out your orgasm. You’re panting, breathless, dripped in sweat, but Keigo isn’t done. “What a good fuckin’ slut, (Y/N).”

You moan as he returns both ands to your hips, spreading you further as he quickens his pace once more. “Gonna fill you up so good, so fuckin’ much.” You whimper as he buries himself in you, his thrusts sloppy and hurried now. He’s close now, and in order to help him reach his own orgasm, you lean back, body flush against his. “Fuck yeah, ah, fuck yeah.” he’s panting in your ear now, his face buried in the crook of your neck. Once you reach back and feel the space under his jacket and shirt where feather meets wing, it’s game over. 

“I’m gonna cum, fuck, I'm gonna cum,” his voice is gravely, pained as he loses the last of his momentum. The sound of your moans mingle together as he does just that, spilling himself inside of you. His drip joins the slow race down your thighs, and with one final thrust, empties the rest of himself in the folds of your heaven. 

The two of you remain there in silence for a period of time before he pulls out of you, leaving a mess between your lips. You’re immediately on your knees, unable to support yourself anymore from what he’d just done to your insides. Your breathing is still labored, as if you’d just run up and down the mountain without break. Your legs are spent, still riding out the tidal wave that was your orgasm. Behind you, you hear Keigo zipping up his pants, adjusting the buckle.

He looks as spent as you feel, and he pulls his glove on with his teeth as you lock eyes. That feral look is still there, and you doubt you’re done with one another for the night. You sure as hell don’t think you are. “What’s wrong, kid?” Keigo leans over, landing a gloved slap to your ass. “Get up, gotta go tell the instructor what a good hero I was in apprehending such a bad, bad villain.” 

[eurydicees]

top 10 ouran manga-only arcs

this is going to be such a long post i apologize in advance. the ranking system has absolutely no criteria other than "does this pass my vibe check.” bonus points were awarded if i could think about tamakyo while reading it; points were also awarded every time tamaki did something cool. this was a delight to make. anyways, without further ado, here are my personal top ten favorites, and no i will not be taking criticism.

1. THE TAMAKI EXTRAVAGANZA

(vol 16 chp 73 - vol 18 chp 80)

PLOT:

So much happens here that I couldn’t think of an actual name, and uh does it count as a single arc? Probably not, but I’m counting it as one because it has a single thread: Tamaki. My beloved. So. First, Tamaki finally, finally, finally moves into Suoh mansion #1, but when he gets there, he gets told that he’s only allowed to study the Suoh business and go to school and nothing else— meaning he has to quit the host club. Shizue threatens to out Haruhi as a girl and ruin her reputation— possibly losing her the scholarship— if Tamaki doesn’t break off all ties with her.

The Host Club disbands. Kyoya begins an Investigation™ into Tamaki’s mother— she had been incredibly weak and unhealthy when Tamaki was a child, but when Kyoya met her, she was pretty healthy. After some sleuthing, the hosts minus Tamaki discover that she probably had Bisco Hatori’s fictional version of lupus, which was cured by a mysterious foundation— which they discover was run by the Grantaine family, funded by the Suoh corporation, and actually researched by the Ootori conglomerate. Literally everyone is in on it. It’s fucking wild. Like. Huge “holy fucking shit I need to stop and take a breath” moment.

This information is suddenly released to the public, and then the Suoh corporation all vote Shizue out of her position, saying that she’s no longer fit for the job. She locks herself in her room and refuses to speak to anyone, breaking Tamaki’s heart. But now that she’s no longer top dog, Anne-Sophie can come to Japan— Yuzuru is super hyped and expects Tamaki to be as well, not understanding that Tamaki’s family fantasy includes his grandmother. Tamaki stops going to school and plays piano every day in order to cheer up the house, eventually luring Shizue out to listen to him play their shared favorite songs from J-dramas.

They begin to bond and Shizue sees that he’s not a failure because of his parentage, but it’s too late because Anne-Sophie is about to fly back to France. All is hopeless.

EXCEPT THEN. All of the hosts and all of the clients realize what’s happening and rush to help him get to his mother. They all adore him so much, and give their all into getting Tamaki to the airport. Shizue finally encourages him to go, realizing— with the help of Haruhi— that she has been bitter and selfish and Tamaki deserves better. They rush to the airport, and through a series of shenanigans that are no match for the combined power of the hosts and every single girl at Ouran, Tamaki makes it to the airport. They make it there JUST in time, and Tamaki gets a five minute reunion with his mother. Haruhi finally confesses to Tamaki that she loves him.

WHY I LOVE IT:

oh my God oh my God oh my GOD. Like. This is just. So much. So Much. We all know that I’m like. The #1 Fan of Tamaki Suoh. Like. President, vice president, treasurer, and secretary of the fan club, all at once. I love him so much, and this just gives him so much development. There is so much opportunity for him to grow and you not only really see who he is as a character, but you also see how much he’s grown as a person from his first introduction. You also get more of a glimpse into the world of Rich People, and the way that all of their families interact with each other, and then also with the way that they interact within their families. It’s just such an intense arc and it’s so beautiful and I love it so much.

2. THE SPORTS COMPETITION

(vol 10 chp 46 - vol 11 chp 49)

PLOT:

This one is HARD to rank, because I love it, but it also Hurts. Like. I genuinely cried over this one, though that’s not actually saying much because I cry at everything. So. Here’s what’s up. Tamaki gets into this idea of a sports festival, and then Kuze wanders in to fight Kyoya again, so Tamaki suggests a competition between the two of them. This is a very Tamaki thing to do, but Kyoya gets fed up with it and refuses to participate— until Kuze accuses him of being “Suoh’s pet” and that he’ll always let Tamaki win, and then Kyoya gets fired the fuck up.

But he’s still bitter at Tamaki for starting this, so the two of them stop talking and my heart breaks. This does not stop Tamaki from having heart eyes for Kyoya 24/7. Hikaru and Kaoru are assigned to competing teams, and begin their Very Long Journey into not being so codependent— Hikaru is on the red team with Tamaki, Haruhi, and Kuze; Kaoru is on the white team with Kyoya and Honey.

Essentially, each team goes through rounds of races in different areas that are like. Complete bullshit games, but whatever. It’s Rich People World. The white team gets ahead; the red team performs a scene from a Shakespeare show to rally their losing team together and begins to win, until they’re on even footing. The final race is between Kyoya and Tamaki.

There’s a heartbreaking series of panels of Tamaki just… thinking about Kyoya. I cannot get enough of it. Then there’s an even more heartbreaking series of panels of Kyoya just… thinking about Tamaki. You realize, alongside the other hosts, that Tamaki pushed for this race not really for benefit or fun, but to give Kyoya a chance to compete in something for real, without having to set it up so that Tamaki wins (as we see in the race for the central salon). It’s a chance for him to win and not put his family first. Tamaki still tried his best, because Kyoya would hate him if he threw the race, but he lost because Kyoya fought with the intention of winning for HIMSELF, and not just playing support to Tamaki or impressing his father.

Finally, in the last panel, it’s revealed that the class trip will be to France.

WHY I LOVE IT:

God it burns so good. So Good. The Tamakyo, the Hikaru & Kaoru character growth, the Kyoya development, the Tamaki being so so so good, the Kyoya being so brilliant, everything oh my lord. This is really one of the biggest points of Kyoya’s character development, and it’s the first place I’m going to point to when thinking accurately about who he is as a person. It shows who he is, and who he believes he is, and who he wants to be, and who other people see him as. It’s also just a Tamakyo goldmine, even though they don’t ever actually talk. It’s so beautiful and it makes me cry.

3. THE ORIENTEERING RACE

(vol 14 chp 66 - vol 15 chp 68)

PLOT:

In an attempt to make Tamaki realize that the hosts all love him just as much as he loves them, the hosts sans Tamaki put together an orienteering race. There are six checkpoints, each one with a task to be completed in order to get an ingredient that will make the best meal at the end of the race.

Hikaru and Kaoru play the return of the “Which one is Hikaru?” game, knowing that Tamaki has been able to tell them apart for a while by now; Nekozawa’s checkpoint is a quiz on cursed items, knowing that Tamaki is familiar with Beelzenef; Honey’s checkpoint is a game of whack-a-mole with little mini Usa-chans, knowing that Tamaki isn’t afraid of making him upset over a game, though all the girls are; Mori’s is a sword slicing thing to show that Tamaki will never give up on something; Haruhi’s is a “tell the truth or never pass” kind of thing; and Kyoya’s is a crossword puzzle of all the answers made up of things from previous club themes.

Tamaki pairs up with Konoya— who is in love with him and is the “perfect Haruhi” trope— and realizes that she’s incredibly different from Haruhi, and that he loves Haruhi for who she is and not who he thought he wanted her to be. He also realizes that— because the hosts have gone through all of this for him— they do love him for who he is, no matter what, no matter the bad parts of his personality, and they’re never leaving him.

WHY I LOVE IT:

Look. We know that anything about Tamaki is gonna make me happy. I am a simple woman and so easy to please. This is literally just three chapters about how much all of the hosts love Tamaki and want him to be happy. I cannot express in words how rewarding it is to watch Tamaki realize how important he is and how much he’s loved— because he is loved, he’s so loved, he’s so so so loved. This is also the arc with the building block / building a home metaphor, and it destroyed me both physically and emotionally (vol 14 chp 66). This is where the found family is really solidified, and we all love a good dosage of found family.

4. RACE FOR THE CENTRAL SALON / THE SCHOOL FAIR

(vol 6 chp 22 - vol 6 chp 26)

PLOT:

This is where the anime diverges from the manga, and I have to say that this version of the school fair is just so much better than the anime version. Like. Just So Much Better. Basically, the club is setting up for the school fair, and the best spot to set up— essentially, the spot that will get the most foot traffic form the parents— is in the central salon. To figure out which club is going to get the spot, they all compete in a literal race, both mind games and physical games and it just slaps overall.

The b-plot is that the Host Club is getting threatening letters telling them to drop out of the race, alongside blank papers that are sent with the notes; the hosts have to figure out who is sending the notes and confront it. This is the arc that introduces both Kuze and Yuzuru Suoh for the first time. Kuze is captain of the football team and Kyoya’s rival and also definitely his secret ex-boyfriend. Chairman Suoh is… just. A lot. Just. That’s it. A Lot. He’s A Lot.

Anyways, part of the winning race is capturing this crown that’s hidden on campus, which turns out to be at a swimming pool. The football team gets there at the same time as Haruhi, and Kuze pushes her into the pool and goes for the crown. Kyoya and Tamaki reach her at the same time— Tamaki’s instinct is to go for Haruhi, but Kyoya tells him to get the crown and thus the glory of winning, while Kyoya rescues Haruhi.

Later, it turns out that Yuzuru was sending the blank papers with harmless messages written in invisible ink as a prank to emphasize the literal hate mail that the hosts were getting. The follow up to the race is the actual school fair, where we meet Yoshio and Shizue. Fuck Shizue, not even going to get into that right now because I WILL cry, but just know that it’s even worse than it is in the anime. Yoshio, though, is eons better in the manga than in the anime— he is genuinely proud of Kyoya and says that he actually wouldn’t mind appointing Kyoya as heir.

WHY I LOVE IT:

Volume 6 does SO MUCH for Kyoya and Tamaki and we all know that I’m ride or die for the two of them. Kyoya finally gets a chance to shine as team leader and it’s what he deserves! Tamaki takes a little more of a backseat, which I don’t even mind, because Kyoya does such a good job of pulling attention here. The scene at the swimming pool is just so good— it really shows the huge amount of trust between Tamaki and Kyoya, and does a good job of setting up the relationship they need to have as Rich People, outside of their friendship, which is something that we don’t see a lot of. Overall, it’s a very Kyoya-centric arc, and it does amazing things for the development of his character and personality. It’s one of the biggest insights into how he functions as a kind of mastermind for the club. We also finally get Tamaki’s full-ish backstory, which genuinely makes me cry every time.

5. THE HITACHIIN FAMILY

(vol 10 chp 45 / vol 11 chp 51 - vol 12 chp 53)

PLOT:

So this is technically two plot lines, but I’m going to count it as one because it’s all about the twins, my loves. In vol 10 chp 45, we get a little insight into the life of the Hitachiin family and why the twins are as fucked up as they are. Quick rundown— their parents can tell them apart but pretend not to for whatever godforsaken reason; Kaoru admits he’s in love with Haruhi for the first time and Hikaru remains oblivious; Kaoru begins to realize how unhealthy he and Hikaru’s relationship is and how, one day, they aren’t going to be able to have all of the same things; there’s a cookie metaphor; Tamaki gets lost in the Hitachiin manion; it’s all a good time.

In volumes 11 and 12, we begin the actual split between the twins, where they realize that they can’t stay the way that they are forever. They can’t be one person forever. They realize this in a fight over Haruhi, where Hikaru suggests they “share” her as a sister, and Kaoru rightfully thinks this is bullshit. They get in their first— and only— genuinely real argument. Hikaru breaks down in Mori’s house, Kaoru breaks down at Honey’s place, literally no one is happy and I am crying.

Kaoru asks Haruhi out on a date, and then ends the date by explaining that he could never date her knowing that it would be hurting Hikaru. Haruhi is, understandably, very confused by this whole thing, and no one is telling her anything.

Kaoru then makes up with Hikaru, saying that he’ll give up on trying to pursue Haruhi, but tells him that they actually do need to live separate lives at some point— and that point might as well be now. He wants to break apart entirely, but Hikaru explains that while they need to break apart in a lot of ways and find their own identities, they can never fully forget each other. They agree that they can influence and love each other without depending on each other for a personality.

They keep up the incest ACT at the club, though. Bisco Hatori couldn’t manage to write her way out of that one.

WHY I LOVE IT:

So this one just. Really hits home for me. It’s a genuinely heart wrenching arc, and the progression of the whole thing was just so slow and so steady and it was so well done. The twins are two of my favorite characters in the show/manga, and their relationship is something that I can analyze for days, and this arc is a huge part of why it’s so interesting. It does amazing things for both of them as developing characters, but it does even more amazing things for their character growth as people. It also provides a nice catalyst for the Hikaru/Tamaki/Haruhi love triangle. Anyways, it made me cry and apparently that’s my only criteria.

6. THE FRANCE ARC

(vol 10 chp 46 - vol 12 chp 56)

PLOT:

On the Ouran 2nd year school trip to France, Kyoya decides he’s going to spend the trip searching for Tamaki’s mother, rather than spending it with the other students. He works himself to death trying to find her— he ends up literally falling asleep on the ground because he’s so exhausted from searching and taking literally no breaks. Kyoya finds her eventually, and has a really nice conversation with her— she has a bunch of photos of Tamaki, and clearly is constantly thinking about him. When he gets back to Japan, he tells Tamaki about her— about how beautiful she is, about how she smiles, about how she thinks of her son every day.

We get more of Tamaki’s backstory, and his close relationship from his mother and how his mantra— living life in Japan to the fullest and being as happy as he can be every day— all comes from his mother. She told him that she’s happiest when he’s smiling, and so when he leaves her behind in France, he decides to be smiling every day and make everyone around him smile as well.

While Kyoya is in France, Tamaki stays behind in Japan— he gets closer to his father, who offers to begin to train him to take over the Suoh business. He visits Haruhi, and tells her a little bit about his life in France, and Haruhi’s love for Tamaki begins to make an appearance for the first time.

WHY I LOVE IT:

So I went into this list thinking that this would be my favorite plot, so it’s wild to me that it didn’t even make the top five. It’s kind of weird and I didn’t expect it, but I’m still satisfied with this list. Anyways, I really love this one, even if it’s not the top five. It’s like. The ultimate Tamakyo story, and there’s just. There’s just so much to unpack there. Like. We don’t have time for me to go through the whole thing and analyze every part of it because there’s just so much of it. It’s so good, and it makes my heart grow three sizes. It’s another brilliant development piece for Kyoya, and shows his softer side, as well as just how much he loves Tamaki.

7. MORI AND HONEY GRADUATE

(vol 15 chp 71 - vol 16 chp 72)

PLOT:

Honey and Mori announce that, after graduation, they’ll be splitting up and going to different universities. This proceeds to emotionally destroy literally everyone except for them. Mori is challenged to a series of duels at the Kendo club in which he has to fight every underclassman who wants the honor of fighting him before he graduates. He’s exhausted and worn down, and he loses to a second year, which is bad for like. Honor reasons. RIP. Anyways. He reveals that he’s just been really worried about something but before he can tell anyone, he has to duel Honey. It hurts.

They start preparing for the fight— which Kyoya is capitalizing off of via movie rights and betting rings— and scare everyone that they’re going to never speak again. When the fight comes, they fight on the Windswept Hill™ at Ouran (the same place that Chika and Honey fight on way back when). They go for it and pull no punches, until Honey tries to do a flying kick and Mori catches him and gently places him outside of the boundaries of the fighting ring, thus winning the duel.

Because he won, he pulls out a sheet of paper in which he’s written down all of the things that Honey needs to do in university because Mori isn’t going to be there to take care of him: brush his teeth, cut down the cake by 90%, and stop bringing Usa-chan to classes. Mori felt that he didn’t have the right to tell him these things until they were on equal level because he had won the duel.

They make up and everything is okay— they graduate, everyone cries, including me. Kasanoda gives Mori flowers, it’s all very cute. Haruhi makes cookies, and when Tamaki goes running down the hallway to find her, they bump into each other and drop all of the cookies. While they’re picking them up, they share the classic ~accidental kiss~.

WHY I LOVE IT:

This is one of the only Honey & Mori-centric plotlines that gets fully fleshed out and like. More than a chapter. It really does lovely things for their relationship, and it’s the end of an era. Even though it’s the end of an era, though, the resolution is incredibly satisfying— Honey and Mori’s stories are wrapping up, but it’s really well done. It’s sad, but it’s a really rewarding ending. They’re such sweet boys. Also, it’s not like they’re gone forever, so it’s all okay.

8. REIKO x HONEY

(vol 10 chp 41)

PLOT:

Reiko is part of the Black Magic Club, and falls in love with Honey when he gives her a hand in getting up after she trips over Usa-chan. However, she believes that falling in love with Honey is equivalent to him “stealing her soul,” and so she uses “curses” to steal his soul back. These curses are basically just love spells. 

In the end, Honey tells her to just, like, be herself. Talk about her interests. Get to know him. Be honest. Then she won’t need love spells to make him like her. Even if she messes up or is awkward or says something weird, he’ll still like her because she’s being true to herself. This is one of the only Honey-centric chapters, and Reiko is one of my favorite side characters.

WHY I LOVE IT:

They’re the OG goth x pastel couple. The blueprint for all other couples. Icons. I love them so much. This makes it on the list just because I love their relationships. I also love the whole Moral Of The Story, in that it’s important to be true to yourself. It’s so sweet it hurts.

9. HARUHI AND TAMAKI’S FIRST DATE

(vol 18 chp 81 - vol 18 chp 82)

PLOT:

So. Right after the two of them confess their love to each other, everyone expects them to get together and be a couple right away, but Haruhi is just kinda chilling. She’s not super stressed about dating, it’s just a relief to have said it out loud. Meanwhile, Tamaki is kind of a mess, stressing out over their first date and trying to make it as perfect as he possibly can. Seeing him so stressed, all of the hosts band together to help him out in planning a date. When Tamaki finally gets up the nerve to ask her out, he falls in the fountain and Haruhi has to fish him out. She’s then the one to ask him out to the amusement park.

In true Tamaki fashion, he gets incredibly stressed out again. He gets fashion advice from a series of unfashionable people. The hosts sneak around the amusement park and follow them around, finding out that it’s actually going really well, as long as they’re not interfering. After the Lobelia girls show up and try to sabotage the date, Tamaki and Haruhi run away— while Kyoya Handles™ the situation— and they go to her mother’s grave. There, it’s revealed that Haruhi will be going on an exchange program to America.

WHY I LOVE IT:

It’s just. So cute. Like. I’m Tamakyo for life, but I do adore them so much. It’s lower on the list because of the sheer amount of second hand embarrassment, but overall, I loved reading this one. Tamaki is just so genuine and earnest about everything he does, and I think these chapters do a lot to show why the two of them work as a couple. It also does lovely characterization points for Haruhi, and begins to wrap up the ending. Bonus points for a jealous and heartbroken Kyoya.

10. PRINCESS MICHELLE

(vol 9 chp 38 - vol 9 chp 39)

PLOT:

Princess Michelle comes to Ouran to do a week of school in Japan. After meeting her, Tamaki essentially puts him and the Host Club at her beck and call, doing anything that he can to make her happy, no matter how insanely extravagant her demands are. Everyone else finds this infuriating, until Kyoya points out that Michelle looks similar to Tamaki’s mother, saying that the last time Tamaki saw his mother, she was crying— and if he sees Michelle smile for real, it might help him picture his mother smiling again.

Overall, it’s just a very soft arc that begins to unfold Tamaki’s family-related trauma. It also kickstarts Tamaki’s realization that he’s in love with Haruhi and doesn’t actually have paternal feelings for her (that’s the whole next chapter, but make it funny rather than introspective); and it’s one of the moments that Haruhi realizes that Tamaki is genuinely just a good person.

WHY I LOVE IT:

I wasn’t sure that this one would make the list at all, but I do really love this story. It’s pretty short, just two chapters, but it’s overall really sweet. I like Michelle as a character a lot— she seems a bit like a bitch at the beginning, but she gets fleshed out and given an actual personality as the chapter goes on. It’s a really good example of Bisco Hatori’s writing.

