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marvelouspeterparker · 4 years ago

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webbed down [2]

pairing: dom!peter parker x reader

summary: the morning after webbed down

notes: the long awaited sequel (literally over a year) is finally here!!! i hope it doesn’t disappoint––

give me feedback! please :)

so peter was never one to back off on his word

and you knew that of course,

but today you would really know that

so you woke up in the morning to pee and somehow managed to wobble your way over to the bathroom while peter was still asleep

you had a feeling that it was going to be a long day since peter said he wasn’t going to go easy on you today so while you were in there you brushed your teeth and washed your face

then you slipped into the kitchen and drank some water and got a quick breakfast before making your way back into bed for a quick nap

(you were tired, what can you say)

as soon as your head hit the pillow, you were basically out

it wasn’t until around noon that you woke up again

you heard a slight buzzing noise that made you stir a little bit in your sleep

then you felt a buzzing make it’s way up your thighs slowly

you opened your eyes to find peter in between your thighs, his dark eyes gazing over your naked body with a smirk on his lips

“oh good, you’re awake.” he said nonchalantly

“i was starting to get impatient––”

he had one hand on your inner thigh, stroking it deceivingly soft as he moved your vibrator closer to between your thighs

you subconsciously tried to shut your legs closed and couldn’t

realizing that both your legs were webbed to either side of the bed

then, glancing up, you noticed your hands were webbed up as well

you looked back to peter and his smirk only deepened

“these are my new webs i just made, baby.”

you waited for him to tell you the catch

“let’s just say you’re gonna be tied down for a good while––longer than usual”

he finally pressed the vibe to your clit, but not enough for it to feel as good as it could

he ran it through your folds, up and down, only letting it lightly graze your clit until your hips began chasing his hand

and you could tell he was getting hard at the sight of you

(he was wearing the grey sweats that you loved on him and that alone was a tell that he felt like being a huge tease today)

he always loved seeing your body submit to him, so much that you could barely control your movements

peter told you his plans for the day and just the thought of them had you squirming already

well as much as you could in the restraints anyway

“i’m gonna leave you all tied up here today, pretty girl.”

“gonna go run some errands, stock up on some food since i know you’ll need lots of it when i’m done with you.”

“then ned’s gonna come over and we’re gonna hangout for a few hours while you’re in here,”

“quiet,” he looked at you sternly, pressing the vibe directly onto your clit, making you yelp before he resumed his original teasing pace

“cumming over and over, as much as you want.”

you gasped and he laughed, “oh did you think i was gonna edge you today, princess? no today we’re gonna overstimulate that little clit of yours until you’re crying, shaking and begging me to stop.”

he leaned over you, his breath hitting your lips as he looked into your eyes, his hand still moving the toy between your legs

“so you gonna be a good girl for me today?” he asked, his queens accent prominent as ever

you nodded, swallowing thickly as you looked into his piercing stare

“promise”

he locked your lips with his, intending for it to be a quick peck but once he got a taste of you, he could never get enough

plus, he would be leaving you here all day so he decided he had to make it count

he laughed when he saw you craning your neck for more and grinned, leaning down to bite your lip before pulling away completely

he moved so he was back between your legs and you jolted when you felt the vibrations directly on your clit again

he pulled a web cartridge out of nowhere and webbed the toy to you somehow so it managed to stay directly on your most sensitive part

with a kiss to your thigh, he got off of the bed

he made sure to ask your color to see if you were okay with all this

when you responded green through a small whimper, he grinned, winking as he walked out of the room

“i’d say see you soon,” he bit his lip looking at your pussy clenching under the vibe, “but that’s a lie.”

and with that he shut the door

you don’t know how long peter was gone but you were sure he was taking as much time as he possibly could

you honestly lost track of how many times you came

since you were alone you could have been as loud as you pleased, but you didn’t want the neighbors to complain, especially since you weren’t exactly able to get out of bed if they knocked on your door––

so you were biting your lip and trying your best to muffle your moans, knowing that when peter came back with ned, you’d have to be quiet anyway

and honestly that made you even hornier

by the time he came back, it was late in the afternoon and the sun was setting

and he didn’t come to you immediately

no, he made you wait even longer

he knew you were just aching for him to see you, to touch you and kiss you

which is why he took his time

well that and, he was also playing video games

ned was going off on one of his many tangents when you let out a particularly loud whine

luckily, ned didn’t notice

but peter did

he subtly turned up the volume on the tv before excusing himself

you faintly heard him say something about how you weren’t feeling well and how he had to check up on you real quick

he made his way into the room, shutting the door so ned couldn’t peak inside in case he got curious

as soon as he saw you, his gaze darkened

you could practically feel his eyes heating your skin as he scanned your body up and down

your lips were plump from all the bites you’d been giving them all day

your chest was shining in the light, a sheen layer of sweat coating your skin

your nipples pebbled, straining for attention

and you were dripping

he took his time admiring you as he slowly walked to the end of the bed

he took a seat between your legs and you couldn’t help but moan when you felt his hands rub up and down your thighs

he waited a moment before reaching over and turning off the vibrator

you weren’t sure if you were relieved or if you wanted more but you didn’t have much time to think about it before peter moved the toy out of the way, wrapped his lips around your clit, and sucked hard

you jolted and couldn’t help but let a particularly loud moan of his name out

though he groaned at the sound of you and couldn’t help but grin into your heat, he scolded you teasingly, his voice like velvet

“bad girl“

he pulled away and smacked your pussy, making you whimper, your back arching

“don’t want ned to hear, do we?”

he raised a brow and you shook your head in agreement, letting out a quiet “no”

“had to turn up the volume since you were so loud,” he tutted, shaking his head in mock disapproval

he dissolved the webs holding the vibe and threw it aside before lying down and burying his face in you

you almost screamed but you bit your lip, not wanting to scar ned for life

and even though ned was right outside, peter was not holding back one bit

he put one hand on your stomach, holding you down as he licked up your wetness, spreading it all over your pussy

“so fucking wet, princess.”

“m’sure you don’t even know how many times you came––”

“i’d say at least 20 with how long i left you here.”

“you’re practically dripping onto the sheets, fuck––”

you were so sensitive and so so wet, you felt like you were going to burst out of your skin, you felt like you were on fire but you’d never felt better in your life

peter slid two fingers inside you and you mewled when he sucked on your clit while scissoring his digits inside of you

he quickly found that spot inside of you that made you melt and you let out a quiet but desperate string of curses

“shit pete, oh my god! fuck––”

you were so so close and you were about to tip over the edge when you heard ned speak up

“dude i finally beat the level!”

peter lifted his head and looked up at you, his mouth slick with your wetness, fingers still pressing against your spot

“dude no way! i’ll be right out, just helping my girl for a second.”

it was honestly impressive how peter could switch the tone of his voice so quickly

“no problem! also it sucks that you’re sick y/n. i hope you feel better!”

you cleared your throat and shut your eyes tightly, about to answer when you felt peter’s tongue back on your clit, his fingers going faster than ever as they repeatedly hit your spot over and over

your eyes shot open and you looked down, eyes wide, to see peter looking right at you, a smirk on his face

“well don’t be rude, princess. answer him.” he commanded before wrapping his lips around your clit again, coaxing you to the edge

“th––thanks ned!” there were tears in your eyes and your voice cracked as you replied to him but you couldn’t find it in you to be embarrassed when you were so close to cumming

peter slid his hand up to your breasts and pinched your nipple hard just as he slipped a third finger inside of you and you came without warning, your eyes rolling back as your whole body tensed, your mouth dropping open to let out a silent moan

it felt like your soul was leaving your fucking body

“such a good girl for me” peter said, licking up your juices

the noises your pussy was making were borderline obscene but you couldn’t control it

you shut your eyes, taking deep breaths as you felt peter get off of the bed

it was a couple of minutes later when you heard him moving something

you open your eyes and he’s setting up a “fucking machine”

he placed it on the bed and turned it on,

setting it on the slowest setting so that he could make sure it’s positioned properly

and as soon as the dildo slid into you, you let out a broken moan

“oh my god––”

peter could feel himself swelling in his sweats and how he was going to hide that from ned, was beyond you

you and him both knew that this was going to be torture since you couldn’t cum from that alone

but peter was more than ready to have his fun with you

and just when you thought things couldn’t get any “worse”, he pulled out a remote

he was going to fuck you from the other room

he smirked as he watched the realization set in on your face

“i’ll be right outside, princess.”

he leaned down to kiss your clit and you couldn’t help the moan that you let out

his eyes turned a shade darker,

“i’d say scream if you need me...” he paused, glancing over your body, “but if i hear anything from you while i’m outside,” he turned up the speed on the machine and your eyes widened, your mouth dropping open only for you to quickly bite it closed, “this stops.”

with that he walked out of the room, slipping the remote into his pocket

you could already hear him joking around with ned, shouting excitedly and laughing but it soon drowned out as he the speed picked up on the machine

you were slipping further into your headspace––you’d been slipping all day, but now that peter was here when you really needed him and he wasn’t touching you, that’s what pushed you further

you were so fucking sensitive

peter kept alternating the speed and it felt so good,

but it wasn’t enough to make you cum

you felt the bubble in the pit of your stomach expanding wider and wider but it just wasn’t enough for it to burst

you felt so drained that you couldn’t even scream if you wanted to

the sun was completely gone by the time ned had left and it seemed that peter did every other possible thing he could have done before coming to you

you weren’t even sure when peter actually stepped into the room

you were so far gone that when you shut your eyes it felt like you slipped into another dimension

but as soon as you heard him speak up, your senses went into overdrive and you were completely aware of him and where he was

you just needed him to touch you

“look at you, princess...” he clicked on the highest speed, the remote still in his pocket and you let out a long whine. “all fucked out for me and i haven’t even fucked you yet.”

he picked up the vibrator, set it on the highest vibration and pressed it directly to your clit

you let out a gasp and your legs weakly strained against the webs as you came

the sight of you struggling through your pleasure only made peter want you even more

without even letting you settle down from your high, peter put the vibe on the bed, dissolved the webs on your legs and hastily threw the fucking machine aside

(you were honestly surprised it didn’t break)

he practically ripped his sweats off and positioned himself between your legs

you were honestly out of breath but once peter slid into you all at once, his thumb immediately finding your clit with no warning, he managed to knock what little breath you had left out of you

he started deep and hard, letting you feel every inch of him as he slammed into you over and over

“had me. so. hard. all. day.” he said between thrusts.

“you know that?” he asked rhetorically, not even letting you think of a response

“unlike you, cumming in here as much as you pleased, i was out there leaking in my fucking boxers at the thought of you.”

you regained strength of your legs and wrapped them around his waist, pulling him into you and he laughed breathlessly

“you got to cum all. damn. day.”

