#in exchange for him adjusting some of his personal belongings that he keeps in a common space

[trans-yllz]

I was asking abt moving my bunnies into one of the communal spaces in the house and bunny proofing it and everything, which would require my housemate who doesn't pay rent or do communal chores or clean and has a cat that has free roam of the entire house to move some of his things one shelf higher on the bookcase in that room and he was like well would I be able to pay less rent. be so Fucking for real right now

[dokyumms]

nobody else matters

pairing: idol!wonwoo x nonidol!reader

genre: fluff

word count: 582

cw: anxiety, large crowds/paparazzi

a/n: this was a request sent by @yoongznme ! i personally don't have anxiety myself, so i did a little research, but it still may not be totally accurate. it was fun to try writing something new though! hope you enjoy ♡

click. flash. click.

cameras go off in quick succession, rapid bursts of white light flickering every second. it's all too bright, too fast, your eyes wavering over at every flash.

voices layer over one another- laughter, quick exchanges, calls from the photographers- you can't tell.

you shift on your heels, fingers curling around the thin strap of your purse. you don't belong here. it's obvious in the way people glance past you, their attention snapping to the real attraction- your boyfriend beside you.

wonwoo fits into this world with ease, lips pulling into a smile at a passing photographer and acknowledging a model you might've seen on a magazine somewhere. you, on the other hand, give unsure nods to those passing by. it feels like you're an observer; a guest at a party where you don't know anyone.

being in milan only makes it worse.

conversations circulate around you in a blur of italian, you don't get time to even attempt to interpret them, the words slipping out of your grasp before you can process them. every now and then you pick up on something familiar, a name or brand of some sort, but it only reminds you of how lost you are. you try to keep a neutral expression, hoping no one asks you anything and that you don't look as out of place as you feel.

wonwoo's used to this, the crowds, the cameras, all of it. he's done it hundreds of times before: posing, shaking hands, letting the weight of dozens of eyes settle on him without flinching. but then you catch it.

the slight tremor in his fingers as he adjusts his cuff.

it's small, barely noticeable. no one else sees it. not the photographers, not the executives murmuring his name, not the other celebrities who come to greet him. but you do. you've felt it before- the quiet unraveling under your skin, the way the body betrays the mind.

it becomes clearer when he gives you a glance. you can see the unease in his eyes, almost pleading for you. photographers try to capture what they see as a lovely moment between a couple while you try to figure out what to do.

it's becoming too much for him, he starts to fiddle around with the ring on his pinky, a reminder of how he got here in the first place. he's still looking at you though.

you want to help him, even though you're feeling a little anxious yourself. as you reach for his hand, there's a voice at the back of your mind. maybe this is the wrong choice, there's too many people around, you're too exposed. but with another peek at him, you pull him into your palm, untangling his hands.

looking back at him, you can see the tension start to slowly fade as your thumb rubs slow circles on the back of his hand. his breathing evens out a little, not focusing on the continuous flashing in front of him.

you give him a look, asking him if he's okay without needing to say the words. he nods, smiling at you gratefully.

as you both turn back to the cameras hand in hand, he leans to whisper into your ear, "thank you, love."

you know that this will all be posted on social media, the intimate moment you both shared, but it doesn't matter, you can dwell on it later. because nothing else mattered in those few seconds except you and him.

[snapghoul]

Sereshaw prompt: A bet leads to a makeover and some unexpected feelings.

Hotter than a no AC all summer

A bet that makes Jake realize something.

Note: hehe, I love writing Jake’s thoughts. And Bradley is no different, those two fold like chairs for each other so quickly it’s embarrassing.

Warnings: foul language

Song: steal my thunder - Connor smith & Tucker Wetmore

It all began at the Hard Deck.

Jake, feeling a pang of homesickness, donned his cowboy hat, jeans, and boots, topped off with a rolled-up dark blue flannel. He looked like he’d stepped straight out of Texas, and his squad was not about to let it slide, especially Bradley.

“At least it’s better than your eye-bleeding style, Bradshaw. The '80s were a nightmare,” Jake shot back, leaning against his pool cue with a playful glare.

“Hangman, you’re the last person to talk fashion. You look like you belong in the middle of bum fuck no where with a herd of cows,” Bradley countered, smirking. Jake bristled; he was a proud Texan, and there was no shame in ranching.

Then Bob chimed in. The Weapons Systems Officer, usually sweet and timid, had a knack for instigating chaos when no one was looking.

“You two should swap styles,” he suggested with an innocent smile, and the rest of the squad nodded in agreement.

“That would be hilarious,” Fanboy chuckled, taking a shot at the pool balls.

Jake and Bradley exchanged a look, a spark of challenge igniting between them.

“First one to back down and change owes $100,” Bradley proposed. They had to keep their bets light; last time they went too far, Vice Admiral Cyclone had given them a serious tongue lashing.

“Deal,” Jake replied, and they sealed it with a handshake, both grinning.

And so the challenge began. Jake scoured the thrift store, piecing together his best attempt at Bradley’s style. To his surprise, he didn’t look half bad; the Hawaiian shirts were surprisingly comfortable.

Meanwhile, Bradley raided a shop of his own. He even picked up nice boots and a hat, though he knew Jake would probably call them inauthentic. The jeans fit fine, but the long sleeves felt strange, and the flannel was a bit constricting. Still, he found he actually liked the hat.

It didn’t take long for Jake’s mouth to go dry. This wasn’t how he expected the bet to unfold. No, not with Bradley looking so damn good in that hat and those boots. Jake felt heat flood his cheeks. He’d always found Bradley attractive, but seeing him dressed like the boys from back home he used to fawn over stirred something deeper.

Shit, save a horse. Jake thought.

“Hangman, you look…” Bradley tilted his head and shrugged, weighing his words.

“I am good, Rooster,” Jake interrupted, anticipating a joke. “I’m very good.”

Bradley rolled his eyes and adjusted his hat, an action that tightened Jake’s throat.

“Keep telling yourself that.” He stepped closer, positioning himself next to Jake by the dartboard. They were the first to arrive at their usual meet-up at the Hard Deck.

If he gets any closer, Penny’s going to throw me overboard, fuck me. Jake took a swig of his beer, trying to shake off his racing thoughts. Curse this bet. Curse Bob for suggesting it. Jake knew he was destined to lose.

[shineonyoucrazyyandere]

Can i request a yandere!trish with a fem!reader? I don't see very much of it and it makes me sad because trish is waifu ;w;

Yandere! Trish Una x Fem! Reader

Gotta give some female characters attention too, I try my best to be equal opportunity with both male and female characters.

this may or may not be a two parter, It’s been a while since I’ve written out something and I don’t want to feel like I’m rushing something and make it uninteresting because I put it all out at once.

You saw yourself as a guardian for Trish Una ever since the mission of guarding her the first time. Of course her father planning to murder her, only strengthened your resolve to protect her. Betrayal by a horrible person who you’d hardly qualify as a father, you helped her process and talk everything out while the others were busy. She seemed to have some attachment to Bucciarati as well, but steadily you noticed her instinctively hover around you.

At that time you did all in your power to keep her safe after betraying the former leader of Passione. All while allowing to adjust to her newly gained stand. Multiple times she’d grip your arms or lace her fingers into your hand. The tiniest bit of downtime during that week you’d let her do as she pleased with your hair. Sometimes she’d compliment your eye colors, stare at you a little bit. Then proceed to talk about missing doing something casual with all this hiding. She even told you one night you made things feel like normal.

Every little thing you indulged in that week you felt was good for her. No one deserved to have all that weight of a traumatic experience put on them. Even after everything finally ended with Giorno defeating Diavolo and taking his place as the Don of Passione. You two were not separated, Trish piped up she needed you to feel safe and she couldn’t live alone.

Giorno asked you directly if you wanted to do so, taking in consideration how exhaustedly you took extra care of her. That he could find a female caretaker/guard to help Trish if you weren’t up to it. Instinctively, you knew Trish wouldn’t care for that. She seemed a bit huffy occasionally when you weren’t around. Deciding to not leave a headache to another associate you volunteered to live with Trish yourself.

His eyes furrowed for a moment but the confidence in your answer lead him requesting the place Bucciarati had mentioned he’d let Trish live in. He knew you both were close but there was something he couldn’t quite shake with Trish. Perhaps her behavior leaning towards being clingy, there was being close and then there was being a little too close.

“Just remember if you need a break/time for yourself you know where to find me” Giorno told you gently. It was the best statement he could give for now, his suspicions merely cautious for your safety.

“Thank You Giorno” You bowed your head

Shortly after this discussion, a car was brought up to the front of the building. Keys to the villa and the car itself were exchanged promptly. Trish’s belongings left behind in a previous place before going under protection were already in the trunk. Ready to be unpacked upon being taken inside. Upon arriving you immediately gesture Trish inside, but she decides to help you bring her belongings in instead.

“Are you sure? It’s rather late and you usually try to get in bed by this time don’t you?” You asked

Her eyes seem to pierce yours, “I can help” she seemed to insist. “I know you volunteered for looking out for me, there’s no need to overwork yourself” Her heels click on the ground as she goes to the now opened trunk and grabs out a few of her things. You follow her and proceed to grab what you can before heading to the door yourself. Sometimes it slipped your mind how determined she could be on insisting to do something. She was not helpless and could hold her own in decisions. Sighing to yourself you make sure the vehicle is locked and nothing was visible in any of the seats before heading in.

Eventually you get your own belongings inside this villa, Trish herself suggested so. All of your day practically revolved around her, but not once did you seemed to be fatigued. This went on for a few months with little trouble. Giorno did check up on you every once in a while even with his busy schedule. You could tell he was a little concerned, not that you minded of course. It was technically an assignment.

“She insists doing many things with me, her favorite thing is mostly picking cute clothes out” You told him promptly. Proceeding to go into details about brands she liked or the more expensive less “showy” things she could recognize.

“Do you know if she’s made any friends? Not that I entirely mind her being around you but she should be with others as well” He asks

“I believe I’ve seen her talk to a few people that weren’t sales associates, She doesn’t always tell me about things like that however” You responded. “I do have a gnawing feeling she really enjoys my company, perhaps a bit too much”

The blonde nodded in response “I thought as much, does that concern you?”

Your e/c eyes stare down at the floor, a brief pause in your breathing before you respond. “Somewhat yes, it’s been a couple months”

“I hope she can spread her wings and enjoy life on her own” You added on. “I do care for her Giorno, and I’ll look after her as long as she needs, though the thought does slip if that’s too much for her to properly adjust”

He nods along agreeing entirely, a bit stumped at the moment at this complex situation. You’re not really freaking out but there’s uncertainty in your eyes. Worrying if you’re subduing Trish, but as he sees it in his view, it’s the entire opposite. The dynamic is akin to an invasive plant, thriving with little impediment to its growth. Something that has to be taken care at the source before it swallows everything.

“I think I can keep this under control, I don’t need anyone else getting hurt” You stated out of nowhere.

“We have to be careful about this, Trish isn’t very fond of being looked over constantly by you Giorno”

His greenish eyes narrow “Of course, but I can’t have you facing this alone”

“I’m certain she’ll ask of this conversation when I pick her up from her visit to a store she’s been wanting to go to, She seems rather suspicious of you Giorno”

He looks at you, considering his options and what you’ll likely tell him based on your judgement of Trish. He trusts you just as he does Mista and dismisses you, and asks for an update in a couple of more months. For now he decides to lay out some options just on the off chance something goes too far. However this wasn’t your typical stand user battle, it was more of an emotional puzzle.

Later that evening you stop to pick up Trish right on the dot. She slid into the passenger seat quickly shut the door. Her eyes immediately dart to yours. “Do you mind if we get something to eat? I’m craving something from a restaurant I used to go to all the time”

“Sure we can do that” you tell her, before eventually driving off.

“So…how was that meeting?” She asks not even a few seconds after

“It was good” you tell her “I simply answered what Giorno was asking”

Her eyebrows furrowed “I know you need to update him, but I don’t think he should be prodding into everything we do together”

“He just wants to see how you’re holding up Trish, the things you went through aren’t exactly something an everyday person goes through” You try to pacify her

She shook her head adamantly, while crossing her arms “I doubt it, I think he’s concerned about you because he thinks I’m acting strange”

She wasn’t wrong and you weren’t going to foolishly deny that right in front of her. You reassured you didn’t inform of everything you both did together. Your “alone” time was still safe, but you could still see her lips pursed into a frown.

“I don’t think he should nose around at all if I’m being honest” She answered defensively but her demeanor of discontent wasn’t aimed at you. No, it seemed to be targeted towards Giorno. A twinge of jealousy perhaps? An odd thing for you to consider normally, but the way she was acting didn’t rule that out.

“I hope he knows I do talk to people other than you, but I don’t talk to them like I talk to you y/n” She sighs

There was an unsettling tone when she said that, she was stressing the meaning further than decent friends. You kept focus one the road, not really responding to keep your mind off that statement. False hope that you maybe misheard her somehow…

[gamertales]

Gotham, July 30th, 2024.

Hey, over here. Youre that blogger lady, right? Looking for info on the supposed ring of collectors of objects belonging to the Bat clan? We talked...well texted a bunch recently about the market.

Hah. Well i cant speak to this supposed ring, but i can show you my own personal collection. Sure its secured, i get a lot of people sniffing around so i try to keep it locked up, but im not stupid. No point tryin to hide from the Bats or what have you, this is just for the schmucks and their bosses. Hah.

Alright, if you follow me into my van.

Oh, yeah, i get that a lot. But look, im 52, i havent got the energy to flirt with 40 year old tired house moms. Kidnapping sounds like a lot of work.

Bit of a shocker compared to the outside, huh? Yeah, I had the interior and body upgraded a few years ago, added comfort and protection,still kept the rough looking exterior tho, keeps attention down.

Yep. Glass repair, window replacement, skylights. Heh. Youd be surprised to know how many small contractors making a living cleaning up qfter the Bat clan. Lotta companies downtown cant get insurance for windows, doors, ventilation systems. Gives us smaller guys a little more space to play.

After that throw down between Nightwing and Riddlers goons across from the Bank of Gotham last week, i managed to get in quick, and lock down the window contract.

This parts important, first crew on the scene gets to move in after the cops move out. Now Gothams finest do their best, but the number of small things they miss...

Take this for example, its a section of Nightwings glove with those fancy little spike things on them. Found it in the rubble under the skylight. Along with some mooks hand. Turned the hand in of course.

What? Oh its an informal alliance, but we keep each other in the loop, and let each other know when shits going down near em. If I cant make it across town, i'll send a text to the crews closest.

The goggles? Harley quinn dropped them a couple years ago, found them in the bushes outside the Exchange. Thats not the prize piece.

This. Two Batarangs from the Bat himself. To be fair i didnt really have to go far to find them. Summer of '19 the big guy landed on my roof. Hard. Dropped, rolled, and started running down the alleyway. Now i was dozing at the time, and that startled the literal shit out me. Cue the clown goons jumping on my truck to give chase. Big threw four of these beauties, making them scatter, and doing more damage to the van.

Four batarangs tho? I sold 2 of them to my buyer in the city. A collector of this stuff. He calls it "pretentious peacocking for poorly adjusted prats." Yeah, Mr Wayne is different enough. Only met him the one time, but he was very affable, even hired me to do the new windows for his guest house.

Made enough to upgrade ole Greaser here to their current condition. And a little.

Other than Mr Wayne? Im afraid i only deal with Mr Wayne; he pays fair, promptly, and usually sends a gift basket. No, i go thru his Butler now.

Right? A Butler. In 2024. Still, he seems harmless enough, spends all his time at charities i hear.

The Ring again? Look, im serious i have nothing to do with that side of the market.

...if you are really determined tho, contact Marc Belvedere, if anyone i know knows about this, itll be Marc.

Listen, i have toinstall some skylights at the City Hall in an hour, so i gotta get moving. Yeah, tell your friends Karl Aleksev is The Window guy when in a pinch.

By the way, what was your name again? Barbara Gordon? Like the Gordon Gordon? Your his daughter? Well, good luck, and be careful, theres a lot of money in this business, and money gets people killed.

Yeah. I guess you didnt really need that advice, huh.

Maybe we will cross paths again.

[ridiasfangirlings]

I know there are only 7 Kings but what if!!