HONORARY MENTIONS:

Mei (character): probably the most significant character in the manga that doesn’t appear at all in the anime, which is pretty tragic, but I think that the anime really wanted to emphasize that Haruhi doesn’t really have any female friends / friends outside of the hosts. But anyways, she’s Misuzu’s daughter and Haruhi’s friend; she’s lowkey transphobic but she’s getting better! Had a brief crush on Tamaki but she ends with being the #1 Tamaharu stan. Great friend to Haruhi.

The masquerade ball: Haruhi's going away party, and the reveal that she's a girl.

Haruhi gets kidnapped: Haruhi is kidnapped and held for ransom, the hosts find her and break down doors to get there.

[letsunity]

Not Afraid - Chapter 4

Summery -  

The Bad Batch go to Tatooine to resupply and avoid the Empire. As per the usual, Omega gets separated from the group. Fortunately for her, Krayt's Claw just so happens to be nearby. Bossk and Embo guide her to Boba Fett, who takes interest in why the Kaminoans want her. It's a reluctant partnership, with the Bad Batch having to rely on Krayt's Claw to navigate non-military life.

With some wandering around, Bossk managed to get them a job.

It wasn't anything big, but the pay was good enough - They could get rations, fuel, the essentials.

According to the client, someone is stealing from local farmers. All they have to do is catch them, get their reward and move on. With Hunter's tracking, it shouldn't be a difficult task to complete. They were only dealing with a thief, so Omega would be fine to tag along, which she was happy about.

Seeing how excited she was to join was sweet.

"Don't expect anything, laddies and lady. It goes to plan if you don't have one!" Bossk hissed, cocking his blaster with a grin.

"That doesn't make any sense," Echo countered, pulling a face at the reptile.

"Because you're thinking like a soldier," Bossk smirked, flicking Echo's head. "Plans seldom work. All you need is explosives, knowing what you're doing and instinct. Trust yourself, your abilities, and retreat to bring back more explosives."

"Sounds great!" Wrecker agreed, itching to blow something up. "You guys can get the col illegal stuff, right? We can make things go boom?" The reptile snorted, equally happy about explosions.

With them so happy, Hunter was curious about something. Why didn't they rent speeders to this location; why walk?

The only reason would be that Boba wanted them to see something.

"You wanna see something cool?" Boba asked Omega, having a confident smirk on his face.

He whistled loudly, changing the tune with a harsh rhythm like he was imitating a call. Bossk already knew, rolling his reptilian eyes at his nephew. He knew that it was to give the squirt something special, but still, he was showing off.

Omega waited, uncertain of why he made that noise. While waiting, she saw a wolf-like creature climb atop a hill. Several others appeared, though far darker than the main one. The white one slowly stalked towards them, sniffing warily.

Boba knelt, lightly guiding her hand out and upwards. There was tingling at her fingertips like there was an electrical charge coursing through her. The titanic canid stepped to her, their wet black nose brushing against her palm. In that brief touch, there was the spark of connection.

She could feel it, and it could feel her. It lowered its head into her hand, making eye contact through the helmet.

The wolf grunted towards Wrecker, Echo and Hunter, shaking their head. It grumbled, making several sounds towards them as the other wolves began to run away. With a stamp of its reptile-like paw, it barked and ran off, leaving them confused.

"The centre returned makes seven; burnt comes and makes it six. Anguished are the five, particularly the four. Soon to be three, suddenly two. One shines through, seven again," Bossk translated, thinking over the cryptic warning.

"That's incredibly ominous," Hunter stated, unsure of what to make of that.

"You always get stuff like that from them. It's part of their cryptic 'future sight' or whatever they call it," Boba shrugged, not overly bothered. "Other than the ominous warnings, they're cool to meet. Get them some Wookie meat, and they love you; they're obsessed with it."

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

This new Empire seemed interesting. It didn't affect the Bounty Hunter's Guild, but it could prove profitable.

"Cad Bane. Am I right?" asked some stiff-upper-lip rookie.

Bane didn't care about them, not bothering to remember their name. Admiral Ram-whatever, it wasn't important.

"I prefer meeting on planets without incontinent clouds, Admiral. I don't like rain," Bane hissed, his distorted voice shivering the blank human. Humans had a habit of looking similar to one another. "My price is doubled for that alone."

"I understand, Mister Bane. I can assure you that you'll be incredibly well paid for," said Admiral Rampart, sitting across from the Duros. "There is a bounty on a child named Omega."

"Don't bother. That little brat Boba's probably already involved. At least with his father, you could make a deal, but the boy is annoyingly stubborn."

The kid wasn't popular because of that and was a pain in Bane's ass. His commitment to his rules was somewhat admirable, but it wasn't practical. Even with his little club, the jobs he'll get won't do him much good. He's not going to amount to much in the future.

"You misunderstand, Mister Bane. The Kaminoans want to capture her, and I suspect it's to encourage Tarkin to keep the cloning program. I want you to stop it."

"As I said, it's not worth the time. It doesn't matter where I go; the brat will follow. I'd lead him straight to you, meaning I lose credits."

"I don't want you to capture her, Mister Bane. I want you to kill her."

"Now, that's far simpler. That's triple my pay, but if you'd like, I'll bring you the skin like a rug."

"No, I only need her eliminated. The cloning program must end. To assist you, I'll have my best team to work alongside you. CT-9904 will follow your orders without question, and the other three will follow his example. If this 'Boba' gets in the way, kill him."

"Bounty hunter's aren't allowed to kill each other. I can certainly maim him, though. Give me some credits upfront, some immunity, and I'll bring you her head on a platter."

This was going to be easy.

With the weird female clone out of the picture, project War Mantle will be ahead of schedule. The Empire can grow and prosper without the expensive republican remnants. Unfortunately for this Bane fellow, he couldn't be in the picture afterwards. When the girl was dead, 9904 will kill the hunter as well.

Nobody will know that she existed or mattered. Even with this 'Boba' character, he doubted that things would go wrong. It's only a matter of time.

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

Meeting the wolves were amazing; the white one was soft and warm.

Omega liked the feeling of the grass against her hands, picking a few to inspect them.

While fascinated by the blades of green, she failed to see a nearby Loth-cat. It hissed and lunged at her, its fur raised and bristled.

Instinctively, Hunter aimed his blaster at the animal. It growled, the creature deceptively savage. Boba got on one knee and took some dried meat from his pocket, encouraging the animal to approach.

It hesitantly stepped forward, its pupils widening. It licked his hand then took the meat, backing away from whence it came. It climbed down a hole, poking its head back up again some moments later. Three minuscule heads popped up, chirping at the newcomers. It's only a mother protecting her kits.

Wrecker got down, wanting to have a go as well. Boba handed him some meat, motioning for it to come again. This time, one of the kits investigated, sniffing the food. The mother joined, then the other two kittens.

The family of feral animals chewed the meat, unusually passive and docile.

Omega lightly stroked one of the kittens, amazed by the feeling of their fur. Wrecker grinned, his gloved hand licked by the other two kits.

"Can we keep 'em?" Wrecker begged, looking at Hunter with puppy eyes.

"This is their home," Hunter answered, letting him down easy. "This is where they want to be, so this is where they'll stay."

First, it was reading their emotions, and now communicating with animals. It stank of force-sensitivity, even though he doubted it.

They skipped back into their hole, chirping at them as they passed. Omega waved goodbye, excited to see even more animals.

"How do you do that?" She asked, eager to learn it herself.

"Instinct. Mandalorians are raised from birth to trust themselves, to trust what their gut tells them. It told me that she was only protecting her babies, nothing malicious. You'll learn someday."

"I want to meet all kinds of creatures!"

"There's no limit to what you'll see in this galaxy, Megs," Bossk assured, ruffling the helmet she wore. "So long as Dad Batch are right next to ya."

"We're not the Dad Batch," Echo corrected, although he didn't sound so certain.

"Dad Batch or Bro Batch, either's good with me!" Wrecker smiled, slapping Bossk's shoulder. "We need a fight!" The Trandoshan snarled in agreement, eager to bruise the clone.

They were only a few minutes away from the farm, and in three hours, dusk would begin to set. The more Hunter hung with these odd pair, the more they grew on him. They were capable of skinning folk alive but having that protecting Omega was alright.

Boba was showing Omega a lot of things, even giving her his helmet. He was only three or four years older than her; he had a lot to teach. He was good with kids, too, something Hunter was still learning.

Then there was Bossk's nickname, Dad Batch. Hunter was mimicking what Cut did, so was he being a father to Omega? He never thought of being a parent before, but the past two weeks were unexpected. Maybe he could be a dad to her, be someone to look after her as she deserved.

Not only would Hunter learn a lot about being a mercenary, but interacting with children, too.

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

Saw looked over the bodies, the stench of burnt flesh searing his nostrils. His face scrunched in rage, practically seizing with pure rage.

"I'm sorry, sir, but none survived," Lorc sighed, shaking his head. "They were all wiped out. Not just that, but the dead trooper's wounds are the same as our departed. Friendly fire, presumably."

"Which damned clone was it?"

"That's the issue. It wasn't a clone; it was a random guy in clone armour," Edrio continued, confusing the man. "We've estimated five to have been shot by precise skills matching a clone. The rest were random people. The damage indicates a distance, probably a sniper."

"I know who did it," Saw spat, looking away from the burned bodies. "And we're going to make him pay for it. I want the Bad Batch; I want the one that killed these people as though they were swine. We'll make him suffer for this."

"He and the empire, sir," Mari agreed, charging her rifle.

Saw would destroy this empire, even if it killed him.

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

The farmer was both overjoyed and miserable.

The thief stole food and much of his equipment, most of which she can't replace due to financial struggles. Bossk terrified his Tooka cat, and Wrecker kept bumping his head on the ceiling. Being the second smallest, Boba wasn't concerned with the Toydarian's accommodations.

"Every night, the loth-rat takes more and more. I've set up traps, boobytraps, I even bought a droid, but they stole all of it!" She cried, hovering in distress. "I need them gone. I don't care what you do with them, so long as they leave us be."

"How're you going to pay?" Bossk asked, getting an elbow to the side from Echo. "If you want to afford rations, this is how."

"The local farmers have pitched in. The most we can do is fifteen thousand credits," she sighed, slowly drifting onto a chair. "Our crops haven't done well this year. That war has stripped the galaxy of life; even the planets are too exhausted from it."

"We'll take half," Boba decided, much to Bossk's annoyance. "Lothal's yaim par pirates bal smugglers. Vi ne'waadas eyn sur'haai olar," he added in a strange language, getting a grunt in response.

From the sounds of it, that was Mando'a, the tongue of Mandalorians. Hunter wasn't the best at languages; Tech was more specialised for that.

"By the light of Lothal's moons, you're a blessing to this valley," she whimpered, wiping her eyes. "We wish you luck on this bounty, Fetts."

Plural?

"I'm his uncle," Bossk explained to the confused four, patting Boba's shoulder and glancing at the Toydarian. "We'll make sure that they won't come again."

And so, the quest is on. Find the thief, get paid and get the hell off of Lothal. Omega was happy to be tagging along, asking about boobytraps and the sort. Wrecker picked her up, concerned that she was getting tired from the walking.

Echo would rather have stayed with Highslinger, but walking alone at night wasn't a good idea. Bossk took notice of his hesitancy, snorting for the clone's attention.

"I'm assuming it's all Techno Union?" Echo nodded at the question, the lack of feeling in his 'legs' creeping through his spine. What was left of 'his' spine. "We know a gal who can help with that. She fixes Dengar and Highslinger up after jobs. A friend of Omega's is a friend of ours."

"I'll have to take you up on that. I'd be happier to leave this all back on Skako Minor."

"We can blow it up if that'll ease the anguish."

"Did I hear blow up?" Wrecker interrupted, practically shaking from excitement. "What's going boom?"

"Nothing for now," Echo sighed, shaking his head. "You're going to drop Omega."

"I'm fine!" She assured, gripping onto Wrecker's armour. "Your eyes are pretty."

"Thank you," Bossk said, making a mixture of a chirp and purr in response. "You're a lovely young lady yourself. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Lil Mega."

Ever since meeting Hunter, things just got better for Omega. She had Clone Force 99 and now Krayt's Claw, an odd but loving family of misfits. They made her feel special, more than just a mere assistant or failed experiment. Bossk talked to her like she was an equal, as did the others.

Being around them only added to the coldness of Kamino. They didn't show nearly the compassion Bossk did, and he'd only known her two days or so. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Tech were more family than the Kaminoans ever were, and she wanted it to stay that way.

Even though Crosshair was under the chip, she wanted to get to know him. The lads missed him, and she wanted to know who he really was. Not what the chip made him into or was making him do.

With Boba and his gang, it should be a whole lot easier to help him.

Far away, sitting atop a pile of stones, Fennec lowered her rifle.

[mimik-u]

Archive

Summary: As a part of the extensive process for documenting the war, Pearl and Blue Diamond prepare to have a conversation about Pink.

Prompt: One of the Diamonds interacts with a Pearl (either “our” Pearl, our “their” Pearl) post-CYM

Note: My gift to @runrundoyourstuff​ for our holiday gift exchange. Dani, your writing always inspires me—I’m always looking to it for your complex understanding of characters, your depth, and the beautiful way you have with words (always so thoughtful, even to the syllable). Thank you for all the wonderful conversations that we have. I’m so lucky to have you in my life!! And please check out her gift to me—Seasons! I’m so excited to read it, too!!!!

AO3 Link

—

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Steven reminds her for the fifteenth time since he woke up this morning and bounded down from the loft to interrupt her daily newspaper reading. He’s sitting on the corner of her desk in Little Homeschool now, one of his jacket sleeves scrunched up at the elbow and the other rolled down, leveling her a serious look beneath his bushy brow, mouth pressed into a thin line.

It strikes Pearl suddenly, and for no readily available reason, that her little boy has grown up somewhere in the space and span of two measly years.

Soon, if he keeps growing, he’ll be even taller than she is.

“Yes, you’ve made sure I’m aware of that,” she returns wryly, absently reshuffling her notes again. They’re half-English, half-gem glyph in a shorthand that only she understands, alternating languages from line to line depending on when glyphs were not sufficient enough to capture all those once-foreign concepts to gemkind: love, romance, the depths of sacrifice. Gems didn’t need symbols to encode for these complex sensations, even if they felt them, and perhaps especially if they did.

It was scary to love someone on Homeworld.

It was terrifying to love them so powerfully that you would risk your very gem for them.

Traitors were duly punished.

Survivors were rare in Era One.

(Garnet can attest to that.)

“I’m just sayin’,” he protests playfully, sounding rather like Amethyst, and even resembling her when he raises both of his palms in mock surrender. “I know this project is important and all, but it’s not as important as me knowing that you’re comfortable…”

Pearl places her papers down and straightens them neatly, all the while feeling the force of Steven’s expectant gaze.

The strength of his love.

It warms her all over.

It colors her pale face.

But when she finally glances up at him, even though her cheeks are assuredly pink, she keeps her voice and resolve firm.

(Though she’ll never say this to him, not now, not anymore—never again—he reminds her so much of his mother sometimes.)

(His kindness, his warmth, his goodness.)

(Because Rose wasn’t all bad—not really. Not to her, at least.)

“I’m fine, Steven,” she reassures him. “I promise. I wouldn’t have agreed in the first place if I wasn’t. This isn’t the first time I’ve done one of these recordings, and it won’t be the last either.”

“But never about… this, you know”—he makes a vague pointing gesture with his hand, struggling for the right words—“and never with a Diamond.”

He says the word Diamond nervously, like it’s one of the expletives that Amethyst has gotten more comfortable in dropping now that Steven is a bonafide teenager, and he’s simply waiting to see Pearl’s response, how she’ll react.

She certainly did give Amethyst one hell of a scolding the other day.

“This is history,” she returns quietly. “It’s painful history, yes… but that can’t be helped.”

“But it can!” He argues pointedly, his eyes wide and incredulous, his voice scratched around its strained edges. “You don’t have to share the things that have hurt you for the entire galaxy to see, Pearl. That isn’t what this is all about.”

“But I want to.” And there’s a sense of finality in her tone that closes a mouth that had already been half-wrenched open in preemptive protest. Pearl takes the opportunity to reach over then and place a hand on Steven’s jean-enclosed knee, smiling gently. “Of course, there are a couple of details I’ll keep to myself—keep between you and me—but for the most part, I’m ready to tell this part of the story. Indeed, I think it’s essential that I do.”

“For archival purposes?” Steven asks dryly, resignation in his voice, a little teenage petulance, too.

Pearl pats his knee once, laughs lightly, and then withdraws her hand.

“For closure,” she says simply, but then, because she knows it’s not enough for him, and she wants it to be enough for him, elaborates. Explains. (It isn’t quite justification, though.) “Two years ago, I was bound by your mother’s final command to never talk about what we did. And most of the time, I didn’t want to… I don’t think I could have forced myself to even if I tried. As you got older, though, as you learned more about your mother and all of her many… complexities…  as you began to have questions—so many important questions—I knew I needed to but couldn’t. And now…”

“You have a choice,” Steven finishes for her, realization washing across his face, unbending the protective sharpness in it.

“Exactly,” she nods approvingly, “and so I’ve thought about it… I’ve weighed everything out carefully… and I’ve come to the conclusion that this is what I want—to claim our history… even  though it’s painful, even if it still hurts. I’ve had trouble doing that before, even with secrets in my own volition, and I don’t want… I refuse to let that be me anymore, Steven. I don’t want to live with thousands-year old ghosts anymore.”

Though his brow remains furrowed, though there’s something in the dark of his eyes that remains a little unsure, Steven nonetheless blinks to show that he’s heard her and nods solemnly to indicate that he understands.

It’s a simple gesture.

It means a lot.

And she smiles at him in radiant, weary relief.

A few months ago, Homeworld and Little Homeschool scholars had a conference to determine how best to record, preserve, and proliferate the history of the war, and all the events that resulted in Era Three. There are extensive gaps in Homeworld’s own archives, which had been scrubbed free of mentions of it in obedience to Yellow Diamond’s commands, and Little Homeschool, of course, being relatively new, doesn’t have an archive so much as it has a file cabinet in Pearl’s office that’s at the very least meticulously alphabetized. And so, they decided upon creating a universally accessible Archive, a series of recordings and documents and interviews delivered by gems and humans from both sides of the war, giving accounts of all that has happened in six thousand elapsed years.

Most of the Crystal Gems have done several recordings.

Garnet, Bismuth, and Pearl did one just last week on the Battle of the Ziggurat.

Biggs and a few other defected Homeworld soldiers have covered some of the minor battles.

Yellow and Blue Pearl have recorded a few on what it was like to be in the palace during the war.

And even the Diamonds themselves have proffered their perspectives whenever they’ve had the time.

Because the scholars emphasized early on that it was essential for all sides of the story to be brought to the table in order for the universe to get the fullest canvas of what it meant that Pink Diamond started a war that her half-human son would one day finish.

The minutiae of Homeworld politics.

All of the many battles.

The rebellion.

The beauty of Earth.

The aching desolation of Homeworld after the faked shattering.

Gems’ encounters with humans.

Humans’ encounters with gems.

The casualties.

The grief.

And what that does to a gem—to hold her comrade’s shards in her hands.

What it does to people.

The various townies have given their accounts of what it was like to live through alien invasion after alien invasion, to see their beloved Beach City upended so many times, right before their eyes.

War.

“When does it start?” Steven asks in a would-be-casual voice, straightening up from her desk and stretching his arms over his head before pulling them back down again. With a meticulousness she fancies he inherited from her, he finally fixes his sleeves, dragging the cuff of his left arm to perfectly match the length of the other.

“In ten minutes,” she replies.

“Do you want me to stay?” Lines crease his eyes even as he offers it. “I can if you need me to.”

He glances at the still dormant Holo-Crystal on the desk and just as quickly glances away, finding her face.

Searching her own gaze, even at the very moment she searches his, the both of them looking for something to be concerned about and unfailingly finding love.

Pearl knows for a fact that he doesn’t want to listen, that he’d rather not hear the sordid story all over again.

He’s seen it.

Goodness, he’s half-lived it through the mire of her own head.

But she also knows that if she asked him to, he would do it.

Just for her.

He’s selfless like that.

He’s Steven.

“Go,” she smiles softly at him, leaning back in her chair. “Get out of here. If you and Amethyst will grab the stuff from the store, I’ll make cookies for dessert tonight.”

Steven returns the gesture crookedly, and the relief in his eyes is almost mistakable for excitement.

“Chocolate chip?” His voice young, almost childlike.

“Do you even need to ask?” Her voice fond, always motherly.

“Thanks, Pearl!” He chuckles. He half-skips. He snatches his car keys from the desk and all but slaps the door handle. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

He winks his final goodbye, twists the knob and in a brief flash of golden sunlight, disappears into the day. The door clicks to a merry close behind the shuffle and haste of his heels.

And Pearl is left alone, hands templed delicately in her lap, staring at a deadened Holo-Crystal that’s lying almost forlornly on its side. 

Her smile slips away from her mouth like falling sand the moment she thinks she’s safe.

She shuffles her papers again.

She stares, very quietly, at the crystal.

She looks, just as pointedly, away.

Occupies herself by touching her notes again, raking her fingers over all the words that give a form to the one secret she had kept to herself for thousands upon thousands of years—not entirely out of her own will.

She wasn’t lying to Steven when she said that she wanted to do this.

She was lying about the fact that she was fine to do it.