“what do we say, angel?”

when you struggled to respond, he stopped, his cock buried all the way inside of you, throbbing as your pussy clenched around him

“what do we say?” he repeated himself, moving so that he was leaning over you menacingly, his breath hitting your lips

you whined loudly before looking into his eyes that were the darkest you’d ever seen them,

“th––thank you, sir.”

he grinned, moving so his lips were by your ear, before whispering “good girl.”

with that he picked up his pace and began thrusting at a pace that was almost inhumane

your mouth dropped open, your body aching to scream, but all that came out was a weak gasp

peter slid a hand down and raised one of your legs, opening you wider and you groaned at how the change in position felt

he growled, leaning into you to kiss and suck at your neck

he felt himself getting close but he didn’t want to cum yet so he pulled out, ignoring your whines

the webs on your hands were loosened up by now so peter ripped them off of you and your eyes were quick to find his

you looked so innocent but the wet spot between your legs on the sheets and the smell of the room said otherwise

“can i please touch you?”

he smiled before flipping over so you were on your hands and knees and you pouted, your face hidden in the sheets

but it was soon replaced with a smile as peter grabbed your arms, twisting them behind your back so he could interlace his fingers with yours

you sighed contently and he laughed, leaning over to kiss your shoulder before asking

“you ready?”

you responded a quiet “always”

and he replied “so good for me” before sliding his cock into you and slapping your ass

he went fast and hard and with each thrust you let out a small moan

he felt himself getting closer and closer before he knew it

he was so overwhelmed by you he couldn’t even think straight anymore

deciding he wanted to see you while he made you both cum, he flipped you over again, his cock still snug inside of you

you gasped for what felt like the tenth time that day/night

peter kept thrusting into you, leaning forward so he could kiss you

you moaned and melted into the kiss, finally getting what you ached for all day

you dug your fingers into his hair, pulling just the way he liked, making him groan into your mouth as he brought a hand up to pull you closer to him

your smiled cheekily, your tongues still rolling together, barely noticing when his hand slipped away

but you soon dropped away from the kiss when you felt the vibrator back on your clit at the highest level

peter started thrusting faster you moaned breathlessly, your eyes fluttering shut as your back arched

“want you to cum one more time on my cock so i can fill you up...can you do that for me, baby?”

you nodded, tears pooling and rolling down your cheeks “y––yes...”

peter held out as long as he could, still pounding into you and as soon as your legs tightened around him, he knew you were about to cum

he just didn’t know how hard

you finally let out that scream that had been inching it’s way out of your throat all day, seeing white as you came all over peter, your legs shaking

he groaned, releasing his load inside of you “holy shit baby, fuck that’s it––”

he turned off the vibe and threw it aside, thrusting inside of you a few times until your hands came down to push him weakly

“no please please––”

he grabbed your hands and kissed your palms, soothing you

“it’s okay baby, you’re okay. we’re done.”

he slowly pulled out of you and watched his cum slowly make it’s way out of your used hole

“god you’re perfect...”

normally he would bury his face between your thighs to clean you up but he didn’t want to hurt you so he let you be

he kissed your forehead before lying down next to you, pulling you over to him to rest your head on his chest

the both of you were panting hard as peter’s hands caressed your body, coaxing you back to him

“you did so so good for me, princess.”

you took some time to respond, still in shock from your orgasms

“yeah?”

“of course,” he kissed your cheek, “always so good for me. my best girl.”

it was a while before he spoke up again, wanting you to fully be able to process his words since you were a little out of it

“gonna clean you up soon, take a warm bath.”

you sighed, happy with those plans

“then i got you takeout from your favorite restaurant, which we’ll eat after you’re nice and clean.”

you leaned up to kiss him on the lips, “thank you baby.”

he smiled when you pulled away, looking at you fondly, wondering how he got so lucky. “anything for my best girl.”

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker smut #peter parker hc #peter parker headcanon #dom!peter parker #dom!peter parker smut #dom!peter parker x reader headcanon #dom!peter parker headcanon

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gingus-doon · 4 years ago

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pov u just shot your childhood hero, wdyd

i.e. i ramble about keiji post-shooting; his occupation, what he does, how he copes, how he feels, etc. etc.

just putting this little thing here because the post got quite long and i couldn't split it up because it's all somewhat related. it started out as a rant / informal ramble but then it got serious lololol

—

one thing i don't understand is why people hc keiji as still having a job with the police post-shooting? like that just doesn't make sense to me– not only based on his character but like... why would you wanna make him a cop with all the talk of how much the police suck lately? personally i'm a brown bitch so i couldn't be down with thirsting over a cop lol. it's just kinda confusing sjdhd

i've seen the hc of him as a private investigator, though, which i like! it's a very neat way to let him flex his detective skills without being part of a corrupt organization and without forsaking his own personal beliefs and feelings about the police, because i don't think those would change anywhere near easily and i just kinda can't see him going back into the police force because of that.

i have often wondered what keiji would do after the death game, and what he was doing before the death game or after the shooting, because i think he'd definitely quit after the shooting, with all the grief and trauma surrounding the job and his newfound cynicism.

i don't think he'd be doing private investigation before the game, or more specifically, before his character develops into something reminiscent of his old self– as he is at the start of the game, he just doesn't have that faith in protection, so i can't imagine him being an investigator at that point. HOWEVER, in a post death game OR non-death game au where keiji has started to pull himself up from that tar (most likely with the help of others lol) i think that's definitely a plausible option for him and i like it a lot :]

as for other options, though... i really don't know! this is more of a stupid idea but i considered him working in a convenience store like shin lol. i had a whoooole au about him, kai, and shin working in the same convenience store just because they can't hold down any other jobs / don't know what else to do for work. shin is able to actually hold down the job because the last manager was mysteriously taken out of commission (i don't know lol) and they were ridiculously short-staffed already so shin ended up being the "most qualified" for the now vacant position. keiji's had a string of odd jobs since the police and this is just the next one. he's hoping to find something with a better wage but this'll do for now, it's even in walking distance from his apartment. and kai, kai's trying to exercise more independence from the chidouins' after becoming his own person! so he gets what i think would be his first job (well, his first official job, anyway... being an assassin and the chidouins' personal maid were more unofficial gigs lol.) ahh that was a lotta rambling about my dumb little au but i just think it'd be neat, they're three of my favourite characters so having them just vibe with each other at work and become friends sounds nice 2 me :] also Coincidentally i ship literally every combination of those three characters so that may have played a part in my casting decisions lmfao

oh wow that was a really long and uncalled for synopsis but this is just a rambly post so it can't really be uncalled for because this post doesn't have any particular point lol (A/N after writing this— IT HAS A POINT NOW, DISREGARD PAST ME)

SO ANYWAY ! i was just considering what keiji would do right after the shooting. honestly i have noooo idea, it's the beginning of a long road of him burying his trauma in a desperate attempt to avoid facing the pain it brings, and it marks a profound loss of innocence which makes his heart begin to grow cold. it's just hard to see the beginning of the process when where he started and where he ended up are very different places.

obviously, he'd quit his job. i wonder if the hallucinations would start right away? him being naïve in the beginning, i'm sure he'd acknowledge them– cry out apologies and plead for forgiveness until his throat is hoarse. the rule of hallucinations in yttd seems to be that if you acknowledge them, they'll burn themselves into your brain and you'll never be rid of them– implying that keiji has done so, as it's likely been years since the shooting and he's still suffering from the visions despite seeming to ignore them now.

ahh, i'm getting in my feelings about keiji now 😭😭 when i started this, i wanted to be held by him, but now i just wanna hug him like damnnnn

but back to what he'd do after the shooting– this scenario is self indulgent, but wouldn't it be nice if he took some time off and just stayed at his mom's place for a while? help her with chores while she's at work, try to regain a sense of normalcy in his childhood home...

i don't think he'd be able to do this right after the shooting. keiji had shame, once upon a time– the guilt would rack him like nothing else. i can imagine him spending a lot of late nights with alcohol, just wishing it was a dream. his resentment towards megumi slowly building as he feels he's being left in the dark as to why, why he isn't allowed to atone, why she's being so cold towards him about the shooting when he's suffering so heavily from the effects of it.

he wouldn't want to be around his dear mom as a murderer, and as a resentful alcoholic who's coping very poorly with his circumstances.

also (tangent incoming), i kind of wonder about keiji and alcohol a lot. in his fondness events with mishima, he says the following—

the "haven't drank that much in years" part makes me wonder– for how long? did he start to restrain himself before the shooting or after? i would say it's most likely after, considering the "feels like it'll swallow me up" comment he made soon after. and, how he talked about binge drinking when he was still a newbie. perhaps it was fine for him to do so, before the shooting— he'd just get wasted and flirt, have a good time. but after, it morphed into an inefficient coping mechanism which he fell far within the depths of to try and control the worst of his grief and self hatred. after that, heavy drinking couldn't just be for fun anymore.

i assume in the "before it got this way" comment, the "way" he's referring to is how he doesn't drink much anymore? or, he could be talking about the depression drinking, but i think the prior makes more sense.

even though i think, given keiji's example of drinking with megumi, that he could have gotten blackout drunk a couple of times purely for fun pre-shooting, i think here he's referring to the painful side of his relationship with alcohol here, the part that took place when he was trying to cope with his trauma. i think he brings up the story of drinking with megumi immediately after, then, to avoid talking about that part of his past. though he doesn't show it much, i think he's deeply ashamed of himself. not only of what he's done, but how he's handled it afterwards.

on a lighter note, though, it's quite funny to think of Lawful Good young keiji shinogi getting drunk off his ass and flirting with every woman he comes across willing to flirt back. like, what's up with that??? he seems like such a serious dork in the flashbacks, but doing well in his police job, he just... lets loose?? no no, honestly i think he hadn't drank much before going out with megumi and he took her insistence on him drinking a little too far, and with his inexperience with alcohol and the successive lack of self restraint that comes with each new drink, you get casanova shinogi, lmao.

