#people saw blond hair and a flower sword and decided his whole personality was a stereotypical bottom

[transboykirito]

actually, eugeo isn’t a cute sweetheart angel sunshine boy at all, he’s just a blond white guy

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 5

Chapter 1 || Previous || NEXT

“Yes.” Riddler seethed. “And I really don’t like it when someone uses mine in their ridiculous stories. Now, which of you can tell me where I can find Lila Rossi?”

Some cruel part of Mari wanted to laugh. Leave it to Lila’s lies to get the attention of one of the Rogues of Gotham. And Riddler of all people. That guy had an ego the size of Amusement Mile. He would definitely not take kindly to anyone telling tales about outsmarting him. 

The kinder part, which was domineering, worried about her classmates. Edward Nygma was an unpredictable sociopath. Her mother always warned her against him. Gotham underworld could’ve been separated into three categories: Criminals, Goal-oriented, and Madmen. The first ones were usually greedy mobsters and thieves, such as Catwoman, uncle Floyd or Penguin. They were in it for profit or thrill and could easily be reasoned with. Poison Ivy often dealt with criminals when she needed something. The second category were those who had a goal and would stop at nothing to achieve it. Marigold’s mother was one of them, as were uncles Slade and Doctor Fries. The last category contained the worst part of Gotham’s underworld like Joker, Scarecrow, or Riddler, who cared only about carnage and chaos. She was always warned to stay away from them because they had no respect for anyone or anything and she would run at the risk of great harm. 

Riddler ordered his people to spread through the room. Mari counted at least two dozen. It was bad. The employees were gathered into smaller groups guarded by three mooks. The guns were ready to fire. She really wished there was at least some flower in a glass. She could feel Tikki shifting under her suit. One look at Adrien told her Plagg was similar. The kwamis were worried for their holders. Chloe was the only one calm. She sat there with crossed legs and did her nails. Her steel nerves were incredible. Or would be if it did not attract Riddler.

“You!” He pointed his cane at the blonde. “Riddle me this. What happens to a small stone when it works ups some courage?”

“Wait. You’re speaking to me?” The girl asked. Riddler was a little baffled, but the cane was still pointing right at her. “Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!” Chloe stared at the criminal. “If you think I have time to play some stupid trivia game… I mean seriously? Stones are dead. They can’t have courage.”

Mari facepalmed loudly. Leave it to Chloe to try and antagonize a madman with a gun pointed at her. 

“Tsk tsk tsk. Wrong answer.” Riddler tried to press some button on the grip, but there was only dull sound. “What in the world?”

“Wait! I… I know where to find Lila Rossi!” Mari shouted, hoping to get Riddler’s attention away from Chloe before he managed to repair the gun. The class started to give her murderous glares. Adrien looked at her curiously.

“Oh! Do tell!” The criminal turned to her. When he hit the cane into the ground there was a loud sound of a gunshot that made everyone jump. The ground was now smoking. “Useless junk!”

“She is still in her office! I can lead you to her if you let my friends go.” 

“Ha! Do you think me a fool? As if…”

“A little boulder.” Mari interrupted him. 

“Oh. So you are smart. What about this: The person who makes it has no need of it; the person who buys it has no use for it. The person who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?”

“A coffin,” Mari said with a bit of hesitation sneaking into her voice. Why in the world was she trying to save Lila again?

“Good.” Riddler looked at her for a moment. “Fine. I will go with you. But if you try to deceive me…”

“Coffin?” Mari asked with a smile. Riddler frowned so she quickly returned to the scared expression. 

The villain motioned for eight of his men to follow him and led Mari to the elevator. She was constantly at the gunpoint. Mari had to think quickly. She could try to lose them at the one fo the office levels or… she knew for certain where to find two living plants in the building. With a shaking hand, she pressed the top button. When Nygma gave her a raised eyebrow she shrugged.

“You must’ve heard about her dating youngest Mr. Wayne.” Mari lied swiftly. 

“There was something about it on that cursed blog.” He mumbled. 

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

Slowly, the machine went up. The tensions were high and Mari for a moment wondered if revealing her heritage would be enough to scare them. Ultimately, she decided to keep it as an additional shock when they got to the office. She really hoped Mr. Drake would be kind enough to hide under his bulletproof desk and not fire her when he learned who her mother was. Oh well, it’s not like she needed that job too much. 

The elevator paused one level below their destination, but the doors did not open and it refused to go higher. Her tablet started to beep. With all the stress, she forgot she had it on her the whole time.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Slowly, she opened the tablet. An icon was blinking at her. When she pressed it, a video of them in the elevator popped up. 

A large number of people without authorization in the elevator. Do you approve? Yes No

She pressed yes and the elevator started moving. She should really get some manuals for this thing. When the doors opened, she looked around. It was time for the show. She strode to the doors leading to Mr. Drake’s office. The Riddler and his mooks followed her. She pushed the doors open and immediately screamed.

“Get down!”

Rolling to the side, she pushed her powers to the limit, allowing the plants to seep her energy and grow. Vines shot from the pots and quickly grabbed the guns. Riddler, seething with anger, aimed his cane, but another vine grabbed it and ripped it out of his hand. The three strongest henchmen managed to hold onto their guns and started firing, but Mari was already safe behind the bulletproof desk. Good thing it was mentioned in the notes she inherited from Sarah.

She heard a loud cracking sound and felt that one of the plants just lost their pot. She silently promised it a more comfortable one and thanked for the sacrifice. Her green skin was now in full view. Accidentally, she pressed something on the tablet and now it showed the image from the lobby. She could see that the remaining henchmen were firing at something outside. The muzzles of their guns were flashing. Angry, Mari grabbed one of the drawers and ripped it from the desk. She leaned out from behind her cover and tossed it with full force. The projectile sailed through the air spinning before hitting the middle henchman in the center of his face. He fell down firing the gun all around the place. She could definitely hear something fragile breaking. Oh well. As long as she’s not the one paying…

The vines knocked out all but one henchman who was slowly backing away toward the elevator while firing at whatever plant got close. Riddler was now hanging by his ankles and wildly flailing his hands. The video of the elevator showed he was now there and resting. He thought her friends wouldn’t reach him. How cute!

Mari walked away from her cover and slowly approached the elevator. She heard the fashion disaster grasp when he saw her in her true form, but paid him no mind for now. She only had the vines gag him. The girl pulled the ninjato from its hiding place and smiled. When she pressed the elevator button, the criminal aimed his gun at her. She quickly leaned to the side while hitting the rifle with the palm of her hand. At the same time, she stabbed him in the leg with the sword. While he was screaming in pain she could easily rip the gun from him and then hit him with it, knocking him out. 

The bluenette looked at the gun with disgust. Clenching her hand, she crushed the barrel before dropping it on the floor and approaching Riddler. The plants turned him around and restrained his arms.

“You! You tricked me!” He shouted as soon as his mouth was uncovered.

“Yes.” Marigold smiled sweetly. “Is that a problem?”

“You… Oh no no no! That won’t do! I can stand being outsmarted by Batman. I will not be defeated by some schoolgirl with feeble meta-powers playing Poison-Iy look-alike. For a moment I thought you were her.”

“Look-alike?” the girl asked. “I don’t look that… Just because I have green skin I’m suddenly Poison Ivy look-alike?” She shouted at riddler.

“The hair is wrong, but otherwise your face is very similar.”

“What?” Not believing him, Mari walked over to where she left her tablet and looked. True, her face changed a bit. She still had some of her qualities that easily marked her as Marinette, but her face was no longer that round, instead taking a more oval shape. Her nose was now smaller and lips fuller. She really looked more similar to her mother. And yeah, the green skin made it obvious.

“You’re done preening yourself?” 

“Sure. Now let’s go back to the fact you attacked my friends and made my first day at work even worse!” Her steel gaze rested on Riddler, who felt very uneasy. The vines squeezed his wrists and ankles a bit.

Gulp! “On second thought, I have nothing against preening. The look is important after all…”

“Said the guy with Hawaiian shirt under a suit.” Mari deadpanned. “I don’t have time for this.” She asked one of the vines to smack him in his head, swiftly knocking the supervillain out. With that out of the way, she walked over to the plants and thanked each of them individually. She gently picked the one with a smashed pot and placed it with the other one. 

“Now can you behave for one night? I promise I will get both of you better pots tomorrow.” Mari giggled when both of them hugged her with their leaves. Tikki floated out of her pocket. 

“Marigold! I was so worried! They were armed and you were not Ladybug! There would be no cure if something happened!” 

“Don’t worry Tikki. I had a plan. Mostly…” She looked around the devastated office and her equally devastated workplace. 

“But now your boss will know your secret!” 

“You know what?” Mari smiled. “I don’t care. I’m Marigold Isley and this is Gotham, not Paris.”

“But the word will get out!”

“It will anyway since I’m going to search for my mother Tikki.” The girl tried to calm the frantic mini-goddess.

“Fine.” Bug-like spirit huffed before zipping around the room, passing through the head of each and every henchman, ending her trip with Riddler. “There! They will remember how you took them all down with some martial arts.” 

“You’re the best Tikki!” Mari hugged her Kwami to her cheek. The mini-god nuzzled affectionately. 

Marigold willed the green to disappear from her skin and have the hair return to normal. Eyes were always the hardest, but she got the green under some control. Quickly checking the video feed from the lobby, she saw that there was no more firing, but Police did not yet enter. They must’ve been waiting for the bat. 

Looking around, she finally realized that her boss was nowhere to be seen. Strange. She could’ve sworn he was still in his office when she left. While possible that he left shortly after, he would’ve been in the lobby and he wasn’t. The other option was that he went straight to the garage, which was possible. After all, the CEO ought to have some luxurious car. Yeah, that’s probably right. 

She pulled her phone and typed 911. Time to get some professional help. 

“Nine one one, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi! I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m on the top floor of Wayne Enterprises with a knocked out Riddler and some of his men. If you could please connect me to whoever is leading the negotiations?”

“Madame, this is not a joking matter.” The voice in her phone scolded her.

“Do you believe I’m joking? I’m standing here with a bloodied ninjato and eight men unconscious men plus Edward Nygma who decided to become a fashion disaster since I’ve last seen him.” Marigold answered in a harsher tone. “Today I had one of the most stressful days of my life. First, instead of being an intern I suddenly got hired as a Personal Assistant, then I had to explain to Lex freaking Luthor that I’m not a doormat. If that was not enough, I’m stuck in this job for six! Months! Add to that, because of some mistake in communication Damian Wayne decided to attack me with ninjato. After that Security was really unhelpful. I finish my first day of work only to have Riddler parade into the building just as we were to leave. And I had to improvise because he was about to shoot my friend who, while I love her, needs to learn to shut her mouth sometimes!” Mari shouted, putting all of her frustration and withheld anger into it.

“I’m sorry madame. I will check what I can…”

“You can connect me to whoever leads the police downstairs or I can toss them Riddler from the top of Wayne Tower.” Mari was honestly done. She would do it. Chloe said it herself that it was a tall building. 

“Listen here you little…” Whoever she was speaking to was suddenly cut off and she heard a different voice.

“Gordon here. Who’s that.”

“Are you the police officer in charge down there?”

“What you mean down there? I thought we managed to evacuate everyone from the upper floors!”

“Oh. Good. I was worried about how many people he actually held hostage. I’m on the top floor with a knocked out riddler and some of his men. I don’t exactly have anything to tie them up with…”

“How exactly did you end up up there!” The man asked. “Is batman with you?”

“He was about to shoot one of my friends so I lied to him and got him to follow me to the elevator. I used a moment when he was distracted to take him out.”

“Madame. I really hope it’s not some joke.”

“I…” She wanted to speak, but there was some static on the other side of the line

“Miss Dupain-Cheng. This is Batman.” For a moment she was unsure how to answer. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“I need you to try and tie the men you got up there. They will probably regain consciousness soon. Do you have zip-ties or at duct tape in your office?”

“Not that I’m aware. It’s my first day. Oh! I can use their jackets!”

“Do that. Riddler’s men downstairs are unaware of what happened with you. If they get wind of their boss being defeated, we don’t know what will happen.”

“Rodger that.” She proceeded to tie them up until Riddler was the one now having his hands bound by the suit he wore. His were tied with really strong vines. She would not risk anything. “Batman? are you there?” Mari asked to her phone. 

“Yes.” Came after a moment. “Are all of them tied?”

“Yes. I used the destroyed plant for Riddler. I thought we could benefit from him still wearing his suit somehow.”

“I sent Robin your way, Miss. He will be coming through the vents. Please try not to attack him on sight.” Batman said in a tired voice. She suspected there was a story behind it, but she was too tired to care. Awkwardly, she took a seat in her chair, which now had several bullet holes but was still mostly comfortable. The waiting was killing her. She was all alone in a room full of downed henchmen.

“Um… So how is your day Batman?” She asked, wanting to break the silence. 

“...” There was no answer at first. “It was mostly fine until Nygma showed up.” More silence. “I heard from Nightwing that he would have a hilarious story to tell once he got home. I’m not sure if I should already be worried or not.”

A smile forced its way onto Marigold’s face. She suddenly thought about Batman sitting in the middle of a room with the other members of Batfam running around playing tag. She did it once with Allegra and Claude when their parents had their get-togethers. 

A sound in the vent broke her out of reminiscing. She added two more names to the list of people she would have to track now that she was in Gotham. She picked the sword and slowly walked toward the vent. Batman warned her that Robin was coming, but one couldn’t be too cautious. 

A boy close to her age appeared. He was wearing a horrendous traffic light suit. At least his cloak was black on the outside and had a hood. The outfit first Robin wore was an even bigger disaster, so there was some progress. Maybe in ten Robins, she would actually be able to not be embarrassed to be seen in their presence. 

“Miss. Please don’t point the ninjato at me.” He asked when he stood up. 

“Sure. I didn’t want to get any surprises. What now?”

“Police is monitoring the situation downstairs. They wanted to enter with full force, but with so many hostages we’re afraid about casualties.” Robin spoke in a very formal tone. Too formal for her liking.

“I have the monitoring on my tablet.” She walked to the desk and showed him the feed. “I count fourteen hostiles. They are in six groups with two to three guns each.”

“I don’t need a lesson in tactics.” The vigilante got angry.

“And about motive? One of the interns posted a video about another intern helping you guys take Riddler down. He really didn’t like it. I’m plenty certain he came to kill her in a very dramatic way.”

“That… complicates things.” Came Batman’s voice. She forgot he was still on the line.

“Miss. Do you know who is the intern he is after?” The police officer asked.

“Lila Rossi. She is one of my classmates. She is the one that is now surrounded by a crowd of young people comforting her while she is crying crocodile tears.” Mari showed her at the screen to robin. “I got Riddler to come up here under the pretense of leading him to her. The floor would be mostly empty and my boss has a bulletproof desk.”

“Tt. And what exactly was that supposed to achieve?” Robin stared at her.

“Gee! I don’t know. Maybe he would no longer be pointing his gun at my best friend!?” She looked at him. “Not everyone carries Kevlar to work.”

“Robin!” Batman reprimanded him. 

“Fine.”

“We can’t give him what he wants, especially after you took him down, Miss,” Gordon spoke. “To be frank, I don’t see it ending any other way than a full-frontal assault. We have snipers in position and SWAT ready. They are only waiting for a green light.” A deep sigh made its way through the line. “I only regret how many lives it will put on the line.”

“What if we got some of them out?” An idea formed in Mari’s head.

“I don’t see it happening unless Riddler gives the command directly,” Gordon said in a solemn voice.

“Leave it to me.” Marigold was determined to save as many people as she could. She was so decking Lila for this situation.

The small girl stormed toward Riddler. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

“What… You! You tricked me!”

“Yeah. Get used to it.” She picked her tablet and started recording. “You will give the command to your people to let half of the hostages go.”

“Riddle me…” Before he could finish, Marigold grabbed him by the laps of his jacket and dragged him toward the large window in Mr. Drake’s office. She dropped the criminal, picked the drawer, and smashed it into the window several times. There wasn’t even a scratch on the glass, but the drawer was now chipped in several places. She looked at it and shrugged.

“I’m out of patience today. You can either give the command or I will open the window with your face.”

“Miss! I can’t let…” Robin tried to intervene, but she pointed the drawer at him. 

“Shut up. I want this day to end.”

Since Riddler was still silent, she picked him by the scruff and was about to smash him. “Fine! Fine! Fine!” He shouted. “Bring me the walkie-talkie.” He pointed at one lying close.

“Do I look like an idiot to you? Record the message here.” 

“As you want.” He leaned closer to the tablet (or as close as she was willing to let him). “Let go of half the hostages.”

Mari stared at him unamused. She dropped him on the ground and walked to where the sword was dropped. After picking it she returned to where the villain was desperately trying to crawl away.

“Miss! Please cease it at once. We do not torture criminals!”

“No. You just pat them on their back and let them go.” She deadpanned and turned to Riddler.

“Really? Oh wow. That’s just cold.” She heard from the phone. A new voice joined Batman and Gordon.

“Wait!” Riddler squeaked. “Let go the number of hostages that would be half of seventy-five if half of five was three!” He shouted very loudly.

Mari nodded and handed the tablet to Robin. He already held a walkie-talkie. After he played the message, there was some ruffle on the other side, but Mari was too tired to care. The girl grabbed her tablet from Robin and opened the feed from the lobby. She saw some confused henchmen before one of them shrugged and started pushing people outside. When Marigold noted that Adrien and Chloe were among those who left the building she let the air out. Only then she realized that she was holding her breath.

“It worked! We got thirty-three out. That’s over half of them.” Gordon shouted ecstatic. “You are a hero miss! Branden! You’ve got your green light!” 

The girl had enough. She hanged up and pocketed her phone. Still holding the sword, she walked into the elevator. Mari didn’t press any buttons, but she leaned over the wall and started whistling a lullaby her mother used to sing her when she had a nightmare.

The memory of a soothing voice that carried her to sleep many times allowed her nerves to settle. She could feel adrenaline slowly leaving her body. The tension left her muscles one by one and she slowly slid to the ground. 

“Tt. It’s safe to go down.” Robin startled her. She immediately jumped and pointed the sword at him. The boy was clearly unamused by being threatened with a ninjato… again. Mari lowered her weapon and pressed the button that would take them to the lobby. 

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

When the doors opened, Mari was quickly tackled by a missile that was a worried Chloe Bourgeoise. “Mari! What were you thinking!?”

“I don’t know… Maybe that you were about to get shot?”

“Oh… right…” That shut Chloe up easily enough. 

“Excuse me, Miss Marinette?” An older man in a brown trench coat asked. He had a neatly cut beard and graying hair. “Commissioner Gordon. We spoke on the phone.” He extended a hand

“Ah. Yes. Thank you for trusting me.” Mari nodded and took the offered handshake.

“If not for you, casualties would definitely be higher.”

“Higher…” Mari repeated weakly.

“Oh! Um… Yes. I’m sorry, Miss. Some of our men got shot in the gunfight.”

“Will…” 

“There are also… Damn.” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“How many?” She could feel her eyes tearing.

“Three civilians and four security guards...”

“Seven…” She gave a barely audible whisper.

“I know this must be hard, but…”

Marigold was no longer listening. She left the building and walked to where the class was gathered.

“I’m telling you! She must be working with that madman. You’ve seen how quickly he trusted her!” Lila was talking loudly.

