#possible slow burn

[pikxelbit]

Still not sure what to name this...

Chapter 2: Broken

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,889 words

Chapter prompt: Start of repair

Turbo x Reader | Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

Turbo... A name turned to a cautionary tale. Tragic in a sense how everyone in the arcade speaks of him in the likeness of a ghost. Presumed dead, but still alive in the words of others.

As much as a lot of people deemed him obnoxious, nobody would have guessed he was capable of causing a horrific incident. Two games gone in one day, something that would forever stain the arcades history.

A funeral was held shortly after what had happened. To serve respect for the dead as well as to honor what has been, what is, and what could have been, almost everyone contributed.

Right after though, everyone was left uneasy. The two empty socket's giving a sad and mournful tone as the Game Central Station stood still for a moment in silence. Turbo's tracks leaving a message to be passed on for decades.

Well, at least it should have...

A few days have passed, the incident still fresh on a few people's minds. Although, 'Turbo Time' has been presumed to have been dismantled by now, that wasn't all true...

Right after the games were unplugged, both games were transferred somewhere. Mr. Litwak didn't want to just give these games away for a simple profit. So he gave his niece and nephew a call, a pair of two enthusiast's of modern technology.

Sending the games to the twins, Mr. Litwak thanked them greatly for doing something like this. Smiling, they only replied with, "Honestly you don't even need to thank us. We should be thanking you," one of the twins, Kiara, spoke first.

"Yeah, we need to test a software perfect for this type of thing anyways so it's not a big deal," Danny, continued.

Mr. Litwak still thanked them though, bidding the twins goodbye right after as they told their mom it was time to go. Waving Mr. Litwak goodbye, their mom started to drive back home.

The twins are two clever teens. Both keen on the science of technology, and now they were presented with the opportunity to try and fix two arcade games! Next year they'll go right off to college, so this was something they wanted to work on for now, like a test run.

___

A few days passed by, the twins, tried their best to see what they could do to fix the games. But upon closer inspection it seems though that both games somehow got busted.

Taking apart both Turbo Time and Road Blasters, they discovered how outdated Turbo Time's engine was. As well as how its own engine seemed to be close to breaking down, if this was left running for a few more months, this could have caught on fire.

While for Road Blasters, a few parts of the game managed to shut down, some becoming utterly useless as the 'glitch' somehow caused a few things inside to break completely.

Out of the two though, Road Blasters seemed to be the only one they could fix, well if we were speaking on the physical parts of the game. Broken peices from Road Blasters can easily be replaced when compared to an outdated game like Turbo Time.

Software-wise though, it was complicated. RoadBlaster's software was filled with a few errors and complications, while for Turbo Time, it's software was doing just fine. For the reason, well you all did manage to make your own theories but so far all of you didn't exactly have a good guess. Although it would be easier to fix these games if the causation was identified, you all just decided to suck it up and do your best. The main goal is to fix as much as possible after all.

Refusing to let Turbo Time go though, the twins still faught tooth and nails just to figure something out. Kiara, being empathetic enough for a random game, decided to extract the character's out of Turbo Time instead of just giving up. Plugging both games into a computer, they managed to extract the characters from both games into it.

Through the computer, they could easily start to inspect the games codes as well as to try and even tinker here and there.

Thinking about it, perhaps they could mesh both games together, to at least give some purpose to the assets taken from Turbo Time and to not let their effort's go to waste. It would take some time to make both games codes compatible, but it was a challenge they're willing to go through. With their trusty software as well, they figured perhaps this could be done in a few months.

So taking the challenge on, Kiara took charge of fixing the hardware while Danny went on to tinker with the codes. Working together, they wanted to finish this before going to college.

___

After another day of school, Danny quickly headed to the garage to find his sister working on Road Blasters. It's been a while now and it's safe to say they've been slowly making progress.

"How's the machine?" Danny asks, taking a seat near the desk.

"It's going great! Finally replaced that darned screen with a new one. I'm just looking through the wires for now. Maybe I'll go buy some tomorrow because a few of the really thin ones got busted," she exclaimed with a smile.

"Whoa, that's great! What if I go with? I've been planning on buying a new mouse for this computer." Danny replied, gesturing to the old looking mouse.

"Yeah, you definitely should get a new one," Kiara replied nodding, "How about you? How's the little guys going?"

"Well it's been a few days, but I managed to fix up the environment from Road Blasters. With the help of our trusty assistant," Danny conveyed, opening the program used to process the codes, "As for the characters, I managed to fix a few things. I made some of them to stop glitching, but yeah, that's all for now at least," he finished, opening another window filled with the various characters from each games.

"Hey, that's a lot of progress, good work!" She stood up, to inspect the monitor, "How about our other project? Is the software doing good?"

"Yeah, still an early version but our trusty assistant is already doing so good-"

"Kiara! Danny! Dinner!" They heard their dad shout from afar.

"In a minute!" They both replied in unison.

Quickly, Kiara tried to fix a few things that could be a hazard when stepped on or touched without precaution, his brother following suit. Hearing another call, now from their mother, they hurriedly finished up.

However, before leaving the room, Danny closed all the windows from the computer screen. Being in a hurry though, he missed closing one of them.

___

Left open in the dark, the monitor let's artificial light seep through the room. Nearly peaceful, the computer continues to give off a sound of constant whirring from deel inside.

Right then, something else starts to move. Slowly blinking, his eyes tries it's best to adjust to the rooms lighting. All he could see was a chair nearby and seemingly a desk.

"What is this place?" He asked nobody, wondering how it's even possible that he's alive.

He remembers it all clearly, the loud screeching of tires as one of the driver's tried to swerve away from a direct hit. He was sure he was going to die...

Is this heaven? Or perhaps hell..?

Further trying to investigate, he tries to move. But looking to the side all he could see is dark nothingness in which he's seemingly trapped in. Where is he? He wondered, stepping cautiously towards what he thought is the screen.

Then he heard something click, and just like that, someone came to answer.

"Hello..?" He spoke hesitantly.

"Well, hello there," you spoke out.

"I can't see you, where are you?" He asks, trying once more to look around in confusion.

You are right beside the window he's at. Looking inside, you see Turbo, looking around.

Once he sees you, he slightly glitches. Yelping in surprise, he fell down. Either because of your sudden appearance, or the random glitch that occured.

"Who are you?" He spoke, trying to get up, but struggling to do so as he continued to glitch slightly with each movement he made.

"I am Y/N. An assistant for coding, developing games, websites and other branches of technologies. I can help in many ways, a few to be mentioned are, helping in running diagnostics, looking after projects, and even fixing simple bugs," you spoke, almost in a completely flat tone as you helped him up.

"Okay then..." Slightly weirded out, he took his arm from you. "You're an assistant... So where am I?" He asks, still slightly suspicious and observant of you. Looking at how you acted and looked, you moved elegantly, your fancy clothes becoming evidence to the information you've said earlier.

"You are in a computer placed in a garage, currently inside the home of my creators," you answer, your voice finally giving some sort of emotion to it.