What if because Saruhiko has both blue and red auras, they fuse together and make purple and he becomes a new King! The 8th King the purple king! How would he react to that?

Imagine this just….happens, he would literally be so angry about it XD Like imagine this happens some time around the post-MK pre-ROK era, because Kokujouji is no longer around to keep the Slate in check its power starts to go a little wild and that’s what leads to the creation of a new King. Munakata has been doing his best to suppress the Slate but there’s only so much within his power and he can’t spend all his time in the chamber of the Slate anyway. At some point Fushimi ends up cornered by like some jungle users, just ending up in a precarious position — oh, or maybe he ran into Yata who was in a precarious position and Fushimi jumps in to assist despite himself. He claims this isn’t for Misaki, Fushimi has been hunting down the Greens all on his own and these guys look like they may have some information. Yata’s been injured and can’t really fight back so Fushimi is handling this all on his own even though he’s outnumbered and he starts using both powers, Red and Blue. He vaguely notices that his powers seem to be acting oddly but doesn’t really register it, not until he’s cornered and out of knives and suddenly he feels this power surging through him.

I feel like Fushimi’s initial reaction would be ‘oh fuck this,’ he definitely never wanted to be a King himself. He would probably assume at first that he’s become the Colorless King, which makes it all the more surprising that his powers and Sword of Damocles have a distinct purple tint. Munakata would probably be particularly intrigued by this, he takes Fushimi with him to the chamber of the Slate and realizes that they now have an eighth King. I imagine Munakata being like as expected, you truly are talented Fushimi-kun and Fushimi rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue, he didn’t want to be this kind of talented. Maybe Fushimi being a new King even causes issues beyond just his existence, like because he awakened as a fusion of Red and Blue both Anna and Munakata have been weakened as a result — or possibly even just Munakata, because Fushimi’s Red belonged to Mikoto, and it’s a problem because Munakata was their strongest shield against the Green King’s movements. This does however stabilize Munakata’s Weismann levels some, so it’s like a trade off that possibly Fushimi’s helped to stave off Munakata’s impending Damocles Down but in exchange Munakata is weaker and Fushimi’s own levels are likely unstable right from the beginning due to his mental state.  

This leads to questions about what happens going forward, when Shiro finally shows up in ROK I imagine he would want to study Fushimi right away. Hisui meanwhile is obviously aware of the new King and is adjusting his plans accordingly, while Fushimi is a new King and still coming into his powers it’s surely a problem, that the other side now has four Kings to Hisui and Iwafune’s two. Hisui remembers Fushimi though and thinks it could be beneficial to have another King on his side, so now he’s trying to sneakily get Fushimi onto his side. Fushimi is also still dealing with understanding and controlling his powers, imagine Anna and Munakata both trying to help him. Munakata idly wonders if Fushimi will find his own clansmen and Fushimi clicks his tongue, not wanting to admit that there’s perhaps someone he would like as his clansman but he knows that person would never agree. He probably doesn’t think anyone would, why would anybody at all want to follow a person like him, and it’s just adding to his already high levels of stress which in turn badly affects his Weismann levels.

[tala-bez-i]

At first sight II Chapter Seven

(m!reader x Bonten!Haruchiyo Sanzu)

Fluff/slash/reader is male/cursing/BontenTimeline/drugs and alcohol mentioned/violence/blood/death

All characters that appeared in the Tokyo Revengers manga and anime belong to Ken Wakui.

Words: 3631

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“No.” Said the man, whose dark hair fell untidily to one side of his partially shaved skull. “I won’t tell you anything.” 

Jin Nagasawa sat behind a transparent screen in the visiting room, avoiding any eye contact with you and your partner, his hands nervously rubbing his knees. 

You exchanged glances with your partner, both of you slightly surprised by this answer, because after all, Wada had assured you of something completely different. 

“Nagasawa…” Okumura began again, but the man shook his head violently. 

“Forget about it.” 

“Jun Takenaka is dead. We want to catch the person responsible.” You said, trying to make your voice sound convincing. You didn’t have to try too hard, because you really wanted to find the murderer. “Think about other past or future victims...” 

“Fuck, you don’t understand anything, do you? Fucking dogs.” He growled, his wide eyes wandering around the walls of the room, avoiding you and the man standing next to you. 

“I’m sorry, but we can’t understand what you don’t want to tell us. I guess you want to know the truth, right?” Okumura frowned slightly and the prisoner gasped loudly, stopping his gaze somewhere behind the investigator. “We only ask for a few pieces of information that will allow us to take the right path in conducting the investigation. We have a task to find the perpetrator and if you know something, Nagasawa...” 

“God...Fuck off already.” He groaned and hid his face in his large, bony hands. The man was clearly afraid of something. 

Or someone. 

You stepped closer, almost to the very wall that separated you from the sitting prisoner, and his gaze focused on you. His deep-set brown eyes were indeed filled with fear and uncertainty. 

“Jin, please.” You said without breaking eye contact. “Junko was your only refuge, outside of this building, and we both know that she was the only one who cared about you the most.” 

“Y/n?” 

“Some son of a bitch murdered her and she won’t be the only victim. Fuck, maybe there were others before.” You continued, ignoring your partner. “Do you really want to let him get away with this?” 

“No.” The man replied quietly after a short silence. Something hard appeared in his eyes. “If I knew who it was and could get my hands on him… I’d rip his head off and shit down his neck.” 

You nodded slightly. “You know something, right?” 

“I can't say. I want to, but I can't say anything.” He grimaced, shaking his head. 

“Is someone threatening you here?” You asked, trying a different angle. 

“This is a fucking prison. They're keeping me separate, but... I want to get out of here, do you understand?” 

“Is it someone connected to the person responsible for shortening your sentence?” You asked quietly, and the man stood up from the stool he was sitting on. 

He headed to the door he had entered through a few minutes ago, and a cold shiver ran down your spine. 

“Nagasawa?” Okumura called after him, but you raised your hand slightly, signaling him to let it go. 

“We're done, you hear me?!” A tall, thin man shouted through the door and the lock clicked open, and after a moment one of the guards entered. When Nagasawa was about to be taken back to his cell, he looked at you and said. “I'll get out of here. I have to." Then he disappeared and the door closed.  

“And that would be it.” Okumura sighed in frustration as you walked out the gate of the prison complex. “Fuck, what scared him so much?”  

“I guess I was right.”  

“In the sense that someone associated with law and justice has him by the balls?” The investigator asked, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag. “Fucking shit.” 

“How long does he have left?” You asked, adjusting the collar of your coat as a colder wind blew in. Emi would strangle you when she found out you forgot your scarf again. 

“About two and a half months.” The dark-haired man replied, looking towards the building you had just exited. 

“Too long. We have to figure something else out.” You grumbled, taking the cigarette from Shinji's hand and taking a drag from it. He didn't protest. 

“Do you also have the impression that everything will be explained when we find out who Uncle Shou really is?” 

You handed him the cigarette, which he immediately put in his mouth and leaned back slightly, as if afraid that you would take it away from him again. 

“I don't know, but it's likely.” 

“Who else could know who he is?” 

“The other boys from the brothel, as well as Haji and Riku. At least if we're talking about the description. Maybe they could recognize him from a photo, provided we had one.” You replied, looking at the sky, where more clouds were starting to appear, as if it was going to rain soon. 

“Riku... Do you think he'll be found?” Okumura asked, flicking his cigarette butt to the side, and you raised an eyebrow, knowing that your colleague only did that when his frustration level was three out of five. 

You didn't want to see the last level again. He'd almost been suspended from his duties as an investigator, and losing a bigger chunk of his earnings now was completely out of the question. He had kids and twins on the way. 

“I hope our boys find him safe and sound.” You replied and got into the car. 

“It's been two days since she disappeared.” Shinji announced, starting the vehicle's engine.  

“And no trace of him, I know. I know.”  

“Do we have anything more from the lab about Takenaka?” asked Shinji after a few minutes.  

"No. We have to wait about another week for the next results.” You sighed softly; “Similarly, we have nothing new on Yuu.”  

“This motherfucker is a complete nuisance. A pain in the ass." Your partner commented on this, and you shook your head, agreeing with him. “Not that I'm complaining, but he's been strangely quiet, hasn't he?” 

It was true. Over the past few weeks, your stepbrother hadn't left any new trace behind. No hint of where he might currently be, what kind of company he might have been hanging out with, if he even sought company at all. It was suspicious, even disturbing. 

"Yes, that's true." You said and the man began tapping a rhythm with his fingers on the steering wheel he was holding. 

You pulled your phone out of your coat pocket and checked if there was any message from Emi or Tomoko. Your beloved had wished you luck in your conversation with Nagasawa, but you had only just read it. It was a pity that you hadn't checked your device earlier, maybe some kind of charm would have worked, and you would have succeeded? 

You were about to put your phone back in your pocket when a new message appeared. You looked at the sender's name and were slightly surprised. Mai. 

"Hi, do you have a minute?" 

"Is something wrong?" 

"I need to talk to you. It's urgent." 

A cold shiver ran down your spine and you quickly replied that as soon as you were alone, you would call her immediately, while asking again what happened. 

"I'll tell you when you can talk." 

A strange feeling of unease took hold of you and you sincerely hoped it wasn't anything to do with her, her husband or worse, little Natsuko... 

“Is everything okay?” Shinji asked, giving you a quick glance to focus on driving again. 

“I don't know. I have to call Mai back later.” 

“Oh, give her my and my Princess's regards.” The man smiled widely. “She gave us excellent advice last time and we're still very grateful. Who would have thought that a fresh young green onion would somehow help with a baby's teething...” 

“Don't tell me anything. I still don't understand it.” You laughed briefly, watching the road ahead of you. “She discovered it by accident and thought it would only work on Natsuko.” You looked at your interlocutor. “Um, Shinji…”  

“Yeah?”  

“Will Mimiko be mad if I bring curry?”  

“Are you kidding?” He looked at you with wide eyes. “She will be taken up into heaven! We love your curry, Y/n!” He focused back on the road, and you felt a pleasant wave of appreciation wash over you. “It's probably the only thing you can cook at a master's level.” 

You felt a little disappointed after that little comment. “I can make good miso.” 

“Y/n.” You saw the man grimace slightly and didn’t pursue the subject any further. 

“I’ll try to talk to Wada again. Maybe he’ll have some ideas on how to convince Nagasawa to cooperate.” 

“Uh-huh.” Okumura mumbled. “I’d like to take a closer look at this Haji guy. I have a strange feeling about him.” The man’s tone became more serious than before. “Compared to Nagasawa and Takenaka, he looks more like a pimp to these guys than they do.” 

You thought about his words and partly had to agree with him. What you heard about the pair and what you remembered from previous timelines wasn't necessarily true. The only people who actually knew who the boss was there were the aforementioned three, maybe Katsuro Wada as well, but the Bonten members definitely knew. And by extension, maybe Tomoko too. 

“I'll try to ask someone from Department 4 about it. Some of them are working on figuring out Bonten, so they should have that kind of information.” 

“Do you think they will be willing to share this knowledge with us?” Okumura asked skeptically.  

“We are dealing with the murder of a person associated with the syndicate. This could be mutually beneficial, don't you think?"  

“Supposedly, but still, I wish you good luck, L/n.” 

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

You were waiting at the reception desk of the police station, knowing that your sister would appear any moment now, who regularly took a longer coffee break at the same time to clear her mind and talk calmly to Mai on the phone. 

You and Okumura took similar breaks, but you usually stayed where you were and drank coffee from a can from the machine, but she preferred to go to a nearby café, thus, at least for a moment, surrounding herself with people who, despite working at the police station, had as much in common with her work as a carpenter with woodwork. Supposedly working with the same material, but for a completely different purpose. 

As soon as you arrived at the place from the prison facility, you called your oldest sister and what you heard did not fill you with optimism at all. Tomoko had fallen into shit deeper than you had previously thought. 

“What do you mean she left some strange package at your place?” You asked, having a feeling what its contents were.  

“It's small and quite heavy. When I shake it, I hear nothing. Y/n, there's no address on it, nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Mai replied to you. “I know she's trying to ingratiate himself with these bastards so she can destroy them from the inside, but I'm scared.”  

“I'll talk to her about it…”  

"No." She interrupted you abruptly, then lowered her voice. “Don't tell her anything. She told me to keep it hidden and out of Natsuko's reach.”  

You cursed mentally. “Do as she says, Mai. When should she pick up the package from you?” 

“For the weekend. She didn’t say anything else.” 

“Do you know what time?” 

“No. I don’t even know if she meant Saturday or Sunday.” 

“Is this the first time?” You asked, and there was silence on the other end. “Mai?” 

“No. Sorry, but no. She’s been doing this for six months.” 

“Why are you only telling me now?” You got angry, but you tried to keep your voice calm. 

“Because things were already starting to go bad between you two and I didn’t want to make it worse, little brother. I’m worried about both of you.” 

“Mai…” You sighed quietly. “I’m worried about you and your family too, sister, but please… You have to protect Natsuko.” 

“I know. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry I waited.” 

“Alright. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll keep an eye on Ko-chan whenever I can.” There was a moment of silence, so you spoke in a soft voice. “You have greetings from Shinji and Mimiko, and from me too. To your spouse and Natsuko-chan.” 

“Thank you. Please take care of yourself.” 

You looked at your watch, which showed 3:13 p.m., and you thought that this time you had come to the day when Tomoko would give up going out for coffee, when the woman you had been waiting for got out of one of the elevators and, staring at her phone, took quick steps towards the exit from the building.  

“Tomoko!” You followed her and the woman looked at you in surprise.  

“Y/n? Did something happen?”  

“I'd like to talk to you about a case I'm working on…”  

"Now?"  

“Do you have an appointment with someone?” You stopped right in front of her and the dark-haired woman blinked a few times, as if wondering what answer to give you. 

"No. All right. Come with me.” She finally said and you watched in surprise as she started walking towards the door again.  

For probably the first time in a long time, Tomoko seemed calm and immediately, without unnecessary teasing, she agreed to talk to you. You quickly followed her, afraid that she would change her mind in a moment.  

"What is it about?" She asked as you walked down the sidewalk in a direction she knew well.  

“About Nagasawa. We got a tip that he might know something about who might be responsible for Takenaka's murder, but he wouldn't say anything for the hell of it." 

“I’m not surprised at all.” Came the reply. “The guy is being watched by other prisoners who have connections to Bonten.” She looked at you carefully. “Listen, the syndicate has its people not only behind bars. Some of the guards are also in their pockets.” 

“Fuck, not that.” You groaned quietly, feeling frustration and anger starting to take over you. “Do people really not stink of the money Bonten has?” 

“Maybe you should answer that question yourself.” The woman laughed quietly and your face turned red. 

“Some cases are different than this and they shouldn’t be compared to each other.” 

“Bad excuse.” You crossed the street and after a moment you entered a small café, which was pleasantly warm and smelled of freshly ground coffee. “I love this place.” 

You glanced around quickly, and your eyes briefly landed on the barista who was standing behind the counter. Short, pretty and polite, but that wasn't what caught your attention. You recognized her without a problem. Asahi-chan had never looked so overwhelmed as she did now. 

"What would you like to drink?" Tomoko asked and you shrugged. 

"I'll trust you, sister." You said and the woman gave you a mysterious look. 

"Okay. You'll have the same as me." 

After a moment, two tall glasses of latte macchiato were brought to your table, the foam of which was sprinkled with dark cocoa, but what intrigued you the most was the smell of, as you guessed, the syrup that was used to give the drink flavor. Hazelnuts and something else... 

“You'll like it. That barista, Asahi, makes the best macchiato out of the entire staff, the same with espresso and cappuccino.” Tomoko said, casting a quick glance through the display window you were sitting in front of. 

“I'll remember.” You inhaled the aroma of the drink that was standing in front of you again. 

“Who do you suspect?” 

“There’s a guy that keeps getting mentioned, referred to as… I mean, the brothel employees that Nagasawa and Takenaka managed refer to as Uncle Shou.” 

“I heard about him. Bonten is interested in him and are looking for him as well.” 

You looked at your sister in surprise. “They didn’t know him before? I thought…” 

“Believe me, if they actually knew him, the guy would have been screwed by now.” 

“Why? He got Nagasawa locked up, but he took care of it and the guy got his sentence shortened.” 