Somehow, in the tangle of her own head, it makes sense to her that these sensations are not mutually exclusive. It’s perfectly compatible to want to do something that’s scary and still feel intensely scared about doing it.

Fear doesn’t stop at the threshold of a made decision. 

After all, if fear had ever stopped her from doing what she wanted, then she would have never loved Rose Quartz.

So she stares at the Holo-Crystal, and then she emphatically doesn’t.

Tries to distract herself.

(Eight minutes til…. seven.)

Fails. 

Abruptly gets out of her chair, a sudden restlessness in her lanky limbs, and begins to pace the floor, sunlight from the nearby window dusting her skin gold in square patches, in slivers. When only one minute remains, and the Holo-Crystal suddenly glows a bright, electric blue as a warning alert to a scheduled call, she throws herself back into the chair as forcibly as possible and tries to arrange her face into an expression that’s just as equally cool.

Focused.

Put together.

Fifty seconds…

She pushes a hand through her hair and hates herself for doing so; assuredly, she just ruffled it, and now her hair will be a rumpled mess on a hologram for time immemorial.

Thirty seconds…

What in stars’ name does she do with her hands? Arrange them on the desk? Temple them on her lap? Place them stiffly by her sides? She settles for some awkward combination of the three—templing them on the smooth surface of her desk with her elbows at stiff angles.

It’s highly uncomfortable.

Twenty seconds…

She could bail now, and Steven wouldn’t think the worse of her for it. She’d join him at the beach house after he returned from the grocery store, and he’d help her make the cookie dough and never say a word as to her cowardice. Perhaps he would even be relieved that she decided not to go through with her intentions in the first place. After all, they weren’t strictly necessary… that was one of his arguments even… someone else could do it… could tell her story… and it would all be the same.

Ten seconds…

But she wouldn’t be relieved.

She wouldn’t be proud of herself.

She could live with herself, yes, but she wouldn’t be able to forget that when the opportunity came to speak her truth freely, she refused to, denying a voice that had already been long denied.

So many times over.

From the very first moment she emerged into the world as a gem whose highest and only pleasure was to serve.

Five seconds… the Holo-Crystal begins to blink rapidly, throwing its frenetic hues in quick pulses across her desk.

And so she has to do this then.

Four seconds…

She wants to.

Three seconds…

It’s her narrative and no one else’s.

Two seconds…

Not even Rose’s.

One second…

Maybe especially not hers, even if she isn’t ready to admit that yet, to face that raw fact.

In a diamond shaped burst of energy, the Holo-Crystal throws its projection upwards with a series of gem glyphs that she reads with both trepidation and ease: ACCEPT FEED? YES OR NO?

Breaking the solemn temple of her fingers, swallowing her electric, jangling nerves, Pearl, against all her better judgment, presses yes, and the glyphs fall away, replaced by a live portrait of a gem who somehow looks exactly like Pearl feels. 

Arctic eyes wide.

Charcoaled beneath with thousands of years worth of shadows.

Brow furrowed with indecision.

With hesitancy.

With all the indelicate trappings of fear.

“Blue Diamond,” Pearl greets coolly, jerking her head in a stiff nod. Somewhere deep in her gem, an odd impulse to salute pulls at her facets.

“Pearl,” the Diamond returns softly, almost wonderingly—as though the name is unfamiliar on her tongue. In a way, it likely is. The Diamonds once viewed the Pearls as objects as opposed to gems and referred to them in such a way.

The Pearls.

Our Pearls.

They were interchangeable.

They were possessions.

In the Reef, they even came with accessories: staffs and wands and batons.

“Thank you for consenting to do this,” Pearl continues in that same clipped but professional tone. “I think this will be an important entry in the Archive.”

“Aye,” comes the quiet reply, thoughtful. “Yellow and White don’t quite understand it entirely yet, but there is rationality in this—in proffering the fullest account of our history for anyone to access it if they so choose. It’s about preserving her… all of our legacies—the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Pearl is suddenly reminded that of the three remaining Diamonds, Blue was the one who upheld the human zoo, who perceived it as a relic and immortalized it as such.

Steven had told her about all of those bubbled Rose Quartzes.

Dozens of them.

Hundreds.

Made to cover the illusion of Rose’s identity.

Punished for a crime that they didn’t perpetrate. 

Perfectly preserved in stasis and purgatory for thousands of aching years.

“And so often the ugly,” Pearl emphasizes scathingly, and it’s a condemnation of them all—of Rose for making the Quartzes, of Pearl for being complicit, of Blue Diamond for imprisoning them and calling it mercy.

“Yes,” Blue agrees faintly, new lines forming beneath her eyes. “We did some terrible things…”

Her demureness and her honesty irritate Pearl for some reason—perhaps because she didn’t expect them, or perhaps because she very well did and still finds that they ring false, insincere, affected. How could they not in the face of millennia worth of cruelty and injustice? How can two years of positive growth overturn the effects of two hundred thousand?

Perhaps it’s simply that she believes in action as correctives and atonements.

Perhaps she doesn’t trust mere words, even though this is what this entire event is all about in the end—mere words. 

Perhaps she wants to see it in Blue Diamond’s eyes for herself—the change in them, the repentance.

And perhaps, at the very same time, she doesn’t want to look too closely in case she finds precisely what she’s looking for.

“Yes,” she repeats primly. “You did, and today is about looking backwards to that, about assessing all the things we did and didn’t do—on both sides of the war.”

Blue Diamond absorbs this all quietly, looking downwards, strands of silvery-blue hair falling from her neat parting and across her tall forehead.

“How exactly do we do that?” She asks. “Where do we even begin?”

Admittedly, they’re both excellent questions, and now it’s Pearl’s turn to glance down, to recognize the scrawl of all her neatly organized notes and suddenly realize that they feel insufficient for the task at hand, bare.

The word love crops up so many times, but nothing is said about the overwhelming force of that love—the all-consuming dimensions of it.

How Pearl would have been content to stay in Rose’s presence forever, and that alone would have been enough.

And how complicated that same love was.

How it was sometimes tangled in programming and servitude.

And how at other times, it was dangerous, bold, revolutionary, transcendent.

And how it hurt sometimes.

Perhaps even all the time.

Love so deep that it felt like pain.

Even English doesn’t have the capacity to describe those complexities of emotion.

Even language itself.

“Well,” she begins hesitantly, before she has all of her words in order, “when I press record… we simply have to… you know… talk about it, about everything that led up to the Corruption Song, sparing no detail.”

“Simple, is it?” Blue Diamond asks quietly, and there is slight admonishment in the question, ancient sadness in her geometric eyes, in all the lines and shadows beneath them.

“No,” Pearl replies, glancing away from the screen. “Not at all.”

Loving Pink Diamond was so many things.

It was not, in fact, simple.

“But it’s important,” she continues, her voice gaining strength, “maybe even necessary for us to at least try to tell our stories as fully as we can because she never felt like she could tell her own.”

“That must have been so lonely for her,” Blue whispers, anguished, the words half-caught in her throat.

Pearl forces herself to look at the diamond portrait again.

To search the other’s expression.

To acknowledge the truth in it.

The love.

The pain.

The love that feels so much like pain.

“It was, I think,” Pearl murmurs. “She wanted to be everyone else but herself—on that day. On all the days afterwards as we recovered the shards of our companions, as we had to fight their corrupted selves. Maybe even until the very end when she became Steven.”

And this, she thinks, is the fundamental truth of Rose Quartz above all, one she doesn’t think she’ll share with the rest of the universe, one she thinks will keep between herself and Steven and now… Blue Diamond.

Rose loved the entire world.

She was moved by it. Endlessly.

She loathed herself.

And seemingly the entire world—Pearl included—pedestalized her.

“We did that to her,” Blue says, and there’s venom in her voice, an air of admission. She brings her tall hands upwards and spiders them across her face. “We… I… never told her that she was good enough. I required her facets to be perfect and scolded her—punished her—every time she so much as toed our harsh lines.”

“You never told her that you loved her,” Pearl says, and there’s solemnity in her voice, an air of accusation. She clenches her own hands on top of the surface of her notes.

Glyphs interspersed with words.

Pain.

Love.

Grief.

“And when you finally showed that you did,” Pearl continues, closing her eyes at the memory of a world being swallowed in white light, of a sky being rent by the echoes of so many thousands of gems screaming to the same tune of the Diamonds’ feral, wailing song, “you destroyed nearly an entire population to do it… all of you… together.”

“Yes,” Blue Diamond can only utter between the gaps in her fingertips.

There is nothing else she can really say.

No defense against the indefensible.

“This is the story we have to tell,” Pearl finishes unsparingly, and yet, at the very moment she does, she leans backwards in her chair, suddenly exhausted, completely drained, as though she’s already done all the telling and the reckoning and the processing and the labor.

But she’s only scarcely begun.

They both have.

“Not only for this project… but for ourselves, too. We owe ourselves that, at least—the ability to claim everything that we’ve done.”

“Or”—Blue finally lets her hands fall away from her face, leaving only the carnage of overbright eyes behind—“that has been done to you.”

She’s talking about her own atrocities—this Pearl immediately intuits—but Pearl thinks about a different Diamond instead.

A covered mouth.

A hibiscus flower.

And command to never speak of this again.

Because no one can know.

“Yes,” Pearl can only utter.

There is nothing else she can really say.

No defense against the indefensible.

They lapse into silence then, the static from the hologram’s particles humming in the still air.

“It’s a tragic story,” Blue Diamond says, “but I believe you're correct… we have to tell it anyway. For that very reason—so other gems will know the truth… and remember it… remember her.”

Pearl slowly reaches forward to grab the Holo-Crystal, her fingers hovering just above the recording mechanism.

“It’s a story about love,” she quietly asserts, renegade defiance in her voice. “About all different kinds of it, really.”

“The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

And so often the ugly.

“It was complicated,” Pearl only says and presses record.

It’s not an admission here; she's already admitted to this fact—several times over.

To anyone who will listen.

(No one really does.)

Rather, it's a tiny kindness.

Maybe to Blue Diamond.

Maybe to herself.

And maybe even to the memory of the long dead ghost who sits in the space of the thousands of lightyears between them, hands beneath her chin, smiling gently at some beautiful thing that she just saw.

A flower, perhaps.

A human.

An infinite, changing sky.

A world where she could perhaps learn to love herself in the same way that she loved others.

Entirely.

[starfirette]

Chapter Five: Clearing Trost Part II

Alstroemeria, Chapter Five:  It seems impossible, but you can’t argue with what you’re seeing. You work with the others to defend Eren.

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tags: @kuxredere | @luvelyxp | @fan-g0rl | @levisbrat25 | @a-dream-is-reality | @89staytinyzen21 | @cqptainlcvi | @the-average-mastermind | @carlyandthechocolatefactorsugar

a/n: LEVI IS HEEEREEEE. Some more minor Reiner x Reader interactions. but more importantly, LEVI  

Armin’s plan is practically flawless. 

That being said, Jean’s point on the guns is too resonate to ignore. 

Seven titans, roughly four-to-five meters, had taken over the entire supply room. Armin’s plan devised to send down an armed group of cadets, on the lift, who would then capture the titans’ attention. As soon as the titan took the bait, the group fires in all four directions to effectively blind each titan. From there, seven cadets would have to drop down from the ceiling beams to take each titan out. 

Armin seemed to think it could work with the amount of ammunition you’d all found. He also ensured you all that if the plan got screwed up, you’d all likely die. 

You held your face in your hand, massaging from the bridge of your nose to the space between your eyes. The seven most “gifted” (as Armin put it) would have to take on the role of taking down each titan. 

The others seemed to glance at you, half expecting you to take on the role of one of the seven. With your injury, you doubted that you could do your best. Considering it would be putting everyone’s life on the line, you stepped down and passed the roll onto Sasha Brauss. 

She sent you an apologetic look, which you tried your very best to ignore. You didn’t like that she tried to sympathize with you--then again, you don’t like a lot of things.

“It’s a brilliant plan, Arlert,” you commend him, nudging his knees with the toe of your boot. 

“And when it comes down to it, the risk is the same for everyone,” Annie added. “No one can get out of this.” 

“I mean,” Armin stammered, “I’m willing to here other plans. I’m not going to force anyone to do it.”

Marco sniffed, rubbing his nose with the inside of his wrist as he pipped up. “You know, it’s a good plan. Especially considering it’s our only option. If we all try then we can pull it off.” 

The enthusiasm made your stomach lurch. You felt like an outsider watching everyone else through thick, frosty glass. You didn’t feel outrageously confident that the world wouldn’t end tonight. You don’t even know where you’re going to be sleeping tonight. You could be dead tonight. 

The lift creaked as it came to a stop, the gate falling down to the floor with a slam. It was ready, and it was time. You begrudgingly grabbed a rifle and a handful of the bullets from the crates. 

Your thumbs ached as you loaded the rounds in, one by one.

You tucked the rifle under your arms, looking around to find Reiner standing nearby. 

“We’re getting ready to head out,” he explained as you stared with a silent question in your eyes. 

“How are y’all going to do it without your gear?” you asked. You held your hand out quickly to stop him from answering. “Just joking,” you hurried. “I don’t want to know. I should just focus on my job.” It would stress you out more if you knew exactly how Reiner and the others were going to pull the little stunt off without their gear. 

Reiner’s eyes softened as he looked down at you clearly contemplating your existence within the regiment. 

“Don’t take it so personally,” he says kindly, but firmly. “You’re injured. You need to take a rest, not just for our sake but also for yours.” 

You pout. “It’s not really a confidence booster when you can’t even take out a four meter bastard because of some goddamn cramps,” you spat as you angrily hit the cemented floor with the toe of your boot. 

“Chill out,” Reiner huffed. He rested a hand atop of your shoulder, “You’re still good at what you do. It’s not like this is an exam, or anything.” 

“Not an exam,” you agreed, just as you stomped over to the lift. “Just regular life or death.” 

“Yeah,” Reiner laughed in agreement. “Regular life or death.” 

Reiner had been elected as one of the seven who would be taking care of the titans once they were blinded. He followed behind Annie and Bertholdt, who you swore was too smug over the fact you were being left behind. 

But you tried to tell yourself this wasn’t an exam; it wasn’t at all an evaluation of your character. 

You were on the very front lines, right in the center of the north facing gunmen where you would be face to face with the filthy little shits. The ride down on the life was too, too quiet for your liking. 

You looked back and forth to those who were on your sides. They were all practically green with nausea. 

You rolled your eyes. Part of you almost chastised them all for being such worry warts, but you knew that was merely your own way of coping with the fact that you weren’t good enough to be one of the seven strikers. 

“Watch it,” you suddenly snapped. The cadet on your right stumbled and hit you in the side with their boney elbow. “You’re making me all sweaty,” you added as you lifted your nose in the air. 

But you did not realize that you were sweating all on your own. Your conscious weighed heavy with anxiety that cloaked itself as frustration. 

You could feel the lift racketing under your feet as if lowered through a plain column of dark walls. You gulped, the knot in your throat refusing to disappear as you imagined what would be awaiting you all in the main room of surprises. 

The lift cranked to a slow stop. You could see the seven titans, which seemed to glow under the torchlights that still burned on the walls. When they walked, the floor groaned, and you feared their big heads would hit the structural beams that supported the building. 

They all noticed to arrival of the lift, especially when it clicked into place and the gears stopped moving. 

You shot your gun outward, the hilt of it hitting your shoulder as you stood tall and with a raised chin. The others around you did the same, their muskets clicking into place. 

You shivered as Marco led the others with calm words, keeping everyone at ease. 

When the first titan whirled over to look at you all, you nearly pissed yourself. It’s disturbed face was twisted into a smile as it took one step closer. 

You couldn’t fire yet; no one could. It would have been a waste of ammunition. “Fire only when they’re within range,” Marco reminded the others, as if on cue, like he could read your thoughts. 

Hell. Maybe this titan can read your thoughts. He is looking at you like he can. He’s looking at you with beady, bright eyes, like he’s fucking excited to see what you’ll taste like, or how you’ll sound when you scream at the sight of your friends being devoured, torn apart, and thrown, like rag dolls. 

It’s then that you noticed just how heavy you’re breathing. You’re chest heaves like you’ve been running for miles, and a wheeze is coming from the bottom of your lungs like a broken accordion. 

“Now, Marco,” you said. You tried to sound firm. Brave. 

But instead, you sounded helpless. 

“Wait,” he insisted. He sounded only mildly worried, as if this were a regular day for him. 

“Marco,” you plead. The titans have gathered all around, now, and they’re literal inches away from you. 

Your heart fell into your stomach as the titan waddled closer. His smile burned into your eyes, and you knew, then, that you’d see that thing’s face every night when you closed your eyes. 

His breath reeked like nothing you’d ever smelt before. It was like a million deaths in that thing’s mouth. 

Bile rose in your throat, bitter on your tongue as your finger slid across the golden trigger. 

The titan took a step closer and the soft squish his eye made as he touched the barrel of your gun pushed you over the edge. 

“MARCO,” you shriek. Your voice sounded foreign in your own ears. It was dripping with panic. 

The guns blasted, shooting off like thunder cracking all around you. It was such a chaotic noise. You couldn’t describe the aura of it all, with the thundering booms of each fire that stayed in time with the muzzle flares. 

Each titan went down with a boom. One, two, three, you counted. 

You felt instant relief flood your body like a sweet drug. 

The relief was dried up when you realized that Sasha missed. 

Sasha missed. Sasha, who wouldn’t have even been up there if it weren’t for your injury. You wouldn’t have missed. You would have made it. 

For a split second, you could see all the death before your very eyes. Your entire squad, gone. The plan, failed. 

The titan stumbled to his knees as he reached for Sasha, who shrieked and tried to run. 

You had been so caught up in your inner grief that you didn’t even realize-Connie missed his titan, too. 

While the room got all shrouded with steam from the killed titans, you watched as Annie and Mikasa came to the rescue. Just in time. 

You were helpless from your spot on the lift. You wouldn’t have been able to do a goddamn thing if Sasha were to have gotten picked up and swallowed like a pill. Instead of worrying, or even thinking about what to do next, you were feeling jealous and bitter. You were feeling competitive. 

You couldn’t revel with the others as they cried out in joy. They all moved to fill up their tanks.

You moved around like a puppet. One half of your body felt completely numb as you filled your tanks. 

Reiner noticed. He tried to encourage you. He tried his very best. 

And still, you felt like a failure. When had you turned into someone who didn’t care about the wellbeing of others? You felt dirty. 

You’d have to face that dirty part of yourself some other time. Your pity party is cut short as the others gather together in preparation to once again venture outside.

The sun shone on your face as you stepped out of the main doors. It was a slap in the face of reality. The bad weather had come and gone; the day’s breeze was gentle, and the sunshine warm on your skin. And yet, looking around, the entire district was in utter ruin. The world would continue on. The world doesn’t care about triviality. To Nature, titans and a selfish solider girl were on and the same: nothing. 

You went to speed towards the rendezvous point. 

Reiner managed to stop you by taking hold of your blood stained elbow. “You alright?” he asked. 

“It’s not my blood,” you assured him. 

“That’s not what I mean.” His eyes narrowed, as through he were trying to see straight through you.

You stared up at the blond for a few moments before abruptly breaking the stare. “I’m fine,” you insisted. “But I appreciate you looking out for me.” 

“Well, what else are friends for?” he said with a crooked grin.

You couldn’t think of anything to say. His smile was dazzling. It was bright, genuine, and filled with honest hope. 

You just didn’t realize what he was hoping for. 

You fled to the rooftops. You were completely prepared to make a quick flight back to the wall; but it was the abnormal titan, the one who’s eyes glowed powerfully, that distracted you from making your full getaway. He was weak, you realized. He was tired. Like you. 

He was slumped up against the ruins of a building, and around him were the greedy, chubby figures of titans that were feasting on his flesh. 

Cannibalism. 

You hadn’t known that titans could exhibit such a trait like cannibalism. 

“It’s a little bit...strange. Isn’t it?” you murmured. You didn’t have to look behind you to know Reiner was there, like your constant shadow. 

“We should help it,” Reiner suddenly suggested. 

You whirled around. As you argued, Jean did as well. Both of your voices screeched at the very same time. 

“We’ve finally gotten a chance to get out of this nightmare,” Jean was saying. “And now you want to stay?” 

“The titan’s no good to us dead,” Reiner said, sounding completely calm. “I think we could genuinely learn something from it.” 

“He might be right,” Mikasa admitted as she shifted into the conversation. “I, myself, am hoping that this titan is the key to a new way.” She tugged her scarf down to exhibit her mouth, which was turned into a tight frown.

“A new way of what, exactly?” Jean asked her exasperated. 

She shot him a daggering look, her dark eyes filled with something you couldn’t label, but were afraid of all the same. “Of fighting for survival.” 

You sighed heavily. “Do you really think it can help us?” you asked. “I want to hope, too. But how can we be certain it’s not just a really strange abnormal?”

“Think about what you’ve said,” Annie cut in, her icy eyes piercing into your own. “It is an abnormal. Just how different would things be if we had an abnormal for an ally? A canon’s got nothing against a titan’s brute strength. 

“Listen to yourselves!” Jean clamored. “It’s not a shiny, new toy!”

Your eyes shot straight past Jean’s shoulder, to the sight of the abnormal who was suddenly grunting and groaning. He sounded angry. He sounded as if he were trying to speak. It was crazy, it was absolutely crazy, but he was conveying some sort of emotion as he took off to a wild charge. The titans that feasted on him earlier flew off as he went racing into another titan that had just happened to be passing by. 