BACK TO THE SERIOUS STUFF THOUGH !! i really like the idea of him going to his mom to help him pull himself back together. i think they'd have a solid relationship, fight me! he seems to adore his mom as a child with a good single parent usually does. i'm sure he appreciates her immensely for all the care and love she managed to give him when he was a kid while also working her ass off to support them financially. this very respect for her is what i think would drive him to isolate himself from her after the shooting– as i said above, he's a murderer now. a disappointing human being in general, and an even worse son. to let down his mother who worked so hard to raise him right... how could he? as his condition worsens and his heart grows colder, i'm sure that feeling would fester inside of him. he'd try to ignore it, as he does with everything else, but it's already wrapped its tendrils around his soul. that particular guilt isn't leaving him any time soon.

now that i'm thinking about it, also, i don't think it's likely that he'd quit his job right right away. it'd be more of a slow descent over the span of a few weeks. immediately after the shooting, he may stop showing up to work for a while. he just can't put on that uniform when it's practically caked in the blood of someone he held in such high esteem for so long. eventually, though, he gets a hold on himself– just a bit. he doesn't want to be cooped up in his apartment with his thoughts anymore, and he doesn't want to lose his job. what else would he do?

so, he takes it easy on the first few days back. megumi tries to make it easy for him. paperwork, whatever job he could do that's not on the field. he clings to her like a wounded puppy, hoping that she'll explain why she's covering it up when he doesn't want her to, what he's supposed to do with these feelings around the incident. he's drowning, and she's made herself a big sister figure to him– she's supposed to help him. but, she shrugs him off when he brings it up. she's so harsh about it compared to how she usually speaks to him. perhaps because of her own guilt around the incident, perhaps it's the family's response and how keiji is now, how panicked and sleep deprived the poor kid has looked since that day.

so he continues to spiral with nothing to hold on to. grasps at alcohol in a futile attempt to stop falling, because it's all he can think to fall back on. he's a wreck at work– he's barely living, much less working. but megumi tries her best to keep him from getting fired. she'll get him coffee and breakfast and try to say something encouraging. "hey. hang in there, shinogi." with a touch on the shoulder. but in spite of her efforts, of course, it hits a breaking point. everyone in the job thinks keiji's too damaged to continue, saying he either needs to see a shrink or get the hell out of the way and let everyone else do their job.

and keiji just stops coming into work one day.

the downward spiral ensues.

#your turn to die #keiji shinogi #yttd keiji #kimi ga shine #i really just wrote this much just about keiji like goddamn. calm down @ me #it's not that much tho i checked and it's like not even 2000 words 😔😔#i got sad writing some of the angstier parts of this. like keiji... my darling.... let me hug him #i feel like there's a lot to be said about ~after the shooting~ and the process of him becoming the man he is now #there's lotsa speculation about that here from me specifically lol #i'd kinda kill to read a fic that goes into this stuff! no ship or anything just keiji. and megumi and his mom #i wonder if it exists 👀👀👀 but there are few things without ships that exist....#anyway i love keiji more now somehow #i am super keiji simp trust #i am tired tho lol i think i'll sleep now. maybe #OH ALSO!!! it's very fitting that the last line mentions the downward spiral #because i was thinking of the nin album by that title earlier today #specifically keiji and a certain track. I WILL NOT SAY WHICH TRACK. YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW

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roedusk · 5 years ago

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Natsume FFXV Crossover Notes

I’m trying to organize my thoughts and figured an update might not be a bad idea for the people without access to my thoughts. So here you go.

Let me know what you think?

(Will probably change as I write things, and I'm certain I forgot explanations and notes I was going to write because of tangents… So sorry about any confusion.)

World Notes

General World Notes

- FFXV setting with Yokai/Ayakashi based on Natsume added.

- Plot of Natsume happened during his teen years and he and his friends are now adults, 21-26 ish so they’re around Noctis and Co.’s age.

- I'm classifying some yokai or yokai abilities as “divine” for lack of a better word. This is yokai such as guardians of temples, and abilities such as Nyanko-sensei/Madara's purification ability. Yokai with this classification are generally more powerful than equivalent non-divine yokai, and have power over the world in some way. They so tend to be bound up in complicated rules most ayakashi don't have to deal with. In exchange Divine Yokai are generally not affected by yokai exorcism, or at least not to the same extent, it depends on the Yokai and situation, aka the plot. Yokai with divine abilities are also usually powerful, and tend to be exceptions to rules that usually apply to all yokai.

Astrals

- The Astrals are the same type of creature as the deities Natsume bumped into in the Moon Splitting Festival, powerful on their own but regenerate their power (if they use it up doing things like making the land fertile) through worship of humans. They all fall into the category of divine beings Madara can probably oppose and maybe manage a win, but it would probably get him cursed.

- Bahamut, Ramuh, and Leviathan are all at their original undamaged power percentage, having never taking a serious blow to cut their power. They are about equal in power to Fuzuki from the Moon Splitting Festival, since he hasn’t been diminishing his power like Hozuki was.

- Titan, Shiva, and Ifrit are at post-damage power levels. Titan however has a lot of worshipers and followers that he amassed while dormant, so his damaged power level is about equal to his non-damaged brethren. Shiva and Ifrit are about equal in power to Houzuki (who is not as powerless as they appear in the Moon Splitting Festival episode).

- The Astrals are both powerful enough to be seen by humans and chose to be so. The deities in the Moon Splitting Festival (unlike in Natsume canon!) can also make this choice, but generally chose not to.

- Each Astral has a realm of influence. Their influence changes the feeling of the area, such as how welcoming it feels or how prone its inhabitants tend to be towards settling in one place.

- Bahamut's influence is over Insomnia, and his disapproval of yokai/ayakashi makes them less common, and the ones who stay in spite of the encouragement to leave tend to be stronger and less family/group based. Insomnia tends not to be comforting, but has a feeling of purpose living there that generally feels lacking when moving away. This feeling of purpose can also feel grating tho, like being forced to do things all the time can be draining.

- Titan's influence is centered on his temple in Old Lestallum, but has also spread from his physical location at the Disk of Cauthess. He appreciates life that thrives but especially the kind of life that can cooperate to do so, like early settlers of the area or yokai living among the forests and human settlements in symbiosis. Titain's power is more attractive to those who are clannish and protective of their important people. It also exudes the feeling of being guarded, since Titan was injured protecting the area and those in it. This can be comforting or constraining depending on the individual and how they feel at the time.

- Ifrit's influence is lingering over Ravatogh, but is also present in the Meteor and it's shards. His influence is both the creative inspiration he gave to Solheim and the impulse to act that can both lead to good decisions without hesitation and quick bad decisions based on anger or lack of forethought. His anger at the war of the Astrals also lingers in the sphere of influence over Ravatogh making the area less friendly to living things that can feel it, but it has been largely tempered out of the Meteor by Titan's protective influence. Lestallum started based on inspiration of those drawn to the Meteor and thrives on those working with the shards now. Tempered by Titan's influence towards cooperation it's the most successful new settlement in a millennium.

- Shiva's influence is centered around her corpse, but is also present in Tenebrae where her messenger lived. It tends to encourage self-possession, people who know what they want and go for it regardless of what anyone else might think. This helps people like Lunafreya keep their strength up in bad situations, and allows people like Versatile and Ravus to pursue their goals without worrying about the morality of them. As the same time it also encourages self-restraint, not in matters of morality but in not revealing yourself too easily. This can be armor but can also make it harder for the individual to understand their more “firey” emotions.

- Leviathan's influence is found deep in the ocean, and while certain things can bring it to the surface it's much weaker up there. The strongest surface place is the Altar of the Tidemother, where she was worshiped and interested enough to look at humans in return. Her influence is part of the strange feeling the Ocean has, where it's huge and vast and cares nothing for if you live or die. If you want something you have to go after it yourself, there is no promise of divine intervention or idea that you may get ahead if you do things the right way. There's no judgement from a higher power for doing something underhanded, and if you want rules you have to find a way to build and enforce them yourself. This attracts those with a drive to get ahead and play the angles, eventually leading to the founding of Altissia. Leviathan herself takes interest in those who fight for what they want, but that's no guarantee she will respond to a plea for aid even from those she likes.

- I have no idea about Ramuh right now?

Starscourge

- ???

- As far as I can tell canon Starscourge is explained as a mutated malaria virus. But it also drives people mad before vaporising them and the resulting Miasma somehow both eats sunlight preventing it from reaching the ground, and generates demons based on the remainders of the mad dead people's egos that die instantly in sunlight. These vaporised egos can also apparently be used to power magitech armor but the ego in them makes them difficult to control??? And the "only"/prophesied cure to the disease is to kill Ardyn (who is neither the source or receptacle of the disease, nor the source of its recent resurgence, tho he did help it along in the last 30 years), then to die so we can kill his soul. This somehow purges the Miasma. (And spoilers? depending on if the book is canon or not it may be the last part needed for a world killing wave Bahamut wants to use?) I also can't figure out where in the game I bumped into the explanation that the Starscourge is from the meteor Titan is holding? Because it's something everyone in the fandom thinks is true now that I go looking but is apparently not canon?

- And a cure?? I have no idea, really??? But I have some thoughts???

- Has existed at least since Solheim, and was around long before Ardyn.

- It infects yokai/ayakashi as well as humans and animals.

- Is probably a miasma in the greek tragedy sense? (If my greek dramas seminar in college is to be believed) Miasma in greek tragedy apparently coincided with someone who was “to blame” and whose death was needed to stop the poison from killing people. The King does bad and the whole kingdom suffers kind of thing. But if they don’t kill themselves in penance then the person that kills them becomes the problem and the miasma continues. Not sure where I’m going with this but it matches nicely with the Natsume system of problem solving being about emotions and experiences?

- Probably need the modern trope of a Panacea to cure it? Something everyone worked together to get/make (in true Natsume fashion) to give to Noctis after the 10 years???

- How do I cure this??

- Did this disease ever even make sense?

Character Notes

Natsume

- Born in Duscae, Natsume’s family is descended from people who settled Old Lestallum a thousand years ago, so most of his relatives (who he was passed between as a kid) were from the Lestallum/Old Lestallum offshoots area. However he did have a few relatives in Insomnia he lived with as a child for a little bit.

- Natsume had never lived in Old Lestallum until the Fujiwaras took him to their home there. He loves the town because of the good memories there and intends to live there the rest of his life if he can.

- Because of his unique heritage Natsume has the ability to help purify Yokai/Ayakashi and help them move on (in the psychopomp way or just therapy way) even when those difficulties are caused by infection by the Starscourge. He’s unaware that he’s purifying the disease when he does this, thinking those cases are just more dramatic versions of what he deals with every day.

- Examples of the above are Shigure (the luck god trapped in the old school), Rokka (leader of the Masked Yokai), and Sui (the broken guardian and companion Gen was trying to save). The Mirror Yokai’s ill friend also has the Starscourge which is why he disappeared on her, not wanting her to get hurt when his emotions were bad.

- Natsume still lives in the Fujiwara’s house, and is technically employed by Tanuma’s father. He travels the area making sure the wards on the Havens are fully powered and has the rest of the time to devote to Ayakashi problems.

- Natsume feels like this should be a temporary thing rather than a lifelong job and that he’s taking advantage of Tanuma for employment, while Tanuma is worried they’re using Natsume for their safety the way others have tried to. But he’s happy and Tanuma is happy to be working with him so they reassure each other it’s ok.