"Exactly. He sent the pimp and bodyguard of one of the top drug dealers to prison. The dealer was killed and goods worth... Fuck, you don't even want to know how much money.” She said, taking a careful sip of her coffee.  

“Okay...?” You watched the woman, processing the new information in your head. “So the guy is in trouble.”  

“If he turns out to be of little importance, he will pay a high price for causing losses. But…” She looked at you carefully, gently gesturing to your coffee for you to start drinking. “If he is solvent and covers the losses, the syndicate will be willing to forgive him and write off Nagasawa.” 

“Write off?” You took a sip of macchiato and felt the warming alcohol in your throat. You looked at the glass with appreciation and licked your lips. 

“They can leave the business to the deputy, how was he? Haji?” You nodded, taking another sip of coffee. “And Nagasawa will have an accident.” 

You knew what Tomoko was talking about and you didn’t like it at all. 

“Nagasawa said he can’t say anything. He knows he’s under surveillance and they’re keeping him separate.” 

“Separate? For beating someone up?” The woman was surprised, and a glint appeared in her eyes that you didn’t necessarily like. “That’s bad. Very bad.” 

“You telling me that? If Bonten actually decides that it’s worth coming to terms with this Shou guy, then letting Nagasawa in with the other prisoners will mean a death sentence.” 

The woman was silent for a moment, tapping her manicured fingernail on the table you were sitting at. 

“Y/n, what about the missing boy?” She asked quietly. “What about him?” 

“What's supposed to be? No traces. We don't know where he might be or who he might be with.” You shrugged. “The client was supposed to drop him off at the designated location and the footage confirmed it. Which doesn't change the fact that the boy disappeared into thin air. He's not on the footage from other cameras.” 

“Could he know something?” 

“Let's just say he was more cooperative than the others, although they were polite and answered questions. I think it's only because he's the youngest...” Tomoko looked at you carefully and you nodded. “Yeah, I think it's the underage one too, but he seemed the most trusting of them all.” 

“Naive. That's what you meant.” 

“Naive, fine.” You nodded again. “It's suspicious that he went missing, and on the same day that Okumura and I talked to them.” 

Tomoko took a sip of her coffee, and you followed suit, reaching for your glass again. 

“Occupational hazard.” The woman grumbled quietly, and you swallowed a sip of your drink loudly. “However, that doesn't change the fact that I haven't heard anything about it.” 

“Huh?” You looked at her carefully, and the woman looked up from her glass at you. 

“I have a proposition for you, little brother.” 

“Yes? What?” 

“I have a meeting with some people from the syndicate on Saturday night. Come with me to the meeting.” 

“What?” Your heart skipped a beat, a cold shiver running down your spine. 

“Come with me to the meeting and maybe we can work something out...” 

“What do we have to offer them? Nothing...” 

“Us? You have something they want to offer them, Y/n.” 

“What? I don't know who Shou is or where Riku disappeared to...” Your hand began to involuntarily gesticulate, showing your growing frustration. 

“You have information to offer them about Yuu and Takenaka.” 

You froze, your eyes widening for a moment. “I have nothing new on Yuu, and as for Takenaka, I only know how he died...” 

“You won’t know that until you compare what you have to what they have.” 

“Tomoko...” 

“Y/n, I know what I’m talking about. It could work. You just have to convince them to work with you...” 

“It won’t be easy...” 

“It won’t be hard either. You’re already getting paid to remove evidence...” 

“I’m getting paid by Kokonoi and Takeomi...” 

“With Mikey and Kakucho’s knowledge.” She cut you off and you pursed your lips. “I know you get really low, but you’ve never asked for more and it’s all your fault that you work for them for next to nothing.” 

“And Sanzu?” You asked after a moment, much quieter than before. 

“Do you think that if he knew that thanks to you he could continue to go crazy, you would have peace?” The woman smiled half-heartedly and you had to admit she was right. 

“The first thing he would do is threaten me with death again.” 

“Or, despite the benefits, he would try to kill you.” Tomoko finished her coffee and you followed her again. “Because of you, he makes a fool of himself, thinking that he can get away with everything thanks to his cunning. If he finally discovers the truth... It could be rough.” 

“If I agree to go with you and we can work with Bonten, does that mean I’ll be protected in some way?” 

“If Mikey agrees to it, yes. Sanzu won’t lay a finger on you unless his King orders him to.” 

You knew it was true and you didn’t like it at all, but if it was going to help you solve the Junko Yoshioka case and Yuji’s case in the process, maybe the risk was worth taking? 

“What time is the meeting?” You asked quietly, your voice rather glum. 

“Saturday, 9:30 PM. I’ll pick you up.” 

“Great.” 

<PREVIOUS/NEXT>

[victoriousscarf]

Vos being concerned that Fox married Cody as a power play bc he was sleeping with Tarkin like. The Jedi don’t want to think of the guard as slaves because then the gar were slaves too. Like Vos not getting that Fox was forced into that relationship, that he didn’t have a choice, couldn’t say no.

They just fundamentally don’t understand how bad it was for the guard under the first republic like Palpatine was a Sith you know he hurt Fox during the empire Cody wondering if Fox knew palpatine would hurt him when he chose to stay not considering that Palpatine was already hurting him

I can’t remember where I was going with this. Like it’s so tragic how much they don’t understand what the guard went through, even though they’re slowly finding out more

I mean, they don't! They really don't! But also way more babbling under a cut for those who haven't read the fic yet:

So there's like multiple levels going on here. The first is, no, Cody and the others did not figure out how badly the Coruscant Guard had things under the Republic, in part because even the Corries didn't fully understand all the shit working against them. I expanded it a lot more in another fic, but I like the idea that Palpatine very rarely actually hurt the corries when they were the corries. At least not overtly, not physically. He gave them all the medical supplies and food they could need, but he played physiological mind fuck games on them all the time. Like I set it up for "to gain, to lose" that the corries had a whole different section of the regs they operated under that the others in the GAR didn't even really process (since it was never announced or even officially published, it was just slipped in like it had always belonged in the regs) that included specific group punishments for "infractions" which could include owning personal belongings and disrespect in the Senate. They ended up having to brutally self police each other to keep the whole safe while all Palpatine had to do was sit back and watch. He almost never lifted a hand to torture them, because it was so much more fun letting them do it to each other.

Another thing that was mentioned in the fic, was that the Guard had their chips removed before they made the "choice" to stay, and so the GAR and Jedi felt like they had to respect it, because like, they weren't being mind controlled, they had proof the chips were out, they got to scan like Fox and some of the others to make certain their demand for removal had been carried out. Which wildly underestimated the power Palpatine still had over the corries, and the tricks he was willing to use to keep them with him, while pretending it was Fox's actual individual choice. That's a hard lie to believe for 10 years and then just move past. Our thoughts create patterns, well worn pathways, and it just takes time to adjust to "oh no, that was a lie, that wasn't true, all the thoughts I have about it and related things aren't true" and it's still only been a week.

Also I don't think the clones ever processed exactly what "Palpatine is a Sith" means, so they haven't processed what it meant for the Guard under him. The Jedi maybe had a better idea, but the Guard always looked fine enough in public they sorta went "well, they seem fine--"

Like, bless him, Cody has barely acknowledged Fox has panic attacks now, let alone what that means. Like Fox? His Fox? Panic attacks? He sees them, he just hasn't processed them, or the amount of pressure Fox was under to cause them.

Which leads us finally all the way back to Tarkin and just how weird and confusing that relationship really was lol. Like, the thing about it, was it lasted for something like eight years. That length of time implies certainly that Fox had some sort of say in it (and he did! It just... a very coerced say). Like, Tarkin told him he wouldn't hunt him down if Fox refused to be there, and he meant it. He didn't want to force him every time. He wanted Fox to sell himself to him, in exchange for what to Tarkin were only scraps. Those scraps were just too big for Fox to pass up. But from the outside? You're someone's mistress for eight years, you sure look like you're there by choice.

And Fox does struggle sometimes with the feeling that like, he could have said no, he could have fought back harder against his own exploitation, so that means he is complicit in what happened to him. I mean.... they're about 23 in this (though biologically between advanced aging and then the slowing back down of the aging they're the equivalent of like... 37/38is) and Fox spent 8 years of his life with Tarkin. That's... almost half the time he's been alive by now. Of course he's weird about it.

The Jedi meanwhile are still trying to untangle the mess of themselves about using a slave army. They've had a lot of time to think, and they really have not been enjoying the answers to all this.

[plumblossomcafe]

Ch.55: Wishes

Yae Miko: Why hello... if it isn't the triumphant Aether and Y/n. And why might you be visiting the Shrine? A sign of piety, perhaps?

Paimon: You literally told us to come meet you here!

Yae Miko: Haha... I was just joking. I've been waiting for you.

Paimon: Seems like someone's in a pretty good mood.

Yae Miko: Mm-hmm. Catching up with an old friend I hadn't seen in years was truly delightful. By the way... I heard that you both had a duel before the throne, with a Fatui Harbinger no less. Courageous and astute — I must say, I am most impressed.

Aether: It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. We don't know what came over me and Y/n.

Yae Miko: Defeating Signora head-on in a duel means that both your strengths exceed my expectations. Still, you both did end up victorious. I guess congratulations are in order.

Paimon: Ah, it sure feels good to finally thwart a Fatui plan for once. They caused plenty of trouble along the way, but at the very least, they didn't get their hands on another Gnosis!

Yae Miko: Wait a second... did you say "Gnosis"? As in, the little thing that looks something like a chess piece?

Paimon: Yep, that's the one! You've seen one, too? Gnoses belong to The Seven — they're what keep them connected to Celestia!

Yae Miko: Oh...

Y/n: What's wrong?

Yae Miko: I handed that over.

Aether: Hmm?

Paimon: ...You did what now?

Yae Miko: Well... how else was I supposed to save your skins from The Balladeer, exactly?

Y/n: The Gnosis is long gone, then.

Yae Miko: The Balladeer is No. 6 of the Fatui Harbingers. In terms of strength, he is superior to Signora. I'm not the kind of person who risks life and limb for any old reason.

Paimon: *stammers* For once, Paimon just does not know what to say.

Aether: But why was the Gnosis in your hands?

Yae Miko: After Ei created her puppet vessel, she no longer had anywhere to put it. As her erstwhile closest friend... Ei handed it over to me, and I've kept it in the Grand Narukami Shrine ever since. She no longer needs the power of the Gnosis, and in any case, she tells me she has severed ties with Celestia. Thus, the Gnosis became not only useless but also a potential source of conflict. Is that not a good bargain, exchanging it for the one at the core of the plan? Judging by the results, at least, I daresay I struck a good deal. Hehehe.

Paimon: When you put it like that, Paimon has to agree... Aether and Y/n are worth more than a Gnosis...

Y/n: No wonder we haven't seen The Balladeer since.

Paimon: *sigh* Well, what's done is done, and Paimon hardly thinks we'll be getting it back now. Let's leave the past in the past. Um, so anyway, you still haven't told us why you called us here today.

Yae Miko: Hehehe. It's to thank you.

Paimon: Really!?

Yae Miko: You intend to travel all over Teyvat, and the time has come for the Inazuma leg of your trip to come to an end. Has it not? As a mark of my gratitude, I will answer any questions you may have about the road ahead or the events of the past. What would you like to know about?

Y/n: About the Shogun puppet...

Yae Miko: That puppet was built with technology that has been lost to time. Perhaps she, as a god, is the only one privy to the knowledge of its origins... Still... there is one other thing on this topic that I suspect you may be curious to know. Before Ei began modifying her own godly form, she took it upon herself to create a prototype puppet...

Paimon: So... you mean there are three Raiden Shoguns!?

Yae Miko: No, the prototype was merely a proof of concept. Its appearance and intellect were not based on Ei. It was a test. The original plan was for Ei to simply discard it. But perhaps Ei thought this to be too cruel because, in the end, she chose only to seal the power within it. Later, this puppet wandered Inazuma as an ordinary human male with his own consciousness until... the Fatui took an interest in him.

Paimon: Ugh, not the Fatui!

Yae Miko: Some eccentric geniuses in the ranks of the Fatui made adjustments to the prototype, not only unsealing his power but very likely rendering him even more formidable than his original specifications.

Y/n: Surely you don't mean...

Yae Miko: Mm-hmm. The object of divine creation is the one who has now taken possession of the Gnosis... and the prototype puppet is now known as "The Balladeer."

Paimon: What in the... What a crazy story!

Yae Miko: It is, isn't it? Who can say whether it's coincidence or destiny.

Y/n: I see

Aether: What about the former Raiden Shogun...

Yae Miko: I'm surprised an outlander like you is aware that there was once a change of Electro Archon, even little Y/n doesn't know... In fact, few citizens of Inazuma are aware of this.

Paimon: Morax told us. He said that the Electro Archon, Baal, has passed away...

Yae Miko: Yes. The truth of the matter is that there were two twin gods, Baal and Beelzebul.

Paimon: ...Twin gods?

Yae Miko: They won the Archon War together, and when Baal established the Shogunate, Beelzebul became her kagemusha, or "shadow warrior." In other words, she acted as Baal's body double. Beelzebul is Ei, with whom we are now both acquainted. Baal's name was "Makoto." As far as the world was aware, there were not two, but one. They complemented each other, and they ruled Inazuma jointly. So, there was no need for the public to know the truth. In fact, the name "Baal" and the title of Raiden Shogun was understood to refer to both of them, right up until—

Paimon: Until what?

Yae Miko: Makoto died several hundred years ago in a war that I was not personally involved in. Since then, Ei has assumed the Shogunate.

Paimon: Losing her sister must have been super hard on Ei...

Aether: Khaenri'ah...

Yae Miko: That was when Ei began to change. Makoto was her greatest loss.

Paimon: Paimon feels like she understands Ei a lot better now after finding that out... So, what kind of god was Makoto?

Yae Miko: I didn't spend a great deal of time with her, but my impression was... she was a gentle god, who in each moment cherished the beauty of what was before her.

Paimon: Wow...

Aether: About my sister...

Yae Miko: Sorry, I haven't a clue. I am also unfamiliar with the god you describe. But if you still have doubts about Ei, I would say they are misplaced. Not only does she not fit your description, but she voluntarily gave up her Gnosis long ago, severing her ties with Celestia in the process.

Aether: Having met her, I don't believe she was the one.

Yae Miko: That's good to hear. Otherwise, given that I am her familiar, it could have made our relationship rather awkward, don't you think?

Paimon: Don't worry, we aren't looking to pick a fight with you!

Yae Miko: Hehehe... I wish you the best of luck. May you soon discover the truth behind it all. As for your sister's whereabouts, I will use all the resources at my disposal to investigate it, and I will also borrow some of Ayato's people from the Shuumatsuban. I'll let you know if I find out anything. Consider it part of my means of thanking you and little Y/n.

Y/n: About the next stop on our journey...

Yae Miko: After leaving Inazuma, hmm... I think it would be easiest for you all to go to Sumeru.

Paimon: Ooh, ooh, Sumeru! We've run into loads of scholars from there on our journey so far.

Yae Miko: Yes, well, Sumeru is the land of the God of Wisdom, where the quest for wisdom and knowledge is never-ending. But their obsession gives rise to some truly inexplicable things. For example... In Sumeru, knowledge is holistically managed as a resource.

Paimon: Knowledge... is a resource?

Yae Miko: Yes. I don't know whether it was the sages or Lesser Lord Kusanali who came up with the idea.

Paimon: Lesser Lord Kusanali? That's a cute name.

Yae Miko: Oh, you haven't heard? "Lesser Lord Kusanali" is the deity in whom the people of Sumeru place their faith. It's their chosen term of endearment for her. I'm sure you must have some things to discuss with her, too. I wish you all the best.

Aether: We have no more questions.

Yae Miko: Are you sure? Okay then. Oh, Aether, Y/n, do you both still have the omamoris I gave you two?

Y/n: Of course. We'll keep it in a safe place.

Yae Miko: Keep it safe? Is that all you both intend to do with it? There was me thinking that either one you might hang it around your neck to show off to the world, telling everyone who inquired that it was given to you by none other than Yae Miko, the wise and beautiful.

Paimon: Who in their right mind would do that!?