“Rossi.” The girl said in an emotionless voice. Kim and Ivan wanted to stand in her way like usual, but she pushed through them without breaking a sweat. 

“Didn’t you cause enough drama…” Lila never got a chance to end that sentence, because Mari delivered a straight one strong enough to send her flying several feet back before she came crashing down. Blood pouring from her nose.

-----

NEXT

[nanamisflowerfield]

HELLO!I hope you are healthy! Make sure to eat veggies and drink a lot of water! I dunno if I'm doing it right but How about Finnian or Sebastian with a future!Phantomhive reader? Like reader is Ciel's decendant( look like the female version of him) and vert important to the Quenn and England( *cough and almost every other country *cough) They were hunting some witch maybe but teleported back to past. With her cousin who is Elizabeth's male version, constantly asks her to marry her and etc. They landed right inside of the manor and a fight begins( Maybe reader is kinda half demon half human or half angel half human) She uses every kind of weapons but she is especially good at swords. Ciel doesn't believe of course so she basically tells the whole family history and shows him the ring.Oh and also maybe the same things that happened to him also happened to her as well. When she sees Sebastian she is like " Dude you didn't even bother changing yourself?" Before she kills the witch, the witches puts a spell on her, saying that as long as she doesn't fix her ancestor's mistakes, she cannot go back and won't have a future.So reader is stuck in past eith her annoying cousin I would like to see their times together, you know liking then blushing, trying to confess, their first kiss and just some fluff!

Thank you in advance sweetie and take care!

Omg, thanks for the request!!❤️ it sounded very interesting and I just had to write it as fast as possible! (*^ω^*) I had so much fun!~ Thanks again! I coudln’t decide who I should choose... It was pretty hard to decide...

So this is a Finnian x Reader HC... Unfortunately I had work and a every important exam and couldn‘t write it fast, sorry about it! And so sorry for waiting so long for it!!

And thanks!~ I hope that you (and everybody else of course) is taking care of themselves, wears their masks, be healthy and happy!~ ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

Gender: I wanted to write it gender-neutral but it I wrote sometimes she/her in it.... Sorry!

words: 2058

warnings: fluffyyyy! And death

Requests: Open

If somebody ever wants to read a Sebastian Michaelis x Reader with this plot, just ask me! I would write it, because I loved the plot-idea! It was very great! Thanks again, hun!

And some last words: Stay healthy, drink enough water, wear your masks and yes, it is a hard time for everybody but I hope that you all will be happy!~

🗡  “Come on! Go and get that, stupid witch!” You yelled over to your group of colleagues and friends. You all runed as fast as possible to hunt down a strong witch, who wanted to kill the Queen of England and as a good-hearted and well paid Phantomhive, you tried to help her. Unfortunately for you, the emphasis was on the word tried, because the witch was too fast.

🗡  “Sooo…. When is going to be our wedding?” You heard a too familiar voice asking you by your side. “This is no the time to joke around, Elijah! We need to hurry!”

🗡 Thanks to the gods above, you surrendered the witch. But she started to laugh like a frickin’ maniac! “Ohh, you know why I did so many things? Hahaha… I did it for a reason! So many people did so many mistakes and nobody ever tried to help them out or to fix their big problems … So… Why don’t you be a dear and fix the mistakes your beloved ancestors did!”

🗡 Suddenly a light dazzled you and when you opened your (e/c) eyes. No! The witch can’t escape her again! So you did the only intelligent thing and killed her.

🗡 But that damn light came again and out of the sudden your group was gone…

🗡  “Wow… That was strange.” But not Elijah. Your cousin. He stood up and walked to your direction, looking over your body to see, if you have any bruises or wounds. At least one of your group members were there.

🗡  “Yes, indeed. But not as weird as this place here.” You said and looked around you. The surroundings looked like London, the city you used to live in, but everything was so… old? What’s up with the furniture and this crappy paintings? You were to 100% sure that you were in your home. The Phantomhive Manor. But everything was so… weird!!

🗡 Before you could have asked your cousin about his little wound the witch inflicted him with, knives were thrown into your direction!

🗡 Fortunately, you were a skilled fighter. You could practically use every weapon if you wanted to! So you used your great skills and blocked the attacks of some strangers.

🗡 Some of them shot at you, some threw knives but then… You saw something weird. A tree!?

🗡 Elijah pushed you away in time, but only got stretched but a branch of it.

🗡 How in the world, could somebody throw trees around!? That was not possible for any human being!

🗡 Now, when you two were on the ground, you heard footsteps.

🗡  “Who are you?” - “Uhh… If I’m not wrong, people usually introduced themselves before they asked others.” – “You are inside my home. I’m pretty sure, that you know who I am, assassin.”

🗡 Assassin? That was new…

🗡  “What the hell? Hey, kiddo. This place belongs to (y/n)! Afterall this is her home for she is a Phantomhive!”

🗡  “Phantomhive?” The young blue-haired boy raised his eyebrow and did not believed any word Elijah had said.

🗡 So, it was your turn to explain your situation. Who you are, why you are here and so on and on. But the young boy still didn’t believe a word. His household even looked at you in confusion. Until you showed them your ring. The ring of the Phantomhives.

🗡 His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw it and immediately glanced to his finger. It was the same one! How could it be possible? A young woman with blueish hair, the same ring as his and not to forget a similar past… Is she mayhaps from another world? But no. You retold him everything again.

🗡 When your eyes glanced around, you saw very familiar red eyes. The red eyes of a demon. Sebastian Michaelis. “Ohhh my gosh. Are you kidding me, Sebastian!? Did you really… REALLY attacked ME!? What the hell! I thought that you wouldn’t do such a thing except if we had our training sessions, but this is just…. Oh god, I am really mad right now. And what the hell is wrong with your clothes?” Sigh. “Dude… you didn’t even bother changing yourself? Unbelievable.”

🗡 Everybody was just very confused…. Even Elijah.

🗡 And who knows. Maybe you were unfortunate or maybe not, but you were stuck in the past. At first you though it was your bad luck, but now… Maybe it wasn’t so bad. Afterall… he was here. With you.

 💐 At the beginning you started to count the days since you were stuck in the past or… present day(?)

💐 And Elijah was there nonstop. He would never leave your side, even when you wanted to sleep in one of the guest rooms, you’ve got from your ancestor Ciel Phantomhive. Your cousin just followed you like a lost little puppy, but it was pretty normal.

💐 Everybody thought at first, that he was your fiancée, until you’ve told them that you would never marry him. He was more like a brother figure to you than husband material… (I feel sorry for Elijah D: )

💐 You loved to look around and observe watch everybody.

💐 It was kinda funny how Mey-Rin always slipped and tripped around or how the kitchen nearly exploded whenever Baldroy tried to cook for the head of the household. It never got boring.

💐 But you loved liked to watch one person particular.

💐 “Good day, Finnian.” You smiled at the gardener, who always seems to be happy, whenever he worked with the flowers.

💐 How could somebody so sweet be so strong? I mean… He threw a tree at you!!

💐 “Ohhh… Lady (y/n). H-Hello!” And like always the young blond boy blushed when he saw you. Some might say that he got a small little crush on you, which was so cute.

💐 He was so different and special.

💐 “Oh, stop it with this whole lady-crap, please.” Of course you didn’t wanted to be called as lady by some guy who you were interested in. And that was all. You were just interested in him for his strength and not his cute blushing face… Or how he always seems to bet happy… How he always tries to help you…

💐 Sometimes, you were sitting under a tree, reading a book boringly. When are you going to be in your time and see your friends???

💐 Whenever this happened, Finnian looked worriedly at you. You always looked so sad. So, he went to his friends and asked how he could cheer you up! They of course have told him how he could cheer you up with different ideas!

💐 Mission Number 1 by Baldroy: Show her your strength. Women love strong people!

💐 When you tried to help him with the weed in the garden, you tried to pull some out but it was kind of stuck in there next to the beautiful flowers you loved. The sterling roses. Finnian, the sweet-like angel, walked to your side to help you out. But then… He got so awkward by the closeness of you two, that he accidently pulled the rose bush out of the ground rather than the weed. “OH NO!” – “Oh gosh, Finnian…. Why?” – “I-I… I didn’t… I… NO!” And the blond gardener ran away, leaving a confused but smiling phantomhive alone in the garden.

💐 Mission Number 1: Failed.

💐 Mission Number 2 by Mey-Rin: Bring her something she likes. Like tea! Yes~ She always drinks tea!

💐 Nervously, Finnian walked to you, hearing the voice of Elijah who talked about who knows what until he saw the gardener. “H-Hello… Do you want some tea…? It’s Earl Grey tea… Here…” He said blushing and coming near to the one he fancied so much. But who could have known that there was a small stone in front of the awkward blond. Small enough to be hidden, but large enough to trip over it, which is what the gardener did. He tripped and the tea he prepared for you, spilled over you, making a big mess. Shocked, he ran away after he apologized to you, not hearing a small laugh of yours and the loud yelling of Elijah.

💐 Mission Number 2: Failed.

💐 When Finnian read a romance book to get a few plans, he thought about giving up completely, but he couldn’t do such a thing. The only thing that matters right now is to make you happy… He couldn’t give up! No! So, he did more researches, not realizing that his beloved crush was nearby, smiling at the blonde.

💐  “Okay… What if I-“ – “Finnian!” He looked over his shoulder to see you running to him. “Oh… Is something wrong? You were running… Do you need help?” He asked immediately. “No, silly.” You laughed. “You looked so nervous again and…. You were thinking about something, right? I thought that you might have been upset with something. Maybe the flowers you accidently ruined.” He gulped. Oh no… You remembered it.

“Sooo… Here. It’s for you.” You said and shoved a bouquet of sterling roses and sunflowers into his hands with the brightest smile you could ever give somebody and would make a certain someone very furious and jealous.

💐 That was the day, you both realized that you weren’t just interested in somebody or fancied that one… No. It was a stronger feeling. It was like… love. Yeah, maybe you loved him.

💐 Now, he wanted to confess to you, after that one day, but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to do this. Elijah would be mad and you were a phantomhive! That was a big no-no! But you were the only thing that makes him super happy…

💐 You might not have the power of mind-reading, but you sure have a great sense in reading people’s emotions, which is why you were certain, that he had the same feelings you had.

💐 It was time to confess your feelings! But… how?

💐 “Ohh nooo!” You dramatically laid your arm on your head and glanced down. “I am stuck here. I can’t get dooooown! What should I doooo?~ Ohhh, I wish for a strong one to save me!~” – “Here, I am!”

“NO! ELIJAH GO AWAY!! NOT YOU! GOOO!” – “But you need help, (y/n)!” – “Elijah, I don’t need your help!”

And that little argument went back and forth for a while, until he came to you two. “You two are having many arguments…” – “Oh, that is very normal for us. Many say that we are like a married couple, right my beloved?~ Ouch! Why are you throwing your shoes at me!? Stop it, please!”

“But you said, that you needed help!” – “NOT YOURS!! I can come down ALONE! Here!”

And that is what you tried to do. Usually, you were like a cat. Perfect at climbing trees and landing on your feet, but this time, the phantomhive-bad luck hit you hard in your face, which resulted in you making a wrong step and falling down.

💐 And here you were. In the arms of the one you wanted to help you. Finnian. He was fast enough (and strong enough to shove Elijah away) to save you in time. “Ohhh, my hero!~” You laughed and threw your arms around his shoulders, smiling at the still shocked gardener.

“Let me give my sweet knight in the dirty armor a reward!~” That’s what you did. You gave him a surprise kiss-attack on his lips!

💐 Oh gosh…. He looked like a tomato! Totally blushing and asking if it was okay to kiss.

💐 “But of course! I might be stuck here in your time… But maybe it is a good thing I am here… I’ve got to meet you and finally love somebody… It was a long time since I ever trusted somebody… But know I can… I have you. I love you, Finnian.”

💐 Finni being a blushing mess and nearly yelling his reply of “I LOVE YOU!” too loud.

  Bonus:

💐 “…. WHAT!? BUT (Y/N)!! I thought we were going to marry!” – “No! She is mine!” – “Pff…. In your dreams! From now on, you will be my rival!”

“Uh…. I already chose Finnian, Elijah… Gosh, what the hell is wrong with you….”

[ponkho]

Dimitry Darrleeyia

The cold, serious and cryptid magician whos past is in flames

Introduction

Full name: Dimitry Keahi Darrleeyia

Meaning: Dimitry means "Earth-lover" and "Devoted/Dedicated to demeter" (greek mythology goddess of corn and harvest). Keahi is a boy's name of Hawaiian origin meaning "flames" . Darrleeyia does not have any meaning, it is there for backstory purposes.

Source 1 source 2

Pronunciation: Dimitry (Dim-mi-tri) Keahi (ke-ah-hí) Darrleeyia (Darr-lee-ih-ah)

Gender: Male, He-Him

Birthday: 15/9

Age: 28

Orientation: Pansexual

Magic: fire, Earth (rocks creation and manipulation)

Occupation: Magician, shop-keeper, fortune teller,

Familiar: Maxwell, the red panda. Cute boy, horrible personality

Love interest: Asra

Shippable? Yes! Absolutely!!

Theme song: Phoenix - Fall out Boy

playlist :)

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

MBTI: ISTJ

Major Arcana: The Moon

Upright: Unconscious, illusions intuition

Reversed: confusion, fear, misinterpretation

Minor Arcana: Ace of Swords

Upright: breakthrough, clarity, sharp mind

Reversed: confusion, brutality, chaos

— Magic —

Fire–- his habilities in general is around fire magic, such as creating a flame from thin air to creating massive explosions. If you manage to enrage him enough his hair will turn into flames and he will breath a black hot smoke.

Earth–- this magic is more on the rock solid part. He's not very good with nature and earth magic (since he tends to burn things down thanks to his fire magic) but he is actually pretty good at rock manipulation. He can creates hard rocks from the ground and create precious rocks even, his most precious rock he can create is diamonds, but for that he needs to have passed through a hard time of stress, sadness or any overwhelming bad feeling, and as a result, two horns made of diamonds will grow to defend himself and look threatening. (He feels embarrassed after, he thinks he was weak enough to let those feelings overwhelm him)

Others habilities: he can speak with animals, cooks amazingly good and he's good at only three weapons: daggers, katanas and Lances.

— Personality and Preferences —

Personality: he's cold, cryptid and too honest. He doesn't give a single shit about how you feel, most of the time, i mean. He is hard to befriend, and always is looking for some hidden lie under any word that comes out of your mouth, but once you get his trust he will still be very cold but he will start showing how he feels. Like, giving gifts, making things. Giving without wanting back.

He has a great talent of getting through lies, so if you really want to deceive him, you gotta be smarter than him. People tend to stay away from his path everywhere he goes, not because bad reputation, but for respect, he can look as calm and cool as he wants but he can and will put you to your place if needed. Dimitry, whenever he wants to impress, he'll act, doesn't know how to talk about feelings or anything, so if he know about something you really want or like he'll get it for you, but will never want to take credits for it, instead he will use the famous "I just happened to be there".

Finally when he really likes someone, his behavior changes totally towards this person. He's calm, loving, sweet, measure his words with care to not hurt, loyal and becomes a little bit protective. He will smile more and if you're lucky, you can even get some chuckles out of his mouth, he'll even create jewels for you, "oh you like knives? Here's a diamond dagger I made."

Never talks about his markings. Unless you have a amazing relationship with him, but even so, he will only give hints and never the whole truth.

Likes: Cooking, talking with Max(well), reading, drawing, playing harp,(He plays it at his bedroom on the palace) silence.

Dislikes: loud people, disrespect, lies.

Fears: losing Max, cages and betrayal

Quirks: he can run extremely fast and thanks to his tail, he can make swift turns without losing much speed. His markings burn when he is enraged, and sometimes they will burn his own clothes.

Favorite food: Gingerbread

Favorite Drink: Hot chocolate

Favorite flower: Gardenia

Favorite color: Mahogany

Most likely to: burn a city down because they messed with one of his friends

★— Appearance — ★

Height: 197 cm

Eyes: Burning orange transitioning to yellow

Hair: long Mahogany colored hair, two long bangs on the front, hair tied up on a bun.

Other: his hair is not originally mahogany, his hair color is the same as the tuff of fur on his tail, wich is, blonde.

Color theme: Mahogany, red, yellows and beige.

Family & Background

Family:

His current adoptive mother is a queen, or as they say, a Leader, wich would make him the next in line

Bianca Wood - biological mother - deceased // Relationship: none

Darek Wood - biological father - alive? // Relationship: Bad

Meghan Rook - adoptive mother - deceased // Relationship: bad

Andrew Rook - adoptive father - deceased // Relationship: horrible

Lys Rook - adoptive sister - deceased // Relationship: he was kind of her slave

???? Darrleeyia - Adoptive mother - alive // Relationship: motherly, friend, family

History

Sit down because it's going to be a long talk

He was born on a very poor little village and his parents never actually wanted kids, it's one more mouth to feed and they almost didn't have food for themselves, he was raised to work hard, he helped on home already at a age when he knew already what was happening around him. His mother never gave him a motherly love and his dad just talked to him to offend or to order him around, not that he cared about it, he thought it was how parents worked. One day his mother fell ill and died, at that age Dimitry was 6, he knew she wasn't coming back and his dad started to put the blame on him for her death, as if he could do anything. One day things got out of hand and his dad became alcoholic, then he started to owe money for people, and he couldn't pay it. So one day, when the opportunity came and he saw that Dimitry could use magic, he sold Dimitry to a couple that needed someone to cook, clean and entertain the guests of their bar on another village. They payed a good price and even more because of the magic Dimitry knew.

When he arrived he felt betrayed, left by his own father. So he thought "Well, he was an ass anyways. I'm sure I'll be better here" unfortunately, it was not what happened. They had already pointed out that they needed someone to cook and clean the bar, wich he already knew and was fine with it but then they started to abuse their power over him. His sister made him clean her bedroom, she would cut his hair just for "fun" and blame him for anything she had done, and of course her parents believed her and only her. He got spanked a lot of times and then he just decided he would never smile or talk again, because every word that comes out of his mouth turns against him, at this time he was 8.

One day a customer, different from all the others came directly at him. It was a woman, taller than everyone in that room, she used a hood and she had an air of superiority. She asked him why he was sad and why did he work so hard, he didn't answer, but she insisted on talking to him, she even invited him to sit on a table to talk with her but he refused since he was working. Then, she told him she had a way of saving him from that place, he was just like her, but because of always restraining his emotions and desires, he didn't look different from all the rest. She would come at night again to have one last talk and it was his choice if he wanted to go or not.

When the woman came back at night, she was without her hood and when she walked in, all the bar fell silent. He finally knew who that woman was. She was the woman from the tales, the legends, she was Darrleeyia, a goddess. She brings warmth, prosperity and happiness whenever she goes, and she was just there, on that miserable bar, just to ask him if he wanted to come home. After she made the question all the eyes fell on Dimitry, he felt anxious for the first time, but he knew she wouldn't be worse than what already was happening to him there, so he accepted her offer. She gave him her hand and they walked out of the bar without interruptions. What about the bar, you say? She burnt it down and she did not hide her satisfaction of it.

Together, they went got on a ship and she took Dimitry where he now can call home.

