#that last one is a bit stereotypical but i do not care. knuckles is not and will never be white. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

theseusernamesarehard · 7 months ago

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Stuck on the puzzle: Chapter four

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pairing: Luke Castellan x Olivia Messer (daughter of Apollo oc)

word count: 2k

summary: A year before the quest, Luke and Olivia go for kleos.

It was finally time for the first capture the flag game of the summer. Luke and Olivia had paired their cabins together for as long as they could remember, but they had ended last summer with two losses in a row. Which meant that they had spent the entire winter figuring out how to win this year. The key step had been realizing they both suck at strategy and leaving it to the Athena cabin, aka Luke's found little sister Annabeth Chase. The 10 year old was tiny, but she had a brilliant mind like her siblings and could figure out the best positions for each soldier, depending on their weapon of choice. Everyone trusted her to make sure she brought a much needed victory for the blue team.

She was the one who came up with their brilliant little attack plan. A bigger group of soldiers would approach the flag head on and keep most of the defense on bay, while the actual attack was made from the side. Simple yet effective. It required quite a bit of manpower, but Annabeth compensated for that by guarding their flag with a fleet of archers and soldiers scattered around within hearing distance, ready to gather at any sight or sound of attack from every direction.

Luke was attacking the flag from the right, walking casually with his sword in hand. He was hearing distant yells and swords clashing, which meant that the front line had clearly reached the red teams defense. Still, Luke wasn't shocked to see red when he was just a few feet away from the flag. What he didn't expect was to see Bryce and Lily, two Ares kids with vicious glints in their eyes.

"I really did think you guys would be on attack. But I suppose that's on me for stereotyping."

"We were hoping Messer would be on your heels like always, but I suppose we'll just have to deal with you", Bryce sighed. "Too bad, would've loved to send her to her own infirmary."

"And since we'll be punished for maiming, I was hoping we'd at least be able to get a package deal", Lily finished.

"Man you two are really starting to sound like cartoon movie villains. How long did you practice that?"

"Shut it, Castellan."

Luke was getting a tiny bit nervous. Sure, he was good with a sword, but two-on-one was never fair and both his opponents had spears, which meant that they could probably just ward him off. But he wasn't left with much choice when the two soldiers charged and all he could do was focus on the fight. Luckily, swordfighting felt like it was what his body was made to do. Sidestep, stab and block came to him very easily, but there was no way he could do any proper damage.

Just as he was starting to think 'where the fuck is she?', the red helmets flew off the Ares kids. They looked around, confused and before the knew it, two arrows were shot so precisely that the edges just barely scraped their knuckles, leaving friction burns on them and making them yelp and drop their spears. Luke wasn't as dumbfounded as the two so he managed to pick up one spear and point it at Bryces throat while his sword found Lilys.

Olivia, who had a habit of making an entrance, dropped down from a nearby tree with her bow on her back.

"Well, Bryce. I'm here, as you hoped, but it looks like we might have to leave the maiming for next time. We're a little busy."

They started tying their enemies to trees with the rope that Olivia brought.

"You were there to hear that? Why didn't you come help me sooner?" Luke questioned.

"I was enjoying the show. And I half expected Bryce to trip and take care of himself."

Bryce scoffed at that, but it was hard to keep your dignity when being tied to a tree.

"Fair enough. And it was partially to show off your shooting skills, wasn't it", Luke smirked.

"Well we didn't practice all winter for nothing, did we?"

"All right. All done here", Luke said, finishing up the last knot. "Should we go get our flag?"

"Let's go."

They didn't have much trouble finding the flag atop a tree branch and with a quick climb from Olivia, they were making a run for it. They came out of left field for the troop of fighters defending the flag on the front line and managed to slip through. According to Annabeth's plan, the blue team's attack team switched into defense and started holding off the red team so Olivia and Luke could make their escape. They crossed the river gloriously and the entire blue team erupted into cheers.

Luke and Olivia were lifted onto the team's shoulders and walked to the pavilion's for dinner. They laughed their entire way there. In the pavilion they started a cheer for Annabeth Chase for the brilliant strategy and the entire team was overjoyed. That high lasted for the entire evening into the bonfire and not even the grumpiest members of the red team were able to resist the contagious joy of the Apollo cabin as they led the sing-along. Bryce was obviously an exception, but he'd get over it. Although Olivia did stick her tongue out at him, which made him sulk in his seat for the rest of the night. After the crowd favorite, an ancient greek song about packing to travel to Olympus, Olivia turned around to see Luke looking at her and smiling.

