#she’s a bit shaken and even hesitating when she was the more self assured one between the two of them

[swordmaid]

marineve in the ending

[ruciel]

For the request can I please have Yandere Topaz, Himeko, Robin, and Jade comforting reader who has nightmare

yandere topaz is somewhat of a heavy sleeper, she works long hours, and rests for very few. but her fifth senses wake her, red alarm bells going off, her first instinct is to feel around for you in the bed. thankfully, you’re still there. but you’re quivering like a leaf. topaz feels around for you, but you don’t respond, completely still and completely silent. what’s wrong? are you okay? you’re hesitant to respond, only quietly murmuring that you had a nightmare. you come off as unbothered but topaz is unconvinced. she wraps her arms around your shoulders and pulls you in for a tight hug, patting your head gently. she’s worried for you, but doesn’t wish to pressure you into saying anything, only offering words of reassurance, i’m here to listen if you’d like. if you don’t say anything that’s fine, she’s holding you too tight to leave her grasp anyway. but if you do tell her, even if it’s just a little about the horrible dream, topaz will be happy you opened up to her. she doesn’t want to be overbearing, nor does she want to overwhelm you. it seems her pets have also sensed your distress, as you feel more and more weight get added to the already over-cushioned bed. they cuddle you, similarly like how they do with topaz, and you can’t help but reach out to feel their fur and pet them. it distracts you. you’re surprised topaz hadn’t pressed further, but realistically, you know she’s very self-aware of when to stop prying and being invasive. her presence alone is very comforting, and it even brings a smile to your face when you feel her hand find yours and give it a small squeeze.

yandere himeko stays up far later than you do. she likes to take time to unwind and relax in the evening. what better way to do that than settle in bed and read while you sleep beside her? himeko’s dim lamplight is on, and she skims the novel in her right hand as she lazily runs her hands through your hair with her left hand. a faint, almost soundless, noise comes from you. she thinks nothing of it until it happens again, this time, you twitch. her eyes drift to your figure, setting her book down, not caring if she loses her place as you stir even more. himeko places a tender hand on your shoulder, shaking you. she frowns after seeing tears already beginning to form in your closed eyes, this time, she calls your name. slowly, you wake up, eyes bleary as you avert your eyes from the light coming from the bedside table. you open your mouth to say something, but she softly shushes you, shh, it’s alright dear. she wipes your tears away, holding the side of your face, all the while she assures you that it was just a dream. that no one, and nothing, will ever come to harm you— that she will make sure of. himeko places a chaste kiss on the top of your forehead. you’re still shaken up, and she offers to brew you a cup of coffee. it will keep you up for awhile, but it may take your mind off things for now… if you agree, she’ll invite you into the kitchenette of the express. himeko will tell you all about the book she’s been reading over a nice cup of coffee. if you disagree, she’ll lay in bed with you for little longer. himeko will let you cry in her arms if you need to, patient as ever, you’ll likely open up to her about the nightmare, and she’ll soothe your nerves while she kisses you more.

yandere robin is very careful with you when you sleep. she spends quite a bit of time outside of the dreamscape, but you do not because you are safe and often enjoy passing time there while waiting for robin to return to penacony. for whatever reason, you seem to always have nightmares after leaving the dreamscape. she’s made her bed especially tailored to your liking, the mattress is the right amount of firm while also being comfortable. it has as many pillows as you want, varying in size, and made with your wants in mind. and the sheets and blankets are a colour chosen by none other than yourself, there are enough he to keep you happy, but not too much that they’re too heavy on you when you sleep. but robin still frets over you when you’re laying down in her bed, trying to get some sleep, and tonight is no different. as she gets into her night attire, she can’t help but noticing you squirm around under the blankets. hurriedly, yet quietly, she makes her way to the side of the bed, sitting down and leaning over your unconscious figure. robin doesn’t want to disturb you, she doesn’t like waking you up because she knows how important rest is. so she sings, chanting a sweet lullaby that she remembers fondly from her childhood. the hymn reaches you, even in your deep sleep. robin observes as your once uncomfortable expression turns calm. she wonders what you’re dreaming of now. what you see when she sings to you in your sleep. robin’s tune fades into quiet humming, and she manoeuvres under the covers to join you. she never does stop singing to you, even if it’s only a mere whisper now. robin won’t bother you about it in the morning, unless you bring it up. even if you do not know it, she still wishes to protect you in your sleep.

yandere jade recognises the sounds of your silent cries and whimpers from anywhere. even if she’s in a deep slumber, jade simply knows when you are so much as slightly unhappy. lifting the sleeping mask off of her eyes, she tilts her head and gets a good look at you. you’re shaken up, she can tell that much in her groggy state. although you don’t make your anxieties known, you’re curled up into yourself, pulled away from her with a distant look on your face. her voice startles you when she suddenly speaks up, you had thought she was still asleep, what’s wrong darling? bad dream? hesitantly nodding, she whispers a few apologies as she leans over to you and pulls you closer to her. you allow her to do as she pleases, sitting upright as she positions you to lean back against her. i have you, you’re okay. focus on your breathing. you do, calming yourself and trying to steady your breaths. what you remember from the nightmare repeats endlessly in your mind, and jade can still sense your discomfort. she asks if you want or need anything, maybe some water? it wouldn’t hurt, and though she’s displeased to be away from you, even for such a short while, jade fetches a glass of water for you, and even some snacks. by now, the two of you are well awake. you’re sorry to have woken her, but jade dismisses it. if you’re ever struggling with anything she wants you to come to her. eventually you tell her about the nightmare, she listens intently and occasionally holds your hand or rubs your arm. by the time you’re finished, you’re fatigued and become drowsy, but still apprehensive about falling back asleep. jade assures you that you will be okay, saying she’ll go back to sleep with you. but she lies, she doesn’t. jade waits for you to fall back asleep, she’s not tired anymore, and will make sure you aren’t plagued by any terrible dreams this time.

[nanamixxkento]

“never letting you out of my sight” (Nanami x Female Reader)

Rating: T

Content Warning: Referenced past sexual harrasment from an authority figure

Word Count: 2,002 words

A/N: this is my first time writing for the JJK fandom! Please be nice ✨

You had gone with Nanami to the mall to grab a bite before heading for Jujutsu High to meet Gojo and Itadori.

Nanami was not in charge of you, and you’d long since graduated Jujutsu High. He tended to act more like a friendly guide and yet, unbidden, the ‘sensei’ honorific would slip out despite your intentions sometimes.

Like now.

Nanami didn’t look offended, he rarely did. He simply regarded you out of the corner of his eyes, body lax. “I have to wonder, do I really look like a teacher figure all that much? I didn’t think so before you and Yuji.”

And you’d almost stammered with embarrassment as you apologised.

“I sure do hope it’s not a bossy attitude on my part,” Nanami mused, sending you into another round of hasty but heartfelt apologies.

“Relax, y/n, I’m just messing with you,” he cracked a small smile. “I think it’s cute.”

Cute. The word thundered in your ears for a moment as your stomach swarmed with butterflies. You mused that it would be wholly inappropriate to respond with ‘I think you’re cute’ and refrained from making that comment.

Instead, you said: “Please don’t tease me, Nanami-san.”

“Ah,” he said lightly, with an airy chuckle. “I’m starting to think I prefer sensei. Maybe it’s growing on me.”

Nanami led you up the escalators, eyes scanning cursorily around. The mall was unusually crowded for this time of the week, but you should still be able to grab what you needed in time before your meeting.

You weren’t really paying attention to your surroundings, your entire focus taken by Nanami’s commanding presence. That was your first mistake.

Your second mistake was pausing by the elegant display of evening gowns to admire the sleek, black dress on the mannequin. Nanami, in his unique brand of kindness, suggested you stay behind to take a look while he ordered your food.

Unfortunately, you were too busy dwelling in the warm, fluttery feelings this man inspired to notice just who else was in the shop.

The familiar voice reached you several long minutes into your trip, sounding just a few racks away.

Your entire body went cold, and instantly numb as you recognised the nasally tenor of your ex-boss. Blood rushed loudly in your ears, and for a few moments that felt like a small eternity, fear left you too paralysed to even move.

This was the man that had tried to ruin your life and very nearly succeeded. The man who had abused your need for a job to get away with doing whatever he wished. The man who had ... who had ...

Your eyes stung with the memory of  hot, clammy hands on your shoulders, touching you without heed to your feelings or consent.

The voice drew closer, slamming you into your body with another jolt of trepidation.

You did not want to see him. You never wanted to see him again.

Spinning around, you dashed behind another rack, heart hammering. He was sniggering loudly with someone on the phone, bringing back more unpleasant memories of all the times you’d ask him to stop being inappropriate only for him to laugh loudly, like your request was silly. “Y/n we’re friends,” he would say condescendingly. “This is what friends do, no?”

You turned another corner, trying to make it to the exit unnoticed, when in your haste you knocked over a mannequin. You stood frozen, shocked and mortified, as you stared at the mess you’d made.

That was your third mistake.

“Y/n?”

It would be wholly undignified to start crying, wouldn’t it? You thought cynically as you slowly turned around to face that monster.

You refused to waver, to show your fear. “Yes?”

“It is you!” He cried, taking a step closer and instinctively making you take a step back. “Long time no see!”

He took another step forward, which you mirrored again by taking a step back. His face was twisting into an ugly smile that barely hid the underlying sneer. “Come on now don’t be like that, is this how you treat your friends? Come on and give me a hug, sweetheart.”

You opened your mouth to snap at him, to say ‘over my dead fucking body’ when a gentle palm settled over your shoulder.

You barely managed not to jump.

“Y/n,” Nanami’s self-assured baritone washed over you. The sudden all-encompassing relief it bought nearly toppled you off your feet. “Your food is starting to get cold.”

Looking at him made your heart shake. He had an unreadable expression on his face, a slight pinch to the corner of his mouth. He must’ve read your fear in your eyes for his features hardened as he turned to regard your company. “And who might this be?”

Opening and closing your mouth, you floundered, no words passing from your lips but for the hesitant mutter of Nanami’s name.

Your ex-boss, in his usual arrogant fashion, nearly sneered at Nanami as he addressed you. “Aren’t you going to tell him sweetheart?”

It was enough to set your blood boiling with anger. With Nanami at your side, the fear receded to allow indignation to take its place. “Don’t call me that.”

Nanami’s hand tightened imperceptibly on your shoulder.

Your ex-boss didn’t heed your wish. “Aw don’t be like that, sweetheart—“

“I think,” Nanami said icily, cutting him off. “That she just told you to not call her that.”

The frigidness radiating off him made your ex-boss straighten and regard Nanami curiously.

And then a sick smile slowly spread over his face, his eyes taking in Nanami’s suit, his hand on your shoulder, his expensive watch and finally his eyes. “Ah,” he said like it all suddenly made sense. “He’s your new boss isn’t he? Gone to play toy to another man, y/n? Does he treat you better? Does he pay you better to use your—“

You gasped as Nanami smoothly stalked forward, grabbing your ex-boss by his meticulous oriental-tie and yanked him closer, nearly lifting the man off his feet.

“Okay, let’s make one thing clear here,” Nanami said, voice unwavering but body coiled with what you recognised as anger. “I don’t know who you are. Frankly, I don’t give a fuck who you are. But this conversation is over. Turn around, and walk away. I won’t give you another chance.”

You watched as your boss glared at Nanami hatefully for a long moment as your heart raced and raced, and more butterflies—and crap, maybe some arousal too—flooded you.

But then his hateful gaze settled on you and he opened his mouth to no doubt make another scathing remark.

Sooner than he could talk, Nanami’s long fingers were framing his jaw and forcefully directing your ex-boss’s gaze back to him. “Don’t even look at her.”

Your ex-boss finally relented, yanking Nanami’s hand away and stepping back to fix his suit. “Fine,” he spat. “I hope you enjoy your useless toy. Pathetic.”

You and Nanami watched him walk away silently. There was shame now as the anger receded.

What did Nanami think of you now?

You stared at the toppled mannequin, the death grip you had on your bag, and finally to Nanami, who looked more than a little ruffled now that your ex-boss was gone.

He turned to face you, and you opened your mouth to apologise, “I’m—“

“Are you okay?” He grit.

You blinked. “Um. Yes. I think. Are ... are you okay?”

He didn’t look okay. He looked angry. You couldn’t even remember ever seeing Nanami angry. “No,” he said shortly. “Who was that? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?”

The barrage of questions left you a little dazed. You had no idea how to even answer but you attempted to anyway, stuttering under Nanami’s gaze. “That was ...” you swallowed thickly. “He was my ex-boss.”

You hated how it came out as a weak whisper, but you hadn’t wanted to utter his name ever again.

Your mouth opened and closed over all the things you wanted to say but couldn’t—all the things you never told anyone about. Nanami watched you struggle for words, and his expression only darkened. “Y/n. Did he hurt you?”

You stared at your feet as shame nearly overwhelmed you and you choked out, “Yes. But I— I let it happen— I had no choice, I needed the money, I couldn’t just— and he wouldn’t ever listen when I said to stop—“

With a jolt you realised you were crying, and with another jolt you noticed Nanami loom closer.

A gentle hand cradled the back of your head and pushed you into Nanami’s study chest, not quite a hug, one you could easily break if you wished to.

“I’ll kill him,” Nanami vowed softly, the icy softness still there but overshadowed by the gentleness of his tone. “I will.”

You shook your head, shuddering as your arms snaked around his middle and you unabashedly buried your face in his shoulder. “Please stay.”

“I’m here,” he soothed, still speaking in a hushed tone you’ve never heard before. “You’re okay. You’re safe now. I promise.”

The security of his presence washed over you again, tempting your knees to give out.

“I won’t ever leave you alone again,”  he added, stroking the hair at the crown of your head. “Would you like me to cancel our meeting?”

You shook your head mutely. “I’ll be fine,” you managed to croak and reluctantly broke from his embrace to wipe hastily at your tears. “Sorry I ruined your shirt.”

He glanced down distractedly at the small wet spot on his dress shirt. “Don’t be silly,” he chided. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back sooner.”

“You couldn’t have known,” you whispered, wiping at your eyes one final time and taking a settling breath. “We can go now if you want.”

He studied your face closely for any signs of deceit. “We really can cancel the meeting,” he said slowly. “Gojo would understand.”

You bit your lip, tempted. You still felt shaken and unfocused and all you wished for was to go home and curl under your covers.

Nanami apparently took your reluctance as an answer for he immediately whipped his phone out. He sounded strange as he spoke to Gojo, his words short and his tone barely keeping the anger out.

When he finally ended the call, he looked at you. “Would you like me to take you home now?”

“Um,” you said, embarrassed yet again but feeling warm to your toes. “I... I would prefer it if I didn’t have to be alone so soon.”

Nanami simply nodded. “Very well.”

You stared in surprise as he offered you his hand but you took it with only a moment’s hesitation, feeling his large palm completely engulf yours.

“I told you,” he said in answer to your silent question. “I won’t leave you alone again. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Now you were sure you were blushing as he led you out of the shop, hand in hand, uncaring for the toppled mannequin or anything else. His grip on you was firm but not tight, and he radiated safety with every step until all the poisonous feelings bled out of you.

“Y/n?”

“Mhm?”

“You would tell me if someone bothered you again, wouldn’t you?”

There was no resisting the smile now, tentative and affectionate. “Yes.”

“Even if that someone was me.”

You looked at him, surprised.

He elaborated: “If I ever do anything that makes you uncomfortable, you have to tell me.”

More warmth flooded your chest. “I will.” You promised.

He squeezed your hand, raising it. “Is this fine?”

“More than fine,” you admitted, face warm. “Really, Nanami-sen—err, Nanami-san.”

A humorous smile softened his features. “You know what? I don’t think I mind that honorific too much. Not from you.”

And it made your heart skip a beat. “Why not from me?”

“Easy,” he said, and turned to regard you with a rare affable expression. “Because you’re my favourite.”

[archonanqi]

fragile as dust / 12 - smile

a/n: Please let me know if you’d like to be added to a taglist for this story. Thank you all for the kind comments! ;-; @fishyfish-y​ @writingmi​ @just-some-stars @kawaiitinybunny @juhlydrawsblog​ @cherryvane​ @kaenyas​ @loadingrat​

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ch 11 | dreameater

For a minute or so, you stared at the dragon’s tooth. Reached out to touch it, every scratch and indentation on its smooth surface exactly the same as you remembered. You ran your finger around the blackened, charred ring around it, remembering how you had plunged the tooth into the blazing shield of fire, how the Abyss Mage had screamed. 

You winced at the memory of the past… day? Two days? You weren’t sure how long you had slept, and each time you tried to call upon any memories, your head hurt terribly. 

“Zhongli,” you barely managed to whisper.

As though he had been waiting just outside your room, the door swung open almost immediately. Zhongli strode in, though the relief you felt at his presence was quickly overshadowed by the fear of what you’d done, of how he might punish you for it. “Hansi,” he said, voice carefully composed as always, but you had known him just long enough to pick out a slightly different note of— worry? “You slept for two days.”

“Oh no, I missed work,” you deadpanned, desperate to dredge even the smallest of smiles from Zhongli. Zhongli’s frown didn’t even quaver. The very idea of Zhongli being annoyed at you sent chills down your spine. Just then, a memory came back to you, and suddenly, you were desperate for something else. “OH— work… Xiangling—!” You tried to throw back the covers to stand up, but the sudden movement sent hot and cold chills through your veins and almost sent you retching over the side of the bed.

“When you mentioned Qingxin,” Zhongli said. “I knew at once that she wasn’t bringing you to Cuijie. That girl knows the flora and fauna of Liyue almost better than I.” You remembered his slight unease the morning you left, that odd exchange that you thought nothing more of. 

Of course, Zhongli would have known the whole time; how foolish of you to think you could keep anything from his calculating gaze. 

“But what reason would she have had to lie?” Zhongli continued, “and so, though I did not want to intrude upon your expedition, I paid Jueyun Karst a visit with Chef Mao when you two did not return. We found her halfway up the mountain.” 

“Is she— is she okay now?” You could barely bear to hear the answer, “I need to go and see her.” 

“I don’t believe you’ll be able to go anywhere in your current state,” These were stronger words than you’d ever heard Zhongli utter at you, and it finally snapped you out of your haze of panic. Blinking the sleep from your eyes, you noticed his stiff posture, his slightly furrowed brow, and felt a pang of guilt. You had acknowledged that he might worry over your disappearance, but not to such a degree. 

“If it puts you at ease,” Zhongli started, “I visited Xiangling this morning. Dr. Baizhu personally saw to her, and she is well on her way to recovery. She was similarly distraught about you, and she mentioned that you tried to hold off the monster on your own for her sake. Is this true?”

You nodded. 

“Admirable,” Zhongli said, and you noted that his voice had not lost its edge, “if not extremely rash. You could not have known what a powerful artifact the tooth was, though it is partly my fault for not explaining it to you. If I had not shown up when I did—”  

You blurted the first thing you were sure of. “I’m sorry for putting you in danger.”

Zhongli let out an audible breath, and shook his head. When he next spoke, his voice was tinged in disbelief. “To think that after everything, that’s your takeaway from this? What you and Xiangling did was incredibly dangerous. I believe that I’ve made more than clear to you, how dangerous Jueyun Karst is to mortals.” 

“I’m sorry,” you said again, the guilt rearing its head in the pits of your stomach.. 

Sighing softly, Zhongli held your gaze. “Though, I also miscalculated. Xiangling would have been able to handle no less than a Mitachurl; perhaps even a Lawachurl, but these intelligent creatures — Abyss Mages? It’s quite troubling that they’ve begun to appear in Liyue, so soon after Rex Lapis’ departure.” 

“Did you kill it?” You couldn’t help but ask, though you already knew the answer.

Zhongli fixed his unflinching gaze on you. “Yes.” 

You had already held the evidence of its death in your hands — there was no way the creature had given up the dragon’s tooth without a fight — but still, the truth was like a slap to the face. You had scarcely been able to escape from it with your life, and yet Zhongli... You glanced him up and down. Zhongli didn’t look so much as shaken from the confrontation.

“It was a hazard to Liyue. And it had threatened you,” he added, taking your awe for confusion. “Similar monsters have been growing in rank and number… Even the Adepti are on high guard, it seems, if Mountain— if one of them has started trapping civilians. Though Xiangling can fight, I’m afraid that the situation may be too much for you to handle right now. I would ask that you limit your ventures to Liyue Harbor—” 

You couldn’t stand the heavy tension of the room, couldn’t bear the thought that Zhongli might be angry at you. He had made no move to approach you, standing his usual, respectable distance away from your bedside, but anger— anger always meant someone got hurt, and usually, it was you. 

Quickly, you opened your mouth to swear that yes, yes of course, anything you want, I’ll never leave again, but Zhongli held up his hand to stop you. “Think carefully before making any promises to me. Are you content with staying within the harbor for the rest of your life, Hansi?” 

You hesitated. He was right. Going on ingredient hunts and seeing the beautiful mountains of Liyue had been the time of your life. You wanted to go further, wider. To see every bit that the world had to offer. And more than anything, you wanted to do it— with Zhongli. 

“I will ask you one last time, then,” Zhongli said, “ do you wish to learn how to fight ?” 

You couldn’t help but glance at the drawer where your Vision was, quickly dragging your gaze back to him and hoping he had not noticed. You swallowed. Yes, yes , you did. And what better teacher for your Geo Vision than Zhongli? 

He had just saved your life. The least you could do was trust him with it. 

Before you could respond, you were interrupted by a loud rapping at the front door.

“Just a moment, please,” Zhongli called in response. When he turned back, his expression had softened. “I… may have been too harsh. I hope you can understand that my words are borne only from concern for your well-being. How are you feeling?”

Like you had just been hit over the head with a large wooden pole, but the last thing you wanted to do was worry Zhongli more. “A lot better than two nights ago,” you smiled, hoping  to ease his concern, but it came out a little more like a grimace.

“I see. You had quite a fever last night, so I requested a home visit from Bubu Pharmacy. It looks like they’re finally here. Please wait a moment.” It seemed as though Zhongli was back to his usual self, sweeping out of the room in all his regal valor. You heard him open the front door and greet whomever was there. A doctor? You grimaced at the thought of some strange man touching your body. But for Zhongli’s peace of mind, you would endure. 

Finally, Zhongli returned. You looked around for the doctor— then down. A young girl, whose brow reached around Zhongli’s knees, wobbled in, holding a basket that seemed to weigh more than herself. Under her little hat was tucked a paper talisman; the kind you’d find plastered on the dead. 

“Hello. Qiqi is a zombie,” she said by way of introduction. “Nice to meet you.”

—-

You stared at her, then Zhongli, wondering why he had just let a literal child wander into his house. 