"Can you tell me why I'm even here?" He asks curiously. Why was he here..? He expected it to be done. Right after the crash, he knew it was all ending. Now though...

"Well, you're here because, as you have experienced, you are broken. Along with other characters, you are now currently being repaired," you replied.

"Repaired..." He mumbles to himself.

"Yes, by me and my creators. Danny and Kiara, the niece and nephew of Mr. Litwak, your previous owner correct?" You asked, tilting your head to the side.

Once you mentioned 'Mr. Litwak', his eyes widen. "Huh," was all he said. Gazing back at him, you noticed a smile slightly grace his face.

He never expected to actually still have a second chance in life. But thinking back though, as he gazes to his palms, it glitches slightly.

"When was the start of doing all this?" He asked, looking back at you.

"About, only a couple of days ago. We managed to put you and other characters into this computer. I'm helping Danny repair the codes that might have been damaged, and Kiara is taking charge of the hardwares," you answered.

But then, your conversation gets interrupted suddenly as Danny proceeds into the room. Opening the lights, he sees the screen of the computer still open.

Watching him walk down to the desk, Turbo suddenly didn't know what to do. When someone would approach the screen of his game, his own code would instruct him to quickly get to his kart. "Uhh..." He mumbled under his breath, as he froze up.

Noticing you up and about, he sat down on the desk. "Oh, hello there..." He spoke to loud towards the screen.

"Welcome back, was your dinner tasty tonight?" You asked casually.

"Yeah, it was good. What are you doing?" He asked, now noticing Turbo right inside the window.

"Well, I noticed this window was left open so I went ahead and looked over it," you replied.

He nodded, before speaking once more,

"We were supposed to test run a few of your skills again today but I have homework tonight so, I'll postpone it for now," he scratched his head, his eyes gazing back to Turbo for a moment before standing up.

"Well, hopefully there's more time to be spared tomorrow. But yeah, hate to cut this conversation short but, I need to go now," Danny spoke, standing up as he dragged the mouse to close the window where Turbo is at. Before he could, you whispered to Turbo a quick bid of goodbye before moving out of the window yourself.

Surprised, Turbo slightly glitched before Danny made the window disappear.

"Okay, see you tomorrow Danny," you spoke, before completely disappearing back into your respective file, feeling the computer slowly stop working as the darkness engulfed the screen.

[hrefna-the-raven]

LoKi Masterlist

Masterlist

Enjoy and feel free to reblog :)

TVA Loki x reader:

Summary:

This is a different take on the Loki series. He will meet a slightly different version of Sylvie that will be you, the reader ;)

Chapter 1.1 - Glorious purpose

Chapter 1.2 - Glorious purpose

Chapter 1.3 - Glorious purpose

Alligator Loki x reader:

Chasing butterflies

Mischief and fever

Alligator Loki x dark fey reader:

Imagine

Jotun Loki x female reader:

Tome of Fate (series)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5 (18+)

Tome of Fate - Vol. 2 (series)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 (18+ kind of)

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 (18+)

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Bonus chapter

[ineed-to-sleep]

Just guys being dudes

[erinwantstowrite]

unfortunately for peter he's sooner or later going to contract the batfamily curse without hope of recovery (being bisexual)

he has no idea what's coming for him ���� he'll figure it out slowly and painfully for everyone involved

[garpen]

Garpen, how many times can you leave the people on a SuperBat cliffhanger before they start rioting, challenge- go!

[spacebubblehomebase]

Helllo i Love your art more than i love donuts and thats ALLOT.but my boy lucifer can have babys,like i dont even know how that works!make it make sense! I just wanna say thank you again for curing are boredom👍🏻

You are SO right that is high praise indeed! I'm honored! =D So here. Have a donut! 🍩🍩🍩 As for Luci, let us turn to the world's favorite 700k+ words old man fanfiction that is The Bible (tm) as according to their lore, it's been canonically stated that angels are genderless for they are beings made of the Pure Holy Spirit and- Holy SHIT! What do you know??? Our dear depressed duck dad was an angel himself and in some depictions Lilith is infertile as was her punishment for her freedom! The more you know! -Bubbly💙

(LMAO. My guy's been traumatized. Once is enough XD)

[greenlightbulbonawire]

Misfits (yeah like the Arcane song) - Masterlist

‼️doesn't work properly‼️

First chapter: I.

Seconds chapter: II.

Third chapter: III.

Fourth chapter: IV.

Fifth chapter: V.

Sixth chapter: VI.

Seventh chapter: VII.

Eight chapter: VIII.

Ninth chapter: IX.

Tenth chapter: X. ˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Eleventh chapter: XI.

Twelfth chapter: XII.

Thirteenth chapter: XIII.

Fourteenth chapter: XIV.

Fifteenth chapter: XV.

Sixteenth chapter: XVI.

Seventeenth chapter: XVII.

Eighteenth chapter: XVIII.

Nineteenth chapter: XIX.

Twentieth chapter: XX.

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Twenty first chapter: XXI.

Twenty second chapter: XXII.

Twenty third chapter: XXIII.

Twenty fourth chapter: XXVI.

Twenty fifth chapter: XXV.

Twenty sixth chapter: XXVI.

Twenty seventh chapter: XXVII.

Twenty eight chapter: XXVIII.

Twenty ninth chapter: XXIX.

Thirtieth chapter: XXX.

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Thirty first chapter: XXXI.

Thirty second chapter: XXXII.

Thirty third chapter: XXXIII.

Thirty fourth chapter: XXXIV.

Thirty fifth chapter: XXXV.

Thirty sixth chapter: XXXVI.

Thirty seventh chapter: XXXVII.

Thirty eighth chapter: XXXVIII.

Thirty ninth chapter: XXXIX. Fourtieth chapter: XL. ˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Fourty first chapter: XLI.

Fourty second chapter: XLII.

Fourty third chapter: XLIII.

Fourty fourth chapter: XLIV.

Fourty fifth chapter: XLV.

Fourty sixth chapter: XLVI.

Fourty seventh chapter: XLVII.

Fourty eighth chapter: XLVIII.

Fourty ninth chapter: XLIX.

Fiftieth chapter: L.

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Fifty first chapter: LI. Fifty second chapter: LII.

[1960z]

the way we’re not even supposed to know his name yet this is a wild introduction 10/10 no notes

[fategoflatass]

I used to be so against the slow burn trope. Not because I thought it was shit; it's just, I usually don't have the patience to wait whatever-amount-superior-to-three damn chapters for my dear ship to finally be able to look at each other without blushing and/or hold hands. Thus why you often times see me reading oneshots or fics with the "Established Relationship" tag on them.

So you can imagine just how surprised—or maybe not, maybe I just didn't think enough about it—I was when I realized my newest fixation's main pairing is—canonically—the embodiment of slow burn. Because holy shit they're taking their time.