"What?", she asked, a slow smile spreading to her face as well.

Along with the tiniest bit of blushing when she was Luke's feature's, illuminated by the fire, staring so intently at her own.

"It's just...You really suck at singing."

"Shut up!"

"It's just weird. I mean aren't all of you Apollo kids supposed to be gifted with musicality?"

"I am!"

"You sound like a harpy."

"That's so mean!"

"I'm just being honest!" Luke laughed.

"My archery skills saved your ass today and you still choose to make fun of me?"

"I would've handled it."

"Two spears? You can barely fight against one."

"Bullshit."

"I've beat you more times than I can count with a spear."

"I've beaten you more times than I can count."

"Well you can't count very high, then."

"Okay, tomorrow morning after breakfast, we ditch the kids off to make friendship bracelets or whatever and settle this once and for all."

"Better start stretching, Castellan."

They shook on it.

Despite the hectic day, at night Luke just kept tossing and turning, not able to fall asleep. Although that might’ve been because he didn’t want to sleep, not really. Sleep meant nightmares and he honestly would rather just be tired tomorrow. He pondered going to the Apollo cabin, but he didn’t want to risk waking up Olivia in case she’d actually been able to fall asleep this time. After the party, the first full night either of them had been able to sleep peacefully, it had become more of a routine for them to spend the nights in each others cabins.

But then again Luke also didn’t feel like explaining to everyone (specifically Travis and Connor) that it was actually 100% platonic and they just couldn’t sleep with each other. He’d infact told Travis that if he would like to snuggle Luke to sleep that would probably work. To which Travis said no, but if Olivia needed help he'd be happy to oblige.

Which annoyed Luke so much, even in retrospect that he decided to go to the pier, in case the lake would help him sleep. He smiled when he approached the pier with his blanket to see someone already sitting on the wooden surface.

"Can't sleep?" he smiled as he sat down next to her.

"Didn't want to wake you up incase you'd actually gotten some sleep finally."

"Same."

"Wishful thinking."

"Do you think the others have it this bad?"

"They're not here, so clearly not."

"I don't now why we're so plagued. Or I guess why you are. I suppose I'm meant to have these weird prophetic dreams that I can't make any sense of."

"Being a demigod really is a curse", Luke sighed, moving down so he was now lying on the pier and looking at the stars.

"You know what's crazy? I wouldn't change it", Olivia replied, joining him. "Like if I could start everything over and have my dad be some other deadbeat and not a god I would say no."

Luke turned to face her, she kept her eyes on the stars.

"Because it brought me to you", she continued. "Despite all the monsters and the fights and the dreams, I couldn't imagine a world where I didn't meet you. Where we don't spend every day together.

Luke was quiet.

"You don't have to say it back", now she turned back to him.

They were looking each other in the eyes, faces inches apart.

"I know it's different for you", she almost whispered.

"Different. Meaning my mom might be fine if not for everything", Luke said, eyes glimmering with tears.

"While mine would've still gotten cancer", Olivia responded.

"Imagine if we didn't have to go through all this though", Luke sighed.

"Then we wouldn't be us."

"But it's not fair. It's not fucking fair."

Tears were now running down Luke's face. Olivia reached out a hand to wipe them away.

"We can't get stuck on what would've been, what should've been."

"My mom went crazy because she saw my fate, my fate that's been predetermined that I can't for some reason change. What should've been is all I have Liv."

Tears were now brimming Olivia's eyes as well.

"All those years on the run so I can find this place and my dad still won't talk to me. Again because of my goddamn fate. What kind of bullshit even is that?"

Olivia turned back to look at the stars.

"I'm sorry Liv, I just don't know what to think and I get so worked up and on nights like these where I can't sleep it's tough to find the silver lining like you. I try to be positive, but sometimes I can't."

"Every time I heal someone the first thing I think is could I have healed her."

"What?"

"If I knew then what I know now, would my mom still be alive? Every time I give blood I think if I'd known what it could do then would she still be here?"