Five Facts:

Dimitry is allergic to shrimp. He discovered that when the Leader of the seas of the homeland gave him a shrimp as a treat for helping her out. The Leader got in trouble with Darrleeyia later on.

He is ambidextrous

He can purr, but it's rare. Extremely rare that only two people saw him do that. His mother and Maxwell

His body runs at a higher temperature than normal humans.

His diamond horns cannot be broken by anyone other than himself. If someone wants to take it out they'll have to crack Dimitry's skull.

Art References:

I got 99% inspired by @juliandev0rak's Cadmus bio soooo

[bluestmoons]

1. alias/name: Serena!

2. birthday: February 3rd!

3. zodiac sign: Aquarius! 

4. height: 5′8"? I literally don’t know I have no idea, but I’m tall-ish 

5. hobbies: RP!!! Umm,,, I don’t know what counts as hobbies, but! Playing Sims! Making up stories/characters! Learning German! Transcribing! Making friends!  

6. favorite colors: PINK, orange/gold, green, and purple! 

7. favorite books: I always say “my own” and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke so let’s go with that!! I haven’t read a real book in a bit though. 😭

8. last song listened to: “why do you feel so down?” by Declan McKenna ( JKLFDJAKLFDA ONE IN THE SAME... )

9. last film or show watched: Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai! 

10. inspiration for muse: I think most people would just pick one muse but let me just go down the list and pick things that remind me of/inspire me about my muses and/or why I picked them up!  ELSA: Purples and blues, cold weather and forests, dizzying castles, tinkling bells, snow and ice ( duh?? ), icicles, Norwegian patterns, deep purple velvets, isolation, the scratch of a quill, and the taste of tears. She reminded me a lot of my childhood. ERK: Purple silk and burlap, old books, exhaustion, disgust, burning hands. He reminds me a lot of one of my husband’s characters.  ERIC: Bright white sand and green-blue seas, cream castles, the taste of salt and the feel of rope, wet dog smell, the deck of a ship at sea, sunlight, parenthood. I love his goofy light-heartedness.  FINIS: Feathers, sheer clothing, long hair, tears caught in eyelashes, sad arias, inky quills against parchment, repetitive motions, purple flowers, a broken body that never shatters, fire, bloody throats, overwhelming sorrow, the concept of immortality, the feel of grass between toes, small boxes, cages, deep breaths, immeasurably empty/lonely, the depths of the ocean, moons!!, comets, blue-white, gray. I’m literally in love with her, so.  ICHIGO: Serious focus, the scrape of metal, uncontainable emotion, logic, hair clips and short hair, dark blue and green, obsessive thought, quick footsteps, position and pain of leadership, strawberries and the number 15, sweet tastes, ache of desperation, regrettable words yelled in the heat of the moment, small stature. I mostly picked her up in step with Kristopher picking up Goro but I love my little kiddo so much... so short, so powerful...  ITSUKI: Nice cologne, athleticism, nice big watches, subterfuge, smells, loss of personal space, pretty boys, lightning/static, unrequited longing, eyes closed, green and hazel, basil, silent admiration, Othello. I genuinely picked him up the moment I realized he was an empath because I have a type. :,)   IZETTA: Nomadic existence, bare and dirty feet, the smell of sweat and hard work, loud compassion, hope, unevenly cut hair, red and gold, cheap clothing, white costumes, early rising, warm metal, inferiority complex, total devotion and dedication. I knew I needed to write her so I could steal some of her positivity...  IZUMI: High fashion, business casual, stockings and high heels, earrings and nose rings, frost, dual-bladed naginata, the shine of metal in the dark, sold souls, sibling love, obsession with perfection, fish tanks, a home without any distinct smell, self-imposed isolation, fluorescent lighting, purples and blues. I don’t know, Izumi is one of my favorite characters from Kyoukai no Kanata, I always knew I had to pick her up.  LEONIE: Sun shining on dry ground, the feel and breath of the earth, refined chaos, green tea, large vocabularies, strange speech patterns, dry wit, sons, secrets, old books with a flower bookmark, the muddy bottom of a lake, frogs, red fingers and cheeks, old swords, dirty gold embellishments, empty and untouched rooms, freckles!!!!, spinning sword moves, honor, old armor, repeating words said just earlier, unflattering and unfashionable garments, blonde braids, running away running away running away. She’s an OC, so!! I fell in love with her on my own!! I decided to pick her up after Kristopher and I were discussing the Reed mom and I realized oh God, I have a whole idea... MIRAI: Pinks and golds, blues and blacks, vintage chic ( “grandma style”, as I lovingly call it ), red frames, serious expressions, overt politeness, depression, bandaged wrists and palms, gold rings, bloody hands, the taste of iron, burning hot blood, monster/demons, unpleasantness, distaste and disgust, starvation, empty shitty apartments, bonsai, gardening, social media and anon hate, sacrifice, orphan, self-loathing. God I just... I’d die for her okay... I... wow... I gathered the courage to pick her up after I loved her for years.  SAKURA: Toddler clothing style on a high schooler, cooking, food, sleep, oversized flannels, tired eyes and cheeks, aromantic, succinct speech, big scarves, wide stripes, lime green and red, crumbs, bandaids, bag like a mom’s purse ( full of napkins and tissues and food and keys and totally unorganized ), memories, forgiveness, sarcasm, bells, kicking, sisterhood. MMMMM I LOVE MY QUIET SLEEPY DAUGHTER!!! I picked her up because I just... vibe with her energy, I love her.  SERRA: PINKS and whites, cleanly pressed clothing, loud echoing voice, devoted and steadfast religion, bright white magic, attention-seeking, loneliness, nunneries, rosaries, The Sound of Music tbh, glitter, make-up, pigtails, tears over a chipped nail, devotion to valuing oneself, dedication to becoming the best, volatile emotions, absolute joy or unbridled anger, cherry blossom perfume, rosy red joints, stringy hair, memorization of etiquette, adventure-lust, friend-seeking. I love her so much -- she reminds me of Willow, and when I saw her on my replay of the game, I burst into tears.  URSULA: Blacks and deep purples and blues, fine wine, tight fabric, velvet skin, sharp and entrancing gaze, crows, black feathers, leather gloves, mocking simper, blood red lipstick, neutral colored fashion, lies, sharp perfume, manipulation, gold chains, the click of high heels, short dark hair, shadowy silence. I made this blog for Ursula! I knew I could play her and Kristopher wanted to write opposite of her so I threw her out here! 

11. story behind url: The original thought was that I’d be here way less frequently than my other blogs. Once every blue moon I’d check in on here. Hence, bluestmoons! 

tagged by: @myloyalty​ ( thank you my love!!! ) 

tagging: okay I know this is a copout but I spent so long doing 10,,, please,,, just steal it, I can’t look at this anymore, JKFLAJK 

[miss-tc-nova]

Guide - Eraqus & Brain

Yes, I am currently subscribed to the “Brain is Eraqus’s grandpa theory.” When that bit came up, I knew I had to write this. AND, it was originally going to be a lot darker, but I spruced it up a bit and like this version better. 

~~~~~

              “The darkness will not win!” Wooden weapons clash.

              The boy with slate colored hair hits back. “Hiya!”

              While the defender stumbles back, he recovers quickly. He prepares to rejoin the fight but movement in the window catches his eye. There’s someone in his house—someone he recognizes.

              An enormous gasp leaves his mouth, startling his opponent. His weapon falls into the grass as the boy races for the backdoor. Little feet patter across the floor, rushing for the visitor.

              “Grandpa!”

              Granite eyes light up. “There’s my little sunshine!” Reaching down, he scoops up the giggling child who immediately reaches for that worn hat. “What have you been up to today?” he asks, straightening the headwear on the little boy’s head.

              “Me and my friends were playing Keyblade War but I saw you in the window!” he happily states, pointing out the open backdoor.

              “Friends, huh?”

              “Yeah! And—”

              “Eraqus!” A tiny, little blonde pokes her head inside.

              “Come back! We need you to make the teams even!” A white-haired boy runs in, skidding to a halt when he sees the stranger.

              Another girl, this one with silver hair and golden eyes, jumps in. “Are you comin’ or not?!”

              The enemy from earlier spots Eraqus in his grandfather’s arms and gapes. “M-M-Master Brain!”

              A third boy tilts his head of red hair, not very impressed at all. “Hermod, are you sure? He doesn’t look like a master to me.”

              Grandpa simply chuckles but Eraqus is not having his friend’s disrespect. “Yes he does, Bragi! This is my grandpa!”

              “Just because he’s your grandpa doesn’t mean he’s Master Brain,” Bragi huffs, still eyeing the man suspiciously.

              “You pea-brain,” the silver-haired girl snaps. “Teacher told us Eraqus is the grandson of Master Brain. So if that’s Eraqus’s grandpa, then that’s Master Brain.”

              His amber eyes widen. “Oh…”

              Hermod pushes a sheepish Bragi closer. “Say you’re sorry,” he whispers not so subtly.

              Now before a legendary master, the kid doesn’t seem so confident. “S-Sorry, sir.”

              Grandpa laughs, letting his grandson slip to the floor. “Don’t worry about it, kid; I’m not working right now. I just came to visit Eraqus, but I guess he’s already got visitors today.”

              If Eraqus had to pick his favorite person in the whole world, it would be his grandfather. He loves his mother and father but not the same way he loves this man. “But you can stay, right?” he begs, tugging on the jacket. “I want you to meet my friends!”

              “You do, huh?”

              Frantic nodding messes the wavy hair. He’d do anything to spend time with Grandpa and will take every chance given to show him off—not because he’s Master Brain, but because Grandpa is the best.

              “Alright. Do you want to introduce me then?” Grandpa says with a smile.

              His excitement is so great, his words run together in his already small mouth. “This is Bragi and Hermod and Urd and Baldr and Vor and they’re all in my class!”

              Children wave or comment at the mention of their names and then it’s Grandpa’s turn. “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Brain. So you all want to be keyblade warriors, huh?”

              Baldr is the first to voice their dreams. “Yeah!”

              “We’re gonna be the best!” Urd agrees.

              “Oh ho? Even better than me?”

              Immediately, the little girl’s confidence falters into fear. “N-No sir! Never better than you!”

              A grunt escapes the man as he sits himself on the floor among the kids. “Now that’s not the right answer.” She appears even more distraught. “You should always aspire to be better than the generations that came before. If each and every one of you becomes better warriors than I ever was, then I know the future will be in good hands. So go ahead, be the best, and don’t stop until you are.”

              Urd’s frown turns into a beaming smile and the others start to catch her elation too.

              “Hey, do you have any cool stories about the Keyblade War?” Bragi asks, having recovered from his blunder as if it never happened.

              “Mmm, no, but I do have a great story about this giant Heartless that tried to destroy my favorite bakery.”

              Eraqus exclaims, “The one you beat while eating a tart?!”

              “Yes, that one.”

              “That one’s my favorite!” The kid excitedly sits down, staring up at his grandfather, one hundred percent ready to listen to another telling of his favorite story. Eraqus is an excitable, impatient child but when it comes to his grandfather, he would happily listen to the same story over and over again. Not only is Grandpa his biggest hero, but the relationship he has with his grandfather is the relationship he wishes he shared with his parents.

              The gaggle of children plop on the ground while Grandpa tells his silly tale of fending off a ferocious monster. Before long, the storyteller’s got every one of the rambunctious toddlers hanging on his every word, sparing time to answer excellent questions the curious come up with. Their little expressive faces show every bit of awe and delight as they listen, all the while Eraqus radiates pride.

              “Wait, how did you pay for the tarts if Master Lauriam took your wallet?” Urd asks, ever the perceptive one.

              Hesitation. “Uh…Well…”

              Vor gasps, “Master Brain! Did you steal them?!”

              “No! Nooooo!” Grandpa replies hastily. A warning finger points at them. “Stealing is bad and you should not steal from other people.”

              Eraqus tilts his head. “But didn’t you steal Master Ephemer’s coffee?”

              “No! I did not steal the coffee and when the fight was over, I made Lauriam pay for the tarts since he took my wallet!”

              “Did he steal it?” Baldr asks.

              The master seems to contemplate this new question. “…Yes. And stealing is bad.”

              His grandson decides it’s time for a different topic. “Will you tell us the story about you and Master Skuld and the giant trickster?”

              “You mean the Trickmaster.”

              “Yeah!”

              A hand raises. “What’s a Trickmaster?” questions Hermod.

              “Well it’s this really tall—”

              “Kids.” The interruption comes from the hall where Eraqus’s mother and two more women stand. “Vor, Baldr, your moms are here to pick you up.”

              “Aww!” the pair complain.

              Baldr protests, “But Master Brain was about to tell us about the Trickmaster!”

              “Yeah!” agrees Vor.

              “All you munchkins better listen to your mothers,” Grandpa warns them. “They’re doing their best to make sure you grow big and strong.”

              “Yes Master Brain,” they all drone, each of them having been taught to respect their elders. The unfortunate two scurry off to their mothers who say something before they come running back.

              “Thank you for talking to us.” Vor gives him a bow.

              Baldr follows her example. “Thank you, Master Brain.”

              “No problem.”

              As fantastic fables entertain those remaining, the toddlers are taken away, one by one, by parents until it’s just grandfather and grandson.

              “You got some exciting friends, kid,” Grandpa says, watching Eraqus return from bidding Urd goodbye.  

              “Yeah. They’re all really cool and they don’t treat me funny.”

              Grandpa nods, pushing himself off the floor. Eraqus can see something thrilling in those eyes. “That’s good. Now, you’ve got three seconds to run before I TICKLE YOU!”

              The boy takes off yelling with the man close behind. Shouting, a foreign phenomenon to the home, fills the silence while the pair rushes around in their game. Their antics lead them to Eraqus’s room where there’s running, roughhousing, mock sword fighting, and more fun than the kid has had since Grandpa’s last visit. This is his best friend who knows all his secrets because Eraqus isn’t afraid to tell him everything; even when he knows he’s done something wrong, he knows that Grandpa may scold him but will still be there to help him learn from his mistake. This is what every kid needs and this is the relationship he gets jealous of when he sees his friends with their parents: one full of respect, freedom, and love.

              “Dad.” Grandpa freezes, child above his head, looking to the doorway where his daughter looks on. “Don’t you have a meeting with the council?”

              Arms lower to drop the boy onto his bed. “Oh, right. Man, I forgot about that.”

              “I noticed,” she replies bluntly. “And Eraqus needs to work on his studies before he goes to bed.”

              Said child groans, tugging at Grandpa’s jacket, “Aww, do you have to go?”

              The woman opens her mouth to retort, but the man waves her off and she leaves them be. “Sorry kiddo. People are counting on me to make choices to take care of them. Plus, you heard your mom, you got studies to do.” Era gives a little pout and the man ruffles his grandson’s black hair. “Look, the next time I come visit, if your mom tells me you’ve been good, I’ll take you to see the citadel.”

              Oh he’s been dying to see that. “Where the keyblade warriors train?!”

              Grandpa grins. “That’s the one. But like I said, you gotta behave and do your studies like your mom asks.” A hand extends to the boy. “Deal?”

              The kid puts on a show of considering the offer but slaps his little hand into his elder’s. “Deal!”

              The stolen hat is taken, plopped back onto the owner’s head while they shake hands. “Alrighty then.” A warm, loving expression softens Brain’s smile. “You’re gonna be a great warrior someday, kid, better than me.”

              “You think so?”

              “‘Course I do. Always remember, may your heart be your guiding key.”

~~~~~

              Warm sunlight beats down on the bright world. Despite its dreary nature, the cemetery, too, is actually quite bright. The youth in white strides along the stone pathway, flowers in hand.

              Months ago, he stood in this very vicinity, in the deafening rain, trapped in a bubble of mourning. He cried and screamed and even blew up at the parents he’d never before disrespected. They didn’t understand; they still don’t but the whole thing has managed to blow over. Friends, acquaintances, and even his Master came with condolences, receiving a meager ‘thank you’ in return. Nothing made him feel better and he just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that such a powerful, legendary master—that his grandfather—was dead.

              And then he found the words carved into the headstone: “May your heart be your guiding key.”

              Even now, those words echo in Grandpa’s voice—the mantra he told the boy at least every time they parted ways. Those were his last words to Eraqus.

              Grandpa was the only person who seemed to understand and acknowledge his struggles. The pressure of nobility and responsibility often pressed down on Eraqus but somehow, his grandfather always gave him the support and courage he needed to endure those things. In the face of all his anxieties, it was always his grandfather reaching back to lead him through. Brain was everything Eraqus needed in his life. Even now, in death, he’s still managed to leave his grandson with the strength he needs to move forward.

              It’s because of these words that Eraqus became something his parents aren’t exactly proud of. He began shirking his studies and speaking his mind no matter the company—really the only thing that keeps them off his back is the fact that he’s still a pretty damn good student. Just because he’s happy doesn’t mean he can let his grandpa’s faith go to waste; he’s supposed to become a great warrior after all. But, following his grandfather’s words, Eraqus started becoming the person he wanted to be instead of the person he was expected to be.

              The boy sits down, resting the bouquet before the stone. From his pocket, he also presents a talisman—the mark of keyblade wielders, even those in training—which he finally earned today.

              “There’s so many things I want to tell you.” He expected the tears, but even so, he smiles. “But before I get to all that, I have to say thank you.” The sleeve of his haori drags across his face. “Thanks for guiding me, Grandpa.”

[samwrights]

Plastic Flowers [ 5 ]

Chapter 5: The Poison I Need

Katsuki and Kohta get to spend the whole day together, getting to know each other. 

WARNINGS: Slight NSFW, mentions of sodomy, and implications of rape(?)

Katsuki Bakugo had woken up Sunday in the late morning; attempting to hide his eagerness by taking his time to complete each individual task as he got ready. His morning cup of coffee consisted of not only washing his mug after he was finished, but even washed the pot as well as the brew basket. Not necessarily strange for some humans morning routine, but definitely for Katsuki. Even his morning shower took longer than normal; instead of just slopping whatever he could on his messy blonde mop, he took the time to massage product into his roots and ends and scrubbing every inch of his body with a fragrant body wash rather than a plain bar of soap. Simple tasks such as picking out an outfit even came to be a meticulous event—Katsuki was doing all that he could to pass the time before he could leave and head to the Upside Down to pick up Kohta, even if it meant tapping into the grooming lessons he had picked up from Best Jeanist during his internship many years ago.

After finally settling on a fitted black button up, jeans, and an orange lined black hoodie, Katsuki laced up his brown leather boots and locked his the door to his tiny one bedroom apartment, exiting with a bit more enthusiasm in his usual saunter. He would never say it out loud or to himself, but Bakugo was excited to have actual one on one time with his soulmate. While the thought of having to explain to her the bonding process of soulmates was something he was dreading, every other aspect of being alone with Kohta—he didn't mind it at all. Though, he blamed his compliance entirely on the hormones that were released during their brief session in the back room of the Upside Down.

Opting out of driving, mostly to take time to arrive fashionably late, Bakugo decided to walk to the cafe to pick Kohta up. Not that it was a lengthy walk by any means, maybe a half hour at most since Bakugo didn't live too far off from the heart of the downtown area. He didn't want to appear too eager by showing up as soon as he'd left his apartment with only a ten minute drive. Not that Hitoko would have known that, but regardless, Katsuki was over thinking anything and everything. He knew of his own personal faults—his narcissism, his pride, his attitude; Katsuki was overly aware of it all. It was his pride that over shadowed his worry that Kohta would not be able to see past his faults. Now that the two of them had met and at least kissed, forming their bond should be a breeze.