Y/n: *giggles* Don't worry Yae Miko, whenever I see this omamori or think about an adult who's the wisest in all of Teyvat, the wise and beautiful Yae Miko will first come to mind.

Yae Miko: Hehehe... Okay, I'll stop. Thank you for the compliment, little Y/n. Now, a question for you both. What is your ambition?

Aether: To be reunited with my sister, I guess?

Yae Miko: And you little Y/n?

Y/n: Well, I want to make amends with someone and I have a feeling that it'll take time...

Yae Miko: I see... But that is merely a small goal, based on what preoccupies you both here and now. Your ambitions should be something that transcends the world below and the starry sky above. Something that shines in unison with fate itself. Perhaps the reason Aether does not possess a Vision and Y/n does is that such an ambition has yet to be engendered within you two... It's a possibility. Continue on your journey, and maybe that moment will come to pass.

I have decided that I'll be some of writing the Inazuman Story Quests since I feel like they play a critical role in the story, so I'll be writing them first and then, I'll continue writing the main story.

[srkizer]

who would deal with maintenance of the rocket boots of shadow(boom)?

tails probably can, but shadow would never entrust such a task to a team sonic member (here we go again, sonic's lack of craftsmanship) and then he shall never disclose the internal workings of his boots to his enemies especially since those are the source of all his powers.

for eggman: shadow declared that he shall never work with him, and then the above applies

obligatory mention from me would be aosth sonic: he could build stuff according to von schlemmer/caninestein's blueprints in mere seconds without flaws, and he himself is a powertool: a circular saw. a very poweful one. shadow would find no faults in him and would gladly task him with maintenance job for his boots, and aosth sonic will take that as an interesting chance/challenge and will keep the nda.

it seemed that perci/staci are people dealing with mechanical stuff judging from the game and the spanners in their pockets. commissioning the maintenance task to them may work. since they appreciate good men, shadow might get the task done from them in exchange for hanging out with them!

but still, does shadow have only 1 pair of rocket boots? if he does, then taking his shoes off would mean putting all guards down, and staci isn't exactly a person to trust in that regards, as she's the one to disclose eggman's weakness to everyone in the village. if he doesn't, then there must exist a place to keep his belongings, even though he's a nomad.

therefore two things can be guessed: (1) shadow is pretty handy that he can repair complex mechanisms (and has all the rights to diss sonic in that regards) and/or (2) shadow has a pocket dimension.

ever noticed that when shadow teleports he doesn't immediately appear back? it can mean he's actually not teleporting but becoming transparent for a moment, but he also is intangible while that happens, so transparency adjustment probably isn't what his warp is about. rather, he's teleporting to somewhere else before appearing at the intended destination. a far away place wouldn't be it, since concentrating on a precise location from a distance would consume so much of anyone's brain capacity. this can be explained with describing shadow's warps as entering and exiting his pocket dimension. (will be called "his space" from now on.) for the contents of his space...

a shelf full of rocket boots in his space (imagine squidward's shelf full of alarm clocks).

some facility that would let him see anywhere whenever he wants to, like how sticks got a surveillance facility at her home, so that he knows where to warp out of his space and when.

a bed, or a mattress at least.

some jars of coffee beans.

minimal set of tools that can get the repair job and weathering for looks done.

sidetracking again: tails has never completed his teleportation device. while eggman got the bee tails situation fixed, tails never declared it finished and rather he probably abandoned the project.

transporting objects between two fixed points can have some uses, but much more useful is being able to warp an object to any location. after fiddling around with this idea, he got it to work to a certain extent - put stuff into this warpbox, programmed it to warp to a location, and saw it appear as intended (almost) - by utilizing an alternate dimension, since travelling across dimensions can be done without having to be at the same locations apparently.

now, why "(almost)"? the content of the box often changed. when he put books in, they were stacked in reverse order. when he put some burgers in, only wrappers remained. when he put a video recorder, it came back smashed. when he put a notebook and a pen, a ripped paper got returned with something written on it.

it said "get your own pocket dimension, or i'll put you into one."

and tails felt a sudden chill throughout his body, along with a hand on his head.

"impressive job, fox." shadow gave tails a pat.

when tails looked back, shadow was already gone, warped back into his space.

that probably was an experience horrifying enough to stop working on it (for the time being.)

now if was half asleep when he warped out of his space he may have forgot to put boots on and then that would mean he's stranded outside and would be forced to consult tails for using his workshop (or just use it; what tails says doesnt matter to him) to build a quick one time use teleporter or another pair of rocket boots.

shadow still would have paid tails back with something. whatever it is.

[teddy06writes]

Noisy neighbors

Wilbur X reader

requested: no

trigger warnings: swearing

premise: you rent an office in the same building as Wilbur and even though he does his best to stream at night when he won’t disturb anyone random screaming can be pretty disrupting

‘-’ thinking 

“-” talking

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

Three months you had been renting this office and so far you’d managed to avoid the people with offices on either side of your own. That was until tonight. 

You’d been staying late to finish a paper, a quick job you’d told yourself, nothing too long, just a few paragraphs before you headed back to you flat, that was two hours ago now. 

The sky had long since turned dark outside the windows, the sounds of the city on a chilly Tuesday night coming muffled through the walls, the to go cup of coffee sitting to the right of your computer long cold as you stared at the monitor, struggling to find the right wording. 

Sighing you sat up, the curser still blinking emptily at you as you grimaced at the cold coffee. 

‘god why didn’t I go home earlier?’ you thought, tossing the cup into the bin.

You leaned back in your chair, already trying to brainstorm more of your work when the calm was mostly broken by a half yell of, “Oh- Oh no! no!” From the next office over. 

Rubbing at your temples you looked over at the wall wearily, it was at least the 7th shout tonight. 

‘It’s only a few more lines,’ you thought, quietly going back to working.

“He isn’t going to be able to reac- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” 

You groaned, “What the fuck?” 

That was the last straw, angrily you stood up, shoving your chair back in and grabbing the mask off the corner of your desk, it may have been late but that was no reason to avoid a confrontation. 

Pulling on your mask you quickly opened the door to your office, turning and knocking on the door of the one to the right, yelling, “Oi! There's other people in this damn building you know?!” 

From inside you could make out someone muttering, “Shit. You guys, I’m in trouble now because of you.” 

A moment later the door opened to a tall man with unruly hair in a yellow jumper, awkwardly adjusting his mask, “Hi, um, I’m sorry-”

You rolled your eyes, “Apologies aren’t going to change the fact that my paper is due tomorrow, and you keep screaming.” 

“I- Do you know what twitch is?” He was definitely grasping for something to explain with. 

“If you are about to tell me that I came over here to yell at you whilst you were doing a twitch stream I might scream,” You ran a hand through your (H/c) hair annoyed, “Are you seriously a streamer?” 

“Uh, yeah, I was doing a you laugh you lose stream.” He looked down at his feet, “I’m- uh, I’m Wilbur Soot.” 

“(y/n).” 

“I really am terribly sorry.” 

You sighed again, “Just keep it down alright. Some of us have real jobs.” 

With that you turned, going back into you office, and unable to help yourself, quietly pulled up twitch and search for his name. 

The stream that appeared on your screen showed the man from next door was slowly sitting back down, “Guys- guys I got told off by the person next door.” 

You smirked, watching as the chat filled with ‘f’s.

Wilbur berried  his face in his hands, “And they were cute! God, I- whatever- back to the stupid videos.” 

Later that night you had finally finished the paper, packed up and headed out into the crisp air, inhaling deeply as you started off towards your flat. 

“(y/n)! Wait (y/n)!” 

you sighed, turning to see Wilbur running towards you, “What?” 

“I really am sorry. Let me walk with you?” 

You sighed, nodding reluctantly. 

Over the next few months you got to know Wilbur better, and as more than just an office neighbor. 

He was a bit clumsy and awkward, but sweet and kind as well, always doing his best to make you laugh when you hung out. 

You ended up becoming good friends with him, even jokingly exchanging extra keys to your offices, not fully seeing how much the gesture had moved him.

One day, as summer was beginning to draw to a close, you were headed out of your office early, having for once gotten things done on time, passing a gangly blond boy and another brunette on your way out. 

“Excuse me?” The blonde asked. 

���Yeah?” You turned to look at him again, confused to find the voice slightly familiar. 

“Do you know which office belongs to a Wilbur Soot?”

You cocked an eyebrow, “Should I really be telling people that?” 

“uhhhhh, I’m friends with George not found.” 

The brunette barley held back a laugh, and it was then you noticed the camera he was holding, and you chuckled yourself, “It’s just up the stairs.” 

Tommy pumped his fist, turning to the camera David held up, “We gottem boys.”

He charged up the stairs, David hurrying after him after stopping the camera, catching up with Tommy as he examined two different keys he’d found in Wilbur’s wallet, “Which one do you reckon?” 

“Uh, try that one.” 

It didn’t fit in the lock on the first office door, And David squinted through the small window at the top of the door, “Maybe it’s the wrong office?”

The next door swung open easily with the first key, and Tommy let himself into your office, muttering, “Wow, nice place.” 

Turning to David he grinned, “I should go live from his computer.” 

“That is a horrible idea.” 

“It’ll be funny!” 

“Oh god.” 

Tommy somehow managed to log into your computer, pulling up twitch and starting to sign in to his own account, because he wasn’t a monster, except, because naturally Tommy being an idiot, he managed not too, instead, clicking ‘go live’ on Wilbur’s account, still logged in from when Wilbur had tried to convince his viewers he’d moved. 

It didn’t take Wilbur long to find where Tommy had gone, and so quickly heading up the stairs to his office he got very confused upon seeing the lights of his office still off. 

Phil had told him he’d gotten the notification that Tommy was live from Wilbur's account so why was his office still locked?

Looking over he saw all the lights of your office on and immediately began to panic.

Tommy turned quickly upon hearing the knocking on the door, “Um, it’s- it’s locked!” 

“Tommy open this god damn door!” 

David reached over and opened the door, leaving Wilbur to lean in, “What the fuck are you doing? How the fuck did you get in here?” 

“uhhh.” 

“Tommy! How did you get my wallet? Are you live?” His voice got louder with every word and even Tommy could tell he was panicking, “Tommy this isn’t my office!” 

“It’s not?” 

“NO!” He berried his head in his hands. 

“Whos is it? Why did you have a key?” 

“It’s (y/ns) office Tommy! That’s why- Get out! Get out of there office!” Wilbur practically dragged Tommy out of the chair, quickly ending the stream and turning off your computer, “Tommy you fucking idiot! What are they gonna think?” 

“Well if we tidy up, and lock the door they’ll never- wait, do you like them?” Tommy’s tone became accusative. 

“N- no.” Wilbur stuttered, face already starting to go red. 

Tommy rolled his eyes, unconvinced, “Yeah sure, come on, they won’t even no that we’ve been here.” 

“Yeah, no one will ever know,” You said from the door way, having joined the live stream long enough to see Tommy was in the wrong office, “Except for every person on that live stream.” 

Wilbur turned quickly, “(y/n) I am so sorry- I didn’t- he took my wallet- I shouldn’t have had your key with mine. I- I’m sorry.” 

You half nodded along, “ah huh, kid- Tommy- whatever, when I said just up the stairs I did not mean my office.” 

Tommy turned red, “I-” 

“Get your ass out of my office.” Tommy quickly jumped up, scurrying out, David following, as you turned to Wilbur, who was still blushing awkwardly. 

“How much of that, did you hear, before the acting like we weren’t here bit?” 

You smiled, “Enough.” and quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Come on, you’ve left all your friends jet lagged and outside.”

[vrishchikawrites]

Its a prompt! (And dont worry about it, absolutely love reading your writing XD) Okay so dimension travel, so we all agree in a world where WWX was raised in another sect (like Lan/Nie) That he would be absolutely adored by them and everyone, healthy relationships( even Jin Zixuan and Wei Wuxian wouldn't be on a bad term much because no WWX JYL interaction) so! Canon!WWX from post ssc timeline gets transmigrated/summoned to one of these worlds where hes raised by either Lan or Nie so 1/2

They're a bit confused seeing WWX in black clothes, and seeing his gaunt/tired appearance and him being so on guard around them (since he's usually open and loved) that they ask him why is it so? Does he not know Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue back from whicher place he came from, and Wei Wuxian goes 'Ive met them/we're not close' they ask 'sorry if its a bit personal but who were you raised by?' and WWX replies the Jiangs and cue everyone horrified cuz Jiangs areopen in their heavy dislike of WWX2/2

'It's my fault.' Nie Huaisang thinks as he frantically collects all the materials needed, 'It is my fault, I need to fix this.'

His er-ge was gone. His brother, Da-ge's pride and joy, the shining star of the Nie Clan.

Gone. Just like that.

One minute they're on an easy nighthunt and the next, Wei Wuxian is pushing him away to take an attack straight to his chest.

He knows his brother is gone. His body may be alive, but just barely. He's drowning in his own blood and there's nothing Nie Huaisang can do. There's no cognition in his eyes, that bright silver gaze is dull and blank.

He has to do something.

The ritual may not work. It came with so many warnings that Nie Huaisang lost the patience to read them all the way through. If something goes wrong, it goes wrong.

"Huaisang! What are you doing?!" Da-ge's voice is loud but Nie Huaisang doesn't pay any attention to it. The room is sealed and it would take da-ge some time to break through it.

"Nie Huaisang!"

Good, Lan Xichen is here. He'll take care of da-ge if something goes wrong.

"Huaisang!" There's a loud crash but he doesn't pay any attention to it, "Stop! Don't do something stupid."

"I need to save him. It is my fault, I need to save him!"

"Huaisang!"

There's a bright red flash and it drowns out everything.

---

Miraculously, he survives.

His fledgling Golden Core has shattered and melted into nothing, but he has survived.

And he has done it.

"Does your stupidity known no bounds?" Da-ge demands as Lan Wangji kneels by er-ge's bed and feeds him potent spiritual energy.

Wei Wuxian is alive. His cognition is intact and his Golden Core is stable but he's soaked in Resentful Energy.

"You destroyed your Golden Core, Huaisang! There's no recovering from it!"

"Wouldn't you do the same?" He demands, turning around to look at his oldest brother. He ignores Lan Xichen's alarmed voice and focuses on Nie Mingjue, "Is his life worth less than my Golden Core?"

Da-ge locks his jaw but doesn't reply. Of course, Wei Wuxian's life is worth more than a Golden Core.

"Huaisang," Lan Xichen sighs, "a-Xian wouldn't have wanted this."

"Look at Wangji-xiong and tell me that again." He says bluntly. He is tired and drained but no one can convince him that reviving er-ge wasn't the right choice.

Xichen-ge doesn't reply because no one can look at the devastated expression on Lan Wangji's face and say it wasn't worth it.

Huaisang doesn't feel the absence of the core as keenly as someone else might. He had only developed it during the Sunshot Campaign, after all.

He isn't like er-ge or Wangji-xiong, with their powerful cores and potent spiritual energy. The loss would've been devastating to them but is only an afterthought to him.

---

They realize something is off when Wei Wuxian opens his eyes and looks at them with distant wariness instead of familiar affection. He looks around and is instantly on guard, "Where... Why am I here?"

He looks directly at Wangji-xiong, "Lan Zhan? What are you... Have you brought me here?" He demanded, his expression shifting to something hostile, "Are we in Gusu?"

"Wei-gongzi," Xichen-ge calls for his attention, "I know you're very confused but please don't be alarmed. We're in your home at the Unclean Realm, not in Gusu."

Er-ge narrows his eyes and Huaisang recognizes that expression, even though it has never been directed towards them. A look of cool calculation as er-ge tries to decipher their motives. "My home?" He asks.

Wangji-xiong knows er-ge almost as well as they do. He reaches forward, "Wei Ying, let us explain, please."

It appears that this Wei Wuxian is just as vulnerable to Wangji-xiong as his brother had been because he softens immediately. His body is still tense but he seems to be willing to listen.

"You died in this world, saving Huaisang's life." Da-ge begins gruffly. Huaisang winces at the bluntness but er-ge seems to appreciate it, his sharp gaze focusing on their elder brother, "Yes, this world," Da-ge confirms, "Our didi decided he wouldn't tolerate it and decided to use one of our forbidden rituals to revive you. He didn't read things clearly. The ritual dragged your soul from another world and placed you in his body."