At the bewilderment on your face, Zhongli stepped in to explain. “Qiqi is from Bubu Pharmacy. She is indeed a zombie, though her story is perhaps one better told another time. Rest assured that she is more than qualified to treat any mortal illness. Qiqi, this is whom I was telling you about. I believe she might have a fever—” 

“This room is cold,” Qiqi murmured, siddling closer to your bedside. She dug around in her basket and produced a waterskin. “Good for Qiqi, not good for a fever. Please close the window and fill this with hot water.” 

“Of course,” Zhongli nodded, rushing to comply. After he left, Qiqi merely continued like she had not just ordered Zhongli around in his own house. The way she peered at you was so intent that it made you squirm, and each time she put her hand against your skin, it was so cold that you could barely resist, out of politeness, the urge to jump.

“How did you get sick.” Qiqi asked. For a moment, her voice was so monotone that you hadn’t realized it was a question. You scrambled to answer, cheeks flushing warm. 

“I was… climbing a tall mountain and got caught in the rain.” 

“Hmm,” she said, “not good. Bring an umbrella next time.”

“I will,” you promised quickly, watching as she produced a large wad of paper from her basket — how many things did she have in there? — and began scribbling, just as Zhongli returned with a filled waterskin and a glass of warm water. The warmth of the glass against your skin was heavenly, and you quietly sipped the drink while waiting for Qiqi to finish her writing. 

“Mr. Zhongli,” she said, tugging at his sleeve for his attention. Zhongli all but bent down to meet her at eye level. “Mr. Zhongli’s wife will be okay.”

It was all you could do to keep the water inside your mouth when you choked. 

“Hansi is my friend,” Zhongli corrected, gently.

Qiqi peered up at Zhongli, then at you — wrapped in what were clearly three layers of his clothing — then back at Zhongli. “Mr. Zhongli’s friend will be okay,” she amended, rifling so furiously through her papers that you were worried she would tear the pages. “She must rest for...three days. And eat wet things.” The girl squinted more closely at her notebook. “Hm. No. I meant, drink more fluids,” she amended, going right back to her scribbling. You peeked at it, but couldn’t understand a word she had written — was she drawing a flower? 

Finally, she ripped the page off with surprising gusto and handed it to Zhongli, who had to once again bend down to reach her little hands. “Here is a prescription for huang’lian medicine. For the fever.” The little girl said, thumbing through her pages. “I can also prescribe Windwheel Aster syrup. But Windwheel Asters can only be found in… Mondstadt... It can cost a lot.”

“How much?”

Qiqi went completely still as she thought about it. It was a little unnerving. At last, she reached a conclusion. “One million mora.” 

To your horror, Zhongli nodded. “That is acceptable,” he said. “Please give us three bottles.” You didn’t even know what to begin to say to that — you knew already that he was hopeless when it came to haggling, but three million mora was an unthinkable amount. And more ridiculously, spent on someone like you? Before you could protest, Qiqi shook her head. 

“No. I will not charge Mr. Zhongli so much. Three thousand mora will be fine.”

“Won’t you get into trouble with Dr. Baizhu, my dear Qiqi?” Zhongli asked.

“Hm. I don’t care what Baizhu says,” Qiqi frowned, “Mr. Zhongli has helped me many times.”

“Well then, I will accept your offer of generosity. On behalf of Wangsheng Funeral’s accountants, thank you, Qiqi.”

“I will also prescribe... gu’fen . It will help her wrist recover faster... Oh, no.” Qiqi sighed so heavily her little body shook. “Never mind. We are out of bones.”

“ Gu’fen - powdered bones?” Zhongli asked. “What kind do you need?” 

“Geovishap will work best, although hatchlings will also be okay.”

“Very well,” Zhongli said, heading for the door without a moment’s hesitation. “Please give me a few minutes.” 

“Two will be enough,” Qiqi called after him, barely lifting her gaze from her notebook. 

You heard the front door open and shut. “Did he—” you glanced at Qiqi, then out the window, where the unmistakable silhouette of Zhongli was striding off towards the mountains north of the harbor. You knew what Geovishaps were, Zhongli had told you of their story: descendants of the King of Dragons that had long been sealed beneath the earth by Rex Lapis. “Did Mr. Zhongli just leave to go hunt vishap bones? Is he safe?” 

“Yes. He is strong,” Qiqi stated matter-of-factly. “Mr. Zhongli could not fulfill his contract… for Cocomilk… So Mr. Zhongli helps when Qiqi gather herbs... in Jueyun Karst.”

Cocomilk? Zhongli had… fudged a contract? You wanted to ask her to elaborate, but another tidbit of information caught your attention. It was undeniable, then, that Zhongli could come and go safely within Jueyun Karst. You shuddered as you remembered how overwhelmingly powerful the Adepti had been. How could Zhongli willingly set foot in there, and how can he do so unharmed? A distant memory arose, something about him… karst crawlers… protection? 

Qiqi was tapping on your leg for attention, so you quickly shook yourself free of your ponderings. You could revisit them later. “Sorry. Yes, Qiqi?”

“I  asked,” Qiqi said, “do you need contraceptive medicine? I can prescribe...” 

“ What ?”

“Please do not be alarmed,” Qiqi said calmly, severely misunderstanding your almost-scream. “This is part of life. As a pharmacist of Bubu Pharmacy, I am able to prescribe—” 

“No,” you said quickly, very quickly, “No, we really are just friends.” The word tasted sweet on your tongue. Friend — Zhongli’s friend. 

“Hm, okay,” Qiqi responded, blinking upwards at you with clear magenta eyes, and though there was no inflection in her tone, you could almost hear the incredulity. “Where did you get these injuries?”

You debated lying, but she was looking up at you with such seriousness that you couldn’t find it in yourself to. “Mount Hulao,” you admit with a hint of remorse. “I went there with a friend… we both got badly hurt. It was a bad idea. I don’t remember much, other than that.”

“Baizhu was called to treat Miss Xiangling yesterday. She was your friend?” Qiqi thoughtfully waited for you to nod. “You were… also sealed in the amber? It can cause memory loss. Sweetflower tea will help... with the headaches.” 

You wanted to ask how she knew about the headaches, how she knew about the amber, but the look in her eyes was answer enough. For the adepti to harm such a small child— in the pits of your stomach, you felt such a hot surge of anger that you surprised yourself. Qiqi’s small hands rested on yours, her big, earnest eyes staring right into you. 

“Hmm,” she repeated, “not good. Bring Mr. Zhongli next time.” 

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “I will,” you promised once more, jokingly. “Though I’m not sure how I’ll fit all that muscle into my backpack—” You trailed off at the inquisitive look on Qiqi’s face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just friends,” she commented shortly.

“We are just friends!” you cried, stopping yourself quickly as you heard the front door swing open. A few minutes, just as Zhongli had promised. And slung over his back was a sizable sack, bulging with what you knew were dozens of bones. 

“Two was enough,” Qiqi murmured as Zhongli placed the sack before her. There was no way the girl was lugging that back to the pharmacy , you thought, just as Qiqi carefully lifted it with one hand. By the Archons, what were they feeding the pharmacists at Bubu?

“I thought it would be best to err on the safe side,” Zhongli replied, “please do put any leftovers to good use at the pharmacy. And also,” he said, pulling out a vibrant strand of violetgrass from his coat, “this is for you, my dear Qiqi.” 

Qiqi’s expression did not waver, but you thought that she looked just a little pleased as Zhongli tucked the flowers into her hat. 

“Okay.” Qiqi said, handing Zhongli the last pieces of paper from her notebook. “Please come and collect your prescriptions tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Qiqi,” Zhongli answered, helping to hold the door open as the girl wobbled her way back out as unsteadily as when she came. “Have a good evening.” When he returned to stand by your bedside, you carefully eyed him. There was a smear of dirt on his left sleeve, but otherwise, it looked like he had just returned from a walk at the harbor — not from battle.

“Are you hurt, Mr. Zhongli?” You asked. 

“Hmm?” He blinked, then absently said, “ah. The Geovishaps? Not at all. They are quite easy to combat, once you learn of their weaknesses.” You wondered how many he’d fought; how many things he had killed in his life, that fighting ferocious monsters was barely an ordeal of note for him.

More importantly, he had done it for you. Had been willing to pay three million Mora for your well-being. You found yourself blinking back tears once again; you would not let anyone see you cry.

“Thank you, Mr. Zhongli.” You said, and you hoped that he would understand all that you meant by it.

“Of course, Hansi. Though, before I forget, I do have a question,” he said, reaching into his coat and producing a chunk of Cor Lapis, “when I found you at Mount Hulao, you were gripping this like your life depended on it. Is this what you went there for? Why?”

Oh. The flush in your cheeks burned red hot, and you scrambled for a lie — any lie. Nothing came to mind. Finally, under his scrutinizing gaze, you withered and told him the foolish truth with slumped shoulders: “it was meant to be a gift for you, Mr. Zhongli. It’s probably… it’s probably nothing compared to the one from your friend.” You could barely lift your head to look him in the eye, and you were vaguely aware that you had begun to ramble. “But it’s the only one I could find. I ended up causing you more trouble in the end, I’m sorry.” 

“Goodness,” Zhongli said, his voice thick with emotion for the first time that you’d heard. You glanced at him in surprise, but his face betrayed nothing as always. 

Zhongli held the Cor Lapis up to the light, looking at it carefully. After a terribly long pause, his gaze fell back on you. “This is one of the clearest, most luminous pieces of Lapis I’ve seen in my life. Thank you for going to such lengths to get me this, Hansi.” 

Your relief at his lack of anger and your pride at his praise was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the way your heart fluttered warmly at the bright smile on his face. 

“Though of course, I would have appreciated such a precious gift regardless.” Zhongli continued, walking to the door. “Now, I must ask that you rest for a little while, as per Qiqi’s orders. Will you be alright alone? Please call my name if you need anything at all—”

You were only half-listening. It wasn’t fair, how his smile could wrench the air right out of your lungs.

—-

A memory:

“There it is again, that infamous frown,” the young woman waved her hands, her billowing sleeves whipping about in the howling gales of Qingyun Peak. “Why do you never smile, Morax?” 

“What is there to smile about?” he asked truthfully, because he had long since stopped trying to decipher her odd mannerisms. Below them, underneath the clouds, the war raged on.

“What is there to—?” She exhaled in exaggerated exasperation, throwing her arms out to the wind. “The birds in the trees! The clouds in the sky! It didn’t rain today for the first time in weeks, so we made it all the way up here to watch the sunset! Do none of these things mean anything to you?”

“Yet when night falls, we will once again have to fight.” His fingers twitched around empty space, every moment he wasn’t holding his polearm — at her request — almost painful. He detested being in this form, but it was cold in the mountains, and his adepti form would do little to help him with temperature regulation. “We should return soon. I hear that Osial has been rallying his forces for another attack, and we were barely able to fend off the last one.”

She sighed, and he knew that meant he had disappointed her — though he did not know how. 

“Morax,” she breathed, barely audible over the wind. “What will it take to make you smile? Tell me, and I’ll do it. A contract. That’s the only kind of thing you understand, right?”

That, he did. “When the war is over,” he answered. She was leaning precariously over the edge of the cliff, and it brought about some strange, foreign feeling deep in his gut — something different to the wounds and scars he was used to. “And our people are safe from the threat of strife and war.” 

A brief pause. She showed no sign of getting down from where she was standing, and in fact, had gotten on her tiptoes. “You might fall,” he warned. 

“You promise? You promise that once the war is over, you’ll try to smile more?” 

“You have my word,” he swore. He did not understand her intentions even a little, but promises? Those he knew better than life itself. Something so trivial as a smile seemed scarcely worthy of a contract. But it seemed important to her, and so he would honor it. “You should step away from the edge. You might fall,” he repeated.

“Oh, but you’ll catch me, won’t you?” Her pale hair whipped about in the wind, framing a wide, bright grin. There was a twinkle in her eye that he, unfortunately, knew all too well.

“Guizhong, don’t—“ he said, rushing forward, but it was too late. She tipped backwards, disappearing into the clouds below, just as his arms closed around empty wind. Muttering a series of ancient curses he thanked the heavens that Ganyu wasn’t here to hear, he leapt after her. 

The transformation always hurt a little, though after meeting Guizhong (and her incomprehensible insistence that he stay in human form when in front of human children) he changed forms so often that he barely even noticed anymore. He relished the sting as lithic claws, scales and fangs tore their way out of his deplorably soft human flesh— and then, he was free to rip through the clouds and wind. Frightening and powerful, as he should be. 

As he had to be.

It was not hard to locate Guizhong, especially not with the way she’d gleefully screamed all the way down. He angled himself right under her, bracing for the impact, and she landed squarely on his back with an exhilarated squeak. 

“Wasn’t that fun, Morax?” She clambered up towards his head as they tore through the skies. He could feel each of her warm fingers gripping his horns tightly. “No? Still no smile?” 

“What?” He growled. “You could have died.”

“You wouldn’t have let that happen,” she waved it off, “though you did let me hit a few more trees than necessary on the way down, didn’t you?”

He didn’t dignify that with an answer. 

“Fine,” he could hear the pout in her voice. “When the war ends, I want to see a huuuuge smile from you, alright?”

“I already gave you my word.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Well, that is, if I’m there to see it,” she laughed lightly. “Not everyone is as big and strong and scary as you, Morax.”

There it was again, that feeling — a dull blade that pressed deep into his lungs, his stomach, his heart. Fear? No. The God of War and Contracts did not know fear. 

“Of course you will. We will both be there to see this to its end.” 

—-

At the end of the war, when he finally felt the searing power of the divine settle within him, Morax stood alone. 

Mountains of bodies, bones picked clean by birds and sinew laid to claim by beasts, surrounded him for as far as the eye could see. 

Guizhong was not among them, for she had been killed years and years ago.

He felt his lip curl into — something. It fell a little short of a smile.

—-

Outside of your room, Zhongli leaned his head against the cool wood of the doorframe, and steadied his breathing. Carefully, he placed back into his coat the Cor Lapis that you had gotten him; that you had almost died trying to get him.

How ironic, that even after exactly three thousand, seven hundred and twelve years, two months and eighteen days, he still found himself scrambling to protect someone who seemed to lack all sense of self preservation, and who surprised him to no end. 

Guizhong had not been strong enough to fend off those who sought to claim her life, but you could be — if only you’d show him what you were hiding in the drawers by your bed. He could feel its resonance, each time he entered your room — the Vision he had given you; a reminder of the strength that you could use, to fight back, to protect yourself. 

Guizhong had not been strong enough.

A breath in, a breath out. Zhongli closed his eyes.

He would not make the same mistake again. 

[thediamondgirl17]

Feitan Porter x Reader: A Long Time Ago

Hey everyone! I'm not dead I promise! I have been BINGING HxH and JJK for anyone who is interested in knowing. And let's just say Feitan caught my eye and sparked a bit of my creative interest! I still don't know a lot about the PT so your gonna have to give me a bit of artistic liberty here. As always if you want a second part to this, or want me to write something for you feel free to go to my ask box! I'm always open to new ideas! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: PG-13, light HxH Season 3 spoilers, mentions of sensitive subjects. 

    You didn’t grow up in Meteor City. You lived just outside of it growing up. That meant that you weren’t exactly the most wealthy person in the world, then again not the poorest. However, you had known of the City. Murmurs, whispers, and tales of the cursed city were always among the gossip in your home town. It was never anything abnormal when the adults would whisper things to each other out of your earshot when you were little. However the one thing that had stuck with you the most was the warning that every adult gave you when you went to play by yourself as a child. 

    “Stay away from the edge of town.” 

    That was it. Nothing more and nothing less. However, children’s minds tend to block out the logical reasonings of adults so that it is able to explore the unknown for itself. And that is exactly what happened to you. 

    You had packed a bag with some food in it for a picnic. Your parents were home, and not exactly caring where you ran off to as long as you came back before sunset. So your little legs carried you through town as quickly as they could to get to the edge of town. It wasn’t that long of a walk but it had made you a bit tired. As you got closer to the far edge of town, the grass began to die and the trees begun to wilt. It was as if you crossed over to a whole new deserted world. 

     You had told yourself that you were going to stop at the edge of town. Told yourself that you were just going to admire the scenery and then head back. Of course though, children never listened, even to themselves.  So you continued on, eventually finding yourself walking along broken down buildings that looked like they would collapse. The air was dry and polluted, which made it hard to breathe. 

    “Look what we have here.” An older man had said. He looked to be in his 40s. He had this disgusting smell of cheap cologne and a dirty five o’clock shadow that covered his chin. “A cute little girl. C’mere...Let’s talk.” He smiled, revealing crocked yellow teeth. 

    Now, you had not been scared up to this point, but this worried you. You gripped your bag tightly in your hands and took a weary step backwards, away from the man in front of you. Your heart rate had quickened and you closed your eyes, moving your head away from him fearing the worst. 

    It was only until you felt a hand in your own quickly drag you away from the creepy old man that you opened your eyes. A young boy, much scrawnier than yourself, but obviously your age dragged you along. Your legs had a hard time keeping up with his experienced ones. From the looks of him, he was a native. He stopped after being sure that the two of you weren’t followed. You heaved after the two of you had stopped running and put your hands on your knees to catch your breath. 

    “Th-Thank Y-you...,” You gasped, trying to catch your breath. But there was only silence. So you tilted your head up to look at him, only to see a small pocket knife aimed between your eyes. 

    “Give me your money.” He stated. His black hair was greasy and dirty from not having been washed in a while. And his clothes were tattered and much to small for him at this point. You blinked and looked down at your bag. His cold tone had shaken you to your core.

    “I-I don’t h-have any m-money o-on me...,” You said softly. “B-but...D-do you wanna split my sandwich?” You asked looking back up at the boy, from the way that you spoke to him, the two of you knew you would have asked that question whether or not that knife was aimed between your eyes. 

    “...80:20.” He demanded. And you had offered him the softest smile that he had ever seen in his life. Though on the outside he didn’t falter, the inside of him felt...different. You reached into your bag and pulled out your sandwich. You ripped it much over half way and handed him the larger piece. 

    He was hesitant at first when he took the food. He slowly lowered the knife and began eating, quickly shoving it into his mouth before anyone or anything else could get to it. You sat down on the ground beside him and began eating your own piece. 

    “Why are you staying? I could kill you.” He demanded to know. 

    “Then you already would have and taken the rest of my sandwich...I have a water bottle in here too.” You added. “Do you want it?” He nodded. You reached into your bag and pulled out the water bottle, handing it to him. “Here.” He quickly took it out of your hands and drank half of it in one go. His shoulders relaxing ever so slightly from it. 

    “In one week.” He said, keeping his demanding tone. “You will come back and bring me food and water.” 

    “Any requests?” You asked tilting your head. He looked down at you. 

    “Just make sure it’s edible.” And with that, the black haired boy was off. 

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

    From that day forward, every week, you brought him food. You learned his name and where he took shelter. You had learned how many people he had killed, and what happened to his parents. You learned his favorite food. And learned that he was a total sadist. However, you kept coming back to provide him food and water. The last time you say him was many years after your first encounter. The two of you were 15 years old. He had begun to look more handsome in your eyes. And vice versa, though he would never admit it. The two of you sat on a run down bridge that looked old and crumbly. 

    “Don’t come anymore.” He said sipping from the water bottle. 

    “Huh? Why?” You asked looking over at him. 

    “I am able to get myself food and water more often now.” 

    “Well duh...That’s obvious...I had noticed you started gaining weight like three months ago.” You paused. “I meant that as a good thing.” \

    “I know you did.” He said, talking slow like he always did, being sure to pronounce each syllable of the word. “But still.” He stood up and stretched out a bit. “I don’t want to see you anymore.” 

    “Bullshit!” You called. “Fei...What’s up with you?” You asked softly. 

    “Get out of this region. Leave and don’t come back. Make a life for yourself.” He said in that same demanding tone of his. “I have. it’s time you do too.” He turned and faced away from you. “Goodbye.” 

    “Will I see you again?” You asked standing up and staring at his back. 

    “If you do...It will end up with you dying.” And those were his final words as he walked away.

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

    Each week after that you brought food to your usual meet up spot. Enough for two. But he never came. It took about five weeks for you to finally get it through your head that he...was gone. 

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

    You had made a life for yourself outside of Meteor City. You had moved away to a nice countryside where everything was peaceful and relaxed. Life was almost perfect. Your job had provided you with enough money to live comfortably and go on vacations every couple of years. However, something in your life was missing. And you knew exactly what it was. However, the only thing you had taking up your mind at the moment was your vacation to York New City. Everything with the Phantom Troupe had just ended. The city assured visitors that the troupe was dead, and not a single one remained to roam free any longer. That news gave you comfort. 

    Stepping off the train, the bright lights of the city were burning brightly in your face, even though it was nighttime. You had wanted to enjoy it more, so you went to your hotel, put down your things and quickly headed out for a fun night on the town. You had your purse in one hand, and your other was free and by your side. 

    About 20 minutes of walking had passed before you had reached an old abandoned part of town. That little child that still lived inside you urged you to go and explore it. ‘A look around couldn’t hurt.’ You thought to yourself. Your shoes gently clacked along the sidewalk as you continued to walk. Through the allies and dust ridden streets. All of it reminded you of a place a long time ago, and an old friend whom you hadn’t seen in ages. 

    However, your nostalgia had faded the moment you heard a small gust of wind come from behind you. It had made you pause where you stood, and your whole happy demeanor shifted. In the last few years you had spent with Feitan, he had taught you some self defense. 

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

    “Your small...like me...and easy prey for anyone.” The black haired boy said, standing up from his spot beside you. You were sitting on the edge of Meteor City where there was some dead grass. 

    “And why is this important?” Your thirteen year old self said to the thirteen year old boy beside you. 

    “I can’t always save your ass.” He replied in a slow and snarky way. 

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

    That little training session had taught you a lot. Like how to unconsciously use zetsu. Of course back then you had no idea what it meant, after doing some research on it when you were older you learned it was helpful. So, you masked your presence from the person who was currently following you. You gently slipped off your shoes to limit the sound of your feet on the ground and silently began to walk forward again. 

    A woman had pinned you against the wall behind you with strength outnumbering your own. She had a large nose, a blonde bobcat, and her chest was exposed from how many buttons were unbuttoned. 

    “Who are you?” She demanded. “Why are you here? Who sent you?” She asked, holding a knife to your throat. You gulped and steadied your breathing, another thing that Feitan had taught you. Her eyes were directly on yours. ‘Good’ You thought to yourself. You lifted your leg to kick the knife out of her hand, but her other hand caught your leg with ease. You used that momentum to flip yourself over and kick the knife out of her hand. However, her hand remained grabbed tightly onto your ankle. 

    You moved and started kicking your free foot into her arm, it wouldn’t do much damage to someone like her, but would at least leave some bruising. She grumbled something along the lines of, ‘I’m gonna kill you,’ and grabbed your other leg, sending you to the ground on your back. You coughed up a little blood and used the shoes in your hand to throw harshly at her face. It caused her hands on your ankles to falter just enough in order for you to get up and start running. “If you can’t win. Run.” You heard from the memory of your old friend. You were panting and looked behind you to see if she had been following. However she stopped. And just watched from a distance. You had no idea what hit you until you were on your stomach with your face pushed to the ground and a foot harshly stepping onto your back. 