That's what Katsuki thought, anyway, as he rang the buzzing doorbell on the outer brick wall of the Upside Down. When no answer came, his confidence began to waver. Maybe Kohta was still sleeping, his quiet optimism chimed. But his gnawing anxiety kept trying to convince him she was bailing. It felt like hours were passing until he finally saw his soulmate emerge from the back of house door. Kohta's long brown hair swayed in their natural waves, the ends of her locks tickling her bare tattooed midriff. Her loose, black cropped tee revealed the bottom half of some sort of canine tattoo, though the rest of the design was covered by her ripped up white jeans. Despite the amount of exposed skin, Kohta was also sporting a large maroon cardigan that nearly swallowed her tiny frame and covered all else. "Uh, hi." The brunette says with caution as she locks the front door to the Upside Down.

"Hey." Katsuki returns, entirely unsure of how to greet her. Couples usually greeted each other with a hug or a kiss, but they weren't necessarily together. Not yet, anyway. And shaking her hand just seemed...odd. Instead, Bakugo opted to hold out his hand for her to take. His face was rather calm, his confidence making a quick recovery from his budding doubt; even more so as Kohta takes his hand. It was entirely foreign to her—she couldn't even remember the last time she held hands with someone. Maybe when she was a tiny child.

"Where to?" She asks with as much casualty as she could muster. Bakugo had begun walking more towards the heart of downtown as he tried to avoid staring at his soulmate. Seeing her when she wasn't working or having to converse with a bunch of other people, having her undivided attention, made his heart race. Why was he so vehemently against her being his soulmate, he asked himself quietly. Sure, she was more on the plain side, but Bakugo would be lying if he didn't appreciate her beauty for what it was.

"I know a place." He responds as he nudged her towards a little upscale diner just a couple blocks from the Upside Down. It surprised Kohta, not by much but regardless, that she had never been to this place despite how close it was to her home. Katsuki tugged her along gently; doing all the talking to get them a quiet booth away from people and the door. The blonde took the seat facing the entryway, while Kohta kept her back towards it. Their waitress grabbed their drinks—waters and a pot of coffee to split with a side of cream for her.

"So, what brought on the idea to go take me to brunch?" Kohta asks almost meekly, as if she were trying to be smooth and hide the throbbing butterflies in her gut. She was nervous. The last time she had sat down for a meal with somebody had been almost, if not longer than, a year ago when her cat had passed away. Dabi had chosen to take little Kohta Ohta out to breakfast in hopes to perk her up a bit.

"You and I have a lot to talk about. Figured this would be the easiest way." Katsuki huffs out at he flips through the menu, though it didn't take long for him to settle on something to suit his tastes. Something savory and salty with lots of protein, and a side of pancakes to balance out. He had learned early on in the dating game two things: forming a friendship or bond or relationship of any sort was easier when food was involved and that Bakugo was a nervous eater. In his younger years, he never realized that all of his disaster dates were ones that didn't involve some type of meal or going to a theater and munching on popcorn. Since he learned the habit, Katsuki couldn't think of the last time he had a date go wrong.

But relationships that last more than a couple dates was a different monster entirely.

Kohta was flipping through the menu eagerly, completely forgetting she was sitting across from her soulmate as her stomach growled. Having such an eclectic pallet, she couldn't pin down any one thing she wanted to eat. "Do you two need a minute?" Their waitress asked kindly, tipping her head ever so slightly that her sleek chestnut brown hair spilled over her shoulder.

"I think we're ready." Kohta said, matching the tone of their server with her business professional voice. The brunette looked up at the waitress, pushing up her glasses as she did so, before giving her order—a skillet with ham, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, eggs over easy with a side of pancakes. Katsuki gave a slightly confused, if not impressed, glance to his soulmate.

"I'll have the same, but no peppers and add bacon." The waitress nods before collecting the menu and scurrying away, leaving the two soulmates to gaze at each other. Despite the vortex of emotions overwhelming the couple for a brief second, neither pulled away.

"So, where would you like to start?" Kohta asks as she takes a sip of her coffee—a rich caramel color contrasting her partner’s black cup.

"I feel like I should be asking you that," Bakugo starts evenly, mirroring her actions with his own. "You're the one who doesn't understand how this works, remember?"

"Right...but if we're soulmates or whatever, this should just happen naturally, shouldn't it?" The blonde mulls over her words while silently sipping down the remnants of his first cup of coffee before immediately pouring himself another. It was blatantly obvious the two were going to need another pot, he mused, at the rate they were drinking.

"Fair enough." Bakugo goes quiet for a second, observing as Kohta sets down her mug. As a reflex, he fills it up again, making sure to leave an inch for any fix ins she might have needed. "Then let's not talk about that right now. How old are you?" Kohta let out a soft snort, followed by breathy, whimsical laughter. Such an oxymoron that is difficult to describe and put into words, but was entirely Hitoko. Ever the plain looking woman, who's attitude was anything but.

"Katsuki, you can't just ask a woman her age. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" She jokes, the light-hearted chuckle a clear indication that she hadn't been remotely serious. "Twenty five. What about you?"

"Me too. But what month are you?"

"August."

"April." Bakugo gave a small smirk, triumphant in his victory that he paid no contribution to. As he was about to open his mouth again, ready to fire off the next question that came to his mind, the brunette woman before him cut him off.

"You asked the last question, I get to ask next. Isn't that how twenty questions works?" Bakugo conceded, shutting his mouth to let his soulmate speak. Conveniently enough, their waitress had come back with their food as well as a fresh pot of coffee. Needing nothing else, the two resumed their little game, neither being shy when talking to each other with their mouths full. It surprised the blonde how much he was learning about her—being an orphan and not going to school, how her parents died when she was merely a toddler, and even simple things like her favorite color was specific shade of blue or that her favorite tattoo was the sword on her forearm, touching the outside length of her elbow and wrist on the arm of her soulmate mark.

Hitoko had learned many things that she hadn't expected of Katsuki. He spoke of his strong desire to the absolute best—the number one—she learned that his talk was far from cheap, according to him. Much to her surprise, he spoke of many of the struggles he faced in school, learning that just because he showed such promise at a young age, didn't mean he knew everything and still needed to understand what it meant to be the best. Katsuki also talked about how his slowly budding friendship with Kirishima turned into being each other’s shoulder to lean on, though he didn't quite phrase it as such. "We have each other's backs—we have for over ten years." Somehow, in the short time that Hitoko has known him, she was able to decipher the blonde's vocabulary to know that he was grateful for their decade long friendship. But as the small talk dwindled and their eating had slowed due to their filling bellies, the reason for their afternoon meeting began to increase the tension between them. "So do you wanna ask or do you just want me to sit here and give you textbook excerpts?" Katsuki nearly grumbles, the gruff tone of his voice making its way to show he was far from relaxed at this very second. And though he sounded much more vicious than he had for the last half hour, Kohta stood her ground, not in the least bit intimidated.

"My mark is still red, so I'm assuming yours is as well. Why is that?" The blonde let out a silent sigh of relief—at least she was starting off easy, he rejoiced in his mind.

"We haven't bonded. Our little...episode, a couple days ago just calmed down the negative affects." Snippets of Katsuki grabbing Hitoko's hips while their lips danced flashed through his mind and had him running warm, warmer than normal.

"Okay, so how do we actually bond then?" At this moment, Bakugo wished he hadn't cleared his plate, or that he had a sudden appetite again. Only his half empty cup of coffee served as a defense mechanism for his nerves, and it wasn't nearly enough. Not even his stupid sex education course with former pro hero, Midnight, could have prepared him for this exact conversation. Sure, it was easier to suffer in silence in a class full of awkward, hormonal teenagers. But telling his own soulmate, the thought was absolutely daunting. It was now or never, though, and he figured his soulmate appreciated brutal honesty as much as he did.

"Intercourse." Bakugo's crimson eyes held Kohta's violet orbs as he spoke so bluntly. "Sodomy and insemination in one's rectum." Silence bloomed between the two. While Kohta might not have received the education that Katsuki did, her lexicon was well versed to know what each of the words that spilled past his lips meant. The entire time she spent processing the information, the blonde stared at her stone faced. If she's my soulmate, she can deal with this, he thought. Cruel omniscient beings above or not, Bakugo knew that anyone good enough to be his life partner would be able to handle such an awkward situation with grace.

"And, ever the gentleman you are, I'm assuming you're not going to just drag me into the backroom and shove it in my ass." Had it not been such a serious conversation, Bakugo might have laughed.

"The fuck do you think I am?!" He snarled instead, his pride wounded at the thought of him raping someone. But Kohta just let out an airy laugh before downing the rest of her coffee. The brunette woman could tell how difficult this conversation had to be for him and soothed him in the only way she knew how—endless jokes at his expense then show appreciation and praise. How she had learned such tactics in such a short time is a mystery to them both; maybe it was just natural for her.

"Kidding, kidding." Kohta chimes before her eyes soften at him. "Besides, if you actually wanted to get this whole bonding process over with, you would have just done it in the back room the other day."

"Shut the fuck up, woman!" Once again, Kohta laughs. When did the two of them get this comfortable with each other? It couldn't have just been from their exposure for the last hour. If anything, it felt as if they had already met once before, maybe in a previous life. "In all seriousness though. Now you know what we have to do, what we're supposed to do. This is your chance to back out if you're scared." The softest snort left Hitoko's nostrils as she tossed a wad of cash on the table to cover the check. Neither of them remember their server ever bringing it, but seeming that this conversation was coming to a close, the brunette figured they may as well relinquish their booth too.

"I have nothing to be afraid of, Bakugo."

Katsuki Bakugo couldn't even recall the last time where he had relationship as lax as his one with Hitoko Ohta. Instead of going separate ways after their brunch date, the two of them ended up at a local pool hall just a bit further into the heart of the downtown area. Since the destroying of Kohta's snooker table, she had frequented the little dive on her days off. With Bakugo's constant strive for perfection, it came as no surprise to her that he was a worthy adversary in eight ball.

But Kohta was slightly better.

"How are you so fucking good at this?" Katsuki drawls as the brunette sinks the eight ball again.

"No school, no parents—I did nothing but play for five years." Under his breath, the blonde let out a grumble before resting the house cue on the table as Kohta packed hers up. "We should probably get going." Her words gave finality, as if to signify that their day together was over. In retrospect, Katsuki probably should have agreed. But, despite being together and alone for the last eight hoard, he wanted to be with her. The two of them left the pool hall, Kohta giving a loud goodbye to the bouncer, hand in hand as they walked back towards the Upside Down. This time around, it was much easier for the two to talk without things being tense—much more laughter was present this time around. But their impending expiration date on their evening was gnawing at Bakugo.

"Hey, do you wanna come over and watch a movie or something?" The blonde's calm voice was present once again, holding no abrasiveness. If only Katsuki were always this calm, Kohta mused internally. Only focusing on his words and the tone of them, she missed the slight sweat that began to build between their hands, namely coming from the number two hero. He was nervous; what if she thought he was just trying to get their bonding process over sooner? Or what if she was already tired of him after spending majority of her day with him? Bakugo was nervous.

"Sure." Hitoko says softly, quieting the buzzing, argumentative voices in his head. It had taken him a moment to even process her word of affirmation, to the point where he remained silent. As she took notice to this, she continued to speak. "You walked here, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Katsuki replies mindlessly, his thoughts still reeling that she had agreed.

"Okay, let's stop by my place then and I'll take us there." By now, Kohta was taking the lead, guiding the two of them back to the Upside Down—an easy ten minute walk. With Bakugo being as quiet as he was and the clamminess in his held hand, she tried her best to ease his nerves with small talk. "Have you ever been on a motorcycle?"

"Huh?" A small laugh bubbles from Kohta's chest as she tugged him toward the alley next to the Upside Down; the alley she could always be found smoking in. Further back behind the building was a one car garage that no one would have ever noticed if they didn't already know it was there. Kohta released his hand to open the garage, finally relieving the both of them from the other's sweaty grasp. Not that Bakugo cared—he was always sweating anyway—but the absence in his hand was a feeling he could not ignore. He missed her hand.

Tch, he mentally scoffed. He was no fucking pansy.

Hitoko was shuffling a couple things around in her garage, pulling up the cover on her motorcycle and grabbing helmets that were sitting on a shelf to the right. The rest of the garage was nearly empty—no actual car for the brunette—save for a paint can that was filled with cigarette butts. Kohta got on her motorcycle with her teal helmet over her head, backing up carefully as she could barely reach the ground before bringing the bike to life. Her head turned towards Bakugo, outstretching her right arm with a black helmet for him. Carefully the blonde sat behind his soulmate, anchoring his hands at her waist for security.

Bakugo almost wished the two of them had a further destination than his little apartment that was only a couple miles away. Even with the borrowed helmet on top of his head, he could feel the rush of wind billowing through his blonde locks, filling him with a sense of freedom he had never known before. A feeling he didn't want to stop. Bakugo had held onto Kohta the entire ride, only letting go with his right hand to direct her with silent gestures since words would fail.

The couple stopped just outside of a small, three story brick building, one of many in a row. Between each apartment building was a small, narrow stone driveway and a wrought iron fence, separating the tiny lots. After parking her bike, Hitoko planted herself onto the ground, offering a hand to Bakugo to steady himself as he dismounted himself. The two were silent as he grabbed his keys, unlocking the front door to his apartment and leading the brunette woman up the stairs to his second story apartment.

It was simple and plain, a tell tale sign to a single man. But, much to Kohta's surprise, the apartment was spotless. Katsuki took off his shoes and placed them neatly on a short shoe rack by the door, prompting the brunette to follow suit. Making herself at home, Kohta walked through to the living room and plopped down on the couch. The blonde stayed behind for a moment, rummaging around his fridge loud enough that she could hear the clinking of glassware. Bakugo emerged, carrying two empty wine glasses and holding a bottle in his left hand.

"Ooh, special occasion?" She jokes as Katsuki sets the objects down onto coasters. With steady hands, he pours each of them a half full glass of the deep crimson liquid before grabbing the remote to his television and sitting back on the couch with her.

"Any movie preferences?" His voice was smoother than the motion of him slipped his arm around her shoulder, glass of cabernet in his free hand. Hitoko gave a soft chuckle before leaning forward to grab her own glass before settling into the warmth of her soulmate. She sipped her glass thoughtfully, a small hum escaping as she did so.

"Either thrillers or Disney movies. There is no in between." The blonde looked at her in disbelief. "Unless you're down for some crappy rom-com."

"Absolutely not. Silence of the Lambs it is." Kohta laughed before carefully wrestling the remote control from Bakugo, switching on the first Disney movie she saw pop up on the streaming service of his choice. Thankfully, it happened to be one of her favorites—Hercules. "At least you picked one of the better ones." He grunted out, conceding to their makeshift battle by taking a swig of his wine. This evening was far from how Bakugo planned it from going. Sure, he was certain the two of them would meet for lunch and discuss what the two of them needed to do next. But the laughter and ease the two of them shared was not something Bakugo anticipated. Hence the call for wine—a beverage typically used to embody celebration and romance. So far, he'd say their day together had been a success.

"So," Kohta chimes quietly, shifting ever so slightly to face the blonde fully with a devious smirk dancing on her lips. "Was this your plan all along? Wine and dine me, hoping the bonding process gets done and over with so you can get back to your hero work?" Despite the playfulness in her tone, Katsuki could sense the tiniest, remote twinge of malice painting the tail ends of her words.

"What's that supposed to mean, stupid?" He grit out, not pausing the movie, but no longer paying attention to the film.

"You mentioned that you were beginning to lose control of your quirk. Am I wrong to assume that you want to fix that as quickly as possible?"

"Fuck yeah you are." A snarl left the blonde's lips as he downed the rest of his glass and slammed it onto the coffee table before them. "You're absolutely fucking wrong. I don't even give a shit how long it takes for us to bond, I just—" Bakugo cuts himself short, realizing that his anger and quick reaction time had made him much more honest than he was ready to admit. "...I like spending time with you." He grumbles after a brief pause. Kohta too remains quiet for a moment before nuzzling into him further.

"I like being with you too." Her voice was quiet and raw, the most vulnerable Katsuki had heard her since their meeting. With both of their glasses out of their hands and the movie long forgotten in the background, serving only as white noise, the blonde gingerly grabbed her chin, tilting her upwards so her lips could meet his in a mutual delicate fashion. This time around, no shock or surprise filled Kohta; in fact, she welcomed the gesture. With no resistance, she wrapped her tattooed arms around Bakugo, bringing him as close as their flesh would allow until their chests pressed together. One of his arms wound tightly around her waist to bring the rest of them together, his free hand gripping her thigh to ensure she had no room to escape.

Not that Kohta wanted to—not in the slightest.

Asserting his dominance, Bakugo guided the two of them forward until her back was pressed into the cushions of his couch, holding contact the entire time. But mere touch was not enough; Hitoko's faint scent of nicotine, mint, and coconut wafted through the blonde's nostrils. That in conjunction with soft mewls and heavy breathing leaving her sent Bakugo into sensory overload. In that moment, the blonde realized how different everything felt when his companion was his soulmate. In previous years, he had fooled around with plenty of women, but not a single one held a candle to the way Kohta ignited fire and passion within his chest. Desire and lust were no foreign concepts to him as they were for her. But both parties were smart enough to realize that, as their limbs tangled into each other after removing most of their clothes, this was so much more than lust.

Was there such thing as a good poison, Kohta wondered absentmindedly, for a fleeting moment. That was the best way she could describe the feeling of Bakugo's lips biting and nipping at the bare flesh of her neck and chest. Soft, airy moans left her lungs as he traveled further downward, tortuously unbuttoning her jeans. These overwhelming emotions pumping through her veins began to teeter into a necessity. "K-Katsuki." She calls out softly as he discards her white, distressed jeans and tossing them onto the ever growing pile on the floor. His name sounded divine coming from her lips, like tasting the forbidden fruit, and once she began to call it, it became the only word she knew.

"Fuck." The blonde grit out, unable to suppress his arousal any further; he needed her. Despite his previous gripes about her being his soulmate, having her here now, just like this, completely changed the game. Poison or not, he needed her. As soon as possible, if not now. "You look so fucking beautiful like this." With his lips suctioned around the bare flesh of her navel and her clouded judgment, Kohta could barely make out his words.

"Hm?" She chimes teasingly when she finally processed his statement. "Like how?" The three gentle words that came from her, though simple and holding no meaning, invigorated Katsuki. With no filter, no fear, no worry to hold him back anymore, he brought himself to be level with her violet gaze as soft pants left his own lips. Involuntarily, he ground his hips against her, letting her feel how turned on he was by her while his fingers danced the on the edge of her underwear.

"You look so fucking beautiful underneath me—so ready for the taking. But I'm not doing anything until you say so." Kohta's back arched further into his touch in attempts to feel him even closer. While Katsuki knew nothing of what was in her mind, his soulmate was silently mulling over her plight. She had never done this before, but man did she want it. Despite her ever-growing lust and desire, there was one thing Kohta was afraid of—the bonding ritual or ceremony, whatever it was called. Having never slept with anyone before, she feared being sodomized as her first experience with sex.