Er-ge's expression is skeptical, "Our didi..."

Wangji-xiong sucks in a sharp breath, "Wei Ying," His brother's gaze moves to his 'best friend', "You are Wei Wuxian, 23 years old, the Head Disciple of QingheNie Sect, the adopted younger brother of Nie Mingjue and older brother to Nie Huaisang. You were adopted by the former Nie-zongzhu when you were six years old."

Er-ge stares at Wangji-xiong in stunned disbelief but there's no denial in his expression.

No wonder, Wangji-xiong never lies. That must be true in his world as well.

"a-Xian," Er-ge winces and looks at Xichen-ge, "You need to rest and recover. Your Golden Core is stab-"

Er-ge gasps and immediately sits up, placing his hand on his chest. He closes his eyes and almost violently summons his spiritual energy.

"Wei Ying!" Wangji-xiong calls out in alarm but his brother doesn't pay any attention, his focus entirely inward.

"I have my Golden Core back..." Er-ge breathes, astonished but his skin goes white and he loses consciousness.

They exchange stunned glances before scrambling forward to check on him.

---

No one can deny Wei Wuxian has changed. It takes a month for his body to recover but his heart is still unsteady. He puts on every appearance of being alright, but Huaisang has grown up with this man. He knows something is off.

It is only when er-ge decides he needs to start training again that things start to become clear. Er-ge has trained all of his life to fight with a Dao. His movements are powerful and aggressive, designed to overwhelm the enemy.

Er-ge's mind, however, is accustomed to the traditional Jian. He seems to expect his movements to be lighter, faster. More agile and less powerful.

The dissonance makes him clumsy and he loses his first fight against Lan Wangji in a long time.

"Wei Ying?" Wangji-xiong frowns, "Your movements."

Da-ge has his concerned scowl on and he grabs Baxia, stepping into the training field, "With me, Wuxian."

This fight is faster and more brutal. Huaisang almost wants to protest but he can see er-ge adjust and adapt quickly.

His eyes gain a razor-sharp focus and his battle instincts come to the fore. "Good," Xichen-ge observes, "He's accepting his body."

Indeed, he is. Against da-ge's overwhelming force, there's nothing er-ge can do but react instinctively. They engage in several bouts and keep at it for over a shichen.

By the end of it, er-ge is exhausted but faintly triumphant.

"Lan Zhan, again!"

"Wei Ying, you need rest." Wangji-xiong says with a shake of his head, "Don't strain yourself."

"Why were you fighting like you wanted to wield a Jian, didi?" Da-ge asks sternly, "You were hesitant and weak in some strikes."

Er-ge grimaces and Xichen-ge steps forward. It has been over a month and though er-ge has seen how much they all care for him, he remains wary.

"a-Xian," Xichen-ge begins gently, "You weren't a part of the Nie Clan in the past, were you?"

Da-ge's scowl deepens at the thought of er-ge belonging to anyone else but them. They had suspected something like this, of course. But they had hoped that er-ge would've still been a part of the Nie Sect if not the Clan.

Er-ge remains wary but sighs, "No."

"Not the Lans," Xichen-ge observes astutely, "Not the Jins either. Were you a rogue cultivator? Or from a smaller sect?"

Er-ge studies him before shaking his head, "I was the Head Disciple of the Jiangs."

"What?" Wangji-xiong asks, his voice uncharacteristically sharp, "Jiangs?"

Da-ge looks furious and Xichen-ge seems pained. No wonder, given how... problematic the Jiang situation is. That family is entirely unsuitable for someone as loving and giving as his er-ge!

Jiang Wanyin is a complex mix of pride and insecurity. He lags behind all sect heirs, though Huaisang is fairly certain their batch of cultivators is particularly skilled. Er-ge and Wangji-xiong are exceptional in every way and Jin Zixuan is barely a few steps behind.

In the face of such competition, skilled but ordinary cultivators can't help but be overshadowed.

Jiang Fengmian, according to da-ge, is a meek little imitation of his former self. The man that pursued er-ge's mother had been strong and wise. He had the skill, political acumen, and grace to be an admirable Sect Leader.

His marriage to Yu Ziyuan ruined him.

And Yu Ziyuan is a nightmare. The one time she met Wei Wuxian, she had left such an impression that da-ge had cut all ties with the Jiang Sect until its Madam apologized to the Nie Sect Head Disciple.

That hadn't gone down well and the relationship between them is still sour.

"Do you want to return to them?" He blurts out, unable to help himself. If Jiangs are this Wei Wuxian's family then maybe-

"No."

They still because that's a very firm no. It is a complete and utter rejection of the very thought of it.

"No."

---

Getting the whole story out of er-ge is like pulling teeth but between Wangji-xiong's pleas, Xichen-ge's gentle questions, da-ge impassioned demands, and his own begging, they manage.

This Wei Wuxian doesn't love them yet but he sees their love for him clearly. That softens his heart and they get to hear every painful, excruciating aspect of his past life.

Wangji-xiong looks furious, da-ge paces, Xichen-ge is pale, but all of that doesn't matter.

He recognizes the look on er-ge's face. He has never seen it on him before, but he recognizes it.

Er-ge expects them to reject him. To abandon him for his 'sins'.

"Well, I don't have a Golden Core. Can you teach me Demonic Cultivation?"

"Huaisang!" Is yelled from almost every direction but he only has eyes for his older brother.

He sees those tired silver eyes study him for a moment before they soften completely, turning into the color of liquid moonlight. "You brat," Er-ge murmurs affectionately, "The thought of you wielding that power is nothing short of terrifying."

"But er-ge! Can you leave me defenseless, just like that? Don't you feel sorry for me-"

"Huaisang!" Da-ge snaps, "Stop trying to manipulate your brother!"

"Really, a-Sang, it isn't right for you to-"

Er-ge laughs. It's familiar, loud, and openly joyous. Silver eyes sparkle as he looks at them, "Don't worry, da-ge, he's a hundred years too early to manipulate me."

Wangji-xiong huffs, "Wei Ying."

"Lan Zhan," Er-ge teases, "How is that you manage to reprimand me by only saying my name? Shall I try it too? Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!"

"And they're flirting again." He murmurs under his breath, drawing an amused look from Xichen-ge.

"Perhaps we really need to start betrothal negotiations," Xichen-ge says and da-ge scoffs.

"Not going to happen unless you're willing to part with your brother. Mine is my heir. He's not marrying into the Lans."

"Da-ge, be reasonable-"

Huaisang tunes them out and waves his fan in front of his face, his mind whirling.

He doesn't care about er-ge's marriage negotiations. He has bigger fish to fry.

Really, those Jins and Jiangs are getting too bold.

[demonicheadcanons]

The Obey Me Brothers Reaction to MC Breaking Down Over Schoolwork

(Initial ask contains an ableist slur and so cannot be posted. Please, in future, refrain from using slurs in any asks sent in!! It has since been added to my rules and I will straight up delete asks with slurs in them. Thank you <3)

AN: Apologies for taking so long to get to this one, its been in my inbox for a while. I’m sorry you were feeling that way, its really difficult getting adjusted to everything again, I work in a school and a lot of the students and teachers alike are definitely really struggling. Best wishes <3

I think I’m usually okay at not letting slip that Levi is my favourite boy, but you can tell here ;u; Sorry

Lucifer

He realises all too late that things are probably tough. Initially Lucifer is distant, and whilst he notices how tired you look sometimes at RAD, he decides to ignore it - you were probably distressed because you had been pulled into the Devildom out of nowhere, you’d just have to adapt because nothing else could be done. In his mind it was pointless worrying about it.

However, as he begins to pay more and more attention to you, he realises its more than that. You frown in class, your grades jump around and you don’t leave your room regularly, probably too busy focusing on studying. The few times you’ve accepted his offer of help, you seem to be on edge.

He decides one night to check in on you, and he hears a harsh thud from a few paces down the hall. He throws the door open without knocking, convincing himself that he was just worried you might be hurt because they needed you for the exchange programme and it would be a pain replacing you now, months into the whole endeavour.

You whirl around, arm still raised, your grip tight on your textbook. He looks about and sees other books scattered about, the room a mess.

Lucifer makes a low growling noise in the back of his throat, raising a hand to press against his temples before he freezes, finally taking in the look on your face. Your eyes are wide, having been essentially caught by the one person you really, really wouldn’t want to see you right now. You lower your arm slowly as he approaches, taking your face in his hands before you can duck away from him.

His tone and expression are impossible to place as he silently examines you, gloved hands wiping across your cheeks to get rid of any traces of your tears. You don’t have the time to process any of it before he pulls you against his chest, wrapping his arms carefully around your shoulders.

Lucifer is silent, almost eerily so, and he holds you there without moving until you either push him away or until you stop sniffling and drop the book. Even when he does speak again, he’s quiet, deep in thought as he looks around the room and tells you simply to head over to his - he’ll bring you something to eat shortly, get some rest in the meantime. You mumble something about a test, and he waves a hand. He’ll bring the textbook, its fine, go rest.

It takes him a half hour to get to his room, carrying a tray with some tea and snacks. Your textbook is tucked under one arm, and he gently invites you to eat before he starts talking things out. He asks if classes are too difficult, asks if there’s anything in particular you’re struggling with. He makes a lot of offers - Luci is a busy guy, but he can free up a time slot if you want to study with him, or he can get you a tutor, or you can simply text him your concerns and he’ll respond as soon as he’s available. His advice is simple and realistic.

Once you’re done eating and drinking, he opens the textbook and goes over the things that are most likely to be on the test. He gives tips, explains the things that confuse you in a clear and concise manner. He’s a good teacher, and he’s a lot more patient than you’ve seen him before.

Overall, Lucifer is a quiet comfort, but a determined one. He works to make things easier for you in the background, marking out important parts of the textbook so you know what to focus on, and offering a hand whenever you need it. Also, when you get back to your room later, your books are neatly organised on your desk.

[Other brothers under the read more]

Mammon

Mammon randomly pops into your room quite often, making excuses about how he’s absolutely entitled to because he’s in charge of taking care of you. On this particular evening, you have absolutely no warning as per usual and he doesn’t bother knocking, because this boy only has good manners when it benefits him.

He freezes instantly, and he’s over to you in a second before you can throw whatever’s in your hand. His grip is careful but tight on your wrist and he squeezes until you let it go, tossing whatever it was onto your bed without looking and wrapping you up in his arms. You might feel trapped for a second, but he has this fear that you’re Going To Get Hurt and so he just holds onto you until you settle and start sobbing against his chest. (Mammon is panicking too much to think about it, and he’ll definitely apologise after and try not to do it again if he scared you.)

He pulls you over to the bed and sits you down, a hand smoothing through your hair. His grip remains on you at all times, and you can feel his hands shaking when he asks what’s wrong, MC? Did something happen?

Mammon listens carefully, swallowing and smoothing a hand over your hair when you tell him its because the work here is just too damn hard and you can’t do it, you can’t, you can’t remember all the dates for the history or recall the right Latin to say for this one course and its not like it matters anyway because you’re human, why would you need this?

He mumbles back “I know, I know,” and runs his hands down your arms, back, along your hair. Wherever he can to comfort you, wherever makes your breathing slow back to a normal pace and takes away the hiccups left from sobbing. He doesn’t force you to look at him, almost doesn’t want you to as he bites back sniffles and sobs and wipes his face against his sleeve because crying right now won’t fix anything for you.

When you’re both calmer again, he starts rambling about something or other to take your mind off it. Mammon isn’t one to offer any immediate solutions, and rather tries to distract you with stories until you fall asleep and he can lay you down and march straight to Lucifer and demand he talk to Diavolo about this, as fearless as if he were defending Belphie or Levi for accidentally breaking something.

You’re assigned a tutor, and have tutoring sessions with each of the brothers for things they’re good at, with Lucifer and Satan covering any areas the others don’t particularly excel in. Mammon himself helps you with maths, and although he isn’t always the best at explaining it, his presence along is comforting and helps makes working through a little easier, and he’s good for taking your mind away from any stress so that you can focus without worry holding you back.

Leviathan

He had just wanted to get something back that he loaned you, a book or DVD. He can’t remember what it was the second he hears a crash and throws open your door, and finds you in a ball on the floor, the room a mess around you. You don’t even look up as the door opens, and the two of you stay in place for a few moments.

Levi doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know where to start, but he can do one thing. Quietly and carefully, he tiptoes around your room and starts putting things back where they belong. He tidies your desk, faintly organises whatever notes he finds by subject and piles them up together. He doesn’t touch you, because he’s worried you wouldn’t want him to right now, that he might scare you, and so he just tidies until the room looks a little more normal again.

When you finally look up, he’s sitting a few feet in front of you, headphones on as he stares at his D.D.D., either playing a game or watching a video or scrolling through Wikis as he waits patiently for you to start the conversation or ask for whatever comforts you need. You move over to sit beside him, and he blushes but takes off his headphones and holds an arm out so you can rest against his shoulder.

He lets you watch whatever is on his phone for a beat before asking in a hushed voice if you need anything, if something was wrong, or if someone (maybe him?) upset you. When you tell him it’s about schoolwork, he sighs and pulls you closer without thinking about it. He hands you his D.D.D. and puts his headphones on you, tells you to stay there for a bit and keep watching until he gets back.

Levi returns a few minutes later with Satan in tow, each of them carrying a bag with their own textbooks in them. Levi kneels down to take back his D.D.D. and headphones and to help you up, and tells you you’re all going to start studying together in the library. If you’d be okay with it, he means... he could use the help too, and maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad if you were there. Not for any reason in particular!

Study sessions are added to your schedule after that. Even on days where Satan is off doing something else, Levi will tutor you on whatever he finds easiest - usually history, and oftentimes its history involving the navy. His shyness melts away into confidence as he talks about all the things he’s done, about how he was appointed head thousands of years ago and he thinks he’s yet to let Diavolo down.

After study sessions you go and get a drink together, something like bubble tea or smoothies or whatever, and then play games together to relax and let the info sink in instead of obsessing over it. If you ever start to get stressed out again, Levi gently puts his headphones on you and the two of you wait it out together, and he smiles at you every time you take the headphones off and take a deep breath, ready to keep working. He’s proud.

Satan

Satan is observant enough to notice ahead of time that something is about to happen. You seem horribly stressed and unfocused in your classes one day in particular, and he decides to stop by your room the second he gets home to find out what was wrong.

He knocks and waits for a while, but you don’t answer, and he was sure he heard noise before but now your room is deathly silent. He carefully creaks the door open a bit to call in and see if you’re there, and hears paper crumpling against the door. Deciding to investigate, he opens it a little more and slides in through the gap.

The room is a mess of books and paper and pillows, and you’re at your desk, hands clamped hard over your ears. You’re making some kind of whimpering noise every now and then, and Satan starts to piece things together as he gathers up books in one arm and smooths out paper. He taps you on the back before moving back a pace or two, just in case.

You freeze before turning around to look at him, seeming almost guilty, and he doesn’t really get why you’d feel that way but he holds up your books and clears his throat. “Do you want some help?”

Satan is more practical than emotional and, whilst he isn’t sure what kind of comfort he can offer you right now, he knows he can help with the work, help make it easier. He pulls a chair over beside you, motioning for you to scoot over, and leans against you as he opens the first book and asks where you were struggling. He keeps a constant connection between the two of you, either has his leg against yours or his entire side against you so that you know he’s there, so that you’re permanently aware of his presence.

He doesn’t look at you too often, not when you can see him do it. Even then, there’s no judgement in his gaze, just his brows furrowing slightly out of concern until your breathing in alright and you start to smile in little bursts again. He smiles then as well, scribbling down some notes for you.

After that, Satan regularly pulls you aside after class and asks if you want to come out with him to a cafe or to the library, or he’ll call you to his room in the house and ask if you’ll let him teach you this set of notes so that he can remember it better. He’s subtle, never really brings up what happened and never asks you about it because he’s already got it all figured out in his mind. Instead, he just works on moving on from it and making sure it doesn’t happen again, and if it does, he’ll be ready to be there for you again.

Asmodeus

Asmo had decided to visit your room because you weren’t responding to his messages asking if you wanted to go out shopping with him. Majolish had new season wear and he absolutely needed to go get first pickings at it, and he wanted you there by his side.