    “I’m gonna enjoy this kill...,” A familiar slow voice said from above you. Your eyes widened and you stopped moving. “Scared?” He asked teasingly. 

    “F-fei...?” You questioned and let out a cough right after. The black haired man currently standing above you felt his eyes widen ever so slightly. His grip softened and he released you. You coughed on the ground and sat up, looking as dirty as you did as a child. 

    “Leave.” He stated. “...or you will die.” 

    “Fei wait! Talk to me it’s been year-,” You were cut off when a strong hand wrapped around your neck from behind and held it harshly. 

    “You know her Feitan? How great!” A happy blonde said lifting up your body off the ground by your neck. “Let’s take her to the boss! I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet her!” 

    “No...,” The black haired man said looking at the blonde. 

    “Flip a coin. Call it in the air.” The woman from before said and flipped a coin. 

    “Tails.” Feitan called. Unfortunately the coin landed on heads. 

    You had quickly felt the air escaping your lungs. You scratched and struggled and squirmed in his grip for all but no avail. 

    “She’s got fire! I think the boss will have fun!” He said happily and dropped you onto your knees. You gasped and wrapped your hands gently around your sensitive throat. After regaining a bit of oxygen in your body, the three had started to lead you with them. You were silent with your head facing downward.    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

    Once you had gotten to the hideout, you saw how everyone laid around relaxed and only really looked up when they saw your figure. It was quiet, dark, and damp. It was cold and held hostility. 

    “Hey Boss! Look what we found! She is very entertaining!” The blonde said happily into the dimly lit room. A man whom sat at the center of the room looked up from his book and made direct eye contact with you. You felt a shiver run down your spine and glanced away to avoid eye contact. 

    “Why is she here Shalnark?” He asked leaning back a bit. 

    “She was coming here. She knew how to use Zetsu...and she gave Pakunoda a few good bruises. I thought she would be entertaining!” He admitted almost like you weren’t a person at all. 

    “Tell me.” The leader said, looking at you once again. Even with looking away from him you still felt the intense eyes on you. “Why are you here?” 

    “Fuck off.” You spat and kept looking away from him. 

    “Feisty...Maybe we can force it out of you.” He said and leaned back more. 

    “She seems annoying.” A black haired girl with glasses said, looking up from whatever she was doing. 

    “Her attacks were...,” The blonde girl said. “Not experienced...but definitely survival.”

    “I’ll ask one more time.” The man up front said. “Why did you come here? To the den of spiders?” 

    “Spiders?” You whispered. Then you eyes widened and you shot a look over at Feitan. However he didn’t move, just kept is eyes forward in a bored way. 

    “Ah...So it seems you know him. Feitan, care to explain.” 

    “She is an old friend. From Meteor City.” He said slowly. 

    “A native?” The blonde asked. 

    “...no.” You said and looked up at the boss. “I lived right outside the city.” 

    “So still in poverty. I’m sure being that close to the city, you had met Feitan before correct?” 

    “Yes...,” You said softly. 

    “Were you trying to find him?” 

    “No...I-I’m on vacation...I came to the city to enjoy it...But this area reminded me of home...so...I took a walk...,” You admitted and looked down. “Are you going to kill me?” 

    “Probably. You know where out hideout is now.” He said and sighed. “Though I don’t care. You will either stay, or die.” 

    “Die!” Most of them shouted. 

    “Stay.” Feitan said loud enough beside you to allow him to hear.  

    “Then we flip a coin.” He stated and pulled out the same coin that the girl had. He flipped it. “I call tails.” And it landed on it’s head. “Then she shall stay. Feitan, she is your responsibility now.” He stated and that was it. Everyone went back to what they were doing. 

    “Come.” He stated and started walking down the hallway. You quickly followed behind, now noticing the slight height difference. You were only taller by a few centimeters, but it was taller. Once out of sight from the Troupe he paused. “I told you to leave.” 

    “And I wanted to see you again! It has been years after you left! Now letters. No pictures. No post cards! Nothing! I still waited for a whole month for you to come back and you didnt!” You shot at him. 

    “Still a loudmouth?” 

    “Still a heartless sadist?” 

    “It’s more of a hobby.” He said coldly, but you knew it was a joke. You smiled softly and stepped closer to him. 

    “Your so pale...Were you always this pale?” 

    “Yes. Where you always this annoying?” 

    “You know it.” You replied. 

    There was a long moment of silence between the two of you. You stepped closer to him and hesitantly reached up, and gripped on to his collar. You slowly pulled it down and moved your face closer to his, of course it was all slow and hesitant. The only time it wasn’t was when he craned his neck forward to finally meet your lips. 

    The kiss wasn’t long, or deep, but definitely was not one a friend would give. You gently pulled away from him and he did the same. Your cheeks were warm and his had the slightest tinge of pink on them, that is if you looked hard enough. 

    “Come with me.” He said lifting up the collar around his neck. “I’ll show you where you will be staying.” 

    And even though you were in a damp, dark, musky, run down building that was probably going to collapse. Everything finally felt perfect once again. 

[newsies-of-corona]

Something I’ve noticed about Varian:

This kid is a lot of things and I mean A LOT OF THINGS but one of them that I haven’t seen people talk about is his confidence.

When we first see him, he’s got that “cocky-smart-kid” vibe that you might see in any “nerd character” from any other show. He’s confident in his abilities and knows that he will be able to figure out what’s up with Rapunzel’s hair without a second thought. He isn’t intimidated by her royalty either. What’s interesting though is his confidence doesn’t stop only in regards to how smart he is.

When he meets Eugene, his idol and “hero,” instead of shyly saying hi and just reveling in how awesome it is to meet him, he jumps right in and says “Hey Flynn Rider? Wanna come with?” He barely knows this man who’s so much older than him, but he even gives them a team name, the famous “Team Awesome,” and doesn’t think anything of it.

He also has complete assuredness when it comes to Cassandra in “The Great Expotations.” He isn’t shy around her even though he’s a teenager and she’s an adult, he just goes for it. Even when she brushes him off the first time, he finds her and pretty much immediately asks her to help him. He isn’t intimidated by their age difference, he just sees her as a person who he wants to be friends with. (or more than friends at the time). Sure, he has his awkward moments, he’s a kid. But he just brushes it right off like nothing happened every time he falls or even catches on fire. Honestly, this is a quality I wish I had. Just to be able to go up to anyone without being intimidated by who they are or who their friends might be. (I’m getting a bit off-topic but I’ll get back in a second.) Coming from a high schooler’s perspective, I honestly think that if Varian was in high school he’d be one of those people who just meshes with every group because he isn’t scared of making a bad first impression and he’s confident in who he is.

Okay back to the show. So those are some ways that Varian has confidence when he’s on the right side, but what about when he’s a villain? Well the song “Let Me Make You Proud” perfectly portrays that. In that song he never once says “I don’t know if I’ll be able to make you proud,” he says “I will make you proud, and “I’m going to fix it,” and “I will save the day.” Even in the midst of a catastrophe, he’s still fully assured without a shadow of a doubt that he will be able to save his dad. It’s this over confidence, however, that becomes his downfall.

When he asks for Rapunzel’s help and is denied, the way that he was going to save his dad vanishes. In the reprise he’s still determined, but now it’s in the wrong way. He never stops being determined and assures himself so many times that he will be able to fix his mistake that he takes his over-confidence to a whole new level through manipulating and attacking Rapunzel, threatening the kingdom, and kidnapping the queen. He’s lost a lot of other things but he never truly loses his determination in SOTS even when being carted off to jail. “I will make you proud of me, dad.”

It’s this determination that was part of his motivation to break out of jail and join with the Saporians. He’s still the cocky overly confident villain that he was in SOTS, until he gets thrown in jail with Raps and that confidence and determination finally break down to reveal the insecure and hurt person he really is. Fortunately, his self-assuredness reveals itself once again, but a lot less than we previously saw.

For example, in “Be Very Afraid” he has major PTSD from his dad being encased, and the whole time he’s trying to reassure himself by saying “No problem, we’ve got this.” He says this 23 times according to Rapunzel, but it used to be a lot easier for him to go into dangerous situations. One example of this would be in “What the Hair” where he puts himself in danger by trying to shut off his machine, which actually occurs again in “The Great Expotations.” However, after he does save the day with his amber solution, and faces his fears, his confidence grows once again and it prepares him to fight some of the hardest battles in the show.

In “Cassandra’s Revenge,” Varian once again puts himself in danger trying to come through to Cass, knowing that she could definitely harm him or even kill him. She even flat out attacks him with rocks, but he isn’t intimidated and he even calls her out for it. (“you’ve lost your grip and lost your mind.”)

In “Once A Handmaiden,” Varian once more has to face down Cass, but he isn’t even a little bit scared from what happened the last time he saw her. He doesn’t even lose confidence in himself when the bazooka “misfired” (even though we all know it was Zhan Tiri and she’s the worst how dare she) Sure he’s a little shaken up and probably traumatized but after Cass breaks out of the amber he picks up that bazooka without hesitation and he goes for it.

Finally, in “Plus est en Vous,” he literal says “onward we ride, who knows if we will make it back.” Like he knows they might die, and he still goes for it. When Raps asks him if he can build the Demanitus portal, he’s just like “yeah that’s no problem, we just need the parts.” He even fights a LITERAL DEMON without hesitation. Keep in mind, this is still a teenager.

In short, Varian is a very confident and self assured person, and I think that’s a great quality that he has. We can all learn from his good form of confidence that we don’t have to be scared or intimidated of other people and possibly miss out on some good friendships. Varian’s only friends in the show (pretty much) are people who are much older than him, and the only way that happened is because he was willing to go out of his way and start a friendship with them without being shy about it. Confidence is key! 💙

[maggyoutthere]

| Red, Purple and Orange

This blog is now just me re-uploading stuff from my Amino accounts. More stuff from that AHIT Au I have. Spooky stuff with the Moonjumper. Also legit one of the things I'm the most proud of writing? Like ever?? I'm never repeating this again so hhh I wanna save it-

Anyways a few tws because this is a bit spooky. Nothing gory or unnerving happens but I know some people don't like just scary stuff in general so that's your warning

(this used to be divided in 2 parts but eh who needs that)

-

Red, purple and orange.

The whole manor was covered by them. Both inside and outside. Vivid warm colors embraced the whole building as if it was a strong loving hug from a long lost friend. It made the house itself warm. Red, purple and orange. These colors painted the empty dusty hallways as the house remained silent... or as silent as it could. The wooden floors and doors still creaked if touched, and the water running through the old pipes inside the walls made them rustle. The yellow light from outside created bridges of light as it entered through the windows. It had been a very very long time since something like that happened. Red, purple and orange. These colors painted the dusty and... not so empty hallways.

Hat Kid ran through the hallways of the manor. She giggled happily as her little feet thumped through the old wooden floors of the house, her yellow rubber boots squeaking as she ran. She'd put her yellow cape away since the weather started getting hotter. She'd never experienced something like this happening in Subcon. The cold Winter was over and Spring was rolling in with its warm sun and change of scenery. The kid had never seen the Subcon Forest so colorful. It was either always restricted to its ghostly dark purples or its ice-cold blues.

The trees were the most mesmerizing thing to look at. She'd never seen such colorful things. Their leafs were red, purple and orange. The tall trees towering over her and the entire village no longer seemed threatening or even scary. They looked like they'd come right out of a fairytale! The best part was that, when the sun was bright enough, like on that day, the leafs would reflect their colors on whatever was down below. As much as she loved the winter months she spent with her BFF and Vanessa, she couldn't fake it: she was absolutely amazed by this change of scenery.

A little after last year's Christmas, in the middle of January, Vanessa finally got the courage to give Hat Kid her very own Christmas gift. She felt bad for not giving the kid anything back on that day. And after the beautiful gift she'd given to her auntie... it didn't matter what it was. The point was that she found someone who she could trust. This little child who one day invaded her house, looking for some "time piece" thingy that Vanessa didn't even knew was there, had now become the closest she could call a friend.

On a cold winter morning, Vanessa woke up Hat Kid to a wonderful breakfast in bed and a small present. The queen explained to her the whole thing and offered her the shiny box. Still nomming on a freshly baked cookie, she teared through the wrapping paper, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. Inside the box was a small porcelain figure of a duck. Vanessa pulled it out of the box and showed Hat Kid the little key that was under it, as well as two wood wheels by its side. The queen turned the key a few times and set the toy down as Hat Kid watched, intrigued. The duck suddenly started moving, racing around the room! It went under the kid's bed and then around a few other toys scattered around the floor. The queen laughed as Hat Kid immediately jumped out of bed and started chasing the toy not just around the room, but around the whole manor, waking up everyone with her loud childish laughter.

Now, she was doing exactly the same, but not still in her pajamas. The brownish duck, with it's shiny yellow beak and shiny black eyes, raced down the corridors with the kid following right behind it. For some reason, some hallways were still pretty dark, even with all the light coming in from the windows. It's as if the light couldn't reflect on anything inside the manor, leaving the illuminated bits clear as day and, the rest of the manor, still pitch black. Like an immense dark void with only a few illuminated patches of floor scattered around, far away from eachother. If she wasn't careful enough, she could trip on things that were hidden in the dark, where she couldn't see them.

Red, purple and orange. The little duck turned the corner on one of the intersections and went to the left, away from the edge of the manor and into its inner corridors. There were no windows there. No light at all. Hat Kid felt hesitant, as if she knew she shouldn't even be there. But it was just a house, in fact, it was almost HER house now. She'd gotten so used to the peeled wallpaper and overall spooky vibe of the manor that it wasn't even scary anymore. And yet, she still felt like something was wrong. The hallway was completely dark, only the edge of the doorframe was visible. She couldn't tell where it led to. Her toy was going full speed into that corridor though. She couldn't lose her precious toy!

She took a deep breath, put on her determined expression and ran into the dark void. Her little feet still thumping loudly as she tried to listen for the squeaky sound of her toy as it echoed inside the corridor.

Red, purple, orange... and pitch black

-

Black.

She'd been running for a good few seconds now. Just straight forward. No looking back. That little toy of hers HAD to be somewhere around there. She could still hear it moving up ahead. She'd never really realised how fragile that thing probably was until now. I mean, it's porcelain! On wheels! A little crash or bump into some piece of furniture or even a wall might cause it to at least crack.

Hat Kid was finally starting to get legitimately worried. Where even was she? She'd sure never seen these parts of the manor. That was the only thing she still didn't feel familiar about the house: its layout. The manor played tricks on people, even on Vanessa, and she'd been living there for a very long time. Sure, it was big if seen from the outside, but once you'd step inside, you'd be bound to get lost if you didn't stay close to the windows. The inner corridors of the house were never blocked off. No warnings, no spooky tale about never going there, nothing. It was just common sense, something everybody around her knew, a rule that'd been taught by someone who not even time could remember by now. "Don't venture too deep into the manor. Don't go in the inner corridors of the house."

For some reason, she never really felt intrigued about it until now. Deep down, she knew she shouldn't go there. There didn't need to be any explanation or lesson to be taught. It was like one of those gut feelings; when, just by looking at something, you can tell it means danger. It makes you anxious. Not exactly scared, but unnerved, shaken. Like a primal fear of the darkness and the unknown. Suddenly, she snapped out of her train of thought. She thought she'd seen something. In the distance. What was that? Something was shining...

At the end of the dark void, she saw a light. There was another corridor there! An illuminated one! Oh thank goodness! She didn't knew how much longer she could've run for. She sprinted out of the corridor and back into the comforting light she left behind a few minutes ago.

Red, purple and orange.

The familiar sight immediately made her feel safe again. She was fine, everything was okay. She was still at home, nothing bad happened. Hat Kid leaned with her back against the wall behind her and took a deep breath. She then looked down and saw her toy next to her feet! It had probably reached the other end of the hallway and bumped into a wall. She crouched and picked it up.

After inspecting the toy for a few seconds, she could happily assure herself that it didn't had any cracks. She sighed in relief, turned the key on the toy's belly and dropped it. It creaked a little and speeded off down the new illuminated hallway. Hat Kid laughed and went back to her old self, chasing the toy again.

For a few minutes, it was like that whole incident was just a dream. The scary dark inner corridors of the manor seemed more like a nightmare than a memory now. It was just something that happened. She concluded that's just what it was: scary. The Subcon Forest was scary at first as well, but Hat Kid ended up getting used to it. The same applies to the manor that went from a haunted house to a home. But even those had somewhat of a "comforting" feeling to them. Subcon was dark, but Snatcher's "treehouse" was almost as cozy and bright as her own bedroom back in her ship. Vanessa's manor, despite being in bad shape, gained the feeling of an old home. It felt like a place you would go to spend the holidays or summer break. It had its charm and handful of funny secrets.

However, that corridor didn't share that house's same aesthetic. It felt odd, out-of-place. Maybe it was just too dark to even see anything at all, but just being there creeped her out. For some reason, she was fearing for her life, but there was nothing there that could hurt her. Well, not that she would be able to see it if it was there anyways. Now that she thought about it, what if there was something there? Something watching her? Something waiting? Something cruel, or even vile. Something...

Her train of thought was, yet again, interrupted by something outside of her own thoughts. She felt something. In the air. She could smell something. It was strong enough to pull her back into reality. The smell of something acid and bitter filled her tiny nose as she stopped on her tracks and covered her mouth and nostrils. What the peck WAS that?! It was so disgusting, so repugnant, enough to make her eyes tear up.

Red, purple and orange.

Her little toy slowed down and stopped right in front of her, just a few feet away. It stood still right in the middle of the long red carpet that covered the old wooden floor, illuminated by a window on the right side of the corridor. That stink was coming from somewhere near the toy, Hat Kid was sure of that. That same feeling came back. The primal fear of the darkness and the unknown. She had to get out of there. Something bad was going to happen. She just knew it. She had to get out of there now!

With the bit of bravery she had left, and with a free hand that wasn't covering her nose, she reached to grab her toy and run away as fast as possible. Then, out of the darkness, something quickly snatched her toy and pulled it into the black. Hat Kid jumped back. What... what was that?! What was happening? Was someone toying with her? Playing tricks on her? Was this Snatcher's doing? He sure loved to scare the kid, but she thought everyone was too busy doing their royal duties to play with her. She'd never seen her BFF using something like what she saw. What pulled her toy were a few shiny red ribbons. No, strings. Red strings, just quickly flowing and cutting through the air, fast enough for the kid's reflexes.

Hat Kid grasped her stomach. She felt like she was gonna throw up from the frightening atmosphere and the nauseous smell. Screw that toy. Vanessa would understand. She just needed to get out of there. She just needed to talk to someone who might know what was actually happening. The light from outside no longer seemed so inviting anymore. It was getting dark outside. The colors became cold and gained a certain blue-ish hue.

- Auntie! Auntie Ness! Help me! - the kid yelled as she lifted her head, hoping to make the sound somehow louder. And, as she did, she saw what was causing that smell.

Red, purple and orange

And yet...

she wished it was all black.

[flooffybits]

Hands Off

Idol: Kim Bora (Dreamcatcher)

Request: Yep

Anon: Hello there! Can I request a scenario with DC’s Sua where the group is doing like a fan sign out in the public but one fan tried to like take Sua away? Her gf (who’s a member also) comes to the rescue and defends Sua maybe doing karate or smthing? Then the fans are like woah and praise the reader? If you arent comforting with anything feel free to change anything :) Sorry if its confusing and thank you for taking the time to read this. Hope you have a good day/night :))

Author’s note: after reading this, I actually found the way this was worded really adorable. I hope you enjoy!

“Jiu unnie!”

The loud chatter inside the van resonated inside and all the girls were laughing as Yoohyeon tried to push Bora off of her before she could pour her drink on the younger girl.

She wasn’t technically planning on doing so, but the dancer was always so keen on messing with her younger members just for fun. Their expressions were always so amusing, so she would tease them endlessly except for you and Yubin.

Yubin was very rarely teased because she knew that the rapper barely reacted to her advances. But on the rare days that she got something out of the younger girl, she won’t hesitate on targeting her for the whole day, if possible.

You, on the other hand, she could never tease in the same manner as the rest of the girls. Being her precious girlfriend, even though she was the shortest in the group, she would never let anything too bad happen to you even when you’ve assured her that you were perfectly capable of taking care of yourself.

“Y/n, make her stop!” The tallest whined and you giggled while looking at your girlfriend, who was too busy trying to avoid Yoohyeon’s hands and then proceeding to repeat her previous actions.

Laughing, you shook your head and then gently nudged Bora to catch her attention while Minji looked thankful that the chaos was alleviated, even just a bit, because right after, Gahyeon’s screaming echoed inside when Siyeon dropped a plastic roach on her lap.

Bora’s grin softened when she met your eyes and her arms quickly went around your waist while you press a kiss to the top of her head and then nuzzle into her. “You have to stop bullying Yoohyeon so much.” You chuckle while she presses a kiss against your collarbone. “It’s just so fun.” She replied playfully and you smile before pinching her cheek.

“I know I said to make her stop, but don’t be gross in front of me.” The girl said while scrunching her nose in false disgust. You raise a brow at her and Bora grins devilishly. “Would you rather she keeps teasing you?”

That shut her up as the rest of your friends laughed at the pouting girl. But it wouldn’t take you five minutes before someone started screaming again.

You were just happy you weren’t between your girlfriend and Siyeon.

..

Arriving at the venue, you could already see the amount of people that were waiting for you and excitement coursed through you veins. No matter how many times you’ve gone through fansigns, it was always leaving you with a giddy feeling to be able to meet and interact with fans.

Bora could already tell as you began to bounce on the balls of your feet that you were more than ready to see everyone. It made her heart melt at such an adorable sight. Despite it being years, you were always full of childlike glee whenever you were supposed to be in front of everyone. It made her fall for you more than she already did.

Due to her staring, Siyeon snorted before playfully bumping her shoulder. “Be careful or else you’ll catch flies.” She teased and Handong chuckled next to her. “Stop staring or else she just might melt.”

Even with that, the dancer couldn’t get rid of the smile that was on her face as she watched you happily conversing with Yubin and Gahyeon. The four of you, along with Yoohyeon, always got along well for some reason but none of the other girls questioned it after a while, having gotten used to your closeness and assuming it was because you were the maknae line.

Though Bora uses it to poke some fun in you by pretending to be jealous. She loved it when you showered her with compliments and affection.

“Come on, they’re all waitting for us.” Yoohyeon was already grabbing the leader’s hand and waving at everyone to follow, where you didn’t even hesitate and ran after them, latching onto the taller girl as Bora strolled her way over.

When she was close enough, her arms snaked easily around your waist and pulled you from the pair. “Come on, stick close to me.” She whispered softly in your ear before you grinned at her and pulled her closer, nuzzling her hair.