Hitoko was dwelling on her feelings even further as the two of them stripped of their remaining articles of clothing. While Katsuki was trying to hold her gaze during such an intimate moment as they laid bare on his couch, he could almost feel the metaphorical gears turning in her head as she looked right past him. "Hitoko." The blonde's voice came as molten lava—smooth, velvety, and soft while also being hot and rough; the dichotomy not going unnoticed by the woman in question as he spoke her name.

"I want this." She says firmly, her own soprano not nearly as captivating as her soulmates, but still music to his ears nonetheless. "B-but, I just don't think I'm ready for...that." It took a few moments, coupled with the reassuring nips to her neck, for Katsuki to realize what she was saying.

"We don't have to bond right now," Peeling himself off of Kohta, Bakugo attempts to look at his soulmate once again in hopes his eyes could reveal the transparency of the emotions running through them. With one arm supporting him over her, he brought his free hand to delicately dance along her cheek. "But I want this—I want you." The brunette woman laying below him, hair spilling and splaying all over the couch cushions, leaned up enough to capture his lips once again as she mirrored his hand gesture and cupped his cheek.

"I'm yours." Hitoko whispers, pulling away from him enough so that her words could be heard.

"You're mine.”

Plastic Flowers Masterlist

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Thank you guys for checking out this story! I’ll be updating the chapters every Saturday! Chapter title taken from The Front Bottom’s song “HELP” off their album “Back On Top”.

Why sodomy? Because everyone has an asshole, regardless of gender.

Taglist:

@guzmagirl​ @bubbzibubbles (I am so sorry bb, your handle hasn’t been working for me) @wwwwyamd​

[psychosistr]

Uplifting- CaeJose Dancer!AU

Summary: Joseph, a transgender dmab girl, is the best dancer in her troupe and assists with teaching her mother’s class. Being larger than most girls, though, not many people are too keen on being her partner for certain lessons- namely, lifting. That is, until a new blond haired student waltzes into her life...

Edit: I have decided to make this a series and have added a second part x3

Notes: So, after reading this post by @freckledbastard​ the idea for a CaeJose Dancer!AU got stuck in my head and I ended up writing out the whole thing instead of sleeping tonight! My brain is now mush ~_~ Anyway, enjoy!

Also: The song I envisioned Joseph and Caesar’s dance to was an extended version of the song “Dance of Swords” from Steven Universe, you can easily look it up by typing the song name into Google- go check it out sometime, it’s lovely :)

Joseph sighed while looking out over the various new students of her mother’s dance class. There were certainly a lot of promising new faces, many of them already possessing limber and strong bodies that would look amazing through the art of properly choreographed dance. The best of the bunch, like Joseph, would be invited to join the Hamon Troupe- the country’s premiere dance group that always guaranteed sold out shows wherever they performed.

While waiting for the instructor, Lady Lisa Lisa, Joseph over heard the usual gossip that tended to transpire between new students and the veterans of the class that had yet to be scouted for the troupe.

Unfortunately, though, as always, it was gossip about Joseph.

“Hey, so, who’s the big guy in the pink tights?”

“Shh! Don’t call him a guy out loud or you’ll get kicked out!”

“What? Why? Who is that?”

“That’s Lady Lisa Lisa’s kid- Joseph Joestar. He’s been a member of the Hamon Troupe since he was, like, sixteen or something.”

“Seriously?! Wow, he must be REALLY good!”

“Yeah, he is. Kind of weird, though…”

“Huh? Whattaya mean?”

“I mean, well, look at how he’s dressed, for starters.”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that- why’s he a wearing a girl’s uniform?”

“Eh, some weird artistic thing, I guess. Says he’s a girl and gets really mad if you call him a guy to his face.”

“Ha! Seriously?! The dude’s built like a body builder and says he’s a girl?”

“Yeah, yeah, we all know- but keep your voice down! He’s really sensitive about it and if you upset him then his mom’ll kick you out of the class.”

“Damn, what a freak…”

Joseph took a deep breath in slowly through her nose, then exhaled it through her mouth, masking the breathing exercise as part of her warm-up routine as she stretched her leg over the balance bars. She stayed close to the radio and pretended not to hear a word they said. They were idiots, anyway, she shouldn’t take what they said to heart.

Still…

Joseph took her leg back off the bar as she finished her warm-ups and looked at herself in the mirrors spread around the room: She was large and muscular, but that was simply how her body retained muscle after years of her mother’s intense training. She also kept her hair styled short and a bit messy, but that was simply how she liked it- it was easier to pin it back if she didn’t let it get too long. She wore make-up occasionally, though today wasn’t one of those days, but she was an all-or-nothing person and either went without the make-up or went over the top with full on paint and glitter until it was stage make-up level. She knew her outfit- the standard women’s class uniform of a black leotard, pale pink tights, sheer black mid-thigh length cover skirtlet, and black dance slippers- was a bit tight on her muscular form, but that’s because it was hard to find women’s clothes for someone as tall and big as she was.

Even so, none of that made her a freak, by any means. Her family accepted her, and she accepted herself, that’s all that mattered. The others were just fools intimated by her beauty and talent.

“If you all have the energy to talk, then I’ll assume that means you’re finished warming up.” The sharp voice of her mother cut through the studio like a knife and everyone jumped to attention, Joseph chuckling to herself at how nervous the new ones were. Walking to join her at the front of the studio by the radio, Lisa Lisa gestured for Joseph to turn off the music. After it was done, Joseph stood proudly beside her mother, feeling like a drill instructor surveying new soldiers. “Let me start by congratulating all of you for making it this far- merely getting into this class is quite an accomplishment. However, do not take that to mean your life will get any easier. From here on out, you will receive the most grueling training of your lives. You will eat, breathe, sleep, and bleed dance by the time I am done with you! Then, if any of you show significant promise, you MAY have the chance to join the Hamon Troupe.” She adjusted her sunglasses, looking over the students with a sternness that made the weaker ones quiver in fear. “However, don’t get your hopes up: The senior students here will quickly tell you that they have been here for years perfecting their craft and still have yet to reach the standard I hold my troupe members to.” With an elegant wave of her hand, she gestured to Joseph beside her. “This is my child, Joseph Joestar. Jojo has received personal training from me since childhood and is the standard to which the rest of you will be held to: If you do not demonstrate even half the talent Jojo has, then you won’t even be CONSIDERED for the Hamon Troupe.”

Joseph smirked at the nervous and uncomfortable faces staring at her. “That’s right, and I’m essentially the best dancer you’ll ever see, so don’t get your hopes up too high!”

“Now then, let’s get started on your first lesson!” Lisa Lisa clapped her hands together and began class, everyone hurrying to their starting points.

As Joseph set up the music for the lesson, she thought she felt someone looking at her. When she turned to look, though, everyone was already mirroring her mother’s movements.

She decided to brush it off as more people staring at her and being jealous of how amazing she was.

After the first couple weeks of lessons, they were starting to weed out the weaker links among the new students. A few had already quit and several more looked close to it by now. Others, though, were showing promise and might stick around.

The ones that had stayed were now being treated to a special lesson: The male members of the Hamon Troupe were visiting the class today to assist with the one lesson that Joseph and her mother would need help to teach properly: Lifting.

Joseph both loved and hated lift day. On one hand, lifting always looked like so much fun, the way the other girls twirled and arched in the air was dazzling. On the other hand, however, it always left her feeling depressed because of one sad, constant fact:

No one ever lifted Joseph.

With her size and weight, it was something that she had simply grown to accept over the years. Every other dancer in her classes and in the troupe would take one look at her and offer up a nervous smile and a shake of their heads when it came time to choose partners.

Today was no different, sadly.

After the troupe members had demonstrated the basics of lifting to the new students and her mother showed them the basic choreography they would use for today’s training, everyone was instructed to go find a partner. As with every other time this occurred, Joseph had resignedly found a spot to lean against one of the bars as the boys in the class hurried to pair up with the smaller, cuter girls, no one even sparing her a glance or asking her if she wanted to dance-

“Pardon me for intruding, signora, but are you not going to participate in the lesson today?”

Joseph was surprised by the smooth, accented voice suddenly speaking to her. She looked up from the spot on the floor she’d been staring at and saw one of the new students leaning on the bar beside her with an expectant look.

She hadn’t fully memorized all of the new students’ names yet, but she remembered this one standing out as one of the better dancers. He was also one of the more handsome ones, if she was being honest: He had bright blond hair, fascinating purple marks on his cheeks that were either birthmarks or tattoos, eyes that sparkled like twin emeralds, and a charming smile that could make any woman’s knees weak. He was pretty tall, too- only a couple inches shorter than Joseph herself, and quite muscular, though, again, not as much as Joseph.

Joseph also noticed him in the crowds because of how he liked to add accents to his uniform in the form of a purple and orange headband that trailed behind him as he moved and the feathered pins in his hair that fluttered whenever he turned. She could certainly appreciate his sense of style, as she too personalized her outfits by usually wearing her favorite green and yellow striped scarf around the studio and pinning various flowers to her hair (today’s flower was a pink rose with a silver clip).

She realized she’d been staring too long and looked back out at the dance floor where the students and troupe members were taking turns in the center showing off their mastery of the choreography. “Oh..yeah..uh, no, I don’t really get to participate on days like this.”

“Why is that? You’re the best dancer here, are you not?” The blond student asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“Tch, well, duh, of course I am!” She replied quickly, crossing her arms over her chest proudly. Her pride deflated a bit, though, as she watched one of the new girls being lifted into the air as if she weighed nothing, an excited smile on her face. “But..lifting’s not exactly something I can do by myself..”

“Then why not ask someone to do it for you?” He sounded almost concerned by this point.

She sighed and closed her eyes, a pout on her face. “It doesn’t do any good. No one can lift me- I’m too big.” She opened her eyes again and was surprised to see the man looking at her with a displeased expression. “What’s with the look?”

“No one can lift you? Really? Not even the members of your troupe? Have they ever TRIED?” He asked her, looking somehow insulted even though the situation had nothing to do with him.

“Er, well, no, not really. I’ve asked before, but most guys just say they can’t and- Hey! What are you-?!” She was startled when the blonde student suddenly grabbed her by the hand and led her out to the center of the dance floor. He even went so far as to harshly shove one of the troupe members who was about to take a turn out of his way. “Wait, why are we-?”

“You know the choreography, si?” He asked as he took his place across from her on the floor, getting into the starting position for the lesson’s dance.

Joseph hesitantly got into her starting position as well. “Well, yeah, of course I do, but-”

“Then dance with me.” He said firmly as the song looped back around to the beginning, leaving no room or time for argument on Joseph’s part.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” She said with a huff but began to dance anyway.

The movements for the dance were simple, a way for the students to get used to each other’s tempo and movement so they could synch up well enough for the female partners to be lifted properly. The smooth twirls and measured steps were a bit boring for someone as skilled as Joseph, but she followed the choreography flawlessly. The man, whatever his name was, performed the movements with just as much ease as they slowly drew closer to one another.

When they finally reached each other, Joseph did the appropriate spin that landed her in her dance partner’s arms. Closing her eyes, Joseph prepared for the imminent hesitation or realization of how heavy she actually was to kick in so the dance would come to an abrupt end.

She was instead surprised to feel strong hands gliding smoothly over her leotard and tights so that one was braced on the back of her thigh and the other on her back. Those hands then began to effortlessly hold her weight and allow her to rise up.

“?!” Joseph opened her eyes and realized with shock what was happening as she saw everything around her shift: She was being lifted off of the ground.

Surprised gasps and murmurs filled the room at the sight of Joseph being lifted up upside down over her partner’s head. By pure instinct and her own natural dancing prowess, Joseph remembered the right way to tense her body into a graceful arch above the man below her. She held the pose effortlessly, despite it being her first time.

When she expected to be set down at the end of the dance, though, she was surprised once again by the blonde man when he lowered her back do the ground gracefully, but continued dancing with her. The song was technically about two and a half minutes long, though they’d only been taught enough choreography to cover about thirty seconds of it. Despite this, her partner seemed content to keep going and, in all honesty, Joseph was feeling too giddy to stop herself either.

They moved together flawlessly: Every brush of their hands was coordinated in perfect synch. No step was misjudged between them. Each spin they did while joined together caused Joseph’s long scarf and the twin trails of the blonde’s headband to billow around them like ribbons. The man even picked Joseph up on a few of the spins so that she could feel the wind rushing through her hair like never before.

It was all so incredible, an entirely new experience for Joseph. Sure, she’d danced with several skilled dancers over the years, but none of them had this level of strength- this PASSION behind their movements like this stranger did. Even though this was their first dance, they moved as if their very souls had been dancing together since the dawn of time. She honestly wished the song would go on forever, leaving just the two of them dancing in their own little world.

Alas, all good things come to an end eventually. The end came when the song reached its final crescendo, Joseph’s partner lifting her in the air one last time at the peak of the music before lowering her seamlessly into a dip. The way he smiled down at her made her heart skip a beat and her cheeks flush- no partner had ever looked at her like that, let alone managed to dip her without looking strained.

At the end of the song, he carefully lifted Joseph back up into a standing position. Instead of letting her go, though, he kept his hand planted firmly on her back, holding her close against him. While holding her almost protectively, he raised his other hand and pointed at the men- both the students as well as the troupe members- with that same displeased, almost angry, expression he had earlier before the dance.

“Cowards!” He yelled at them harshly, his finger pointing in an accusing, sweeping gesture at the various male dancers. “Cowards and weaklings, the lot of you! How dare you leave such a bella fanciulla on her own!” He shook his head disapprovingly. “It’s absolutely shameful to consider yourselves skilled if you’re too scared to even try dancing with someone of such high caliber.”

‘Wow..’ Joseph thought to herself, a slight blush blooming across her cheeks. ‘He seems really offended about that. It’s..kind of sweet, actually…’

He looked back up at her, a charming smile returning to his face once again. “My apologies, signora- I nearly forgot to thank you for that wonderful dance.” He took her hand in his own and placed a kiss to the back of it like a classic gentleman from an old movie. “Grazie, mia bella dea.”

Joseph’s face flushed a little more, certainly not used to such treatment- let alone from such a handsome guy. “Uh..Uh huh..” Her heart was hammering in her chest and her hand tingled where his lips had touched her skin.

He gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb as he spoke. “My name is Caesar A. Zeppeli. It is an honor to finally meet you formally, signora Joestar.”

“C-Call me Jojo..please..” She found herself speaking even though her mind felt like a pile of mush.

“Jojo.” The way he said her name should be illegal with how sexy he made it sound. He placed one last kiss to her hand before letting it go. “I shall look forward to our next dance, mia bellissima angelo.”

“Yeah..” Joseph blushed as she watched him walk back into the crowd of dancers, holding her hand to her chest and feeling her thrumming heart beat beneath it. “Me too..”

It was the first time she had been lifted by a partner, and, she realized, the first time she’d ever looked forward to a second dance with one as well.

Next Part->

[albedosoyna]

46! Let's get a sneak peek at Soy's fic workshop! ^^

Well, here is a chapter of unpublished story.  This is FFVII

Tease:  RevivalConversations

Fandom:  FFVIICharacters:  Reno, Rod, Cloud (and mentions of others)Rating:  M  Content:  Unrequented love.Pairing:  Onsided Reno and Cloud.—-

Rod was nervously tapping his hands against the steeringwheel of the car and staring out the windshield, and not being a very good lookout.   Reno jumped in the air-conditionedcar and hit Rod in the side with his EMR.

“The fuck ya doin’? Quit lookin’ at the babes!   Yaare supposed ta be watchin’ my back when I did the drop.”  Reno poked Rod again as he tossed thebriefcase in the back seat.  Rod yelpedand he gripped his side.

“I’m not looking at chicks!” Rod quickly defended.  “I’m looking at that nice bike overthere.  I was contemplating taking it fora ride.”

Reno rolled his eyes as he adjusted the package in theback seat.  Rod was known for hisinfatuation with motorbikes.  It was howhe got into Shin-Ra, and he still had issues with going for joyrides on bikesthat caused him to drool.  Reno got thepleasure of knocking some sense into Rod before Tseng asked him to join up.

“It’s so sweet,” Rod crooned and chewed his lip, “Allthat black and gold.  I bet it has anitro switch.  The engine on that issurely custom and it can drive backwards as fast as it can drive forwards.  Oh man, look at the curves on that bumper.”  Rod made a groan that made Reno slap theyounger man in the back of the head.

“You own twenty bikes already, ya moron,” Reno said as hecrawled into the front seat and looked to where Rod was looking.  The bike was really familiar, even at thisdistance.  It was sitting in front of abookstore, and he could see the back end of it. It looked highly customized from what he could see.  It probably belonged to some rich kid thathad too much time on his hands.

“Can never have enough bikes, man,” Rod exclaimed.  “Can you go talk to the guy and convince himto let me ride it so I don’t have to borrowit?”

“Quit being a moron. Why would ya think that I can talk to him and convince him to let youride it, yo?” Reno said as he sank into his seat.  He was enjoying the feel of the airconditioning on his hot skin.  There weredays that he wished that he didn’t have to wear the suit, especially in themiddle of a heat wave.

“Well, it’s that Strife dude’s bike, right?  You know him from way back, right?  So you can talk to him and convince him tolet me drive it around the block a couple times.”  Rod hands were wringing the steering wheeland he was leaning forward in the driver’s seat.  “Dude, I bet that ride goes real fast.”

~Cloud~

Focusing on the bike, he saw Cloud walking out of abuilding with a clipboard in his hand. The red head’s heart skipped a few beats at the sight of the blondman.  Swallowing hard and leaning forwardhe examined how wonderful he looked as he absently leaned against his bike.

He had not seen Cloud since that day on the bridge whenhe had zoomed past him on that high-tech bike that the blond was now leaningagainst.  He looked great.  Cloud was wearing his usual bike gear; looseleather pants and belts, his sweater vest that was unzipped and showed hischest and bare arms, a pair of sunglasses pushed up into his soft-looking blondspikes.  Those amazing bright blue eyeswere focused on the paper that was in his hand. Reno could hardly breathe as he watched him stretch, stuff the clipboardin a compartment on the back of the bike and gracefully straddle themachine.  His graceful, lean body twistedand reached forward toward the handles. The leather pants stretched with him, and it showed Reno a well-defined bottomthat was the definition of perfection. He continued to watch as Cloud moved back on the seat before pulling hisphone out of his pocket.  He talked towhoever was on the other end and smiled.

Reno missed that damn beautiful smile.  It was gorgeous and made him miss Cloud allthe more.  The blond ran his gloved handthrough his hair and looked at the sky for a moment as he continued to talk onthe phone.  The redhead wondered what hewas saying and who he was talking to.  Itwas nice to see him looking relaxed as he leaned back on the motorcycle as ifhe was a model posing for a biker magazine.

Cloud was never one to realize how he looked to otherpeople.   He was oblivious as always tothe looks from the women who walked by him, nearly causing one to walk into apole when he stretched his back and continued to talk into the phone.  There were even a few guys who were givinghim appreciative looks.  He was a hero,through and through, like how Reno knew that he was going to become, even wayback then.  

The blond led the group that saved the world; he was areluctant hero, but still a hero.  Renolet out a sigh as the blond tilted his head as the clipboard appeared in hishand again and he began writing things down. There was still a wonderful smile upon his face.