She was blinking hard to avoid the tears, but a few strays managed to escape and disappear into her hair.

"And then that thought strays into the fact that my father, who she loved and who presumably loved her, is the literal god of healing and he couldn't bother to heal her."

"Gods are assholes, Liv."

"But then I think, if I had his power, what would I do? Especially since for some part I do. I sometimes think if I should just spend every moment I can donating blood to blood banks so I could save every possible person on the planet, but I can't do that, can I? And the gods can't either Luke. You can't expect them to be able to fix everything."

"Shouldn't be too much effort to claim their children. Maybe even talk to them every once in a while."

"Maybe. Or maybe it is. But I don't really think of them as parents you know? I've thought of myself as an orphan ever since my mom died and finding out I have an omnipotent 'father' didn't really change that. He's like my distant uncle who sometimes sends cards."

"Cards?"

"With lazy poems. Every birthday."

"It's nice he remembers your birthday."

"I guess."

There was another pause. They looked up at the blissful night sky.

"I've been thinking about going to the city", Luke admitted.

"Oh", was Olivia's response.

"I kind of feel like I need a little break. Just a normal day."

"With Sheila."

"With Sheila. And the others too, probably. I'll try to email them from Chiron's computer."

"Sounds nice."

"You could come too."

"I don't really know your friends."

"I'd feel a lot better with you there."

Olivia looked back at Luke.

"In case there's a monster attack or anything", he said.

She turned back on her back.

"Right", was her reply.

"We could look out for each other."

"I don't think I'll come."

"You can meet up with Callie and Meredith too if that's what you want. We can go our separate ways and meet up for ice cream afterwards."

"I don't know, I need to be training Lee in healing and I've already been slacking off with that."

"Just promise you'll think about it."

"I'll think about it."

"Pinky promise?"

Olivia chuckled at that.

"Haven't done one of those since I was like twelve."

"Well might as well do one now", Luke said and grabbed her pinky in his own.

They went silent for a while and when they woke up the next morning, their pinkies were still intertwined.

#luke castellan #luke castellan angst #pjo #luke castellan series #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo series #pjo fic

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subjectsix · 2 years ago

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29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? (pat yourself on the back a bit!)

this was actually very good for me because I had completely and fully forgotten what I'd written and published this year, so it was nice to skim back through them!

ask game link bc the post got long

I also cheated and I'm giving a few answers because I'm indecisive

the funny haha answer (from my prey fic):

Igwe pushes his glasses back up his nose, tilting his head. “We’re being held hostage by coffee,” he says finally.

the second funny haha answer (from my shadowrun: dragonfall fic):

“I saw the snake sticking over your collar,” Eiger cuts in, catching his attention again. “Never thought you might be trying to hide it. Just assumed it was a stereotypical white-boy tattoo. No offense.” “I think that’s fair,” Hide nods, watching Glory finish up the last few steps of field dressing. “You do have sort of… tech-bro vibes.” “Mmm. Weird time to have this conversation.”

and the two more serious sections:

My Dishonored fic Hope, as Necessity, about Samuel

The salt air is sharp in your lungs. The wind stings your eyes, making them water as you squint toward the fogged horizon, swallowing down your guilt again. The solitude and silence envelops you. You let the feeling collect in your chest, trying to fill up the hollow places. The world is aching. You can feel the sickness, the groaning, and the growing pains that come with change. It needs a remedy. It needs to heal. You are aching. Down to your marrow. You are sinking in your remorse. And you cling to hope the way the guilt tries to cling to you. Your eyes alight as the flare cuts through the fog. The arc it makes is beautiful, flashing to life at the peak, trailing down toward the ocean like a fallen star. You laugh to yourself in the darkness as you bring your boat up to speed again, careful to keep a low profile, still anxious about what awaits you. You hope it's him, and not some trap. (It has to be him. It has to be. You gave up dread and settled for hope long ago, as a necessity, as a way to survive.)

and a much longer bit from my Control fic Festering that I'd been sitting on for months and finally managed to spit out, and I'm still very happy with it:

Dylan doesn’t remember the actual process of vaulting the cement planter. It’s something instinctive, reactionary. One minute he’s in an uncomfortable position in the dirt, the next he has Langston by the collar, torn between lifting him into the air and pinning him to the floor where he can’t get away. Everything else is white noise. The cafeteria chairs shifting as people launch to their feet, the shouts and screams, the warnings of security and concerned coworkers and frightened scientists. The movement, the growing chaos. He only sees red.