Tanuma

- Due to slightly different setting details Tanuma decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a priest. He is currently his father's apprentice, but is mostly left to his own devices at their home temple while his father travels.

- The little used temple he and his father moved to in Old Lestallum is Titan's temple there. It was once the main one, but as Old Lestallum wanted in population and importance it was abandoned in favor of temples elsewhere, most especially the temple/tourist attraction at the Disk of Cauthess in modern day.

- Several temples to Bahamut have also sprung up in the area, much more regimented and grander than Titan's newer temples due to the active ancestor worship of Lucis being mixed in.

- While people in Old Lestallum kept the main temple building and living areas more or less clean, they didn't take much care of the grounds. Enough care to keep the wards up, but not much more (not that they were really aware of this, it was just muted respect and in case a new priest moved in).

- Since Tanuma and his father moved in the wards have strengthened. At the same time Natsume has been incidentally expanding and strengthening the weak wards around the town his grandmother had created by living there. This makes Old Lestallum a remarkably safe place compared to elsewhere in Lucis, and people have started attributing it to the temple's new care pleasing Titan. (Hense how the temple's income can support 3 workers now.)

- As caretaker to the temple, Tanuma has gained some strength from growing up there. He still has a weak constitution, which yokai/ayakashi can stress by being present, but his stamina/resistance is much better now.

Noctis

- Ever since he was little Noctis realized he could see things other people couldn't. In his case, unlike most others who can see yokai, the ones he saw were few and far between due to living in the Citadel, the center of Bahamut's influence. Pretty much the only one that interacted with him was Carbuncle, and they were a benevolent guardian spirit.

- After his injury, while in Tenebrae, he saw more “spirits”, but also learned Luna could sense them (but not see them) when she sensed Carbuncle with him. This lead him to believe the ability to see/sense spirits was tied to him and her being chosen ones.

- He tries not to worry his friends by any weirdness with creatures other than Carbuncle, but he doesn't try to hide that he can see them either, assuming it's understandable, so they just accept his little comments as well.

- After leaving Insomnia and entering Titan's influence he starts seeing a lot more, and less refined ones and is getting overwhelmed.

Lunafreya

- As one of the line of the Oracle Luna has the ability to sense people, such as knowing where they are in space in relar to her, and if they're sick or injured. This extends to yokai/ayakashi though she isn't able to see them unless they have the ability to make themselves visible to humans.

- Umbra and Pryna are yokai guardian dogs, what their divine abilities allowed them to assume a form visible to humans, which is how Lunafreya found them as puppies. They have since adopted her as their charge. Gentiana has accepted them as her guardians due to them being divine, she wouldn't have allowed any other yokai near her charge.

- Gentiana is also ayakashi and has the ability, from Shiva's power, to become visible to humans, though she can be more seletive of who can see her than most can.

Taki

- Taki grew up wanting to be able to contribute something to helping her friends that they couldn't just do without her. This lead her to joining the Hunters so she could keep them safe, and she has since become an expert marksman, (though she largely prefers the bigger guns hunters in the game use rather than pistols like Prompto).

- She generally sticks to Cauthess, because most of Natsume's travels are in the area, but she has become good enough at her job that she is asked to help further afield occasionally.

- She still remembers many things about yokai from her grandfather, and what she learned from growing up with Natsume, so she can sort of tell if ayakashi things are happening and ask for him to help. She still tries not to draw her circle until he (or Tanuma or Natori lately) tell her it's ok with the yokai.

Reiko

- A woman yokai speak of in fear and respect and humans talk about in disdain if at all, but nobody really knows anything about. She lived in Old Lestallum and in spite of bad experienced there saw the area as her home. This was enough to take protective barriers around the town, but weak ones.

- More concentrated barriers were created around places she camped/spent the night because of her deliberately attempting to create a safe place to sleep. These eventually became Havens once she realized she could do it deliberately.

- Unknown to her, or anyone else anymore, and independent of her ability to see yokai/strong spiritual power, she is descended from a bastard male child of the Oracle’s line. This altered her powers just enough to make her unlike any other human's.

- Towards the end of her life she met Regis and company out in the wilderness around Old Lestallum. A strange unapologetic woman who laughed at them and called them idiots before helping anyway. She gave Regis specifically some pointed advice before sending them on their way. (Not completely certain what it was yet but not sure if I need to know.) When Regis went back to look for her later in life people were confused why he cared about that strange woman and he could only find out she wasn't well liked and had since passed away.

Regis

- Regis has no ability to see or sense yokai, but he was best friends with Aulea, who could but kept it a secret. On his road trip to Accordo in his youth he bumped into Reiko, now an adult. She was unconcerned with who he was, and unthreatened by his retinue. She didn't want anything from him either, but gave him some pointed advice on the world being more than what he could see that stuck with him through his trip.

- When he returned home he realized Aulea could see things he could not, and managed to broach the subject with her. After convincing her to believe him, and that he believed her, this brought the closer, lessening a bit the stress being able to see yokai had put on her. He respected her wish for it not to be known, even to his friends, until after her death, when he explained a little to Clarus (and maybe Cor) in relation to Noctis.

Aulea

- Per Word of God she's Regis’ childhood friend.

- Born into a low ranking Noble house in Insomnia she was the first in generations to be able to see yokai. However it wasn't unknown to happen, and her family had been on the lookout for it since implications of collusion with any spirit other than Bahamut needed to be carefully repressed. She grew up learning her ability to see strange things was to be entirely ignored, trained in composure and people reading (to determine what other could see).

- She also grew up responsible for the family's guardian spirit, Carbuncle. They were the only yokai she was allowed to talk to and then only in private.

- As an adult this composure training made her known as someone impossible to startle, and she gave up trying to fake alarm at things other really did see because it was a good reputation to have. (Those close to her learned to read her microexpressions and she was comfortable enough with them to drop the full mask to her more normal reserved self. Deadpan is her favorite I joke.)

- Either way, as a child she stumbled on Regis out alone, and ignored him entirely because there wasn't anyone else around for her to realize he was human instead of a yokai. This intrigued him, and when they were next introduced (at a public event her family had been invited too) he insisted on talking with her.

- Regis spent a lot of time with her as a child, so he saw her eyes flicker to things that weren't there, picking up on it because of his own training to avoid threats to the royal heir. He noticed her aborted movements and how she would look over at him for context, but didn't realize what it all was. Instead he dismissed it as a child can as just how the other was.

- After meeting Reiko something she said made him think about what his friend acted like, and he eventually concluded he should just ask her. Tho she was startled, Aulea was able to avoid an overt reaction but also decided to just agree he was right, startling him and herself.

- Since them the two of them sorted out how to discreetly hint something was up and Aulea allowed Regis to ask about yokai she saw in private if she indicated no yokai were nearby to hear. This is how Regis learned about the dragon yokai that lived in the throne room but just watched, and about his family's new guardian spirit, Carbuncle.

- After Noctis’ birth Aulea was able to tell Regis he had the ability to see Yokai since he would play with Carbuncle. She passed away soon after but not before making a Carbuncle statue to help the guardian protect her family.

Nyx

- As a child in Galahd, Nyx grew up in the shadow of an old temple, still maintained out of respect for the protective spirit (no one said deity out of superstition the Astrals might get offended) that lived there and their followers. Unlike most, tho, Nyx had a little sister who swore she could see them.

- Nyx still isn't sure if he believes Selena when she told him about the Coeurl guarding the temple, and he regrets that she died knowing he wasn't sure if he could believe her. He doesn't realize him trying to believe her and standing up to the people who insulted her “stories” was more than enough for her. He even walked with her the second time, when they were very young and she was scared of the wild cats everywhere but wanted to pay her respects at the temple.

- Selena befriended one of the guardians at the temple, and he lead some of the others down to try and help (without permission) when Nifelheim attacked. The temple was destroyed in the attack and the guardian was unable to save Selena. Unlike the rest who stayed to try and find those who flead the temple's destruction, this guardian attached themself to Nyx out of regret, and has been protecting him since. This is at least part of his ridiculous luck.

Libertus

- Libertus doesn't believe in spirits or guardians, because wouldn't they have protected Galahd if they existed? He respects Nyx's wish to respect Selena's superstitions but privately thinks he needs to let go of the little rituals to move past her death.

- On the other hand, he took in Crowe when they first met because she reminded him of Selena (tho he keeps looking out for her because of who she is now), so he's not coping with her loss as well as he thinks he is either.

Crowe

- When she mentions she was driven out of her hometown, Crowe lets other people assume it was by the empire. She doesn't mention that fearful villagers drove out what they thought was a cursed orphan before they could be cursed in turn. She's still seen the evil of the empire and wants to stop them, but she didn't have the personal stake people assume she has until she heard what happened to her new family.

- In her travels before being picked up by other refugees headed to Lucis, Crowe ended up giving in and yelling at a yokai to leave her alone. A crow yokai, Yatagarasu, heard her and their flock took pity on her, driving the yokai away. Yatagarasu took it on themself to help Crowe navigate the world of yokai, since they had gotten involved already. They and a few of the crows from their recent flock accompanied her in her travels, becoming her signature talent and inspiring many people to point out her name.

- Crowe is able to blame most of her jumpiness on the crows, because they get between her and yokai all the time, and hasn't told anyone she can see yokai. She doesn't want to get driven away again.

Pelna

- Pelna is from one of the smaller islands in Accordo which was mostly evacuated during Regis’ attempt to oppose the empire there. He spent most of his young life as a poor refugee along the Lucian coast, eventually moving to Insomnia when he proved compatible for Kingsglaive.

- Family superstitions that he grew up with require an offering of thanks in return for actions above and beyond the expected response to a situation. The superstition started as something similar to a temple offering you give to the helpful stranger to make sure if they're a spirit it knows you acknowledge its help so it doesn't throw a fit. Also decent advice for dealing with Exorcists. But the specific reasons have been lost to tradition. Now it's just the difficult to explain idea that if someone goes above and beyond for you, you owe them a well thought out thank you gesture, so they won't think you put less effort into coming up with the gesture than they did helping you out.

- If someone is close enough to be considered family it's mostly moot tho, just give them the consideration and care family is due, and that will repay their care for you.

Matoba

- The Matoba clan is a wealthy family in Accordo which also happens to be secretly Exorcists. They do own an old house in Duscae but it hasn't been used for more than a staging ground in generations.

- When Regis came to Altissia to oppose the empire the Matoba family took interest. Hunting yokai and yokai turned demons in secret was tiring and difficult. If they could get involved with Lucis they could have an excuse to be at many more locations, and armed. So the family inserted several of their members into the resistance, and once they fled to Lucis afterwards some of them were able to enter the newly formed Kingsglaive.