“Hello!”  Fingerssnapped in front of his face, forcing him to focus back on the person that wasin the car with him.  He frowned andpushed at Rod.

“What the fuck is that about, yo?” Reno snapped.

“You went into la-la land, dude,” Rod said with achuckle.  “What?  Do you have the hots for him or something?”

Reno glared at him. “Shut up, ya dork.”  He lookedback over to Cloud, who was taking a new position on his bike as he was puttinghis sunglasses over his eyes.

Cloud was leaning over, checking something inside in oneof the compartments.   There was nothingwrong with that pose at all.  The blond’sshirt pulled up slightly, and a slip of his skin could be seen as well as the pullof his lean and strong muscle that was normally hidden from view as the shirttightened.

“You have it bad, man.”

Glaring at Rod, he thought about sparking the EMR intohis side.  Rod was really pissing himoff, and it would be worth a couple of night shifts, but he didn’t want to blowthe car’s starter.  “Drop it, dweeb.”

“Sure, whatever,” Rod said with a chuckle as he leanedback in the seat.  “So, did the job gowell?”

Reno nodded.  “Yawould’ve known if ya had been payin’ attention like ya were supposed to.  Were ya even listenin’ to me, rookie?”

“I’m not a rookie anymore, Reno.”  Rod ran his hands through his hair and laidhis head against the back of the seat. “I know what I’m doing, dude. Those guys were bit players, and they weren’t going to cause you anyproblems.  You knew that.  You didn’t need to bring me along to beginwith.”

Reno wanted to do this job alone, but he wasn’t given achoice of the matter, being still on light duty and all.  Tseng didn’t want him to be without a partnerof any sort on any mission — low risk or not — until the boss-man decided thathe was cleared for duty.  He wasn’tcertain what that meant and when he asked the old stick-in-the-mud Wutaian hadsaid it meant what it meant.

Normally, he would be on duty with Rude, but he wasn’t onany mission that was far from Costa Del Sol at the moment, as Cissnei was aboutto pop any day now.  He hoped that thekid would hurry up and crawl out of her already.  She was super bitchy about how swollen herbelly, ankles, wrists were, and complained about the heat in the house — evenwith the air-conditioning on full blast.  Also, there was the matter of her clothing and food choices; oversizedgrey sweatpants, and noodles mixed with pickles would be things that he couldwish he could forget.

Having a screaming baby around the house was not his ideaof a wonderful situation, but it would be better than dealing with a whiny,grumpy Turk that had access to a gun, who also knew how to use martial arts andthrow a knife.

“Yeah, yeah.  Easyas pie, yo, but ya should still do your job, dipstick.”  Reno looked over to see Cloud stretching andwalking away from his bike and heading toward a restaurant with one hand hookedin a pocket and the other hand swinging lazily at his side.

The name of the pub that Cloud disappeared into wascalled, ‘Goblin’s Shadow’.  Reno’s mindwas a swirl of thoughts of the past.  Allhis happy moments that they had together were mixed with the grief of havingTseng tell him that they had both died on the mission back to Nibelheim.  The brief moment of hope quickly disappearedwhen he heard they were alive and tried to find them, to find the remains ofZack on a cliff’s edge.   At that moment,he had been more concerned about the asshole that had stolen Zack’s sword.

He didn’t expect to see Cloud at the church, talking tothe flower girl in the slums.  He waseven more stunned to see him holding Zack’s sword as he defended her.

Cloud was different than when he last saw him, but it wasstill him.  He stood strong and in afighting stance with Zack’s sword drawn to protect the woman behind him.  When Reno asked the question if he knew hewas, trying to be confident as he bounced the EMR on his shoulder.  He didn’t expect the harsh answer to rip hisheart out.  It hurt like hell.  The lack of recognition in his former lover’sbright SOLDIER-like eyes and the coldness in his tone that made him feel likehe had lost the people he loved all over again.

It was pain that he had to push back and lock away so hecould continue on and do his job.  He hadto get Aerith and bring her back to the fold of Shin-Ra.  There was also a slim hope that he couldbring back Cloud and make him remember who he was and … what they had oncebeen.

Things did not turn out like they had planned throughoutthe whole adventure.

He was over-thinking of a way to talk to Cloud, and woundup drowning his sorrows in booze and bad company.  Having tried to show Cloud he wasn’t that badof a guy in Wutai, and let him walk when they were in the bar.  He knew he was acting like a jerk to them allas they rescued Elena and Yuffie from the clutches of the Don.  Sake and sorrow did not mix well and hardlyset him in a good light in this version of Cloud.

There was a small moment between them when he could havesworn that Cloud gave him a look, and almost a smile, but it was brief and toolittle for anything else to happen.  Itwas disappointing when the reluctant hero went on his own way, back on hisquest to save the world, and Reno had to go back on his, which was to stopthem.   He was Reno the Turk, and he hadto move on and do his job.

Now, he was sober and everything was different than backthen.  There was a slim chance that hecould be something more again; it was slim because the blond still didn’tremember him.  If he had a chance, hewould show Cloud that he was more than a jackass Turk, and that he could be theman that he was when they were together … when they were happy together.  They could talk about things that didn’tinvolve saving the world, swords, guns, or explosions, but maybe on how theyboth had moved forward.  He also wonderedwhy the hell Cloud was a delivery boy and not taking up Reeve on the job offersthat were constantly thrown at him.

For once, he was going to take Rude’s advice and try totalk to him.  Cloud didn’t need to joinShin-Ra or the WRO for them to talk to each other, or hopefully have arelationship.

It would not be the same as it was before, and he shouldnot expect that and had to put that aside The silly councillor had told him that as well as pretty much everyoneelse that he had talked too.   Rude evenmade him admit that his counselor who was helping him at one point.  It had helped to have someone that wasn’tgoing to judge him when he talked about something.

~They could startover~

It was risky and there was a pretty big chance that Cloudmay never remember that part of his life, as it may have been so far repressedto keep himself from going mad and losing his mind.  But it was a chance Reno was willing to take… for a chance to have a bit of happiness that he had before.

Reno straightened his jacket and took a quick look in thevisor mirror to make sure that he was presentable.  Cissnei was in her nesting phase and wasfuriously ironing everything in the house, and that included all his shirts,suits and socks.

He had never looked better as a Turk since she starteddoing his laundry.  The meeting he hadjust finished hadn’t wilted him and he figured that it was like a sign thatthis was the day that his life was going to change.

Hopefully.

“I’m gonna go talk ta Cloud,” Reno said abruptly as heworked on the cuffs of his jacket.  Hefrantically tried to think about what he was going to say to him.  How was he going to approach him?  How was he going to break the ice?

“Really!?”  Rodsaid and bounced in his seat.  “Do youthink he would let me ride his bike?”

Reno glared at him. “He’s not gonna let ya touch his bike, jerk wad.  Take the briefcase back to Tseng.  I’ll take a ferry back to Costa bymyself.  I got some other things to talkto Cloud ‘bout, yo.”

“What?”  Rod had adisappointed look on his face and frowned. “No way.  I’m not supposed toleave you alone, dude.”

“I’m a grown man, yo. I can go talk to Cloud without a babysitter,” Reno said as he opened thedoor, and Rod reached over to grab his arm. “Fuck, Rod.  I’m not gonna doanythin’ stupid.”

“Tseng will have my ass,” Rod whined.  “This is your transfer.  I’m just supposed to be the driver.”

Reno leaned back in the seat.  “This is somethin’ that I’ve been puttin’ offfor a long time, yo.  Take the caseback.  Cloud’ll most likely kick my assoutta there in no time, so I’ll meet ya there if that’s the case.”

Rod looked unsure; Reno was certain that there were amillion ideas rushing around in his head. “Ya won’t be blamed for anythin’. Just finish the job.  This issomethin’ I gotta do, yo.”

“If I get shit from either Rude or Tseng for leaving you,you’re going to owe me, dude,” Rod said as he rubbed his hands together.  “Big time. Rude threw me in the ocean last time I pissed him off, and I didn’t meanto break his sunglasses.  Tseng just canmake my life miserable.”

“It’ll be fine,” Reno said as he stepped out of the car,closed the door with a firm thump and started to walk towards the pub thatCloud walked into.

His heart was beating frantically, his mouth dry, hisstomach knotted up, and he felt like he had a fever, but this was his chanceand he had to take it.  He had to forcesome calming breaths so that he wouldn’t make a total fool of himself.  It was a make-or-break moment and he reallyhad no idea how he was going to approach him.

Standing before the entrance to the bar, he pulled outhis phone and looked at an old picture that he cherished.  It was one where Cloud was sitting betweenhimself and Zack in the mess hall.  Itwas before they had all been together. Cloud had just put them all in their place, and Cloud’s friend —John—had just taken the picture of them.  Hehad to confiscate the phone to get a copy of it, and he made sure he had backupcopies so that it would never be lost.

~couldn’t bearlosing all those pictures~

It was one of his favorites.

Taking a cleansing, deep breath he put his phone back inhis pocket, and put his hands and walked into the bar.

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage: part 14

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Damienette arranged marriage: part 14

NEXT

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Marinette wanted to chase after him, but suddenly the pain in her heart flared again. She suddenly detransformed and fell on her knees. The green glow around her heart got stronger and she was suppressing the scream of pain. 

“I am so sorry Marinette. I tried to heal you… but this is some dark magic. Oh no! I think I made it worse…” Tikki was lamenting while floating next to the girl. The last thing Marinette rememebed before passing out from the pain was a scream and a pair of green eyes staring at her. There might have been some words, but she was unable to hear them.

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Damian cursed under his breath. Of course something like this would happen. Marinette passed out from the pain that the curse was causing her. Only my mother. He tired to remember anything that would help, but nothing came. He was certain it had something to do with the marriage ceremony, but what exactly he had no idea. The whole ceremony was quite hazy in his memory. He didn’t really pay that much attention to what was said, instead trying to free himself. He looked at the worried kwami floating around in panic.

“tt. Jon. Lay her down on the bed. You.” He looked at Tikki. “Why did this happen?”

“I don’t know. When we merged I tried to heal her body so she stood a chance. There was some dark magic around Marinette’s heart and I tired to purify it, but it pushed me out and this happened. Oh my Marinette.” Tikki almost started to cry.

“That is mother’s fault. She did something during wedding. This is some… curse or something.”

There were several bangs and three people barged into the room. The boy wore a black, teal, and cyan suit, appearing to be slender and muscular. His suit had a snake texture along with the same kind of underbelly like a snake and had a cyan colored mask around his eyes. His eyes were green and his hair was in same coloration as his outfit. He held a lyre in battle position. 

Next was a girl. She wore a red bodysuit with an image of a black rose with a yellow outlining involving her from her left leg to her chest with the flower holding the images that represent the three elements: lightning, air and water. She also had a black collar/turtleneck (where she had her choker), black forearm-length gloves and black legs starting at a point in the middle of her lower legs, both with yellow outlining. On the back of her head, she had four red dragon like horns with yellow tips with black outlining and, on her back, she had a holder for her sword. On her face, she wore a red mask around her eyes with yellow and black outline at the base of the sides. Her eyes were golden with a yellow scleras.

Third was Chloe.

“What is going on here?” Viperion asked with worry when he saw Marinette on the bed. Tikki hid behind Damian not to expose her chosen. 

“She is suffering from some kind of curse. I have no knowledge of what set it off.” Damian summarized. 

“I can hear her song…” Viperion said more to himself than anyone in particular. “It’s… so distorted. Almost like there was… I never before encountered anything like this.”

“Her song?” Chloe looked like she was about to faint. TMI. Waay TMI for one day.

“There is time for questions will come later. For now Mar… This girl needs our help.” Ryuko stated calmly, but there was some well-hidden fear in her voice. Not well enough for Damian.

The stutter did not escape young Wayne. Marinette never told him the identities of the two remaining full-time heroes. She did tell him she only had two friends that still supported her though and it was not that hard to connect the dots.

“I agree.” He said. “I assume you are trustworthy enough if Ladybug made you a full-time heroes. Kent, get me my case.”

Jon made a faux salut and flew to his room. In just a moment he was back with the silver case. He put it on the ground and Damian opened it. Viperion and Ryuko looked at the content and their expression shifted a bit. While the girl stayed silent, a small gasp escaped serpent hero. The only reaction Robin gave them was an absent-minded dismissive hand-wave while he pillaged through the utility belt. 

At the same time Chloe was next to Marinette’s unconscious body. She could see that even now she was in great pain. A tear fell down the blonde’s face. “I just got a friend… don’t make me alone again. I promise I will be the best friend ever…” 

“tt. I have no more anti-charms.”

“So call Raven. I am sure she can come here.” Jon suggested. “I will even carry her here to speed things up.

“She is in different plane of existence on some… pilgrimage. And my roaming does not cover hell or wherever she went.”

“Zatana then? Doctor Fate?” Superboy did not gave up and started to enumerate the Justice League members that had some knowledge of magic.

“tt. Yeah. Let’s get Santa Claus” Damian joked.

“No can do. He is too busy before christmas.” Tikki said surprising everyone. There was a loud THUD! and Chloe was now fainted on the floor. 

“Weren’t you supposed to stay hidden? And he is real?!” Damian screamed the last part.

“I am the first thing that ever came into existence, you are best friends with two aliens, a mutant and a half-devil. Do you honestly have trouble believing in Santa Claus?” Tikki asked. “Oh my… I am turning into Plagg…” She moaned.

“Yes. the best way to spend time is to wallow about your choice of words while your chosen is fucking dying from pain.” Damian cursed.

“I know a solution. In fairy tales most curses can be broken with true love’s kiss!” Tikki said happily.

“Does it look like a fairy tale to you?” Damian was losing patience

“No. But there is a reason why people believed in it. Only it doesn’t work that way really.” She paused and Damian sent her a death glare. Kagami, Luka and Jon all decided to step back to give them space. None had any idea who would come victorious. Tikki might have been all-powerful, but Damian had enough tenacity and determination to not care. “The true loves kiss can only break some curses, mostly related to love.”

“So whatever curse mother put on her during the wedding should be reversable with a… kiss?”

“Exactly!”

Damian pondered this. He wanted to do it, but he just… froze. Every part of him was telling him that this was the only way. That he had to save her. But at the same time, this little part of his brain was telling him that this was not right. That their first kiss should not be like that.

Damian slowly approached and took Marinette’s hand. He leaned over so their faces were only centimeters apart.

“I am sorry.’

——————————————————————————————————–

Taglist (sorry if I missed you)@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 @dragonflyswing @silverwhiteraven @shamefullove @magic-miraculous @valeks-princess @heaven428 @mlbchaosqueen @winter-gardenflower @spicybelladonna @emo-elaine13 @vetilora @karukofox21 @my-name-is-michell  @sturchling @lokiifriggasonn @redscarlet95 @melicmusicmagic @interobanginyourmom @the-fusionist @razzledazzle247 @miss-mysterys-blog @darkthunder1589 @i-is-mysterious @catthhay @the-one-woman-army @zestyzealot @dahjokester @write-for-your-life2 @mermaidreject @peachedpocky @sassakitty @dahjokester @crazylittlemunchkin @novicevoice @justafanwarrior @eliza-bitch @schrodingers25

[pokemonmagica]

Pokémon x Madoka Magica Short Story: The Truth

MAJOR MADOKA MAGICA SPOILERS WARNING!

The green haired boy was on his way back home, when he detected the presence of a witch.

“Not again! Ugh, I just want to go home” he groaned, but as he didn’t want anyone to get hurt from the witch, he followed the signal.

As he was following the trail, he realized it was coming from the direction of his home.

“Hm, that’s interesting. Did the witch spawn by my house? Let’s see.” he continued following the signal, and eventually found himself right in front of the door to his home: a large castle.

His soul gem lit up very brightly, signaling that the witch was in front of him. He opened up the door to the labyrinth and jumped inside.

The inside of the labyrinth was a solid white wasteland. The only things that decorated it were framed photographs of people with no faces. There weren’t even any familiars, either.

“N? Is that you?” The voice of a girl could be heard from deeper inside the labyrinth. It was one of N’s sisters.

N used his telepathy ability to communicate with her “Yes, it’s me. Where did this witch come from? Where are you?”

“I’m straight ahead! Keep moving forward, you’ll find us!” She responded.

N ran forward to try and find her. The labyrinth felt so empty, having no familiars or any life at all. He looked at his soul gem and used it to detect the location of his sister, and picked up the signal of two different magical girls “Looks like they’re both here” he said, as he transformed into his magical form and began running to find them.

He then arrived at their location. The two of them were standing in front of a large, white, and bare tree. There was no witch.

N was gasping for breath from the long run “Where’s the witch?”

The blonde haired girl, Concordia, responded “we have no idea. This whole labyrinth, it’s empty.”

“So did we just come here for nothing?” N asked.

“I still detect the presence of a witch. Maybe it’s invisible?” The pink haired girl, Anthea, suggested.

“Maybe it’s inside of this tree” N summoned his sword, and stabbed it into the tree. The sword cracked. “I never thought something would be so strong it’d break my sword. Could either of you try breaking the tree open?”

Anthea summoned a bow and arrow. She shot an arrow at the tree. It hit, but barely made a dent.

“Concordia?”

Concordia summoned a yellow chakram with a flower pattern, and she threw it at the tree. Like the other weapons, it hit, but barely made a dent.

“Maybe just punching it would do something” N ran towards the tree and punched it really hard, but in the process he hurt his hand. “Ow!” He shouted.

Somehow, though, this did the trick, and the tree split open, revealing a tunnel that lead underground.

“Well, let’s go in” Anthea said, and they walked down the path.

The two sisters were communicating with each other telepathically, knowing something that N shouldn’t know.

“Should we tell him?”

“No, not yet. He’s not ready.”

“But he’s going to notice that one of our members is gone”

“Just say that they got hurt and had to go away”

“He can tell when someone is lying, it’s not going to work.”

“You’re right. But he’s going to figure it out anyway. We should tell him sooner rather than later.”

“Let’s wait until after the witch is defeated. He’s probably not going to want to attack it if he knows it was one of us.”

The entire room was solid black, except for a few white circles scattered about.  At the end of the path, there was a white serpentine witch atop of a black and white pedestal.

“SHIRO”

Its appearance was akin to that of a Dratini, but it was entirely white instead of blue. It had black, beady eyes and on its forehead was a yin yang. The witch just stayed in place. It didn’t slither over to attack them. It just watched from afar, as if it didn’t want to hurt anyone.

“This witch... it doesn’t want to attack” N said “Maybe it’s a nice witch?” He began to walk towards it. The witch stayed still, never leaving eye contact with N.

N was right in front of the witch, and reached his hand out to it.

“N, no, it’s going to bite you!” Anthea shouted, worried about her little brother.

Instead of attacking, the witch nudged its head against his hand, similarly to a happy Skitty wanting to be pet. N began petting it, and then it came closer to him.

“This witch, it’s not like the others” N said “Do you think we should spare it?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this happen before” Anthea said “I’d say we should spare it, but...” she remembered how the witch was formed, and summoned her bow “Let’s just see if it attacks when provoked. N, you should move. I don’t want you to get hit.” When N moved to the side, she shot an arrow at it.

The arrow passed straight through the witch’s body, not damaging it at all. The witch stayed still.