The abnormal launched and tackled him. His jaw unhinged before clamping deeply into the titan’s neck. 

You gasped. 

“That’s the titan that killed Thomas,” Armin said. He didn’t sound as much regretful as he did studious. 

“What, you think the abnormal went to get revenge?” you asked. The notion was ridiculous, and you expected Armin to say as much, but he sent you a long stare that said a million words. 

“Speaking of shiny, new toys,” you muttered. The abnormal flung the titan in his mouth around like a dog would do with a bundle of rags. Even without arms, and with half of his flesh missing to reveal his ribs, he was still powerful enough to swing the titan around and make a mess. He took down others, all without even having to punch or kick. 

It was gruesome. 

It was violent. 

It was terrifying. You wondered when the abnormal would snap out of it. When would he-or IT- realize his natural enemy are the humans? The damage he would be able to do if humans were his target is unimaginable. It might be enough to destroy the entire world...

The abnormal released another cry, one that you suspected to be some sort of victory thing. 

And then it collapsed. 

“Well,” Jean was saying, sounding vaguely regretful, “it’s too late now. Let’s get a move on while we still can.” 

You would have told Jean to get shoved up a titan’s ass if you weren’t so mesmerized by the steam cloud that burst from the abnormal’s corpse. You’d seen titan’s deteriorate, but they never seemed to go out like this one is. It was releasing steam, like it was some sort of a vent, as opposed to other titans that seemed to just evaporate. 

Mikasa suddenly slipped off the roof. 

You reached out to her, shocked she would have lost her catlike balance in the first place. 

No, you realized. She didn’t slip. She was racing towards that titan’s body. Armin called after her, as stunned as the rest of you. 

“It’s nothing we’ve never seen before,” Jean said. He didn’t sound very convinced with his own reasoning. 

As the steam clouds parted, you strained your eyes to see Mikasa’s little figure perched atop the titan’s nape, cradling something in her arms as she sobbed. You’d never seen her cry before. It was a surprising display as she rocked back and forth, clutching tightly to- 

“That’s Eren Jaeger,” you exclaimed. 

Upon hearing the words, Armin rushed to join his good friends, leaving you and Jean to look at each other utterly bewildered. 

What frightened you was how un-bewildered Bertholdt was. His complexion got all grey when Armin and Mikasa struggled to get Eren’s body up to the rooftop. 

“I thought Eren was...well...I mean I’m glad he isn’t,” you quickly said, “but I-I mean-”

“Yeah,” Reiner said. “So did we.” 

Mikasa returned, her face still dripping with steady tears as she tenderly set Eren down. “He’s alive,” she said carefully. She sounded so calm. You couldn’t have guessed she was crying unless you’d been watching her. 

Armin dizzily fell against a structure of rock that was built into the roof. “This can’t be,” he gasped. 

“What’s wrong?” you instantly asked him. 

“I watched,” Armin said. His eyes were wide, filled with horror and curiosity alike. “I watched him get e-” He broke off, covering his mouth with a fist as he seemed to gag on the words. “I watched,” he recovered, “him get eaten. His arm...his leg...”

Armin started to cry, too. 

You tried not to feel too annoyed by this. 

It’s not their fault you have no friends. No way you could really relate. 

“How is this possible?” you asked when no one else did. 

“That’s not what I’m concerned about,” Jean said, sound eerily calm. “Eren did all of this.” He looked out to the destruction; the corpses that steamed and the buildings that still settled to rubble. 

That’s right; Eren did all of that. 

“Eren’s a titan,” you gasped out. 

Someone had to say it. 

Jean’s eyes looked as if they were about to simply roll out of his skull. “That’s impossible.” 

“It’s not,” you argued. “The colossal. The armored. The two most dangerous abnormal in the entire world. They behave with the same intelligence Eren was obviously displaying not even thirty minutes ago.” You waved a hand out to gesture to the entire city. “Eren’s a titan. The other bastards are human, too. And now we have to figure it the fuck out.” 

“Calm down,” Reiner eased you. He rested a heavy hand on your sholder, which you instinctively shook off. “Don’t tell me to calm down,” you seethed. “I’m RIGHT.”

“You’re having a breakdown,” Reiner said, blatant and uncaring. “You’re crying.” 

You touched your finger to your cheek,

Oh. 

So maybe you feel a little bit bad, now, for looking down at Mikasa and Armin for crying. You’re crying to. 

You do have a heart. 

“What do we do now?” Jean asked. “Who are we going to tell?” 

“The captains. The corporals. The captain-corporals,” you listed off as you wiped your eyes. You looked away, turning a shoulder to Reiner. “But I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” 

“Why not?” someone demands.

“What person in their right mind is going to be alright with Eren being a-well, a whatever the hell he is? We should just law low for a while,” you said, using your hands to gesture the laying low. 

For once, Jean looked more angry than confused. “So we’re going to keep it a secret? That’s so awesome, Y/n. We can all just have a little camp right here on the goddamn roof. We can build a fort. There’s enough of us to reproduce for a good two or three generations.” 

“We’ll get in trouble,” you snapped back. 

“Why would we get in trouble?!” Jean shouts. “Eren’s the one who’s a titan!”

Mikasa turned a stark glare onto Jean before he could take the words back. She clutched Eren’s limp body close to her chest. “You’ve never liked Eren,” she scowled. “It’s not a surprise you wouldn’t care what happens to him, even though he’s saved your life a good number of times today.” 

The group fell silent. 

You gnawed on the inside of your cheek as you looked out to the destruction of what was once Trost. 

Knowing what you know about the assholes who call themselves captains, they wouldn’t take a matter like this lightly. You folded your arms over your chest, lightly stretching out your muscles which ached. Your back felt like the hoirizon at times, sitting unnoticed until you see that one gust of sunshine that burns your retinas. 

The pain burned through your hips now, as you roughly massaged your back with your fist. 

“I guess we have to split up,” Mikasa said after some minutes of pure silence. 

You didn’t have to ask what she meant. “I will take responsibility for Eren,” she said. “I’ll speak for him while he cannot.” 

“And me,” Armin interjected. He was determined to stay with his friends. 

“Mikasa” you said carefully. You looked at Mikasa with an eyebrow raised. “We should move.” 

Armin and Mikasa looked to one another; they were so close they could communicate with simple glances and stares. 

The two hoisted each of Eren’s arms over their shoulders, able to carry him like a puppet as they prepared to move. 

You didn’t speak much as you followed the group towards the wall. Eren remained unconscious the entire trip, even though he was soaring high in the sky. The  general plan is that Armin and Mikasa could convince the commanders of what had happened, and that Eren isn’t a threat. Even before that, they’ve got to convince the commanders that their tall tale is true. 

You know what will happen. They didn’t even want to help a group of stranded cadets. They’ll turn on Eren before Mikasa could even blink. 

Not even she can protect Eren from an entire regiment. 

You’d hoped that you would have been able to return to the wall with pride, and explain to Captain Brezenska that you’d succeeded in saving your friends. Maybe you were hoping you could have gotten full credit for that. But rather, it’s Eren who will be getting the attention. 

You’re not jealous. 

At the retreat center, there were soldiers bustling around in an undirected frenzy; people panicked, but they didn’t know exactly what they were supposed to panic for. 

You were lined up with Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie, all of you remaining silent as Armin dutifully explained the entire situation. Mikasa sat with Eren strewn on her lap. 

You listened, and realized that Armin has such a good way with words. You would have believed him if he told you the sky was yellow and cats could fly. 

But his talent was hardly a gift; not  now, at least. It took a little bit of blinking and opening, then closing their gaping mouths for the commanders to realize what they ought to do next. They seemed just as shocked as everyone else. Obviously there’s not protocol for when a human turns into a titan. 

Despite Captain Brezenska’s presence, there was nothing she could when a tall, hawk~like captain with a nose twice as big as it should have been, stared all five of you down. His thin nose had elliptic nostrils that sagged practically to his moustache. 

“You are all to receive immediate medical attention and rest. There will be no talking about this, to anyone. There will be sever punishment if this rumor gets out. We will know who leaked it.” 

You meekly nodded, saluted, and agreed. There wasn’t much else you could do. You were dismissed with Reiner, Jean, and Annie-and how could you forget Bertholdt? As you five had retreated farther away from the group that studied Eren, you could see that a practical pond of sweat was forming on Bertholdt’s brow. 

At the bottom of the wall, on the safe ground, where you were surrounded by your comrades, you doubled over, as if you were about to spew vomit all about, but rather, you laughed, a hysterical sort of sound that made Annie shuffle uncomfortably. 

“Y/n,” Reiner said, again in that doting kind of voice, which you couldn’t really help but dislike. 

“I’m going to get water,” you said through your teeth. “We’d better not say anything, to anyone.” 

“Duh,” Jean sneered under his breath. As tou were walking away, you heard Jean note to the others, “She’s manic. She’s lost it. She’s all covered in blood...what happened to her?” 

You would have told him to get shoved if you were in a better mood; but right now your back ached like utter hell, and your tongue was so spectacularly dry that it felt like a porous stone against the roof of your mouth. 

You took a seat somewhere in the far corner where the perfect sheet of shade had been cast. You sat on a crate, guzzling down the water from the canteen you’d been supplied. 

You could see Reiner and the others lurking around the other cadets they were closer with. Ymir and Krista were apart of that little group. You would have gone to say something, but you simply didn’t have the energy. You’re glad to see the two young women are alive, at least. 

Not only were you too exhausted to meet them, but you were certain that the moment you joined Krista, the entire story would pour out of you. Krista had that strange sense of familiarity which effected everyone. She felt like a natural member of your family, even though you’d only known her a matter of three or so years. You’d without a doubt spill the entire thing, from Fable to the way Mikasa trembled with Eren’s body in her arms. 

You’d heard that Mikasa was Eren’s sister, though through adoption. But Mikasa held him with such a higher regard. She didn’t hold him the way you would have held little Freda. There was something more between those two. 

Perhaps just the way there’s something more than friendship between Ymir and Krista. You can see them across the lot. Ymir lingers over Krista like a guardian angel. It’s clear Ymir cares for Krista, maybe more than Krista cares for Ymir. 

But when it comes to Krista, you know to never assume. 

She’s as complex as she is beautiful. 

You watched your old group sit around, looking ashy and sullen. Ymir and Krista’s figures leaned towards Jean as he spoke. His mouth barely moved when he spoke. 

Something prickled within you. Did he tell? 

He didn’t. You guessed this because Krista set her hand on Ymir’s arm as she looked back you. She touched Ymir so gently, as if she were saying a quick goodbye. She made her way through the little maze of resting cadets, calling your name a few times to catch your attention. 

You took one more guzzle from your canteen as you leaned up against the brick wall. 

“You didn’t come to say hello,” Krista said as she approached you. She sounded a bit saddened by this. 

“I’m sorry,” you said weakly. “I’m just...tired. Glad you’re alive, though.” 

Krista frowned deeply. You regret how sarcastic you sounded just then. 

“What happened out there?” Krista asked you, her voice soft. You would have rather she expressed her anger. It is salt in the wound to know that she’d still be kind to you, even after you were consistently rude. 

You took a deep breath. Your eyes shifted back to the foreground, focusing on Reiner, Jean, and the others. “What did they tell you?” you asked her. 

“Absolutely nothing,” Krista said sorrowfully. “They’re being so ominous. What happened?” 

You groaned. You thought about telling her. “Something spectacular,” you said carefully. 

“Then why all the doom and gloom?” she fretted. 

“It’s spectacular,” you amended, “but not exactly good. It’s not for me to tell.” 

Krista frowned , her blonde brows furrowing. She looked deeply like a little rabbit as she thought long and hard. “Jean said you got a gag order,” she said. 

“Jean’s right. I can’t say.” 

Krista sighed. “I hope that everything will be alright, in the end,” she said. 

You were flabbergasted. How could she be so positive in such a time? You weren’t so much concerned with the ‘end’ as you were with where the hell you were going to sleep tonight? 

The little camp was doing its very best. Makeshift hospital stations dotted every few buildings. Carts that carried the dead and wounded rolled through the streets, past the little resting compounds where soldiers drank and cried and rested. 

“You’re too good for this world, Krista,” you told her as you rested your head back against brick. “Get used to it.” 

You immediately passed out. 

Water rushed over your toes. 

This water stretched out to the vast horizon, right where the sky took a dip and a curve down. This water was cold, yet refreshing. It washed your feet from the dirt and blood that caked your skin, all the way beneath your toenails. 

You walked forward, the crystalline waves splashing so delicately it sounded like chiming bells. Your reflection followed you clearly, flashing with the scarlet blood your bare skin was soaked in. Despite all that blood, all the pain you’d felt, you felt utterly happy here. You waded deeper into the water, the waves splashing to your breasts now. 

There was no sun in the sky. The only light came from deep within the water, which was so clear it gleamed bright white. You dove into the waves fresh water. The taste of fresh water on your tongue was sweet. You swam towards the source of light. It called out your name. It was a deep, baritone voice, but it rang gently, beckoning you. 

In the very deepest grove of the water was a large pit. It was sculpted into thick, dark rock.  

A pair of hands emerged from this pit, reaching out for someone to help them escape. 

You swam forward, closer to those slender, pale hands that waited for someone to rescue him. 

You reach out, your fingertips touching his-

“Wake up,” someone shouted. 

You got jerked up to your feet, by the collars of your button down blouse. You met Ymir’s harsh eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” you demanded. 

“You’ve been sleeping,” she said bitterly. “Time to wake up, princess. Mandatory meeting. Krista didn’t want you to miss it.” 

You were a bit stunned, and disoriented, as Ymir sauntered off to likely find Krista again. One hour of sleep seemed enough to get back to the job. Your back did ache, from the ignorant position you’d slept in slumped up against the brick wall of a building. You cringed as you walked, the pounding pain flying down your back and into your bottom as you struggled to make it to the line up. 

It was a large square of a line up, right before the wall that was being walked upon by Eren, Mikasa, and Armin’s small dots of figures. 

“That’s him,” a voice pipped beside you. Krista had joined tour side, and she pointed upwards to the bald man that was looking down at his domain. “That’s the commander, Pyxis.” 

Pyxis called for an immediate attention. Your head was still fuzzy from the nap. The dream stayed lodged in the back of your mind, replaying like a theatre play over and over. Even as the rescue operation for Trost was explained, you were only half listening. You didn’t know what your peers knew, and what they didn’t. 

Eren being a titan was announced for all to hear. Pyxis vouched for Eren, which alone was enough to convince the regiments to at least be not afraid of him. 

The recovery operation labeled Eren as a research project. Pyxis would play it off like Eren’s being a titan was a secret that all the most important higher ups knew about, including the commanders at the Survey Corps, and the royals at the Interior. 

Connie was the most shocked at the emergence of information. You just kept your mouth shut, trying not to let any reaction show on your face. 

Eren, as a titan, would be lifting a boulder and using it to block off the hole in the wall. It would be your job (the collective ‘your’) to fend him from other titans that tried to get in the way of this being done. 

Not many people believed this. You weren’t entirely positive they would appreciate you trying to vouch for the plan. Perhaps, if you did, you’d be marked as a liar, too. 

“Someone’s asking for you,” Krista said in your ear. 

You wrangled out of the crowd, being drawn to the side of a nameless solider whose hair was bright red. “You’re being requested at the expense of Captain Brezenska.” 

Shocked, you folded your arms over your chest. “May I ask why?” 

“She vouches that you are capable of being apart of the elite squad who defends Eren Jaeger.” 

“We’re all defending Eren Jaeger,” you argued. 

“Some more than others, maybe,” he agreed. “I have nothing else to offer aside from a direct escort to the captain and the commander.” 

You nodded, offering a quick salute before following him like a puppy through the crowd. 

At the top of wall, there was a little congregation of soldiers who gathered around Armin, each of them nodding and listening intently to whatever it was the blond had to say. You joined the group, resting on your knees and hiding a groan as your the muscle in your back stretched out uncomfortably. 

“y/n!” Armin said, looking cheery. It was a strange display of emotion in the middle of what felt like a living Hell. 

“Armin? Where’s the captain with the white hair?” 

“She’s not here,” Armin explained. “I was the one who asked for you.” 

So the captain hadn’t vouched for you. Although Armin did. 

“You could have called for anyone but you called for the paraplegic?” you said. Armin looked bashful, as he looked down to his scroll of Trost. 

“To be fair, the captain backed me up on it,” he added. 

Oh. So the captain did. 

“We’re just reviewing the plan for Eren.” 

“And we decided to let you do that?” you asked. You were frankly puzzled that Armin, a cadet, was being trusted with such a major task. From the looks of it, the other soldiers agreed. 

You regretted opening your mouth at all because Armin turned red all the way to his ears. “They trusted me because I have a long history with Eren,” he said. It was terrible that he didn’t even sound offended. Rather, apologetic that he’d caused you such a problem. 

You would have rather he called you a bitch and told you to mind your own business. “So where does she play into all of this?” someone asked, pointing their finger at you. 

“Y-Well she-” Armin stammered as he looked all over the map, as if trying to fit you in somewhere. “I’d like Y/n to be right beside Eren, but more realistically, she’d be better at the further ranks. Y/n, it would be ideal for you to be on Eren’s backup team. Can you do it?” 

Sweat coated the back of your neck. You nodded. 

If this plan failed, the world might as well be over. 

Wall Sina could not protect humanity, alone. It simply wouldn’t be enough. Armin used a red detailing pencil to fit you into the map, and he looked to you for confirmation. 

“You’re the man with a plan, blondie,” you told him, your words carefree but your tone stone-dead. “Wherever you want me is where I’ll be.” 

After dismissal, you regrouped with Armin and his friends. You greeted Mikasa and Eren awkwardly. 

You couldn’t help but drag your eyes down, unable to look the Jaeger boy in the face. 

He laughed, the sound bitter. “I guess they’re all scared of me, right? I don’t know why, since it’s not even certain I can transform again.” 

Your eyes shot up, growing wide. “Excuse me? Tell me we’re not taking a gamble on you transforming.” 

Mikasa sent you a sharp glare. “Eren will be fine,” she said firmly. 

“Will he?” you asked. “He was half dead when he did it the first time. I don’t want to offend you, but we have to be realistic. If Eren can’t transform again then the entire plan is lost.” 

Mikasa took half a step forward before Eren stopped her. What would she had done if he hadn’t? Could you even take her on in a fight? Her skills were unparalleled, no matter how talented the others thought you were. 

“Y/n’s right,” Eren said in a low voice. 

“I’m sorry,” Armin suddenly cut in. “I’m sorry that you’re being burdened of all this responsibility.” 

You didn’t have the same ideas Armin did. You weren’t concerned with Eren’s “burden” at the moment. It felt like you all had a burden on your shoulders, but when you looked at it objectively, the entire mission relied on Eren. He’s hardly an adult, and he’s only turned for the first time an hour ago. 

“No,” Eren said, shaking his head. He became so gentle with Armin. “I told you before that you have a gift for strategy. I believe in your plan.” 

“Eren,” Mikasa said quietly. She reached to take hold of his sleeve. “I think it would be best if I went with you.” She seemed so confident as she spoke, that normal Mikasa fire burning in her eyes.

“No, dammit,” Eren said firmly. “You’re apart of the decoy team. “

Mikasa looked genuinely saddened. It was like rejecting a puppy’s nudge for cuddles. “I can’t leave you alone,” she said, her voice wounded. Her fire was doused. 

“I’m not your brother,” Eren said, his voice raising slightly. “I’m not your child, either.”

Your eyes met Armin’s. He looked just as uncomfortable as you did. You both seemed to bond over the fact this was a private conversation.

Mikasa really looked like she would burst into tears at any moment. “Okay,” she said softly. She yielded, though it seemed to be against what she considered her better judgement. You looked between the pair before you nodded yourself out. “I will see you out there,” you muttered before walking away. It would be better to just stay out of their personal affairs, especially right now. You only hope that Mikasa won’t let her feelings cloud her mind out on the field. The last thing you need is her being too distracted to save you from the grasp of a titan. You joined the line up, standing straight as Captain Bresenzka looked you over. 

“So you succeeded, cadet,” she said, her narrow eyes glinting behind her lenses. “All of your friends made it. Is that thanks to you?” 

“No, ma’am,” you said. “Armin Arlert deserves more credit for that. He devised the plan that rescued everyone.” 

She quirked her brow before nodding.

“Alright, everyone,” one of the captains boomed, his voice demanding your attention. “I don’t care what they say about Eren. I don’t care if he really is a human weapon, or not. All I want is that hole sealed. We’re counting on you all to make this work.” 

The large group took off into a run down the wall’s path. You looked out over the horizon that was a crisp gold. It showered light over the titans that clamored over the town. 

As the group closed in on the boulder that was picked for the mission, you noticed that the titans grew more and more sparse. The decoy team on the other half of the town must have been working. Your lungs burned as you saw Eren make a jarring leap off the edge of the wall, his mate Mikasa following a split second after. 

Captain Bresenzka pulled a flare pistol from your belt and fired a signal into the air, the green fumes smelling like smoke in your nose. 

You had one opportunity to catch your breath as the Elites on the squad awaited Eren’s transformation. You didn’t know what to be watching out for. You’d never seen a titan transformation up close. 

But moments later, a familiar zing filled the air, followed by a violent strike of lightening so bright it was unnatural. The taste of the electricity filled the air as Eren’s titan stood up tall and released a war mongering cry. He looked more human than any titan did. Rather, he had a body of correct proportion. Titans are either thin as ice, their skin clinging onto their ribcages grossly, or their bellies are round and wide, filled with their choice of prey. 

