#ship: the wolf and the wildcat

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

OC Romance Chart

Tagged by: @strangefable @simplegenius042 @la-grosse-patate @adelaidedrubman @inafieldofdaisies @nightbloodbix @dickytwister @corvosattano @megraen @aceghosts @g0dspeeed @cloudofbutterflies92 (Thank you all so much!!)

They might both be soldiers, but they are on opposite sides of the girlfriend material spectrum

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Tagging: @jackiesarch @amalkavian @chloekistune @transcaster @afarcry5fromstraight @shellibisshe @unholymilf @theelderhazelnut @thedeadthree @gibson-girlboss @strafethesesinners @carlosoliveiraa @florbelles @josephseedismyfather @cassietrn @marivenah @finding-comfort-in-rain @v0idbuggy @mxanigel @purplehairsecretlair @pathologictwo @fourlittleseedlings @clicheantagonist @direwombat @voidika @roofgeese @kyber-infinitygems

[passinoutpieces]

“the wolf and the wildcat”

a big thank you to @socially-awkward-skeleton for letting me borrow their oc kit cross for this piece <3

[megraen]

GIFT FOR THE INCREDIBLE @socially-awkward-skeleton

[vampireninjabunnies-blog]

@socially-awkward-skeleton

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

Thank you so much @drasin! I love it <3

If y'all have read chapter 3 of Only You, well then you know what's about to go down here.

Love the way you captured Jacob and Kit here, they look fantastic!!

Commission for @socially-awkward-skeleton <3

[derschwarzeengel]

I would walk home every evening Through the pyramids of light. I would feed myself on silence, Wash it down with empty nights. Then your innocent distractions Hit me so hard. My emotional reaction Caught me off guard. It was nothing at all Like anything I had felt before. And it was nothing at all Like I thought, no, it's so much more. No one else has ever made me feel this way. When I asked you how did it, you just say It was nothing at all. Now I walk home every evening And my feet are quick to move 'Cause I know my destination Is a warm and waiting you. From our first communication It was clear Any thought of moderation Would soon disappear.

— "Nothin' at All", Heart

[blackhakumen]

What the Ships Say About You Part 2.

Been a long while since I've done this, but let's get this shipfest started, shall we?

Wolf x Isabelle: You've always had a thing for werewolves and bad boys. So much so that you believe that you could fix either one of them if you were to ever given the opportunity.

Samus x Chun-Li: Your interest in crossovers outweighs your interest in hot, badass women who could easily kick your ass within seconds.

Giovanni x Spike x Crusher: You just want Spike and Crusher to be happy and fulfill their dreams into dating their own boss. And really, who wouldn't?

Mario x Peach: Any interest you have in video games outweighs your fondness of married couples.

Vector x Vanilla: This is kind of similar to Mario x Peach, but you may or may not also have interest in older, mature women, not that there's anything wrong with that inherently.

M&M (Moxxie x Millie): You just want a wholesome marriage or you're just a slut for violence and Men. Getting. Pegged.

Lea x Isa: You've been the Yaoi fandom for years now and your ideal relationship is that one meme of two guys sitting in a hot tub together.

Dark Pit x Misako x Kyoko: You saw the original ending of River City Girls and instantly wanted the two girls to find happiness elsewhere or you just want Pitto to be loved. It's a win-win for you either way.

Banjo x Kazooie: You're a sucker for the friends to lovers trope, so much so that you could care less if they're from a different species, as long as they're happy together.

Shingo x Leona: Either you want a lovable goofball and a silent, tough girl to hook up one day or you just want good things to happen to Shingo and Leona respectively. And really, who wouldn't at this point?

Aqua x Terra: Your ideal relationship is Team Moms and Team Dads.

Dedue x Mercedes: Basically the same as Aqua x Terra but with a little more wholesomeness and spice to add up the flavor. That and/or you want Deude to live a happy, peaceful life once.

Terry x Blue Mary: You just like seeing couples who causally hangs out with one another or your a slut of Men. Getting. Pegged but not so much as you originally were for M&M.

Krohnen x Angel: You've grown tired of the "Will They or Won't They?" Bullshit (Andy x Mai/ Ryo x King) to the point of your interest gets instantly set on the Angsty Bad Boy and Ditzy Hot Girl dynamic or you're a just Vegeta x Bulma fan.

Krillin x Android 18: You're a firm believer of this ship being one of the best ships the Dragon Ball series has the offer or you just think Krillin deserves a W for once and not get joked on a lot on internet which is too much to ask apparently....

Broly x Cheelai: You either really like Super's version of Broly and want good things to happen to him in the long run or you just want a giant teddy bear to hug on a daily basis.

Ridley x Dark Samus: You're an incel who only got lucky.

@keyenuta

@thelexhex

@tamrinthian

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

@bestpony666

[hargrieve]

hargrieve’s fic recs — may

happy june and happy pride month! quick reminder that characters (yes, even your comfort character) are fictional, and that sometimes other people have other headcanons and takes on them

as usual, this is divided into emo/light fic. yes this list has yaku morisuke paired with four different people, because I believe in yaku morisuke supremacy. there is a yaku ship for everyone out there I promise

seriously if you have any umbrella academy or MCU recs please feel free to send them my way, because sometimes I miss thinking about things that aren’t volleyball-adjacent :| as you can tell I am in very very deep

FANDOMS: HAIKYUU!!

things that made me feel feelings: 

eyes on the ball (eyes on me) by daedalust @/kurapikasdad on twitter

yaku/nishinoya; rated M; 3.7k; 1/1

main timeline + yaku finding out that nishinoya is quitting volleyball

“One glance up at Yaku Morisuke, and Nishinoya is bewitched by a wildcat of a schoolboy.”

cat and bird metaphors + a whole lot of angst

planet six by panyang @/doetries on twitter

kagehina; rated T+; 5.8k words; 1/1

kageyama and hinata’s relationship through time, in a non-linear narrative

this fic is criminally underrated and is so tender

highly convincing re: kagehina endgame. this fic says they are soulmates and I believe in it so hard

if ever your fortress caves by Flumes

hiruhoshi; rated T+; 27k words; 1/1

werewolf au where hoshiumi and others are werewolves and hirugami is a vet

this fic came highly recommended to me on twitter, and it totally lived up to the hype. the schweiden adlers and msby as wolf packs is *chef’s kiss* and I genuinely enjoyed every single cameo

everyone wants to court hinata shoyo!!! so true! so valid!

no werewolf media experience necessary (but I believe this is teen wolf-y)

shrapnel by nure

yaku morisuke/haiba lev; rated Gen; 13k words; 1/1

standalone in an unconnected series about miscommunication

non-linear narrative between current situation (a couple years after lev’s high school graduation) and history (lev’s first year)

this one is also extremely underrated

fic that is a little less serious:

crushes get handcuffed for twenty-four hours by rainshowers @/nanagojou on twitter

kuroo/daichi; rated M; 6.9k words; 1/1

(self-explanatory) au where they film a buzzfeed-type video where they are handcuffed together for 24 hours

it’s pretty much what you would expect from one of those videos :) the chemistry is sizzling and the writing is great :) I love them

HUSH by mareas @/adlerstrio on twitter

ushijima/sakusa; rated M; 6.0k words; 1/1

established ushisaku where sakusa has a thing for his fingers in ushijima’s mouth

this fic is so funny and even more tender. sakusa muses about intimacy and love while totally losing his mind

rip to fujita fr

i'll be cleaning up bottles with you on new year's day by comfortcharacters @/comfrtcharacter on twitter

iwaoi; rated T+; 3.8k words; 1/1

oikawa is a residential assistant, iwaizumi is his resident, and he and sugawara are planning a holiday party for his floor

fluffy and made me smile

everyone pressure dani to keep writing her college RA-verse bc i wanna see it

melatonin and caffeine by emeraldpalace @/emeraldpalace on twitter

kuroo/yaku/daishou; rated T+; 14k words; 1/1

kuroyakushou end up as college roommates. yaku pov

this fic is absolutely delightful. the character interactions are so canon and we get to see a lot of what drives daishou. it’s also refreshing to see a college au where they are all more or less put-together

favorite fic from this list I think

recs I received in my inbox:

安心 (Peace of Mind) by itachiyams @/itachiyams on twitter

sakuatsu; rated T+; 85k words; 4/4

from the recommender: “it's basically a sakuatsu slow burn // sakusa pov from the canon events and there's lots of national team shenaningans too”

the way our horizons meet by skiecas @skiecas

iwaoi; rated T+; 43k words; 1/1

written by the same author as one of my kagehina recs from march

hello @ravenclawboys I keep meaning to read this one but I am waiting until I finish my next big task so I can fully enjoy it

my twitter

past fic recs

send me a rec!