Nothing against how Kusuriya develops its love story—quite the opposite, actually. The relationship between Jinshi and Maomao, two characters that are written as beautifully as their romance, is a rather realistic approach as to how the same or a similar dynamic would developed in real life. In such a complicated situation, with such complex feelings about emotions—both external and their own—and attachment, makes sense that it takes so long for the relationship to finally sail.

The problem is, I didn't know I was signing with the Devil the moment I decided to pick up the light novel. Ten volumes and nothing has happened. Nothing.

And you can say that technically things have happened, because they have. I mean, Jinshi is just so desperate for Maomao to give him the time of day, you know what I mean? And even that isn't enough anymore and thus he has committed some of the craziest shit I've seen in any romance. Which okay, I don't usually read these type of romances but still.

What I mean by "nothing" is just, their relationship hasn't changed status. I could also say that it seems to go nowhere, but that'd be lying. Since, you know, it has changed quite a lot—just not in the way my impatient ass wanted it to. Because he can be as honest with his feelings as he pleases, and those around them might be heavely conscious of the tension and thus constantly tease those lovebirds (as they should), but babygirl's not helping, you know?

And I get it, Maomao's not the best at expressing and understanding herself, and she's also way too busy worrying about going as unnoticed as possible (she should give up on that one already, tbh) while keeping her head where it should be. But like, I can't help feeling frustrated over it like ‼‼

GIRL, FUCK THE RULES. TAKE THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A MAN AND RUNAWAY SOMEWHERE NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY YOU. YOU THEN CARRY THAT BITCH BRIDESTYLE TO THE CLOSEST CHURCH AND MAKE HIM YOUR WIFE. PROCEED TO FROG AROUND, EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR UTERUS AS MUCH AS YOU'D LIKE, AND THEN TEACH THE PRODUCTS OF YOUR PRACTICES AS YOUR OWN GUINEA PIG THE WAYS OF HERBAL MEDICINE. AS EASY AS THAT.

But she won't. She'll take her sweet ass time being in denial about both Jinshi's and her own feelings, then maybe she'll proceed to analize herself and find out that maybe, just maybe, that affection that she'd been feeling for that loser became something else. Did said affection also become something more complicated? Absolutely. Does she know how to deal with it? Hell no, but fuck it. If I learned something from school is that you always leave the hardest parts for later.

Now you see why I was so against reading slow burn?

And you wanna know the worst part? I loved it—I loved every second of it, every word, every page. Every scene that seemed to help the relationship advance, only for Maomao to say nope and leave like she owns the place, which at this point she fucking might.

It feels like I, as the reader, am in the middle of a heatwave and some sadistic bastard won't stop teasing me with ice cream—they put it in front of my face, close enough that I can smell the cold. Then take a spoon and eat little by little while staring directly to my eyes. At times they seem to show mercy and feed me a spoon, only for it to be a rather small quantity of serving—serving that tastes so damn good at first, only for it to have such a bitter aftertaste. But if I gotta have something in common with Jinshi is that I'll never be able to beat the masochist allegations, so I'll wait patiently for the next spoon and its corresponding and seemingly enless teasing from that faceless being.

So yeah, I'm still against it, only that now I understand the appeal—even if I have yet to find out about the whereabouts of my sanity while still mananing with the little I've left.

[elitadream]

Basically the whole Mushroom Kingdom

Knowing how Mario and Peach “secretly” feel about each other must be exhausting😆

THIS. ☝️😭

Especially for Luigi, omg. >< I mean sure: Toadsworth, Daisy, Toadette and all the Kingdom's citizens would have a hard time keeping their mouths shut when watching Peach demurely clasp her hands together to make a wish - ever the same one, no doubt - and sigh dejectedly to herself in quiet longing.

But they wouldn't know what it's like to deal with a sibling who's literally lovesick. To enter a room and find their brother hunched over and grimacing in obvious distress, his eyes lost and imploring as he would turn and say: "I love her so much, Lou... I- it hurts," with pained and hopeless surrender. To listen to his enamored ramblings for hours on end, yet only have vague and constrained support to offer. To see him hurting so badly on some days, and somehow still having to refrain from grabbing him by the shoulders and yelling "She LOVES you, ebete!!" to his bewildered face. Oh, to just end that needless suffering... It would be so easy. But he can't. When all would be pleasant and bright, he wouldn't mind, and would even take some enjoyment from what he secretly knows... But there would also be times - disheartened and crestfallen - when that silent vow would be very hard for Luigi to keep. 🥺😣

[themainreactor]

"Would you care to be my lover?"

In which, Giyuu almost dies and is afraid to rest without knowing whether or not you would still love him if he passed away. He doesn't want you to forget him and he wants you to know that he loves you more than he thought he ever could.

Giyu didn't think that he was afraid to die

He never had been.

After all, it was just the natural order of things to die was it not?

So what was the point in trying to avoid it?

At least that's what he had kept telling himself. But ever since he met you... It's been rather difficult to understand anything in a reasonable light.

He also fell for you the moment that he set his eyes on you. Of course he didn't know that, but he found out later.

You were a Hashira and you kept yourself so undetected that barely anyone even knew you.

When he first noticed you, his intention weren't to be rude when he had asked who you were.

For some reason, he was desperate to know who you were, like it was something he needed.

He only received a small smile and later he realized that you had been a hashira for almost ten years.

You had been a hashira before he was even a demon slayer.

Apparently you didn't mind that he didn't know, or that he was the only Hashira to know you were alive at the moment.

Apparently this had happened multiple times where you would be in a room with everyone else and listen in without actually conversing or interacting with the others.

Apparently you literally stood next to him every single meeting with the master and he hadn't even noticed once.

But how? You were always there so how come he didn't feel any sort of familiarity around you?

He felt almost guilty, he didn't know what to do.

And yet here he was, watching as you sat down under a tree at your estate. You were just closing your eyes in quiet, nostalgic peace. He was still so confused and intrigued at the same time.

He had even asked the other Hashira and demon slayers, trying to figure more about you only get answers of 'who are you talking about?' Or 'I don't know'.

Shinobu of course had to make fun of him for such pretending, after all, it didn't seem like you were even a real person.

So no one believed that there was another Hashira, and Giyu didn't bother anyone about it.

Except for the master.

The master knew who you were, thank goodness, it made Giyu feel less stupid. He seemed happy about hearing your name come from a hashira and he seemed proud of Giyu for noticing in the first place.

You were a very quiet and reserved person, yet your fighting style involved words.

Basically, your breathing technique helped you tap into frequency, which in turn, gave you the power to control frequency and what people heard.

So technically, you had been staying undetected on purpose, using the breathing style to control the frequency your own body gave off.

Although, you must have slipped up when Giyuu actually noticed you, you wonder how that happened.

Giyu's still baffled about your existence and has no idea what to do about it.

"Try and get close to her, she is a stoic and indifferent person like you. However, she has no one to talk to besides me and she doesn't like to burden people. She denies it but she needs to find a companion and you happen to be the first hashira to notice her."

Those were the words of his master, Kagaya Ubuyashiki. But the question was, how was he supposed to be around you if you were like him?