But Eren was neither of those. He was muscular, tall, and his hair even had a graceful sort of way of blowing in the wind around his jade eyes. 

You followed the Elites to the rooftops to linger close behind. You watched with anticipation. No amount of humans would be able to lift that boulder, but for Eren in this form, it would probably be like lifting a bale of hay over his head. 

He lingered close for a moment. You frowned, half expecting him to struggle for a few minutes. 

Then, he spun around and took a winding punch at one of the buildings Mikasa rested on. And it wasn’t enough for him to miss. His eyes followed her as she darted up, like a lizard on a wall, and he struck again. 

“We failed,” Captain Bresenzka swore as she jostled around for her tin of flares. “We never should have pinned our hopes to something we don’t fully understand.” 

The red smoke fired into the sky as you scaled a chimney. You called out Mikasa’s name. She was gripping Eren by the hair, her feet pushed firmly onto his large teeth for support. “Get out of there!” you shouted to her.

She split a second before Eren lunged-at you.

His body seemed to be falling over you, as if he was trying to take the entire house down. You slipped off the chimney, a piece of brick shredding deep into your leg as you did so, and you narrowly escaped. 

Mikasa pulled you to safety, helping you stand as one of Captain Dietriech swore loudly. “So the kid’s been a regular titan this entire time?!” he exclaimed. 

You looked at Mikasa deeply in the eyes as she held you up. Your chest heaved as you tried to catch your breath. “What happened?” you wheezed. 

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. Her voice is filled with regret. 

“We need to leave,” someone else exclaimed. “We’ve got a 12 meter bastard coming on us. The kid’s out of the play.”

“He’s right,” Captain Bresenzka agreed. “We should withdrawal immediately. We’ll have to leave Eren as he is.” 

Mikasa became vicious upon hearing the words. You could feel her desperation as clearly as you could feel her thin hands gripping your sleeves. 

“How could you say that?” Mikasa hissed. Her teeth ground together on their edges, and you had to wrench your arms out of her iron like grip. Captain Dietreich even seemed to shiver under Mikasa’s gaze. 

“We did the best we could,” Mitabi urged Dietreich. “It was a bust. We’ve got to accept that it isn’t going to work!”

Mikasa took a flourishing step, her arm already swinging to catch velocity so she could push Mitabi to his end.

“Enough, Ackerman,” Dietreich eased her. 

You looked back to Eren. He said up against the boulder, shoulders and head slumped down as if he were contemplating his entire life. Maybe he was. 

“Change of plans,” Dietreich said gruffly. “Defend Jaeger until he recovers.” 

Bresenzka made a floundering stumble towards the captain, her eyes wide behind her glasses. “Are you out of your mind?” she cried. “We-”

“We,” Ian said firmly, “are replicable. Eren is not. He’s the last chance we have to make things work. His gift is a remarkable one, even if he can’t utilize it right now. It’s our duty to do so.”

“He’s a failure,” Bresenzka bemoaned. “He got soldiers killed. Good soldiers, soldiers I’ve known since my days as a cadet. Look at him! He’s punched his own hands off. You want to get more of us killed, just so you can save that?” 

The captain had a point. Eren had lunged at Mikasa, and he’d lunged at you, and he’d been so violent that his hands broke off. He was smoking from where the bones in his wrist had splintered. 

“That’s correct,” Ian bit back. He was holding back spasms of anger as he clenched his fists by his side. “I expect you to do the same. Hell, I’m making a judgement call. That boy’s power is all we have. You know it. So unless you’ve got a better plan, keep your mouth shut!”

Bresenzka’s chin dimpled as her jaw clenched hard enough to break her teeth. “If by better plan, you mean a way to get rid of these titans, than no. I don’t know. Obviously.” 

“And that,” Ian said, “is exactly why we’re not retreating.”

The staggering silence that followed was deafening. You could practically hear the thoughts churning in the captain’s mind as she visibly mulled her friend’s words over. 

“...Fine.” 

“Fine?” Ian repeated. 

“Yes,” the captain said sharply, “fine. It’s not as if I want to disagree with you. Don’t you think that I also want to avenge my lost friends? I also want to live in a world of peace. I would like to have just one fight that doesn’t end in our attrition.” 

She used a shaking hand to brush her light bangs from her face. “If this is what my orders are, then I will follow them.” 

Bresenzka leapt away to take care of the 12 meter, while Mitabi cracked his fingers and neck. “I guess we’ve got this,” he said to Dietreich before rushing towards the other titans that were approaching. 

Mikasa cleared her throat to capture Deitreich’s attention. “Thank you,” she said. “That was brave, standing up to them the way you did.”

Dietreich could hardly make a joke out of it as he passed Mikasa’s words off. “It wasn’t bravery. I was speaking the truth. Fact of the matter is,” he said as he cast a look towards Mikasa, “I was afraid of the mess you might have gotten yourself into. But you’re free to go, now. Make use of your natural skills, the both of you.” He addressed you, now, and you were shocked to hear it. “You’re both on this Elite squad for a reason.”

He looked at Mikasa next, a strange sort of smile on his mouth. “Now, go. Protect the man you love.” 

Mikasa’s pale face became red as her scarf, which she tugged at to hide behind. “It’s not like that with Eren,” she was stammering; but Ian already left. 

You looked at Mikasa with careful regard, half afraid to say the wrong thing. “Well, it’s not!” Mikasa exclaimed again. You couldn’t help but find it amusing-she’d never been the ‘normal’ type of girl. She had never shown any sort of emotion before. But now, even during the chaos of the day, she was blushing like crazy, all because her crush on Eren was finally acknowledged. 

“At least you have someone to love,” you pointed out. You hadn’t considered it before, but it must be nice to be in love. 

Especially to have someone be in love with you. 

That thought weighed particularly heavy on your mind as your gear zipped while you tore through the sky. Not many titans were drawn to the sight of Eren, or even the sight of you twirling around the air. The decoys must have been doing an excellent job on the other side of the district. 

What would happen? What would they do, especially now that the red flare has signaled Eren’s failure? 

Your blades steamed with the blood of three small titans whom you had killed consecutively. Your lungs burned as you latched your gears onto the side of a taller church and rested your head against the rough stone. 

With a wheeze, you looked out to the sun once more. It would have to be low noon by now. There is still several hours till nightfall, but you can’t help worrying that you won’t survive to see your bed. 

There came a crash and puff of debris in the air each time a titan went down. The sounds were reassuring enough, but you still couldn’t catch a break. It started to seem that when you killed two titans, four more would appear. The numbers were slowly increasing. Had they become bored by the display of prey they could not catch? The decoys must have slowly lost priority, as they burned more energy trying to catch what would just be a light snack. 

You hear your name being cried out, and before you can look around, you feel the large fingers of a titan pick you up by the hair. You screamed and thrashed, your blades cutting into his palms enough for you to slip out of his grip. 

“Y/n!” someone shouted again as you scrambled to the rooftop Mikasa was watching Eren from. 

You bit your tongue, trying not to cry as you palmed the crown of your head. Sticky blood stained your hand, and you could feel it slipping down your neck. “It’d be great if Eren woke up, now,” you said with a taut voice. 

Mikasa did look after Eren’s large form, slumped against the boulder that had once been a beacon of hope. You noticed the splintered ends of his arms had not yet formed hands. “I thought he would regenerate,” you told her as smeared your blood onto your pants. 

“I thought so, too,” Mikasa said coolly. “I thought...well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. There are more and more titans drawing in.” 

“I noticed,” you groaned. “They must be getting sick of the decoys.” 

Mikasa pointed her blade out, towards the gate where four 10 meter titans were stumbling in like drunkards. “Two and two?”

“Why not?” you grumbled. 

Mikasa’s running steps were in complete unison with yours, and together, you both leapt off the roof and tore through the wind. It stung your eyes as you navigated to the titans. 

You don’t want to be angry with her, or with Eren, or even with Armin. You’re angry at something, or someone. Someone had to get Eren to snap out of it. You don’t care who. You’d go over yourself to cut him out and slap some sense into him if Mikasa would let you, but she’d likely kill you before you got the blade mounted in his nape. 

You took out your two titans with ease. As you wiped sweat from your brow, you could see that more and more were trampling the distract grounds. It felt so close to being done. 

Yes, you’ve felt that way several times in the past few hours, but right now, it feels real. It’s a suffocating feeling of dread that passed over you, leaving you to burst into a fit of trailing tears. Your life would end today. It would, right? It wasn’t Eren’s fault, it wasn’t a matter of ‘fault.’ It is a matter of the world being the way it is. 

You thought of the dream you’d had not but forty minutes ago, of the slender hands stretching towards you from the water’s floor. 

The rumbling and the crash caught your attention. Half of you expected to look up and see the wall crumbling to pieces. But your eyes beheld a most beautiful sight. Eren Jaeger’s muscular titan body cradled the boulder on his shoulder. 

His steps boomed across the district and as they did you couldn’t help but scream and jump with joy. You cupped your hands around your mouth and yelled as strongly as you could, “Go, Eren!” 

You’d marry that boy. That’s how happy you are at the moment. You zoomed into the air, seized by the sudden confidence that life would be great; that you’d die an old woman surrounded by friends and family and content with the world you were leaving. You conquered every titan you came across, their corpses toddling to the ground like babies walking down the stairs for the first time. 

For such a large figure, Eren moved awfully slow. You wheezed for air as you followed after the titans that Mitabi’s team was distracting. The floundering humans must have been like mice to a cat sine the titans turned a blind eye to Eren. He moved to goddamn slow. You silently urged for Eren to burst into a quick sprint. For a titan it would take no more than ten seconds to jog across the lot and block the wall off. But Eren was already feeling weak anyways. That’s all you can assume since he’d been out of order. 

His body steamed as he shook across the way. You flocked to the outer rim of the formation that focused on distracting the titans. A smaller, flightier abnormal crawled down the roads like a lizard up a wall. You flew into the air, surfing the windstream and landing uneasily on the titan’s back. He didn’t stop like you’d expected to. You staked a blade into the titan’s shoulder to steady yourself as he galloped straight for Eren. Your arms burned as you crawled up the way to his nape. You held onto the handle of your blade as you stood. For a moment it felt like freedom in its most euphoric form. You rode the titan as it raced to Eren and at the cusp of him leaping into Eren’s path, you sliced a large chunk out of his nape. The titan shuddered beneath your feet, and you clutched onto the rough strands of hair to keep from flying off the corpse and into a building. 

You rolled to the ground with a cough as dust kicked up into your face. 

You stumbled out of the burning cloud of steam, coughing into your elbow as you looked around. You saw Eren just reaching the gape in the wall. With a roar that made you clutch your ears, Eren doubled over and set the boulder straight into the wall. The wall rumbled as stone grated against stone, pieces of dust flying up around Eren’s face. 

Your sank to your knees, clutching your back that screamed out in pain. You were grateful. Grateful to be alive, even if the stabbing feeling in your back made you want to die. Grateful for the people that had given their lives for this mission. 

You limped towards Eren’s kneeling figure. “Mikasa!” You called as you clutched your back. “We’ve got to get back.” 

The green smoke had been shot out as a sign that the mission was successful.  But as much as you’d wished it was over...

Captain Bresenzka alerted you as she jogged straight to your side. “The reinforcements will be on their way, but there are still titans that haven’t cleared out of the city.”

“She won’t leave without Eren,” you told the captain. You ran unevenly down the walkway of loose wood, falling in line with Mikasa. “Armin...?” you asked her through a gasp. 

“He arrived to help with Eren,” Mikasa told you. She cupped her hands around her mouth as she called to the blond. “How is he?!”

“H-He’s passed out,” Armin called back, sounding breathless as he struggled to cut Eren free from his second form. “He’s also scorching hot.” 

Captain Bresenzka followed you and Mikasa to sit on the hunched back of Eren’s second body. You were in awe at the sight. His limbs were engulfed in the inflamed tendons of his other self. It felt twice as hot by the open nape than it did in the sauna. 

Armin tried to tug Eren from the fusion, and the sound was like a thick rubber band being stretched to the max. “He’s fused to the carcass!” Armin exclaimed. 

“We could cut fifty centimeters past where his hands should be,” you said, running your hands down the steaming muscle and trying to feel for Eren’s limbs. 

“There’s not time to be so safe,” the captain said stonily. “We cut him out now.” 

“Wait!” Mikasa exclaimed frantically. “We don’t know what that could do! What if he heals wrong?” 

But the captain didn’t listen. “Move over,” you said to Armin, taking your arms around Eren to pull him back and make the muscle as taut as possible.  The captain sliced through the stringy mass while Mikasa closed her eyes, beads of tears slipping into her long eyelashes. You could tell she cared deeply for Eren. 

Perhaps she did love him. 

You couldn’t imagine withstanding the sight of the man you loved in such a state. 

Captain Brezenska sliced too quickly before you could push Eren down to his side. You tumbled down the carcass’s back with Eren’s limp body falling on top of you. 

Your skin burned as you were wedged between Eren’s feverish body and the hard ground. Tears formed in your eyes as you felt a sharp stone puncture the skin of your back and molest that goddamned spot that bothered you daily. 

You wriggled beneath the young man. “Wake up, Jaeger,” you said firmly. 

Your eyes went wide as they caught sight of the anomolies that covered all the sunshine the setting sun was casting. 

“Wake up, Eren!” you screamed. 

Two large titans beamed down at you. 

You shook Eren as hard as you could, screaming for help from someone, anyone. 

That dream flashed before your eyes. Those pale hands were reaching for you out of love; they were going to drag you down to the pits of hell. You’d mistaken their beautiful nimbleness, their delicacy, for kindness. 

Just when you thought everything would end, a large splash of blood splat from the two titans, promptly dropping dead.

You dropped your head back against the stone, sobbing in relief. 

Eren stirred in your arms, sitting up so that you were both supporting each other’s weight. “We’re saved,” you rasped in Eren’s ear. “It was Mikasa,” you said as you watched her kneel on her kill. 

It was not Mikasa. Mikasa had leapt from the shoulder of Eren’s titan, kneeling beside you and Eren. She scooped him into her arms, quietly thanking you. But thanking you for what? 

“Who is that?” Mikasa asked as she hastily brushed Eren’s hair from his sweaty forehead. 

You looked up to see your savior, whose figure blocked out the setting sun. The forest green cloak did not wield solemn red roses, or even the gaudy blades that announced the cadets. 

The figure gracefully navigated down to the ground. 

You were in shock when you saw the face of the person that had saved you. He was starkly beautiful, his face all sculpted, fine edges, and his eyes steely grey. But they were narrow, glaring at all three of you cadets as he sheathed his steaming blades. “This is the part where someone tells me what’s going on,” he said sternly. 

You stammered for the words to answer the man as you staggered to your feet. 

“Y/n!” Mikasa shouted. 

She rushed to your side, Eren miraculously forgotten, and placed a warm hand over your back. “You’re bleeding,” you told her, feeling her fingers smear warm, sticky blood into your back. 

“That’s you,” Mikasa said. 

You strained to look back at your wound. A large stain of blood certainly did cover your shirt. The rock. You recalled that puncture you’d felt when Eren fell on top of you, but it hadn’t felt that bad. 

“It’s nothing,” you brushed it off, attempting to salute to the new man. 

The earth seemed to tumble beneath your feet. You slipped on nothing and fell to the ground, becoming a crumpled heap of blood and sweat at Mikasa’s feet. 

The strange man knelt above you, his intimidating eyes peering deep into yours. “She’s already half gone,” he said plainly. 

“I’m not,” you argued, your voice raspy.

The man turned you to your side. He pulled your shirt up to catch sight of your wound. “She needs immediate medical attention,” he said before he pushed you to lay flat. 

“Bad day, lieutenant?” he said, gripping you by the hand tightly to keep you awake. 

“’M not a lieutenant,” you rasped, wrenching your hand away. “I’m a cadet.” 

“Color me shocked,” the man said, looking mildly surprised. “Hey shit heads,” he said, looking after someone else. “Get someone!” 

“Who should we get?” Armin’s voice replied at a vague distance. 

“Fucking hell,” the man said. He looked down at you with a pinched expression of frustration. “I’m sure death feels like a better option than working with those idiots,” he told you. “But you’re not going.” 

“I’m not going to die,” you told him. “I’m not...”

“Hey!” He shook your shoulders hard, your head rattling about. “Get your eyes open, that’s an order,” he demanded. 

“I’m not dying,” you scowled. “I’m just slipping,” you said. “I’m slipping in the water. I think that it’s you.” 

“Who’s me?” he asked. 

“I think you’re the man from my dreams,” you told him before finally closing your eyes. 

[sweet-evie]

I really felt annoyed on that kallen and lelouch scene where kallen landed on top of him in a sense where both has something to go back after the battle i mean lelouch was asking her to go back with him, I just felt where would c.c. be after the battle, will she be forgotten after it? Will it be like okay c.c. your job here is done you may go and we will go back to our own ordinary lives, will lelouch just let her go if she decided to go....lol and the list go on, (this is me speaking beyond shipping and as a c.c. enthusiast) and if i didn't know that the director is pushing c.c. and lelouch to each other i will forever hate the series cuz c.c. deserves the best (i mean its very obvious with the official arts and scenes and i remember reading something about it before) (can we also assume that c.c. got jealous on that part too lol what would happen if c.c. didn't speak about tabasco will they kiss? lol) I also really have a love hate feeling w/ kallen, she is really a good pilot and i kinda ship him sometimes with suzaku, sometimes not because i love him with euphie, but really that tension whenever they are together fighting or not Idk if its their strong and badass character but they really look good and compatible with each other but then I really love her with Gino the most lol i mean if i find kallen and suzaku compatible then i find kallen and gino most compatible hahaha Its just that kallen can show that she can be weak/soft can be tired or can breakdown (and not the always strong her) with gino. (I hope you can understand this part) I love it when gino picked her up after her battle with suzaku. How I wished gino appeared more in the series, was introduce early and they had scenes more together. I sometimes dislike her cuz she is over reacting in a lot of times like she is just too much and almost in par with nina's reaction most of the times haha (i kinda dislike/hate kxl scenes in a sense too that its one sided like its mostly k and l shows no interest but sometimes it look like there is a mutual feeling between both of them(i mostly felt its one sided shen watching the movie especially the resurrection) (What can you say about their scenes?, when he put jacket to her while she was wearing bunny girl costume, the refrain scene, when she fell on top of him, when she was captured, their kiss? etc.) BUT if you look at c.c. and lelouch relationship and scenes together its just too consistent lol i just love it how lelouch always assured and pursued her from that rooftop scene after battling with Mao, if she is a witch then he'll became a warlock, when he discovered and promised her about fulfilling her true wish, when she asked him if he hated her for giving him the power of geass and about to do something if kallen did not interrupt and bonus: that resurrection scene when he decided to become L.L. (I LOVE WRITING THIS PART OF ASSURANCE AND PURSUING ABT CLUCLU, MY FAVORITE XD, pls add some if i forgot something) i also kinda agreed to that statement except c.c. part lol going around that Shirley -> Lelouch Lamperouge, Kallen -> Zero and C.C. -> Lelouch Vi Britania but doesn't C.C. knows all lelouch's persona and had been supportive and stayed with him from the very start and in whatever path he chose? 😂 I hate it that people come at c.c.'s age and that she witness lelouch grow up like, is her immortality her fault? Like people are okay for male characters of 123456790 age falling for main girls in dramas or some animes for example but not okay if its c.c. lol SORRY THIS POST IS SO LONG it was supposed to be focus only on the first part about THAT scene 🙏

Whoa~ You’re not lying, this is one hell of an ask 🤣😂😅 I read 4 topics in this xD:

Lelouch, Kallen, C.C. scene

Kallen ships (Suzaku or Gino)

Kallen x Lelouch vs C.C. x Lelouch

C.C. & Lelouch's Age-gap

Let’s go in!

Lelouch, Kallen, & C.C. Scene

(can we also assume that c.c. got jealous on that part too lol what would happen if c.c. didn't speak about tabasco will they kiss? lol)

Maybe, but who knows, to be honest. xD The whole interaction was very impulsive, considering the fact that Lelouch was still fresh off of bouncing back from his depression, which Kallen had witnessed and was at the brunt end of.

When Kallen fell on top of Lelouch, I do believe both of them were thinking about that one moment where Lelouch tried to use Kallen to forget his current circumstances. Perhaps part of Kallen wanted it, but knew it wasn’t right. So I adore her for bitch-slapping him. xD The idiot deserved it.

C.C. was just there... I’m not sure if she was jealous or not. Maybe she didn’t give a fuck xD Before I could form my own conclusions, the entire scene is interrupted again because Zero gets called out into the control room.

Kallen Ships (Suzaku vs Gino)

I agree with most of your points in this part.

Personally, in my own fics, I ship Kallen with Gino a lot because for me, Suzaku belongs with Euphemia by default.

But, I do see the chemistry and the sexual tension that could go between Suzaku and Kallen. Like maybe their fights are really just unresolved sexual tension 😂🤣

I imagine a romance between them would be very explosive, passionate, and rough. I don’t just mean this in terms of sex, I imagine their entire dynamic would swing this way too. They’re really opinionated, and they both literally fight for what they believe in, and their conviction is strong enough to rival each other’s. 

Suzaku and Kallen just clash magnificently. On the other hand, Gino’s and Kallen’s personalities probably combine. They have things in common, but not too much to the point of being passionate and aggressive at the same time.