He knocks but opens your door immediately after anyway, not giving you time to do much more than turn to face the door, bringing the pillow you were about to throw up over your face instead so he can’t read too much of your expression. He sees the tears, anyway, and without thinking walks over to you and holds your face in his hands.

His voice is laced with concern as he asks what’s wrong, and he immediately looks like he’s going to cry as well, but he just did his makeup and he’s not going to risk ruining it right now. Instead he moves over to the bed and pulls you down onto his lap, holding you tight against his chest. He keeps asking, every few moments, if something was wrong and if there’s anything he can do, and his eyes dart around the room to try to piece it all together. Your books were still out on your desk, pillows a mess around the room, and you... You were curled up against him, shaking and choking down sobs.

Asmo pouts and holds you in silence until you calm down and start talking to him, start telling him what was wrong, what subject you’d been struggling with over the past hour and you were still stuck on the same damn page and not making any progress and the test was only a few days away and everyone was expecting so much from you, you who never even asked to be here. Obviously you weren’t good enough for this, obviously they should’ve chosen someone better-

Asmo cuts you off there, pushes against your shoulders until he can see your expression and cup your face in his hands. He’s not having you put yourself down because you’re struggling with work that the centuries-old demons also had a hard time with, not on his watch, and he tells you just as much. When he’s done half-scolding you, his expression softens and he offers whatever help he can. He’s sure he can rope Satan or Lucifer into helping out, and if not he can charm the examiners into giving you a better score... he keeps going until some of his silly advice gets you to snort out a little laugh, and then he relaxes.

He lays back and pulls you down with him, sighing as he instructs you to take a nap, and then after you two can go out shopping and you’ll figure everything out as you strip Majolish bare of its new wonderful outfits. And Asmo keeps to his word. As you’re trying things on he talks through the stall walls, proposing different ideas to you whilst simultaneously boosting your confidence as he compliments you and finds the perfect outfits for you.

Asmo makes it clear that if ever you should need a distraction, just give him a call - there’s always something better to do than reading over textbooks, and he’ll throw in study sessions so long as you’re there to spend time with him. Anything to make you feel better.

Beelzebub

Beel was in the kitchen, clearing out the fridge as usual when he heard a muffled thud against the wall. He pauses, turning to look in that direction, and realises that its the wall attached to your room.

He’s outside your door in no time, and taps nervously against it with his fingertips before opening the door slightly and calling in to ask if you were okay, and could he come in please? He hesitates when you don’t respond, but decides to head in anyway, because you might be hurt and any embarrassments he’s sure the two of you could live with, but with an injury there was no guarantee, not for a human.

There are books everywhere, the room as messy as he’s ever seen it, and you’re... nowhere to be seen. Not until he hears a sniffle and rounds the corner into the dining room section, and finds you curled up in a ball against the wall, face against your knees. He’s quick to back away, worried that he’ll upset you more, but then Beel kneels down a few paces in front of you and leans forward to tap your arm.

You flinch and look up immediately, pulling your knees closer to your chest until you realise its him, and then you just look guilty. Beel’s chest hurts, he feels horrible - what happened to make you feel like this? Could he help, or should he go get someone else? He asks just as much, voice somewhat broken over the questions as he hesitates. He doesn’t get this anxious often, but right now you remind him of Belphie a few thousand years ago, and he doesn’t know what to do with that.

He pushes the thought away and slides closer, sitting against the wall beside you. His presence might not help, and he waits for you to tell him to leave, but after a while you press against his side and he opens his arms to you and holds you as tight as he can until you feel a little bit okay again. And then he asks, again, what’s wrong, and he waits for you to tell him, shaking but as patient as can be. You open up to him slowly, and he listens.

Beel doesn’t know how to help, doesn’t think he’d be a good tutor for you, doesn’t know how to relieve the stress really. But, he promises his arms are always there if you want a warm hug, and... he is sure that there is some resolution to be found, but for now you should just do your best and that’s all anyone could expect from you, and if anyone doesn’t like that then... he’ll be your bodyguard, ready to defend you at any moment. He was good at that, sometimes.

Beel smiles at you and gives you the warmest smile he can manage before tucking your head back against his shoulder or chest. He tells you to rest for a little while, and then you can try working again later. Whilst you’re asleep, he pulls out his D.D.D. and messages Belphie asking for advice, and then Lucifer. By the time you wake up, he’s got a few tips from the brothers and a tutoring timetable is being organised by Lucifer for the two of you, so that you wouldn’t be alone.

Belphegor

Belphie doesn’t know why he was on his way to your room, and he stops thinking about it the second he throws the door open and sees you crying. He’s too tired to put the pieces together as he looks around, too tired to really take in the room, but he’s on high alert when he runs over and wraps you in his arms, looking around properly to see if anyone was there, if anyone had hurt you.

You can hear him growling in the back of his throat until he slowly relaxes, shoulders lowering as he takes in how messy your room is. It must’ve been you, he decides, holding you closer to him. A demon would’ve left this place in a horrible state. But nothing was torn, just scattered around.

He’s more awake when he pulls you over to the bed and immediately lays down with you on his chest. He doesn’t get what’s wrong yet, but he’ll figure it out. He wills his powers, his sin’s influence, over you until you’re drowsy and fall asleep, still sniffling occasionally, and then he starts to work things out.

By the time you wake up, Belphie apologises for how disorientated you might feel. He probably should’ve talked to you first before making you fall asleep. He smiles sheepishly at you, but the concern in his eyes is only thinly veiled, and you can see through to it.

“So, school, huh?” he asks, lopsided smile almost teasing. He wants to make you smile, or laugh if he’s lucky. Instead you make a frustrated noise and press your face into his chest again, and he pats your head to comfort you. You hear him swallow before he pushes against your shoulders to get you to look at him again.

He’s not hiding so much when he asks what’s wrong, and he listens as you stumble through an explanation before sighing and asking if you want to take another nap. He grins when you glare at him, before adjusting you both so you’re sitting up again. “Let’s get to work, then. What subject is first?”

Belphie isn’t the best at a lot of the work, and he’s missed a lot of classes, but he’s a decent help and he keeps your stress down by cracking jokes and patting your head when you do well. He’s a comforting presence, and if you get overwhelmed again he leans his elbows against the desk, head in hands, and suggests you take another nap with him because he could really use one right now. He laughs when you swat at him and tell him to focus, and then looks at you and tells you that you can come to him if you need help, anytime. Don’t wake him up if he’s deep asleep, though - get Mammon or someone stupid to do that, he jokes, just in case he lashes out.

In future, Belphie will tap on your door when he knows you’re studying and, although he often falls asleep at your desk or just immediately heads over to your bed to nap, he gives off a comforting aura that makes the work a bit bearable for longer.

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Belonging

Mammon x gn!MC

Words - 4606

Content warnings - lots of angst, insecure MC, Mammon is an ass at first ‘cause he’s a tsundere

Prompt/inspiration - self indulgent comfort piece

Summary - That one time when Mammon’s tsundere tendencies broke your heart.

AO3

You had been so stupid. So foolish. So naive.

When you first met Mammon, he took your breath away. You had never seen someone just so...beautiful. It was an honest to goodness love at first sight moment, something that you didn’t even believe possible until then. Yeah he seemed a little harsh, but you convinced yourself it was just because he was shy and easily embarrassed. As soon as he got to know you better, you were sure he’d calm down a bit and open up to you.

It was slow going though. Just when you had started thinking you had finally managed to become friends with him, something would happen that would send you back to square one again. For every step forward you took, you would inevitably take 3 steps back.

But after a while, things did eventually seem to be going your way. He’d come over for movie nights. You were allowed to hang out in his room. He no longer stuttered out excuses when he would walk you to and from RAD. You had started to feel comfortable. Like maybe everything in your shitty life up until now might have actually been worth it because finally, FINALLY you had someone who genuinely enjoyed being around you.

Until today, that is, when you were not-so-gently reminded of your place.

The night began like any other Friday evening - a movie night with Mammon, Beel, and Levi. Everyone had gathered in Mammon’s room, snacks were plentiful, and you were getting to sit next to Mammon. As the movie progressed, you casually adjusted your position so that you could hold his hand. But as soon as your palm touched his and he realized what you were doing, he pulled back and yelled at you.

“What the hell are ya doing?!”

If it wasn’t for the look on his face, you would have sworn he was embarrassed. Instead, there was no doubt in your mind just how disgusted he was at the idea of you touching him. You didn’t notice when the movie was paused. Or when the lights were turned on. All you could see were his eyes boring into yours. Looking like he wanted to vomit on the spot at the very idea of having ever been close to you.

“Umm...I...just…” you stumbled over your words, unsure what to say. What could you even say? He knew you had tried to hold his hand. And that’s all there was to it. You made a move, the wrong one, and he rejected you.

“Sorry...I’ll umm...just go…” was all you managed to finally get out, as you made a mad dash to your room. Your cheeks were burning with shame, and tears pricking at your eyes.

How could you have been so arrogant? Thinking someone could actually be interested in a person like you. This wasn’t your home. These weren’t your friends. They weren’t your family. You didn’t belong here. You didn’t belong anywhere. You had let yourself get comfortable, indulging your delusions and fantasies and ignoring all the many warning signs that you weren’t actually wanted here.

Even though Mammon was your official Guardian, the rest of the brothers still did their part to make sure you survived your year in one piece. And you had mistaken this courtesy as actual kindness. If anyone had been nice to you, it was out of obligation or pity. You were so desperate to believe you had finally found a place of your own that you let yourself be tricked into thinking demons would actually care about you.

You should have known better. It’s not like you hadn’t had this experience before. People who tolerated you and then at the first available opportunity cut you from their lives. You knew there was something wrong with you, there had to be, for as many times as this had happened. But since no one stuck around very long at all, you honestly had no idea what that might be. If someone would have just told you, you would have fixed it.

By the time you had made it to the safety of your room, your tears had already started to fall in large, heavy drops. You didn’t make a sound. You were too numb to even sob. You just laid down on your bed, facing the wall, and cried. If you could even call it crying. It was more like tears just poured from your eyes. You didn’t even know it was possible to cry that many tears, yet here you were - soaking your pillow, unable to stop the flow.

At some point, you had managed to get your breathing under control. And then, even your tears dried up. You turned to lay on your back, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out where you should go from here. You still had to make it through the rest of the year, and you had to find some way of doing that peacefully. Maybe if you talked to Lucifer he would assign you a different Guardian? You didn’t really want a different Guardian though, but you doubted you would be able to emotionally handle spending any more time with Mammon. Especially since every time you closed your eyes you could still see that look on his face.

After weighing your options you decided the only thing for you to do really was to put on a happy face. You’d be polite to anyone that talked to you, but you were going to be smart this time. You were going to keep your distance. Not just from Mammon, but from everyone else too.

There was no point in giving yourself the chance to believe you actually could make any friends here. Doubtless it would end up the same way. So you were going to do the minimum - go to RAD, come back to your room, and stay in your room until it was time to leave for RAD again, only leaving with the exception of meal times. No more movie nights, or gaming tournaments, or shopping trips, or restaurant tours. You were just going to keep to yourself and...survive.

————

Breakfast the following morning was oddly quiet. Beel, Mammon, and Levi kept exchanging looks, but you pretended you didn’t notice and just focused on your meal. You had found a comfortable sense of numbness since the previous night, and had now more or less come to terms with the fact you weren’t wanted here and had gotten carried away.

Lucifer had needed to head out a bit earlier to attend a before school meeting with Lord Diavolo, so you asked if you could walk with him instead. He raised an eyebrow at your unexpected request, but thankfully didn’t ask any additional questions. Of all the brothers he was actually the one you were most comfortable with at the moment. Probably because you never had any doubts about the fact he wasn’t overly fond of you.

When classes had ended for the day, you realized that you would need to walk home with Mammon. But after a full day of perfecting your “nice” smile, and mastering how to behave “politely” without taking things personally, you felt better prepared to handle it than you had that morning. Mammon seemed nervous, blushing and fidgeting most of the way. Any other day, you would have asked him what was wrong, but now you were committed to keeping your distance so you ignored him.

Once you arrived back at the House of Lamentation, however, he finally started talking to you before you had a chance to hide away in your room again.

“Uhh...about last night...I…”

“It’s fine, Mammon,” you said, smiling your best, bright smile, “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

“That’s...I was jus’ surprised is all…”

“Then I’m sorry for surprising you.”

“So umm...do you wanna...try again...maybe…?”

For the briefest moment, your smile faltered. You were quick to correct it, but of course Mammon noticed that split second of hesitation before you answered.

“No thank you. It was nice of you to offer though. But I don’t think I’ll be going to movie night anymore, so you really don’t have to worry about me.”

“Huh? That’s not what I was...this wasn’t about the movie…!”

You gave Mammon another perfect, reassuring smile before leaving him in the entryway, flustered beyond belief at what just happened. He could understand that you might not have known what he was asking right away, but to say you didn’t want to go to movie night at all? That seemed like a bit of an overreaction. Not to mention the fact that the entire conversation just seemed...weird. You were smiling too much for one thing, and he really didn’t like it. He enjoyed making you smile, but this just wasn’t right.

And he couldn’t just let that go.

No sooner had you sat down at the table in your room to begin on your assignments, than the door was flung open as Mammon barged in. You stared at him, stunned, unable to grasp why he had followed you to your room. When he saw you looking at him, he once again got flustered, but was quick to recover this time - he was on a mission.

“Look I know I yelled at ya and all, but that ain’t a reason to skip movie night. Who's gonna feed Beel? Or make sure Levi doesn’t put on those weird anime movies with the tentacles and shit?”

“I’m sure you’ll manage. You had to have worked things out somehow before I arrived. You don’t need to try to include me,” you replied, turning your back to Mammon so you could focus on your work.

“Movie night was your idea! Ya can’t just quit!”

“I said it’s fine,” you could feel your frustration building in your chest. You had wanted to do this peacefully, but Mammon was so stubborn, more stubborn than you had anticipated given his reaction to you yesterday.

“It ain’t fine!”

“Leave it alone, Mammon,” you snapped, stopping what you were doing as you tried to calm yourself down again. You weren’t going to let him get to you. He’d wear himself out and lose interest eventually. You just needed to be patient until he realized he didn’t have to entertain you anymore.

“How can I leave it alone? I’ve said worse stuff to ya before and you haven’t acted like this.”

“I know when I’m not wanted. It’s fine.”

You weren’t about to open up and confide in him all your worries and fears. Even if he was asking out of politeness, you knew he wouldn’t really want to hear about that stuff anyways. He barely tolerated your physical presence, there wasn’t any way he’d want to be burdened with your emotional baggage too.

Mammon was silent for a while after that. He didn’t know what to say, or how to explain. He knew he had fucked up. Badly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want you next to him. He did. More than he’d care to admit. Which was actually part of the problem. He didn’t want to admit he cared. Because admitting he cared would mean you could reject him. If you weren’t aware of his feelings, then you would just be stuck with him, and that was good enough for him. It had to be.

At least it had been up until now. Now, Mammon feared if he didn’t say something, anything, he’d lose any chance at ever talking to you again.

“...I wanted ya there…” he finally whispered, so quietly you almost didn’t hear it.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yeah I do!” he said, much louder than he had spoken before. Couldn’t you tell he was trying to say that he liked you? That he enjoyed your company? Did you really have to argue with him about it?

“...whatever,” you said with a sigh as you began to open your school books.

“Hey! Listen to me will ya!? I’m trying to say I like you!”

You flinched at Mammon’s sudden declaration.

“And you expect me to believe that?” you replied, your tone laced with venom. You knew what was coming next - his inevitable backpedaling that he always did. Where he made excuses and belittled you and made sure to crush any hope you may have had that he actually liked you in any capacity because the idea of anyone thinking he actually had a soft spot for you was apparently absolutely appalling.

“Why wouldn’t you?! You should feel honored and…!”

“Why wouldn’t I?? Seriously?? You’re asking me that?”

You turned in your seat to glare at Mammon, angry tears gathering at the corners of your eyes. Did he seriously think so little of you that he just expected you to believe whatever you told him?

“I dunno Mammon, maybe it’s because ever since I got here you made a point to remind me what a burden I am and how much trouble I cause. Maybe it’s because you constantly dump me on your brothers to avoid your responsibilities. Maybe it’s because every time I try to be nice to you, you push me away and make me feel stupid for even trying. But hey, what do I know? I’m just the dumb human, right?”