Even he knew how hard it was to be around himself so how much harder would it be to be around you, especially if you didn't want anyone around you to begin with?

It's not like that was going to stop him though. Whether the master had told him to talk to you didn't matter because he would have done it anyway.

"Hello..." Giyu greeted you, feeling uneasy as he approached you. All he did in that moment was stand in front of you like a lost dog.

You were pretty sure that he would have forgotten you in due time but instead he had decided to talk to you again. It was cute.

Maybe you could afford to indulge him.

"Hi." You plainly replied, watching as Giyu decided to sit next to you under the tree. Giyu seemed nervous, like he didn't want to make a bad impression but at the same time he looked like he would smack you if you insulted him.

What a strange look to such a young man.

"So... How was your day?" He asks, looking ahead of him and trying to control his breathing. He didn't like how strange he felt, but he wasn't sure if it was from your breathing technique or from him being so nervous.

"My day was fine... How about yours?"

"Good... My day was good." Giyu continues, not really sure what else to say. This was a good way to start a conversation right?

"Good, that's nice."

"Yes... Well... Your hair looks nice." He's being very gentlemanly he thinks, that is a good thing when talking to women right?

"... Thank you..."

"You're welcome."

Damn, you weren't making this easy for him. You felt like such a kind and gentle person and he didn't understand why you wouldn't want to be seen.

Then again, people had their choices and he respected that, however he wanted to get to know you without feeling like he was being so pushy.

"Why are you like this?" Giyu questions, finally looking at you with a straight face only to receive a confused glare from you.

"Pardon?"

Crap, he didn't mean to offend you.

"Sorry... I just mean... Well... Why do you hide yourself from everyone else?"

"... Oh." Was all you said, not answering his question for some time before looking up at the sky.

"I don't like to cry."

Now you just confused him even more than before.

"... Cry? What do you mean?" He asks, keeping his gaze on your face. You look very pretty to him and he wonders how he hadn't seen you before even with your breathing technique.

"I don't want to get too close to people and have them die because I wasn't strong enough." You start, making eye contact with him in hopes he would understand.

"I don't want anyone to have to cry when I die either. Death only brings pain and familiarity only breeds contempt. So I guess you can say that I am running from reality."

"So you would rather have someone not know you existed so that they don't cry about your death?" Giyu asks, feeling less confused but more sad. He had thought about stuff like this very little but clearly you thought about it all the time.

"Yes, I don't like to cry."

For quite some time, the two of you stay quiet, just sitting under the tree and enjoying the silence. Of course you were enjoying the silence, Giyu thought you were crazy.

As much as Giyu had taken a liking to you in such a short amount of time, Giyu couldn't decide whether or not to label you as a psychopath, depressed or a high functioning sociopath.

You were willing to disappear for yourself and others as if you weren't alive. And yet, he didn't understand why you would avoid the inevitable.

"Do you not have anyone?"

"I have our master..." You comment, smiling at the thought of Kagaya since he was someone who had allowed you to be where you were today. He was like a father to you.

"Anyone else?"

"... No."

Giyu stayed quiet again, thinking of something before sighing and standing up.

"Let me then."

"... What?" You ask, confused at what he said.

"Let me be that other person."

You watch him as he stands his ground, clearly serious about what he said. He wants to be around you, to make sure you're okay and he could care less whether it was selfless or selfish of him to ask.

"Why? You don't know me."

"I want to know you... Here."

Giyu pulls out a few questionable things from his mismatched haori, he seemed to be looking for something specific and it was making you slightly nervous since he shouldn't really be carrying a bunch of... Rope. Why did he have that much rope?

Finally he pulls out a small ribbon and starts tying it around his wrist, why? You have no damn clue.

"Whenever you enter a room that I'm in, you should pull on this, that way I know you're there." He starts, grabbing his other items including the rope and placing them back in his haori.

"Why?" You ask, scratching the back of your head in slight annoyance. You didn't want him to try so hard, otherwise he wouldn't forget about you.

"Because I want to know when you're around me so I can be your acquaintance."

"You don't have to worry, I don't feel lonely or anything like that."

"That's fine, I just want to know when you're there."

"But-"

"I insist... I will not try to fix you nor will I make you cry, but I would like to at least be a companion for you to talk to."

For some reason his words made you feel warm, like he meant them. You didn't know why he wanted that, but it was sweet and scary at the same time.

You weren't sure if you liked it or not but as far as you were concerned, this was something that you shouldn't allow.

After all, he might die and then you might end up crying.

Or the other way around... You don't want him to cry because of you.

Then again.

Maybe you could afford to indulge him a little bit longer.

What's the harm in that when he would eventually forget you anyway?

"Okay."

"Alright then."

This went on for months, you pulling on that stupid ribbon like he asked you to so that he would know you were there.

The two of you have now become acquainted and maybe even close to friends. However you don't know what to do with yourself.

You taught him things about you, your breathing technique and the way you fought while Giyu taught you about his own and even a bit of his past.

You felt stupid and you didn't like the unfamiliar feeling of getting so close to someone like you have with Giyu. You didn't like the feeling you had when you thought about him.

You didn't like it...

You hated it...

You hated it so much...

But you liked it at the same time...

Oh, how you loved it, but that's what scared you the most.

Because if you loved it, that would mean that you loved him.

He was supposed to forget you but he didn't, you just ended up coming on his mind more often.

Eventually you got used to it and even felt more comfortable about it. Eventually he didn't even need you to pull the ribbon for him to know you were in the room.

But he still wore the tiny, red cloth. A stupid ribbon that made your heart flutter every time you saw it.

It seemed like he could faintly feel the change when you were around.

You still didn't like it and yet you felt very special to have someone like Giyu care enough about wanting to know you.

Why couldn't you make up your damn mind?

Not only that, if you think you're the one having a hard time with this, take an actual look at Giyu for once in your life.

He's always gentle around you and yet his hands get all sweaty and he clams up. He doesn't remember feeling this way around you before, he just remembers being nervous, not sweaty and lightheaded. He doesn't remember getting vivid fascinations of you in his mind.

He can't tell if it's the feeling of just doing a drug or of absolute distress. He likes being around you but he's so nervous at the same time. He can't help but act differently around you than the other Hashira. He wanted to desperately kiss you and he had never wanted to kiss anyone else before.

It was almost as if he had a crush on you but there was no way to determine that. Even with all the scrolls he read on the topic in hopes to explain what he was feeling.

He didn't like this feeling of his chest tightening and his face brightening up. Most of the Hashira could even see the change in Giyu, how he looked more happy, even with his neutral face.

What made it worse was the thoughts he had about you. His frantic fantasies about you being closer to him, being with him in ways he wouldn't utter. He prayed that this was just love and not lust but he couldn't tell.

He had even tried to talk to Kagaya about it, but he had just dismissed him with a laugh, saying that he would get used to it over time and that it was an experience to try and keep.

And Giyu had to make it worse by being bold one day and kissing your cheek after you had come back from the Swordsmith village.