[rose-tea-books]

my tbr:

please please please recommend more books! i literally don’t care about the genre just give me recs

(for some reason it’s mainly newly published ya books which is cool but not most of the type of books i read and it’s in random order)

The Hawthorne Legacy

The Gilded Ones

Little White Lies

Not My Problem

The Girl Least Likely

It All Comes Back To You

All These Bodies

Loveboat Reunion

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Every Heart a Doorway

Middlegame

Accidental Turn series

I Killed Zoe Spanos

Snowed In

Six Angry Girls

The Once and Future Witches

Between Shades of Gray

Hunting Prince Dracula

Love and Other Train Wrecks

Heiress Apparently

The Truth Project

Crown Chasers

Geekerella

Cinder

Save Steve

Neverworld Wake

What I Like About You

Girls Save the World on This One

The Gilded Wolves

13 Little Blue Envelopes

The Last Little Blue Envelope

This Will Be Funny Someday

The Box in the Woods

The Key to the Firebird

All the Light We Can Not See

Beautiful Wild

Roman and Jewel

Sources Say

The Best Lies

The Companion

None Shall Sleep

Instant Karma

I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You

Faith

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss

Like Home

Yolk

Once Upon a Quinceañera

The Cost of Knowing

Zara Hossain is Here

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

Witches Steeped in Gold

What’s Not to Love

Where Secrets Lie

The Forest of Stolen Girls

Down With This Ship

The Ivies

Of Curses and Kisses

The Jewel

The White Rose

The Black Key

The Stars We Steal

Let Me Hear a Rhyme

Fireworks

The Girl with the Red Balloon

Redemption Prep

Punching the Air

Lobizona

This Train is Being Held

Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From

This is All Your Fault

The Mall

Clique Bait

Butterfly Yellow

Lies Like Poison

We Are Still Tornadoes

The How and the Why

A Constellation of Roses

The Lady’s Guide To Petticoats and Piracy

The Yearbook Committee

Sisters of Sword and Song

Passenger

A Song Below Water

The Bone Witch

Chain of Gold

Frozen Beauty

A Phoenix First Must Burn

Moment of Truth

I Believe In a Thing Called Love

Pride

Don’t Date Rosa Santos

By Your Side

Every Other Weekend

Starry Eyes

Honor Among Thieves

Tweet Cute

A Thousand Splendid Suns

And The Mountains Echoed

Lucky Caller

The Betrothed

On the Come Up

Mexican Gothic

Deadpool

Time of Our Lives

Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Unpregnant

Red Hood

Illuminae

Jane Anonymous

Gone by Nightfall

Suggested Reading

I’ll Be the One

All the Pretty Things

The Paper Girl of Paris

The Survival List

The Hate U Give

Frankenstein

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

The Damned

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry

Counting Down With You

Where the Rhythm Takes You

Lucy Clark Will Not Apologize

Last Chance Books

A Sitting in St. James

An Emotion of Great Delight

Sisters of the Snake

If You, Then Me

XOXO

Red Wolf

My Eyes Are Up Here

Girls on the Verge

This Boy

Almost American Girl

Yes No Maybe So

Saints and Misfits

Parachutes

Lovely War

The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

With the Fire on High

We Are the Wildcats

Loveboat, Taipei

All of this is True

Murder Trending

One of Us Is Lying

Children of Blood and Bone

The Wrath and the Dawn

The Upside of Falling

The Rose and the Dagger

The Beautiful

The Flame in the Mist

The Smoke in the Sun

The Selection

The Elite

The One

The Heir

The Crown

A Matter of Souls

Light It Up

All Your Twisted Secrets

Truly Devious

The Vanishing Stair

The Hand On the Wall

Charming as a Verb

Grown

With Malice

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight

The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly

Cheshire Crossing

The Raven Boys

My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life

The Good Luck Girls

The Diviners

One of Us is Next

A Study in Charlotte

The Last of August

Clap When You Land

Warcross

Stalking Jack the Ripper

American Royals

Majesty

The Inheritance Games

Cousins

Sadie

The Good Luck Girls

Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Prince

Chain of Gold

Recommended For You

If I Tell You the Truth

You Have A Match

Happily Ever Afters

What Kind of Girl

Six of Crows

This Poison Heart

Love From A to Z

Blue Bloods

Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

(these aren’t all the books i’ve ever read, just the ones i remembered to note down since i started this list last year lol)

[needleanddead]

5, 6, and 8 for Thorne? 👀

What’s their most useless, weirdest, or least marketable skill?

Lots of skills Thorne has were very useful, once upon a time; being able to navigate via the stars was an extremely good trick, when one didn’t have access to google maps. See also cartography; but people don’t need beautifully drawn accurate maps when they can just get out their phone! He can also play the hurdy-gurdy; as a young man, before he was a captain, he sought to make himself indispensable and well-liked on his ship and being able to play music was a very good way to ensure that happened - but when was the last time you even saw a hurdy-gurdy?

What are they like in the bedroom — well-rounded lover or wooden plank?

(Heh. Plank. Get it, because he’s a pirate—)

Thorne mostly knows what he’s doing. He’s got a good amount of experience (mostly with amab partners, though he’s had a couple of afab ones) - his main problem is being a little selfish in bed. He doesn’t mind having his hair pulled and being told off, though - he might even like it, not that he’ll admit that out loud. He’ll definitely be an (over-enthusiastic) active participant no matter what! 

If they were an animal, which one would they be? Which one would they think they’d be?

Thorne would like to think of himself as something fierce and majestic and powerful; a wolf, or a tiger. He thinks he has those qualities - he wants to be impressive! He’s probably more like a smaller wildcat, though; maybe a fishing cat (he is usually found by water)! Small, but fierce; and definitely not to be underestimated. 

[nitewrighter]

Gency Week Day 5: Aurora

Me, making yet another Baihu/Valkyrie AU that has absolutely nothing to do with that smut I wrote 2 years ago: I just think they’re neat.

Skyrim-ish Fantasy AU where Mercy and Genji might as well be airbrushed on the side of a van.

With special guest appearances by Rime Sigma and Rime Sombra.

----

The Valkyrie held her heavy-bladed staff aloft, its blades spiraling around a small sphere of yellowish light illuminating her path through the ice caves. Only the most fearless of adventurers made it this far into the mountains of Thornspire, and only the madmen ventured this far into their caves. Her eyes flicked around warily at the flickering lights against the icy walls of the tunnels. It was deathly cold, and she had her large wheat-and-ivory colored wings folded about herself as a feathery cloak for warmth. She heard some pebbles scatter around a corner of the ice tunnel and her breath caught in her throat. She dimmed the light on the end of her staff with a whisper and did her best to make her footsteps as silent as possible. Distorted by a pane of thick ice, she made out a dark quadrupedal shape. Her body tensed, but she edged forward, rolling her grip on her staff. she saw the dark shape round the corner and she moved to raise her staff defensively, but glowing ice blue eyes caught her in their sharp sights and the great creature pounced with a rumbling snarl in its throat. It apparently caught sight of her weapon as its great paw pads made contact against the handle of her staff, shoving it against herself as she tumbled backward with its great weight and momentum. Mercy grunted as her back hit the ground, and her eyes opened to see a silver and black striped face and great white fangs inches from her nose. A tiger, far larger than any natural tiger had any right to be, rumbled over her, its massive paws pinning her to the floor of the tunnel.

Her breath fogged out of her with alarm before she furrowed her brow at the tiger.

“Don’t scare me like that!” she scolded and the tiger pulled its paws off of her staff, rearing back onto its haunches at her voice, “I thought you were an owlbear!”

“I thought you were a draugr,” said the tiger as whorls of icy blue light spiraled around it, coiling tight and shrinking its form until they disappeared in a flurry of blue-white sparkles, revealing a scarred man in fur-lined silver armor straddling her.

“A draugr!?” Mercy said, insulted, as she sat up, “You’re a tiger! You can see in the dark!”

“Your wings were folded in! It was instinct! And for the record, splitting up at that last fork in the tunnel was your idea,” said Genji, folding his arms. Mercy cleared her throat and Genji realized he was still straddling her. “Oh--um,” he stood up and held a hand up to her, helping her to her feet.

 “Well, at least we know the fork just rejoins,” she said, looking down the tunnel.

 He looked at her, “I don’t like the smell of this place,” he said quietly, “Are you sure the amulet of auroras is in here?”

“The strix said it would be in the deepest cave on the highest peak. I’m pretty sure this is the right cave,” said Mercy, flicking a magelight back onto the end of her staff, “What do you smell?”

Genji sniffed the air suspiciously, his pupils slitted with shrewdness. “I... I don’t know,” he said quietly, “But I don’t like it.”

“Maybe you’ve been here before!” said Mercy, shouldering her illuminated staff and continuing down the tunnel.

“Maybe...” said Genji, walking after her with one hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Are you all right?” she glanced back at him.

“I’m fine,” he said a bit stiffly.

“Genji,” her shoulders slumped with concern.

“It’s just--we’ve been adventuring for a few months, right? We work good together, right?”

“A skilled swordsman who also happens to be a giant tiger is pretty handy to have on your side in a fight,” said Mercy with a slight smile.

“I like who I am with you--I mean, who I am now! Is it that necessary to find out who I was before that?” said Genji.

“You were nearly dead when I found you. For all we know you could still be in danger from whatever put you in that state,” said Mercy, “And it could be a whole new adventure! What if you have family worrying about you right now?”