KaLulu vs CLuCLu

What can you say about their scenes?, when he put jacket to her while she was wearing bunny girl costume, the refrain scene, when she fell on top of him, when she was captured, their kiss? etc.

In that scene where he put his jacket on her, I think that’s gentlemanly of Lelouch. It’s something I expect from him considering he was born a prince, and also, he has a little sister. On a sidenote, I adore both him and Suzaku for being respectful towards the women in their circle, for the most part. 

That refrain scene was a moment of grief for Lelouch and he was being erratic. I said it once or twice, I’ll say it again. I am so happy Kallen bitch-slapped him. It shows that she’s not willing to put up with bullshit, and believes that Lelouch is definitely better than that. Kudos to her, she may have slapped him to his senses. For Kallen, it was a moment of, “Please be who we need you to be.”

It was a brilliant turning point for Lelouch as well. After Nunnally was given the role of Viceroy, Lelouch, at least, realized that his war and his rebellion against Britannia wasn’t just for his sister anymore. It was for everyone he cared about too. It was for the people who counted on Zero’s idea of freedom and perhaps peace.

In summary, I made my stance clear on KaLulu on a separate post long ago. But the gist was, they may have felt romantic feelings for each other, but it was probably brief and suppressed in favor of their grander goals and all that shit that was already going down. Romance just wasn’t appropriate for Lelouch or any of the characters who had something at stake in the war.

In the end, Kallen chose Japan, and Lelouch chose Zero Requiem. That is that. 😊

BUT if you look at c.c. and lelouch relationship and scenes together its just too consistent

Lelouch & C.C.’s relationship is a slow-burn from the get-go. It’s part of the reason why it’s so appealing to me.

Let’s be honest, Lelouch doesn’t even view C.C. as human until halfway to R1, and C.C. took almost all of 2 seasons to acknowledge the fact that she cared about Lelouch.

i also kinda agreed to that statement except c.c. part lol going around that Shirley -> Lelouch Lamperouge, Kallen -> Zero and C.C. -> Lelouch Vi Britania 

I understand why a lot of people like this argument. I, for one, believe there’s a grain of truth in it. 

BUT in my own honest opinion, I think that is a little unfair to Kallen and Shirley. I’m sure Lelouch cared about the two of them in unique ways and perhaps chose to hide behind masks around them to protect them and to preserve his own façade. Hell, he lied to his own sister for most of the entire show because he thought it would protect her and would shield her from the horrors of the world. (It didn’t turn out well, did it? 🤣) Still, my point is, Shirley and Kallen would have been willing to understand and know Lelouch’s every mask. Lelouch himself, just didn’t let them. And it was for their own good, I believe.

So why C.C.?

If there’s anyone in the world who can understand people’s multiple points of view, it would probably be C.C... She lived through most of mankind’s history, and she’s been alive long enough to take multiple perspectives in, meet different types of people, and see lots of ridiculous shit xD Lelouch slowly becomes aware of this fact as the series progresses, and we do see him have deep conversations with her from time to time. She’s capable of being objective. She knocks some sense into him a lot, especially during the beginning. One notable example of this that I will never forget is the episode after Lelouch realized Shirley’s father died because of his actions. It showed how immature Lelouch was being and how idealistic -- thinking war only took out the bad guys in his side of the story. Point is, she knows when to chastise him and when to offer her consolation, which is part of the reason why Lelouch would pick her as accomplice anyway.

but doesn't C.C. knows all lelouch's persona and had been supportive and stayed with him from the very start and in whatever path he chose?\

C.C. does know him. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say ‘supportive’, nonetheless wholly supportive.

C.C. had her self-serving reasons, just like Lelouch. C.C. was looking forward to the moment Lelouch could acquire enough power and take her Code from her, so she could die. That’s why she saved his ass a lot in R1 and perhaps at the very beginning of R2. Her wishes and her intentions morph very slowly, and at one point, perhaps even blended together -- half still wanted to die, the other half was slowly empathizing and caring for Lelouch.

But yes, none can deny that she stayed with him from start to finish.

C.C. could have left after Charles & Marianne died, and I don’t think Lelouch would have blamed her if she did -- considering it was obvious that he couldn’t fulfill his end of the contract anymore. But she stayed. She stayed and helped, and kept her promise to stay with him to the very end.

Lelouch & C.C.’s Age Gap

I hate it that people come at c.c.'s age and that she witness lelouch grow up like, is her immortality her fault? Like people are okay for male characters of 123456790 age falling for main girls in dramas or some animes for example but not okay if its c.c. lol

Lelouch & C.C.’s bizarre age-gap is literally not any different from an age-old vampire or any other immortal falling in-love with a human.

I can certainly point out plenty of stories that half this same massive age-gap, and its fans still love it. 

[officialleotolstoy]

Oh Dolokhov/Hélène Brainrot We’re Really In It Now, aka Dolokhov/Hélène playlist annotations!

I stole several songs from a playlist my friends have and I’m not gonna put those on this list, I won’t pretend I came up with those

The ship playlists (since they aren’t for canon couples) are very much based on my headcanons. We don’t get to see them interact literally ever so I’ve just extrapolated what I can. Several of these songs are at least alluding to sex, I don’t really think they actually slept together for various reasons I can enumerate if someone asks, but it’s more about the vibes of the song.

Casual Affair - Panic! At The Disco

It’s literally in the title. Bestie how much more explanation do you need? I don’t even like this song but it’s got the right energy

Those Nights - Bastille

“Aren’t we all just looking for a little bit of hope these days? Looking for somebody you can wake up with?”

Being drawn to each other because of mutual loneliness is a Thing in my interpretation of their relationship, and this hits the nail on the head.

But It’s Better If You Do - Panic! At The Disco

“Praying for love and paying in naïveté”

Again, mutual loneliness and desperation for anything resembling love. Also the “isn’t this exactly where you like me” bit fits because they won’t admit to liking each other outside of their weird intimate moments.

Hurricane - Panic! At The Disco

“Drop our anchors in a storm”

The circumstances of their lives arent super fun at the moment so they find refuge in each other but in a very weird kind of unhealthy way! “We are a hurricane” sort of alludes to knowing that you’re causing problems/your relationship isn’t great.

Almost (Sweet Music) - Hozier

“I’m almost me again, she’s almost you”

It’s about not really being In Love but kind of convincing yourself you are because it makes you feel better in the circumstances. I don’t think either of them were fully into their relationship for various reasons. Not as in they didn’t want the other, more that they were both too aware it would never work for long.

Hall & Oates - Satchmode

“I want to be in love again, with you”

This one’s about wanting the idea of love and companionship more than you actually like the other person, which I feel like kind of fits. This song is framed as one person in love with the other and one hesitating, but i think this works for both of them to hesitate.

Feel Something - Jaymes Young

“Touch me, someone, I’m too young to feel so numb”

The I have tried like six times and I can’t word why I think this song works. I don’t even like it, I skip it every time, but I think it’s got something to do with loneliness and desperation for love driving them to look for it in places they wouldn’t normally? Who knows. Send me an ask if u do.

Another Place - Bastille

“Don’t make promises to me that you’re gonna break”

They could never actually be together for SO many reasons and I think they’re both pretty aware of that. They have no desire to pretend that their relationship is anything other than what it is (“we only ever wanted one thing from this”).

When You Were Young - The Killers

“You sit there in your heartache, waiting on some beautiful boy to save you”

I do not think Hélène expected Dolokhkov to save her from anything except maybe monotony and loneliness, but this song slaps and if I can stretch the lyrics to work, I will

broken - lovelytheband

“I could be lonely with you”

Almost every song on here (including this one) is just. We’re messed up and I know we won’t really find love in each other but we might find solace for a while and be less lonely so uhhhhh wanna kiss me or what

Bleed Magic - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

“You stand up, stand up, before I drag you down”

They are NOT good for each other! Toxic relationships uwu

Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood

I believe in bi4bi Hélène/Dolokhov

Enemy Fire - Bea Miller

“Sweet words from a serpent’s tongue”

This song is kinda complicated and parts of it don’t fit but the energy of “everything sucks including you but at least we can hide from the suckiness together” is sorta there. Originally I just added it for the soldier vibes because I was testing out songs but I realized i can fit some of the lyrics so on the playlist it goes

Angel of the Small Death and the Codeine Scene - Hozier

“Her sweetened breath and her tongue so mean”

They are horrible and cold to each other as a love language. This song is essentially just “Wow my evil scary gf is so hot” and you’re right Fyodor. She is.

Shut Up and Dance - WALK THE MOON

I won’t lie this one’s mostly a joke, I just think the vibes of telling someone to shut up as (maybe because) you’re falling in love with them is Dolokhov/Hélène energy. Ignore all the parts about wanting to be with her forever and her being his destiny that is not why I added it.

Lone Ranger - Rachel Platten

“I’m just gonna leave, ‘cause baby I’m a lone ranger”

I do not think Dolokhov was intending to stay with her forever at all. Very rude of him. However, she probably also knew it wouldn’t last forever, she’s not stupid.

House of Memories - Panic! At The Disco

“Promise me a place in your house of memories”

This is very much post-duel, their relationship has fizzled out but it was pretty important (do I mean emotionally or to the plot? I’ll never tell) and deserves to be remembered.

American Beauty/American Psycho - Fall Out Boy

“I’m the best worst thing that hasn’t happened to you yet”

SO MANY of these lyrics are so good for them like. Hélène’s beautiful Dolokhov’s a psycho... “you take the full truth and you pour some out” can you imagine them being open and honest with each other? Yeah, me neither. “We were pity sex” They were just sad and lonely! That was what allowed anything to happen at all in my head (not sex but bear with me it’s not my fault those are the lyrics). “All those dirty thoughts of me, they were never yours to keep” because Hélène is married to someone else, they really have no right to think of each other that way.

Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne

“He wasn’t good enough for her”

UNIRONICALLY THIS SONG. Hélène’s complaints about Dolokhov staying with them are just the quoted lyric. “They had a problem with his baggy clothes” yeah Dolokhov’s not as rich and bougie and the rest of them and he’s certainly rough around the edges. And then the skater boy ending with a successful music career vs Dolokhov ending with a successful military career and a great reputation and both the women in the songs having sad endings...I’m not wrong.

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet - Fall Out Boy

“Does your husband know the way that the sunshine gleams from your wedding band?”

The affair vibes. The AFFAIR VIBES. And the concept of “I will never end up like him [the husband]/ behind my back I already am” in reference to using Hélène and deciding he hates her right after deciding she’s hot...okay! I see you kinning Pierre, Dolokhov. You ARE being just like her husband :/

You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi

“Shot through the heart and you’re to blame”

This is just Dolokhov’s massive I Hate Women monologue condensed. Stop blaming beautiful women for YOUR attraction to them maybe 🔫

Death Valley - Fall Out Boy

“Don’t take love off the table yet”

This is not a table sex joke this is not a table sex joke this is not a table sex joke this is n-

I didnt add it for that reason it was about a vibe but then. I realized. Now the original reason doesn’t even matter.

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner - Fall Out Boy

“I’ll be your best kept secret and your biggest mistake”

Tell me the quoted lyric does not SCREAM Hélène/Dolokhov. You can’t. Also “I’ll weigh you down I’ll watch you choke/You look so good in blue” really captures hatred as a love language.

This is Love - Air Traffic Controller

Ok I stole this from my friends’ playlist but I did want to explain it because it’s not JUST Dolokhov and Hélène in my mind. The whole jealous fool second verse gives me Pierre around the duel energy as well

Bad Boy - Cascada

“Be my weekend lover but don’t be my friend”

Bernie Sanders voice I am once again asking you to hear me out about the unironic meme songs on my War and Peace character playlists. It’s got the refusal to admit that she actually likes hanging out with him down. The line “after some time you just pushed me aside” referring to Dolokhov teasing Pierre about their affair because he got bored. “I dont need you in my life again”...YEAH I’m fairly sure they dont interact in canon again after that.

Hayloft - Mother Mother

“My daddy’s got a gun”

This song started playing on accident once when I was listening to this playlist and I was like huh. It fits though. The gun thing is twofold: 1) Though he is not her father, Pierre does have a gun in the duel and 2) I think Vassily would happily shoot Dolokhov for his relationships with Vassily’s kids. It’s also just the general forbidden love vibes mixed with the violence vibes.

affection - BETWEEN FRIENDS

“I’m looking for affection in all the wrong places and we’ll keep falling on each other to fill the empty spaces”

Have I been clear enough about my thesis that their relationship is based in mutual loneliness? Also, I like the acknowledgment that this is in fact the wrong place. I think they’re both very aware of that.

Walk Away - Franz Ferdinand

“Yes I’m cold but not as cold as you are”

This song is for them post-duel. Especially the “I cannot stand to see those eyes as apologies may rise/I must be strong, stay an unbeliever” because 1) I hear the word eyes, I think of Dolokhov and 2) I think she’s too smart to believe any apology he would give her, she knows he doesn’t really mean it. The song kinda reads as someone trying to convince themselves they’re happy that the relationship is over, which I think is definitely what happens for both of them.

Van Horn - Saint Motel

“Tell me do you hate me? Or do you wanna date me?”

Obsessed with the dynamic of “I like you but that’s embarrassing for both of us I’m gonna act like I hate you instead”

[curedeity]

And the River Continues to Flow

Summary: Quattro and Rio are now tied together by a single incident, one that weighs upon them both. But they’ll have to interact at some point, so it may as well be sooner rather than later.

    The hospital smelled sharply of antiseptic and cleaning alcohol, he could almost taste it on his tongue. Like a tangy citrus. White walls were occasionally broken up with windows that looked down at the sprawling city. Quattro could almost convince himself he was looking out for the view alone.

    It was times like this he wished that his family had vanished after the Heartland Tournament, but that was unrealistic. And selfish. Quinton and Kite had a good partnership going, and Quattro couldn’t begrudge his brother for wanting that support. He had only realized how rare and downtrodden Trey’s smiles were after he began hanging out with Yuma’s crew. It was a good thing that his brothers had decided to remain in Heartland and help with the fight against the Barians.

    But it led to moments that Quattro wished, more than anything, he could avoid.

    The old, burned skin that stretched across his hands itched as he ran through his apology. He hadn’t written it down, he wasn’t a nerd like Trey. I’m sorry for being a fucking idiot and playing that card, felt too blasé, and I never meant to harm you, couldn’t capture the swirl of emotions that had been tormenting him back then.

    But it’s not like he had any more time for practice, he was in the hospital already, and he wasn’t just going to skulk around while all the nurses side-eyed him. Quattro knew he dressed oddly, but it was getting a bit rude.

    He stopped in front of a door, checking the room number against the one on his phone. Then again, and a third time just to be certain. Maybe they had left already? It was nice outside, Quattro could imagine them going for a walk.

    Shut up and knock already you coward.

    And so Quattro did.

    Inside he a rustling, and a muffled murmur of voices. After a second, a high-pitched voice that broke in the middle called out, “Come in!”

    The door knob twisted open easily, and the door swung inwards. Quattro’s eyes locked with Rio’s and there was no going back now, no matter how much he wanted to run out of this hospital, this city.

    Shark sat on a chair beside Rio’s bed, glaring at him as he stumbled into the room. Rio, clad in white hospital robes that covered the burns he knew were there, was seated on her bed, flashing him a tiny smile that twitched every few moments.

    Quattro stuffed his hands into his pockets and stood there at the foot of the bed, and for a minute they just looked at each other. He wondered if she saw some maniacal monster, cackling as he turned a life to cinders, or if she saw just the scars he’d been left with too.

    He cleared his throat, hoping that it would encourage someone to speak. That someone would have to be him, of course, he was the one who’d barged into their space. “Hey,” he greeted, and hoped he hid his immediate cringe.

    “Yo,” Rio responded faintly, and even gave him a little wave. Just a little twitch of the hand back and forth. The hospital robe slid down her arm as she lifted it, and revealed old burned skin. 

    Rio immediately drew her hand back, like she was just as embarrassed as he was. Quattro had to swallow the urge to laugh, to break the tension, because he was pretty sure Shark would punch him if he did so. And Quattro wasn’t one to take a punch without returning the gesture, and the hospital really wouldn’t like a fight.

    “Uh…” Quattro rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around to see if there was a chair he could sit down at. There wasn’t, he didn’t even know why he wanted it, there was no way he was staying along here for longer than it took to say his piece, not like either of them would want him to. “I just, I guess, I came here to-”

    Rio cut off his babbling, her hands curling into fists around her bedsheets, and she blurted out. “Battle me!”

    Quattro had never thought he could slip while standing still, but he almost did at that moment. Words jumbled and fragmented in his head as he tried to make sense of this new information.

    What the fuck?

    “You wanna battle me?” Quattro checked, and was glad he had actually responded with a coherent sentence.

    Rio nodded her head, up and down, bobbing frantically, Her eyes remained fixed on him, darting over his form and cataloguing him. “Yeah, we never finished our last duel, and I can’t let it end like that! I’m a duelist, so I’ve gotta grind you into dust!” To emphasize that, she slapped a fist into her palm. 

    Quattro could remember every move made in their last duel, he could remember how they’d blocked and countered each other, neither able to pull ahead. Until Quattro had drawn the card. Until Quattro had made one of the worst decisions in his life.

    And wasn’t it crazy that nearly burning a girl alive didn’t top his “worst moments” list? No, that’s where torturing Hart was.

    Quattro couldn’t say he had never wondered how the duel would end, but most of that was fantasy of what would’ve happened to him if he hadn’t played that card. Would he have been welcome back home still? Would Fa--Vetrix have been more reasonable?

He had never thought Rio would also want to finish their duel.

So, he pulled out his deck, and on the countertop they played.

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

    Rio had been discharged from the hospital, finally! It had gotten really boring, sitting around in those blank rooms looking at blank things and waiting for blank doctors to do their thing.

    She had bugged Reginald into tutoring her so she could catch up with her schoolwork. Out of the duo, she had always been the most academic, so Reginald’s help wasn’t the best, but at least it meant she had reviewed some content!

    She was already enrolled in Reginald’s school, so she would be starting there next week! She had to complete the necessary science review ahead of time, but she should have enough time to finish the twenty page packet.

    Rio was not going to fall behind, not going to let her coma even pause her ascent. Rio had not worked that hard to become an A student and a tournament duelist to let it all go to waste because she had decided to take a year long nap. 

    There were very few of her possessions in the hospital room, not that she had much to begin with. There was her deck, and a new booster pack Reginald had gifted her. There were clothes that she hadn’t had a chance to wear. There was the journal, one of a pair she and Reginald had brought. 

    It shouldn’t have been that much to take over to their new home, Heartland Tower. Rio didn’t know many of the details, only that after some sort of disaster her brother had been involved with, Heartland Tower had opened itself up as a group home. Reginald had been scoping it out for the both of them, and had decided they should move in there. Given he was the older sibling, Rio had to go along with what he said. Not that she had any better ideas.

    It shouldn’t have been that much luggage is the point, but given Rio still wasn’t allowed to do harsh physical exercise, Reginald would be unable to carry everything in one trip. Normally, this would mean they’d just make multiple, but apparently Reginald had decided to actually be social for the first time in his life, and help had been conscripted for them.

    Now, if only that help wasn’t the person Rio still didn’t know how to feel about. Her hands shook as Quattro walked past her and picked up one of the boxes holding her clothes. Contrary to the way she had stared at him the last time they had met, trying to show confidence, this time she could barely lock eyes with him.

    What was wrong with her?

    Reginald glanced at her, seeming to know her inner turmoil. That was just like her brother, able to pick up on all her tells. Or maybe she was just that obvious, maybe Quattro was laughing at her obvious fear in his mind.

    No, Rio was not afraid. This was just a regular boy, nothing to fear from him. She had even dueled him to prove it to herself! She had won! Rio was strong and she could take care of herself and there was nothing to fear from this guy who certainly wouldn’t set this entire place on fire again-

    Quattro had brought his younger brother with him this time. Trey, as he’d introduced himself, was the polar opposite of Quattro, all kind smiles and questions after her wellbeing.

    Rio wanted the trip to be over already, but it would take at least half an hour for them to walk to the tower, so might as well make the most of it. She would show Quattro that she certainly wasn’t afraid of him, and in fact she should be wary of her, because she was no easy victim! She’d fuck him up!

    “So, do either of you play video games?” Rio asked, twirling around so that she could look at them as they walked. 

    What was she even doing, VIDEO GAMES?

    “Yeah! Hart really likes some so he’s been teaching us to play,” Trey replied cheerfully, Quattro only grunting in agreement.

    “What sort of video games?” Rio asked as she tried to remember who Hart was. Reginald had mentioned a few names while he’d been summarizing his last year to her, but she couldn’t remember anyone named Hart.

    Reginald wasn’t always the best at giving overviews though, especially with how much he had talked about this guy called Yuma.

    “Like, Animal Crossing and stuff,” Quattro responded this time, with a shrug that must’ve been hard with the box he was carrying.

    Rio held back a laugh as she imagined Quattro as an animal crossing character. That spiky hair and cross demeanor, he’d really fit into the happy pastel world of Animal Crossing. She was expecting like, racing games. Fighting tournaments. Not…

    It was just so surreal.

    “Rio used to have an island in Animal Crossing named Butthole,” Reginald broke Rio out of her trance of mystified hilarity. Before his words had even processed in her head she had already punched him in the arm. She knew that tone.

    “And you named yours Centerville, at least I did something interesting,” Rio argued back. “And I was like, 6.” She turned back to the brothers. “I don’t really play that anymore, I’m more into fighting games.”