It would have been worrisome, but everyone knew how affectionate you were with each other and the other members. It was what made people believe that you were together.

If they only knew.

Once you were all lined up, fans were allowed to come closer and greeted each of you respectfully.

It was amusing to watch all of you together. Instead of being more composed, the unnie line held the most energy as they greeted fans and joked around whilst the maknae line spoke happily with fans.

At some point, you pointed to a certain fan that was holding up some sort of meme, making you laugh while Yubin grinned and walked over to retrieve it. Upon closer inspection, your laughter only worsened as you grabbed onto the younger woman’s arm to steady yourself. “Dami, you’re a legend.” You told her while she playfully fanned herself.

Bora watched from her place and grinned before she was pulling Siyeon closer to herself and them posing playfully for the fan she was talking to.

While everyone was busy and that it was a public space, people failed to catch the sudden fan that had approached the group and grabbed the dancer by the wrist, taking her away from the scene.

But luckily, at that moment, you had actually gone and checked to see how your girlfriend was doing, catching the scene just in time.

While the others looked surprised by the sudden turn of events, the look of panic on your girlfriend’s face made you quickly dash over to the man, your arm looping around his before locking it behind his back and then forcing him down to his knees. Your other arm grabbed the other to restrain him from moving any further, successfully pinning him to the ground just in case he had anything that might hurt anyone.

Bora, who stood still in surprise, stared wide eyed as you handled the fan until security came to take him away. And just like everyone else present, they were all dumbfounded by your sudden actions, phones whipped out and recording the whole ordeal.

The rest of your members rushed to your girlfriend, asking her if she was okay while Siyeon and Gahyeon were checking on you in case you had gotten injured, but you assured them that you were perfectly fine as they helped you to your feet, a new source of adrenaline running through your veins before you quickly looked to Bora, to see if she was hurt or not.

As soon as you were within arms reach, she had held onto you, trembling as you ran your fingers through her hair in attempt to comfort her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here. I got you.” You whisper, pressing kisses to her temple until she had calmed down.

This wasn’t something she thought would happen to her. With the years you’ve all been performing and meeting fans, she just didn’t think that someone would be capable of doing something extreme like that. And in broad daylight, nonetheless.

“I’m okay.” Your girlfriend mumbled against your chest, her body relaxing in the familiarity of your own. Her eyes closed briefly as she inhaled deeply, your scent helping in calming her nerves more. “Are you sure? We can go home.”

Minji looked especially worried as she asked for their manager if it were possible to cancel the event, but Bora had stopped her in time, reassuring everyone that she was okay and even cracking a smile. “I’m okay! Y/n saved me, anyway!”

But even when you all went with the fansign, fans were much more careful, noticing the way your girlfriend absolutely refused to leave your side, either holding your hand or arm, or needing your arm around her. They could all see she was still shaken up despite the smile on her face and how she tried to act like her usual chirpy self.

When it was all over, you had thanked your fans and apologized for the trouble, to which, they brushed off by stating that it was not your fault and even thanked you.

So on the way to the dorm, the girls did their best to keep the atmosphere as comfortable as possible for your girlfriend, pretending as though the incident didn’t happen, but their worries were clear in their eyes.

“Unnie, a fan gave me and Yoohyeon some snacks.” Handong called out while she rummaged through a paper bag and revealed the variety of snacks inside. “Oh, good. We don’t have to worry about going to the store.” Yubin commented while Siyeon scrunched her brows together.

“Are you sure? I feel like we need more.” She said while pretending to inspect the items, silently stealing one of the packs and then Bora grinned as she followed suit. “Yeah, I feel like this isn’t enough.” She said nonchalantly while she hid a can of pringles away.

You playfully shake your head at their actions while Gahyeon grimaced when she remembered how they both stole some of her snacks that she’d gotten as a prize from one of the shows you’ve been on.

“Jiu unnie, you know what’s gonna happen.” You pipe up and the leader sighs, though there is a fondness in her eyes as she crosses her arms. “Okay, fine. We’ll stop by the store to buy what we need.” She says, because aside from lifting everyone’s mood, she really couldn’t deny her members much when they asked for something.

So by the time you had all gotten to the dorm, there were snacks piled up in the kitchen and ice cream was being placed inside the fridge.

When you went to get changed in more comfortable clothing, your girlfriend quietly came into the room, and once you saw her, you flash her a smile before instantly opening your arms out to her. She’s back in your embrace after a few steps and then pecking your lips. “You know, I didn’t get to thank you for earlier.” She says lightly while her fingers trace the collar of your shirt.

“I was protecting you.” You tell her as she loops her arms around your neck instead, bringing your forehead down against her own. “You did. And everyone won’t stop talking about it.” She informs you, seeing all the posts online and the video of you when you restrained the man.

“Everyone is gushing about how super cool and amazing you are for saving me like that.” She adds in and one hand moves to cradle your cheek. “They’re right about you being cool. But honestly, I didn’t know that you could do something like that.” She says softly while you chuckle and rest your hands on her hips.

After the earlier scare, she was much more calm now thanks to everyone. But she had to thank you, the most. You had basically stuck your life on the line just for her, and knowing that fact just made her feel like she could melt into a puddle because of how far you were willing to keep her safe.

“Well, I had to be careful so self-defense became a must. Good thing I took lessons.” You tell her before she brushed your hair away so she could see your eyes better. “Well, they may have been right, but…” She smiles softly before leaning closer to brush her lips against yours.

“They don’t know just how amazing you really are.”

She doesn’t wait for you to reply before she’s fully pressing your lips together, showing you just how grateful she truly was.

[akitokihojo]

Delicate - Chapter 2

"It's not that bad!" Sango assured, trying to pry the paper away from Kagome's face. Her best friend stared at it, the look of anguish plastered on her expression, and her fingers gripping the exam tight enough to crinkle the edges. "Let it go, Kay!"

"It's bad. It's so bad."

"No, it's not."

"This is the first test of the term!"

"But you didn't fail. Give it to me."

"How did I get that question wrong?" Kagome pressed, shoving her face a little closer to the exam paper as if it would make more sense an inch away.

"Ah, okay! I'm going!" The tone was defensive and forced, serving as enough incentive to gather Kagome's attention. Inuyasha pushed a guy their way down the corridor, continuing to give little shoves at his back each time he slowed down. 

"Oh no." Sango grumbled, her lips curving in distaste as she gave a small duck of her head. 

The two stopped just a few feet before them, Inuyasha holding his hand out in gesture to Kagome as he glared at his friend. The guy's cheeks were pink, and his dark blue eyes shifted between she and Sango uneasily, his shoulders stiff and raised.

“Get it over with, Miroku.” Inuyasha pressed, his tone stern, almost disciplinary. 

"When did we swap roles? I'm usually the one making you -"

“Just say it."

"Sorry." He sighed feebly, eyes drooping shamefully. "For, uh, spilling my drink all over you."

"It's okay." Kagome said, trying not to laugh. "Wasn't a big deal."

"You didn't get in trouble with your parents or anything, did you?"

"I threw the dress away, actually. Didn't want to chance it."

"Awe man, you threw it away!?" Miroku groaned, dropping his head back. “I’m so sorry! I’ll replace it!”

"It's really not a big deal. The thing was old, anyway." She insisted, finally giving into her laugh. It was hard not to notice how is indigo eyes fluttered to and from Sango, and though she was curious how her best friend was fairing from the attention, Kagome didn't want to make it obvious by looking over. Instead, she flashed a humorous glance at Inuyasha, who stood there with little-to-no expression, arms crossed in what she would deem as typical Inuyasha fashion.

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

"So, uh, what are you guys looking at?" Miroku cleared his throat, all former remorse gradually fading while he stepped to Kagome's free side to observe the paper in her hands. The damage was done before she could conceal it, his eyes growing large and brows raising high in total shock. "Woah, you got a 'D'? Yikes."

"Please, say it louder for the rest of the school to hear." Sango remarked sarcastically, a light scowl forming when she noticed Kagome try to hide her humiliated pout.

"Oh, sorry." He grimaced. "Was this your guys' first test of the year?"

"Miroku." Inuyasha, himself, seemed a little shocked at his friends lack of tact, golden eyes staring on in bewilderment as he tried to ignore the sinking expression on Kagome's face.

"No, no, this isn't bad at all!" Miroku said confidently, shaking his head incessantly. "First test is just the practice run! You can totally recover!"

Sango gave a reaffirming nudge against Kagome's shoulder, hoping she'd absorb the same amount of self-assurance that Inuyasha's friend currently harbored.

"Oh, I've got an idea! I've got a super idea! When you get a bad grade, what do you do?" He waited for an answer, eyes bouncing from one person to the next. They all looked unsure, distrusting even, and he knew it was all for good reason. Miroku was quickly losing all control over his better judgement, his nerves becoming jittery, his brain going completely haywire, and there was hardly any way to get ahold of himself now. He felt intoxicated, and knew he should stop while he was still ahead, but it was like whatever was left of his filter just flew out of the nearby window. The silence was tense, and his cheeks were hurting from the forced smile he maintained. When he realized he wasn't going to get an actual response from any of them, though, he unwittingly trudged forward. "You study. And you know who's not dumb?"

Kagome steadily folded up her test, over-creasing the lines with determined fingers. Was she being roasted by this guy? Was he legitimately calling her dumb, or was he just completely thoughtless? Her expression deadpanned, from her peripherals she saw Inuyasha drop his head to the side, and she could physically feel Sango's done energy. Miroku looked anxious, tense, but the smile kept on his face, even as he clearly realized his mistake.

"Not you." He said stiffly, as if to recover. "Because you didn't fail. I don't see an 'F' on that paper. Nope, I see a 'D,' and what does 'D' stand for?" More discomfort. More clenched sighs. “Definitely not an ‘F’! Wow, that was intense. Anyway, know what guy's worst grade ever was probably a 'B'?"

"Please stop." Inuyasha groaned, almost pleading.

"This guy right here." Miroku gestured to his friend with a point of his thumb, whose amber eyes were squinting, chagrined. "You should ask him to tutor - what? No? Should I leave?"

"You really should." The half demon nodded.

"You know, I sensed that, because I feel like I'm holding a shovel and digging a very deep grave for myself. You - you look very mad at me." He mentioned to Sango, his smile finally disappearing. "It's, uh, it's pretty terrifying. Wow. You could probably break me in half. I'm gonna - yeah, I'm gonna go."

Kagome watched the boy stumble away in amazement, walking as if the soul had up and left his body and the words he'd just sputtered out were barely processing. When enough distance was put between them, she twisted back to Inuyasha. 

"He's naturally like that!?" She asked, in reference to the hanyou’s claim while they were hiding from the rain.

"No." He gently shook his head, still shaken by the experience. "It's never been that bad before."

"That was..." Kagome trailed off, trying to find the proper word for what had just occurred. "Surreal."

"Alright, let's just move passed it." Sango waved her hand, as if dismissing the entire ordeal, shifting her entire attitude to act like it had never happened at all. "So, you're smart?"

"Well, I've never been tested or anything, but I stay afloat." He shrugged.

"Good enough for me. Pressure from your weird friend aside, how would you feel about helping Kagome out?"

"Sango!"

"I mean, I would do it, but I'm a C-average girl, myself. I kind of think she needs a bit of an aggressive push, if you catch my drift. Like, really drill it into her head."

Kagome shoved her elbow into her best friend's side, swiftly shutting her up before giving Inuyasha an apologetic look. "You really don't have to do anything. I'll be totally fine. In fact, if you could completely forget about the grade I got, that'd be great."

"So, you got a 'D.' Big deal." His shrug was more careless this time. Though his expression wasn't necessarily one of compassion, nor one she suspected was intended to make her feel any better, it was the lack thereof that ironically seemed to settle her nerves. "It's not gonna set you back so long as you pick up from there. Let me see it."

With minor hesitation, Kagome passed her folded up exam into Inuyasha's awaiting hand, watching him unfold it and take in the mistakes. His brow didn't crinkle and his lips didn't twitch to laugh at her. His face was straight, golden eyes sweeping over the test nonchalantly.

"These are all little mistakes. If it was really bad, you would have failed. I mean, you still suck, but it's not horrible." He said, refolding the paper and giving it back.

"Gee, thanks." She snagged it, folding it a few extra times for good measure.

"But, we don't want you to become a lost cause or anything, so I guess I can help."

"Don't do me any favors because you feel obligated."

"I'm not. I'm doing you a favor because you looked about ready to cry earlier, and it was pretty pathetic."

"You know, you really have a way with words." Kagome remarked, cocking her head to the side. Inuyasha gave a small upturn of his lips, the hint of smugness rolling from it, giving a small wag of his fingers in gesture for her hand. Confused, she apprehensively put it out for him, surprised when he grabbed her fingers to turn it so her palm would face him. He pulled a pen out of his pocket, clicking the ballpoint out before connecting it with her skin. His hand was hot against the back of hers; large in comparison. He had a firm hold, but never hurt her, not even when he tightened his grip as she gave a tiny twitch because the pen had tickled the middle of her palm. Molten eyes flickered up to her, and an unnatural heat spread over her cheeks, one she hoped wasn't as evident as it felt. With another click, Inuyasha's pen was shoved back into his pants pocket, his fingers releasing her hand so she could see what he'd written.

"I'm sure you can figure out what to do with that." The half demon stated, shoving both hands in his pockets as he sauntered around them in the direction his friend had gone.

"How much longer do I have to keep my cool for?" Sango asked, her voice barely over a whisper as they both watched Inuyasha disappear behind the corner. She noted the redness of Kagome's cheeks, the way she kept her hand open so the ink wouldn't smudge or rub away, and then the way her expression easily shifted into a dirty look.

"You're on a friendship timeout." Kagome brushed passed her, heading back inside their classroom and toward her desk to fish her phone out of her bag.

"What!? I totally did you a favor!" Sango whined, following close behind.

"You did not!"

"Yes, I did! You got his number out of this!" She made sure to hush her tone, crouching next to her best friend's desk so no one else would hear their conversation.

"First of all, it's strictly business. Second, you put us both on the spot. Timeout."

"Strictly," Sango scoffed. "No one said you had to exchange phone numbers to study. He could have always said to meet him in the library after school. You - are - welcome."

Kagome pursed her lips, cocking a brow expectantly, waiting for her friend to catch the hint.

"Fine. How long?" She huffed, dropping her butt into the seat in front of Kagome's.

"Three minutes."

Unlocking her phone and appreciating the momentary lack of harassment, Kagome input Inuyasha's phone number as a new contact, her teeth softly raking against her bottom lip as she hit save. If it was strictly business, why was she excited to have received his number? On top of that, she was nervous and she swore she could feel her heart thumping behind her ribcage. She pinched her lips together, but there was no fighting the smile that began to grow on her face. The guy was intriguing to her; hot and cold, seemingly sheathing a soft side, caring while possibly covering it with brash words - all of which yet to be one-hundred percent determined. But, that was what Kagome really wanted to take the time to discover.

As she looked up from her screen, she noticed Sango grinning at her, shrugging her brows knowingly. 

"Shut up." Kagome murmured.

Hastily, she typed in her message, hitting send before she could talk herself into waiting a while per teenage social conduct regulations. 

Here's my number, too.

It wasn't until after school that she felt her phone buzz with anything, her eyes doing their usual, nonchalant sweep of the courtyard as she and Sango made their way out before drifting down to the screen she held. 

Who's this?

She had to physically hold back her huff of vexation, not wanting to attract her best friend's attention to glance over her shoulder. Was this also typical Inuyasha fashion, or did he honestly not know? A subtle, paranoid part of her almost feared he'd given her a random number. But, he wouldn't do that. Would he? Or did he just give his number out to multiple girls and, depending on how quickly they chose to get back to him, it was hard to keep track of who was who? Oh god, did she even stand a chance? He was handsome as all hell, so who was she kidding? The guy probably had a leather jacket with HEARTBREAKER stitched on the back.

Strictly business. Studying. Not even a study date. Just pure, innocent, harmless studying. If she forced herself to keep up that mentality, there was no way she'd be bothered by any external forces threatening to send her overthinking abilities into hyperdrive. Who cares if she had a teeny, tiny crush on him? It was irrelevant to the cause; the cause being her grades. If she had to, she'd convince herself - someway, somehow - that she wasn't even attracted to him to begin with. She would travel far to meet a Jedi Master so that they could perform that mind trick hocus-pocus on her to make her believe that the person she would be working with wasn't anything special in the least.

Jerk.

Oh, Kagome. Got it.

Neither the quick response, nor the fact that he was probably playing with her made her smile at all. Not at all.

"I'm gonna do it." Miroku pumped himself up, bouncing on his feet.

"I wouldn't." Inuyasha said, his tone dull, eyes glued to his phone as he leaned against the tree.

"I'm gonna do it!" He repeated more persistently.

"I'm not saving you."

"I'm doing it!" His determination was admirable, even for him, fingers tingling with adrenaline, the flurry in his abdomen going into a wild frenzy as he power-walked his way toward the two unsuspecting girls across the street. Steady exhales left his lips, like an athlete exercising their breathing, totally prepared to work his magic like another ordinary day with the female specimen until the woman he particularly favored looked his way.

Miroku's mind blanked, his chest hitching painfully as his legs seemed to wobble pitifully, barely bringing him to his destination in front of the girls. She stared, blankly at first, her hand gently grabbing her companion's elbow to stop her trek, her attention, once fully devoted to her phone, flickering up to her friend then over to him. Their expressions mirrored one another's; mouths straight, eyes curious, brows cautious.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Sango." He managed to say. It sounded almost confident, only a small waver noticeable.

The girl stiffened slightly, clearly waiting for him to continue. His mouth had shut, though. His smile fit uncomfortably on his face; small, strained, like a child obligated to sit there and hold a posed grin for four minutes straight until the photographer finally got their school picture taken.

"What?" She asked, tensely. 

If anyone had a portal into his mind, they'd see a tumbleweed passing through a desolate field of crusted land. "That's - that's all." Miroku said, trying to play it off though he was sure his mortification shined bright. Turning away, he sauntered back in the direction he'd come from.

Both Kagome and Sango watched him waddle across the street. Kagome, specifically, had to clench her throat shut to resist the fit of laughter that threatened to burst free, bringing a hand to cover the crinkled grin growing on her face. She didn't want to embarrass the poor guy more than he'd already done, himself, and she had a feeling Sango wouldn't appreciate it just yet. Not while they were still in the vicinity of the guy.

Inuyasha held a steady expression of total bewilderment having heard the whole thing, sparing a small glance the girls' way just as they started walking again, briefly locking eyes with Kagome, whose amusement never faltered, and then shot his gaze right back to what was left of the pride of his friend. "Dude..."

"What's wrong with me, Inuyasha? I've never done that in front of a girl, not even during my prepubescent days!" Miroku was shaken, blue eyes staring through the bark of the tree in total defeat.

"I told you not to."

"You don't understand, I can't function properly around her. I thought it was a temporary side effect of, I don't know, oxygen or something, but no! It's her! What sort of witchcraft has she conducted upon me!?"

"I don't know, but it's getting embarrassing to be associated with you."

"It's getting embarrassing to be me! I'm not like this! I'm not like you! I'm good with girls! I'm smooth as silk! Fine like wine!"

Inuyasha's grimace deepened.

"Once upon a time, I could sweep a girl off her feet with just a wink! Where has that side of me gone!? I mean, just two weeks ago I was fine! Enter Sango, Sango, and I'm pining like a little bitch boy!" Miroku's eyes were wide, riddled with absolute turmoil, fingers sweeping into his hair. "I'm - I'm like Hojo. Hojo. Good god, I'm a Hojo."

"And, on that note..." Inuyasha dropped his phone into his pocket, peeling himself off the tree to walk away and head home.

"Wait, you're just gonna leave?" Miroku asked, following. "In my time of desperate need?"

"What you need is to get a grip."

"Tell me how! What's a guy like me gotta do to get a girl like her?"

"Cutting off the rattail would be step number one."

Miroku gasped, horrified, clutching onto the tiny bundle of hair at the nape of his neck protectively. "Never! I will have you know that one day it's going to be as thick, long, and luscious as your own ponytail."

"Dude, it's like a fucking mustache. Just because you can grow facial hair, doesn't mean you should. It doesn't work for everybody." Inuyasha firmly stated.

"But -"

"Trust me, Miroku. You look like a classic nineties douche."

"Has anyone ever told you, you have a way with words?" He smiled crookedly, not offended by his friend's criticism in the least. Over the last year and a half or so, he'd learned the ins and outs of what the bastard truly meant to say. A good amount of his insults were heartfelt and intentional, but if you listened closely, you could hear the chime of his good-natured advice and shadowed compliments.

"Yes, actually." Inuyasha bobbed his head back and forth, as if proud of himself. "Kagome said the same thing earlier today."

"Oh-ho-hoooo, let's talk about that!" Miroku beamed, turning to walk backward just a few paces ahead of the hanyou so that he could focus on the expressions that were sure to wash over his face. It was one of the best ways to read the guy.

"What?"

"Did you think we were just gonna blow over this without revisiting? How you made me apologize to someone? How you made me apologize to someone? That someone being a girl. You made me apologize to a girl! What's the deal, dog boy?"

"Oh god, don't start!" Inuyasha groaned, rolling his eyes. "The one time I'm not at a party with you, and you fucking dump your drink on someone. It has nothing to do with her, and everything to do with you making an ass out of yourself."

"Not once have you ever -"

"Call me out already so I can deny the accusation." He rolled his wrist to gesture for his friend to pick up the pace.

"You like her!"

"No."

"You totally do!"

"No."

"You looked to the side when you said that." Miroku pointed, the cocky grin on his face growing.

"Stop staring at me, you creep. I hate it when you do that shit." The half demon frowned.

"What?" He shrugged. "She's pretty, she's sweet, and she's short - which is right up your alley since I know you love short girls. What are you, five-ten? Eleven?"

"Six."

"An even six. And I'd peg her at five-two, five-three."

"Who cares? She's got an attitude that could give even me a run for my money. No thanks." Inuyasha's tone was level, controlled. Very controlled.

"Sassy. She can handle her own. That's not such a bad quality if you think about it. No one likes a pushover."

"Knock it off." The hanyou ground. "There's nothing special about her."

"Oh man, you're just hand-feeding me material to go on and on about -" Miroku's hands rose defensively as his friend shot him a glare of warning. "- but I won't! Can I just say one last thing? There's nothing wrong with liking someone. It doesn't make you as vulnerable as you may think. I'm not trying to go all Doctor Phil on you or anything; I just think it'd be a good idea for you to let someone in. And, I know you're probably gonna say it isn't like that, but it can be if you just let it. Kagome seems pretty receptive to you."

"She's receptive to everyone. She's social."

"Not that social. I remember Koga tried to walk her home from a kickback last year and she did everything in her power to avoid it without having to slaughter his pride.”