“You want to meet my family?” said Genji, tilting his head. Mercy reddened and her shoulders bunched up slightly as she pivoted on her heel to face him.

“You should want to meet your family,” said Mercy, playfully poking two fingers against the visor of his helmet.

“Tigers are solitary,” said Genji, putting his other hand on his hip.

“Right, you just keep me around because you want to eat me,” said Mercy with a smirk, continuing down the tunnel.

“Don’t tempt me,” said Genji, walking after her with a grin and a slight rumble in his throat.

“You’ll have a lot of plucking to do,” said Mercy, readjusting her wings on her shoulders.

“And you’re probably gamey anyways,” said Genji, strolling up next to her, she snorted and elbowed him but her snickers quickly faded away as the tunnel opened up from a narrow pathway of ice into a massive stone corridor with buttresses intricately carved into the likenesses of dragons, tigers, eagles, and wolves.

“...looks like we’re in the right cave...” said Mercy, brightening the magelight on her staff to get a better look at the corridor. There were empty sconces on the buttresses and a great empty brazier midway through the grand hall, but Mercy seemed more interested in the frescoes on the wall, leaning her magelight closer and squinting at them. There were lines of ancient writing long forgotten hewn into the stone, but being unable to read them, Mercy just squinted at the carvings, depicting four figures. 

“Eagle, Wolf, Dragon, Tiger,” said Mercy, she looked back at Genji, “Tiger!” she said, pointing to the tiger carving while grinning at him.

Genji looked at her a little helplessly.

“This doesn’t... make you remember anything?” said Mercy, still pointing at the carving, “Nothing at all?”

Genji shook his head.

Mercy sighed, “I suppose it’s probably just coincidence, then...” she murmured. 

“It’s probably more like what you said when we met. I’m just a druid,” said Genji, “Lots of druids probably take the shape of tigers. They’re strong. It’s practical.”

“None of the druids I know,” said Mercy, walking on.

“...oh,” said Genji. He squinted at the tiger carving in the light fading with Mercy’s distance. “You know, this might not even be a tiger. There are wildcats everywhere, it’s not necessarily--” He absentmindedly touched the tiger carving and flinched back as it took on the same ice-blue glow as his eyes, “Um... Valkyrie?” 

Mercy turned around and gasped as the entire frescoe set itself ablaze in a blue glow. 

“I thought you said you couldn’t remember any spells!” said Mercy as the blue light flared along all of the frescoes’ outlines.

“I don’t!” said Genji as the light bounced from the wall to one of the sconces on the buttresses, then sprang like a fish from sconce to sconce, lighting up the entire corridor in a ghostly blue light.

“Genji, you’ve definitely been in this place before,” said Mercy.

“We don’t know that for sure!” said Genji on reflex.

 The little blue blaze bounced from the last sconce in a high arc and hit the brazier at the center of the room, blazing into a great blue fire. The great fire in the brazier spiraled and curved like those same silvery lights around Genji when he shifted from tiger to man.

“Get behind me,” Genji spoke on reflex, stepping in front of mercy.

“Tiger of the West Wind! Light-footed Dancer! The hunter in the snow! Our brother has finally returned!” a mischievous voice bounced off the walls of the corridor before the flames in the brazier spun themselves into the shape of a blue-skinned white haired woman donning clothes spiked like icicles, her arms thrown up into the air with grandeur. She opened her eyes and gave an unimpressed look to Mercy, “...and his guest, I guess,” she said with a shrug and an obligatory gesture at Mercy.

“...Brother?” said Genji, helplessly.

Mercy gave him a ‘Are you kidding me’ look and Genji immediately regretted saying ‘We don’t know that for sure.’

“Man, the Eastern wind really did a number on you, didn’t he?” said the blue-skinned woman, hopping down from the brazier, “I guess that’s the only way one of us would be caught dead hanging around with an einherjar groupie, huh?”

“An einherjar what?!” Mercy’s feathers fluffed out with fury.

“The Valkyrie is my companion,” said Genji, “She rescued me. I would ask that she be treated with the same respect you’re showing me.”

“We’re winds, we don’t show respect. We blow on kings and paupers alike,” said the blue-skinned woman with a shrug.

“’We?’” Genji repeated, “I’m a wind?”

 “I just said you’re the West Wind! What kind of brother are you!?” said the blue-skinned woman. She studied Genji’s face. Genji looked blankly back at her. “You don’t remember me? At all?! Dragon of the South Wind? Bringer of the Autumn frost? Tree shaker? Ship-breaker?!”

“I--Um... You seem very memorable?” said Genji.

“Ugh,” the South Wind slumped her shoulders with exasperation, “Maybe the North Wind will know what to do with you,” she said before snapping her fingers.

“Wait--” Genji and Mercy started at the same time but suddenly they were caught up in a great spiraling flurry of silvery snowflakes until they found themselves in a vast and bleak icy throne room. Seated upon a throne of glassy black ice was a broad-shouldered man with shoulder-length white hair, pale blue-gray skin, a hawkish nose, and those same ice-blue eyes as Genji. Around his neck, a bright amulet glowed in green and blue and pink.

“...the amulet,” Mercy whispered to Genji, and Genji could only dumbly nod.

“North Wind!” the South Wind threw up her arms, “Bone-chiller! Swift-flier! Our brother has returned!”

“Brother,” said the man on the throne, “It’s been too long.” He gave a cold glance at Mercy standing next to him. “And who is this?”

“I am the Valkyrie Mercy,” said Mercy stepping forward, “Genji and I have been trav--”

“Genji?” said the North Wind, looking around, “Who is Genji?”

“...I’m Genji,” said Genji, “Well, that’s what I call myself.”

“A name?” the South Wind snorted and burst out laughing, “You gave yourself a name!?”

“Am I... not supposed to have one?” said Genji.

”Winds have no need of such things,” said the North Wind, with a scoff, “Then again, you always were difficult. Even now you seek to bring your paramours into halls forbidden to them. ”

“Para--” Genji started and then gave a glance back to Mercy.

“Oh--we’re not---” Mercy started, reddening.

“Could be worse,” said the South Wind, who had apparently made her way behind Mercy and was now unfolding one of her wings, “Could be a garden-variety mortal.”

Mercy yanked her wing out of the South Wind’s grip and the South Wind put her hands up in a playful ‘I didn’t do anything’ gesture before nimbly bounding to the side of the North Wind’s throne.

“I meant no offense,” said Genji, “As we were saying the Valkyrie rescued me when I was severely injured and near death, but... when she healed me I had no memory of who I was before. Legend says the Amulet of Auroras could restore people and things to states once lost. We came here in the hopes that it might restore my memory.”

The South Wind snorted incredulously. “The amulet can only work its magic once every thousand years! You think we’d use that kind of magic just because you and East had another little squabble? You fight all the time!”

“So it was the East Wind that did this to me,” said Genji, looking down.

“Where is the East Wind?” said Mercy, looking around.

“You will teach your guest to hold her tongue--” The North Wind started.

“She is my companion,” said Genji, “And I would ask that myself. Where is the East Wind?”

“Out,” said the South Wind with a shrug.

“Out... where?” said Genji.

“Where he pleases,” said the North Wind, examining his claws that glittered with that same black ice as his throne, “As is his nature.”

“Well, perhaps he can be called here?” said Mercy.

“No one summons the winds,” said the North Wind.

“Did you not seek me out when he returned and I did not?” said Genji.

“No,” said the North Wind.

“Did the East Wind face any punishment for the harm he inflicted?” said Mercy.

“Why punish what is well within our nature?” said the South Wind.

“Your fights are your business,” said the North Wind, apparently bored.

“...you didn’t know where I was, you were in possession of something that could help me, but you didn’t look for me?” said Genji.

“You’re a Wind,” said the North Wind with a toss of his hand, “You didn’t need my help. You found your way back.”

“I was scared and lost and lonely for months!” said Genji. 

“Because you were among mortals,” said the North Wind, “You contracted their mannerisms like a disease. Fear, loss, loneliness,” he gave a derisive glance to Mercy, “Attachment. Even now your line of questions is inane.”

 “You didn’t understand how above them you were,” said the South Wind with a shrug, “How above them we are.”

“How are you above them?!” said Mercy.

“We’re the winds,” said the South Wind with a laugh, as if Mercy was speaking nonsense, “We have power they can only dream of.”

“Power does not speak to worthiness,” said Mercy, her grip tightening on her staff.

“You will not speak with such insolence as long as you are a guest in these halls,” said the North Wind. 

“Valkyries,” said the South Wind pityingly, “Always getting so worked up and weepy over mortals. ‘Worthiness’ is a term those same mortals invented to cope with their own weakness.”

“You know nothing of worthiness! Mortals are good and kind to each other because they have so little power! Because it’s all they can do in their power to try and make things easier for each other! That is not weakness!” 

“Silence your guest,” said the North Wind, looking to Genji.

“She speaks the truth,” said Genji, “Besides, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

Mercy huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Then apparently East’s lesson didn’t sink in,” said the South Wind, needle-like fangs growing in her mouth.

“Genji--” Mercy said his name in warning.

“Winds don’t have names!” said the South Wind, silver-blue light spiraling around her and concealing her form. 