    Quattro cocked an eyebrow. “Do you beat him at them a lot?” he asked, jerking his shoulder at Reginald.

    Rio gave in a shark-toothed smile, responding “Of course!” as Reginald vehemently denied everything in the background.

    They reached the Tower and put down all the boxes. Rio glanced around the room that would be her new home, and began mapping out where she’d put everything.

    And before Quattro and Trey left, she exchanged numbers with them. She was not going to be afraid of Quattro, she was going to show herself there was nothing to fear. And that meant she was going to show him how to play fighting games then kick his ass.

[littlemisssquiggles]

I just realized: RWBY were put in a similar position as Ozpin in the last three episodes of Volume 7. Their lie that was told (seemingly) out of necessity came back to bite them at the worst possible time, they were given no chance to defend their decision or explain themselves before they were attacked. And at the end of it all, they were given no choice but to retreat.

Hey Miki-chan! Apologies for the late response; fam. You’re right. Team RWBY did technically wind up in the same position as Oz.

…Hoooooooooweverrrrr…..here’s the thing with that for this squiggly squiggle meister right here. This is probably just me but…despite them ending up in the same scenario as Oz, is it odd that I’m not as sympathetic towards our heroes right than I was (and still am) with Ozpin?

Even now, I’m still willing to stand up in defence of Oz for his actions prior to V6 since, as I’ve voiced time and time again, I feel like Oz’s motive for his secrets and half-truths were justified. I was able to understand where Oz (and by extension his predecessors) were coming from especially when I consider the whole picture that’s beyond the fact that he didn’t mention Salem’s immortality despite informing his most trusted about everything else (i.e. the existence of the Four Maidens, the Relics, the Brother Gods and the Day of Judgement, etc.).

However I can’t extend the same olive branch to JNR_RWBY because unlike Oz, I don’t feel like their immediate distrust in Ironwood was warranted at all. Since V6, I’ve found our heroes’ actions to be rather questionable and I didn’t like the weird angle that the CRWBY Writers took where I felt like the PLOT was constantly “taking care” of our heroes even when their actions were clearly in the wrong.

Just as how I didn’t like how our heroes were allowed to get away scotch free with their heinous actions for the most part. I was hoping that by the time they got to Atlas Kingdom, they would’ve been accosted for their crimes in Argus---a feat that was teased at the start of the season after the Ace Ops arrested them for illegally entering the kingdom via stolen airship as one would’ve expected to happen.

But this moment was short-lived because right after being arrested, our heroes were immediately allowed to go free by Ironwood. Not only that but Ironwood appeared to be more amused by our heroes’ attempts at thievery as means of getting to Atlas…in spite of his so-called “paranoia” and “fears” according to what Pietro told the group after they first met.

Even the consequence of having Ironwood turning his back on them as punishment for their actions was short-lived since right after that very episode, our heroes managed to once again evade their “due comeuppance” by having Team RWBY defeat and totally mop the floor with the Ace Ops in a duel that I still have mixed feelings about since I actually wanted and expected Team RWBY to lose that battle.

To have Team RWBY feel the consequence of losing Ironwood as an ally as a result of their own actions only to have them “get away with it” again in the form of defeating the Ace Ops

For me, I was hoping that Team RWBY would’ve easily been apprehended by the Ace Ops---y’know have Marrow instantly use his semblance to freeze them in place long enough for Vine to use his semblance to pin down all four girls while all Harriet and Elm would’ve had to do was slap the gravity cuffs on them without the need for any needless battle. Imagine having Team RWBY be easily made powerless with only the guilt that they brought themselves to their own demise riding on their chests. To me, this would’ve made Pietro and Maria’s interventions feel all the more momentous in some way.

I guess what I’m mainly trying to get at here is that I just wanted a moment where Team RWBY could’ve all been able to look back and reflect on how wrong they’ve been this entire time. My beef right now with the way how things are going is that our heroes have more or less grown somewhat arrogant in their own actions---they believe that what they’re doing is always the right thing even when it clearly isn’t.

It bothered me so much how Ruby just reacted to Ironwood turning on Mantle alone without even considering that she more or less contributed to this outcome. It bothered me during V7 and it still bothers me now.

It still bothers me how JNR_RWBY all went forward with the “hive-mind” decision to lie and withhold important information from Ironwood despite Pietro’s prior warnings regarding his current mental state and paranoia over being betrayed by “one of his own” in the Fall of Beacon. Not only that but it bothers me how they still chose to be deceitful after everything that happened between them and Oz.

They did the exact same thing as Oz and what irks me is that the narrative tries to make it seem as if Team RWBY were still in the right for their distrust towards Ironwood when in the reality, they’re NOT.

If there is one thing I’d like for V8 is for someone outside of our hero team to knock them all off their high horses and pull them up for the trouble they basically planted everyone in.

It’s for this reason why I’m still banking on our heroes taking refuge with the Happy Huntresses in their hidden hideout. I have a strong feeling that this might happen especially since Robyn was last seen assisting Qrow before the two birdies were captured.

It would be great to spend some more time with the remaining Happy Huntresses---May, Johanna and Fiona. Not to mention it would be interesting to see how well their personalities clash with certain members of our hero team especially after what went down in Ironwood’s office. It wouldn’t surprise me if certain Happy Huntresses---like May and Johanna perhaps---may be reluctant to working with JNR_RWBY after what happened to Robyn. They might even blame them for her imprisonment. It’s at this point where I’m expecting Fiona to help be the glue that holds everyone together. Who knows? Maybe she and Ruby might get along…unless the sheep ends up eating the rose; referencing the term from the Little Prince story.

Either way, I want to see the Happy Huntresses interact with Team RWBY mainly because I’m hoping that they would be the ones to finally pull them up for their actions. With Oz, not only did he have to suffer through a moment of all his skeletons being revealed but he also had to deal with the shame, guilt and pain of having those who once placed their trust in him turn their backs on him all at once.

Personally, I wish the Writers had gone a different route. Like instead of having our heroes mimic the same actions as Oz; imagine if…our heroes had told Ironwood the truth about Salem from the beginning but still wound up in the same predicament where they are forced to flee after Ironwood had turned their backs on them and Mantle; revealing that no matter which path they took, it still ended in the same results. Therefore there was no easy road to take---the only difference is that Oz’s method allowed for things to be prolonged for a little longer while our heroes’ method sparked things a lot faster? Y’know what I mean?

I dunno. For me, the way the canon story handled things wound up painting our heroes more as hypocrites; at least from my perspective.

They made such a big hullaballoo over Oz not disclosing the whole truth to them last season only for them to turn around and commit the same actions as him in the face of Ironwood. So when Oz did it, he’s labelled as the one at fault but when Team RWBY does it, they still get to be portrayed as our “noble and just” heroes? What?!

What bothered me about Team RWBY is that even after seeing what their deceit led to with Ironwood; they all seemed to still act as if Ironwood is the only one at fault with little regard for the fact that it was their actions that unintentionally brought Ironwood to this breaking point of his.

The only reason our heroes are currently labelled as traitors in Ironwood’s eyes is because they all committed actions that showed them betraying the trust that Ironwood extended to them. And what’s worse is that they had no right or reason to distrust Ironwood in the first place.  

I’m sorry but it bothers me so much how the show seems to be validating JNR_ RWBY’s wrongful actions particularly in these last two seasons. At least with Oz, there was a tinge of remorse for all that he had to do to prevent everyone from losing hope in spite of what appears to be a fight for a desperate cause. But JNR_RWBY? I don’t feel remorse from them. Only arrogance and its bothersome to watch.

As an audience member, I’m supposed to root for our hero characters to win every fight since they represent the side of justice. I’m not supposed to be hoping that the heroes would lose big time just so they could FINALLY be roundhouse-kicked off their high horses and have some sense be knocked back into them since their recent motives have been problematic.

In spite of all that’s happened, I personally don’t think that Team JNR_RWBY have really felt the same level of consequence as Oz did. Even with Ironwood turning on them, they still had allies to back them up such as Maria and Pietro and Penny too.

Where’s my moment of someone yelling at JNR_ RWBY, telling them off that what they did wasn’t okay? Where’s my moment of JNR_RWBY finally realizing the huge wrong in what they’d done? Where’s my moment of them realizing that they REALLY F***ED up?

Who knows? Perhaps the alleged “death” of a certain lost soul might provide the catalyst to spark this type of moment for me.

Either way, I’m still waiting on that and until I see it or something remotely close to it, that’s pretty much how I feel about everything. I’m sorry if my opinion sounds negative or overly- critical. I’m not trying to be and it’s cool if you disagree or feeling differently about it. But this is generally how I feel on this subject, fam.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)  

[hopelessromanticspoonie]

The Flour Follies (one shot)

Characters: Loki x Reader

Genre: Pure, unadulterated fluff

Rating: PG-13, some kissing and a bit of innuendo

Summary: When you are left behind from the latest Avengers mission, you turn to cooking to ease your anxieties, but the God of Mischief can’t help but get in the way.

A/N: This is for @babylevines​ 4k writing challenge! Congrats on so many followers! My prompt was: “You can’t be mean, because I cook the food… and I could technically poison you.”

“Ow! God that hurt!”

It was oddly quiet in the Compound, despite your cursing. The majority of the team had left on a mission, leaving you and Loki behind. Untested and untrusted, both of you. You weren’t ‘ready’ for it yet, and Loki hadn’t fully proven himself to be trustworthy in perilous situations. He probably never would, even though he had been living here for almost a year without incident. Well, serious incident. 

One can’t fault the God of Mischief for pulling a few harmless pranks - although his definition of harmless and that of everyone else may differ slightly. The time that he switched out the dummy training weapons for real ones hadn’t caused any harm, but that was only because Nat had seen the glint of sharpened steel just before she embedded it in Sam’s side.

You absolutely hated it when they left you behind. You’d only been part of the team for a few months, but you were still itching to go out and help your coworkers - and let’s be honest, friends - take on the big bad guys. Staying behind just made you anxious. It wasn’t productive to just sit around and wait for them to return, turning over more and more gruesome scenarios in your mind for the myriad of ways that they could get injured.

One thing that always worked to keep your mind and body busy was cooking. It was hard to consider gruesome ends to the lives of your friends when you had to keep the exact steps or measurements of a recipe at the forefront of your thoughts. Plus, everybody liked to come home from a long day of work to delicious food waiting for them, and it was a small thrill to have actual Superheroes compliment your cooking. So, while they sped away to fight crime or save the world or something else equally heroic, you toiled in the kitchen, intent on vanquishing their hunger as effectively as they did their enemies.

Well, judging by your cursing, it was a little less effective.

You pulled your fingertip into your mouth, giving the slow cooker a glare for having the gall to burn you. With your free hand, you, carefully, layered in the roast you had purchased, along with plenty of potatoes and carrots around and on top of it.

“You summoned me?” A velvety voice that you knew all too well called from behind you.

Pulling your finger from your mouth, you rolled your eyes and poured the broth that had been waiting beside the slow cooker inside of it. “You are not the only god, Loki.”

“But I’m the only one that matters.” You could practically hear the arrogant smirk that accompanied the words.

“What are you doing?” he asked, silently coming up beside you, peering at your work. He wouldn’t see much, as you’d already put on the lid and that had fogged up considerably, but he could still pretend that he was looking at something.

“Making food, smart one,” you explained bluntly, rolling your eyes.

Suddenly two arms clasped the counter on either side of you, boxing you in. You turned around and crossed your arms over your chest, an impressive feat considering how close he was to you.

“You know better than to insult me, mortal,” he rumbled, voice deep as he glared down at you.

“Oh shove off, Loki. I gotta make cookies.” You uncrossed your arms to push on his chest lightly, knowing that putting any force behind the gesture was useless. Super strength was not one of your abilities, so the only way to get him to back off was of his own volition.

He did his best to look menacing, but the predatory gleam in his eyes was lessened by the uptick of the corners of his lips. “We are all alone on this floor. I could do whatever I wished with you and no one would be any wiser. Your powers are no match for mine.”

“Whatever you wished with me?” You winked, shimmying your shoulders in an overdramatic seductive manner. 

With the quirk of your brow, you accepted his unspoken challenge and ducked underneath his arms faster than he could move them to compensate. You darted to the fridge before turning to stick your tongue at him. He was fast, but you were faster. “You were saying?”

He stalked toward you, head tilted forward and emerald eyes watching you from beneath sooty lashes, but you slipped behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. Were you being threatening? I’ll stand still.”

Loki’s hand reached out to snag your wrist as he whipped around, firm enough to hold you to the spot but not enough to bruise. “You are playing with fire, Y/N.”

You just smiled innocently up at him. In all the time you’ve spent here and interacted with Loki, he had made countless threats against you. It wasn’t a new vocation for him. But he had never acted upon any of them, and you firmly believed that he never would. No matter how much you pushed his buttons. And, oh, his buttons were fun to push. 

“Oh, I thought I was playing with a god. My mistake.” Not your best line, but it earned you the tightening of the skin around his eyes nonetheless.

“Do not disrespect me. You will regret it,” he threatened, towering over you, his nose inches away from yours as he tried to use your significant height difference to his advantage.

You didn’t cower, instead choosing to puff out your chest and return his sinister expression. “You can’t be mean, because I cook the food… and I could technically poison you.”

He tilted his head to the side, an arrogant smirk spreading across his pale, elegant features as he released you. “Your Midgardian poisons would do nothing to me.”

You went to the fridge and pulled out butter and eggs, setting them carefully on the nearest counter. You felt his eyes on you as you went to grab the flour from the pantry, and with your back to him, you quickly dipped your hand into the bag to grab a small handful of the fine powder. “Wanna find out?”

He hissed your name in warning and you just knew that he was coming up behind you. So predictable. When his long fingers clasped over your hip and flipped you around to face him, you didn’t resist the movement and used the momentum to take your handful of flour and slap it onto the smooth, soft material of his black button-down shirt.

His face contorted in shock, his jaw dropping and eyes wide. You burst out into laughter. It was too rich to see the pretentious god covered in flour, his typical black wardrobe highlighting the mess too perfectly.

“Oops!”

An impish smile tugged on his lips, and his eyes flicked behind you. Before you could consider the possible reasons for the mischief glinting in his gaze, the entire bag of flour was dumped onto your head, thanks to his magic. You sputtered in his satisfied face. After a stunned moment, the absurdity of the two of you standing there covered in flour bubbled up from within you and you gave in to it, laughing boisterously. Head thrown back, mouth wide open, eyes closed, and absolutely covered in flour you were sure that you looked like some wild thing, but you didn’t care. 

“Serves you right, wicked woman,” he teased, circling his arms around your waist, pulling you firmly against his chest.

You ruffled your hands through your hair, sending flour flying over the both of you. Flour dusted both of you more thoroughly for your efforts. It clung to his sharp jawline and lightened his dark eyebrows and hair. The effect was almost ghostly when partnered with the lightness of his skin. But the warmth in his eyes still sent your heart skittering as he gazed down at you as your laughter died down. That look, of pure happiness and adoration, was for you alone.

It was difficult to manage when he was so adorably disheveled - he’d have a fit if he knew you thought that about him - but you looked up to him with a false look of frustration on your face. You knew he didn’t buy it, you couldn’t stop the smile that parted your white-powdered lips as you rested your hands on his chest, but it was still fun to pretend. “Now how am I supposed to make cookies?”

He dipped his head to capture your lips in his, tasting of flour and coffee, his soft lips working against yours with practiced motions that you had perfected over the last few weeks. His fingers rubbed against your back pleasantly, making sure to send warm tingles through you and steal your breath away.

Having enthusiastically silenced you, he pulled away and smiled at your dazed expression as his nose nudged yours. “Forget about the cookies, pet.”

His insistence reminded you of your own mission, and you actually pouted. Somehow still able to focus on your task despite the handsome man gazing down at you, you thumped your hands against his chest lightly. Small white puffs of flour scattered into the air with each light hit. “But I promised Sam I’d make him my famous chocolate chip cookies. They’re irresistible.”

His hands tugged on your hips until they met his, and he brushed his lips along the soft skin of your neck. “I can think of another thing that’s irresistible.”

“You’re incorrigible,” you murmured, pushing against his chest lightly. “But I really need to get these made, so if you could unhand me…”

He relented with a heavy sigh, dropping his head to your shoulder. “Love.”

“Order more flour for delivery, and then we’ll talk,” you haggled, running your floured hands through his black hair, making an absolute mess of it.

A pleased hum vibrated out from his chest, and he lifted his head to press a kiss to your forehead, pulling away with a frown from the bitter taste of the raw flour on your skin. “You bargain with me?”

“Yup,” you replied, your lips popping the last syllable loudly between the two of you. You slipped out of his hold to gather the rest of the ingredients that you could find, leaving a cloud of flour in your wake.

When you finally stopped moving about, stationed in front of the stand mixer with the ingredients laid out before you, you turned your head to watch Loki over your shoulder with a quirked brow and a small smile on your lips.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., order more flour for the accursed cookies,” he commanded, staring at you as if you were a glass of water and he was stranded in the desert.

Your laughter echoed throughout the empty room as he lifted you over his shoulder and carried you away from the disaster of a kitchen.

“I believe that a shower is in order. Wouldn’t want to have errant flour falling into the recipe and ruin the whole batch of irresistible cookies.”

[astrogone]

❝ @ mutuals, send me a 🍓 and I’ll compliment you! ❞     /     pt. 4

🍓 @glrchmp: Zacharie, you and your blog are absolutely? Phenomenal?! I honestly have not got into the playthrough of Shield / Sword yet while I do not have Switch, but of course, Leon has my heart instantly, and seeing someone so so passionate of him makes me very delighted. I absolutely adore what you have thought of him and written with him so far, and I always highly look forward to read and learn more about your Leon. It was such a wonderful moment going through your blog and seeing how would you portray Leon. Everything about him is so well thought and detailed, it is just incredible. To be honest, even if I haven’t got into the game yet, I already had a thought that Nintendo could not ever do Leon justice like how you would portray him. I hope you have at least some pride in your work because, seriously, what you touch turns into a wonderful art, and I am so grateful that I had stumbled across your blog. Anyone should, actually. You are a gem as you are a lovely person to have on my dash. I do hope we can interact more soon and have you shove me into more of the Pokéworld ( because I will admit, I’m not too hot with the lores and whatnot, and I’d love to get Deep with it, if ya get me there ) but if you are busy or anything, I’m more than okay to wait. Give you the time and space you need. For now, just seeing you on my dash makes me happy— as long as you are content, I am too. <3

🍓 @mtchstck​: Alex, first of all [makes over 100 fire / hot puns such as how your blog is hot, your writing is spicy—]. Second of all, my goodness, please know that you and Livvy are out of the world, like we truly do not deserve you two. Your developments, writings, graphics, artworks— everything that you would come up with are incredible, and just... The time and effort you would put in these delightful creations... There is so much passion in your work and I just do not know how you would come up with any of these stuff. Livvy is such an interesting and fun character to learn about, and you probably get this a lot, but I do want to tell you how much I love that you write her with life in her. In a roleplay forum I was in for most of my roleplay life, I had seen so many young muses around her age being written with these traits that were just slapped onto them or given them a tragic background for the sake of it with bare to no developments and meaningful thoughts behind them. Yet with Livvy, everything about her feels natural because you care, and it just makes me so happy to see that there are people out there like you who would hold a lot care for their muse’s characterizations. You are just so talented in everything you do and I highly admire you. Honestly, what a spark of delight and inspiration you are to have on my dash. <3

🍓 @arsonbeast: MJ, we haven’t done much together yet, but, my gosh, you! Are so cool! Honestly. I still remember our conversation during around the Fourth of July and recalling about it makes me think that you’re such a very fun and hilarious person to interact with ( and I would love to interact with you more but I’m so Fucking Slow, but... you know ). I don’t know how to explain it, but I can really sense your energy from your texts alone and I get so delighted whenever I see your posts on here / text messages. You just have a really chill vibe that makes me feel comfortable, which says a lot with me having anxiety, welp, but... Just know that you have my heart and soul. Also, I highly adore your writings with MJ— the way you would word your sentences, MJ’s dialogues, etcetera, it really captures the personality of him and it’s so much fun and exciting to read them! And his faceclaim? Epic choice, my dude, I love that a lot. I can not truly wait to see more work with him, and once I finally fucking figure out who to write / plot with him, it’ll be Over for you, so you better watch out for my dumb ass coming at your way with that, lmfao... You’re awesome as Hell, dude. <3

🍓 @fatedriven​: Neo, at the moment, we are just silently supporting each other from our tiny corners ( I am too slow and often chaotically losing my energy to reach out but! I will! Get to you soon, I Swear ), but I do want you know that I am! So so! EXCITED to interact with you more! And I ADORE all of your muses and everything in your blogs dearly MUCH! I swear, everything about your blog and creations and so forth are downright gorgeous. Stepping into your blogs for the first time was like having my eyes blessed with the sacred lights, no kidding at all!... Your muses are so unique and different from each other, it takes my breath away to see how much passion you have for all of them. Also seeing your writings? Truly poetic, oh my gosh. Your blogs are just so so delightful to go through. I love your ideas, your portrayals, and everything, like. You’re already one of my inspirations as seeing your work makes me feel motivated to work and develop on my creations, so thank you for taking the time and effort in sharing your creations on this Hellsite. They are truly amazing and I just can not wait to see more from you, as well as, again, interacting with you more. <3

🍓 @destructiveglitch​​: Myers, where to even start... I do not ever believe words would be enough, but as it is what I can offer, please, despite anything and what anyone would say to you, try to remember that whatever you create, your creations will always bring light to this universe! Every edges and corners and the insides of your creations from your muses to artworks and headcanons and writings and so forth? So well done. So so good to get into anytime, any day. And seeing your art improvement with the “silence, bottom” artworks? Incredible. It truly does show much you had improved from years of creating, and while you may experience feeling negative about your creations, I do want to give you a gentle reminder that this world is truly blessed to even look at your work. Just... the passion and dedication you have in your creations make me feel beyond delighted, and I love whatever you would post on my dash, even it’s just a silly thought. If you ever end up writing a novel or make a comic or whatever, you better let me know and I will pay to even read about it. Your creativity is too good for us. I am beyond grateful to have stumbled across your blog. You are just so sweet and fun and cool to have around, and I can not wait to make more fun memories with you. <3

🍓 @forcefuried​: Tian, you are extremely delightful to interact with and have on my dash and Discord. Just. Every time I would see your post or text message, I get so giddy and hope you are doing okay. You deserve all of the goods out there. You hold nothing but kindness and even when we have recently interacted, you make me feel at home already, and it’s... a rare thing when I have anxiety, so, I just love how open and honest and sweet you are to not just me but others as well. I have said this before, but i will not hesitate to say this once more that I am beyond grateful that you decided to check up my blog and gave me a follow because, otherwise, I would probably not get to see the absolute beauty you have in your blog. The passion in everything you create is amazing and with every thoughts, headcanons, writings, and such that you would come up with? Always a breathtaking moment. There is so much details and dedication in everything, and how you would take the time to research and pour your soul out is so admiring. You are the reason I should get into the rest of the old S.tar W.ars films as I had watched only one of the old ones, honestly, lmfao, but yeah, you are so sweet and creative, and, gosh, this world just can not get enough of you. <3 🍓 @gloryshound: Nee, wow, honestly, what did I do to deserve you? While we are starting to interact more, I must say that I truly am in love with your writings. The details, the wordings, everything about them are so great. It just catches my emotions, make me feel and think for these muses, and it really amazes me to see how you would give each muse their own voice in your writings, and I personally believe it is not that easy to do that, especially when you have a lot of muses to write at once. I find it so interesting just reading what are the themes / main focuses each of your muse have, and it makes me think how determined and willing you are in exploring more of these themes / main focuses with their respective muses, and I think that’s really neat. I love when people actually take a step back to see the potentials in the characters and use them to make more of they are given from the media. It shows that they care, and I do love when people take the time and effort in placing so many thoughts and developments in a character. You are one of those people and I hope you know that your creations are highly inspiring to many people, including myself. I am so happy that we got to meet and I highly look forward to interact with you and all of your lovely muses more. It is gonna be so amazing! <3

[cyoza]

trust

Hello, hello 

I’ve done a short little something that’s combined the @dickkorysource prompt for this month of ‘trust’ and Valentines day. I wanted to do something a little ~smuttier~ but idk man i couldn’t get into it but I still wanna do like a smutty fic with them soon so I may when I have more time

anyhoo, thanks and I hope you enjoy! 