They kept on attempting to attack the witch in various ways, but none of their attacks hit and the witch didn’t move at all. Nothing was changing.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to do anything to it, unless we figure out what’s going on. We should leave, and come back later.” N decided, and he walked back up the tunnel and back into the outside world. The two girls followed.

Now in his casual clothes, N opened up the door to his home, and when he entered, he found something horrid:

A dead body.

He screamed in fear, and his sisters immediately knew what N had seen and they ran into the castle.

N fell onto his knees crying “How did this happen?”

The person who had died, a young girl, was a member of Team Plasma, a group that N lead. The group would work together to protect Pokémon and defend them from people who wanted to hurt them. Shortly after N made his wish, many of the existing members became magical, too.

He picked up her left hand, looking for her soul gem ring.

There was none.

“Wh... where’s her soul gem?” N asked through his tears “Was it broken? No, if it was there would be broken pieces on the ground.”

“It’s in the labyrinth.” Concordia said “That witch...”

“That witch was formed when her soul gem became darkened.” Anthea finished.

“So, that means...” N was having trouble processing what had happened “That witch was her?”

“Yes.”

N looked at his own soul gem ring, which had darkened quite a bit “I can’t believe it. She became the very thing we fight against.”

N transformed and summoned his sword. He was about to shatter his gem with it, so he’d never end up the same way the girl had, but stopped himself as he remembered what had happened earlier “I know I just came back home, but I must return to Castelia City. That girl I met there, I need to tell her something.”

Worried that N might attempt to shatter his gem again, the two girls insisted that they must come with N.

“Okay, that’s fine. But what should we do about the body?” N looked at the dead girl on the ground, upset by her fate. He held her hand.

“Let’s just leave it here for now. We’ll figure out what to do with it when we get back.” Anthea suggested.

Meanwhile, Melanie was following the signal of the very same witch. She then found herself in front of the castle. She had never seen a castle in person before. Curious, she opened the door, and saw N and his sisters inside.

“N?” She said, surprised.

[lizalfosbokoblinus]

Name: Xander Gender:Male Age:19 Species: Deku\Hyluian\Acidspitter\tunnel Deku scrub. Genreal physical description: Xander looks everything like a deku scrub with arms but he has blue color glowing eye's with links brown colored deku skin.  He wears a biege zora scaled vest and With leaves on his arm in a painful slits that are halfway closed by threads.  The Leaves on his arms turn into silver needle and can be a very hazardous force and his hair is in a large blonde ponytail that can also turn silver needle like kunai.  Which you have to be very carefull of.  Black pants with arrows design at the bottom of his pants with brown boots.  He wears a pierced deku loop on his left side of his face. With fluffy blonde bangs. Hometown:The lost wood(was raised by saria for a bit after malon was raising him during his infancy. Type of home:  A 10 foot blackthorn tree. Relationship status: Currently married to a male deku named Melfien. Current family: Saria(2nd foster mother, Malon(1st foster mother,Ruto(Overprotetive Aunt,Impa(Godmother,Nabooru(Close Friend,Darunia(Uncle). Alum (Actual mother who died before he bloomed but came back to life when he got pregnant.),Melfien (husband). Friends:A dragos Named Drake, husban Melfien,  Malon saria impa, The skullkid link met in termina (Calls himself Sid). Job: A former assissin who is now owns a Mystery shop that sells deku nuts,water,fish,arrow, red blue green potion, masks, shields, mirrors, bottles, and other miscellaneous.  Favorite pastimes: Reading, dart boards, arm wrestling with  Melfien, shooting arrows at board. Hobbies: cleaning,cooking, playing his ocarina, drawing,throwing knives, Bow & Arrows. Favorite foods: Seafood, fried cucco,milk. Strongest positive personality trait: Powerfull sense of direction, positive outlook, Good at adapting in any situtaion, takes life pretty easily, Enjoys the moments he has with his family. Strongest Negative Personality trait:Experencies  powerful amount of grief over a loved one or friend. Which will cause him to blindly search for them even when they are no longer alive.  When Xander loses someone he care with hie life he will seek revenge in a brutal way.  No one save those of his family that live can stop him.  Sense of humor: His jokes and his  sense of humor are very corny and dry. Temper: Xander can be pretty violent when you say the wrong and when you call him a girl. He gets pretty mistaken for a girl. Skills: Xander Gained the ability to use blue fire from his mouth and hands while also learning to  control his lens of truth eyes  when he was trainging with impa for his sheikahtraning. (Due to links connection with the triforce that recides in link his body Inheired this as well).  These's Abilities take a lot of his magic and thus had impa teach him to throw knives an daggers to help with the loss of power that he can control.  Malon taught Xander to use a bow&arrow.  His ability to use  it is very weak and he can only shoot from a foot (Has trouble aimng sometimes) Thus he relies very litle on it.  Link taught him how to use a sword an blow acid bubbles and Xander found that just like his father he had  great talent with it.  Thus uses his sword withever drawn into situations that he can not avoid. And his acid bubbles for long distance. Ruto who saw much of link in Xander grew a fierce overprotective streak over him and offered to teach him how to control his ability over his leaves turning into spikes  on both his arm and hair and how to fire them as well as teach him some  zora fighting techinquies.  Xander willing agreed to this and found that like his sheikah traing he enjoyed it.   Both his Sheikah and Zora traing are well matched and he prefers to switch them when he fights.  Now nabooru and the gerudo's know very much about him.  Seeing as how xander is not at all welcomed in hyrulian society(Do him being a hybrid).  And nabooru who despite and strangely understood Xander more than the other girls and offered him a chance to learn from her and the other gerudo and thus learned how to fight with two swords.  Xander uses his gerudo training very little do to the fact that he never carries around they same equiment that he was trained in these techinquies or he just doesn't feel like it.  Personality and Background:  Xander mother is a Acid spitter tunnel Deku scrub who fell in love with link and Approached link and began getting to know each other. They began traveling together and fought along side each other growing on each other till link realized he couldn't stand or refuse to live without her.  Their relationship had grown and for the first time link an Alum were connected to someone who deeply Cared for them.  Link who felt Alum was the one showed her his deku form and other forms which Alum accepted.   This went on for Months intill link in his deku scrub form proposed right in front of her in front of the great deku tree and saria.  A week later they wed with all saria and ruto as the maids of honor.  In the fall Link turned into his deku form and talked to alum about having a baby.  Alum who also wanted a child agreed and throughtout the fall and winter Alum Carried Xander bud.  Throughout these's season they discussed baby names and both settled on two names.  Xander if the baby was a boy and Lepe if the baby was a girl.  Soon alum planted Xander BUD on malon's ranch believing it to be safer from the deku hunts in the forests. Link and alum both protectively watched over the flower intill one day link was called by a false guard of the palace and a hunter came at alum.  Malon Tried to help as did her dad an ingo. But the hunter beat up talon and ingo an tied her up.  Alum fought with all her might but was severely wounded.  The hunter went over to her flower.  And right before he could destroy it Link ran into him with a large amount of force.  Behind him was the fake palace guard sporting massive wounds.  And The other girls along with impa except zelda who helped malon Fathers on the ground an alum.  The hunter Fought link and impa an  gained serious injuries.  Realizing he would be killed if he continued to fight both link an impa.  The hunter ran over to his friend the false guard and helped him up an they both escaped.   Link untied malon who ran over to her to fathers and the other girls.  Link then ran over to alum and kneeled by her side.  With wound's that were to deep to heal and with what time she requested link to bring her to the unbloomed flower to say her goodbyes and her regret's at not being able to watch the unborn within grow and asked no had link promise her to watch out for their child.   Link with tears in his eyes not only promiesd but vowed to find her killer and his accoplace responsible for this.  Malon as well as the others who witnessed what had happened offered link their pain in his loss. Ruto, malon, nabooru, saria, and impa held link and offered to help raise the baby when the time of the birth came.  About a week later the flower bloomed and link held his son with his friends and Darunia congraulated link.  Link named him Xander like alum would have wanted and despite the fact that Xander was blowing acid bubbles the whole time scaring the heck out of everyone.  Link was very happy. Years passed and with everyone helping Xander grew into a fine young adults.  With Xander Who first began his life and job career as a assissin.  For several weeks xander began doing several jobs till he was asked by impa to investigate a mysterious happening at an underground cave.  It was at his cave that Xander met Drake a very crankey Dragolos who after having several incounters with him .  Xander gained his trust and Friendship.  Two years later Xander descided to go on one more assisin job before deciding to move to termina with drake to open up a shop with his wires.   Xander and drake then took a job offered by nabooru at some sand dunes in the east side of the gerudo desert and it was their that xander met his mate of fate.  Well sort of. Drake and Xander first came into contact with a 50 foot tall centiapede reeking havoc in the Gerudo desert.  The battle had been brutal an difficult and both were nearly killed intill a biazzare deku scrub with twili markings appeared and helped them defeat it.  After the battle the deku scrub indroduced himself as Melfien and while not at first glance Xander relucuntly began to fall for him.  The three of them took a scale of the beast and returned to nabooru and not only got paid but indroduced melfien who was passing through and said his goodbyes to nabooru and his father.  But despite the fact that Xander had just met him he didn't want to let what could possibly be more with this strange and fatastinating deku scrub go.   It took  a bit of persuasion an drakes cranky remarks for melfien to finally agree to travel with them.  They passed through into termina and while they all stood out. The one who stood out the most was melfien and people began to wonder if he was even a deku scrub.  This enraged Xander who was stopped by melfien who told him to let it go.  But over the few weeks Xander couldn't let it go and began defending Melfien.  Who in turn began to some strange feelings for Xander.  Drake noticed this while xander did not and one day had a rather blunt talk with melfien  before leaving both deku scrubs to secure a place of his own.  These two but heads more than siblings that could not get along and it was on one of their arguments that melfien told xander how he felt.  Which touched Xanders cold and mysterious heart.  An Thus began a rather good and offset Courtship between the two of them.  Intill a rather dangerous encounter made them both realize that they didn't want to lose each other.  And right before the nextCarvial Of time Melfien proposed to Xander shocking a number of deku scrubs along with xander who accepted .  They married and One year and two weeks later they discovered a tiny bud hiding under xander bangs.  Reveling Xanders pregnancy. So now they with a bud on the way Xander experienced some rather odd symptoms of pregnacny which made his strength aan powers stronger rather than weaker.   Which to the worry of Melfien and joy of Xander who after having a talk with his husband. Decided to help in terimia twilight crisis.  Xander can be moody and dark, with a very piercing gaze that can cause anyone under it to feel exposed and  off-guard.  Xander has Creepy way of hiding his past and can keep a good deal of himself hidden, even while he's conversioning with  people. He also does not trust easily, making himself very secretive and rather introverted.  He can keep things close to his vest and won’t even divulge his most precious secrets to the closest members of  his inner circle.  Inless your someone who won't judge him on what he is.  Xander does have a  soft and deeply emotional side to him while projecting a tough and resilient exterior for those he meets in the world.  It is this rigid and calm face that can make Xander seem unapproachable.  While he his is deeply,emotional, and passionate  he will not want to be hurt and will protect himself from the possibility of the pain others willl cause him.  Xander can be  notoriously passionate, making him very emotional.  Sometimes this can lead him to make decisions based on others emotional response to certain  situation.  But Xander can be very intelligent and can step back from a situation and look at it from a logical perspective and make reasonable decisions. But being so emotional as well as logical, once Xander mind has made his descion ( Depending on wheather its the right or wrong one) He will act upon it.  Xander can exude power and as well as attract power to him.  Because of his secretive nature, however, Xander does not seek the limelight or excessive amounts of attention.   Which is why he turns a lot of jobs that bring high pay down. Xander is strong and powerful but prefer to act from the shadows and not draw attention to himself.  His stealthly approaches make him a preferable oppoment and a wonderful ally.  Though that doesn't mean he doesn't prefer the direct approach when in a fight.  Xander draws into himself when analyzing a situation and deciding on how to act up in to the situations that he gets in.  He prefer's to be left alone while contemplating and does not want to be interrupted.  This gives Xander an aura of moodiness because when interrupted he becomes easily irritated.  Even though Xander is actually a very friendly person though a bit irritable . Xander can be very warm and friendly person and care for the people in his  life very deeply.  But do not cross a xander. One of his few negative traits, is if xander feels he has been wronged by you in some way, chances are that he will never forgive you or forget what you did.  Xander has  been known to hold a grudge and seek revenge. Xander can find falling in love difficult because not only has he been treated badly by his father's society but throughly hurt by those who are fullblooded deku scrub .  But despite all that he found love even though He ALMOST got killed with his Future love.  He can have a sarcastic and has a biting sense of humor if you don’t know him well enough, and it can be taken the wrong way.  Xander can be one of the most loyal people you will ever encounter, as well as the most serious.  Xander likes discipline and order in his life  but does not necessarily like following another person’s rules and may rebel against authority. Xander also really hates Zelda. due to the fact that a false guard that actually was ploting with the hunter to asked for a gurads uniform from the hyrulian palace.  Due to those who raised xander and showed him kindness he has a deep sense to protect the gerudo and zoras who all his life showed him kindness in hyrule.  Also FayeleneFyre on deviantart drew him for me.

[sammisincostumeagain]

Fanime: Then vs. Now (2017)

I’ve been going to Fanime since my junior year in high school back in 2009, and a lot has changed--much of it for the better.

So, this year at Fanime was almost a completely new experience for me. I’ve been steadily improving as a cosplayer each year, adding onto my costumes and learning new crafts and techniques. I have been a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda for years, and every time a new game releases I try to make the best costume I can for the new release. Usually I have one or two other costumes for the other days of the con, but the Legend of Zelda was always a constant.

I’m not going to go on about why I identify with Link and why I feel so at home in Hyrule, because that could have its own post. What I do want to talk about is the huge shift in cosplay culture and my own experiences since I first started attending.

Before I ever went to Fanime, I attended tiny cons at my local college or in San Francisco. Anime started gaining serious traction with youth when I was in middle school, and the first series I ever saw was InuYasha. It inspired me to draw, and I’ve always loved dressing up. For two straight weeks in high school my senior year, I wore a different costume every single day despite my stepmother picking on me for being a ‘weirdo’. Hey, I may be a weirdo, but at least I’m nice.

I started learning to sew my junior year, but I wasn’t good enough to make my own costumes yet. I was a thrifter, and I got a green tee shirt from my boyfriend (because he’s a long and tall, it was a tunic on me), a pair of cargo shorts and a huge buckle belt from Goodwill, and I made myself an attempt at a hat. I did not have a sword, and that year when I went to Fanime I didn’t have any fun. I was from a poor family and had begged for money for a ticket, and I realized while there that the people with really good costumes were having the most fun. It made me nervous to talk to them because I was embarrassed at my costume. I almost didn’t go back, but I got into Chobits and thought I could make a really cute Chi because even though I don’t have amber eyes, mine are hazel.

Two years later I went back to Fanime on my second college grant and didn’t go as Link. I went as Chii, which was pretty cute, but only one person took a picture and I didn’t have a good camera. The picture you see above is the only memory I have of the cosplay. I also went as Sailor Jupiter that year, and had used a white one-piece bathing suit, sewn a cute capelet with a ruffled trim and a couple of satin bows, ordered shoes online and sewn white lacing to them, and ordered some cat’s eye cabochons to use as crystals. I even made an awkward-but-almost-good wire wrapped tiara. That year a lot of people took pictures, but I didn’t remember to ask for contact information or business cards and I lost out on all of that costume. I learned a lesson that year.

The following year I got really serious. I went to Joann and bought some thin, olive-green suit lining and decided to make a real tunic and do a Twilight Princess Link. At that time, that was my favorite Legend of Zelda game. I was in a ceramics class in college and had sculpted and painted my own Majora’s mask and a Deku Mask, which I still proudly own, and I was excited to show it off. This was around the time my boyfriend and his family moved to a bigger property too, and they had a workshop that we were able to use. My boyfriend was getting into leather and wood working, and we made the shield together. I reused my pants, boots, and belt and made the tunic and hat from scratch, and then ordered a plastic sword online which was similar in shape to the Master Sword and painted it to look like it. I got a ridiculous amount of attention that year, got countless pictures taken and this time remembered to take a lot myself, but I still forgot to ask for contact information from those who photographed me. I was not very good at posing either. I was so excited, I was like a kid in a candy store; every picture had me wearing a stupid grin like a little kid, but I loved it. People thought I was adorable.

Then I got a Real Job™ and decided to kick it up a notch. I wore TP Link I think for two years before Hyrule Warriors was released. I knew if I did that costume so soon after the release it would be popular, and I craved the attention because I didn’t have a ton of friends who had this interest in common with me at the time. I wanted to do something impressive, and the new Link had new items I would have to make from scratch. I was already disappointed that I couldn’t go the year Skyward Sword came out, so I swore I would do this one. I reused my belt, cargo pants, and boots and made a tunic and scarf. I used outdoor acrylics (FolkArt makes the best) to paint the gold and green trim and the details on the scarf, and then I made the hat. I also got a decent foam sword and reused the shield. Next was the pauldron, and back then I wasn’t familiar with foam or worbla work and didn’t want to use cardboard, but I found inspiration in polymer clay sculptures on Etsy. I bought a pound of polymer clay and some spray on paint and hand sculpted the thing at my desk at work on my breaks, using a stencil I had sketched out myself. That year, there were barely any cosplayers from the game and few people cared that I was there. Maybe 10 pictures were taken. But I loved the way I looked and felt in the costume. I was still motivated and wore the same costume again the next year, and wasn’t bothered by the lack of photos because people still wanted to chat with me.

This year, I had less than 4 months to make this costume. My now-husband is an established leatherworker and has picked up a lot of techniques in foam working and even electrical over the last couple of years. Starting at the Breath of the Wild US release I got a crash course in all of these as we desperately tried to craft multiple props and accessories, all while battling depression and anxiety and trying to escape our abusive families. We had limited time to work and limited money as we were trying to move out, but couldn’t find any suitable roommates. Still, we worked up until 6:30 am the Friday of the convention and were on the road 4 hours later.

This year was a wildly new experience for me. For the first time, 90% of my costume was completely handmade. I had more detailed props than I could carry, and my reception was so different from any other year. I lost count of the number of people who wanted pictures of or with me, including several adorable children, and I even had four professional photo shoots. I had a good phone camera this time as well, and I had learned a couple of things in previous years. First, I had learned what the difference between “costuming” and “cosplaying” was and tried to act more like Link. Less smiling, don’t always look directly at the camera, and practice poses. Second, remember to get business cards and contact information from people when they take pictures. Finally, friend everybody and tag everything because we all like to be appreciated. I had every single part of the costume, and I had the bow and Ancient Arrow so I could do poses from the posters--something that was recognizable. JC pretty much made everything and I sort of just painted and tried stuff out. We made something more original and impressive: the light-up Ancient Shield.

Not only did a massive number of people want pictures and give me compliments, but four separate photographers wanted to do professional shoots with me where they requested action poses, natural poses, took panoramic photos of the whole costume, took photos in photogenic locations (like near trees and flowers), and happily handed me business cards. I was stunned. I don’t consider myself a pro by any means, so I was flattered. I had almost decided to go blonde for the costume since my hair is so hard to stuff int a wig, but I would have either had to pay $200+ or chop all my hair off and so I just stayed brunette like in the previous years. I’m also not a blue-eyed girl; I have hazel eyes, so that’s not exactly a match and I don’t know how to get ahold of a good set of contacts yet. Despite that major lack of accuracy, I was wildly popular and people consistently asked me about the construction of my costume and props and I was so excited to answer questions. Early on in my cosplay “career” I had known somebody I considered to be a friend who was very good, and youhave probably met her; however, when i asked her for help she would ignore me and I had to learn everything myself. I didn’t like how that felt, so I resolved not to be like that. I openly give information on costume construction.