She’s transforming, Mercy realized, Like Genji.

The mass of spiraling light suddenly lunged at them and Mercy stepped in front of Genji and caught the newly-transformed Wyvern’s teeth on the handle of her staff before the South Wind could bite into her.

“Genji, just get the amulet!” said Mercy, smacking the Wyvern’s head a side with a hard swing of her staff.

Genji gave her a single nod and drew his sword, charging toward the throne, only to be knocked back by a massive chunk of ice, his sword clattering to the side of him.

“Well you may have forgotten us, but you haven’t forgotten your impertinence,” said the North Wind, pushing up off of his throne. 

Genji pushed up from the floor and took the form of a tiger, charging the North Wind again, this time nimbly dodging the hunks of ice being thrown at him and springing with fangs bared. The North Wind caught his teeth on his black vambraces and furrowed his brow at him, before casting Genji off and taking the form of an eagle, sweeping up and out of his reach.

“Valkyrie!” he called to Mercy. Mercy was parrying the fangs of the South Wind with her staff, but she managed to look at him, “Switch?!”

Mercy’s eyes flicked up to the eagle flying overhead and she gave Genji a nod before Genji sprang onto the South Wind’s back, slashing at her wings as she struck at him like a snake with her long neck. 

Mercy’s wings kicked a puff of diamond dust up off the floor as she sprang up into flight towards the great white-plumed eagle with glowing ice-blue eyes. The eagle screeched and dove for her, talons outstretched, but she narrowly dipped out of the way. She blocked his talons and razor sharp beak with short motions of her sword. She looked at the glowing amulet around the eagle’s neck, and her brow furrowed. She fastened her staff at her back and drew her sword. He dove for her and clawed for her but she swept out of his grasp every time. She was honestly a little surprised at how easy it was for her to anticipate his moves.

Winds can’t be summoned or commanded, she realized as she swept in close to the eagle and a fierce little grin lit up her lips as she darted up past him, But anyone whose spent their whole life flying knows how to change with them. 

She turned sharply in mid-air and slashed hard at the eagle’s back with her sword. The North Wind let out an earsplitting screech that had the high howl of the wind across the sea and twisted in mid air. Mercy seized the amulet with her free hand and cut it loose with her sword. The Eagle screeched again with a fury and beat her hard with its wings before clawing its talons across her forearm as she dealt a retaliating slash across its breast feathers. The wound did not bleed but glowed with that same icy blue as Mercy tore herself away from the Eagle. The North Wind screeched a final time before it lowered itself to the ground, silver light spiraling around him as he retook the form of a man, slumped over on one knee, panting hard.

“Genji!” Mercy called and Genji glanced up from the South Wind to see Mercy holding the amulet over her head.

The Tiger and Wyvern were twisted around each other, both covered in bites and claw marks from each other, but finally the tiger had her pinned to the ground, his claws at her long neck, and from the floor, the South Wind saw the North Wind brought to his knees. “Yield,” snarled Genji. 

“All right, all right, I yield,” said the South Wind, putting her hands up, “Not even the amulet’s worth getting knocked in the head and ending up as dumb as you.”

“Genji, catch,” said Mercy, tossing the amulet over to him. He caught it and turned it over in his hand. It seemed so large and glittering around the North Wind’s neck, but in his own hand it seemed hardly bigger than a large coin, but Genji could see the greens and pinks rippling through the dark, round stone. He worked to re-tie the cord Mercy had cut.

The Valkyrie held a hand out to the North Wind, moving to help him to his feet. “I apologize,” she said, “But... perhaps once he has his memories, we can all better understand each other.’’

“I will say we have underestimated you, Valkyrie,” said the North Wind, tracing a hand over the slash wound at his front and sealing it with a line of ice, “But no boon is taken from the wind without cost.”

“What?” Mercy started but she looked at the hand she had extended to the north wind. Her fingers were turning blue from the tips as white frost feathered out from her arm. She stood up and found with a horror that she couldn’t bend her arm. “No--” she looked at the three slash marks the North Wind had made on her forearm and saw the red of her blood was black and glittering as blue spread out from the injury. Instinctively she brought her hand up to try and feel at the now completely numbed wound, but she saw with horror that blue was spreading from the fingertips of her other hand. She staggered back, feeling the cold freeze her shoulder solid, the frost spiraling over the steel of her breastplate, her legs numbed in place and her feet now frozen in place to the floor.

“Valkyrie!” Genji looked up from the amulet and rushed over to her.

“Genj--” she started, but the ice swept over her neck and her voice froze in her throat. Her lips were parted as they turned blue. Genji put his hands on her shoulders as her hair turned white and stiff, frozen solid. Her eyes were frozen open, staring back at him in fear and confusion. Her wings were curving around her protectively, each feather perfectly cast in ice.

“No...” Genji’s voice was hushed as he moved to touch her face but flinched back as a loose strand of hair broke away brittlely at his touch.

“In fairness,” said the South Wind, strolling up next to him, “I did mention the North Wind was also called ‘Bone-Chiller.’”

“Change her back,” said Genji, looking over to the North Wind.

“I cannot,” said the North Wind.

“Asking the North Wind to un-freeze something?” said the South Wind, “Man, you really don’t remember anything, do you? Ah well,” she swung an arm around Genji, “On the bright side, you probably won’t even care about all this once you put the amulet on.”

Genji suddenly perked up. “It restores lost states...” he said quietly. He quickly tied off the cord of the amulet.

“Yep! Gotta say, I’m looking forward to you not being all... ‘Oh Valkyrie’ this and ‘Human lives have worth’ that,” said the South Wind, “And once you see the East Wind again--”

Genji looped the chord of the amulet over Mercy’s head.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” The South Wind blurted out.

Genji gave a somewhat confused look at the South Wind, then he realized that it simply didn’t occur to her that he might use the amulet for anyone other than himself.

“...I’d rather have her in my life than end up like you,” said Genji, looking between the North and South winds. Both the North Wind and the South Wind looked at him with complete perplexity. Pink and green lights bloomed out from the amulet and Genji took a step back as the lights rippled and flickered around Mercy, her braid thawing out and rippling as if she was underwater. The color returned to her cheeks and nose and lips, and her eyes rolled back in her head and her lids closed heavily as she swayed and sank to the floor. He caught her before she could collapse completely.

“Valkyrie...” he spoke to her gently.

“Mm,” she grunted sleepily and he exhaled with some relief.

He looped the amulet back over her head and tossed it across the floor to the North Wind. “It should be good in a thousand years.” He looked up from Mercy to the North and South Wind, “It’s... probably best if we leave.”

“You have no concept of what you’ve wasted,” said the North Wind, “Of what you’re giving up.”

“And I probably never will,” said Genji, hauling Mercy up from the floor and slinging her over his shoulder, “Farewell.”

----

Mercy awoke with her face half-buried in fur and the stars overhead. She grunted a little and felt something press against her cheek rhythmically. She lifted her head slightly and found she was draped across Genji’s back as he padded, in tiger form, through the snows of Thornspire.

She flinched to alertness. “Genji?” she spoke his name. His fur felt warm on the side of her face

“We’re safe,” Genji spoke to her gently, “About as safe as we can be out here.”

“What happened?” said Mercy, “Everything got cold...” she suddenly pushed up, “The amulet! Did you--?”

“I restored what was lost to me,” said Genji.

“So... you remember...?” Mercy’s brow crinkled.

“Absolutely nothing. And I’m fine with that,” said Genji.

Mercy’s eyes trailed out over the mountain peaks. . “So you’re not a druid,” she said quietly, “You’re the Western Wind.”

“What I am is an adventurer, like you,” said Genji. She could feel his voice rumbling up through his back. She trailed a finger down one of the stripes on his side.

Mercy pushed herself up to an upright position straddling his back like a horse. She swayed slightly with lightheadedness. “So you’re not staying with them.”

“I think I’ve found better company,” said Genji.

Mercy gave a slight chuckle before her eyes trailed up to the sky. Crowning the mountains were great ribbons of green and pink light amid a river of stars. She dug her fingers into the thick fur behind Genji’s ear and gave him a hard-knuckled scratch. A pleased chuff rumbled in Genji’s throat and she snickered a little. “So,” she said, looking up at the sky, “Where to next?”

[therealvagabird]

Sapphire Trio

Three OCs inspired by my time playing Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I don’t really have plans for this trio, but I wanted to get them down in writing. While not fanfic OCs, I imagine they inhabit a pseudo-romanticized version of Ancient Greece as depicted in that game.

They are all of them fans of murder and pretty ladies, and you can read about them under the cut.

Phoebe the Owl

Appearance: Tall and powerful woman with tanned olive skin and rich brown hair. Her features are very beautiful and refined, though her physique is that of an Olympic champion. Despite her intensive agility training, Phoebe has a broad figure and a natural disposition to putting on bulk, making her size an intimidating diversion to her actual speed and stealthiness.

Phoebe wears arm and leg-guards of dark patinated bronze, an off-white chiton, a dark brown embroidered chlamys with hood, and several sashes of deep blue fabric for fasteners. She also has many tool-pouches about her harness and carries with her two daggers and a xiphos. For supplemental weapons she has a sheaf of throwing knifes, as well as more exotic items like her rare custom poisons.