- 

Kory had never felt relief like she did when she shut and locked the door of her apartment. She let out an exhausted sigh as she slipped off her heeled boots, feeling more comfort in the silence of the atmosphere than she did of the action itself. She normally loved wearing heels, revelling in the power that came from towering over most people, but running backwards and forwards behind a busy bar in them exhausted her in a way that she wasn’t used to. 

Despite acknowledging and celebrating Valentines day for the last 3 years, it was the first time she ever had to work the day. She did have time to enjoy it, having a beautiful brunch with Dick followed by a movie but by 5pm she was in the loud, sweaty abyss that was McNiel’s.

Undeniably, working in a bar wasn’t always fun but it usually had more positive interactions than it negative ones. Apparently, however, Valentines day came with a could of crippling loneliness and sadness that caused people to act out of the character and it had her knackered like never before. 

But that didn’t matter at that moment. She didn’t have to, nor did she want to, think about her awful shift. Now all she wanted to do was curl up in the firm, soothing arms of her boyfriend. So she made her way to the bedroom, dropping her jacket and jeans in the basket just inside the bathroom along the way. 

She had barely turned the handle of the bedroom door before she heard a yelp followed by the swoosh of the kitchen door opening behind her but her eyes were enclosed by darkness before she could register what was happening. It was the earthy, unreplicable scent coupled with the familiar voice that calmed her spike in heart rate. 

‘Kory! What are you doing home?’ Dick’s voice was high and breathless, she had obviously unwittingly caught him off guard. But she didn’t know why considering he was the one who surprised her. At 2am in the morning, she expected him to be asleep already. 

‘Um..I live here?’  she reminded him sarcastically. ‘What are you doing up?’ 

He paused but she heard him sigh as he contemplated what to say, his fingers still clasped tight enough around her eyes that she couldn’t see. 

‘You’re a little earlier than intended but I guess I’ll have to show you.’ he muttered, half to himself and half to her. 

‘What? Dick what’s going on? Why -�� Kory was cut off by the slap of Dick’s calloused hand across her mouth, quieting her from asking anymore questions. His other hand moved to cover both of her eyes so she was still kept in the dark.

‘Just - I’m sorry. I expected you to be home later.’ he told her. ‘Just stay here and keep your eyes closed, okay? I’m just going to do the finishing touches’ 

He didn’t wait for a response before he slipped his hands from her eyes and mouth and moved into the bedroom. She kept her eyes closed as he slinked away, too taken aback to do anything else.

Even with her heart pumping forcefully in her chest, she didn’t open her eyes and kept still in the hallway between her kitchen and bedroom. Thankfully it wasn’t long before she heard the bedroom door open again and Dick’s hands returned to her eyes. 

‘Ready?’ he asked her, his voice still slightly winded. 

‘I guess so, yeah.’ she responded. 

He didn’t say anything further but started leading her through the open door of her bedroom. She heard the door shut behind her then suddenly his hands dropped from her eyes so she could see again the sight before her took her breath away. 

Dick had strung up various star shaped fairy lights around the room which gave it a soft yellow glow. Also dotted around the room were bouquets of red tulips which had quickly become her favourite flower after he’d given them to her once, relaying to her the fact that the meaning behind them were ‘true undying love.’ Ever since then, they had become a significant part of their relationship. 

‘Dick..this is..’ She whispered, at a loss for words. 

‘I know it’s late and you’re probably exhausted but I didn’t want the day to pass without doing something a little more special.’ He explained, standing beside her and taking her hand. ‘It’s not very much but -‘ 

‘I love it.’ She reassured him, forcing her eyes from the room to face him. ‘I love you. Thank you, this is amazing.’

She captured his lips in a passion filled kiss, hoping it would translate her gratification. He automatically wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him and kissing her back with just as much energy before he broke the kiss and stepped back. 

‘There’s more. Hold on.’ 

He moved away from her and made his way across the room to the bedside table, which she noticed for the first time had champagne sitting atop it. This piqued her interest. Sure it was a special day, but did it really warrant champagne? And knowing Dick he would’ve only got the best. But he caught her attention yet again before she could think more about it.  

‘I know we already did stuff together today but I wanted to do this whilst it was just us two and Rachel and Gar will be home tomorrow so I won’t really get a chance then. You know what they’re like when they’re home and then Connor and Donna will wanna drop by to see them and it’ll just be -’ She interrupted him and stopped his rambling. 

‘Dick, stop. What are you talking about?’ 

Her heart picked up speed; his rambling meant he was nervous but why was he nervous? He retrieved something from the bedside table and made his way back to stand in front of her, face looking slightly ashen but still he continued talking. 

‘I’m sorry I had this all planned out and I knew what I wanted to say but now you’re here and in front of me and it’s all gone out of my head.’ 

Now Kory’s heart was galloping in her chest, her anxiety through the roof. But she kept her cool and tried to calm him. 

‘Dick, hey, whatever it is. It’ll be okay. Just tell me.’ She grasped his face in her hands and rubbed her thumb across his cheek in a soothing motion. 

She watched as Dick nodded and took a deep breath before he dropped to one knee. Suddenly it dawned on her what was happening. Her head swam with shock as her hands dropped from his face and her vision grew cloudy. Was she breathing? Did she even know how to anymore? 

‘Kory, the past 3 years have been amazing. When we met in that rolling rink, I had no idea that we’d be here. As beautiful as I thought you were, I don’t think anyone’s ever annoyed me as quickly and as much as you did that day.’ He admitted, prompting a tearful laugh from Kory. 

‘It didn’t take me long to see how kind, how powerful, extraordinary you are. And I was a goner, I didn’t know it then but I was. You leave a trail of light no matter where you go and leave people in awe no matter who it is. But for some reason you’re here with me and I've never been so grateful for anything in my life. I don’t know what I would do without you. I don’t think I could ever survive without you. So, Kory...will you marry me?’ His voice shook as he asked the question, sounding like it would break him if she said no.

He opened the box to present a striking ring. The band was a brilliant gold, thin and simple but in the middle was a large oval emerald stone that was encased with smaller white diamonds on either side of it. She only saw it for a moment before her eyes filled with tears yet again and it became blurry. 

‘Kory?’ 

She lifted her eyes from the ring to meet eyes with Dick, his face fearful and pleading. 

Oh. He was waiting for an answer. 

She opened her mouth to respond but found her mouth too dry to speak so she merely nodded. His face transformed into relieved elation and he slipped the ring on her finger  before enveloping her in a constricting hug. He pulled back to press his lips to hers in a hard kiss, peppering more across her cheek and under her jaw. 

‘Thank you. I love you.’ He breathed, pulling back to gaze at her tenderly. 

‘I love you so much.’ She told him. ‘But I can’t believe you proposed to me while I wasn’t even wearing pants.’

- 

The theme isn’t like as explicit but like the fact that Kory doesn’t panic when Dick covers her eyes and doesn’t think of the worst when he has something to tell her because she trusts the fact that he would never hurt her, idk theyre all small acts of trust for me

this was slightly inspired by this fic by by_noa: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787521

[coralstories]

An Unexpected Arrival: Chapter Eight

Word count: 2337

It’s another “main character shows up in Mirkwood and has to figure out how to survive”, but this time with my OC Aurelia Castillo and she freaks out first. Have fun laughing at her!

A/N: the bolded text is a different language, text in italics are thoughts

Warnings: mentions of racism (not relevant to today’s topics, I wrote this a while ago). Fighting scenes!

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Kili playing with his runestone. Aurelia held her breath; it felt like deja vu, although she knew it was not a dream she remembered this scene from. She peeked around Tauriel’s slim form with a smile on her face. Kili noticed her behind the tall, beautiful elleth. 

“Who is this? You keep humans as pets?” Kili said in jest. 

Aurelia gave him a stern look. 

“I’m no one’s pet,” she said. “Just curious. I’ve never seen a dwarf in person before.”

She stepped around Tauriel and offered Kili her hand through the bars.

“I’m Aurelia. Most people call me Lia.”

Kili stared at her hand as if it were a viper. Aurelia sighed.

“Where I come from when people first meet they shake hands,” Aurelia said.

“Oh, of course,” the young dwarf prince said.

He took Aurelia’s small hand in his large one and introduced himself. She felt the calluses on his palm that were evidence of his familiarity with weapons. What she told him about introductions was absolutely true. But, she had another motivation for shaking hands with the dwarf. She was checking for injuries. Dwarves were hardy, though, and she was not surprised when she sensed only small bruises and cuts. She moved on to the dwarf in the next cell and repeated the introduction, leaving Kili and Tauriel. They talked quietly amongst themselves. Finally, she reached Thorin’s cell. When she offered her hand, Thorin ignored it. 

“You do not seem like a normal elf,” he said. 

“And you do not seem like a normal dwarf,” Aurelia replied. 

Before Thorin could utter a retort, Aurelia withdrew her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. That drew Thorin’s attention to her ears, which he realized were rounded, very unlike an elf’s. 

“You’re human?” Thorin exclaimed. 

Aurelia nodded. “Very much so.”

She studied him as he studied her. 

“What are you doing here?” he finally asked her. 

“I wanted to meet you,” Aurelia said honestly. 

“Hm. Why do I feel like there is more?” Thorin took hold of the bars and leaned closer. “Did Thranduil send you to spy on us? Did the lying weasel kidnap you to Mirkwood?”

“I was kidnapped, but not by Thranduil,” Aurelia said. An idea occurred to her. “Maybe Gandalf had something to do with it....”

“The meddling wizard?” Thorin asked, surprised. “Do you know him?”

Aurelia shook her head. “Only through reputation. We’ve never met. But isn’t he supposed to be with you? Where is he? If he shows surprise at my presence then maybe he didn’t have anything to do with it after all.”

Aurelia knew full well he had left them at the border of the forest, but she needed an in. 

“Bah!” Thorin spat. “We are on our own now.”

Aurelia glanced at Tauriel as the runestone clattered beneath her boot. She beckoned to Thorin. His gaze was suspicious as he leaned forward again, and Aurelia put her lips close to his ear. 

“I count twelve among your company,” she said in a low voice. “I heard there were supposed to be thirteen.”

Thorin jerked back in surprise. 

“He’s a hobbit, right?” Aurelia groaned. “I wish I’d been kidnapped to the Shire instead. It seems much more peaceful and beautiful.”

“Perhaps, if you help us escape, we can take you there,” Thorin said. “And you can tell me how you know all this.”

Aurelia looked him up and down. 

“Are you sure?” she asked. “You’ve been? You know the way?”

“Yes, I have been there once,” Thorin responded. “But at the end of our journey we’ll have to send our hobbit home, won’t we? You could go with him.”

“That sounds amazing!” Aurelia said. 

She jumped as she remembered something. Legolas had been watching Tauriel at this point. Aurelia looked around and spotted him a level above. He looked too focused on Tauriel and Kili’s conversation to notice her and the dwarf king talking. Thorin followed her gaze and saw what had caught her attention. 

“That’s the spoiled elf-brat that captured us,” he muttered. 

Aurelia giggled. “‘Spoiled elf-brat’?” she echoed. 

“Do you not agree?” 

“No! He's a little... uptight sometimes, but you know, he's got a lot going on,” Aurelia said, in a conspiratorial tone. “He’s extremely attractive, though.”

Thorin made a face. Aurelia held her hand out, palm towards Thorin.

“Don’t worry, you’re plenty attractive yourself,” she said. 

Thorin watched her for a moment, trying to determine if she was genuine or not. 

“You’re almost exactly like I pictured you,” Aurelia said, her voice still low. “I do hope Thranduil doesn’t keep you here for long, I—,”

“Aurelia,” said a male voice. 

Aurelia looked up to her left and saw Emlithor, watching the two of them with a furrowed brow and tilted head. He glanced over to Tauriel and Kili, and his curious frown deepened. 

“Ben!” Aurelia exclaimed. “Have you met the newbies? Thorin here is their leader.”

“I know you cannot know this, but we elves do not get along with dwarves,” Emlithor said. 

“Why not? They seem like a nice bunch.”

Emlithor stepped forward and took Aurelia’s arm. He continued speaking as he led her away. 

“Dwarves are stubborn and greedy. They are not to be trusted,” he explained. 

“Surely not all of them. That’s not a nice thing to say.”

“I am sure. We have never liked dwarves for this reason. They are all—,”

Aurelia jerked her arm away and stepped back. When Emlithor looked at her, he saw that she was angry. 

“Honey, look,” she began. “I don’t know about what sort of feud is going on here, but don’t ever speak like that around me again. That’s called racism. We don’t have dwarves or elves where I come from. We have a group of humans who don’t like people like me just because we have a different culture and darker skin. When you generalize the traits of a few in a group to all of the group, that’s how wars start. So, when you tell me ‘all dwarves are nasty creatures’ and this dwarf tells me ‘elves are capricious liars’, I don’t like it. It makes me feel like you would say the same about me if you came from where I am from. You ever say anything like that around me again, I’m walking away and I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore. Got it?”

Emlithor stared at her for a moment, slightly alarmed. Aurelia turned to Thorin. 

“And you,” she said. “I don’t know you and we’re not friends, so I know I have no right to lecture you, but I hope you take my words to heart, too. Tauriel, I’m ready to leave when you are.”

She felt several pairs of eyes on her before Tauriel finally stood up. Aurelia made her way to Tauriel’s side and they left together to rejoin the festivities upstairs. Emlithor watched them go with a concerned expression. A whistle sounded from one of the cells. 

“That one’s got some fire in her,” Fíli said. “I think I like her.”

Emlithor glared at the dwarf as he walked past his cell, making his way to his prince and commander. Once they were out of sight of the cells, Legolas stopped Emlithor with one hand on his shoulder.

“Keep an eye on them,” Legolas said. 

“I’m supposed to be helping Lúthon with the new shipment from Laketown,” Emlithor said hesitantly. 

“After that, then. I am worried about what they’ll say to Aurelia. She seems impressionable.”

Emlithor would have protested that she was in fact very strong-willed, but he said nothing. He too was worried about another interaction between her and the dwarves. He nodded and brought his fist to his chest in a salute. Legolas returned his salute, then went upstairs.

In her room, Aurelia was making a small bundle of clothes and tools to take with her. She knew that soon, Bilbo would lead the dwarves down to the cellar, and then they would be lost to her. She had to get there before the elves started their pursuit. She hid the pack under a cloak and dashed down to the cellar. She spared a moment to tend to the unconscious Emlithor and Lúthon, setting a cushion under their cheeks. When she turned the corner, all the barrels were gone, but Bilbo was there, staring at the floor looking lost. Suddenly, there were shouts. Bilbo whirled around and caught sight of Aurelia, who laughed out of nervousness. Aurelia slapped a hand over her mouth, then rushed over to Bilbo. 

“We’ve got to go,” she said. “They’re coming.”

She took Bilbo’s hand and led him to the spot where she knew the floor would start to tip, creating an opening. It opened quite quickly with their combined weight, and they fell through. Bilbo let out a small yell of fright. The plank was almost closed before the elves came in. They fell into the water together, though Aurelia sank deeper than Bilbo. He was pulled to the edge of one of the barrels quickly. Aurelia held her breath and stayed underwater until she could no longer see his little bare feet. She broke the surface and took a deep breath, then made her way to a pathway that followed the stream. 

She kept to the shadows and made her way outside. She took a route that she was half sure would lead to where she needed to go and would be orc-free (she had almost forgotten that the orcs would appear). She hoped that she would be able to meet the dwarves where they stopped to rest. She never strayed far enough from the river that she could not hear it. The sounds of battle drifted from the river as well. She flinched with every roar of an orc and every scream of a dwarf. She recalled how she had laughed during this scene of the movie. It was comical how Bombur had bounced around in the barrel. Now, she felt nothing but fear as she ran through the woods now, fear for herself and the dwarves and her elf friends. 

Suddenly, she heard a growl to her right. She dropped into a crouch and then froze, only daring to move her eyes. She saw an orc that had almost crossed the path in front of her; it seemed he was running to join the battle. He came nearer to her, but it looked like he would still pass her by. Then, when the orc was directly in front of her, he slowed and sniffed the air. Aurelia slowly and quietly reached around into her pack and withdrew a dagger. The orc’s breathing became heavier and he turned to face her, shrieking. Aurelia stood up, drew her arm back, then brought her arm down, and threw the dagger. It hit the orc in his still open mouth, and he fell to the ground choking. Aurelia walked over to the orc and stepped on his wrist as he reached for his weapon. She withdrew her dagger from his mouth. He screamed at her, blood spurting up from the hole in his mouth. Aurelia brought the dagger back down in his throat this time. 

“Shut up, would you?” Aurelia snapped. 

And finally, the orc was quiet. Aurelia kept running, not bothering to put her dagger away. Aurelia reached a rocky shore. She recognized it as the spot where the dwarves stopped before being picked up by Bard. She stopped, staring at the calm water, amazed she had actually made it. She didn’t see the orc behind her or hear him bring his bow up to full draw. 

She did, however, feel the arrow embed itself in her shoulder. She screamed out a groan and stumbled forward. She kept her footing and whirled around to face the culprit. The orc roared at her. Aurelia, taking the orc completely by surprise, charged him. He scrambled to bring his bow up again but fired a clumsy shot when Aurelia was a yard away. She ducked and dodged it, then slashed at the orc’s bow, knocking the next arrow out of his grip. She pressed forward and stabbed him in the neck, holding onto his armor with her other hand. She withdrew the dagger and stabbed the orc again in the eye. He fell to one knee, and she stabbed him again in the other eye, just for good measure. The orc collapsed on his side. Aurelia jumped away from him, and stood there for a moment, breathing heavily. She swayed on the spot, then groaned as her right shoulder throbbed. She glanced at the orc’s other arrows and saw that, amazingly, the tips were not barbed. She made her way to the water’s edge and cleaned her blade. Then, she reached back with her left hand and gripped the arrow sticking out of her shoulder. She sobbed as the pain blossomed and hunched over, her hair falling into the water. 

You can do this, ichpocatl, the feathered serpent hissed. It is merely a flesh wound. You are lucky. This arrow was not one of the poisoned ones. 

Help me, Aurelia asked silently. 

She tightened her grip on the arrow and pulled it out, as straight as she could manage at this angle. She screamed in pain, and it echoed off of the rocks around her. Her back arched as she felt the muscle and tissue start to knit itself back together. She fell on her side, and the last thing she saw was rock before her vision darkened. Somehow, she had the mind to reach for her dagger before she completely passed out. 

I will take care of you, ichpocatl. Rest, and you will heal.