"Don't blame her. The wolf's disgusting. She should have wrecked him, truthfully.”

"Oh, and just in case you didn't know, I'm not blind. I saw that little interaction you two had last week after school. The one where she was, 'being annoying.'" Miroku said, drawing air quotes with his fingers. "Except you were laughing, and she was flirting. It took me, your best friend, months to make you laugh for the first time!"

"Wear a skirt." Inuyasha joked, giving a one-shouldered shrug.

"Nice defense." Miroku smiled with smug implication. 

"Don't you live that way?" The half demon asked, the hint of finality in his tone, pointing down the crossroad.

"Oh, look at that! Time to go!" He laughed, crossing the street, continuing in his backward motion as he had been. In all honesty, Inuyasha found him to be the luckiest bastard alive that not a single car was coming considering he hadn't even checked first. "I'm just saying, man, would it be so bad if she did like you?"

Without control, Inuyasha's lips curved into a soft smile. The thought of Kagome's small hand in his causing a swirl of warm delight to knock his normal defenses off-kilter. And, he knew his friend was going to cling to that for as long as he could. With a tense sigh, he rolled his eyes in smooth recovery and headed down his own route home, not wanting to give Miroku any more material to hold over his head. The guy wasn't much of a gloater, but Inuyasha never much liked his business out there for anyone to know in the first place.

His phone had vibrated a little ways back, but considering his friend's wild tangent, he never had a clear opportunity to pull it out and check the text. He had old messages from his uncle and another friend that had been sitting untouched for hours now. Still feeling no sense of urgency to even read them, his thumb fell on the recent text from Kagome.

So, what's the plan, oh wise one?

His fingers worked on their own, typing out the reply and hitting send. 

Sunday around noon?

The screen hadn't even dimmed before the little, gray typing bubble popped up. 

I'm free. Where?

Your place cool?

My place is cool. See you then!

Are you not coming to school for the rest of the week?

What? Of course, I am.

Then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Dummy.

Kagome felt a heat rush to her cheeks. What was worse was she couldn't even tell if she was embarrassed for the rookie mistake she'd just pulled, or if she suddenly found being called a dummy endearing. Was this the tragic path she was destined to go down now? One with half parts constant humiliation for stupid things she may accidentally say, and half parts smitten with little names that weren't quite insults but weren't quite sweet nothings either? Setting her phone to sit flat on her desk, Kagome huffed out slowly, allowing her book bag to sag to the floor while she settled into her seat as she’d just gotten home. Propping her temple up with her fist, she typed a mindless response with a single finger on her free hand.

Yeah, that too.

—

Inuyasha stood before the door, honing in on what he could hear on the other side of it while waiting to be let in. Stumbling feet bounded down what he guessed were a set of stairs, the soft hum of music came from somewhere on the second floor, and the gentle tick of a clock on the wall counted away the seconds. Surprisingly, that was it. Even from outside, he could pick up the scents of two other people, but from how quiet the house currently sat, he figured they weren't home. 

The lock clicked and the door opened, bringing his gaze downward to land on the welcoming smile Kagome greeted him with. "You're early."

"Did you expect me to be late?" He retorted, walking through the threshold.

"Kind of. I always am." She said, shutting the door. Her feet shuffled along the wooden floor in their socks, like taking actual footsteps was abnormal in a place as comfortable as her own home. With a small wave of her hand, she ushered him to follow as she scuffled into the kitchen to their right, the sloppy bun on her head bouncing with her movements. Typically, it took a while for Inuyasha, or anyone for that matter, to feel relaxed in a place they'd never been, especially something as sensitive as another person's residence, yet watching her glide her feet along the floor like a weirdo provided a sense of easement. 

While her back was turned to him, he allowed his eyes to wander over her, oddly lingering at the nape of her neck. Short, loose strands of hair fell from the knot at her crown, curling and waving free to decorate her fair skin nicely, and though he was willing to bet it was the natural splay of her baby hairs, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel the messiness suited her so well that it was modeled to look that way. The long-sleeve shirt hung loosely on her, the texture appearing extremely comfortable, and the color a pastel pink, while her leggings were straight black and hugged her body nicely. Very nicely. 

Kagome grabbed an unopened bag out of the cupboards, the crinkling sound loud as she spun around to him.

"Sweet or salty?"

"Salty." He replied.

"Thought so. And cookies for me." She said, reaching toward the higher cabinet, her shirt rising to expose an inch of her midriff. Inuyasha looked off to the side, concentrating on the hanging aprons on the opposite wall. It was more out of habit than anything. He didn't enjoy taking the risk of making any girl feel vulnerable, and more than ever, he felt compelled to be mindful. 

She'd shoved the snacks in the crook of her left arm, shuffling over to the fridge and pulling out two bottles of water, which she then skillfully carried in the crook of the opposite arm, gliding back his way, passed him, and toward the stairs.

"Let me carry something." He couldn't help but chuckle. She was fucking cute.

"No, no. Come, come."

"Give me the waters." Their height difference made it easy to reach over her shoulders to snag the tops to the bottles, robbing them from her grip just before she began her trek up the stairs. 

Framed photographs scaled the wall the entire way up, giving the hanyou a brief glimpse into this family's past. Kagome as a little girl, a shapely, little boy, a woman propping a baby on her hip while a man supported a small girl on his shoulders, a hunched and elderly man with the proudest smile. It wasn't hard to figure out why he only smelled three different people and not five. She'd experienced loss. Just as he had.

She smiled more than him, though. She seemed to communicate better, as well. Was she good at covering things up? Had she healed? Or were her scars not as deep?

"Where's your family?" Inuyasha asked, coming off casual so it didn't seem obvious that he was prying. 

Kagome led him into her bedroom, the music playing through her laptop speakers on her desk light and folksy. "Mom's at work, and she dropped my brother off somewhere, so no clue where he is. Make yourself comfortable."

The two men in her life were gone.

Her walls weren't very cluttered, just a few things hanging here and there. A cliche galaxy poster hung over her bed near the door, a cork board with polaroids and photo booth pictures, and interestingly enough, a knotted, red string of all things. She turned off the music and shut her laptop, bringing his attention to swing her way and observe the clutter on her desk. On top of an open notebook, decorated with little scribbles and doodles, sat a pair of reading glasses. His first thought was to dismiss them as a hipster accessory, considering the fad for glasses was pretty large with girls and he'd never once seen Kagome wearing them around school, but when he saw the very minor magnification through the lenses, he realized he was wrong. Kagome wears glasses. And, then he thought of Kagome in glasses.

A curious grin grew on his face as he sauntered over and set the waters on the desk's surface, switching out for the pair of spectacles. "Four eyes, huh?"

Her cheeks seemed to ripen in tint, just by half a shade, when he held them in front of her face. The frames were thick, slightly curved on top while round on the bottom, maybe even a size too large for her, and in that brown, tortoise shell design.

"Uh, yeah." She meagerly admitted, actively trying not to duck her head. "I just got them not too long ago. I only have to wear them when I'm on my computer."

"If that's the case, you're probably supposed to wear them while you're watching TV and reading, right?"

"I may have heard something like that."

“And, what are we about to do?"

"Oh, no."

"Come on." Inuyasha ushered, handing the glasses over. He really couldn't help how badly he wanted to see them on her. "You don't want to make your eyes worse."

"You know, I get the sense that you're just looking for ammunition to make fun of me." Kagome grimaced, apprehensively taking them by the temple of the frame.

"Me?" He shook his head. "Never."

"Yeah, no, it's not worth it." She decided, putting the glasses down on top of her laptop, intending to reach across for her notebook.

"They're just glasses! What's the worst I could say?" He chuckled, his question stopping her mid-stretch.

"Knowing you, you'll come up with something."

"Try me."

Reluctantly, Kagome gave in with a disgruntled sigh, picking the glasses back up and sliding them over her ears. As she looked back at him, her brown eyes fully meeting his amber, it seemed as if he was painfully resisting to laugh. "Say it."

"What?" The word was tightly clenching in his throat.

"Just get it over with." She pouted.

"All you need is bifocals and you'll really be working those old man frames."

"They're not - they're cute!"

They really were. And, he really liked them on her. But, was he going to say that? Hell no. When she ripped them off and dropped them where they once laid, he swallowed his disappointment, chuckling as the sulk grew even more vividly on her face. She took her notebook and a nearby pencil, crossing the room to get comfortable on her bed where she'd dumped the bags of chips and cookies. 

"Alright, what subject are you worst at?"

"I think it's easier to ask what subject I'm actually good at." She replied, almost too confidently for someone admitting they were a mess. The half demon cocked a brow inquisitively. "It's history."

"Jesus, what did I sign up for?"

"It's not too late for you to back out." Kagome smiled, shrugging. “We can always just eat the munchies, watch TV, and pretend nothing ever happened.”

“Fat chance," Inuyasha dropped onto the end of the mattress. "I got nothing better to do, anyway. Math. We'll start there."

He could literally see the distaste on her face. It was like an an insult she was waiting for him to take back, and when she realized he wasn't going to, she reached for her bag on the floor next to her bed and pulled out the necessary book and homework packet. 

—

"Wrong."

"How?"

"It's wrong."

"I haven't even finished the problem yet."

"Yeah, stop while you're still ahead, dummy. Did you even look at the way I solved this one?" Inuyasha pointed to the similar problem he'd made on her notebook, the long equation written out for her to examine as she took to her sheet of homework.

The irritated, reddened skin of his knuckles came into full view, and having resisted the temptation for long enough - considering she'd noticed the scabbed skin an hour or so ago - and having to have endured his abrasive ways of tutoring, Kagome went ahead and flicked the end of her pencil against the marred area with no remorse. The hanyou jerked his hand away, glowering spitefully.

"You got into another fight, didn't you?" She questioned. Her tone was more snarky than anything, like it was a normal question and it was absolutely her place to inquire.

"Remember what I said the last time you asked?" He sneered.

"Let's see, I saw you last Friday night and you had a black eye and a scrape on your face." She was talking with her pencil instead of her hands, bobbing it around as she continued on, completely ignoring him. "By Monday afternoon, there was no evidence of the fight, whatsoever. Obviously, that's because your demon blood gives you supernatural healing powers. Now, considering these marks weren't around this Friday during school, and they're still pretty bad at the moment, my guess is they happened between that night and yesterday."

"Good deduction, Watson." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Just one question: When did we see each other on Friday?"

Kagome adjusted her position slightly to hide the way she'd almost tensed, playing things off as smoothly as possible. "We go to the same school, Inuyasha. If you'd pay attention to your surroundings for once, you'd probably see me, too."

"Right." He said, dragging out the word while maintaining a straight expression. "Funny how you see me from a distance, and you pay attention to my hands of all things."

"S-stop dodging the question." She stammered, her confidence steadily dwindling away.

"How wildly observant of you. What else do you stare at?"

"Woah, I don't stare."

"I mean, it's okay if you do. A little weird, but I'm still flattered." He shrugged, an arrogant grin on his face.

She groaned loudly, clenching her jaw as she refocused on the math equation she was working on. "Never mind. Just stop fighting already."

“And, I think you'll know what my response to that will be." It took viable effort to remain patient, despite his sarcastic jokes. Patience was not his forte. He was hotheaded, and liked being hotheaded. It made people back the fuck off, but a twinge in his gut held him at bay.

"Yeah, yeah. Mind my business."

"Good. Now, erase that shit and start -"

"But, you could seriously get hurt!"

Inuyasha was the one to groan this time, lolling his head back before snapping back up to glare at her with slight indignation. "Oh my god. Knock it off, Kagome."

"What's the point of it? What does it even prove? That you're a big, macho, tough guy? You could really get hurt, or even hurt someone else! Why would you want to do that?"

The grimace on his face was strong, genuine surprise from her remarks overcoming his irritation. "Geez, you really are something straight out of Sesame Street."

"Wait, how did you - you heard that?" He pointed to the ears on top of his head in a duh manner. It was a paradigm to how much he actually did pay attention, no matter the disinterest he almost always had etched on his face. “Oh. Well, behave and I wouldn't have anything to lecture you about."

"Why do you assume the fights are my fault?"

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say. I would prefer to think they weren't your doing, but to be fair, you haven't given me any clarification to work with. I'm just trying to cover all bases. Behave could mean don't start fights or participate if someone tries to start one."

"So, don't fight back?"

"Right."

"Just let them hit me?"

"What? No."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha's tone was on the harsher side, agitated, his brow twitching inward in speculation. 

"Walk away. Are you saying people come and start fights with you?"

“Drop it.” He grunted.

"But, why?"

"I used to roll with a bad crowd, okay?" He fumed, fed up with her persistency. "Unfortunately, I've got some attributes that don't really allow me to go under the radar. Now shut up and get back to work!"

Kagome heeded his tone, sealing her lips, the space surrounding the two of them tense and awkward. She was sort of proud of herself for getting the truth out of him, or some of it at least, but she didn't like that he'd gotten so upset. He had a temper for sure. One that was maybe even worse than her own. Yeah, she was pressing for information that had nothing to do with her, and she could understand how that would tick him off, but the budding concern she had for him wasn't something she necessarily wanted to subdue. She wanted to know he was okay. To her, that wasn't such a bad thing. Depending on the scenario, Kagome would intrude on any one of her friends to make sure they were alright.

"Can I ask one more question, please?" She approached, her voice small and timid. She'd erased the entire math problem on her paper, the notebook propped on her knee, and her brown eyes were peeking up at him cautiously through her dark fringe. His scowl still lingered, mouth curved downward in clear disapproval, but he made no verbal attempt to stop her. "If you used to be such a bad boy, how come you excel so well in school? Not to sound totally judgmental, but stereotypically speaking, it's kind of contradictory if you think about it."

Ember irises fell down to focus on the scratch paper on her leg, his lips relaxing. "If you're such a goody goody, why do you suck so much in school?"

The rebuttal was fair. She couldn't even get upset about it, and there was no hesitation to her response. "For one, I'm not a goody goody. Two, I really don't have an answer to that, because I often wonder the same thing."

He chuckled lightly. "Then what would you say you are?"

“Average, probably." She shrugged.

“Is that what they’re calling it now?”

“Hush. What's your excuse?"

"I'm smart. I don't have a problem focusing, which apparently you fucking do." He, once again, tapped his finger against her notebook, a little more aggression that time. Kagome laughed, going back to scribbling down the problem, and it irked him that the gratifying sound calmed his blood. He'd never once felt soothed by a noise, or comfortable with a person right off the bat, or compelled to hang around despite being aggravated. In the moment, it was enjoyable. Nice. 

But, there was no way he'd allow an attachment to form.

It was a conscientious decision. One he didn't really have to remind himself of anymore. By now, it was habit to shut things down before bonds formed. He wasn't worried about things going too far with Kagome. It was a little disconcerting to recognize how quickly he, himself, seemed to unfurl to her, but he was sure that there was no possibility of either of them intending on making anything out of it. She was friendly, she was nosy as all hell, but that was about the extent of it all. He understood that she meant no harm.

What was interesting to him was how easy it seemed to be around her, to talk to her. Even after he admitted he'd made mistakes that have followed him to this day, she didn't seem to pull away or scorn him. Instead, she judged him for his good academic record, which was the exact opposite of what anyone would ever expect. Without overthinking, and without the effervescent pressing need to withhold himself, he decided indulging her with basic responses couldn't hurt.

"I made a promise to someone to get through school. That's all you're getting."

Kagome smiled. She had no intention on prodding for more. By him saying "someone," she could tell that he'd purposefully not given specifics, and she respected that. Additionally, this gave her a glimpse at his honest and loyal side. It was admirable. 

And, the softness that took over his features when he said it was enough to warm her to the core.

| 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Politics is the warfare of minds

“The intergalactic fleet restriction laws are clear.” Began Councilor Yumi as she addressed the entire governing body of the Pan Galactic Federation. “No species is to have a navy larger than the established criteria which states ten ships per system controlled by an individual member species of the Federation.”  She pointed a slender finger at the human ambassador sitting on the opposite side of the audience chamber. “The humans have ignored these limits and for the past several years have been building a massive navy of nearly a thousands ships within the limits of the “Sol” system!” A round of gasps and exasperation’s rung out in the chamber as all eyes turn towards the human ambassador who was still calmly sitting in place and meeting Yumi’s gaze head on.  “Do you mean to make war against us?” “How dare the humans!!!” “Expel them from the Federation!” Came the cries of other councilors until the entire room was in uproar. This went on for several minutes until the lights dimmed and a massive hologram of the Federations Executor appeared. “Silence please, members of the Federation, silence please.” The cries and jeers began dying down with the Executor’s call for silence until the room was once more silent as the grave.  “Councilor Yumi,” the Executor spoke, “these are serious charges you bring against the human species. Very serious. I hope you have proof to back these claims or I shall hold you in contempt for attempting to start panic and turn the Federation against one of our own.” “Indeed councilor. we began receiving reports from our merchants trading with humanity that they had begun purchasing large amounts of ship building materials. We then dispatched a recon team into their system and discovered massive hidden shipyards orbiting the planet known as “Mars” churning out ships at 3-4 per earth week.” Yumi paused for the information to set in, and also for dramatic effect. She’d waited a long time to knock the humans back into their place and this was her chance to finally do so.  “Additionally,” she added, wanting to stoke the flames further “in human culture Mars is most often associated with the god of war. Another ill omen I find most troubling.” It was important to strike not only at humans from a practical level but also on a spiritual level. Many of the species in the Federation had different religions that were taken seriously. By bringing in humans concept of a god for “War” Yumi could further turn additional councilors against humanity.  As more glares fell towards the human councilor the Executor raised a hand and then turned towards the human councilor. “Councilor Nevara, you have been accused of ignoring established fleet regulations and illegally expanding your species navy. There is considerable evidence against you by the information provided by councilor Yumi but judgement is not against you. You may now respond to these accusations as you see fit before a final judgement is rendered.”   Councilor Nevara rose from her seat and flattened the front of her robes before gazing out across the councilors present. As she fell on Yumi she stared for several seconds before bursting out with laughter. Yumi was taken aback for a moment, she had not expected the human councilor to react in such a manner. The laughter was loud and meaningful that lasted for at least a minute before dying off. “My honored councilors,” Nevara began as she wiped the tears from her eyes, the last of her giggles dying away,”I feel there has been a grave misunderstanding. A misunderstanding of such scale that I could not help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all and I pray you will forgive me for any notions of disrespect you may have thought towards you all.”  Nevara coughed into her hand for a moment before shaking her head clear and continuing. “It is true, we are building large amounts of ships; and yes, there are massive dockyards orbiting our planet Mars producing ships at an impressive rate.” Yumi looked on with a smug smile as she assumed that the human was about to cave and admit to building a war fleet.  Nevara motioned to Yumi, a serious tone taking over. “But these ships are not for war and implying so without doing further research in my book is the real provocation here by councilor Yumi attempting to spread her anti-humanity views.”  Yumi’s hands slammed into her desk. “LIES!” She shouted. “We have proof that you have been building a massive fleet for months now and our spies have confirmed that!” Nevara wasn’t shaken by the sudden outburst and instead turned to the Executor. “My dear Executor, I will be more than happy to answer all inquiries councilor Yumi may have or any other councilor present as my people have nothing to hide, but I would like it noted that it will take much longer for me to respond if I am interrupted by sudden outbursts before I can finish.”  Yumi’s face was turning red with anger and she was about to rebuke Nevara when the Executor cut in. “Your point is noted councilor Nevara. Councilor Yumi, you will not interrupt again while councilor Nevara is offering her defense. She patiently waited for you to level your claims against her without interrupting you and you shall do the same. We are a Federation, not a school of youngsters on the playground.” Yumi bit down a rebuke she was about to say and sat back down.  “Thank you councilor Yumi.” Nevara’s remark only seemed to rise the irk of Yumi even further. “Now I will address your claims one at a time. First, you claimed that there were hidden shipyards on Mars. That is simply not true.” Nevara fiddled with the controls on her desk for a moment and a hologram of Mars and the surrounding moons was brought up. “For those of my fellow councilors unfamiliar with the Sol system this planet is the planet in question Mars.” She fiddled with the controls again and the image increase to one of the nearby moons revealing several shipyards. “As I confirmed earlier the planet does have several shipyards orbiting it, but what is mistaken is that they were hidden. Currently I am using the interstellar positioning system available to all councilors and their respected staff and I can clearly zoom in with such detail as to make out the face of one of the construction crew members. If we were truly hiding these shipyards, do you not think we would have done a better job all things considered?” Yumi could see several councilors fiddling with their desks as well and projecting smaller versions of mars in front of them and began examining the shipyards. “It is true that at one point in human history that Mars was named after the human god of war for the planets color appearing as blood. But this was several dozen centuries ago, back when humanity was still infantile as a species. Why for the longest time many of our species believed the female half was created by a god who broke the rib off a male human so he could have a companion.” A few chuckles came from nearby councilors at the self deprecating joke. “I assure you that despite the meaning behind the name it has remained as a legacy to our culture and history, something of which I am sure many of my fellow councilors understand. Some of your races date back thousands of generations and have no doubt left countless names reflecting moments that have meaning to your people and your people alone.” Yumi was getting upset as she could see many of the previously angry councilors now nodding at Nevara’s words.  “Your next claim was that these shipyards were producing warships. Again, that is not true. They are producing mining vessels and nothing more.” “Forgive me Executor but I can not stay silent in the face of such lies!” Yumi decried as she rose once more. “Our spies infiltrated several of these shipyards and acquired several plans showing these vessel have increased hull thickness, heavy shielding, large turret housings, and hangars large enough on either side to fit an entire squadron of fighters and bombers.”  Yumi used her controls and replaced Mars with blueprints of the ship designs.    “Councilor Yumi,” the Executor cut in, “you were warned not to interrupt councilr Nevara during her defense.” Yumi was about to respond when Nevara cut her off. “I thank you for your kind words Executor but I am fine with this interruption. No doubt this is a cause of concern for many of my fellow councilors, a concern I am happy to put to bed.”  “It is true that these ships are highly different in scale and design from other standard mining ships, but that is because this is a new model built entirely by humans.” She enhanced the designs to focus on each issue as it arose. “The large hangars are in fact the entry points for asteroids to be pushed into by support craft. The asteroids would then be grinned up and the valuable ore separated from non-valuable ore. The large turret housings are intended to hold state of the art mining laser that would cut up larger asteroids into smaller pieces for the support craft. The laser nearing the end of its testing cycle as it is one of our most advanced lasers to date. It is also roughly the same design as our battleships capital guns so while the laser is still in development and not ready for implementation yet we instead used the capital gun as a place holder for testing purposes of the new ships. Once the laser finishes testing and is put into production the capital guns would be switched for the lasers.  Yumi wished to barf at the amount of explanations the human was giving to cover their tracks but she wouldn’t be fooled.  “The extra shield layers are to help protect the ship from erratic asteroids that may drift into the ship while it is harvesting. While I am hesitant to explain the thicker hulls as it reflects poorly on my people I feel I must to erase any doubts my fellow councilors have of our intentions.”  “Our shield systems are far from perfect. At the moment they are able to maintain some protection but are known to short circuit and power down. We are new to the concept of shield technology so this would be our first attempt, but because we know our own failings we increased the hulls to compensate a shield failure possibility.” Nevara fiddled once again with her controls and brought up a video file. “What you are about to see is our initial test footage with our shields.”  “All watched in silence as a picture of a human vessel came into view. In the background they could hear what sounded as other humans listing off technical data when the ship was suddenly covered with a blue sphere. A secondary ship came into view and released a large asteroid that drifted towards the shielded ship. Upon coming into contact the shields lit of under the strain producing a blinding beam of blue light. This lasted for several seconds before the sphere vanished and the asteroid continued drifting into the now unshielded ship and crushed several decks before bouncing away into space.  “This file,” Nevara cut in as the video vanished, “was deemed top secret by my government as it reflects upon humanities capacity.” She grasped her desk for a few seconds and paused, staring down at the desk. “My government did not give me authorization to release that video to you.” A sudden series of gasps came from the room. “Nevara held up her hand for silence. “After I leave today there is a high chance I will be relieved of my position and sent to prison. But I will not leave here without showing you this and clearing the air from these lies and misconceptions that have been put at my peoples feet.”  Nevara raised her head and glared at Yumi. “My people have no intention of making war on any of you, all we wanted was to harvest the massive asteroid fields surrounding our system and use the materials to improve the lives of our citizens. Had any of you asked we would have been glad to have shared that information freely since we felt it wasn’t worth of a galactic announcement in these chambers where wars have been declared and the lives of billions saved by the actions of my fellow council members. We felt it wasn’t worthy to stand next to such actions so we chose to keep quiet and let the Federation deal with more pressing matters.”  “But you never did ask did you councilor Yumi?” Yumi could feel her plan backfiring as she saw numerous eyes stare at her. “No, you never gave me nor humanity any chance to explain ourselves. Instead you sent spies into our home system infiltrated our shipyards, and lets not forget, STOLE our species latest mining ship design and then broadcast it to every councilor in this room!” Nevara waved her hand across the entire chamber. “Every councilor here now has a copy of our ships, ships that took generations to develop and design and perfect, costing not just money and materials but also in the lives of our builders that died along the way from on-site accidents. You spit on our fallen’s legacy with your actions and instead use them for your own means, framing humanity as blood thirsty monsters when all we wanted was to harvest some GOD DAMN SPACE ROCKS!” Nevara slammed her fist into her desk with such force some of the nearby councilors retracted in shock.  Nevara continued glaring at Yumi for several seconds before closing her eyes and calming down. “I laughed earlier because I thought this was all some mistake. But now I see by your very own actions that you Councilor Yumi just hate humanity and will do anything in your power to set us up for a fall.” Yumi stood in silence as Nevara changed gaze to the Executor. “I feel that I have provided sufficient detail for my peoples defense. The proof has already been uploaded to my fellow councilors and they can go over it at their pleasure. Any additional questions I would be more than willing to answer in the coming days if I am not recalled. I apologize but I am suddenly feeling unwell and beg your leave Executor to return to my office.”  The hologram hovered over the councilors for several moments in silence before nodding. Nevara pushed in her chair and left the council chamber in silence.  Yumi could hear the councilors around her. “She was trying to play us against humanity.” “She must really hate humans.” Do you think she was lying?” “Nevara showed us classified documents, why would she if she was lying?” “I hope the humans don’t replace her, we could use more of that spunk from a councilor.”  The tone of the room had turned on her and it was Yumi now who felt like she was backed into a corner... ------------------- “Did they suspect anything?”  “Doubtful.” Nevara answered the hologram in her office. The shades had been drawn and a dampener field was running to block out any outside monitoring devices.  “They had our designs, we need to know for certain. Too much is riding on this.”  “Yes sir. I believe I painted a pretty enough picture to swing their voices against Yumi, even going so far as to show them “classified” documents knowing full well what my government would do for me.”  The hologram chuckled. “Doubt they’d think we’d give you a medal and promote you several ranks.” Nevara smiled. “That reminds me, have the government issue me a censure for my actions and have me recalled “pending further investigation”. That should help make the cover story more believable.” “We already have a military cutter heading out your way with an escort to “haul” you back to earth to account for your actions. Should arrive in a day or two. Continue working as you normally would and show little reaction when they arrive, like you always knew they were coming. “ “Understood sir.”  “You did our people proud councilor. We were barely able to detect a breach in our security at the shipyards and scrambled to implement the fake documents. Without your performance now our entire operation would’ve been discovered earlier than planned.” “Think nothing of it sir. How far along is the operation now?” “The fleet has been moved closer to earth for security reasons while arming continues. At current rate we’ll be ready to sail within a month.”  “I can’t wait to see our ships flying over the skies of everyone planet in this stupid federation.” Nevara said. The hologram nodded to her. “We’ve had to play nice with the Federation after the first contact wars, but now with our fleet we can go toe to toe with them.” Nevara smiled. “No more playing nice to those that tried to keep us from our destiny.”  A sudden knock at her door alerted Nevara. She instantly cut the hologram and disabled the dampener field. She adopted a posture of stress and concern and then opened the door. “Yes?” she asked meekly. “Councilor Nevara,” an alien councilor stood at the door,  “the Executor wished me to deliver to you the news that the council has found the charges against humanity baseless and cleared you of all of them. They are now in the process of writing a petition to the human government to say they wish you to stay on as a councilor.” Nevara raised her head a bit higher. “That is most kind of them, but I’m not sure if that will be enough to sway my superiors. They can be stubborn sometimes.” The messenger nodded. “Indeed, your species is known for that and your cleverness. The way you were able to easily put councilor Yumi on the back foot was most impressive. I pity anyone that would meet you on the fields of war.”  Nevara smiled. “Indeed. I pity all those that try to keep humanity low.” 