Bio: Phoebe was born at sea, near to the island of Ithaka, to a pair of traders. She spent her earliest years on the water or in port, leading a tough but adventurous life, and enjoying much affection from her parents. However around the age of ten tragedy struck when the ship her family was on wrecked on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Phoebe was taken in by a passing patrol of soldiers returning to Attika and placed in the care of an adoptive family in Athens.

From then on Phoebe grew up within a simple military family in the city of Athens, receiving a basic girl’s education and being raised to be a good public servant – as her new parents determined early on she would not be a good candidate for an arranged marriage. However, through the processing of her trauma and remaining adventurous spirit, Phoebe began taking to the streets as an urchin. Her hobbies included eavesdropping, petty theft, and other pastimes of the city’s vagrant youth. She became quite adept, learning many skills through practice or second-hand observation, but she grew stifled by the inequalities and rigor of lawful Athenian life. Taking her leave from the city, Phoebe once again boarded a passing ship, and embraced the life of an itinerant mercenary.

Now, as an adult, she has continued along that path. Her travels about the Mediterranean have made her many friends and enemies, and she has become renowned as the Owl for her perceived wisdom, guile, and proficiency as an assassin. Despite her bulky figure and brusque attitude, Phoebe possesses a sharp tongue and deceptive sneakiness – though even with her bloody line of work, she’s known to be a compassionate soul. Phoebe despises inequality and injustice, and many times has taken contracts out of personal conviction besides simple pay. She met her longtime traveling companions, Eva and Laodice, aboard a pirate ship under the legendary captain Sofia the Gorgon, who acted as a notable mentor to the trio early in their careers.

Evaechme / Eva the She-Wolf

Appearance: Eva is a slender woman with a figure that evokes Artemis herself. Her skin is a rich tan from her long treks beneath the open sky, and her hair is a sun-bleached platinum, long and tied back in many braids in a style favored by huntresses and sailors. She has a missing left eye, and one eye of a blue-green hue like that of the sea, completing her naturalistic appearance.

Preferring light garments of hide, Eva’s outfit is a layered collection of soft leathers, totemic charms, and pelts taken from her many hunts. She prefers comfortable attire that provides protection from the elements but maximum flexibility for climbing, running, and stalking. Her weaponry includes a sabre, a javelin she may also use as a walking stick, and a large bow of olive wood and antler.

Bio: Born on the island of Mykonos to simple farmers, Evaechme always longed for something more in life. Though she did not hate her family, she despised being trapped in her place of birth, and stowed away on a ship to nearby Delos in search of adventure. She found it when, after being arrested by the Delian port authority, she was taken in by a priestess of Artemis. The priestess was sympathetic of Eva’s plight, and offered her a position as one of the Huntresses – military servants to the Cult of Artemis. Eva accepted and was sent on another ship with her new sisters to Brauron in Attika to train. Evaechme swore a vow of celibacy and was inducted into the ways of hunting, survival, and the mysteries of Artemis. However this too in time became dull to her, and to the anger of many of her sisters Eva left on a pirate ship bound for Lesbos some years later and started a new life as a mercenary.

Evaechme is defined by her utter inability to ever be satisfied, and the fact that she is a culmination of all her life experiences. She offers many insights and derives much comfort from various rituals and hobbies she picked up as a peasant, as a Huntress, and as a pirate, but she holds no strong conviction to any one cause. Though a very spiritual and superstitious soul, she never neglects to pursue what she wants, or break from social norms. She is also prone to biting off more than she can chew in search of a challenge, and her initial compulsion to team up with Phoebe and Laodice came from her realizing the value of having trusted allies.

Eva is quite fond of animals and has at various points in her life had pet cats, dogs, raptors and other birds, wolves, and wildcats.

Laodice the Aetos / the Bronze Eagle

Appearance: Laodice is a large and fearsome woman whose figure speaks to the very lineage of Herakles. Her features are strong and androgynous in their hard angles, and her scarred skin is a rich olive, though not so dark as her companions’. Black hair is kept in a somewhat military hairstyle, with the front and top cropped into short curls, while the excess on the sides and back is braided into a “circlet and tail” design.

Referred to on occasion as the Colossus of Amazonia, Loadice’s pride is a set of armor made of modified pieces looted from many opponents, rivaling the ancient skill of Mycenae in its design. The armor, of polished bronze, features a cuirass and armored tassets, along with shin-guards and vambraces. Providing additional armor are two light but solid bronze slab-pauldrons reinforced with leather, bronze torcs acting as rerebraces, and a Corinthian helmet featuring a slight pointed bronze crest and two wing-like plume crests. Beneath, she wears simple garments of thick cloth and leather to provide padding and comfort. Her main weapon is a large maul with a flanged bronze head – the ridges allowing oil-soaked linens or rope to be affixed around the mace and ignited for intimidating and deadly effect.

Bio: Born in Macedon to unknown parentage, Laodice was raised as a mercenary from a very young age by a rough band of travelling warriors. Laodice’s pseudo-father was a northerner who nonetheless claimed to be descended from all manner of mythical heroes and was as quick to violence as he was to laughter. Though far from an ideal childhood, it nonetheless served to mold Laodice into an Amazonian terror to rival any man. She became renowned for her great strength, being called Man-Maiden and The Aetos – the Bronze Eagle of Zeus. Laodice’s life was typical for that of a mercenary from then on, and though far from a pinnacle of refinement, Laodice enjoyed defying other’s expectations of her, going out of her way to try and train her mind to be as notable as her physique. As with those men she was raised under, Laodice’s main hobbies include fighting and drinking, and she is a staunch believer in the power of the gods, holding particular reverence for Athena and Persephone.

Laodice’s major break came during her service under Sofia the Gorgon, where she managed to accrue a wealth of experience, notoriety, and gold. Towards the end of this phase in her life was when she obtained her Colossus Panoply and Hammer of Storms – her impressive armor and bludgeon which she intends to turn into items of legend through her use of them alone. Loadice is the anvil which any enemies struggle to break, leaving themselves tired and distracted for the three-way assault of the Owl, the Wolf, and the Eagle.

[megraen]

So five years of not drawing people, I decided to give it a go again, starting with drawing my mate @socially-awkward-skeleton OC Kit Cross.

[beermanoftana]

the spreading virus [arthur, ariadne]

a repost, originally posted in my former writing blog

ship: arthur x ariadne, wolf (oc) x kitty (oc)

warnings: swearing; edited thrice in a span of…a few minutes so mistakes may be present

notes: this is 1 of my 3 inception babies; i was still using a different voice then but nothing else has changed

summary: there’s a virus spreading around, and arthur has to .protect his family before they can read safety

Happening now in Brooklyn…”

“…as President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines…”

“In other news, Tom Hiddleston and Tom Hardy team-up with Minka Kelly in a fantasy-filled…”

Whether you want to hear about what’s going on locally, internationally or even when it comes to celebrities, the news you hear on the radio, watch on television or read in the newspaper is the one you make sure to catch. And on Thursday morning, December first, it is no different from any other mornings. People wake up to tune in to the daily reports happening around the world.

And that’s just what Arthur Brandon is doing in the very early morning. The kitchen television is on and he’s currently watching today’s special reports. His ears pick up at the local news, and then listens carefully at international news, but zones out on celebrity news. He’s enjoying his brewed, black coffee and buttered toast.

Aside from the TV and his breakfast, his mind is working on a master plan for the day. He can hear footsteps upstairs and he can cross off ‘get children ready’. Once his wife arrives downstairs, they’ll share their two minutes of honeymoon-esque bliss before their daughter arrives to ask them for breakfast. It’s not a regular day for her; she’s playing hooky for a doctor’s appointment. Ariadne would be taking off a day from work to accompany their youngest. Their son would come down in a few seconds, his bag already filled with yesterday’s homework. Arthur would remind him about his inhaler and the younger man would roll his eyes and say, “yes, Dad”.

After a few short conversations, breakfast is over and they’re all ready to pile in the car. Drop Casey off, bring Ariadne and Spencer to the hospital and then it’s his turn to go to work. The day will be just like any other day, he thinks.

“Morning, Arthur,” Ariadne greets as she enters the kitchen. “Anything happening on the news?”

“None that we should be alarmed about,” he replies. They meet halfway and he kisses her. She returns it with much glee. “How’d you sleep?” he asks her, his hands now on her waist.

She gives him a crooked smile. “It scares me when it’s time for the kids’ annual check-ups. They’re going to go in fine—”

“And come out with something serious,” Arthur finishes. “I know, I worry about that, too.” He brings her close and assures her, “Spencer is going to be fine. She’s a healthy girl.”

Speaking of, the young girl arrives in the kitchen with a beam on her face. “Good morning, Daddy. Good morning, Mommy.”

“Good morning, Sweetheart. You seem more cheerful than usual,” Ariadne observes with a quiet laugh. “Is it because you’re skipping school today?”

Spencer giggles as she sits on the stool of the counter. “An excused absence!”