- Over the years multiple Matoba family members were able to infiltrate the Kingsglaive, including Matoba himself. They have no loyalty to Lucis, but are definitely anti-empire.

Natori

- An actor who grew up in Old Lestallum, Natori is really an exorcist whose cover job was surprisingly successful. Probably mostly famous in Insomnia unless Nifelheim and Insomnia share movies.

- He moved out when he was of age, fleeing his family mostly, but came back to deal with an exorcist request in his old neighborhood. Since meeting Natsume he has been spending more time in the area.

- I think he lived in Accordo and has recently bought a place in Lestallum instead maybe?

- Was in Altissia when the signing ceremony happened, probably waiting to meet with his agent or at a shoot. He's been trying to get news of what happened since then, worried for Natsume and co in Old Lestallum more than the city tho. He's most worried Natsume somehow got involved because he does that a lot.

Plot Summary

Crowe's Path

- I know the least about this path right now, but it insists on being a separate one from the other two, so I'm going to try to honor that.

- This path starts first, ish, with Crowe's mission from the Kingsglaive movie. For those not in the know, spoilers, this is a mission assigned by Regis to rescue Luna from house arrest in Tenebrae and get her safely to Noctis in Altissia. Only she's attacked and killed on the way.

- In this fic she is on her bike with the black van coming around the corner at her when the crows start going nuts, but not because of the van. Nope, there's a rogue behemoth that just came out from behind the nearby stone structure and has seen her. It charges her, body checking the van as it attacks her. She loses her hand and watch to its teeth and is thrown from her bike by the force of it. The bike is pretty totaled and she's struggling to get away when she blacks out. The glaives in the van open fire drawing it's attention, and are too busy fleeing the behemoth to keep track of her.

- Dave (the hunter from FFXV) was nearby tracking the behemoth for Hunter tags, and his dog drags Crowe to safety for him. He gets her into the van with a tourniquet and rushes her to medical attention. Once she's safe to be moved she's transferred to Meldacio HQ for the monster attack specialists there.

- Because of her mission, when Crowe wakes up she doesn't ask to send a message to the capital of what happened. She tries sending Yatagarasu back but they aren't able to talk to anyone but Nyx's guardian and just presence alone isn't able to get the message across. Someone will know when she doesn't make a checkpoint but not soon enough.

- Note here: I'm making her leaving the city earlier, to give her more than 2 days to pull off an infiltration rescue, especially when the empire probably had Luna traveling for at least one of those days.

- With the help of a post surgery potion Crowe's wound and bad bruises heal up enough to move around in a little under a week. But she still has to do physical therapy and learn to move around with only one hand (The amputation to clean up the injury is under the elbow but she did lose the hand and at least half her lower arm). So she can't head back to report in then either, much to her annoyance.

- To keep her cover she had a physically present gun for protection, as anyone traveling beyond the wall would have had some sort of physical weapon the lack of one would be strange. Only now most of her fighting ability with it is diminished due to needing to somehow use it with only one hand. Dave asks Taki to stick around for a few days and see if she can work with Crowe on adapting her style to one-handed. Taki agrees and tho Crowe is generally untrusting and frustrated she is thankful for the assistance.

- Once she can fire and reload the gun, if not all that well in the latter case, Crowe insists on heading back to Insomnia even though she's not done with her recovery or used to the loss of her hand yet. Taki is resistant to clear her, but really the say is Crowe's. So instead she offers herself as a driver, and Crowe a place in her truck on the way there. Crowe grudgingly agrees, since she can't be sure she'll be able to drive herself back even if she could get her hands on a vehicle.

- The make it almost all the way back before Dave calls them to pull I et and turn on the radio. Insomnia has fallen, and the empire has it blocked off do they can't even get inside. Crowe is determined to try anyway, her family is in there, but Taki refuses to let her and Yatagarasu promises to scout and report back if she waits here. So she caves and the duo stop at the local hunter station to rest and wait for news.

- Yatagarasu returns with a report. Not sure exactly what they found or didn't. Crowe is unable to either locate or join Luna's group, and isn't aware any of the royals survived.

- Somewhere around here Taki realises Crowe can see yokai because she's doing similar things to Natsume. She tells Crowe a this, and about the circle she can draw to make yokai visible and her experiences with Natsume. Crowe is skeptical and alarmed but Taki refuses when she offers to just have the other drop her off somewhere and go about her business.

- Not sure what Crowe's plan is at the time or ends up being (other than learning to use firearms and other weapons one handed)? I know most of the flexibility in solving the main plot comes from her trip, since she's a completely new element to the story.

- Since I was unoriginal and went looking for crow yokai, then ended up with Yatagarasu instead of Tengu, Crowe's arc probably has something sun related to do, not sure what. Is it Solhiem related or is that too much of a deus ex machina?

- No matter the plot they have the support of Dave. If they need a boat to get to Altissia/the other continent he's probably the one who finds them one

Luna's Path

- Luna's plot starts with Kingsglaive. She's in Lucis as a pawn of the empire and the Kingsglaive is sent to rescue her. Pelna is able to locate her on the ship as in the movie, and gets her out just in time to be snatched by an Ultros demon. Iltros drags him away around the corner as Nyx gets to Luna, and he's forced to leave Pelna to get Luna to safety. (I have to assume he's struggling with this somewhat, because it's so against his established character to never mention it again.)

- Ultros is a yokai based demon, so when Matoba catches sight of it he's able to kill it with one of his exorcist arrows in one shot. When he comes over and finds out it's Peln who was injured he decides to use Pelna as assurance against them pro-king factor, proof that he is not on the empire's side in the coup attempt. In the interest of this he protects the inured Pelna from the other Glaives, helps him survive the airship exploding and crashing, then helps him escape the city when it would really have been a better idea to leave him behind. Even when their powers fail he steals them a car and gets them to the exit, where Pelna is able to reunite with the others, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

- Back with Nyx and Luna, the Glaive who was stabbed in the back still manages to explode most of the ship, and Nyx and Luna manage to escape onto another before Luna jumps on to the Citadel and Nyx goes after her. They intervene in the battle with Glauca and escape with the King and Clarus when the Mist Dragon (and Nyx until the last minute) keep Glauca busy.

- Regis still gives Luna the ring for safekeeping and puts up a barrier to force them to go on without him and Clarus.

- Before he dies Glauca is able to get Nyx's call for backup and direct him to the trap with Luche. He also gets the call from Libertus on the revolutionaries’ line, and incidentally reveals himself through his wording. This is around the time that the Glaives’ power from the king cuts out, signifying his death. Libertus arrives at the location given to find it's a trap for Nyx and Luna, and is able to apologize to Nyx, and reveal Glauca is Drautos. The three of them get in Libertus’ car and escape through the battles raging in the city.

- At the outskirts of the city they stop to find a change of clothes (less Kingsglaive) and a way to escape the city. This is when they regroup with Pelna and Matoba joins the team.

- After escaping Luna insists she needs to fulfill her calling rather than heading to Altissia immediately. Pelna points out the empire is probably blocading the sea as well and they need a place to lie low and plan. Matoba recommends a compromise, and suggests they seek sanctuary at the temple of Titan in Old Lestallum. It's not where the empire would expect her to go due to it being neglected in favor of the Disk of Cauthess these days, and he can vouch for the priest taking them in secret. Pelna backs him up, saying it's a reasonable idea, and with no other options this becomes the plan.

- Matoba wanted to be able to try to bug Natsume again, and also knew Natsume and Tanuma would take them in and wouldn't betray them, so a win for him either way. (Pelna had been having trouble reading him and eventually asked what he would take as a thank you gesture, which surprised Matoba. He was disappointed to find that Pelna was traditional instead of from an exorcist family tho, and informed him that he wanted to head to Old Lestallum to seek sanctuary with a friend and asking Pelna to back him up if they ask where to go.)

- Once they get to the temple and Tanuma agrees to hide them from the empire there the party meets Natsume. They don't get to talk much but he is aware Luna is the Oracle and was there to make a covenant with Titan. He also helped the others get things from town that they needed. (Luna calls Nyanko-sensei cute which he approves of.)

- Matoba tries to get Natsume to agree to join his clan for protection, but is turned down, and Pelna interrupts, feeling guilty about helping get Natsume into this position. Matoba is entertained by this rather than upset tho.

- Once Titan awakens Luna heads to the Disk with her guards to talk with him. Then she announces she needs to get to Angelgard to awaken Ramuh. This is a bit more difficult but eventually they are able to haggle a trip over out of a fisherman willing to do a favor for the Oracle. They hide below deck until arrival, when Luna gets out and awakens Ramuh. On their way back they're flagged down by a larger vessel with Nanase on board (Matoba's clanswomsn with the spectacles) asking for him. She got is message and is here to take them to Altissia. Since they need to go anyway they accept his offer to accompany him, even if it is suspicious.

- It turns out Matoba is part of a major Altissian family, and they're able to enter the city unnoticed at his private dock. However Luna needs access to the Altar of the Tidemother, which requires her to negotiate with the government, essentially turning herself in to them. Matoba leaves the party but the other three all insist on accompanying her to be her guards even while they're on house arrest pending the First Secretary's decision.

- Once Noctis arrives and negotiates successfully with the First Secretary she comes to lay out her terms to Luna. She is to send her guards to help in the evacuation of the citizens, same as Noctis, and in exchange they will be allowed access to the Altar. However, Ravus is threatening war if she is not released into his care, so Luna needs to convince him to let her do it herself. He is asking for a private audience first, to keep her safe from Ardyn, and Claustra intends to turn Luna over to prevent this if she can't convince him. Luna agrees.

- The Glaive refuse to leave Luna alone with the enemy commander, so Ravus and Luna have their talk but now with an audience. They argue and Ravus threatens but eventually he says something that gets Nyx to interject. They argue about trusting the magictech troopers Ravus has to ensure her safety if the Chancellor countermands his orders, and about losing little sisters to the empire. Luna takes back the conversation at this point and is somehow able to convince Ravus to let her go through with the covenant? He places the burden of her safety on Nyx before storming out, and when Luna tries to protest she promised Claustra their help in evacuation Libertus says the Secretary is just going to have to deal, she can spare their best to guard their Oracle.

- Lunafreya still gives a speech, but it might be a radio address instead of in person? And it's a better speech.

- Luna and Nyx are on the altar when Leviathan responds to the summoning, and Nyx is later able to prevent Luna from getting stabbed by Ardyn long enough for her to summon Knights of the Round power-up for Noctis of it's still needed, and not from hp this time.