That was a fun and welcoming surprise for you which only clarified how you felt about him. Unfortunately it made Giyu want to hide in a corner for the rest of his life right after.

This is why no one likes him he's sure, he's weird and thinks things that he shouldn't about other women. Then again, he's never thought about it with another woman besides you.

Everyone was sure that he was a lonely weirdo that wouldn't find anyone. Maybe he would.

Mitsuri, Rengoku and Uzui are sure he is in love even though they didn't know who it was. Sanemi and Obanai just think he's high, either way he likes it.

He likes it...

He's sure he likes it...

He likes it so much.... Maybe too much

But he doesn't at the same time...

He loves it, but that's what scares him...

It scares him because that would mean that he has fallen for you.

He has fallen for you hard.

He loves you.

The two of you fell in love too fast and now you might as well start courting.

I mean, what else are you going to do?

The real problem was the fact that you didn't want to be emotional and Giyu didn't want to cause you pain if anything were to happen.

Yet he couldn't help himself when he wanted to be around you. It made him feel alive and he wasn't sure what to do.

So that's how he finds himself almost a year later.

He's in fear of his life because he almost died on a mission and the impending love he had for you about to explode his heart wasn't helping either.

All he knew is that he had to get to you, he had to tell you everything. Whether or not he ruined the relationship or was healed yet.

He fought against the Kakushi to get out of the butterfly mansion, not caring if he would hurt himself more.

Aoi tried to stop him and he wasn't trying to be rude, he was just a man on a mission and the fact of the matter is that he could care less.

He even scared Shinobu when she watched him walk out of the mansion. She tried to tell him to rest but if she was being honest, there was no real point in trying when he was moving so fast.

When Giyu finally found you standing outside and looking at the red, cloud-filled sunset, he tried to give a small smile but even that couldn't mask the weariness that showed on his face.

Despite how tired he was, he wanted to see you first, before even allowing himself to rest. He wouldn't rest, not yet.

It seemed that his feelings for you were so strong that even the exhaustion and pain he had just experienced wouldn't stand in the way of confirming something that he desperately needed to know.

"Giyu? Aren't you supposed to be healing at the butterfly mansion?" You ask in surprise as you watch him walk towards him. You were nervous cause here he was, trying to walk around in your house like a normal person.

Not that Giyu wasn't strong because he was and you loved seeing him when he was around, but he needed his rest and he deserved it.

You had listened into a conversation that Gyomei was having with Mitsuri. He was saying that Giyu was going to be taken to the butterfly mansion for healing even though he could still stand and walk around when the clean up crew found him.

Giyu was taken back by your concern, but he quickly hid it behind his usual calm demeanor. It seemed out of character for him to show any kind of vulnerability. Not that he wasn't going to show it eventually.

"I was at the butterfly mansion for healing, but I wanted to see you first, and check on you." His voice was slightly hoarse from the amount of screaming he probably did on his mission.

"How have you been? Are you doing alright?" Giyu inquired, hoping to see some sign of affection from you.

"I'm fine, thank you." You responded with a small smile, flattered that he wanted to check on you to make sure that you were okay. The funny thing was the fact that he was the one that almost died.

"You shouldn't be walking around like this when you're injured." You continued, standing still for a moment before looking at his hand.

Hesitantly, you softly grab a hold of his hand and meticulously massaging his palm. Your thought was that would make him feel better.

As far as he was concerned, all the heat in his body went straight to his... Cock?

Lord have mercy. No way in hell was Giyu going to even allow that to interfere with anything, at least not yet.

Giyu didn't expect you to be so gentle with him, yet he welcomed the gesture. He always kept others at arm's length, but with you, he couldn't help but find himself comfortable enough with your touched.

That’s probably why he suddenly got all hard.

He smiled at your concern, not yet accepting that he could be this vulnerable and dependent.

"I'm okay, it's really nothing." Giyu said, trying to downplay the seriousness of his mission.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He whispered softly.

You nodded your head, not looking at him and keeping your gaze focused on his hand. You knew that he was lying and not only was he injured, he was so stressed out that you could feel it in his hands and arms.

"You must be tired." Was all you said as you started to massage his fingers and then slowly up his arm. You felt bad for him since he looked so tired and the fact that he wanted to see you in this state was almost romantic. It was definitely cute.

Giyu's pride wouldn't allow him to accept any help, but he also knew that deep down he needed your comfort and reassurance. As you continued to massage his hands and arm, he found himself wanting to return the gesture.

When he finally looked at you, he found it hard to speak. The expression on your face made him feel butterflies in his stomach. In that moment, he could only think of how lucky he was to know such a lovely woman. As he looked up at you, he gently pulled you closer.

He's so glad that you slipped up on your breathing technique, otherwise he still wouldn't know you.

"I don't feel so tired anymore." He whispered, clearly knowing what to do even though he had no clue what to do. This must have all been from instinct because he had no experience in this.

"No?" You ask him, allowing him to pull you closer to him. Whether it was an attempt for a hug or something more you didn't know but you felt comfortable. Although you had a feeling he was trying to initiate something.

"Why aren't you tired anymore?" You continue, being just as gentle with his other hand as you were with the last one you massaged.

Giyu pulled you even closer, his face just inches away from yours. A small but tired smile spread across his lips as he began to answer your question.

"Because you're here, and I want to stop beating around the bush."

He looked into your eyes with an intensity that seemed almost animalistic. He wanted to show you how special you were to him, and what better way than to express it physically.

He was going to love on you... Not like that though, he was just going to kiss you until you yell at him to stop.

At least, in his mind it seemed like a good idea, although it may have just been from your physical touch but he was absolutely sure he loved you.

"... Well have you eaten anything recently?" You ask as he slowly buried his head in the crook of your neck.

You felt flattered, you felt more than flattered. You and Giyu both had been courting in a way and it was quite obvious that the two of you liked each other. Even so, you didn't really know what else to do.

Giyu nuzzled your neck before answering you, his words mixed with soft chuckles of affection.

"No, I haven't had anything to eat yet." He admitted.

"You should eat."

"I'll eat later, it can wait."

You both had been so busy with Hashira work and beating around the bush that romance had been pushed to the side. Now that the two of you had time, it was time that you both dealt with your feelings. He wasn't going to let you go without at least talking to you about how he felt.

"I was worried I wouldn't make it back... I was... I was so scared" Giyu confessed, his head still resting on your shoulder. "But I... I very much like you, I think... That I love you. So I wanted to come back to tell you that."

"... You... Do you really love me?" You ask, wanting to hear him say it again. Maybe you should have paid more attention to your mother when she said that you'll experience a love like this.

"Yes... I believe I love you more than anything, and I was scared of leaving without you knowing that. I don't know why, but I thought of you and I was so scared... I didn't know what to do, I know I love you."

"... Thank you." You respond, placing your hand on top of his head as Giyu kisses your cheek. He had kissed you once but hadn't given you a kiss since then.

"I missed you, I was hoping that you would be okay so that I could see you again." You comment with a small but warm smile. Even though you could be naive sometimes, clearly he was confessing to you. "I... I love you too... Maybe I should have said that sooner."