The world stops ringing in his ears and fades back into view, the darkness lifting from the edges of his vision. His knuckles are white, gripping Langston’s lapel. There’s an abject fear in his eyes, wide and frantic, hands open-palmed and shaking held next to his face. Dylan’s grip tightens as his eyebrows knit together, thoughts swarming through his head as he meets Langston’s eyes. His grip softens slightly. Again? He thinks, muscles freezing, lump rising in his throat. He lets go, leaving Langston to hit the ground with a thump. I’m doing it again. I can’t— again, I did it— A pair of hands grip his shoulders and wrench him backwards, slamming his butt onto the ground, the force causing him to rock onto his back. His head hits concrete and he twists to the side, covering his head with both arms, curling up, expecting something more to come, ready to run, or fight, or try to disappear entirely. When nothing happens, he unfurls himself slowly, peeking out between his limbs. Someone in a uniform that says SECURITY on the back is knelt by Langston, offering him a hand. Two others in the same uniform are crowding Dylan, guns aimed away from him toward the ground, but ready. One of them is saying something he can’t make out. Maybe don’t move. That was a common one. He doesn’t want to, so he doesn’t. She’s scowling. But she’s not screaming at him. That’s nice. She’s stressed and afraid, whole body tense. Usually the volume goes up right about now. Orders barked, demands made, guns and tranquilizers or gasses and superstitions meant to keep him quiet… He looks away because he can’t bear that train of thought any longer. Langston is still talking. Talking, talking, talking. He pulls his face to his chest again, wrapping his arms around his head, trying to hide from the Bureau working around him. The guard is talking still. Getting closer. Langston’s talking over her. He hears Jesse’s name whisper through the room like a wave, passing from person to person. They’re all looking. Gawking. Why does nobody ever shut up?

#thank you!!! ;u;#ask game #kips writing #uraniumwriting

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fluorescentadolescent1 · 3 years ago

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ANGEL GIRL.

ELLIOT X SHY! READER

a/n: sorry if it was a bit short, I hope you like it! requests are still open so feel welcome to send them!

request: Elliot x shy reader would be so good😭

MASTERLIST.

Elliot sometimes appreciates how calm and collected you are, so shy that you usually couldn't even speak in public due to the feeling of embarrassment.all his life he experienced strong emotions, so noisy that they did not even let him sleep.

and suddenly he met you, an angel fallen from heaven, who helped him in his worst moments and made him feel euphoric without the need for drugs. He knows that he probably shouldn't allow himself to fall in love with you or let you into his chaotic life for your own good, but he preferred to have you over look at you from afar, maybe it's a little selfish of him but he couldn't help it.

And you felt the same, your whole life was based on the stereotype of a softie,reserved and most of the time quiet. and meeting elliot unleashed a side of you that you didn't know, with other people you were still shy as it was inevitable but with elliot you could talk without worrying about sounding stupid.

You knew Elliot had a drug problem, but you couldn't change something that was almost his daily routine, no matter how hard you tried.

Your friends were worried about you, as they knew you never used any drugs or tasted alcohol to the point of forgetting your name.

"we don't want to tell you what to do y/n, you're a smart girl and you know what's best for you, but don't let elliot influence you into something you don't want. " that's something they always repeated, sometimes more abruptly and sometimes more gently but you didn't care.

But Elliot never got high in front of you with anything other than weed. And it made you feel calm, at times like now, both lying on his bed while talking about everyone and everything.

" Wait, repeat the last thing, cassie is maddy's best friend but she's fucking her ex who was abusive to her? " you felt your cheeks burn from elliot's abrupt way of talking about sex.

" yes, cassie had a break down and told me everything in the bathroom" you said as you played with elliot's fingers, who was quiet for a while.

" You know you're really pretty, right? " Elliot said kissing your cheek, you looked away to the ceiling and closed your eyes.

" why would you say something like that" feeling your cheeks burn, you covered your face with both hands, you could swear elliot heard the way your heart was pounding .

you felt elliot's hands grab your wrists and pull them away from your face, leaving a kiss on each of your knuckles trying to make you look him in the eye.