“Don’t be too proud of yourself, little missy,” Arthur teases. “It isn’t fun anymore when you’ve missed lessons and don’t know how to answer your school work properly in the future.”

The young girl sighs dramatically and raises her palms to her cheeks, “Oh, Daddy, you’re the one who keeps saying I’m smart.”

Arthur smiles and moves to kiss her forehead. “That you are, my princess.”

Footsteps approach the kitchen and Arthur doesn’t even have to guess who it is. The eldest of the Brandon children has arrived with his blue backpack behind him. “Morning!” he greets. The three initial Brandons return his cheerful 'morning’ as he slides beside his sister. Just as Arthur predicted, after reminding his son about his inhaler, Casey says “yes, Dad,” with a roll of his eyes. “Your birthday is almost nearing, Spencer.”

“Yeah!”

Ariadne smiles as she sets Casey’s plate in front of him. “What do you want?”

As soon as their mother is out of hearing range, Casey whispers in his sister’s ear. Spencer nods excitedly. “A puppy!”

Arthur and Ariadne look at each with twinkles in their eyes. “Oh really? Do you really want that, Spencey?” Arthur asks.

“I do! I do!” the young brunette replies. “And Casey does, too!”

“Spencer!” Casey shushes her.

About twenty minutes later breakfast is over, dishes are washed and everyone is ready to pile up into the car. Arthur gets into the driver’s seat while Ariadne sits on the passenger seat. Casey and Spencer get into their respective sides in the back seat, Casey behind Ariadne and Spencer behind Arthur. “Seatbelts,” their father reminds. When everyone is ready, Arthur starts the engine and the four begin their journey to their daily endeavors.

The traffic jam turns out to be horrible today. Arthur fears that Casey would be late for school, Ariadne assures him that there’s always a first for everything. Stuck in the city, Casey and Spencer decide to play a childhood game wherein their parents have to guess what they are thinking about. They are now on the fifth round and the adults have yet to guess what the children are thinking.

“Can you keep it as a pet?” Ariadne asks.

“Maybe,” Casey says with a slight shrug. “Possibly.” Spencer nods in agreement. “Dad?”

“So you can see it in the pet store?”

“Nope.” Spencer shakes her head.

Ariadne bites her bottom lip in thought. “Tricky. So it can be a pet but it can’t be found in the pet store…so it’s in the zoo!”

“Yes!” Spencer cheers.

Arthur nods as he steps on the gas pedal but not moving more than ten inches. “When you meant keep it as a pet, did you mean that it is a pet in the zoo?”

Casey replies, “You can also keep it in the house.”

Ariadne sighs. “Alright, I’m ready to use my one and only answer.” Casey and Spencer eagerly coax her. “Some sort of sea animal? A shark, maybe?”

“Wrong!” the kids yell with glee at the same time. If Arthur doesn’t get it, the score would be three-two. Guess who’s winning. “It’s not that, Mom,” Casey says. “Although good guess. That was what we were almost thinking.”

“Your turn, Daddy.”

Frustrated with the traffic jam and partly bored with the childhood game, Arthur shrugs and says, “I give up. What is it?”

“A wildcat!” Spencer announces. “We win! Casey and I win!”

“Oh, I see,” Arthur murmurs. He’s now interested in the commotion happening in front of him. Two men have begun arguing, one man who had stayed in his lane while the other had tried to overtake him from another lane. As he was watching intently, thinking of plans on how to get out of the scene in case anything will happen, an NYPD officer in a motorcycle zooms past their car with much force that they broke the side-mirror. “What the—”

“And he’s just going to run away!?” Casey demands

“Stay inside,” Arthur commands as he unfastens his seatbelt and unlocks the door.

“Be careful,” Ariadne tells him

Arthur steps out of the vehicle and walks the short distance to where the side-mirror landed. He’s cautious about the men who are still arguing with one another. As he picks up the damaged part the driver from the car beside him asks if he’s all right. “Good, just…” Arthur shows the side-mirror to him, “poor thing.” The driver gives a crooked smile before nodding. Arthur returns the nod before returning inside the car. “That went well.”

Just then, another NYPD officer in a motorcycle arrives and stops right beside their car. “Stay inside! Stay inside! Do not—” He is unable to continue his sentence as he is hit by a speeding (or as fast as it could get) truck. Casey immediately covers Spencer’s eyes. Ariadne and Arthur look at each other in shock.

“Daddy, what’s going on?” Spencer asks, eyes still covered by her brother’s hands. “What happened to that man?”

Arthur doesn’t answer. Instead, he looks out the window and sees people screaming and running around. The two men in front had stopped arguing and are now back inside their cars, honking away. The driver beside them had run away, leaving his side of the door wide open. Arthur feels Ariadne’s hand hold onto his elbow. “The children,” is all she says. He nods in understanding. He’ll get them out, he’ll get them safe. Suddenly, another truck passes by them and Arthur notices that it’s making a path way for itself. He re-fastens his seatbelt and says, “Hold on tight.”

Casey lets go of his sister and holds onto the seat. Spencer looks at him before copying his movements. Ariadne holds on to the door. Arthur steps on the gas and follows the truck wherever it passes by. This goes on for a good few minutes but once he hits the intersection, Arthur doesn’t see a car to his left. They crash and for a moment, everything is black and blurry for him.

“Ariadne,” he manages, “the kids…” He looks to his right and sees Ariadne trying to calm the children down. She’s holding onto her temple meaning she may have a bump. But as parents, their first priority will always be the children. “We have to get out,” he says softly. “Have to find…someplace safe.” Ariadne unbuckles her seatbelt and opens her door. Arthur gathers up his energy before doing the same, thinking that the kids should be safe. He opens Spencer’s door and unfastens her seatbelt. “Are you okay, Spencey?”

“Yes, Daddy,” she replies, “I’m okay.” She puts up a brave front.

He picks her up and places her on his hip. On the other side, Ariadne is caressing their son’s hair, probably to calm him down. At the corner of his eye, he sees people running away and screaming, not much of a different sight from earlier.

However, this time, he sees a man acting strangely. He’s running towards the people as if he’s about to attack them. He watches closely. The strange-acting man aims for a van not far away from him. He tries entering the van but the people had locked themselves in. To Arthur’s surprise, the man jumps to the front and tries to break the windshield. After a few attempts, he is successful and drags the driver out before…biting him? Arthur’s eyes widen. He bit the driver. At the back of his head, he began to count…

'One Mississippi…’

“Arthur, we have to go!”

'Two Mississippi…’

'Three Mississippi…’

It’s not until the third second that the bitten man begins to have a seizure.

“Arthur!”

'Four Mississippi…’

The man begins to stand.

'Five Mississippi…’

'Six Mississippi…’

His seizure continues.

'Seven Mississippi…’

“Arthur, let’s go!”

'Eight Mississippi…’

'Nine Mississippi…’

“Daddy!”

'Ten Mississippi…’

His head twists and turns.

'Eleven Mississippi…’

He growls.

'Twelve Mississippi!’

Attacks.

“Arthur!”

Arthur jumps out of his thoughts and turns to see Ariadne holding onto a heavy breathing Casey. He looks around for a way to escape. “There!” He points towards a heavy van. “Get in there!” The family begins to run. But all the while, Arthur watches what the bitten man is doing. Once they reach the van, he searches for the keys and fortunately, they’re still in. Just as he is about to start the engine, a woman attacks them and is forcing her way inside through the open window. Arthur does his best to ignite the engine. When it does, he drives a little recklessly, hoping to throw out the woman. But to his surprise, Ariadne kicks the attacker and they are, at last, pretty safe.

As they enter the highway, Ariadne moves to the back of the van to stay with Casey, whose breathing intensified. After a few minutes, she calls her husband to pull over so that she could look for his medicine. Arthur stays with his son as Ariadne searches through Casey’s backpack. “There’s only one in here, the extra one is in my purse…shoot, I left it in the car in a hurry to leave.”

“It’s alright,” Arthur tells her. “We’ll figure this out. The one we have now will have to do.” Arthur kisses Casey’s forehead as he moves back to the driver’s seat now that Ariadne has taken over once again. “Are you okay there, Spencey?”

Spencer, who had been going around the van, nods and says, “Yes, Daddy. Look what I found!” She comes out of the cabinet she had been looking at and reveals a Remington 700 BDL rifle.

Arthur immediately stands to go to her. “Whoah, whoah, whoah! Be careful with that.” He takes the dangerous weapon away from his daughter and places it on the passenger seat. Must be a hunter’s van, he wonders. When he sees Spencer back on her seat, he sits on the driver seat again, ready to start the engine. But just then, there is a vibration going on in Arthur’s pocket and he realizes someone’s calling him. He looks at the screen and sees a familiar name. “Hello?”

“Are you with your family?”

“Yes.”

“Are you safe?”

“For now.”

“Good. We’ll pick you up as soon as we can.”

“You mean, you can’t pick us up now?”

“I’m afraid not. We have some…issues. The earliest we can is sunrise.”

Arthur sighs. “Better than nothing.”

“Find some place safe for the night and we’ll get you once we can, I promise.”