As the moment became more intimate, Giyu knew that he couldn't handle not kissing you anymore.

Looking up at you with eyes that were full of affection and adoration, he moved his face up to touch yours. Your lips made contact with each other as Giyu's hand moved behind your head, his thumb slowly caressing you.

He was sure that he loved you, it couldn't be just lust because if it was, he wouldn't have thought about you when he almost encountered his death bed.

"Thank you for always being there for me." Giyu whispered as he lost himself in a moment that he had never felt before.

Giyu was feeling dumb, filled with color and emotion while you happened to be hyper aware. Maybe this was a good thing, a small amount of love could go a long way in a short amount of time.

"You're welcome." You mumbled, letting Giyu kiss your forehead before giving you a small kiss on your nose.

Heck, he could marry you right now and he wouldn't mind. In fact, he would love that.

You leaned in, kissing him and not knowing where to put your hands before finally deciding to let them hold onto Giyu's haori

Giyu had no time to feel lightheaded and embarrassed, he wasn't prepared but he wasn't going to hold off.

He loved you, and he knew that. He also knew that you must have loved him if you had kissed him back. The two of you weren't acquaintances or friends anymore.

He would be so happy if you would care to be his lover and maybe in the future, his wife.

...

"We'll be prepared, I'm sure since-" Tanjiro quickly stopped, looking at the sight of Giyu and a woman he did not recognize.

It was very cute and Tanjiro couldn't help but smile at the lovingness that Giyu seemed to show the female.

Tanjiro would have left to give the couple privacy if he hadn't been walking with both Muichiro and Genya.

"Who is that?" Muichiro asks, gazing at the woman while trying his absolute best not to smile at the romantic sight.

"Whatever, let's just go!" Genya yells, clearly embarrassed by the whole thing.

"Shh! Don't yell Genya!"

"It seems like a beautiful demon slayer has caught the attention of a Water Hashira." Muichiro starts, pretending to be the invisible narrator in some unknown story while being way too flamboyant.

"Seriously?"

"Oh c'mon Genya, have some fun."

"Let's give the two some privacy." Tanjiro comments, chuckling as the three of them walk off.

Tanjiro and the rest were apparently wrong. It seemed like Giyu wouldn't be alone for the rest of his life, and Tanjiro was happy for him.

[hrefna-the-raven]

Knowhere

Masterlist

Words: 848

Summary: The Guardians of the Galaxy search for spare parts on Knowhere to fix the Milano, when a series of weird events unfolds and Peter meets someone else from Earth.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were on a stroll through the bustling streets of Knowhere when they suddenly saw a pair of grumpy looking Ravagers strolling towards them. Peter, or rather Star-Lord as he proudly proclaimed, was leading the group in search for Cosmo. One of the Ravagers, a big brutish looking fellow with a shriveled face and a long strain of black hair at the top of his scarred skull, shoved Peter to the side, making everyone stop in their tracks.

"Ey earthling, are you the Star Born?", the Ravager grumbled, his eyes fixed on Peter's face as he snarled.

Peter was taken aback by the question, his pride scratched at the thought of one of Yondu's man miscalling him, Yondu's former favourite, but he quickly regained his composure. He had been a part of the Ravagers for many years, and it would come in handy, knowing how to handle tricky situations with morons like this. With a flick of his wrist, he pushed the Ravager's hand away and straightened his deep red leather jacket.

"Star Lord!", he huffed, "I thought you guys would at least know my name!"

“The boss told us it's a woman, you idiot!”, the other Ravager yelled and signaled his companion to move along, both of them trotting away, their heads hung low in annoyance.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were left standing there, looking at each other in confused amusement. Gamora was the first to speak up.

"What just happened? How could they mistake you, oh great Star Lord, for someone else?", she giggled mockingly.

Peter shrugged his shoulders, rolling his eyes. He knew she was just teasing him but a small part of him deep down still felt hurt.

"I have no idea. Maybe he's been living under a rock or something." Rocket interjected, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were all living under a rock. These Ravagers don't seem to know much about anything. I mean look at Quill", he guffawed, not even trying to hide his amusement at the sight Peter's grievously offended expression.

"Perhaps they were testing their knowledge of the names of the Guardians of the Galaxy.", Drax chimed in, “it is always remarkable to test your skills and knowledge alike as a warrior.”

Peter rolled his eyes.

"Testing their knowledge? Really Drax? Besides, everyone should know I'm the Star Lord. Guys we saved this galaxy, why does know one remember our names?”, he threw his arms up, looking at the others.

“I am Groot”, the tree spoke, glancing at Rocket.

“Groot says “talk for yourself, everyone knows my name”, the racoon crossed his arms, winking.

“I bet that is not what Groot said!”, Peter almost yelled, wondering how that little trash panda always managed his way crawling under his skin as soon as he opened his trap.

The group laughed as they continued their journey through Knowhere, leaving the Ravagers behind them. But as they walked, Peter couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had answered differently. Who was this Star Born that the Ravager was talking about, and why was he mistaken for him? Could it truly be someone else from earth. And they mentioned a...woman. Peter shuddered at the thought that a possibly good looking woman from earth might be walking around on the same spot in the endless universe as him in this very moment. He didn't know anything about her, not even if she's even real but he would definitely try and find her, and may it only to find someone who'd finally understand his references.

“Pyotr Quill, also named Star Lord,” a rough voice with a heavy Russian accent popped up in his mind as a golden retriever in an old Soviet spacesuit ran towards them, “Cosmo heard Star Lord thinking to Continuum Cortex”, he panted, wiggling his tail happily, “and Cosmo heard pesky raccoon's thought about broken ship.”

“Hey Cosmo, yeah sorry we jus-”

“No need to speak Pyotr Quill, Cosmo can read mind. Follow Cosmo, he knows where you can get spare parts for ship”, the dog interrupted Peter, turning around and ran off down the street.

Quill had seen his fair share of weird things in the galaxy, but a telepathically talking dog from the Soviet Union that could read minds was something else entirely. Despite coming from the same planet, the dog had little understanding of Peter's references but he liked him anyway. The friendly mutt spread warm feeling of home and kindled fond memories of his childhood, a rare occurrence here far out in the depths of space. Without any hesitation, Cosmo led them to a shabby metal hut three blocks away, well hidden behind one of the last corners of an empty street. The Guardians followed the talking dog, trying to keep up with his fast pace.

"Tell mechanic that Cosmo sent you and don't break anything.", the dog gnarled at Peter before disappearing around the next corner.

But as they entered the hut, they were greeted by the sight of dozens of machines whirring and buzzing away while some oddly familiar yet unknown tunes echoed from what looked suspiciously like an old earth radio.

Chapter 2

[radioregia]

First chapter up! If you're feeling down, go read "Moonlight Sonata"! It's a radioapple fiction that I've made!

UPDATES ARE EVERY MONDAY- UNLESS SPECIFIED OTHERWISE!