"because it's true, you are the most beautiful girl my eyes have ever seen" you opened your eyes colliding with the intense gaze of elliot who smiled at the eye contact "There she is"

" shut up elliot, you know that's not true." you said when he released your wrists and caressed one of your cheeks with his thumb, you brought your face closer to his palm.

" Why would I lie about something like that? I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, you are an angel destined to come to earth to take care of this poor boy who fell in love with you." now that got your attention.

elliot had always said sweet things to you but he never mentioned that he was in love with you, although it was not necessary since his actions were clear but it was still so warm to hear him say it .

" you are in love with me?" you felt how your eyes began to fill with tears, maybe it's pathetic of you but you never believed that someone could notice you that way.

"of course i am, how could someone not fall in love with you angel" Elliot said getting closer to you, with one last look he sealed his lips with a sweet kiss that confirmed his words, making the need to breath disappear and your heart beat faster and faster. In your mind there was only the need to love him.

" I don't know if I'll be an angel, but I'm glad I met you elliot."

#elliot x y/n #elliot imagine #elliot fanfic #elliot x reader #elliot smut #dominic fike #fezco x reader #euphoria season 2 #euphoria #elliot fluff

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whencartoonsruletheworld · 4 years ago

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The Thrilling Saga of Connie paying real life money for the Worst Sonic TV Show

Let’s begin with the simple fact that me and my sister, @birdsareblooming “Cori”, have both been hyperfixating on Sonic the Hedgehog since last March. During this hyperfixation, I was on Sonic Wiki to copy-paste song lyrics onto my stolen mp3s, and I called my sister in and pointed at the template at the bottom.

“What is this Sonic Underground thing?” I asked. “It has one shit billion songs.”

So we clicked on the page to read about it, and each sentence we read was a punch in the gut and this quickly became the funniest thing we’d ever read. Highlights include:

It looks like this:

“Sonic[...] is known to be a prince”

Sonic has two siblings who actually have good characterization but their names are literally just Sonia and Manic. Like. Sonic split into two names. jesus christ

Also Sonic and his siblings all share a voice actor. honestly Jaleel White does his best with it but

“The three siblings possess enchanted medallions that transform not only into musical instruments, but also into weapons.”

“Some fans consider Sonia to be a clone of Amy Rose, minus the attraction Amy feels for Sonic.” YEAH I SURE HOPE IT DOES

“Manic is the most often captured of the siblings” himbo king

Knuckles shows up, and for the first, like, two sentences his description is very similar to the game, and then you get immediately pulverized by “He has a pet Dinosaur called Chomps.”

Literally so many sentences on Sonic Wiki are lowkey salty about this show. The page features lines such as “Sonic Underground bears little relation to the often complex Sonic universe (including previous animated series, as well as Sonic comics and games), and shares only three established characters” and “many of the characters in the Freedom Fighter group that were in Sonic the Hedgehog are completely left out (including Tails).”

“The show met with mostly negative reviews.”

*checks air dates* It only lasted two goddamn months

So after seeing this we thought it was the funniest thing and we showed our older sister, @patema-introverted “North.” To our surprise, our at the time “knew nothing about this sonic bullshit” sister recognized the show. Turns out she’d seen trailers for it as a child and that was her sole exposure to Sonic canon.

We were in quarantine at the time, so we ended up finding it on YouTube and binge-watching it all together as a sibling bonding activity. It was just as hilarious as we thought it would be- some stuff was legitimately good, like the sibling dialogue for instance, but good lord were the character designs ugly, the plot all over the place, and pretty much every song, um, not great. Also there was one episode that we skipped because it got, um, I think “stereotypical” is the nicest word I can use here.

But the point is, we had a jolly good time watching it, and afterwards we binged all the other Sonic shows and bonded as a family.

After quarantine, North and I go back to college. My roommate gets groceries at Walmart, while I get them elsewhere, so while she and North collect food I wander the DVD aisle to look at the cool movies and also dumpster-dive in the bargain bin for Cats (2019). I am also short as fuck, so the top shelf of movies I cannot see, I can only read the labels.

So one day I was browsing the DVDs, and glancing over at the labels for the top shelf. I read over the final one before the shelves end.