“Alright.” When they end the call, Ariadne asks who was on the other line. “It’s Dom,” he answers.

Ariadne looks at him. “And?”

“He’ll pick us up as soon as he can. But that won’t be until sunrise. We need to get supplies.” He revs up the engine and moves forward. “We’ll find a supermarket or something along the way.”

It takes them an hour to find a grocery store. Unfortunately, word must have gone out and there are people rushing in and out of the place. Arthur stops the engine and grabs the keys. As he is about to go down he remembers the rifle and looks at it for a second before deciding to take it with him. The whole family rushes inside the store and Arthur takes Casey’s hand. “We’ll find the medicine.”

“I’ll get as much supplies as we can,” Ariadne says. She picks up Spencer and places her inside the nearest pushcart she can find. “If we don’t find each other we’ll meet back here, alright?”

“Okay.” Arthur nods. They separate and Arthur and Casey head to the pharmacy. Once they’re there, Arthur immediately looks for albuterol.

“Dad,” Casey calls out, his voice shaking.

Arthur looks up and sees a twenty-something junkie holding a gun. When he looks behind the younger man he sees the pharmacist dead on the ground. Arthur shields his son with his own body. “Hey.”

“What are you looking for?” the young man asks.

“Albuterol,” Arthur replies.

The junkie nods towards Casey. “For him?”

“Yeah.”

Without a word, the younger man moves behind the desks and grabs a few packs of medicine. He walks to Arthur and hands him what he has. “Take it.”

Arthur grabs the medicine and says “thank you”. Before he could ask more questions he hears a familiar scream. “Spencer!” he calls out. He turns around and sees the pushcart his daughter is in just a few feet away from him. Ariadne is nowhere near her. Arthur brings Casey to his little sister and he drops the medicine in the cart. “Where’s Mommy?” he asks.

“Arthur!”

“Stay here,” Arthur instructs Casey. He then sees Ariadne being assaulted by two men not far from them. “Hey! Hey!” Arthur aims his rifle at them and successfully shoots one of the two. Distracted by his companions injury, Ariadne gets the chance to escape and runs to her husband. When the uninjured assaulter realizes that Ariadne is gone, he turns out to also have a gun, a SIG-Sauer P229, and starts shooting at the couple. Arthur shoots at his leg. A cop from one of the aisles appears and Arthur raises his hands to surrender…but the cop jogs past them and begins collecting his own supplies. Arthur and Ariadne look at him then at each other before returning to their children.

Once they have gathered all the supplies and placed them in the bags that they had gotten they leave the grocery store.

“Where’s the van?” Casey asks.

“What?” Arthur looks up to where they left the van and sees that it’s gone. “Shit,” he mutters under his breath. “Someone must have hotwired it.”

“We didn’t leave anything important, did we?” Ariadne checks to see Casey and Spencer carrying their bags and Arthur nodding. She looks around and spots a building some kilometers away. “Arthur.” She points at it.

Arthur holds on to Spencer who holds onto Casey while he grabs onto his mother. He reaches for his phone and calls Dom. “Cobb, we’ll be in the Aero building. Yeah…still here in Brooklyn, yes…we’ve got flares, that’ll be our signal tomorrow…alright, alright.”

The four continue running towards their destination, dodging people who are trying to attack them. As they near the building one of the attackers aims for the children. Arthur doesn’t bother to think, he just aims the rifle at the incoming intruder and shoots him. Without wasting a second the family runs inside but they are chased by another group. They run up the stairs looking for an open door. Luckily, a door on the fourth floor is open and Ariadne ushers the kids inside while Arthur holds off the monsters.

“Arthur, get in here!”

He quickly kicks the one he had been fending off and rushes inside, closing and locking the door behind him. Panting, Arthur checks on his family and notices one member is missing. “Where’s Spencer?”

“Please let me in!”

Arthur and Ariadne look at each other before running to the corner of the hallway. They see Spencer standing in front of a door and calling for the people inside to let her in. “Spencer!” her parents call out.

When they reach her, the door opens and they see a man not older than Arthur with curly brown hair. A woman, almost the same age, with tan skin and long dark hair is behind him. “Get inside,” the man orders, “hurry!”

Spencer runs inside as Ariadne follows. Casey is a little hesitant but Arthur ushers him inside. “Dad,” is all he says.

“I’ll take care of it,” the father assures the son. Casey nods and hurries inside with Arthur.

Once inside, the man locks the door and pushes a heavy cabinet to block it. Arthur doesn’t think it will hold but it will do for now. The woman disappears into a room and comes out a minute later with glasses of water. “You must all be thirsty from running,” she says and hands each Brandon member a glass. “Here, it’s cold.”

“Thank you,” Casey and Spencer say in unison.

“Thank you,” Ariadne follows with a smile.

Arthur gives a tight smile before drinking from his glass.

“Are you all okay?” the man asks.

Arthur grunts. “We’ve been better.”

The woman leads them into another room—the dining room—and gives the children some food. “I made these this morning,” she says as she puts the plate down. Chocolate chip cookies. “Dig in.”

“Thank you, miss!” Spencer says with enthusiasm. She gets a cookie and bites into it with great gusto. “This is delicious!”

The man, presumably the head of the house, looks to both Arthur and Ariadne. “Please, make yourselves at home. I can tell you’ve been running around the whole day.”

Arthur gives him a glance. “Thank you for bringing us into your home.”

“It’s no problem.”

After a minute of silence, the woman clears her throat. “How rude of us, we haven’t introduced ourselves. My name is Katharine, but you can call me Kitty.”

“Kitty!” Spencer gasps.

“Ms. Kitty,” Ariadne corrects. She gives Kitty a small smile before introducing herself. “I’m Ariadne. This is my daughter Spencer, and my son Casey.”

“Hello,” Kitty greets. “You look the same age as my son,” she pats Casey’s head.

“My name is Arthur.”

“And I’m W—Cirian.”

“You can call him Wolf,” Kitty says with a huge smile.

Wolf chuckles. “I suppose.”

“You mentioned you have a son,” Ariadne says. “Is he here?”

Kitty nods. “Yes, he’s in his room. He’s quite scared.”

After talking a bit, Casey and Spencer succumb to their exhaustion and Wolf and Kitty offer their bedroom to them. Ariadne politely declines but the husband and wife would not take no for an answer. Arthur and Wolf get to know one another while Kitty and Ariadne bond. Arthur and Wolf both don’t say much about their lives but they can tell that they can trust each other. Meanwhile, Kitty and Ariadne talk about their children.

Arthur excuses himself to check on his children. When he enters the master bedroom, he sees Casey asleep but Spencer nowhere to be found. Assured that she’s just somewhere around the house, he begins to search for her. He enters another room and sees his daughter sound asleep on a blue-covered bed. A young boy is watching over her.

“Are you her father?” he asks when he notices Arthur come in.

“Yes. And you are?”

“Liam,” he answers. “She came into my room wanting to talk to someone. She fell asleep. I decided to watch over her.”

Arthur smiles. “Thank you.”

The next morning the Brandons are preparing to leave. Arthur borrows a knife and tapes it to the edge of the rifle, copying a bayonet. Wolf, Kitty and Liam are watching them. Spencer, who had been staying close to Liam, turns to him and says, “Come with us.”

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“I don’t know. But somewhere safe. Daddy was talking to Uncle Dom.”

Arthur looks at the family in front of him. “Come with us. It’ll be much safer.”

Wolf looks at Kitty. “We’ll be a burden.”

“No,” Ariadne intervenes. “Come with us, please.”

“If you need to pack anything, hurry,” Arthur orders. Wolf and Kitty don’t need to be told twice. Kitty brings Liam with her to the master bedroom while Wolf removes the rug on the floor, revealing a secret door. Arthur watches him. After rummaging through, Wolf reveals he had a Benelli Supernova Tactical hidden beneath. As he readies the weapon, Arthur notices a familiar tattoo that was hidden by the long-sleeved shirt Wolf was wearing. Arthur usually hides his with a watch. Arthur smirks. “You never said you worked for Avalanche.”

“You never said you owned it,” Wolf says, mirroring his smirk.

When everyone is ready and Arthur briefly explains to them that Avalanche will send a rescue team for the family, Wolf and Arthur move the cabinet away. Quietly, the two families move to the fire exit, careful not to attract any of the attackers. Reaching the stairs without any problems, Arthur and Wolf have a silent agreement that one should be up front and another as the tail. Wolf ends up at front since he knows the place more.

Unfortunately, as they near the top of the stairs, one monster appears and begins to chase them. “Go, go, go!” Arthur commands. The families run up as quickly as they can. Arthur gets stuck on the second flight and tries to fend off the attacker. Saliva begins to drip down to his shirt and Arthur fears this could be another way to make him turn. There’s a bang and Arthur looks up to see Wolf aiming his Benelli at the fallen one. “You good?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Come on, let’s go.”

Arthur stands and makes his way up the stairs. He can smell the smoke of the flare but once he Wolf lock the door, he heads straight for the edge and begins counting to twelve. He can hear his family calling out for him but he’d rather fall than make them kill him. “One thousand and ten…one thousand and eleven…one thousand and twelve…” Everything is normal. He stays for a few more second before returning to the group.