I drew some basic art to celebrate It's official release!(I'm a better writer than artist LOL)

[cupsy-daisy]

Woagh! 2 posts in 1 day! (Saying this like it’s not uncommon) but have my tma sona!!! These drawings are a month or 2 old but i’m finally posting them!!

This is just my sona from season 1-3 the progression of it n stuff, there were some sketches of 4 and 5 but i never finished them, idk if i will! But idk! We’ll see!

I’m wanna ramble a bit about my sona so if you wanna read it’s under the cut! Grahh

Got the idea from bestie @catattack08 to make it so i got hired at first for redesigning the institute logo, Because i’m a freelance artist, but then i started working on organizing physical files n caseloads on the shelves n stuff.

Hired me (mostly) because i had severe connections to a lot of entities, i had been touched by several throughout my lifetime :p

Nothing major happened to me through season 1 and 2 besides being kinda wary about john and probably agreeing that he murdered leitner in season 3.

So like- my sona story is involved with my friends a lot- and my friend was leaning towards john being innocent so managed to keep contact with him and we both went to georgies house to deliver some books, and i came with them to make sure they didn’t get murdered cuz i was still under the impression he murdered that guy.

John went out for a smoke, got kidnapped, i stepped outside to “have a word” with him abt what really went on and breekon and hope saw me, said “no witnesses” and dragged me along too, i have some drawings of that if anyones interested aaghh

When we were both together we had some time to connect and understand eachother (or as best we could) i was kept for the sake of extra skin in case john didn’t “fit” but anywayss- we bonded a lot and this is probably where i would’ve (in super canon) died, nikola kinda using me as a decoration for the ritual.

BUT i dont think abt that cuz i wanna see what happens if i live, so instead, micheal almost leaves me for dead until helen comes along and letting john and me pass through her door, we both make it back and i gain a lot more mutual respect and understanding for him, we’re both decently good friends now, then everything kinda moves forward from then on.

Until peter comes in, this is already getting long enough but long story short, i was used as a practice dummy for the lonely kinda, and i couldn’t kill em, so i got sent to super hell where martin found me. Talked me out of it, withhh the poowerrr of friendshipppp/j

Thennn i either go back home to @catattack08 orrr i stay and they come, and those have 2 different routes but grahhh idk if i should put it here, feel free to ask!

[feroluce]

Belobog was my fave main quest but a lot of it is so. Contradictory. It's like they had multiple groups doing different shit and none of them checked in with each other for consistency. And you see this so much in Gepard's profile.

So in the main quest, they made him unfailingly, unquestionably loyal to Cocolia. Gepard's character arc is him learning to question authority etc etc. And this isn't even a bad thing; that's a story worth telling! It makes good conflict between him and Serval! And I love that we got Gepard as a boss battle and I get to see him all the time in SU!

But then you look at his character stories and it's like. The complete opposite.

According to his profile, Gepard has already HAD this awakening, long before the Astral Express, and he'd already decided Cocolia sucks. Even outside of his stories, there's a pretty damning readable between him and Pela.

He even disobeyed direct orders right in front of her- he has been disobeying orders for a while now!

So I've decided I'm marrying the two different sides of this into a 1.5k fic-ish thingy, because I think there's some fun potential there with Gepard not trusting Cocolia, but still having to pretend to be a good obedient little soldier.

Anyway. I love to think of it as like. Gepard knows Cocolia has sunk into her apathy. He can see it in her eyes every time he looks at her. She doesn't care. Not about him, not about Pela, not about all his soldiers on the frontlines giving their lives to protect the citizens. And that's... It makes him bristle a bit, but ok. Gepard can deal with this. Even if Cocolia no longer cares, as long as she does her job then it's fine. Having compassion behind an action doesn't matter as much as the action itself. If Cocolia's heart is no longer swayed, then he'll just have to care twice as hard to pick up the slack. He considers it part of his duty as a captain of the guard anyway. It's fine. Gepard can deal with it.

And then, Cocolia starts coming down to the restricted zone. Issuing direct orders.

And Gepard realizes he is in way over his head.

Because Cocolia orders him to stay back and issue commands from the ramparts, away from all his comrades, away from where he can protect them.

Gepard had thought nothing could be as bad as watching a fellow guard die right next to him. But the first time he watches someone struck by a killing blow, so far away, it hurts. Every defensive scar across his arms itches, his fingers curl in want of a weapon, the cold cannot numb his hands enough as they desperately ache for his shield. It hurts.

Gepard tries to find any reason to stay. Because surely... He knows Cocolia has lost her love for her people, but surely... She wouldn't...

One day, Cocolia orders for their gunners to advance 20 yards. There are no survivors. She almost looks like she smiles.

Gepard doesn't sleep that night.

Pela brings him the report at the end of the first month; and then the month after that, and the month after that. A significant uptick in losses, and all of it started on that first day Cocolia started overriding his authority and issuing her own orders. The ends of Gepard's pens have all been nearly chewed off. Pela outright calls Cocolia an idiot, and Gepard corrects her. Cocolia isn't an idiot. Gepard had known her through Serval, knew her through all her college years and then some, and he knows how intelligent she is. It's not that she's stupid, and it's not that she's inexperienced, it's nothing of the sort.

Cocolia knows exactly what she's doing.

She must, there's no way she could make such a horrible mess of things so badly by accident. And Pela, quick as a whip, sharp as a tack, always too smart for her own good, catches onto the meaning behind Gepard's correction without any further prompting. The tent goes deathly quiet, nothing but the wind howling outside.

"...She's trying to kill us," Pela whispers, her voice swiftly suffocated by the silence.

Gepard swallows. He can't bring himself to correct her this time. There is nothing he could say that he would actually mean.

His gaze drops, back down to his desk and the reports on it. The names aren't listed, just the numbers, but Gepard knows them, knew them, and there must be something wrong, something he's missing, because why, why would she-? What could this possibly accomplish-?

“Gepard! Focus!” Something snaps right under his nose, and Gepard startles, eyes instantly honing in on Pela's irritated face as she leans over his desk. She holds his gaze for a moment before she huffs and begins to pace, wedges a knuckle between her teeth and bites like Gepard hasn't seen her do since cadet school.

Pela angrily strides from one end of his tent to the other, words hissed between her grit teeth. “What are we going to do?” In the dim lighting, Gepard can just barely see the damp spot of blood weeping under her gloves. “We need a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Wh- Yes, a plan! Unless you want more people to die!” Pela rounds on him then, all the wrath of a blizzard, winds roaring and snow sharp enough to cut.

“We don't even know-”

“What does it matter?! She killed-!!” Pela cuts off with a garbled noise when Gepard leaps up from his desk, hastily shoves his hand over her mouth. The prosthetic, not the flesh one, because he knows better than to assume Pela won't seize the opportunity to leave teeth marks in his skin.

“You're right. I'm sorry, I'm sorry; you're right. But you need to keep quiet.” Pela quirks an eyebrow at him and Gepard can read the question in her face. “Because we both saw what she did to Serval,” he hisses.