- Natsume arrives on Madara's back in the middle of the fight between Astrals and is able to help Carbuncle heal Luna after she nearly kills herself healing Noctis. All of this adds up to Luna surviving and being alive when Ravis and Ignis arrive.

- Ardyn really wants to know how Natsume can fly.

- Elsewhere Matoba petitions Leviathan for power to fight the demon hunting him. She is impressed enough by how strong he is fighting that fate to not kill him immediately and says she might even consider it before disappearing.

- After a group effort manages to drive away Ardyn again Luna and Noctis’ groups combine into one, and end up staying at Matoba's Manor until they're well enough to be on their way.

- Not married to this flow of the fight scene, so there are other ideas floating around about Misuzu or Sasafune from Natsume showing up… Much thinking to do.

Noctis's Path

- This plot starts 99% the same, only Carbuncle is a companion character who texts Noct's phone to talk in texts that people who can't see yokai can't see. The others sort of realize he's Noct's guardian but not that he's physically present.

- Until Titan's covenant is complete it also goes almost exactly the same, maybe with a bit of dialogue about about seeing more yokai as they get to Duscae or some conversations with Carbuncle from time to time.

- Unknown to Noctis and co, Titan vanished in the crater to retreat to his Temple to recover (he knew the basic size of the temple and shrunk to a taller than human but still small form to not crush it). Natsume panics at the bleeding yokai (since Titan chose to hide himself while recovering) and Tanuma and him bandage all his injuries and tuck him into a bed in the temple, only later finding out he's Titan himself.

- Not sure if they realize who he is only after Noctis shows up (because he's unconscious until then) or if he wakes up earlier than that. Nyanko-sensei can speak astral tho, so that should help (since we don't have Luna or Ardyn to translate).

- I still have no idea where the Meteor ended up??

- In the trial with Ramuh the revelations aren't just scenes from the past to teach the audience context. They're actually something helpful to Noctis himself. I have no idea what yet.

- Noctis and co retrieve the regalia, but ping into Ravus (and Ardyn), then head back to Lestallum to find Jared dead. Iris leaves the city with them to get her to safety, but the guys decide to stop at Old Lestallum and head to the nearby Imperial base to get vengeance for Jared.

- Somehow this ends up with them deciding to visit the temple of Titan before moving on. At the Temple Noctis sees Titan injured and is startled to realize the gods he's been calling on are people too. Should be obvious in hindsight but it's hard to wrap your head around. He also meets Natsume, who startles him by being able to see Carbuncle too and realizing Noct can see Carbuncle as well.

- This leads to Noct having to adapt to the revelation that seeing these creatures isn't a chosen one exclusive thing. Natsume is also struggling with meeting a child as clueless about yokai as he was as a kid and being able to help with that but unsure if he can handle it. With some encouragement from his friends he decides to go for it and he and Noctis have awkward conversation together.

- This somehow (how ??? For future creativity to figure out) ends up with Noctis and co coming back to visit on their way up to the Vesperpool. Natsume is glad to see them but on his way out, explaining he's headed to Meldacio HQ to look into a request from there and check on the nearby Havens. Noct offers for him to come with them, since they're headed that way themselves, and Natsume is startled but appreciates it. (Noctis preens a little at being able to help his new friend.)

- Because of this new unknown being there, Gladio hesitates for a bit to leave Noct instead of protecting him, but his need to prove himself better than both Ravus and his father wins out and he leaves the party here, meeting Cor at the Crow's Nest instead.

- Natsume worries his presence drove Gladio away, but tells himself it's a silly thought.

- Natsume separates from them at Hunter HQ and they go into the dungeon with Aranea. Staggering out with their prize they bump into him staying in the caravan at HQ. He offers to share since they look exhausted and they're tired enough to agree. The trio bond with Natsume a little independently, and the next morning Noct asks if he'd like a ride back. Natsume admits his job ran longer than he was expecting so he still needs to check out the havens before he can head back. The guys surprise him by suggesting they accompany him then. They see him safely to the Vesperpool and Myrlwood havens and Noct even gets to do some fishing.

- After dropping Natsume off back in Old Lestallum they head to the cape, only to be sent to Lestallum to refine the mythril. (Gladio rejoins party like main game but maybe Noct recognized his voice at least?)

- Meanwhile Natsume is worried about the party and startled by the impulse to go after them. (Probably because he's realized who they are and that they're going to leave to get put in danger again.). Nyanko-sensei tells him something along the lines of if he wants to he should just do it, and Natsume decides he’ll at least offer to help however he can. He heads to Caem to try and find them, is startled by the dragon, has to stop a fight with Madara and the dragon, and is almost treated as a threat to the people there before Iris speaks up for him. Then he gets to hear the first person who remembers his grandmother fondly when Regis mistook him for her for a second.

- Noct and co return to find Natsume waiting for them, wanting to help. They're flattered but not sure they want to put him through that, but he insists he wants to help the people important to him instead of waiting and wondering if he could have helped. (Something along those lines.). In the end they're convinced to bring him because Noct could use some help figuring out the yokai thing and no one else they know can help with that. Plus everyone but Gladio thinks he's a good guy from traveling together a bit. (Mild personal conflict between him and Gladio as a recurring plot point.). And of course Nyanko-sensei is going too.

- (Back in Old Lestallum Tanuma ends up telling the Dogs’ Circle that Natsume went on a trip, which ends up being spread around to everyone it might concern as gossip pretty quickly.)

- Natsume heads with the party to Altissia, where Natsume bumps into Natori, who is oberjoued that he survived the Imperial Invasion alright and horrified to realize he's gotten dragged into things again (tho he's ok at hiding this). The party is suspicious of him, but Natsume is clearly happy to see him so they decide he's trustworthy. Natori offers himself as tour guide for their first time in Altissia and they accept.

- Then they bump into Matoba on the street. The party are unimpressed with yet another Ardyn type character, and neither Natori's or Natsume's body language reassures them. Matoba offers for them to stay at his Manor while in town, since he's a part of a powerful family they would have greater protection and more leeway in Altissian politics than staying at the hotel. They agree to think about it and get his business card before he leaves them to it.

- Natori is able to bring them to Maagho where Weskham is able to give them information on the people they've bumped into. (He's interested in the fact that Natsume, someone he knows nothing about, is somehow connected to one of Altissia's oldest families and a famous actor known as a bit of a loner.) He advises them to take up Matoba's offer, since he can provide protection, but they're still hesitant about what he might ask Natsume for in exchange.

- Natori is willing to out them all up in the Leville, but Natsume wants them to accept Matoba's offer, so he insists on going with them instead. Matoba's perfectly happy to have him staying at his house too.

- The party is startled to learn Matoba knows where Luna is, since she stayed with him when they all got to Altissia. Information that she had 3 Kingsglaive members with her is appreciated as well, tho his own background as former Kingsglaive doesn't help their suspicion. Matoba is, of course, unsympathetic.

- Natsume is among the currently undecided factors that help keep Luna alive. I have at least one possible scene of Natsume bring carried by Madara through the Titan vs Imperial Army battle, then helping Carbuncle heal Luna while Nyx, Ravus, and Ignis face down Ardyn. So might use that or it might change.

- After the battle the combined parties bump into Matoba, who offers to let them stay at his family home again, they accept because once again he's a non political option and theoretically a bit safer.

- I have no idea of they manage to convince Ravis to join the party here, but that is a possibility.

- And… this is where I know very little about how things are going to go.

- The party is still interested in getting the Crystal and probably all insist on going.

- If Gladio has anything similar to his macho episode on the train it needs to be better written so he's not just being an asshole and is going to have several people vocally angry with him. Not sure if Ignis blinds himself tho.

- If Prompto gets knocked off the train Pryna goes after him. No idea if other helpful yokai are involved yet and if so how he'd tell.

- Also, does Ardyn have illusion powers or not? If so I need him to use them earlier and have limits/specifics. If not I need to rewite those scenes.

- Noctis meets a Phoenix yokai in Tenebrae. No idea if he's important later or just a handy visual metaphor.

- Not even sure if Noctis gets sucked into the Crystal, but I think he probably has to be?

- Somehow at this point, Noctis or no, the main problem is the Starscourge, and between Prompto and Noctis we should have enough notes to make a guess as to what it is, a disease instead of an unknown. So we do the Natsume thing and everyone starts working together to find a way to solve this without needing the Prophecy because that requires Noct to die (which we now know how…? Luna maybe? Does she even know?). By the time Noct returns (if we lost him) we have a solution.

- No I don't know what that solution is yet. My current best guess is a magically quest created Panacea. Are we going to throw it at Ardyn? Is it a spell like Holy in 7?

- Somewhere in here Noct does fight Ifrit. He's learned that Astrals are people too and wants know why Ifrit is so angry. The Astral is able to describe what happened in Solheim (need to figure out what I want this to be for this fic) and afterwards, and is able to let go of anger at humanity. He was mostly holding onto it because he felt betrayed by his fellow Astrals. The fact that Lestallum managed to use the power he left to make hope is helpful. So he contracts with Noctis after Noctis cures him of the Scourge (with help).

- Ifrit's purification removed his empathetic link with Ardyn. Ardyn loses most of his rage. Not uis feelings of betrayal, just the burning rage he had absorbed from Ifrit. Usually he absorbs the fill echo of the killed person but Ifrit was alive still, so purifying him took the emotions away again. This may or may not be important in curing the Starscourge…?

- Details for the future as I get there I suppose? But really, how and when does Crowe get involved???

Side Path: Regis

- This one is a plot point I've had for later reveal, but basically essential to Nyx's survival, so I guess I'm ruining the surprise now.

- I mentioned in Aulea's entry that there was a dragon yokai in the throne room. She's based on the blue guardian dragon from Natsume more or less, but much larger, and her abilities are inspired by (liberal interpretation of) the Mist Dragon. She arrived in Lucis somewhere in the middle of the 2000 years it has existed, and settled in the throne room to watch. She doesn't move around the Citadel, and mostly treats it like an interesting that show she enjoys watching and piecing together.

- This got more complicated when Aulea married into the royal family and told Regis she was there. The show started to address her own presence as a watcher, if only two of the characters. Made it slightly more personal, especially when Regis started complaining about things under his breath while sitting on the throne and idlu asking her opinion tho he know she couldn't respond.

- When Aulea died outside of the throne room, Regis came privately to tell her before the royal announcement of her death, crying and unable to share with anyone else the secrets Aulea held but let him see. The dragon responded by summoning a light mist in the throne room in mourning, which made everything look very ethereal for weeks. People talked about an I'll omen, while other conjectured the crystal was mourning. Regis appreciated it tho, and took it as a sign she cared, so he extended a formal invitation to the funeral. And for the first time in centuries the dragon left the throne room to attend, summoning a similar mist over the event.