[nightmarenoise]

Just comparing two cartoons I love

I understand that nobody asked in any capacity, but here I go anyway:

It feels fair to compare Ducktales 2017 to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018), not only because they're only about a year apart and truly, what is a year, but also because they

1. Both use this style that looks like it jumped straight out of a comic book. Okay, it's mostly the solidly inked shadows, but it gives me, personally, comic-y vibes.

2. They have taken what's arguably the main characters (the triplets for DT, the Turtles for TMNT) and shaken the formula up a good bit. Were the triplets formerly indistinguishable and all had the exact same personality, interests and voice actor, they are now three entirely separate entities with different traits and appearances. And while the turtles had about one defining personality trait and looked basically the same, save for the color of their masks, Rise made them different species of turtle to justify giving them radically different designs and three-dimensional personalities. Both shows faced criticism for this decision from people who cannot deal with change. Despite this, in both cases, it just works and does so incredibly well.

3. The oldest bros wear red.

4. We have two middle bros associated with the color blue who are both voiced by Ben Schwartz.

5. Both shows have a focus on family, with Ducktales especially focusing on found family and Rise on brotherhood.

6. Anime references!

Ducktales has a larger cast overall, with a lot of different characters all interacting with each other and they all have the most pleasant voices I've ever heard in my entire life. It's all solidly animated, the style is consistent and the animation is fluid, the characters are diverse and they're all lovely in their own right, except for those who aren't. The writing is top notch. Everyone feels consistent despite the large cast and it's delightful to watch all those interesting people interact with each other in their own way. The show also handles its mystery elements and occasional action scenes incredibly well, building suspense and delivering laughs and gut punches without hesitation. They juggle different tones like a professional clown, except the true clown was us, the audience, all along, for ever having doubted them.

The overarching plot of Ducktales, for its first two seasons, was mostly to uncover the mystery of what had happened to the mother of the triplets and all that would entail. Mystery and mythical elements will likely continue to be afoot for season 3.

Rise works with less focal characters, we have the Turtles, Splinter and April as well as various bad guys, but more than makes up for it with a lot of animation. A lot a lot of animation and it's all high quality. There's usually so much going on on-screen that a watching it once isn't enough to catch it all. Despite that, it doesn't feel crowded or rushed. Lots of dynamic shots and incredibly-choreographed action scenes, but nothing the thoroughly solid writing has to hide behind. Even when the baddies aren't the main concern, they're still well-rounded, interesting characters with unique abilities and motivations. Although, most of the mutants are just really feral. Still a delightfully diverse cast.

The turtles on the other hand spent their first season trying to foil their various foes, from a yokai trying to mutate all of humanity, to his mutants, to dealing with random mythical stuff, to the nefarious Foot Clan trying to reassemble the Dark Armor in the shadows. It's generally a more action-driven show, but they still find the time for some heartfelt moments.

The triplets 2.0

Despite their conventiently color-coded caps, they were really mostly the same character possessing three different bodies at a time. Well, the times of eerie The Shining like-twins, except extended to triplets, are over!

We have Huey, the oldest brother, voiced by Danny Pudi. He's a gentle, intellectual soul who values red hats, science, scout badges and checklists. Huey is arguably the closest in characterization to the original triplets, with some additional neat freak sprinkled in for flavor. He tries to be the responsible older sibling and keep his brothers under control and out of trouble. He also seems to have the most fiery temper of the bunch and should clearly not be pressed to the breaking point. He's my personal favorite and I heard season 3 will bring more focus to him, which makes me elated to hear. 888/10.

Middle child Dewey, the blue one, voiced by Ben Schwartz, who will inevitably come for all the iconic blue characters. He's very clearly the middle one, because he craves attention and validation and occasionally dreams of being an only child. Dewey is the one who started the investigation into their mom's disappearance and kept it from his brothers, partially to save them from hurt, but also because he wanted to feel special. He's the most interested in going on adventures with their uncle, but can get reckless when doing so. He's a bit of a spotlight hog, who has his own talk show that nobody watches and sings his own theme song when he needs to get hyped up, or just to fill this silence. This may sound kind of negative, but rest assured, he's a good, sweet boy. The focal triplet for the first season. 500/10.

Louie, the evil triplet, a schemer and a conman. Voiced by Bobby Moynihan.  The youngest of the bunch. While they call him evil, he's really far too lazy to cause serious harm, except for when it's his laziness that's causing him to take dangerous shortcuts, oops. He dreams of making a fortune, but without having to work for it and preferably without any responsibility either, thank you. He also occasionally dreams of being a spoiled fat cat. Despite his chill demeanor, he can be a bit of a crybaby and those tears are only fake 50% of the time. I feel like he likes getting babied, but mainly because that means there's less work for him to do. Season 2, which focuses more on him, reveals that he's actually quite brilliant, capable of seeing all the angles and giving him some chessmaster-like qualities. He needs to learn to use those abilities for good. 665/10.

Hi, she's Webbie! The honorary triplet, who also got a massive makeover, from annoying token girl tagalong to socially awkward, adorkable action girl. Be careful who you call ugly in middle school, indeed. Like a more ferocious  Mabel Pines, she has a grappling hook and years of martial arts training under her belt. Webbie can absolutely decimate you, but won't, because she's a sweet girl. Voiced by Kate Micucci. She continues to like unicorns and the color pink, but assuredly in the most badass of ways. She helped Dewey with his quest to uncover the mystery of his missing mom, but works well with all of the triplets, with Huey taking her under his wing a bit and Louie trying to get her to chill out more. Webbie is a sweetheart and I would die for her, were it not completely unnecessary, since she's more than capable of taking care of herself. ∞/10.

A lot of the supporting cast also saw updates and changes, for instance Gyro being a genius without social skills and Fenton being an adorkable scientist, but again, they work really well. They're interesting new takes on beloved characters. Even the new additions to the cast are great. In short, I love me some birds and am excited for season 3, Disney, get your scheduling together.

The Turtles 2.14.2 - I upgraded my upgrade in the middle of the upgrade

Also, these guys have seen so many different iterations in their, what, 30+ years of existence. As someone with no prior attachment to the turtle brand, I don't have a lot to say here. Leo's not the leader in this one and Raph has more personality than being angry at Leo for being the leader. Donnie is not just a random nerd spouting technobabble and Mikey has more depth than yelling the catchphrase every now and again. Apparently, this made people upset. I don't know how to help you with that.  The middle brothers exude some high chaotic energy and should not be left unsupervised, but the oldest and youngest seem fairly stable.

Raphael, the red-bandana'd alligator snapping turtle is an imposing figure. He's the oldest and therefore team leader by default. Raph has no reason to be upset at Leo, so he isn't. Despite his ferocious appearance, he's a soft guy, who likes teddies and doting on his brothers, but fears puppets. He's a bit of a knucklehead, most of his plans involve smashing things with his tonfa and he may refer to himself in the third person in the heat of the moment, but he possesses emotional intelligence, is open about his feelings and looks after his brothers. He is big and and strong, but his heart is bigger and stronger. He especially loves small animals animals, who don't usually return his feelings. RIP in F. This responsible guy is voiced by Omar Benson Miller. 300/10, very soft. Somehow both the heart and the big guy of the group.

Donatello has been upgraded from second-to-youngest to second-to-oldest, not that it makes much of a difference. His color of choice is purple and he continues in the character's tradition of being a nerd, although this time, with self-confidence. Donnie is very sure of himself and his abilities. As a spiny soft-shell turtle, he's less sure of his shell, but that's okay, he's made robotic battle shells to make up for it and his bō is the mother of all multitools. This guy can build you a tank out of a buggie and upgrade your animatronic into something to give the FNAF franchise a run for its money. He's the smartest of the four and when not focused on his phone, very focused on the mission. Due to having to deal with his bros, he can be exasperated a lot. Thinks of himself as an emotionally unavailable bad boy, even though he's just really sensitive and wants his dad or someone parent-aged to tell him they're proud of him. Theater kid. 999/10, give the middle child a hug and some coffee, you can't tell me he has a healthy sleep cycle. This sarcastic nerd is brought to you by Josh Brener.

Leonardo, Ben Schwartz's second blue character (Sonic (2020) being the third under his belt) and also his second ninja after Randy Cunningham. He's not the leader. He's still a good character. Leo has approximately 800 charisma and unwavering faith in both, his family and himself. Mostly himself though. Like Louie, season 2 revealed that he is a master of prediction and playing people like the cheap kazoo you can't tell me he doesn't have to play Darude's Sandstorm on. He dabs, he boards, he will pun you to death and back and he has an Odachi that can cut through space. Leo likes hogging the spotlight when given the chance and wants to be showered with attention and praise. Having four kids really only means twice the middle child nonsense. Leo is a red-eared slider, the original species of the TMNT, as I've been told. He's also the best at being a ninja, but usually too lazy to really apply himself. He's younger than Donnie, but tumblr suggested to read the two as twins, since they're approximately the same age, which sheds a whole new light on their dynamic and frankly, makes way too much sense. 420/10, for our memelord Leonardo.

Michelangelo, the eternally youngest of the bunch. An artiste, who puts stickers on himself, tags the lair, has a spiritual connection to his skateboard and the color orange. Mikey loves all things arts and craft, but he also tries his hands at cooking. He idolizes famous TV chefs and can do pretty much anything out of and into pizza. He's funny, without being annoying, like I feel a lot of other iterations of this character are. It's an easy pitfall for comic relief guys, but this one is more than that. If that's an issue, feel free to leave my house. Mikey is genuinely sweet and happy, optimistic and soft, but also the one brother who knows when it's time to take off the gloves and just get straight to the point. He's open about and in touch with his feelings. He's just baby. Don't treat him as one though. A lot of promo stuff says Leo has taken him under his wing, but he's had more episodes together with Donnie. Not that I'm complaining, they work very well together. Mikey and Raph are both the emotional centers of the group. Does not mind being yeeted after retracting into his shell, as box turtles may do. (Disclaimer, do not yeet actual box turtles!) His weapon of choice is a Kusari-Fundo that can turn into a fire-demon and is about as unpredictable as he is. Likes to jump and bounce around. Probably does parkour. Voiced by Brandon Mychal Smith who is audibly having a blast. 500/10, just an all around Kusari-fun guy.

For last, but certainly not least, April O'Neil, my girl, who saw an upgrade from flip-flopping love interest who was vaguely ninja-ing, but mostly damsel in distress-ing, to all-around spunky powerhouse and by God, she is glowing. Rise has her more as a big sister figure to the turtles, and I will not be told otherwise. She is independent and don't need no man, mutant or no. She has her teleporting pet, her faith in herself, her pinpoint baseball hitting skills and the a complete and utter lack of fear. Despite being a weirdness magnet, April is perfectly comfortable. She would like to be able to keep a job, maybe, but she has loving friends who respect and love her. Surprisingly good a ninja, fearless and fun. Occasionally thinks about being popular at school, but it's really not a big concern, she's not gonna throw a tantrum over it or anything. April is very chill. Not likely to be damseled. More likely to run after the turtles and clean up their messes or save them and everyone involved is fine with that.

The late 10's are really coming in to show us how dynamic and well-written female characters that aren't just "strong", but three-dimensional and relatable are done, huh?

An iconic performance by Kat Graham and ∞/10 for being the honorary better ninja non-mutant non-turtle and best big sister.

Here we have it, two older properties, having new life breathed into them to make them fresh and enjoyable. Have a new spin put on them, to better fit in with our current world. You can feel the love oozing out of every frame. At the end of the day, of course, it all boils down to taste and whether or not you like something. I gave Ducktales 2017 a go because a lot of the staff from Gravity Falls went to work on it and if you don't know me, I love me some Gravity Falls. It's a good show and I enjoy it. I recently got into Rise and while I don't know much about the people working on it, it is also a greatly enjoyable show, easily on the same level as Ducktales, if not above, yet with far less people speaking about it. Which is frankly saddening. I can only recommend the two of them wholeheartedly. If you love animation, yourself and occasionally feeling things, these are for you!

[miruka-cioccolata]

What about La Squadra with a female s/o with a stand that can bring out the deadly seven sins in someone? Like, it goes with whichever sin comes natural to whoever she’s using it on so you can know what their deepest darkest temptation is. What sin would be more prevalent in what La Squadra member??

(YES!! the seven deadly sins have fascinated me ever since I saw the movie “Seven” as a kid! I even drew something with La Squadra and the 7 sins once many, many months ago:

my absolute favourite ask up until now, thank you!!)

Risotto Nero: Greed (If it wasn't limited to seven, I'd have assigned Greed to Sorbet & Gelato, it would have fit them much better than Risotto imo, but weeeell. Greed isn't limited to money, it also expresses a hunger for high status. Since Risotto wanted more territory and wealth for his team and in turn also more power, I think this sin is pretty fitting for him. Also his later motif of revenge and overthrowing the boss falls nicely under Greed.)

Prosciutto: Pride (This was a little tough since Pride is said to be the original sin and initially I had thought it would most likely suit Risotto as the leader, but honestly, Prosciutto just seems more prideful too me than the others: His neat and tidy appearance could indicate that he's prone to vanity and his self-confident and strong-willed attitude also points to his sin being Pride.

a little note on the side: I personally like to headcanon that Prosciutto's somewhat of a brat and the only one of the group who can be eye to eye with Squadra's leader (think of hubris, which is another represent of sinful Pride).

Pesci: Sloth (Actually a tie with Gluttony here, but I think Sloth fits him better: Pesci is quite hesitant and not self-confident at first during the GD arc and he only truly steps into action after Prosciutto's death. While Sloth is more about laziness and apathy, it could also be seen as passiveness and lack of willpower, two things you could use to describe Pesci before he finds his determination.)

Formaggio: Gluttony (So, Gluttony is more about eating a lot and while (mostly) all of them are named after food, I went with the cheese man for this one. It's a bit of a stretch here since he isn't ever shown eating or such, but I guess we can assume he likes drinking, judging from the bottle he uses in the fight(?). Gluttony not only represents over-indulgence and overconsumption, but also selfishness. As I said before it's a little far-fetched, but he just seems like a laid-back guy to me, someone who enjoys life and would easily give in to temptation such as good food.)

Illuso: Envy (For him I was reminded of the Evil Stepmother and her mirror from Snow White lol. Envy is expressed in the desire to deprive others off their traits, possessions, status, etc and being jealous because someone is supposedly better or has more than oneself. Illuso doesn't show any obvious signs of envy or jealousy during his arc, but his ability just strikes me as fitting for the sin: He operates from the shadows, cunningly robbing (!) his victims from their Stands when they enter the mirror world. Could also be argued that his ability isn't necessarily good for melee and that he too – similar to Formaggio – is jealous of other more combat-oriented Stands, but that's just a loose thought.)

Melone: Lust (This was the most obvious one together with Ghia. I mean...everything about this dude screams “Lust”, starting with his weird Stand computer thing that impregnates random women, him always being on the hunt for potential new mothers and his trademark tongue actions. His design also gives off that particular vibe, I see pink/lavender as very fitting colors for Lust. )

Ghiaccio: Wrath (Pretty clear, isn't it? He is by far the most aggressive of the bunch, constantly shouting and behaving impulsively. Wrath is about anger, rage, destruction and impatience and I think nobody of La Squadra represents those sentiments better than Ghiaccio.)

the female S/O scenario is under the read more!

Risotto Nero:

Risotto has done and seen countless awful things in his life, but what great sin is his biggest driving force? Curiosity overcomes his girlfriend as she waits until Risotto is wavered in safety and dozes off, head rested in her lap and letting his guard down under her gentle touch. That's when she gets out her Stand. The intensity of Greed's grip on her boyfriend stuns her for a moment. Risotto is always so calm and collected, so seeing his darkest desires so vividly and so intense is enough to make her gasp. Ever the light sleeper he wakes up from her hasty motion and asks her what's wrong, but she keeps quiet about her discovery.

Prosciutto:

There's nothing wrong in taking pride in one's actions, but Prosciutto seems a little too prideful at times. His girlfriend notices the purple mist which follows him with every step, indicating the vigor of the deadly sin Pride within him.

Prosciutto had told her at the start of their dating that he isn't exactly an innocent man and she can second that with the sin-sensing vision her Stand grants her, but she decided to stick with him nevertheless.

Pesci:

Her boyfriend never struck her as someone who would have dark desires, Pesci seems far too nice and gentle as to have any sort of sinful wishes, however, the light blue gleam of Sloth is undeniable. When he first gains knowledge about her Stand ability, he is worried that she might dump him since she is able to take a peek into his heart. Being able to see other's sins can be a burden at times – especially in a romantic relationship - but she assures Pesci that she'd never leave him because of that.

Formaggio:

She told him what his strongest sin is, because he just wouldn't stop asking. Formaggio is sure that if he knows where his weakness lies, he can work on it and become a better version of himself for his girlfriend's sake. Yeah, that idea doesn't last very long, especially not when he forgets about his ambitious resolutions after the fifth beer. However, she is fine with the yellow aura of Gluttony circling around her boyfriend, willing to accept him how he is, all of his flaws and quirks included.

Illuso:

“You can really see people's sins?”