By now your tears had started to fall, but you couldn’t even be bothered to dry them. You finally had the chance to get everything off your chest that had been building since you were dragged down to the Devildom and you didn’t feel like stopping anytime soon. Your rational thoughts had long since flown, and all that was left was your extremely hurt, angry, emotional self that was bound and determined to make sure Mammon knew just how much pain he had caused you.

Mammon, for his part, was completely dumbfounded. Personally, he thought he had been doing alright trying to get to know you. He wasn’t used to people actually being nice to him for one thing, so he was always so suspicious whenever you were.

But what he hadn’t realized though, was how genuine all your advances had been, and how much he had hurt you in trying to protect himself.

“I-I-I…”

“I’m not the sort of person anyone likes. I know that. So whatever joke it is you’re trying to pull, just stop it already!”

“I ain’t messin’ around!”

“What are you not understanding here??” you yelled, slamming your hands down on your desk as you stood up to face Mammon, “I don’t connect with people. I’m never the one that gets picked. So just stop it ok?! I don’t know what Lucifer threatened you with…”

“He didn’t threaten me with anything!”

“Oh please, like you actually want to spend any time with me.”

“Of course I do! That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to tell ya!”

“...you don’t mean that. No one ever means that.” You crossed your arms, hugging yourself tightly, averting your gaze. Your anger had started to fade and all that was left was an overwhelming sense of sadness.

“Why do ya keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true. It’s just what happens. Whatever it is that lets people make friends, I don’t have it. I always think I do, but it never works out. So why would this time be any different? I just...I can’t do this again.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I love you!” you shouted, having finally reached the end of your patience with Mammon’s endless questions. This wasn’t how you had wanted to tell him. But you didn’t know what else to say at this point because nothing else seemed to be getting through to him.

Cautiously, Mammon took a step forward. Then another. Until he was standing right in front of you. You kept your eyes trained on the ground, refusing to look up. You didn’t want to see the look on his face. Not after you had just confessed to him. It had been bad enough when he yelled at you for holding his hand, and you were sure seeing him now would kill you.

But, Mammon didn’t force the issue. Instead, he slowly reached out for your hands, carefully twining your fingers together as he lowered his head to rest it against yours.

“...do ya mean that?”

“Of course I do,” you mumbled, “But it doesn’t matter. It never matters. I’m not good at this stuff.” You rubbed your fingers over Mammon’s hands, playing with his rings as you tried to distract yourself from the conversation you were having. Your heart was hammering in your chest, and you were so nervous you couldn’t stand it. It almost didn’t seem real to you, to have him standing so close to you, willingly touching you. Perhaps that’s why you weren’t shying away from being honest about your feelings and why you were letting yourself touch him like you were. If it was all only a dream, it didn’t matter anyways.

“It matters to me...I like ya too. A whole lot. And...I’m sorry for makin’ ya feel anything different. It’s just…” Mammon hesitated. This was the most honest he had been with another being in centuries, and his instincts to pull away and run were still strong. But you had been honest with him, and after all the hurt he caused you, it was probably the absolute least he could do.

“It’s just...I know how it feels. Ta not be wanted. And I uh...didn’t trust ya at first. I thought...you would be like my brothers and were just mocking me…”

That last sentence made your heart ache and you lifted your head slowly to look at Mammon. His eyes were closed now, but you could see the tears gathering at the corners and the dampness of his lashes. It was clear to you then that these were his true feelings, and not something he was sharing easily. Without a word, you released his hands, slipping your arms around his waist to pull him into a hug. He flinched at the sudden contact, but didn’t waste any time returning the gesture, wrapping his arms around you and hiding his face in your shoulder.

“I’d never do that,” you replied.

“Well yeah, I know that now.”

“I think you’re amazing, you know? I always have fun with you. And I like spending time with you. When you’re not acting like I’m the plague,” you teased, turning your head slightly to catch a glimpse of Mammon’s face and the faintest hint of a smile that tugged at his lips.

“S’rry. I think yer pretty amazing too. You put up with me an’ my brothers for starters.”

You laughed softly at his reply, feeling his arms tighten around you as he hugged you closer.

“Do you umm...wanna watch a movie…?” Mammon asked, hopeful that you’d take him up on the offer so he’d have a good reason for staying with you a little longer.

“Yeah, we can do that. I didn’t get to finish the movie from the other night.”

You pulled away from Mammon to grab your laptop from beside your bed, before climbing into it and making yourself comfortable. When you looked up, Mammon was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor, blushing furiously.

“Oh. Do you not want to sit here? Sorry! We can…” you started to ramble, terrified you had made him uncomfortable again and already messed up everything that you had just seemed to fix.

“No! It’s uh...not that...umm…” Mammon said, moving to sit on the edge of your bed, “Do you umm...wanna try...ya know...holding hands…?”

You blinked a few times as you processed Mammon’s request, staring at his outstretched hand that he was offering to you. Was this what he had been trying to ask you about after school…?

“I mean! It’s fine if ya don’t want to!”

“Wait!” you grabbed his hand quickly, before he had the opportunity to pull it back, “I’d like that. A lot,” you said, your cheeks heating up in embarrassment, “Can I ask you something?” Mammon nodded as he scooted back onto the bed so that he could sit next to you, “Is this umm, what you were trying to ask me about earlier? When we first got back?”

“Yeah,” now sitting comfortably beside you, he adjusted his grip on your hand, lacing your fingers together and allowing you to snuggle up next to him and rest your head on his shoulder. He was nervous at having you so close, but at the same time, he didn’t think he had ever felt more relaxed. There was a certain comfort in knowing that you felt the same way towards him and weren’t going to chase him off for wanting to be near you. He still had a long way to go in the “open and honest” department, but at least with you he didn’t have to hide his feelings any longer.

As the movie played, Mammon found himself struggling to concentrate. You had said a lot of things earlier when you had been so upset that he hadn’t been sure what you meant, or how he was supposed to respond. One thought in particular kept echoing in his mind that he really felt like he needed to address - that you didn’t feel wanted.

“Hey, do you umm, think we could talk?” he finally asked. You paused the movie and closed your laptop, nervous to hear what he had to say.

“Sure,” you replied meekly and Mammon gave your hand what he hoped would be a reassuring squeeze.

“I guess I just want to make sure you know that I want ya around. I know I can be a bit of an idiot at times and don’t always think things through...but that’s how I feel. And I know my brothers feel the same too.”

“Thank you. For telling me.” You could feel your throat tightening and you knew you were probably close to tears again, as if you hadn’t already cried enough today.

“And I’m gonna prove it to ya, you know? The Great Mammon’s gonna show ya just how special you are.”

A small smile spread across your face as you snuggled closer to Mammon. He nudged you gently with his elbow, which only made your smile broaden, and you nudged him in return, causing him to laugh. It didn’t take long for a full on tickle fight to erupt, which only stopped when Mammon had managed to successfully pin you to the mattress. Realizing the position he was in made Mammon’s face flush, but he didn’t move, and you simply looped your arms around his neck holding him in place with a hug. He carefully lowered his body so he could wrap you up in a hug of his own, as you buried your face into the crook of his neck.

You had been so certain earlier that you’d never get a chance to have a moment like this with him. And part of you feared if you were to let him go, he’d leave for good. But no matter how tightly you held him, Mammon held you just as tight. He too had been waiting for this for a long time and wasn’t about to let you go any sooner than necessary.

—————

The following morning, Mammon was already gone by the time you woke up. The realization stung, but you tried to focus on the positives and pushed those thoughts aside, determined not to let yourself jump to the worst case scenario before you had even eaten your breakfast. You quickly got yourself ready, and made your way downstairs, taking your usual seat at the table. Mammon had yet to make an appearance, so you focused on your food, anxiously waiting for him to join you.

When you heard the dining room doors open, you quickly snapped your head up, smiling as Mammon made his way into the room. He locked eyes with you, grinning, but as soon as he noticed that his brothers were also watching him, he averted his gaze and your heart shattered.

Of course, you thought, how could you have forgotten? Just because he admitted to liking you in private didn’t actually mean he would treat you any differently. The thought made your stomach churn, and you had to fight the urge to dash from the room, choosing instead to return your attention to the food on your plate. This was going to be so much worse now that you knew he was aware of your feelings, you thought, blinking back tears.

Shit.

Mammon had reflexively looked away from you for the briefest of moments when he had become aware of his brothers staring. But almost immediately he had stopped himself and looked back at you to offer you a smile. It hadn’t been quick enough though, and he only caught sight of your face as it fell and you attempted to hide your disappointment. He really hadn’t meant to hurt you. Especially not so soon after the two of you had finally opened up to each other.

And now what was he supposed to do?

Well, there really was only one thing he could think of - Make ‘em jealous.

Taking a deep breath, Mammon walked to his seat, nudging his chair over until it was right next to yours, before finally sitting down. You looked up at him, stunned and confused, and he flashed you his usual cocky grin, which only made your heart leap in your throat. Just what was going on? you wondered.

“Ooo Mammon, you’re sitting awfully close today,” Asmodeus teased.

“What’s it to ya, Asmo? Ya jealous?” Mammon, quipped back as he started serving himself some breakfast. He could feel you staring as you struggled to wrap your head around what was happening, and he smirked, shooting you a sideways glance.

“It’s just not fair that you keep hogging them all to yourself. The rest of us should get a chance to sit next to them too.”

“Enough. It’s too early in the morning for this sort of nonsense,” said Lucifer, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You know, dear brother, you’re going to get horrible wrinkles if you don’t get more rest,” replied Asmo, shifting his attention to Lucifer.

Mammon turned to look at you, not at all surprised to see that you were still staring at him in shock. He looked down at your lap, and you followed his gaze as he opened his right hand, palm up, and offered it to you. You stared at it for a few moments, before finally sliding your hand into his. You looked up at him again, only to find that his cheeks were now a very deep shade of red, one that spread all the way to the tips of his ears. He was clearly not prepared for how...different...it was going to feel to hold your hand when surrounded by his brothers, and you couldn’t help but smile at him.

He was quick to turn his attention to his breakfast, and you did the same, occasionally sneaking glances at Mammon as you ate. Mammon could feel your eyes on him, and while mildly embarrassing, also made him ridiculously happy. Up until yesterday he had been so afraid of making a move in your direction, he hadn’t even stopped to think of the possibility of you actually accepting him. And now that he was holding your hand, he was determined to never let it go.

[megsmulti]

Her Legacy Lives On

She’s gone. Jane’s really gone. Don’t get him wrong, it was extremely painful for Thor to watch the only woman he’s ever loved die in his arms right in front of him, but both of them knew it was coming. That’s why it was less traumatic for him than Loki’s or anyone else’s death was. Jane could only fight so many battles as the Mighty Thor before the cancer took over her completely. But, she went out with a bang and that may have been Jane’s plan all along.

Thor finally returned to the hospital to inform Valkyrie, who felt very sorrowful, of what had happened along with retrieving some of Jane’s belongings from her room. When he saw her phone on the side table near the bed she was staying in, he knew that he had to be the one to tell Darcy and Selvig.

He picked up Jane’s phone and successfully unlocked it, opening the contacts app and scrolling through until he found Darcy’s name. Thor hesitated for a second before he pressed her name and hit the call button.

“Hello?” Darcy answered after the first ring.

“Darcy?” Thor replied.

“Thor?” She asked, wanting to make sure that it was the right person calling her. “Is that you?”

“Yeah. Is Selvig with you?”

“Nope, just me. He’s currently teaching a class right now. Why?”

There was a brief pause in the conversation. Thor didn’t want to relay this information, but he had to.

“Listen, I hate to tell you this, but-“

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Truth be told, Darcy was expecting this call any day now. It’s still hard to hear that her best friend and one of her mentors was no longer in this world. It’s certainly going to be a hard adjustment.

“Yeah.”

“May I ask how it happened?”

“We were in the hospital saying goodbye because I was about to go off into battle, but Mjolnir was calling out to her after I left, and she came to help me fight. In the end, it wasn’t enough to keep us both on this earth, unfortunately.”

“Damn. That’s a hell of a way to go out! But, I understood why she did it.” Darcy gently sighed before speaking again. “She’s always loved you, Thor. She thought that dating a superhero was the most fascinating thing in the world. I know she’s looking down on you from Valhalla, proud of everything you’re doing.”

“Well, she was pretty fascinating herself, not gonna lie. It was her idea for me to adopt a little girl.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. She’s the daughter of the guy I beat in battle.” Darcy widened her eyes. That’s not something you hear every day. “It was his final wish. His death in exchange for her resurrection.”

“Wow! That just proves my point, then! Jane’s legacy will live on in every way possible. I know it will.

“Thanks, Darcy. You know, if you ever want to come visit New Asgard, you’re always welcome.”

“Eh, I’m due for a vacation, so it might be sooner rather than later. I know that you probably will have Jane’s books lying around, but if the girl wants a true masterclass in astrophysics, you let me know and Aunt Darcy will come through!” Thor chuckled. “The same offer is extended to you to come to New Mexico. Don’t be a stranger!

“Can’t wait. And noted! I might just bring my friends along next time.”

“Please do!” Darcy has been wanting to meet Valkyrie since Jane kept mentioning her all the time over the phone. “It was great talking to you, Thor. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll tell Selvig as soon as possible.”

“Thanks. It was nice talking to you as well. Take care of yourself.”

“You too!” As she hung up, Thor dropped his hand to the side, phone still in it. He had to admit that it was great to talk to an old friend again. He knew that when he started seeing Jane, he would be seeing Darcy around too. Those two were a package deal and he was more than okay with that.

She was right. Jane Foster’s legacy will live on forever, both as an astrophysicist and as the Mighty Thor. She saved Thor’s life, both literally and figuratively. He didn’t know what love was nor was he focused on it that much until he met Jane. Looking back on it now, besides joining the Avengers and gaining a second family, going to New Mexico all those years ago was the best decision he’s ever made in his life and he wouldn’t change it for the world.

[bokettochild]

If you’re still taking requests maybe Legend showing off his outfits from Triforce Heroes (if you consider that one of his games) or just the fierce deity outfit if that’s to much

Good grief! This one really took it away! I liked the prompt so much, and had so many ideas for it, that I think this might have to be a multi-parter (wasn't expecting that).

I touched on three outfits in this one, but I have six more I might do as well. For reference, I included the Kolkiri Clothes, Linebeck's Uniform and the Cozy Parka.

I also realized while writing this that this is the first time I've written from Wind's perspective, which is positively criminal!

I am still taking requests by the way! If you want to see something, shoot it at me!

(Fic below the cut)

It started so normal, Wind never thought it would get so insane.

They were in the Old Man’s Hyrule, too far from the ranch to make it by nightfall but close enough to still be in a relatively safe location. Time had called for them to set up camp and as they were close to a stream, Twilight had called for the additional order of baths.

Watching Twilight drag his protégé into the water was almost worth having to have his head scrubbed by Sky.

Most of them had taken the chance to cool off and mess around once they were clean, and while Warriors attempted to duck Time under the water (a mistake, they soon realized, when the man easily overpowered the captain, who ended up getting dunked instead) and Wild sat in a tree watching their backs (hanging up to dry, Twilight had joked), Wind found that the rest of them were content to swim idly in the water, with only the occasional splash from one or another of them. Usually, there would be more noise, but Twilight was teaching Hyrule to doggie paddle, and they needed calmer waters so as to not scare the Traveler.

He cast his eyes over their group. A red-faced Warriors was coughing and spluttering out insults at a smug looking Time (boy he needed his picto-box), Twilight was gently coaxing Hyrule to the other bank in a manner highly resemblant of a parent urging a baby to walk, Wild was keeping watch, and Sky was relaxing in the shallows.

Where were Four and Legend?

A glance upwards and a signed conversation with Wild later and Wind was making his way upstream a way, around a bend that blocked off most of the noise but that Wild could still see over if needed, to where Four and Legend sat together one the bank.

Or rather, Legend sat, Four was floating in the shallows with a curious expression as he watched the vet- cleaning clothes?

“We’re out here having a good time and you’re doing the laundry? Boring much.” He drawled, drawing the attention of the two heroes.