Normally I only go to Fanime, and that’s just one time a year. I used to be too broke to attend more events than that, but since I got promoted last year and I’ve gotten more and more into art and crafting I’ve decided to try and dedicate more time to it, even in my turbulent life. JC and I are far from stable at the moment and have to scrounge for opportunities to practice our art, but I never thought I would ever be this good. So I think that’s the moral of the story; you might start out just assembling pieces and think you’re never going to be as good as the best cosplayers you encounter, but as long as you keep trying new things and challenging yourself then you’re almost guaranteed to get there eventually. Don’t lose your motivation.

I met a bunch of Breath of the Wild cosplayers, and one other Link stuck out to me in particular. In general her cosplay was a lot more accurate than mine, but she didn’t really have any props. She didn’t feel that confident about the costume, but then a photographer caught us after the meetup and asked her to take a picture with my bow and ancient arrow, not realizing that they were mine. I handed them to her excitedly and was like, “Go, go do it!” and she was like, “Are you sure?” But she took it and had her first serious photoshoot right there with the pro photographers. I got another photoshoot out of it too, but the best part was that it had been the highlight of her weekend, which also made it mine. I made a ton of friends this year, and that was the best part of the weekend and it really brought me closer to the character I was portraying.

Anyway, sorry for this enormous feelings dump! If you read it this far, I just want you to know I appreciate you and keep working at it! Tutorials are coming soon and I’m always happy to answer questions. I hope you enjoy every con you attend as much as I enjoyed this one.

[paravell-archive]

Chapter 1 - The Girl From Telmar

Chapter One

Adeline waited until it was sunset, the sun just setting behind the mountains, to climb down the tower and slip into the garden. Waiting in an apple tree for a guard to move, she pulled her hair into a french braid, and gripping a knife in her teeth. Once the guard had moved away, she swung her pack onto her back and moved to the far wall. She climbed another tree and jumped down the wall, rolling to break her fall. Once she recovered, she strapped her pack on more securely, sheathed her knife, and began walking to Veritas, the closest city to the palace.   

XXX

All Addy remembered about how she died was that it was in battle against her own country. She remembered everything leading up to it, but not the exact moment. Narnia had only been her home for a few months, but everyone was different there. There were still problems with thieves and bandits, and differences between the poor and the wealthy. But in Telmar there was no caring king. Her parents had only ever cared about the next party, banquet or gala. And as a Princess in Telmar, Addy was expected to follow their footsteps, no matter how awful. To Addy, Narnia was heaven, until her parents had become greedy and attacked Narnia. Addy had enlisted in the army, but the King, who had replaced the Pevensies when they had disappeared, had made a fatal flaw and the Telmarines overran the Narnians, and took over. Addy had died in the last battle.

When she woke up, she was in England, 1968. At first she thought it was some type of heaven, but Aslan had come and explained that she had been saved so she could help other people elsewhere. He had taught her what she needed to know, and then left, leaving her with many questions. So far, Addy felt like she had done nothing to help anyone. She had luckily found a job in Buckingham palace as a cook. She wasn’t sure why Aslan had requested that she  work in the palace because it brought up bad memories. But she enjoyed earning her own money and working for it. She worked long hours in the hot steamy kitchen, scrubbing greasy pots and pans, mopping the floor, chopping potatoes, stirring soup and everything in between. She didn’t mind the work, it kept her busy. Addy had made a few friends, but she was so used to shutting everyone out in Telmar, she usually kept quiet about her personal life.

One day, as she was chopping up carrots, her mind began wandering, and the chunks became lopsided and uneven.

“Addy! For the last time, you have to focus! Why it is so hard, I don’t understand, can’t you just focus?” The head cook muttered. She was a stout woman with an Irish accent who always spoke quickly. She glanced up at Addy. “Get a new carrot, and start over, and if you don’t do it right this time, I’ll assign you to the roast!”

Addy quickly scrambled to get a new carrot cut precisely even. The cook was fair but demanded perfection. When she had first started working, she had no idea how to clean or cook, and the cook had been appalled at her skills. But it had taught her a lot.

Later after work that day, Addy trudged home through the pouring rain, exhausted and beat. She stopped to grab her mail, waved at her neighbors, then ran up the stairs into her tiny grey apartment. She didn’t mind living there, she liked having her own space, but she was lonely. She’d tried to decorate her apartment in bright colors, but it hadn’t really helped. Addy wanted to go back to Narnia. She loved it here, there was so much more freedom and opportunities, with all the trees and green plants and flowers. Here, it was cloudy all the time, and the big buildings blocked out the sky and trees. The aftermath of the war was still apparent, and there were buildings destroyed everywhere. For now, Addy took one day at a time, and hoped and prayed she could go back to Narnia.

The next morning, Addy woke up late. Cursing, she scrambled around her apartment getting ready, throwing on dirty clothes and forgetting breakfast. By the time she was ready, she had five minutes left to get to work. Glancing at her watch, she realized she could make it if she ran.

As she ran down the city blocks, she saw a little girl, chasing a ball into the street and a car speeding towards her. Without even thinking, she ran forward and pushed the girl out of the way of an incoming car. But Addy was stuck in place, unable to move, trying to pick up her feet and jump out of the way, but she was frozen. Something was keeping her locked in place. Too late, the car slammed on its brakes and Addy felt herself go flying before blacking out.

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

Addy woke up on the ground in a forest, sprawled out on her back. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the harsh sunlight. She tried to remember what happened, muscles aching and her head pounding. I died again, I guess. Where am I?  She slowly sat up, her muscles protesting. Her eyes took in the green scenery, and a smile tugged at her lips. It can’t be. How can I be back in Narnia? I died once here too. I can’t be here again.

Full of questions and no answers, she forced herself up and she began to walk stiffly towards the sound a roaring river, trying to get a bearing of where she was. But when she got close to the sound, all she saw was a cliff, and the river far down below. She peered over the edge and gulped at the height. I don’t remember any cliffs in Narnia. So where am I?

She began to walk again, noticing a group of people next to a tent and a couple of horses, quietly talking about a mile downstream in a small clearing, where the cliff wasn’t so high. She bent down low and moved quietly through the bushes, hoping to overhear them and decide whether or not she could trust them. But luck wasn’t on her on her side, and she stepped on a branch, alerting the camp to her.

But someone was already behind her. “Why are you watching us?” came a harsh voice behind Addy.

Her instincts took in. She turned around and kicked the man’s legs out from under him and grabbed his fallen sword. She smirked inwardly - only novice swordsmen dropped their swords like that. She pointed it at him but was forced to turn and face the oncoming sword from one of the other men from the camp, but not before giving the man a solid kick. Smiling as she fought the approaching man, a beginner, with sloppy moves, she nearly disarmed him, but he came back hard, fighting like the devil. But Addy could also fight like that, even without practice for over a year.  Although equally skilled, she wasn’t as strong, and she had to go on the defensive more often than not.

His blows rained down, and Addy kept backing up to avoid being crushed. Now desperate, she sidestepped around a tree and pivoted so that he was in front of her, only half way turned around, her sword at his throat. He smirked at her. Addy realized with a jolt that his sword was also at her throat. He had outsmarted her. She lowered her sword, seeing it was pointless with two other men behind her.

“Who are you?” She demanded.

He raised his dark eyebrows. “You’re not really in a position to ask that.” Addy started to raise her sword, then dropped it at his piercing look. “If you kill me, there three other perfectly capable people of slitting your throat. So, let’s start with you. Who are you? You don’t look like you’re from Narnia.”

Addy smiled demurely, hoping to soften him. “I’m Addy. My parents were Telmarines.” I shouldn’t have said Telmar. These people are from Narnia. “Raised in Narnia.” She lied smoothly.

“And where did you come from? We’re miles from an city or village, and you have no supplies or horse with you.” The tall blonde one asked, his sword still pointed at her.

Before she could respond, someone grabbed Addy’s arms from behind, forcing her to drop her sword, painfully pinning her arms behind her back. “You’re lying. I know it.” The man whispered. He pulled her arms back, making Addy cry out. He kicked her legs out from under her and her face landed in the dirt. She clamped her mouth shut, determined not to say anything until she knew what was going on. Suddenly, her eyes widened, looking at the three people standing in front of her.

“... You’re the kings of old, aren’t you? But you were lost, you vanished - How? You left Narnia. You left us,” Addy glared at the dark one, eyes flashing. They were part of the reason her parents had been so awful. “You must be Edmund.”

“Where have you been for the last six years? We came back and saved Narnia from the Telmarines. Aslan brought us back here,” He said, crossing his arms defensively.

Addy hesitated.

“You’re from Earth. But not originally,” Edmund spat.

Addy glared at him and nodded, knowing that he would have figured it out either way.

A pause.

“I don’t like you.” She decided.

“Glad to hear it.” He replied, shrugging.

“Well, how did you learn to fight like that?” The one pinning her down asked.

“I… I was born in Telmar and I was… trained to fight. Telmar was dangerous for a girl that was a - I fought for Narnia - died, sent to Earth, and now I’m here. I think I died on Earth too. There was a crash…” Addy trailed off. They can’t know I’m a Telmar princess. They hate Telmarines.

The man released Addy’s arms gently, but Edmund kept his sword pointed at her, narrowing his eyes. “Common girls don’t know how to fight. You must have been a noble.”

Addy simply nodded. He seemed against the ideas of girls fighting. “My parents didn’t want me to, but I trained. Then I escaped to Narnia and fought for them against the incoming Telmarines. Narnia was the only real home I had. Telmar gave me nothing.”

Addy shut her mouth once again, now really determined to keep quiet. She didn’t trust these kings and especially not Edmund. They didn’t need to hear her entire story after all.

“Why would you be sent here? We aren’t in trouble, the whole land is at peace. Are you a mistake?” Edmund thought out loud, earning yet another glare from Addy.

The man who had held her arms was staring at her. “You look like - like my mother. My real mother.”

I’m screwed.

Addy just glowered at him. He looked familiar too, but that was impossible. It had been apparently hundreds of years since she’d been in Narnia.

“You have to have royal blood. You’re a queen or princess, who died in battle… I don’t remember any who died in battle.” said the man, glancing at Peter for help, who merely shrugged. His eyes widened. “You’re Princess Adeline, the one who left your parents, the king and queen of Telmar and fought for Narnia, and then died, never seen again. It was almost 1300 years ago.”

Addy just glared at him, arms crossed. His accent made it clear he was a Telmarine too. She fired off quickly, speaking to the man. “No me llames princesa. No soy una telmarine.”

He nodded. “Yo entiendo. Mis padres tampoco estaban bien.”

Addy turned back to Peter and Edmund.  “You are going kill me because of my parents, aren’t you? I never agreed with them, and they never cared about me. Look I’m sorry,” She spun around, almost shouting. “I don’t know why I’m here, but could I just go? I won’t even look at you again if it’ll make you happy. I’ll disappear to another city, Daelhr, or somewhere, and live peacefully until I die for the third time and hopefully, the last time. I just...” want a simple life she finished silently.

“We don’t kill anyone for what their parents did. What kind of king would do that?

My parents did. Addy thought. There was another pause. Peter was deep in thought while Edmund continued to send Addy death glares.

“Why don’t you come with us? To Cair Paravel?” said Peter.

“What?”  they all said in unison.

“No thanks.” Addy spat. Especially Cair Paravel.

“Why not? You are a princess. You deserve better,” said the other man.

“I… can’t. And loads of other people deserve to be treated like royalty. I’m not a princess anymore.” I will never be one again.

“You’d be safe. We can find a job for you, maybe even help you improve your swordfighting skills. Edmund’s the best in the land, and you almost beat him.”

“I’m a girl.”

“That’s what’s bothering you? No -”

“We don’t know her!” Burst in Edmund.

“I don’t trust you. And why would you trust me? You just met me. You could just be pretending to trust me just so you can put me in prison later.”

Silence.

“There is no way I’m coming -”

“Adeline,” A deep voice came from behind Addy. She turned around and almost smiled, glad to finally see someone she trusted.

It was Aslan. His mane glowing, fur shining in the sunlight and voice rumbling. “You are safe with them. Go with them.”

“But - “

“Adeline, you are safe with them. And they are safe with you.”

“Why am I here?” Addy asked, pleading with him.

“Remember what I told you before.” And with that, Aslan turned and bounded away, his mane glistening in the sunlight streaming through the trees.

Addy sat down on a log, thinking hard and glowering at them. She rubbed her eyes, weighing her decisions. “Fine. I’ll go with you. But I’m only staying for a year. That’s it.”

The three men glanced at each other, then Peter shrugged. “All right, if Aslan says...”

“C’mon. We’ll get you back to the castle. I am Caspian, High King of Narnia.” He held out a hand to help her up, but she stood up and stormed away, leaving him bewildered.  

Addy cursed her luck and she trudged towards their small camp. Of course I end up with the Kings and Queens of Narnia instead of just living out a quiet life. Why me again?

---------

Addy was jogging next to the king’s horses. She had the option of riding sidesaddle with one of the men or running the three miles back to the castle. Refusing to ride or let any of them walk, she had just started running next to them. In the end, they had given up and rode next to her in silence.

Finally, she broke the silence.

“Why didn’t you kill me? You caught me spying on you, and I attacked three kings at the same time.”

“Why were you spying on us?” Peter asked

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t slave traders before I approached for help. You could have been murderers for all I knew.”

“Why would you think that we were slave traders? There aren’t anymore in Narnia, haven’t been for years.” Caspian asked, slightly offended.

“I didn’t know. It was different when I lived here. Especially in Telmar.” Addy mumbled the last part. They still hadn’t answered her question. When she had lived in Telmar, most women walked with someone else to make sure they were safe when not in public.

They fell back into an uneasy silence, the only sounds were from Addy’s running and the horses.

About twenty minutes later, Cair Paravel, emerged from behind the trees. Addy slowed down to gape openly at it.

“Holy,” she muttered. “That’s even more… More breathtaking than before.”

“Caspian rebuilt a few years ago.” Edmund spoke up, like it was no big deal.

“When the Telmarines got to this point, pushing us back, they blew it up.” Addy said, voice soft. “I don’t- nevermind.”

Behind her, Peter and Caspian exchanged glances. Adeline obviously didn’t want to be here. She fell silent again, in deep concentration. The silence was tense.

“You can meet Susan and Lucy, my sisters in the morning. They’ll love you.” Edmund said.

“Why can’t I meet them today? It’s only noon.” Addy glared at Edmund. “Running three miles doesn’t exhaust me.”

Edmund raised his eyebrows. “Well then. I’m so sorry.” He smirked. Feisty, He thought.

Addy smirked back. I will not let Edmund beat me at this.

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

After Addy had been shown to her rooms and bathed, she pulled on the least frilly dress in her wardrobe. It still had too many bows for her tastes, the sleeves drooped past her fingertips and when she took one step she tripped immediately. Although she was tall and fit, she was drowning in the dress. Pulling herself off the floor, she took a dagger and ‘neatly’ cut away the hem of the dress until it was short enough and the sleeves, then one by one, all of the bows. The dress, by her standards, was acceptable, but when she walked into the dining room, Edmund started laughing. A tall, beautiful girl with dark brown hair and soft eyes, seated at a shiny wood table snorted.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, still grinning. “That used to be my dress, but it’s too small now. I figured my clothing might fit you the best, but apparently not.”

Addy’s eyes narrowed momentarily. “I am very sorry about my laughing. I’ve imagined doing that to all my dresses, but haven’t had the courage.”

Addy’s fists unclenched slowly at the Queen’s easy manner, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. This was the Kings and Queens of Narnia after all. Nothing I haven’t faced before.

“I’m Queen Susan, but please just call me Susan. And Lucy should be here -”

“Right here!” came a bright voice behind Addy.

Addy spun around. A girl, about sixteen stood there, smiling, practically bouncing with excitement. “I’m Queen Lucy, and please just call me Lucy too.”

“I’m Adeline, but call me Addy.” Addy nodded at the two girls. Susan looked like she was about twenty two, and both of their smiles lit up the room. Lucy had lighter brown hair and bright blue eyes.  

Edmund was still laughing. When he finally stopped, he stuck out his hand to Adeline.

“I’m King Edmund, and you can call me King Edmund.” Addy raised her eyebrows, then smirked.

“I’m Addy, and you can call me Adeline.”

Susan snorted again, and Addy turned around and winked at her.

“Edmund’s a prankster - watch out. Lucy’s the happiest, Peter’s more serious, and Caspian… well there he is...” Susan trailed off as he came into the room, declaring that if he didn’t eat right away, he would die immediately.

After dinner, Susan and Lucy dragged Addy away to go get fitted for more dresses. Addy tried to protest, but was quickly pulled away. So Addy stood on top of a stool, scowling as a maid kept jabbing her with pins.

“My lady, if you would just stop moving, I could be done by now!” said the maid finally,  exasperated.

Addy sighed and held still, wincing as another pin poked her ribs. When the maid finally announced that she was done, she carefully tore off the cloth and pins, shoved them into the maid’s basket and ran out of the room and down the hall, heading towards her room.

But she before she got far, she realized she was lost. She stood in the middle of the hallway, dressed in nothing more than a robe, trying to figure out where she was. It was late at night, and she hadn’t seen any servants for a while. She peered down a few corridors, trying recognize anything. Finally she gave up and decided to open the door closest to her, hoping someone was in there. When no one answered her knock, she opened the door.

Edmund stood, with his back to her, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, his toned muscles showing. Blushing, Addy tried to close the door before he could hear her, but Edmund whipped around, surprised. Now Addy could see his tan stomach muscles. She groaned, feeling her face flush. She’d never seen anyone so… fit.

“What are you doing here?” He demanded, raising and eyebrow and eyeing her carefully.

“I’m sorry, I just.. I was… trying… I got lost.”

He smirked and winked at her red face. “I’ll show you the way back, but first, get out.”

Addy was now beet red. She closed the door, and stood outside, arms crossed, glaring and waiting until Edmund came out, dressed in a loose tunic and breeches.

“I’m sorry,” She muttered.

“I’ll have your head chopped off for this! I am the Just King.”

Addy laughed, but when he kept his face straight, her face hardened.

“My father threatened to do that to one of my older brothers.” Addy said shortly. Edmund stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. That was the last thing he had expected and sudden. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable until Addy’s room appeared.

She just nodded to him and stepped inside.

“A simple thank you would suffice.” Edmund raised an eyebrow again.

Addy shut the door in his face, feeling a sense of satisfaction as his mouth dropped open in surprise. Even though he was a king, something made her refuse to bow down to him and his ego. Everything he did just irked her. If she had to stay here for a year, Addy would do everything she could to annoy him. The first thing to do - figure out his normal routine, then plan a prank. She climbed into a massive bed, closed the red curtains, and dropped her robe on the floor. It took her almost two hours to fall asleep, unable to clear her mind of her conflicting thoughts of the day.