Illuso is still wondering about his girlfriend's ability. He notices her eyes lingering on certain people when they walk around the city, it's like she can see ghosts in the open daylight.

“Yeah. That guy over there for example”, she says, pointing at a passerby”, he is probably going to cheat on his wife tonight. You see that woman? She is extremely greedy, I guess she would even kill for some cash.”

Illuso is amazed at her unique perception. “Now tell me, which sin do you see in me?”

She takes a long look at her boyfriend, but what for exactly? She already knows the acid green veil of Envy that surrounds Illuso well enough. Her answer is a mere shrug.

“I...don't think you need to know. Some things are better left unsaid.”

Melone:

He is convinced that his lovely girlfriend's ability is wonderfully compatible with his Babyface: He'd know exactly each potential mother's secret desires and could thus better teach his evolving homunculus-like Stand.

Whenever Melone talks about his missions and gets passionate about it, she can see the sin of Lust flaring up in a bright pink light around him. She knows he is a sinful man, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't love him with all of her heart. Ghiaccio:

Frankly, she has never seen a person with such a persistent red aura of Wrath ever since she passed Polpo's entrance test and became a Stand user. It's almost concerning how the aura never seems to lessen, the tension being almost tangible like a shaken bottle of sparkling water ready to burst at any moment. Even though she is aware of Ghiaccio's sins, she is willing to put up with it, she had just  hopelessly fallen for him.  

[themadlostgirl]

Tortured

*This is a long one*

Prompt: Y/N is tortured by Hook and Peter helps her overcome her fears regarding it

Requested by: anon

Warnings: language, torture

---

Neverland is not a safe place. Not for anyone. You always need to have our guard up. That’s the first thing everyone learns when they come to Neverland. It may be fun and there are no rules but that just means that it doesn’t matter what happens to you. There will be no one to stop the injustice. So you had better be able to look after yourself.

Stop looking over your shoulder for one second, think that nothing can touch you for one moment, and everything goes downhill. That’s how I ended up in my current situation.

I had been taking a walk around Neverland by myself. Humming a tune and admiring the scenery when the horde of pirates descended upon me. I fought but I was outnumbered and one well placed blow had me dizzy and unstable long enough for them to get a sack over my head and ropes around my wrists.

Without any other options I shuffled along with my aching head as I was forced into a row boat and paddled out to sea. I was hauled up into the air and dropped on the wooden planks of a ship. I was on the Jolly Roger. Why though? Why did the pirates bring me here? What use could they have for me?

I was tugged back to my feet and dragged away again. Directions were wonky right now but knew I had been taken far below deck. I couldn’t feel the sun on my shoulders. This is getting worse and worse. I wriggled about trying to free myself from the rough grip on my arms but they held sure.

The pain was subsiding and I had regained my senses enough to fight back harder. I landed a kick on one of them and had wrestled one of my arms free before I was pushed down on something hard. It took many hands to pin me down and keep me tethered to the surface I was forced on.

“Hood off,” I heard a voice say.

The sack around my head had been yanked off. I squinted into the semi-darkness and up into the face of one Captain Hook. I hadn’t had many interactions with the pirate captain but I didn’t need to to know that I was really up a creek now.

“Hello, Y/N,” he said, “I’ll cut straight to the chase. I want information about your demon leader. You can either tell me what you know now before the bad things happen or I force it out of you with the bad things.”

“You gonna torture me, captain?” I rolled my eyes. “I can cope with torture.”

“Thought you would say that.” He pulled out a jug and looked at another pirate hovering on my other side. “Do it.”

A sack was forced back over my head but it was tightened so it pressed flat against my face.

I was ready for a lot of pain. Cut my skin, break my bones, bruise my flesh, I was ready for it all. I could cope with pain. This wasn’t any of that though.

Water was poured over my face--the sack. It clung to my face like a second skin. I gasped for breath but I couldn’t find any. I couldn’t breathe!

I strained and struggled against my bonds with all my might. I need to get out of here! I need to breathe! I can’t breathe!

The sack was yanked back far enough that my mouth and nose were free. I gulped in air, coughing and sputtering as I cleared the salt water from my throat.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.” Hook asked. His voice was too calm for my liking.

“You are an absolute bastard.” I spat.

The hood was drawn back over my mouth and another pitcher of sea water poured over me. I struggled and kicked wrenching my head from side to side in an attempt to escape.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.” Hook repeated.

“Go to hell!”

Another wave of water. I forgot that I wasn’t really drowning.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

“No…” I croaked.

More water. I couldn’t tell if it was the salt water or my tears stinging my eyes.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

“Stop...stop it…”

I’m drowning...

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

“Please. Please stop.”

I’m drowning.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. I’m beneath the waves.

“Tell me what you know about Peter Pan.”

Peter...help...

~~~

Peter landed on the deck of the Jolly Roger with murder in his eyes. Word had gotten back to him that the pirates had taken Y/N and he was not happy. Not one bit.

The pirates on deck advanced on him. He blew them back with his magic. He grabbed the nearest one and poised his dagger against their throat. “Where is my Lost Girl?”

“Below,” the terrified pirate whimpered.

Peter dropped him and ran below deck. He found Y/N but she was tied down and a sack was wrapped around her head. There was still a shallow rise and fall of her chest so she was still alive but it didn’t look like she was conscious.

Hook turned and immediately drew his sword. He had it aimed directly at Y/N’s heart. “Not another move or the girl gets it.”

“Let her go now or I’ll do something you really won’t like.” Peter warned.

“Like what?” Hook smirked.

Peter brandished his dagger in one hand and a fireball in the other. “You kill her and I’ll kill you with no hesitation. Try and get your precious revenge on your scaly crocodile when you’re sleeping with the fishes.”

Hook sheathed his sword again. Smart move. Peter cut through the bonds holding Y/N and removed the sack from her head. She was alive. That’s all that mattered right now. He shot a look at Hook and commanded him to sail them back to shore.

Begrudgingly he did as told and left Peter to look after Y/N. She was so cold. “It’s alright,” he whispered to her as he used his magic to warm her up again, “I’m here. I got you.”

Y/N was still completely out of it by the time Peter got her back to camp. He had done all he could do at the time and now she needed rest. He put her down in his tent so he could keep a better eye on her.

All was still. Most of the camp had retired for the night and Peter was getting himself comfortable when Y/N finally woke up. Well, he said woke up but in reality she snapped awake as if she had been struck by lightning.

“Y/N!” He rushed to her side, “Calm down, it’s alright,”

“Breathe!” she gasped, “I can’t breathe!”

“Yes, yes you can,” He gripped her shoulders, “Look at me. Deep breath. You’re not in danger.”

“I can’t--” her eyes were blown wide open but there was no one behind them, “I can’t--can’t--”

“Shh,” he placed a hand on her chest and channeled his magic into her. “You’re gonna be fine. Stay calm.”

“Peter?” she blinked as reality started to return to her.

“I’m right here. I got you.” He assured her, “Look right at me. You’re safe now. You’re back in the camp.”

“Peter…” tears started to leak from her eyes and she collapsed into him as her body was wracked with sobs. “I couldn’t breathe...I couldn’t do anything…”

“Don’t speak, you’re in shock.” he whispered but she ignored him.

“I was drowning. They were drowning me.”

“It’s over now. I won’t let them get to you again.” He held her close until she stopped shaking. “Get some rest, you’ve had a trying day.”

“Stay with me?” she whispered as drowsiness started to overtake her again.

“It wasn’t a question.” he laid her back down and she was fast asleep once more. Peter stayed awake all night watching over her as she slept. She didn’t wake up again but she would tense up and her breathing would become labored at which point he pressed a hand to her head and banished the nightmares creeping their way in.

Seeing her like this was heartbreaking. She hadn’t done anything but be a Lost Girl. Hook would pay for this.

The subsequent days after her torture were hard to watch. After such a traumatic experience it would be normal that she would never be quite the same as before. She wasn’t just shaken though, she was a husk of her former self. She didn’t speak or look at anyone. The only one she got close to acknowledging was Peter and it took a lot of prodding. He figured the only thing he could give her was time and a shoulder to lean on while she coped with her trauma.

She looked to be doing better after a while. She was smiling again and talking with the boys again. Even some of her sass had returned. Peter was sure things were turning around.

They were taking a walk around the island and ended up on the beach. Peter was halfway down the sand towards the water when he noticed Y/N wasn’t next to him. He turned around and found her back on the edge of the jungle. They thousand yard stare had returned.

“Y/N?” he ran back to her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Her hands were shaking and her breathing became labored. Her gaze was set past him staring out across the horizon.

“Y/N?” Peter finally broke her gaze away from the water. “What happened? Why did you--”

She turned and bolted back into the jungle without any explanation. He followed after her and found her huddled at the base of a tree crying so hard she was close to hyperventilating. “Hey, hey,” he knelt next to her, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t breathe!” she grasped for his arm, “I can’t breathe!”

“Shit!” he hissed and used his magic to calm her mind. When she stopped shaking so violently he asked her what had happened. Why did she run away from the beach?

“I thought I was okay,” she murmured, “I didn’t think it would affect me like that. But the smell and seeing all of it I just--just--”

“What are you talking about?”

“The sea.” her voice was hoarse, “When I was on the ship he made it feel like I was underwater. I was so sure I was trapped under the sea, crushed and helpless beneath the waves.”

Peter didn’t know what to say. What could he say? Was there anything he could do to help her troubled mind?

“I thought I was going to die.”

“I’d never let that happen,” He held her tighter, “And I’ll help you with this.”

“Help me?”

“We’ll work on it. Make it so you never have to be scared of the sea again.”

“Can’t I just never go near it?”

“You could but that’s the cowards way out. You, my Lost Girl, are no coward.”

“We don’t have to go back today though...right?”

“No. Not today.” he assured her. “But we’re not dropping the subject either. Come on, let’s get back to camp.”

Peter had made empty promises before. Lies to get people to do what he wanted. This was not one of those times. It took weeks, months even, to get Y/N back into the sea.

It started out with them simply going to the beach. Looking at the water from a safe distance. Peter made sure to keep the sea especially calm during this time. The ocean was like glass while he was with Y/N. Still she would turn into a statue and refuse to edge any closer. Most of the time he had to let her go to collect herself as memories resurfaced.

He was patient though. Pushed her only when he thought it was a good day. Eventually the sight didn’t haunt her anymore. At least not to the point where she broke down into a complete mess. Getting her into the water was another story.

“Peter, I can’t.” she backed away from the waves lapping the shore, “I can’t.”

“You don’t have a problem going in the ponds around the jungle.”

“Those are small and full of fresh water. This though…”

“I’ll be right here with you.” he took a step into the ocean, “Give me your hand.”

She shook her head.

“You’ll never get over your fears if you don’t face them.” he stretched his hands out to her, “You can do it.”

Hesitantly she grabbed hold of his hands and took a small step towards the water so it licked at her toes.

“That’s it, a little more,” he pulled her gently so her feet were submerged. “See, nothing to fear.”

“Does that mean we can stop?”

“Not yet,” he took another step back into the water. “Look right at me. Don’t look at the water, just keep your eyes on me.”

“I can’t do it!” she tried to run but he kept her in place. “Let go of me!”

“Y/N, you can do this. It’s just a little water,”

“Peter, please,” she begged.

“Take one more step, just one more step today.” he waited as she stopped struggling. “Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t wanna drown,”

“I swear on my life that I will never let you drown. Now let’s take that step.”

“Okay,” she took a deep breath and followed him into the water. Slowly, one step at a time until it was up to her waist. She was clinging to him, hiding her face in his chest as the small waves rocked them.

“You’re doing great,” he rubbed her back tenderly, “You’re in the ocean and everything is okay.”

“I’m okay?”

“Yep.” he couldn’t help but chuckle as she lifted her head up and looked at the expanse of water surrounding them.

“It’s not...bad…” she ran her fingers through the cool water.

“I knew you could do it.” he smiled at her.

“Thank you, Peter,” she whispered intertwining their fingers together again. They stayed there breathing in the salty sea air as peace returned. It would always be an uphill battle but at least for now his Lost Girl was safe and she wasn’t scared. That was enough for him.

“I got you,” he whispered, “I got you.”

[merinnan]

Nevermore - Part 10

AO3  |  Nevermore Masterlist

A flash of movement by the door caught Jiang Cheng’s attention as he took his seat, and he looked over to catch a glimpse of what looked to be the ends of long hair and white ribbon disappearing into the corridor. His usual frown deepening, he looked around the lecture hall to see who was skipping out on this lecture. He couldn’t see anyone missing, and a quick headcount confirmed that all of the cadets, both the ones almost through their training and the newer ones who’d arrived recently, were in their seats and paying attention to Nie Huaisang as he gestured at the screen with his fan.

With a shrug, Jiang Cheng sat back in his seat and pulled his phone out. It must have been someone realising they were walking into the wrong room, he figured, pulling up his earlier conversation with Song Zichen to send the man another message.

                                                                                                                           Me

                                                                                      thx for the headsup earlier

                                                                           cadets all here and accounted for

                                                     he can go suck shit if he’s looking for them now

 Zichen

Glad to hear it

But if he’s got it into his head to start that again, he’s probably not going to give up

                                                                                                                           Me

                                                                                            he can go fuck himself

                                                                                                  don’t worry about it

                                                                          me and mianmian have it covered

 Zichen

Xingchen and I will also keep an eye on him when we can

Would you like us to tell Jingyi and Sizhui to do the same?

                                                                                                                            Me

                                                                                                                    fuck no

     jingyi’s reckless enough that he’ll just go challenge him to a fight immediately 

                                                              even though he’s still on fucking crutches

                                                                             tell wen ning if u see him b4 I do

 Zichen

He was here maybe 10 minutes ago with Lan Xichen

We mentioned it to him and told him we’d told you about it

I’ll let him know you’d like him to help us keep an eye on his cousin

He frowned at his phone. He’d forgot that this Lan Xichen guy was supposed to arrive today, and he and Wen Qing hadn’t yet finished narrowing down a list of prospective co-pilots. All of that work on top of one class of cadets coming into the last few months of their training and another class having just begun had him completely busy, so of course now was the time the fucking Wen brothers had to start their bullshit again. They were probably annoyed their jaeger was still out of commission and looking to take it out on their juniors. Jiang Cheng gave a slight grunt of disgust as he shot off a message to Miammian letting her know that he needed to go straight to Wen Qing’s once he was done here, before glancing up at the screen.

The sight that met him was from video footage that was burned into his mind, one of the scenes that replayed in his head when he was trying to sleep, and twisted itself into nightmares. As it had four years ago, and as it had far too many nights since, the kaiju Malerax stood in front of the skyscraper that held the Shanghai offices of Jiang Corporation, reaching up with one clawed hand to rip down the purple steel lotus that was the corporation’s logo on the building that a bare minute before it had smashed that self-same fist through. More bricks and glass showered down to the ground, the building shaking again. Jiang Cheng swallowed, closing his eyes before watching the kaiju use the lotus to hammer at the jaeger trying to stop it.

Watching the place and approximate time of his parents’ deaths hadn’t been what he’d expected from a tactics lecture. He knew his mother was still alive at this point of the battle – according to the timestamps on the video footage and on his phone, this was about the point she sent him the last message he’d ever received from her. Had she already received her fatal injuries by now? That, he didn’t know, but he was sure that she knew she was going to die. He couldn’t imagine her sending the message that she had otherwise. Had his father already been killed at that point? Those were questions he both wished he knew the answer to, and hoped that he never would.

Grateful that whatever reason Nie Huaisang had for showing the cadets this footage as part of the lecture didn’t also require the sound of that battle, he opened his eyes again and looked fixedly down at his phone instead, tapping through random apps without looking at them and ignoring the lecture until the lights coming back on and the sound of movement and quiet chatter signaled that it was over.

“Wanyin?”

He looked up from his phone to see Nie Huaisang had come to stand in front of him, hiding behind his fan like usual. The man looked almost…concerned. Jiang Cheng arched an eyebrow, putting his phone away and standing.

“What, Huaisang? Make it quick, I have work to do.”

“Are you alright?”

Well…that wasn’t what he was expecting. He scowled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Nie Huaisang gave a slow, lazy few waves of the fan, but the sharp look of concern didn’t fade. “Your reaction to some of the footage I showed – I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look actually shaken before. And you’ve never switched off like that when I’m presenting new theories and tactics. You’re usually even more attentive than the cadets.”

“I wasn’t fucking…” he began to snap, then stopped, and just scowled again. “I’m fine. Just had other stuff to deal with today.” He waves a hand at the cadets filing out. “Training this lot, working out Drift matches, new pilots, Wen Xu being a fuckwit as usual, shit like that. Don’t worry about it. Look, if there’s nothing you needed me for, I’m going to be late to meet Wen Qing.”

He wasn’t, but it was a good excuse to get out of there. From the look Nie Huaisang was giving him, the other man had seen right through it, but simply gave him a small smile and a nod.

“Of course – come see me when you have a moment, though.” He glanced at the blank screen over his shoulder. “I have some more theories than what I discussed here.”

“Sure.” He cricked his neck with a loud crack. “Fuck knows when, but I’ll drop by.”

“Wanyin…”

He turned and began striding for the door. “See you later, Huaisang.”

~~~

A short while after, sprawled over one of Wen Qing’s sofas with his feet danging over the side (“Boots OFF the sofa, Jiang Cheng! And no, don’t you DARE take them off, I don’t want to smell your stinky feet.”), Jiang Cheng tossed another file onto the table after trying and failing to pay attention to its contents.

“Who was that?” Wen Qing asks, barely looking up from her screen. “And are they a yes or a no?”

“Fucked if I know yet.” He flopped his hand over his eyes. “They could be either, honestly. I’ll know for sure once I can actually see this Lan fight in person instead of just looking at his records and their records.”

“Which you will, but for now can you please make some judgements based on those records of who we should test him with? We can’t just randomly throw cadets at him and see who sticks.”

He lifted his hand and glanced over at her. She glared at him through the blue screen of text and numbers hovering in front of her, before rolling her eyes and picking up her coffee to take a drink. Reaching out, she dragged the record in front of her off of the screen, allowing the next to fill its place.

“How about Xiao Qing?” she suggested.

“No.” There’s no hesitation in his response.

“Oh? We know she’s Drift-compatible with Xiao Xingchen, and his and Lan Xichen’s psych profiles are…”

“No,” he repeats. “She and Xue Yang will make a much stronger team.”

“Xue Yang? And Xiao Qing?”

His lips pull back in a rare grin. “If they don’t fucking kill each other first, yes. Trust me.”

She gave a snort in response, her fingers flicking at the record to close it. “Only because you haven’t been wrong about a match yet.” Another flick, and the screen faded out as she took another sip of her coffee and looked at him. “Okay, spill.”

“…huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me. Something happened. What is it?”

His hand flopped back over his eyes. “Nothing.” Even before the word left his mouth, he knew that Wen Qing wasn’t going to let him get away with just that – she never had, with anything, not even when they were kids. Sure enough, he heard her push her chair back and her footsteps cross the room from her desk to the sofa he was sprawled along. He should have expected the sharp jab of her finger into his shoulder, but he still flinched, dropping his hand down the side of the couch and scowling up at her.

“What was that for?”

“You know what it was for,” she retorted, crossing her arms. His scowl deepened, and she just scowled right back at him. After several long moments of trying to out-scowl each other, Jiang Cheng finally sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“Huaisang showed a clip of the Malerax fight during the lecture,” he admitted. “The part where the bastard ripped the lotus logo off the Jiang Industries building.”

“Ah.” She uncrossed her arms, and leaned on the back of the sofa. “How did you take it?”

He snorted. “How do you think? I ended up staring at my phone and ignoring everything else. Even Huaisang noticed something was wrong.”

“How are you now?”

He strongly considered saying ‘fine’, then considered what Wen Qing was likely to do to him for outright lying to her about this. He scowled again at the thought, then shrugged.

“It threw me off a bit, but it’s not like I haven’t seen it before. I just wasn’t expecting it. I’ll be fine, I’ve got work to concentrate on, anyway.”

It was, he had to admit, kind of impressive how Wen Qing’s expression could say so much with just a twist of her lips or a raised eyebrow. He raised his hands in front of him.

“Really, Qing-jie,” he assured her quickly, using the name he hadn’t called her by since their school days. “I swear I’m okay. Let’s just get back to this, okay?” He sat up – or, at least, that’s what he tried to do. Partway up, he felt something yank against his hair, pulling him back slightly as he swore. Twisting a little, he found his hair ribbon tangled on one of the sofa buttons, and he took a moment to untangle it so he could actually sit up.

“Why do you have a sofa with those fucking buttons on it anyway?” he said, rubbing his head. He could feel the tangle in his hair caused by the ribbon and the silver lotus hair ornament it was threaded through, and started to tug them out to redo his ponytail.

“Because that’s what my office was furnished with then I got here,” Wen Qing replied. How the hell could she shrug with her voice, he wondered, moments before she slapped his hands out of the way. “You’re making it worse. Let me.”

Her fingers carefully and deftly untangled the lotus from his hair, pulling it and the ribbon free before she swiped her fingers through his hair, rather less gently combing through the tangles.

“Ouch. You’re a cruel woman,” he complained. “Why am I letting you do this to me again?”

“Because you love me,” she shot back.

“Qing-jie?” a third voice broke in. Wen Qing’s fingers stilled in his hair, and she thrust the ribbon and hair ornament into his face.

“A-Ning!” she said, her voice turning much gentler. “And this would be Lan Xichen.”

Jiang Cheng twisted around on the sofa, leaning back slightly to get a look at the man Wen Ning had brought into his sister’s office while they were both distracted. This was the jaeger pilot who was causing him and Wen Qing so much extra work, huh? The one who’d up and left for four years before coming back.

He found himself looking at a tall man, probably around his height, wearing a perfectly in-order PPDC uniform that was…actually really flattering to the muscular build. Long hair framed what was possibly one of the most stunning faces Jiang Cheng had ever seen, and he’d seen a few – his brother had taken a particular delight in showing him every single one he came across once he’d figured out what his type was.

It wasn’t until he hit the floor that Jiang Cheng realised he’d actually fallen off the fucking couch on seeing this man. But even then, the embarrassment was drowned out by a single thought.

Oh no, he’s hot.

[kaelinaloveslomaris]

No Distance Far Enough

Have a suitless Vader and Imperial Prince Luke one shot! I’ve been working on this off and on for months, and it’s finally done!

Luke glowered at the assembled members of the Rebellion’s High Command on the other side of the blaster-proof transparisteel viewing window. It wasn’t the entirety of High Command; they weren’t stupid enough to gather all in one place, even considering that they had finally managed to capture the Emperor’s son. Or maybe especially because they had.

His expression was less intimidating than he’d like, if his pale reflection in the window was any indication. The large bruise on his left cheek certainly didn’t help, nor did the rather fancier than he’d like dress clothes he was wearing. He was mildly impressed with their gall, kidnapping him from his own birthday gala in front of all of Imperial Center’s gathered elite, but they were oh so very foolish to have done so.