“What’s wrong?” Ariadne asks.

“DNA,” is all he replies. He hears a chopper flying by and he’s sure it’s the one sent by Avalanche.

“Haven’t seen that in a while,” both Arthur and Wolf say.

Suddenly the door begins to bang and more attackers are breaking through the small glass. Arthur hopes that the chopper would hurry. His hopes don’t come true as the door is broken the monsters start aiming at them. Wolf and Arthur shield their families and ready their rifles. Luckily, the people on the chopper start firing and they’ve hit more than the two men could. The chopper finally lands on the roof and the two families enter without hesitating.

“Go!” Arthur instructs Wolf. Once he’s inside, Arthur makes a run for it and climbs the chopper. The soldiers inside fend off the remaining attackers as they ready for takeoff.

Once up in the air, everyone relaxes. One of the soldiers removes their sunglasses and sighs. “This is not how I planned a family reunion would be.”

“Uncle Edward!” Casey and Spencer shriek.

“And there are my two favorite godchildren.” He smiles.

“Edward,” Arthur calls him.

“Hey, big bro.”

It takes about an hour to reach the base, and when they do, the one and only Zobedja Brandon greets them. Dom Cobb is on his side. The soldiers help the children and the women off the chopper and Arthur and Wolf look around a bit to see what they had been missing. Spencer grabs Liam’s hand and they run towards the older man in charge. Casey is uncomfortable with how close his sister is to the boy.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!” Spencer calls out.

Zobedja crouches down and engulfs his granddaughter in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I love you, Spencer.”

“I love you, too, Grandpa.” When she squirms away from him, she introduces Liam to the older man. “This is Liam, he’s my best friend.”

“Hello, Liam.”

“Hello, sir.”

Casey is now on the other side of Spencer and he greets his grandfather. “Grandpa.”

“Casey.” This time Zobedja hugs him. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Arthur and Ariadne follow, with Wolf and Kitty not far from them. Edward jogs to his father’s side. “Dad,” Arthur says. “Thank you.”

Zobedja smiles. “It’s no problem.” He turns to his other son and tells him to lead the women and children to their rooms. Edward nods and asks them to follow him. Wolf wonders why he’s still here. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Guillory. I see you and Ms. Hart have been busy.”

“She’s Mrs. Guillory now.”

Zobedja chuckles. “I see.”

“What’s happening, Dad?”

“I need your help, Arthur. You’re the best researcher out there and only you can help us figure out a way to know and solve this problem.”

“You mean, no one knows how this started?”

“There have been theories, but none has been proven. Adam has been trying to figure it out what’s happening.”

“Dr. Eames?” Wolf clarifies.

“Yes.” Zobedja nods. “But he needs more samples and he needs to know the root cause before he can help make a cure…if it’s possible.”

“What do you need?” Arthur asks.

Zobedja sighs. “I need you, Adam, and now that you’re here Cirian,” he nods to the other man, “to fly to South Korea. That’s where the first known zombie,” he clears his throat, “or patient zero, was said to be.”

Arthur and Wolf look at each other and give the commander a nod.

tagging: @angel-cap

[captainmactaggart]

Geddes Line Profiles (Series 2)

What with yesterday having seen the publication of the final episode of Geddes Line, I thought it’d be nice to showcase all the profiles I did for all the characters who made their debut in this series. This post covers all the characters officially introduced in the second half of the series.

KAREN BAUER - General manager of Wall2Wall Security Solutions. Very pleasant, amiable, and a bit of a nerd. German Shepherd. (Episode 15)

HAROLD MEAD - Known professionally as just Harry. Burglar. The brains (relatively speaking) of a two-man operation. Weasel. (Episode 15)

FREDRICK MCGINNIS - Known professionally as just Fred. Burglar. The muscle in a two-man operation. Wolf. (Episode 15)

DYLAN RHYS - The father of Sam Rhys, and the current owner of Rhys Interstellar, a vast business conglomerate  spanning the Sol System, and surrounding districts. Welsh Foxhound. (Episode 17 - previously mentioned in Episode 12)

MYFANWY RHYS - Dylan's wife. Sam's mother. Something of a socialite in her own right. Arguably the true brains of Rhys Interstellar. Welsh Foxhound. (Episode 17 - previously mentioned in Episode 12)

METIN BALIK - Former street urchin turned revolutionary turned corporate hitman. Panther. (Episode 17)

TEMEL KIZARTMASI - Metin's right-hand man. Does all the heavy manual labour. Dog. (Episode 17)

CAPTAIN NATALIE COAL - Now-widowed wife-with-benefits of Captain Darkblade. A fairly notorious space pirate in her own right. Captain of the pirate cruiser Flare of the Phoenix. White Shepherd. (Episode 18)

LAWRENCE ASPINALL - Former regional secretary for Movados Interstela (one of the largest civilian transport unions in the Galaxy). A distant uncle of Damaris Moss. Red Fox. (Episode 19)

ADAM BRIDGER - Lawrence's opposite number down in the Core Systems. Very much still employed in his position. Border Collie. (Episode 19)

NORIKO MORI - Older sister of Kyoko Geddes (and therefore also Alasdair’s sister-in-law). Manga writer and artist. Raccoon. (Episode 20)

VALDIS WESTERWAL - Wife of Noriko Mori. Avant-garde artist. Just a bit strange in general, really. Silver Vixen. (Episode 20)

WS RHONA RANKIN - A police sergeant working in Kyle Abbin. Doesn’t tend to have much to do in this relatively crime-free town, but always on the alert, on the off chance that one should occur. Border Collie. (Episode 22)

FRANCO VALLONE - Proprietor of Franco's Traditional Fish Bar up at Tiree Outpost. Possible former mob boss as well. Weasel. (Episode 23)

ELETTRA VALLONE - Franco's wife. Just as bitter and ill-tempered as her husband. Weasel. (Episode 23)

ROSALVA VALLONE (alias ROSIE) - Daughter of Franco and Elettra. Much more open-minded and pleasant than the two of them put together. Weasel. (Episode 23)

GERRY CALDER - Proprietor of Calder's Takeaway, also up at Tiree Outpost. Much better at business than Franco, particularly when it comes to customer relations. Fox. (Episode 23)

JUDITH CALDER - Gerry's wife. Comes from a more new-age background. Doesn't approve of much of the food her husband sells, but still supports him anyway. Red Vixen. (Episode 23)

ELVIS CALDER - Son of Gerry and Judith, and potential heir to the fortunes of Calder's Takeaway. Not very good at standing up for himself - his only means of rebelling against his parents is secretly seeing Rosie Vallone on the side. Fox. (Episode 23)

NINA SPEKTOR - Wife of Vladimir. Mother of Veronika, and now grandmother of Natasha. Doesn’t overtly share any of her family’s criminal ties, but still a rather shady character in her own right. (Episode 24 - previously mentioned in Episode 55 of SPCM)

DR FRANCINE TIERNEY - The head doctor of the maternity ward onboard the hospital ship Loch Lomond. Probably the most qualified out of anyone in her ward. Border Collie. (Episode 25)

NURSE ROSALIE MCCABE - One of the nurses under Dr Tierney's command. Slightly more interested in the equipment than in her patients. Scottish Wildcat. (Episode 25)

NURSE SUSIE CAMPBELL - Another of Dr Tierney's nurses. Tends to pay more attention to the patients than Nurse Rosalie does. Rabbit. (Episode 26)

DR ROBERTSON - Another doctor onboard the Loch Lomond, though which field of healthcare he works in is uncertain. Doesn’t actually appear in the series - his part in Episode 26 was cut after the profile was done, and replaced with one final appearance by the author’s squirrel alter-ego. Raccoon.

[chryzure-archive]

Gimme Despair for that soft ask game <3

what they smell like

despair smells like clean laundry and, underneath all that, a little bit like the smell of winter cold. on other occasions, he smells like blood, but that’s for obvious reasons…

what their favorite smells in the world are

he loves the smell of rain and chrysi’s hair <3 and he swears that there’s something special about her detergent, even though she insists it’s normal store-bought detergent.

what pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in

large hoodies/sweaters and shorts,,, :)

my favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

chrysi and despair!!! he doesn’t really need to sleep, but he allows himself to when he‘s with her. he’s happy and calm when they’re together <3

my favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

DESPAIR AND ADAM ARE BESTIES, YOU CAN’T TAKE THAT FROM ME. adam helps despair learn how to be a polite—er, at least as polite as despair can manage—person to others. it actually works pretty well in the kids ward of the hospital, though despair isn’t sure what to do with the little kids suddenly crowding around him.

a song that reminds me of them

kitchen fork // jack conte

what animal i think they would be if they were an animal

hmmm, i want to say either wolf or a type of wildcat! (i went down a rabbit hole of looking at wildcats so i’ll specify further by saying either an ocelot or serval!)

what position they sleep in

he sleeps on his side a lot, mostly so he can drape his arm over chrysi 🥺

their favorite drink

he doesn’t care. probably any (properly made) tea!

a gift i would give them if i could

a proper life with chrysi. he deserves it.