And then I stop, do a double take, and have a heart attack, because there is a label that reads “SONIC UNDERGROUND $3.74″

I immediately climb the shelf but there aren’t any DVDs atop the shelf. However, the label is still there. I excitedly tell my sister and roommates, freak out with them a bit, and then give myself a mission statement:

I will buy the $4 Sonic Underground DVD from Walmart

I did not want it as a gift, I did not want to find it online. I wanted to walk into a store, pick up the Worst Sonic Show on DVD, walk it straight to the checkout, and in front of the cashier and God, pay for it with my own money. I did not care if it was the whole series or two episodes; I needed to do this for my own serotonin.

We would go to Walmart about once a week. Every time, I would go to the DVD aisle, and go right to the end of the shelves. I would stare at the label SONIC UNDERGROUND $3.74 and empty space above it and wonder who the fuck was buying this other than me. I would occasionally ask employees if they had any copies in storage. I would build a shrine to Manic in my room. Okay, no I didn’t, but only because my RA would have murdered me.

Christmas break comes, and we have to go home. We have a nice Christmas, and Cori and I infodump at each other about how we would make Sonic Underground a good show (note: we’re both galaxy braining) and also play Bendy and the Ink Machine. Fun times.

When we finally get back to College, it’s late January- long story short we have a very long winter break. My roommate who gets food at Walmart got food without us the first week cause she showed up first, so we take her out to Walmart the first time in the year of our lord 2021 on January 29.

I wander the Valentine’s aisle, immediately grabbing a sequin puppy. I go to the DVDs and see Animaniacs Season One, also grab that.

And then.

There it is.

The Holy Grail.

Above the label SONIC UNDERGROUND $3.74, is one DVD left.

Already I am losing my mind. It’s roughly seven hours of episodes- I couldn’t find an episode list, but I think that’s half the show, for $4! And the cover is amazing.

That’s a png of Sonic from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) with a medallion badly photoshopped over it. The medallion is too small.

Manic is shoved into the corner. He doesn’t have his medallion at all.

Sonia isn’t even pictured on the front cover, probably because they realized she was the worst designed of the bunch. I’m not ragging on her though, because she’s still one of the better designed characters of the show. Those background characters make me cry

So you bet your ass I finally paid my hard-earned $4 for this shit. Upon getting home, I discovered that there was even wilder shit with this DVD than I thought.

For starters: the bonus features listed are as follows:

Original Concept Art - did not expect that these character designs were the final draft

Storyboard-to-screen - did not expect they bothered to storyboard this

Music Video Jukebox - that’s cute, they thought we liked the music

Interviews with original screenwriter & executive producer - I fully expect the only questions to be “why.”

On the left of this list are screenshots from the show, where people can finally see Sonia, who we Know™ is a girl because she is pink and has hair and also an actual body shape instead of just circles like her brothers.

But wait... what’s that in the lefthand corner?

That looks like some kind of robot. But it’s not a robot from Sonic Underground! That didn’t appear once. Why is it here?

The mystery continues upon opening the DVD case: inside are advertisements for other collections, including other Sonic DVDs: two volumes of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) and the final episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog “SatAM” (1993)

First of all, the first volume of AOSTH has the exact same PNG of Sonic as the Underground Volume 1. Not even trying to hide it. But second... the second volume of AOSTH also has this robot on its cover.

And THIS ROBOT IS ALSO DECORATING THE THIRD DISC IN THE SET?

So you may be asking, who is this robot? Is it from AOSTH or Underground?

IT’S FROM FUCKING SATAM. The one show that doesn’t have it decorating the DVD covers.

Also, not only is it from SatAM, it only appears in one fucking episode. Not a major character! AND IT HAS A DIFFERENT DESIGN ON THE PROMO ART, WITH HAIR AND FANGS.

Why is it showing up everywhere? What is going on?

I have not yet had the opportunity to watch this glorious piece of animation, but I am so glad at the confusion I have felt upon receiving it.

But before I go, I must share with you the best part of this DVD purchase. And it was flipping to the back, scanning the details, and discovering the exact runtime of the episode collection.

Guys, gals, and enby pals, friends and enemies, Nintendo and Sega, the first Volume of Sonic Underground has a runtime of...

420 MINUTES.

Maybe I’m wrong and this IS the best Sonic show.