It's amazing the snow plains haven't thawed out yet, the amount of heat Pela can put behind a glare. The mere mention of Serval, and the smoking ruins Cocolia had made of her life and career, have her bristling up like a riled cat. The sudden hot breath she takes fans fog across his metal skin, and Gepard wisely keeps it in place until Pela finally sighs and reaches up, taps her fingertips against the back of his hand.

The second she's free, Pela bats him away and then her knuckle is right back between her teeth again, Gepard leaning back against his desk with his arms crossed to watch her resume her pacing. “If we spread the word, she'll have us discharged and make sure we can't even touch the frontlines,” Pela's voice seethes like an open sore. Gepard nods but keeps his silence. He knows better than to get in her way.

“And if you and I are both out of the picture, Belobog is fucked.” A little harsher than how he would have put it, but there's no denying that they're both important to the city's survival. Pela has the restricted zone running as efficiently as ever, and Gepard had become the youngest captain on record for a reason. “We need to keep this tight under wraps, at least for now… It can't leak to anyone higher up the chain.” Another nod. “Serval might know other discontents…” Another n-

Gepard's head snaps up. “No.”

“No what?”

“No. We're not involving Serval in this.”

Somehow, even the same tone that leaves entire squadrons shaking in their boots has never worked on her. “You're not deciding that for her, Gepard.”

Pela hadn't seen the worst of it, though, back when his sister had just been banned from the Architects. Serval's pride hadn't allowed it. Pela wasn't the one to find her passed out bottle still in hand, hadn't been the one to wash the sick out of her hair or carry her to bed. 

Serval still has trouble thinking clearly when it comes to Cocolia, still can't quite bring herself to be objective. And Gepard maybe doesn't want her to be purely objective- but he would worry a lot less if she thought twice before she acted more often.

“At least let me be the one to bring it up to her.”

“Whatever, fine,” Pela gestures affirmatively at him as she paces past, and Gepard sighs. Good, at least that's one thing he can help.

From there, it's a lot of hemming and hawing and frustration. Cocolia has them under her boot, and Gepard and Pela both know it. Even with the way she's been cracking down on freedoms lately, Cocolia is still, overall, liked by the people. It's unlikely anyone would believe them. They don't even have solid proof, because most people don't know Cocolia as well as they do and won't see the clues in the same light. 

The Fragmentum has been ramping up in recent years, too. Everyone is struggling just to survive as is, they can't afford a fight on two fronts. Gepard is a damn good captain, one of the best for that matter. But they're at a massive disadvantage, his experience is narrowed to fighting a defensive battle against monsters, that's all he's ever done. That's all anyone there has ever done. He has no way of finding first-hand knowledge for taking the offensive against a human opponent, and if he goes at this blind, there's no way he'll get everyone out unscathed. He's going to lose people. He's going to lose a lot of people.

He'd never thought before that Cocolia would have it in her to have someone killed. And with this new knowledge, he has no guarantee she won't go after Serval or Lynx if she decides to retaliate.

Gepard has to remind himself to breathe when he realizes this.

Pela writes down every name the two of them can come up with. Lists and lists of names and groups and anyone they can think of who might be an ally in all of this. They memorize every bit of it, make their plans of who to talk to and when. Gepard watches the sparks reflect off Pela's glasses as they burn the evidence together.

Pela finally leaves, far too late to make it home, but says she wants to stay in the restricted zone anyway to investigate. Gepard watches her make her way in the direction of Dunn's tent, watches her back until she's out of his sight and squashes down the urge to follow and keep an eye on her. His tent feels empty.

In the morning, Gepard is up before the wake up bells. He drags himself out of bed, leads his soldiers through their morning training. The same people gravitate to each other everyday. Friend groups and training partners. There's an ongoing rivalry between a few squadrons that everyone bets on. Some of them have lockets around their necks, keepsakes, mementos. Some of them wear wedding rings.

Gepard is suddenly, painfully aware of something acidic clawing at the inside of his throat, of a heavy weight low in his chest that blooms, takes up room until it threatens to spread his ribs. His mouth tastes of bile and blood.

He rearranges the schedules. Puts himself down for every open patrol into the Fragmentum, makes sure he'll be on the frontlines every single time Cocolia visits.

He only hopes that it's enough.

[greenlightbulbonawire]

Misfits (yeah like the Arcane song)

X.

___________________________________________________

Author's note: I'm so fucking tired but at least my grades are closed now so :] xoxo

Ninth chapter

Masterlist

___________________________________________________

Sudden light disturbed your eyes. You squinted them and held your hand up. As they slowly adjusted, a magnificent scene unfolded in front of you. A huge tree, the only one you've ever seen this up close, filled a space between tall walls that surrounded it in every direction. A pillar collided with it, painted by various faces and figures, one of them reminders you of someone. A few strings hung from the tree's branches and connected with one of the walls, drying wet clothes. The walls were stained by splatters of colour. Pipes ran along the walls, and here and there you saw streaks of neon green, the same ones that you took notice on board Silco's airship.

You turned to look what was behind you, following the boy still, walking backwards. He was keeping an eye on you, but his lips portrayed a small, satisfied smile.

"Cool right?"

You turned back to him and nodded.

"I've never seen anything like this in the Undercity."

"What can you offer me in return of letting you join?"

Okay, yeah, fair enough.

"I can uhh.. I'm a quick learner. I can be whatever you need me to be, if you give me some time to learn."

Well, this was a sad attempt, but hey, there wasn't much else you could offer, considering you spent most of your life locked in a concrete cell.

You leaned over a fencing of a balcony made around a little room on the tree's trunk, while the boy watched you from behinds, arms on his hips.

"Listen,"

He began and walked over to you, resting his arm on the fence.

"I get it that you don't have any magical skill and shit, but you need to gimme at least something."

You sighed and turned your head to face him.

"I mean, I can tell you my whole life story if you want me to?"

The boy shrugged and motioned for you to do so.

"Well, I spent half of my childhood working in one of Silco's factories, and the other in Stillwater prison when the factory blew up, and the only thing I did after I got out was blow up the airship. Simply put."

"Tough life."

You shrugged this time and agreed with a nod.

"But I can work with that. Your name?"

"[Reader], you?"

He raised an eyebrow at you. You spread your arms as in to say 'What?'. He chucked a little.

"Ekko."

"Thoughts?"

"This is the best room I ever was in, I can't complain."

You offered Ekko a smile and looked around the small, cramped wooden room on the tree. And even though it was small, it had everything you needed. A proper bed. You were eyeing it ever since you came into the room. Ekko gave you an approving, but curt nod.

"Rest for now. You'll begin training tomorrow."

You tilted your head to a side.

"Training?"

He nodded again.

"You don't think you know everything, right?"

"Uh no, I don't."

"Great, you'll begin training tomorrow."

Ekko turned to walk away, but before he left the room he stopped in the door, holding one of the sides and looking at you.

"If anything, my room's above yours."

"Hold on, who's gonna train me?"

"I will."