- Regis still spoke to her now, and she sometimes even showed she was listening by summoning a wash of mist that swept through the room. Mostly she still just watched tho, ignoring the little prince who could see her too. Regis didn't invite her anywhere else, but did ask her to look after the kingdom while he rushed to Tenebrae with his son. Then they both witnessed Nifelheim's demands for the peace, and Regis spoke long into the air about his misgivings. The dragon settled in to watch what unfolded, but feeling angrier than she had in situations like this before.

- On the day of the signing, whole lingering in the throne room after speaking with Nyx, Regis told the dragon (uncaring of Clarus’ presence) that they were going to have the signing in a different room, because the Emperor would be slighted if only Regis has a throne, so she's welcome to come. And so she goes.

- She's angry when the battle starts, how dare the empire try to end her watch? Mist swirls around ankles, and then Glauca appears. And she's not about to let the rule of Lucis end in such a way.

- She uses the power she's never felt a need to before, summoning a physically present form out of the mist. She snatches Clarus out of the air as he's thrown, the sword thrown after him passing harmlessly through her Misty neck. And then the Mist Dragon engages Glauca alongside Clarus and Regis.

- When Nyx and Luna arrive she fights alongside the Glaive, buying time for everyone to escape down the elevator, then disappears to arrive after them. Regis puts up the shield and she stays with him and Clarus as Nux and Luna escape.

- Glauca is not used to the opponent having as cheap an ability as he does to reduce damage, and this battle is much more even. At the end he disengages and escapes back up the elevator shaft, where he has time to receive Nyx and Libertus’ calls before the dragon finds him. She able to deliver a final blow to his already severely injured self and he dies early.

- She returns to Regis and Clarus who are trying to figure out what to do now. Regis insists on heading back to the throne room to summon the Old Wall, but Clarus isn't going to let him warp up the elevator alone. The dragon ends up taking them.

- ? Not sure what the cost of summoning them is this time, but there has to be one. It's just not deadly.

- Afterwards Clarus insists Regis disappear, cut off the surviving Glaives so it looks like he died and focus on getting out of the city alive. Regis isn't happy with that idea, because it would require him not to help anyone they came across as they left. And Clarus doesn't like their odds of surviving even without a fight. They kind of decide their only real option is to make a last stand here.

- Clarus asks if the dragon could take the king to safety while he made a last stand, which Regis objects to. The dragon says she could carry both if them to safety, but why should she? Regis asks her to, please, because he doesn't want Clarus to die for him. She agrees on the condition that he do as Clarus says and fake his death, cut off anyone who could claim otherwise beyond Clarus himself, and stay where the two of them decide he is safe. Regis isn't happy but agrees.

- Clarus suggests they head to the hideout in Cape Caem, and agrees to give the dragon directions. So she grabs them both and flies them away in the night, using the battles and darkness as cover for them to escape unseen. Once at Cape Caem Regis and Claris switch to everyday clothes and live in the ship bay. (If she can assume human form like Nyanko-sensei the dragon is probably the one to buy food, if not Clarus is.) They aren't discovered alive until Iris and co. come to Cape Caem, and it's Cid who discovers them (and nearly gets attacked by Clarus).

- When Noctis arrives in Cape Caem there's an unseasonable mist, and above the cape is the dragon from the throne room back home. She sees him and goes to circle the top of the lighthouse, which is enough for him to sprint over and warp up to the ladder rather than wait for the elevator or anyone yelling after him. Up too he finds Clarus and his dad and they have a reunion.

- Regis’ friends refuse to let him go with Noctis to Altissia. Not willing to let him reveal himself just yet. So Weskham doesn't know he's alive, and Noctis isn't supposed to tell him. Not sure how that will end up.

- And not sure how Regis changes the plot yet either. But he's there at least?

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #FFXV #my fanfiction #fanfiction idea #this is apparently 17 pgs long #no wonder it took so long

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voices-softasthunder · 8 years ago

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for the oc questions: 11, 16, 20, 31, 38, and 49?

thanks so much for asking! :D i’ll answer your other questions with the prompts when I can!

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”?

hmm so my first thought was Sue Li but that’s not exactly accurate. the closest she is to sunshine is like, when she sees her loved ones are upset or something she’ll become a sunshine for them and forcibly have them cheer up in sunlight lol.

Sara Abbott, who i’ve briefly mentioned here before and the younger sister of Hannah, is 1000% sunshine. Even after surviving the war and going through what nobody should ever have to go through at the age of just 15, she’s stayed always really sweet. she also has basically no restraint so has the glaringly-bright side of sunshine too!

last sunshine kiddo is Stephen Elise Cornfoot, they’re extremely friendly and thoughtful and in their friend group, everyone recognizes they are the one who cheers people up and brings a positive point of view for everyone. it actually can be to the point where Stephen Elise feels pressure to keep up a cheery facade even when they’re not doing so well (not out of any intentional message from their friends, but just self-doubt and etc). however, most of the time they enjoy being friendly and sunshine-y :)

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)?

so i have answered this question before but that’s when i was trying to stick exclusively to OCs, so in addition to Austin and Mallory the bio nerds, Anthony Goldstein would TOTALLY be. from a young age he was interested in science, and when he was 12 he was diagnosed with diabetes and he started experiencing medicine from the side of a patient. something he found frustrating was that the magical world really did not prioritize research or treatment generic Muggle maladies, so when his parents (both half-bloods) were researching the best treatment for him they were shocked the wizarding options were far less effective/easily available than insulin. except in cases that affect powerful movers in the wizarding world, like colds that almost anyone would get or more specific things like when the Black family funded research into Alzheimers after a few of them developed it, healers just generally didn’t have much for various Muggle illnesses.

as a result, something like diabetes wasn’t very well-researched, and this angered Anthony. He decided when still in his second year of Hogwarts that he was going to become a healer and specializing in research. Because he specifically wanted to do more with non-magical maladies, he figured he would need to understand non-magical medicine as well, even if his end goal was to come up with magical treatments for them, So, he threw himself into biology and science and spent several summers learning all he could, building on what he’d learned in his pre-Hogwarts schooling years, and finding wherever he could in his classes at school to bring in these areas of interest for him. He found it pretty easy to talk at length about medicine and science in Muggle Studies, and basically had a several-months-long project in that. Others were a little more of a stretch, but Professor Flitwick was fully approving of his tangents started on topics of healing charms, and Professor McGonagall would be forgiving if his essays actually had a strong rationale for bringing in off-topic things.

anyways this is getting long but basically anthony is a lil bio nerd and such a good kid!

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Hannah Abbott loves singing and had some training when she was little! She has a very nice alto voice and perfect pitch, but because she didn’t continue in vocal lessons after age 10, she didn’t have the strongest voice.

Kevin Entwhistle also has a nice voice, a smooth tenor. He’s in the Hogwarts choir and also helps with vocal coaching for the secret Ravenclaw drama club (secret because during Armando Dippet’s time as headmaster, he banned pantomimes and other plays because of a disastrous outcome of one). A bunch of Ravenclaws who loved theater decided to basically start a secret society where they would hold plays (a mix of Muggle and wizarding), and even when they realized the secrecy probably wasn’t as necessary it was kept on principle. When the club performed musicals, Kevin helped a few of the more mediocre singers (he couldn’t ever be cast himself though, because he’s an absolutely terrible actor)

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

hmmm hard to say, because so many of them aren’t of the age range that more commonly uses tumblr by the time it’d come around, not to mention how many wizards avoid technology. However, Terry Boot’s step-sister Ruby is a Muggle and wasn’t born until the 90s, and she’s definitely someone I would imagine being on Tumblr. She also adores her family friend/half-godmother Padma, and I can imagine Ruby convincing Padma to make a tumblr LMAO.

Ruby would probably have expended a lot of tacky ideas when she had myspace and all, and by the time she made a Tumblr, have relatively better taste, a classy sidebar and not too many moving things in the background. She’d be into a lot of fandom things (for a short period of time, including Twilight) but probably move on quite a lot between different things.

Padma would be almost too minimalist, reblog a lot of dry educational things, and get a HUGE kick out of witch Tumblr. She knows different magic systems are different and all, but with things being SO different from the world she’s been a part of all her life, it’s just really bizarre in a cool way (also she panicked the first time she encountered it and thought people were breaking the Statute of Secrecy all over the place on the internet).

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

Oooh hmm Katie Bell took ballet for a while, which helped her a lot when she started playing Quidditch because she was so flexible, fast, and agile. However, she was forced into the lessons by her parents and for most of the time she danced, she wasn’t really passionate about it which would be a big obstacle in being good. During the Battle of Hogwarts, a too-hastily cast protection spell and attempts to stop the Mandrakes from killing people on their side in friendly fire led to her ears being irreparably damaged and she survived the ordinarily fatal-sound, but became deaf. So, dancing was something she wasn’t really able to continue since hearing the music was such an integral part of it for her - though she ended up missing it a lot. The first time she tried dancing with trying to see if she could feel enough of the classical music wasn’t a total failure, but it was also so unlike what she was used to that she decided to not continue.

Megan Jones probably is the indisputable best dancer, in so many different styles. She’s from Wales, and knew Welsh folk dance better than anything. She also loves more modern dances though, falling in love with jazz from the first time her mother played the Muggle musicians that inspired Celestina Warbeck (who was a relative of theirs, actually). She knows a lot of others, learning new dance styles whenever she can, but Welsh folk and jazz are her two favorites because they’re such a part of her childhood and have a place in her heart.

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

fdksjdsl. Such a good question. I know Stephen Elise definitely would, and at times would act like a walking shitpost. Blaise Zabini would pretend not to get memes but his parnter Dean loves them so much and would rickroll him on the regular.

Winner of the Meme Monarch title would have to go to Dean, but honorable mention goes to Tracey Davis, who died in the Battle of Hogwarts but decided to become a ghost (she fights the Bloody Baron and anyone who wouldn’t call her the new Slytherin House ghost). She manages to keep up decently with the new memes the cool kids use despite interacting mostly with other dead people, and given how time feels different to her and all.

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pollylynn · 8 years ago

Text

NYC Midnight Short Story Contest 2017—Round 1

I'm the person who cried wolf about prompt difficulty, but this was hard

Heat: 83

Genre: Action/Adventure

Object: An investment

Character: An Airplane Maintenance Technician

Title: Green

Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic world, a pirate and a hostage take a gamble.

“I wasn't always a pirate.”

They were the first words she’d spoken in hours. The first words she’d spoken to me at all. I wasn’t really the target audience for her back-and-forth with the goons in the gangway outside my unit when they’d grabbed me. When she’d had them grab me.

“Ok.” I waited a decent pause before offering the word. What I hoped was a decent pause under the circumstances. “I wasn’t always a hostage.”