“I don’t like swimming around others.” Legend scrunched up his nose in disgust, it wiggled, almost cutely. “And my things needed a wash.”

He snorted, turning his questioning gaze to Four.

The smithy shrugged. “It’s quieter over here, and Wars will try and dunk me if he gets the chance.” A heavy sigh escaped the shortest hero. “He really needs to be taken down a notch some days.”

“Some days?” Legend snorted.

Wind just rolled his eyes. So, what if Wars had a bit of an ego and spent a lot of time messing with them? It was just the way the captain expressed himself, Wind would do the same if he could get away with it and had a few inches on the others.

A flash of color in the spring caught his attention, bright pink against the soft blue of the water, and he surged forwards. “What’s that?”

Legend’s hand hit his face as the vet reached out to push him back, effectively pushing the excited child under water, and for a brief moment, Wind could swear he saw a pink skirt drifting just before his face before it disappeared and he was popping up out of the water again with a splash.

“You have pink clothes?” He grinned at the bundle of fabric in the Vet’s hands.

“I have clothes in all colors.” Legend sniffed, batting another piece of fabric at him in a shooing motion.

“Doubt.” Four and Wind deadpanned. “Nobody has that much clothing.”

Legend’s face was drawn, eyes dark with that haunted look that Time sometimes got when looking at the moon. “I do.”

Wind and Four exchanged a look. “Why would you even need so much clothing?”

“Adventure number six.” Legend sighed, returning to his washing.

Another shared glance was exchanged and the two boys swam closer to the older teen. “And you used all of it?” Legend nodded. “All by yourself?”

The vet paused. “I had some...friends, with me.”

“You have friends?” Wind sat up again, who knew the Vet actually got along with people other than Ravio and Zelda?

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, Wind, that’s kinda mean.” Four murmured.

“I don’t mean you don’t have friends,” He huffed bangs from his eyes to look at Legend better, it did nothing, they still drifted into his view and cut off his view of the top of Legend’s hat. “I mean, we’ve never seen them so I didn’t realize you were on good terms with more people than Ravio.”

Legend shrugged. “You probably won’t ever meet them, I... became acquainted with them outside of Hyrule and they’ve never been seen leaving the land where we traveled together.”

“What were their names?” Four asked lazily, eyes trailing after leaves that floated off downstream towards where the others were.

Legend’s snort caught them off guard. “You don’t want to know.”

Now that was interesting, Legend never shied away from giving names to the people he had met in his travels, what was so different about these people? He’d had nothing against telling them Ravio’s name. “Why not?” Curiosity was tickling at his just like his hair was, and it was the only thing keeping him from ducking under again to relieve the itching of slowly-drying hair.

Legend cocked a brow at the two of them. “Their names are worse than ours.”

Now Wind really wanted to know! “What were they?”

Four echoed his question, eyes glinting in the light as he stared over at the vet, who was now beginning to pack away his things again. It took some nagging (something Wind had plenty of experience with) to finally get Legend to answer, but when he did, he didn’t disappoint.

“Red, Blue and Green. A set of nut cases if you ask me.” Legend drawled, not looking at them as he stuffed something glittery and gold in his bag. Four froze, eyes flashing four colors, one after another for a moment before he turned his sharp gaze on the vet.

“Did they call you Vio by any chance?”

Wind stared. “Why would they do that? He already has a name, he wouldn’t need to match, besides, Legend doesn’t even wear purple.”

“His eyes are purple.” Four pointed out, and Wind turned to very pointedly try and see what color Legend’s eyes actually were.

They were purple.

“No, they didn’t call me Vio,” Legend rolled his eyes, pushing Wind out of his face again. “They call me Link, same as any sane person does.”

“We’re sane.” Wind protested.

“Debatable.” The two older heroes deadpanned.

Wind pouted, but let it go, gaze drifting for a moment as he let silence fall over them. Four was staring at Legend in a suspicious manner, eyes blue again, but he didn’t say anything, and the vet didn’t seem keen on saying anything either, instead getting up and walking over to the clothes he had draped across one of the trees. He wasn’t kidding, it looked like a rainbow over there.

“So, if those things belonged to your friends, why do you have them?”

“Only one with a bottomless bag.” Came the clipped reply. “That and I’m the only one who’s likely to need them again.”

“Your friends don’t need clothes?” Four balked.

“No! Of course, they do!” Legend made a face, swatting a hand at Four. “Wild’s the only one who goes around naked, I’ll have you know, and if any of them had done the same they would have been shunned by the whole kingdom.” The vet huffed, voice dropping to a mutter. “What with the fashion laws and all.”

“So, if they already have clothes of their own, what did you need all for this for?” He gestured towards the various garments that Legend was still packing away.

“They’re all enchanted, or otherwise intended for special purposes.” The vet winced. “Hopefully I’ll never need most of them again, but there’s always the chance.”

“Will we ever get to see them?” He watched as Legend stuffed another garment into one of his bags many pockets.

“Hopefully never.” Legend spat.

But when did things ever go Legend’s way?

It was a hat first.

A battle in the forest ended with black blood spattered everywhere, but with Legend and Wild having provided support from the sidelines in the form of arrows flying across the battlefield, injuries were more scarce than normal.

Of course, that could be attributed to the fact that there had only been a few of the black-blooded monsters in the camp they had just destroyed.

As most of them had gathered their weapons and wiped away the blood, Wild had come leaping down from the treetops with Legend following after at a more sedate pace. Wind wondered if that was because of the Vet’s arthritis is because of the huge hat on his head.

“Nice accessories, do some shopping while we were down here fighting?” Wars snarked, huffing a laugh at the vet as Legend’s feet touched the earth again.

Indigo blue snapped at the captain as Legend adjusted the pointed cap. “No time for that when I have you all to keep an eye on.”

Twilight sniggered. “What’s with the hat, Ledge?”

“Yeah!” Wind bounded up to the older hero, eyes wide as he looked at the strange accessory. “Where did you get that?”

“Is that one of the things you got on your last adventure?” Four mused, sparking further excitement in the sailor, if it was, than maybe Legend would actually be willing to tell them more about it!

“Yeah, is it?”

No one addressed the confused stares of the taller heroes as their three shortest members conversed.

“Yeah,” Legend lifted the hat off and brushed at its brim in a clearly fond display; if he even attempted to say anything about hating his adventure again Wind was not going to believe him, not after that smile. “A Kolkiri hat, made to aid archers and help them shoot more arrows. I don’t usually use it, but it helps when you need to take out more than one enemy at once.”

“You could just learn to shoot better.” Wild chuckled, plucking at the hats brim only to have the garment whisked out of reach by a glaring veteran.

“I can shoot well; this just helps me see better because it blocks the freaking sun.”

“Kolkiri you say?” Time mused, stepping forwards to peer at the pointed green cap.

“Sure, you didn’t just steal it off of a witch?” Wars teased.

“No witch could replicate this sort of quality,” And if there wasn’t pride in his voice than Wind would eat his boots. “Not even the finest tailors in all of Hytopia could imitate it, and they’ve tried.” Legend spun the hat in his hands before popping it back on top of his head. “Don’t know the tailor, but what I wouldn’t give to learn their tricks. Kolkiri know what they’re doing, and they do it better than most Hylian craftsmen.”

Time was smirking, and Wind really wanted to know why. “You should see the tunics they can make.”

Legend returned the smirk. “Oh, I have, I own one.”

“As do I,” Their resident old man chuckles. “Although I doubt I could fit in it any longer.”

Wind giggles, trying to imagine Time in the clothes he’s seen on the spirits of the kolkiri, it’s hard, what with how big their leader is.

“Hat might fit you though.” And as the words ring through the air, Legend is already reaching up to pull the brim of his pointed hat over Time’s face. Their leader chuckles, brushing Legend off and adjusting the hat to sit more securely on his head.

Somehow, Time looks more comfortable in the hat than he does in his armor, and even though the two clash terribly, he doesn’t seem to mind, a light smile gracing his features as they set off again.

It’s a few days before Legend brings out another item from his collection of clothes, and when he does, it’s only after the others have drifted off to sleep. Wind would have been sleeping too, but you can only stay awake so long when your mind replays the horrors of the past, and Wind can only watch in silence for so long as giant ocean-monsters attempt to destroy those he loves the most. Tetra’s scream echoes in his own cracking voice as he startles awake.

The stars shine brightly overhead, brighter still as they blur from his tears. Despite what the others might say, or the confident way he tries to convey himself, Bellum frightens him, even now, and everything he had to deal with on that adventure... it weighs heavy on his mind.

A strangles sob escapes him as he sits up to bury his head in his knees, arms wrapped tight around his legs as he tries to shake of the after-effects of the dream.

That’s all it was, after all, just a dream.

Just like the Ocean King, like Lineback, like everything else in that world had been.

It’s just a dream.

“Hey,” Legend’s voice is soft and almost lost in his sobs and the crackling of the fire, but Wind is used to listening for even the softest of sounds in the night; be it due to Aryl having a night-terror –her own dreams aren’t free from their adventure- or someone sneaking around to make trouble. “Sailor, you all good?”

It’s clear he’s not, and he knows that, so Legend really has no business asking, but at the very least he isn’t being told to stop being a baby. “’m okay.” His own voice betrays him and Wind wants to sigh in irritation. Usually, he’d pout and groan at the way his voice cracks, but right now he doesn’t have the emotional or mental strength to do anything about it.

There’s shifting from across the camp, and even though his head is still pressed against his raised knees, he sees a flicker of golden pink in the firelight as Legend crouches down before him.

Thank Hylia the vet doesn’t sit back on his ankles, Wind doesn’t want to know if he’s not wearing shorts under that skirt of his.

“None of that now, what’s eating you?” It’s a weird term, especially coming from Legend, who’s usually so clipped and professional in his speech, and Wind can’t help but huff out a short laugh.

“Nothing,” His hand dashes across his eyes, wiping the tears away, only to have more of them prick at the corners. “Go back to watch, I’m fine.”

“And Twilight is a dog person.” Legend drawls. “Look, if you have an emotional moment or whatever, you’ll be tired as shit when we have to leave in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel keen on dealing with another Sky.” It’s rough and gruff, but in a way that reminds him of Lineback rather than make him upset.

“I’m fine, just...” He dwells on his next words for a moment. He’s not scared, not really. It’s just the aftershock of a too-real dream about another too-real dream. He’s not really sad either, even if the island is gone now, he’s just... “I’m drained.” He whispers, scrubbing his eyes. “I miss everything back at home but,” He pauses, wondering briefly if Legend could even understand what he’s trying to express. “I guess I miss the things that aren’t there too.”

“Like what?” He doesn’t look up, but he knows the exact expression on Legend’s face; brow raised and mouth pulled into a thoughtful frown.

“Places... people. It’s all just dreams but..” He fiddles with the end of his blanket. “I miss the warmth of them I guess, miss the sea and the islands, even the fake ones, they were so... comforting.” He chuckles, surprising himself with the bitterness that tinges his own voice. “Even if I did spend so much of that time trying not to get killed.”

“Warmth, huh?” Legend hums. There’s a brief pause, one Wind almost takes for Legend rolling his eyes and deciding to leave him to his thoughts, but then there’s a brief rustling and something warm and thick settles over his shoulders as Legend sits at his side. “It’s no pirate uniform, but it still smells like the sea, if that helps at all.”

Wind wants to tease Legend for the sentimentality and love in the action, but when he turns to look at the Vet, his gaze falls instead on the royal blue coat that has been draped around his shoulders.

Too-long sleeves fall to fold at his waist while the rest of the long coat trails and puddles around him, rich, warm fabric blocking out the night chill. It’s a lovely coat, but it’s painfully familiar, and Wind finds himself running his fingers over the stitching and inspecting every detail with a precision that he only ever shows to his swordsmanship and sailing.

His eyes don’t fool him either, the coat is an exact copy of Lineback’s own.

“Where... where did you get this?”

“Like it?” The vet chuckles softly. “Hytopian tailors. It’s a sea-coat, made to aid traveling sailor’s in searching for treasure. Don't ask me how it works though,” A ringed hand waves lazily overhead. “I could never make sense of it all. What matters is that it’s warm, not even the ocean can chill you in that thing, and trust me,” Buck teeth and small canines shouldn’t look so chilling, but Legend’s smile is just that. “It’s tried.”

Wind decides not to push it. There’s no way Legend could know about Lineback, not with the gaps of time and timelines between them. So, instead, he nestles down into the coat, one which bears the promised scent of the sea, with just a hint of smoke and rum to it, and lets his mind drift off again while Legend hums something under his breath.

The vet doesn’t realize he’s humming any less than he realizes Wind is slumping into him, but by the time he does recognize it, Wind is out cold, his head pressed against Legend’s shoulder, the coat still draped over him as he snores softly. Legend doesn’t push down the warmth in his chest as he smiles down at the golden curls, no one will see him anyway. Gnarled fingers decked out with countless rings card through sun-bleached curls as a lilting melody pierces the silence around them, no one will hear it anyway.

In the days to come, Legend allows Wind to don the heavy sea-coat from that night. Warriors makes a comment about poor coordination between fabrics, and while Legend doesn’t seem to disagree, both of the older heroes seem of the opinion that it's for the best he holds onto it, what with the cold and all.

The last switch landed them in the mountains, and while the Hyrule they are in has not yet been confirmed, everyone knows one thing for sure: it’s cold. Wind buries his face in the raised collar of the heavy sea-coat, which, despite being in Legend’s bag for so long and the vet refusing to smoke or sail, much less swig rum, the coat smells of all three, and Wind buries a smile at the thought that maybe Legend didn’t get it new like he’d let on.

It does a good job of keeping him warm though.

He wishes he could say the same for Four.

The poor smithy refuses to be carried, but as snow whips around them as they trek through the knee-high snow, the diminutive smith is left chattering and shivering in their wake.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise that Legend has something to help with that.

Yes, the vet still isn’t wearing pants, but he doesn’t seem too poorly off, no matter how badly the others shiver. He and Wild only share a look and scoff when Warriors asks through chattering teeth how the two of them aren’t freezing.

“You should see the mountains in my Hyrule.” Wild chuckles brightly.

“Done this before, cold is cold, you get used to it.” Legend grins, swinging his fire-rod.

“N-not all of us c-can s-st-stand the c-c-cold.” Four chatters grumpily, sounding startlingly close to the minish he’s shown Wind in the past. “Jer-jerks.”

The concern on the faces of the taller heroes is obvious, but with Twilight’s teeth chattering nearly madly (the rancher's nose is somehow frozen) and Time wrapped as tight as possible in one of Wild’s extra cloaks, it’s clear most of the others don’t have warm things to spare.

They were separated in landing in this world, and even when they had all been pulling themselves together again it had become clear that there was nothing of Wild’s that could even fit the smithy, and not even the blue scarf that trails over his shoulders seems to be doing much good against the freezing winds.

“Hang on a sec.” legend huffs, already turning to rustle through his bag. The coat he pulls out is ridiculously plushy, and in a soft shade of violet that makes Four chuckle past his chattering teeth. The chattering doesn’t last for much longer though, not when shoves the garment over Four’s head like Wind has done to his sister so many times with the sweaters Granny has knit them. The smithy’s blond hair is mused beyond recognition, chunky and flying every which way as he pushes his face out of the plush, but the healthy flush to his cheeks assures the rest of them that he won’t be freezing any time soon.

“I- Oh...” Whatever Four was about to say cuts off as he looks down at himself. The coat is long, but not too long. Where Wild’s shirts would drown the smithy, a coat made for Legend only brushes against the smithy’s ankles.

Legend smirks. “It prevents slipping too.”

“Why aren’t you wearing it then?” Hyrule questions, the Traveler’s cheeks are rosy in the cold, but borrowed clothes from Wild, while also too big, seem to be keeping him warmer.

Legend winces. “It’s a pain to get off.”

“And inconvenience is enough reason to freeze?”

“Do I look cold to you, captain?” Legend snarks, turning an expectant look on Warriors. “Because I certainly don’t feel it.”

“Stop rubbing it in.” The captain huffs, unfortunately too big to borrow from the others, and now highly irritable from the cold. His scarf is still on Four, and if what Legend says is right about the coat, Wars won’t be getting it back for a while, leaving the poor captain to shiver as he clings to another fire-rod.

Four seems comfy enough anyway.