Luke worried his wrists in the Force-suppressing binders at his back and met the former Senator Mothma’s eyes levelly.

He leaned forward in his chair slightly, as far as his bonds would allow. “How long do you think you will be able to hold me?” he asked.

“As long as we need to,” she replied, her voice slightly muffled by the transparisteel between them. “Despite his best efforts, your father still hasn’t managed to find our base.”

Luke grinned. “He has now. By bringing me here, you’ve led him straight to you.”

“You’re bluffing,” said one of the men standing near Mothma. Rieekan, if Luke remembered his briefings correctly. But both he and Mothma looked shaken.

Luke shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out. If you have any questions for me, you’d better ask them quickly. I’d say you’re already running out of time. And maybe evacuate your people. I can guarantee that my father will not be happy when he gets here.” He gave them another hour, max, before Vader arrived with a contingent of the 501st to storm the base.

“You’re not here for an interrogation, Skywalker. We know you would never betray your father, willingly or not, and we would never stoop to the levels your side has to acquire information.”

Luke tilted his head. “I would say that’s a smart decision, but you still kidnapped me. I think that proves you incapable of making intelligent decisions.”

None of them responded to the barb, and Luke relaxed back into the chair, trying for an air of ease and calm. He was calm, assured that the Rebellion wouldn’t harm him and that his father wasn’t far away, but the ease was harder. The chair he was chained to was all hard edges and cold metal, and he was still mildly sore from the stun blast they’d knocked him out with earlier. The worst, though, was his current isolation from the Force.

He’d been kidnapped more than his fair share of times, an occupational hazard of being the Crown Prince of all the known Galaxy, and several of the more prepared kidnappers had thought to use some form of Force suppression on him. But previous experience never made it any easier. A fundamental part of him was missing, and he always felt a little lost, floundering in his own mind without it.

“So if I’m not here for an interrogation, why am I here?” Luke asked, keeping his voice as casual as he could. They wouldn’t get anything out of him, but perhaps he could learn something of their motives. It wouldn’t change the outcome of this situation, his father would never negotiate with kidnappers, but having some idea of what they wanted could prove useful.

“Ransom,” Mothma said plainly. “The Empire is holding several political prisoners we want released.”

Luke scoffed. “Or what? You would never kill me. Besides, you have to know that my father has never entertained the demands of my kidnappers. Everyone who has tried to hold me hostage has died.” Often publicly, usually painfully. His father had tried his best to dissuade future attempts by displaying the severity of the punishment, yet somehow, every subsequent kidnapper seemed to think they would succeed where all their predecessors had failed. It had been a while since someone had tried, most likely due to Luke’s increasing ability to defend himself and the fact that he had personally killed the last two groups during their attempts.

“We will not kill you, Skywalker, no. Not in cold blood, but be warned that if you attempt an escape, we will not hesitate to stop you with deadly force, if necessary.”

Luke bit back his first instinctual response of “I’d like to see you try.” His father had chided him concerning his reckless mouth on more than one occasion. But they were avoiding the question.

“You have no leverage. You won’t kill me. You know this, I know this, my father knows this. And even if I’m bluffing, it will still not be long before my father finds me. You cannot hold me hostage and barter my return. I never thought the Rebellion was smart, but I didn’t think you were this stupid.”

Mothma opened her mouth to respond but never got the chance. She was interrupted by the shrill blaring of the base’s alarms. Luke smirked. He had overestimated the time it would take his father to reach him. Of course, he had no way of knowing how long he’d been unconscious.

“You’re out of time,” he told a very pale Mothma. Rieekan was already barking orders into a comlink. Luke caught fragments of an evacuation order and commands for a standard computer systems wipe.

Luke sat back on the chair and watched the Rebellion’s High Command scramble. He had to admit that despite the chaos of the evacuation, at least the contained version he was witnessing from his holding cell, they moved with surprising efficiency. The product of experience from dozens of prior sudden evacuations, most likely. Most of the personnel aside from Mothma and a few Luke didn’t recognize had scattered within moments, dispatched to whatever jobs they were in charge of for these situations.

Sooner even than Luke had expected, the door to the waiting area outside his cell burst open. Vader stalked in, hood pulled low over his face and lightsaber lit but held down at his side, and the Rebels turned to flee. Vader flung his other arm out, hand outstretched, and they all froze. Luke was still quietly in awe of his father’s ability to hold so many people in place at once. He could do it, but it took concentration. Vader made it look effortless.

Stormtroopers filed into the room behind Vader as he turned his lightsaber off.

“Stun them all except Mothma.”

The static hum of stun shots sent a slight shiver through Luke, a phantom crackle of remembered electricity. He shook it off as his father turned his head to look at him through the transparisteel. His hard eyes softened slightly as he met Luke’s gaze.

Leaving the new prisoners to his troops, Vader released the lock on the cell door with a negligent wave of his hand. Luke smiled at him as he approached.

“You took your time, Father,” he teased.

“Next time you decide to allow yourself to be kidnapped, do me the courtesy of warning me,” he growled, but there was no anger in it.

“It was a last second decision. I thought it might be a good opportunity to help you find a Rebel base, once I realized who they were.” Luke shrugged. “I knew you’d find me.”

Vader just looked at him for a long moment, then shook his head and sighed. He walked around Luke and crouched behind him to release the binders. He fiddled with them for a few seconds before his hands stilled.

“I am not invincible, Luke. No matter what you may think.” There was heavy sadness in his father’s voice, and Luke craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of his father’s face, but his head was down. “You know that I cannot bear to lose you.”

Vader’s fingers brushed against Luke’s, and Luke closed his hand around them.

“You won’t,” Luke said.

“You cannot promise me that.” Vader pulled his hand out of Luke’s grip and resumed working on the binders. Luke frowned but knew his father was technically correct.

It didn’t take Vader long to release the binders. The moment they snapped open, Luke leaned forward in the chair. He groaned as the Force flooded back in with an almost painful intensity, and his father caught him by the shoulders, steadying him.

“Thank you, Father,” Luke said, once the Galaxy settled to rightness around him and he could think beyond the dizzying press of the Force against his mind.

Vader held his hand out to Luke and helped him stand. Luke stumbled into him, his legs still shaky from not being able to move after waking from the stun shot. Vader caught him, wrapping an arm around his waist and holding him close for a brief moment.

“Did they hurt you?” Vader asked after he released Luke. He swiped his thumb gently across the bruise on his cheek, not hard enough to hurt. Luke could feel his father’s presence coiling around him, searching for more serious injuries. It was comforting, and he leaned against their bond. Losing the normally constant contact with his father was perhaps the worst part of being cut off from the Force.

Luke shook his head. “They didn’t dare to. They planned on holding me to ransom.”

Vader growled, and Luke made a calming gesture. “I’m fine, Father. And this got you a Rebel base and Senator Mothma. Not bad, right?” Luke grinned.

Vader glared at him. “None of this would be worth even a drop of your blood,” he snarled.

“I haven’t lost any.” Luke held his hands up. “There aren’t even restraint marks.”

“Your self-sacrificing antics will be your undoing someday.”

Luke huffed, not wanting to rehash the old argument. “Don’t you have new prisoners to interrogate instead of me?”

His father sighed, the look in his eyes telling Luke that the conversation was far from over. “I thought I would wait until they are secure on Coruscant. For now I will see if they missed anything in their system wipe. Watch Mothma and see if you can make her slip anything while she’s still surprised.” Vader turned to leave the holding cell, then paused and faced Luke again. He brushed a gentle hand against Luke’s face, sweeping his bangs away from his eyes. Luke was startled. It was rare for his father to show that much affection with an audience.

Especially an enemy audience, Luke thought as he caught Mothma staring at them through the transparisteel. This must have truly scared his father, and Luke felt a stirring of guilt for his rash decision, even though it had ended well for them.

“I’m sorry, Father,” he said. “I should have stopped them at the gala rather than let them take me.”

Vader smiled softly at him, and Luke knew he was forgiven. “It was reckless. I was angry. But it is something I would have done at your age, so I cannot judge you too harshly, though I do not condone it.” He rested his hand against Luke’s cheek for a moment longer before turning away again.

Luke trailed after him, glad to leave the confines of the holding cell, even if the small observation room beyond wasn’t much more spacious. Most of the stormtroopers had already left with their stunned prisoners, and the few that remained stood at attention at the perimeter of the room. He watched his father stalk over to one of the computer terminals before turning his attention on Mothma, stun cuffs on her wrists and guarded by two stormtroopers. Luke waved them away as he approached her.

“I told you you would not be able to hold me for long.”

The Rebel leader eyed him carefully. She was doing a good job of hiding the fear on her face and in her eyes but not in the Force. She knew this was a significant blow against the Rebellion, perhaps one of the final hits they could take before crumbling. Luke could not bring himself to feel sorry for her. The Rebellion had done nothing but continue to destabilize the Galaxy and tie up Imperial resources, preventing them from being used to actually implement the changes his father was trying to bring about. They still had a long way to go to undo all the damage done by Palpatine’s Empire, short-lived though it had been.

“You were obviously not bluffing,” Mothma said drily.

“No.” Luke held up the binders, swinging them gently in Mothma’s face. “These do a wonderful job of blocking my access to the Force, which is very disorienting, I might add. But they certainly don’t prevent anyone else from sensing my signature and following it.” He contemplated her wide eyes for a moment, then added, “I also have a tracker in my belt that you failed to find.”

“We scanned you!” she protested.

“And found one, the one you were meant to find,” Luke agreed.

“Vader has you chipped like a pet tooka,” Mothma said, something like pity in her face.

Luke’s eyes hardened. “Never suggest that again.” He glanced over at his father, busy stripping the nearby computer console of all its data, glad that he hadn’t been close enough to hear that. “No matter how desperate he is to protect me, he would never go so far as to use an implant.” He suppressed a shiver, remembering the feel of his father’s scar under his fingers, where Vader had dug the transmitter out of himself as a newly-freed child. The Jedi had refused to remove it, claiming the surgery would be more invasive than it was worth. The transmitter was inert, deactivated, no longer a threat, so the fact that it was still buried in his father’s side should not have mattered. Perhaps they had paid for that, dying at the hands of their own men, controlled by chips in their heads meant to make them obedient. A morbid piece of irony, and Luke did not feel sorry for the Jedi either.

His father had had the chips removed from any surviving clones after he had killed Palpatine. Luke had had the opportunity to study the insidious coding imbedding into them, and the thought of having a chip in him, even if it was nothing more than a locator and not a mind-controlling device or a bomb, made his skin crawl.

“My father is not my master. I am not a slave.”

“Yet you do what he tells you blindly,” Mothma challenged.

Luke growled. “He tells me everything. I know why he does everything he does. We are trying to make a better Galaxy. If you would stop fighting us and let us fix things, you would see that.” Luke sighed. “You and your Republic broke the Galaxy. You were so mired in bureaucracy and corruption that you couldn’t even see the Sith in your midst. You couldn’t see the clone army for what it was, couldn’t realize you were orchestrating your own downfall.”

Luke took a step back, opening his arms to gesture at the observation room. “As you did here. So caught up in your own hubris that you didn’t stop to think whether capturing me as easily as you did was a trap. You refused to listen to me when I told you I was being tracked.

“You have never given my father a chance to prove that he’s different from Palpatine. You just look at his title and think he’s the same. The Empire is not inherently bad. What we’re trying to create? It’s better than the corruption and useless dithering of your Republic. For all you held up the value of freedom, you did nothing to help the slaves in the Outer Rim. In fact, you bargained with the Hutts. You condoned the slavery of the clones and supported the creation of more, letting them fight and die in a war to prevent the more disenfranchised worlds from leaving your rule, commanded in part by Jedi children. Children stolen from their families and indoctrinated without the option to leave, told that wanting family was a weakness that needed to be purged.”

Mothma’s eyes widened as Luke spoke, and for a moment he thought he had her convinced. Then she shook her head.

“You weren’t there. You’ve only heard your father’s twisted side of the story -”

“I don’t need to hear more,” Luke snarled. He advanced on her, and she took a startled step back. “The Republic failed the Galaxy. It failed my father when it left him in slavery for the first nine years of his life, when it allowed the Jedi to take him from his mother, when it allowed a Sith to rise to power at the center of it and never noticed how he was manipulating -”

Luke jumped at the touch of his father’s mind against his, beckoning Luke back to him. He turned and nodded at Vader, standing across the room watching him, before looking back at Mothma.

“Think about it. And then maybe you’ll reconsider those peace talks we’ve tried to initiate.”

Luke turned his back to her before he could see her reaction to his last parting jab and crossed the room to his father.

[bamby0304]

Apple of my Eye- Ch.3

Series Masterlist

Summary: When Sam and Dean were pulled back into their world you, were left behind. Stuck in the hustle bustle of Hollywood life, you have no choice but to play along, leaving almost all of your old life behind. Seven years later, when a rip in time and space opens up, you are finally able to go home… but you don’t go alone.

Warnings: Angst. Tiny bit of fluff. More angst.

Bamby

When you landed in your home universe, you were surprised to find yourself stepping into a stingy motel. You were even more surprised to see no one else around. Then your surprise turned to fear, which quickly had you turning on the young man.

Thinking it had all been a trap, feeling like an idiot for bringing your daughter through the rip, you turned to run back. But the door through the universes closed before you could reach it. That’s when you turned on Jack.

You threatened and yelled, feeling a lot of your old self coming out from hiding as you grabbed his shirt and demanded he tell you where he’d brought you and your daughter. It took less than two second before he assured you everything was fine. You didn’t fully believe it, but when he offered to take you to Dean and Sam you relented.

For now, you’d trust him.

Apparently… Jack was a nephilim. That’s what he told you when you asked where his car was. He didn’t know how to drive, but you didn’t want to go jumping all over the place with your daughter. She was scared and confused, and you knew letting a nephilim zap you from one place to another was just going to make it worse.

So you stole a car.

Dakota was strapped in the back, her bag and yours on the seat next to her. She’d brought a pillow and teddy bear as well, both of which she’d clung to once the car started. She was out cold now.

“Where am I going?” you asked Jack as you kept your eyes on the road. It had been a while since you’d had to drive yourself around.

“Lebanon, Kansas,” he answered simply.

Your gaze flickered over to him for a moment, noticing the way he held himself much like an innocent child would.

“How did you find me?”

“Sam and Dean lost their mother. I was trying to return her to them. I was using their pain to guide me. I haven’t opened a rip on purpose before. I was surprised when it worked,” he told you, that innocence leaking into his words.

You frowned, wondering how strong this kid was. “You were trying to bring their mother back? Mary?”

“Yes.” He gave a short nod. “She’s stuck in another universe as well.”

“So… she’s alive?”

It was becoming clearer that your absence in this universe but your recurrence in the show had shaken the balance. The life the brothers led on Supernatural seemed to be different to the one in this world.

“Yes.” Another short nod.

“And you were trying to find Mary but you found me instead?”

“Dean feels a lot of pain. He’s suffered a lot of loss. I thought it would lead me to their mother. Instead it brought me to you.” Jack looked to you then. “He’s missed you.”

Grip on the steering wheel tightening, you fought the onslaught of emotions that welled in your chest at that comment. Right now was not the time to break down. Now was not the time to be distracted. You had to get to Sam and Dean first. Then you could ask all the questions... and freak out.

Jack was more than happy to carry Dakota’s pillow and bag. You left your things in the car, choosing to carry your sleeping daughter instead. Holding her also had a selfish purpose. You could hide behind her if things became too much. You could smell the fruity shampoo in her hair to remind yourself that she was still real. You could look into her eyes and assure yourself that this was all for the greater good.

Taking the lead, Jack lead you into a large industrial looking building. It put your nerves on edge, but you followed, trusting that you could still kick butt if need be.

He lead you down some stairs and through a door, which brought you to a large art deco space. You were on the second landing, looking towards library that appeared to be full of books and a few antique weapons. Before that sat another room, though your couldn’t see it properly from where you stood.

Now that you were inside, taking in the expanse of the area in front of you, most of you worries washed away. There was a warmth to the place that set you at ease, promising nothing but safety.

“Cas?”

You froze in an instant, that warmth wavering at the sound of a familiar voice.

Jack smiled as he moved closer to the railing so he could look down into the room below you. “Hello.”

“Jack?” two voices asked simultaneously.

Setting Dakota on the ground, making sure she was awake enough to stand, you then gave her a look that told her to stay before you turned. You stepped forward, putting yourself next to Jack so you could look down into the room below as well, and froze once more.

There they were.

Sam and Dean. They looked so much like Jared and Jensen, but at the same time they didn’t. They were distinctively themselves. There was no pretending, no acting. They were completely and absolutely Sam and Dean Winchester.

Jaws dropped and eyes went wide as the brothers look from the nephilim to you. Dean seemed to be frozen on the spot, but Sam managed to move. He pushed himself out of the seat he’d been sitting on, and away from the glowing table that had a lit up map on it. He stood, rising to his full height as he continued to gawk at you with nothing but shock.

Then it all changed as he suddenly reached for a gun and aimed it at you. “Who are you?” he demanded, voice harder than Jared’s.

You flinched, knowing the gun in his hand wasn’t some prop. It was an actual weapon that could literally kill you.

Before anyone else could react, Jack jumped into front of you protectively. “No!” He shook his head frantically. “It’s okay. She’s okay. It’s really her,” he assured them.

Looking passed Jack’s shoulder, you looked down at Sam, seeing him hesitate.

“Mummy.” Dakota stepped up to you then, wrapping her arm around your leg as she looked down at Sam and Jensen sleepily. “Are we staying with Uncle Jen and Jay tonight?” she asked innocently, closing her eyes and resting her head on your thigh.

Sam’s hand dropped as soon as he saw your daughter. Dean, though, tensed at the sight of her. They both flinched as you reached down to stroke her hair.

“Yeah sweetie.” You nodded, keeping you eyes on the brothers as you went on, “We’re staying here tonight.”

Jack gave you a sweet smile as he gestured for you to follow. You lifted your daughter into your arms before heading down the winding stairs, right behind the nephilim. You kept your eyes on the ground, watching your step and avoiding the brothers’ gazes at the same time. You refused to look up, even when you stopped beside Jack by the glowing table.

“Ho… how?” Sam managed. “Why? When? What?” When you glanced up you saw him shaking his head, unable to process what was right in front of him.

“I brought her back,” Jack stated simply. “I was looking for your mother, but-”

“You brought her back?” Sam asked, shocked, confused and impressed all in one.

Jack simply nodded in response.

The room fell silent as the brother continued to stare. You focused on your daughter in your arms, stroking her hair as you rocked her gently. Her tired eyes struggled to stay open as she rested her head on your shoulder, drifting in and out of sleep.

“Do you have a place we can crash?” you asked, finally meeting Sam’s eyes. You couldn’t look at Dean. Shifting Dakota to your hip, you gestured to her bag and pillow Jack was still carrying. “We had a big night before all of this. She could really use some sleep,” you noted as the nephilim handed you her things.

“Of course.” Sam cleared his throat, glancing at his brother for the briefest of seconds before he nodded to a nearby hallway. “There’s plenty of space.”

Following him, you didn’t turn back as Sam lead you down the hall. You could feel Dean watching though, his gaze not wavering once. His eyes stayed glued to your back until you disappeared around a corner.

As he continued to lead you down the hall, Sam struggled. You could tell he was trying to come up with words. He had questions, of course, that was to be expected. But you also expected shocked silence. It had been so long, so much would have happened and changed. Where do you start?

“Uh… here.” He came to stop by a door. “This one is free. We’ve… we’ve got more rooms…” He glanced at Dakota. “But I’m guessing you’d rather stay together?”

“Yes.” It really was as simple as that.

He gave a short but understanding nod, gesturing to the door. “It has a lock, if that makes you feel safer. Or… my room is just down the hall. Dean’s is a little further down,” he noted, shoving his hands in his pocket as he shifted on the spot uncomfortably. “We’re here if you need-”

“I know, S-” You had to pause for a moment as you looked up at him. He really was real… “I know, Sam.”

Smiling ever so slightly, he gave another nod and started back down the hall. He paused a few times, as if contemplating whether he should say more, but before he could make his mind up you walked into the room and set Dakota’s things on the ground before closing and locking the door behind you.

Inside this bedroom you could at least pretend nothing else existed. There was no Sam and Dean. There was no Jared and Jensen. In the room, just for a moment, you could concentrate on nothing but your daughter and yourself.

Still carrying Dakota, you moved towards the double sized bed in the middle of the room. You didn’t take note of anything else, wanting to put your daughter to bed before you took a mental inventory. Setting her on the left side, you them quickly headed back to where you’d dumped her things and grabbed her pillow. Inside the slip was her teddy, which you pulled out and handed to her outstretched and waiting hand. Even half asleep she was demanding.

“Come on. Lift.” You gestured to her head and waited until she did as you said. Taking the hard pillow out from under her, you replaced it with her own. “All good.” You nodded, watching as she plonked her head back down. “Boots now.”

Jack’s appearance had been sudden. You hadn’t been prepared for it. To make matters worse, he’d insisted that the rip in the air wouldn’t remain open for long, so you’d only had a brief amount of time to shove some things in a couple of bags before leaving. That meant Dakota was still in her tutu, white and pink flannel, and pink boots. It also meant you were still in your bodycon dress and stiletto ankle boots.

Great first impression on your old hunting buddies, Y/N. You inwardly groaned.

Dakota gave you one foot, letting you take the boot off before she plopped that foot back onto the bed and gave you the other. Once her feet were bare she curled up, clutching her teddy to her chest. You smiled at her, reach for the blanket to pull over her.

Stepping back, you took a seat on the chair by the desk in the room and watched her. It took less than five minutes before she was out cold once more, snoring and mumbling lightly as her little nose twitched. You didn’t look away once, too scared that she might disappear if you did.

You stayed seated there all night, watching as she slept soundlessly, completely unaware of the confusion, danger and drama headed her way.

Sometime during the night you’d crawled onto the bed next to Dakota. You’d intended to rest a little, not sleep. You wanted to watch her, to keep an eye on her. This place… it was foreign, and that meant you weren’t ready to put your guards down just yet.

Unfortunately, you weren’t used to staying up all night like you used to be. Exhaustion took over and before you knew it you were fast asleep.

Your dreamed were filled with memories you’d long since buried. You spent the night running around in your head, remembering moments from your past life. Smiles, hugs, and friendships. Pain, loss and violence. Researching and driving. Bleeding and fighting. However long you were asleep, you sent that time drifting through your past like a bystander witnessing it all over again.

When you woke you felt… refreshed. You felt ready. You knew, as your eyes fluttered open and you looked up at the ceiling above you, that no matter what happened you were going to be able to handle it all.

All that came crashing down as you reached out beside you… only to find the other side of the bed empty.

Bamby