She laughed at that. Surprised the hell out of me—a harsh exhalation and the hitch of her shoulders before the lines of anything like emotion smoothed out of her. “You’re not a hostage.”

My eyebrows shot up. An unfortunate, involuntary movement that reopened what must have been quite a gash. Strapped tightly to the seat with my hands lashed together, the blood trickled unchecked down my temple. A striking Am too! visual, utterly lost on her as she kept her eyes on the road.

The road.

“This is an Auto,” I blurted.

It hadn’t been before. My memory was black-and-white bursts, like a heavy door rolling down and up inside my throbbing head. The grab. A run-of-the-mill heli on hand that had slipped seamlessly into the light evening traffic. Knowing and not knowing for long stretches, courtesy of the roughing up they'd given me, but I’d remember a fucking auto.

Information flooded in, too fast for my aching head. Scent, sight, and the sudden realization that the itch of drying blood was likely to be the least of my problems.

“It’s a fucking ancient, gas-powered Auto.” My head whipped toward her. A rapid move that brought on nausea, black at the edges of my vision, and instant regret. “What kind of a pirate are you?”

“The kind with a conscience.”

The reply was swift. Sharp and unexpected. Our eyes met in the confines of the rear-view mirror. A strange, curiously intimate sensation. Her lips parted, out of frame. Her brows drew together. Fine lines like words I could very nearly read. Very nearly, but her gaze flicked to the side mirror just then.

“The kind with a tail. Fuck.”

She jerked the wheel and jammed the accelerator to the floor. She muttered something. Too soon, maybe. The lumbering body of the car lurched side to side as she steered through gaps in the refuse cluttering the decaying road that seemed nonexistent until we were through them.

“Who?” I writhed against my restraints. Craned my neck trying to see, but my range of motion was nonexistent. Heaps of rusted out metal blurred by. Toppled furniture, luggage, toys, all of it from more years ago than it was worth counting. All of it from a world that used to be. “Who the hell would follow you out here?”

“Not who. What,” she muttered. “Aerial surveillance. Unmanned. Better be, anyway.”

She ducked her head to peer up through the spider-webbed windshield. To scan the sky for the source of the buzz close enough now to hear over the roar of the car’s engine. I envied her the view for a fraction of a second. Envied her the freedom of movement until I realized it was about to kill us both.

“Left,” I shouted. I hurled myself against the straps with bruising force. The fibrous cuffs around my wrists cut into my skin as I desperately tried to gesture. “Hard left!”

“I see.” She sounded annoyed. Far more annoyed than anyone deliberately hurtling toward certain death had a right to be.

At the last second, we cleared it. The dark, hulking silhouette of a tractor. Mostly cleared it. The Auto was huge, as well as ancient. The back quarter panel just managed to clip one enormous tire. The contact smacked the rear end off on a tangent.

We spun ninety degrees as a groan split the air. Through the driver’s side window, I watched, open-mouthed as years of corrosion met gravity. The tractor shuddered and fell in on itself. The cab toppled, taking out another of the slumping tires and setting off a chain reaction. Abandoned loads toppled off truck beds. Massive tree limbs, dead and gray like the rest of the landscape, raked the air. Reached out with brittle fingers to claw at the relics of lives interrupted a lifetime ago.

“What?” The question was out of my mouth before I realized what I was asking. Before I realized that the she’d hauled the front of the Auto almost all the way around. That we’d slowed to a crawl, apparently to take in the show. “What are you . . .?”

The question died in my mouth as it swooped into view. The black silhouette of a drone. Old school. Not car old school, but a bulky shape I’d never seen in the air. Never dreamed I’d see in the air. It hovered unsteadily, as if it had never dreamed it, either. The din of its rotors drowned out even the drumbeat of the badly idling car.

I found my voice again. Found the urgent question caught in my teeth, but it was too late by then. The drone erupted. The world erupted in chattering confusion.

“Target confusion.” She hauled the wheel, hand over hand, and slammed the accelerator to the floor again.

“Bullets.” I finally managed to choke out the world. “That thing was shooting fucking bullets.”

Her eyes were on the road. They had to be, but she spared me a sidelong glance. She spared me a grin and a sweeping, one-handed gesture to the gray landscape flickering in and out of view as we wound through the piles of rubble. “Welcome to life beyond the perimeter.”

**************************

“You won’t run.” The words were matter of fact. A statement, not a threat.

“Not at the moment.” I lifted my still-cuffed hands and let them fall back into my lap, a wasted gesture in the absolute black of whatever structure she’d pulled the car into.

Her only answer was an unnerving, unmistakable snick. The lumi-strips on her suit flickered to life, scrolling up her arms and across her chest. Illuminating her face from below to eerie effect. She reached for me, leading with the now-open knife. I jerked against the seat, but she was only going for the straps, slicing through them in rapid succession.

“Not now.” She flicked a glance toward my wrists. Wavered half a second before deftly sweeping the the blade through the tough fabric of the cuffs. “Not in an hour. Not along the way. You’re not going anywhere.”

“Why’s that?” I flexed my fingers, forcing blood back into them. Stamped my leaden feet against the car’s flimsy-feeling floorboards, making her point for the moment, at least.

“One. You’ve no idea where you are.” Her hands were busy as she spoke. Tugging, extracting, gathering things from under the seat. From a drop-down compartment in the car’s roof. From the glovebox banging painfully against my knees as it fell open. “Two. The drone from back there?” She jerked her chin in the general direction of the blackness out the back window. “It’s got friends. Lots of heat-seeking, motion-sensing friends—”

“So we’re not going anywhere.”

“—that I know how to avoid.” She went on, fetching, sorting, piling, as thought I hadn’t spoken. “Three. I’ve done my homework.”

She stopped her busy work at last, only to flip open a dark, sleek case. A screen. A state-of-the-art personal screen, as alien to me as the drone. Alien to damned near everyone.

“How—?”

“Pirate,” she said. It sounded almost apologetic, though her hands were busy again. “For the moment, at least, I specialize in knowing.”

Blue light flooded the black between us, endless text, scrolling almost faster than I could read. Almost faster. My Old Name. The one no one was allowed to say anymore. No one had said in a lifetime. My history. Birth to Conflict to now, all there in excruciating detail. Long gone and all there.

"Elohna, comma, Mircea D. Don't know what the D stands for. Information loss, but don't say that where anyone can hear you." She wasn't reading. Wasn't even looking at the screen, and it wasn't like I needed to. "Captain, once upon a time. A big deal for someone so young. A big deal for your kind." She paused like she was waiting for a reaction. Went on when she didn't get one. "You flew for them. Scouted behind enemy lines and always brought your crew back alive. Chest full of medals by the time it was all over, and everything."

"Virtual," I said. Not knowing why. Not knowing what else to say. "Virtual by then."

"Virtual." She laughed in the near dark. "And then there was peace. And then it all went away. They took it away.” She paused again. Left me an opening, as if I might contradict her. As if I might know something she didn't. "You hung on a while. Longer than most. Trash routes and graveyard shifts. Demotions. To Co-pilot. To Mechanic."

"Maintenance technician," I cut in. "Airline Maintenance Technician, Grade Three."

She swore under her breath, sympathy or empathy, I didn't know. Pity maybe. Pity, quite possibly. She passed a hand over the screen, blanking it out.

“There's nothing for you in Center,” she said quietly.

"Nothing for anyone," I snapped, angry at last. "Unless you're a pirate."

"You'd make a great one." Her reply was mild. Unfazed. "Even tempered. Inquisitive and a quick study. Not exactly a social butterfly. Nondescript."

"For 'my kind'," I couldn't resist the sarcastic quote marks, but she didn't rise to the bait any more than I had.

"For your kind."

Silence fell on that particular truth. I was the first to break it, embarrassed for no reason I could name. "So. This isn't a recruiting mission for you, then."

She didn't laugh. Didn't say anything. She toyed with dark, glossy expanse of the now-dark screen, considering something. Making a decision.

"Not a recruiting mission. A gamble." She nodded sharply to herself. Waved the screen to life again and tapped it once. The space flooded with light. The cavernous space of an ancient airplane hangar. "An investment."

*****************************

"How?" I asked. Eventually asked. "How long?"

"My father," she said. An answer to both. All the answer she seemed to want to give, but she set her teeth and went on. "He fought, too." She held up a hand. Waved off the question of Old Names before I could even ask it. "He saw how it would go long before the end of Conflict. He wanted no part of it, so he made plans. He had an idea . . ."

"Had."

I swore under my breath. Sympathy. Empathy. Pity. All of it together.

We sat in silence a while. The two of us on the hood of the ancient Auto, dwarfed now by half a dozen hulking aircraft.

"We call it Green.”

She slid the screen from its case, almost reluctantly this time. She passed a palm over the black surface, end to end, then drew her fingers up, pulling the hologram with it. She curved an arm protectively around it, as though there was only so much she could stand for me to see.

“Not so accurate at first. Lived off what we could scrounge. Bunkers and houses and stores far enough out.” She flicked at one corner, shifting the field of view, blowing up one corner. “But we’ve earned it now.” Her voice was full of pride. “We grow things."

It was incredible. Impossible, farther even than this from Center, but there it was. Space stretching out. Houses and tilled land. Fences and tiny figures streaming out of a bigger building. There they were. I leaned in, my eyes darting from figure to figure, counting. Losing count.

"How many?" I could hardly find the breath to ask.

"One-seventy-six the last time I left for Center. I spend the most time there. Amassing capital. Making sure we’re stay off the radar. One-seventy-six,” she said again. Her gaze strayed toward one edge. "Two-hundred now, maybe. Children. Other investments. Two-hundred, I hope." She bunched an abrupt fist. The hologram shrank to a single cerulean point of light and winked out. "We've outgrown it. We need to find more land. Another place it's safe to settle. We need"—she blew out a breath—"so much of everything."

“And you know where to get it.”

My gaze drifted up. Roamed over the motley assemblage ranging from two-seater crop dusters to something medium sized that must've hauled cargo. Must’ve hauled personnel toward the end of the Conflict.

Personnel like me.

It clicked, then. What she was asking. It only clicked just then. I’d have liked to blame the head injury. The roughing up her goons had given me, but the truth is it was too big. Entirely too big.

I thought about fuel. Parts and the hundred other things. How impossible it all was, when there was nothing at all this far from Center, yet here we were, the two of us on the hood of an ancient Auto.

“You know how to get it there.”

"I specialize in knowing." She nodded without bitterness. With something like hope as her gaze drifted up. “I’m a pirate.”

“But you weren’t always.”

#Writing #short story #NYC Midnight #NYC Midnight Short Story Competition 2017

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