#sonic underground #sonic the hedgehog #sonic 2020 #walmart #mine #connie writes #story time with tumblr

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theyoutubedork · 4 years ago

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“I’m always gonna worry about you, I love you too much not too,”

Masterlist

The one where you get the vaccine, and boyfriend!Harry comforts you when you get really bad side effects.

Trigger warning: COVID times, pain, mentions of needles, and LOTS AND LOTS OF FLUFF

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

A/N: ok, so I haven’t written anything for tumblr in a while, I’ve been writing on wattpad a little, but I’m lacking inspiration on that front, so I’ve been flocking to Tumblr once again. Instead of finding inspiration for the story I’m writing on wattpad, I’m gonna just completely procrastinate and write something entirely new instead. Obviously my brain has the best ideas so here we are.

WARNING: (PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING)

this is based off of my personal experience with getting the jenssen (Johnson and Johnson) vaccine, which is what inspired me to write this story. I had a very tough go with the side effects of the vaccine. I’m fine now and I am not saying that you shouldn’t get this vaccine. Obviously this is a slightly dramatized version so that it is easier for you guys to understand. These side effects only lasted for a few hours within the first 24 hour period of getting this vaccine, which is very common and likely to happen. It just knocked me for a bit of a loop, that’s all. The amount of pain I experienced was something that I was willing to go through so I can get vaccinated. It is was very much worth it. Please get vaccinated, and please be safe.

——————————————————————————

As soon as you walk through the door, you see Harry’s head spring up from behind the couch. His hair is slightly messy, evidence of one of his random, mid-day naps. His eyes immediately soften, looking at your face, which is twisted from the small discomfort you felt in your arm. You had to go alone because the vaccination site had told you so, and you didn’t want Harry to wait for you in the heat for god knows how long. Harry immediately gets up and gives you a tight embrace as soon as you put your belongings onto the kitchen counter. He lets out a quick sigh of content, being a bit more touch-starved lately, which he doesn’t really know the reason for. He finally brings his head from the crook of your neck, and melts at the sight of your adorable puppy-eyed stare.

“How did it go? I was so worried about you love, wish I could’ve been there to hold your hand,” he coos. His hand pets your head, trying to soothe you from any remaining nervousness, which admittedly, you still were. He knew that you severely disliked needles, especially when getting shots. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a flu shot or blood work, you always had to have your head turned away. Thankfully you aren’t nearly as bad as you used to be. When your were younger, you would scream and cry. There was even one time when you were super young, that an extra nurse had to hold you down like a stereotypical psycho-medical horror film. Screaming bloody murder just for protection against measles. Eventually you grew out of that phase, only having to have your mother rub her hand on your back to try and distract you.

Your mother did that a lot actually. Whenever you were upset, she would always give some sort of physical contact to remind you that she was there. Her most common ways of this type of affection was either rubbing your back or circling her thumb on the back of your palm. However, if you would get hysterical, she would even put her hand on your head and scratch your scalp or even run her finger along the bridge of your nose. She learned this from one of you day-care teachers, who used this tactic to make you finally fall sleep during nap time. Upon reflection, it definitely could seem strange to others, but for some reason your mother always calmed you down with these methods, even when you became an adult. Obviously she doesn’t do this nearly as often, given that you can control your emotions better than you could when you were a kid, and the fact you didn’t live with her anymore.

You are pulled out of your thoughts when Harry wraps his arm around your side to bring you closer. You immediately wince as his arm wrapped around your left arm, squeezing it tightly, making the arm already more sore.

“Harry, my arm,” you mutter, and he quickly lets go, scanning over your features quickly to make sure you weren’t in pain. After you give him a goofy smile, he chuckles and gives you a small peck on the lips.

“Sorry love, didn’t mean to hurt you.” He murmurs, pinching your cheek before grabbing your hand.

“Well now that you’re home, we can finally start that show you wanted to watch. I already went to the store and got you some stuff, just in case you get any side effects.” He rambles excitedly, plopping onto the couch before dragging you down towards him, your limbs already entangled with his. He adjusts slowly, making sure your left arm isn’t pressing up against anything too harshly. He pulls a blanket hanging on the backside of the couch over the two of you. You don’t let this distract you from giving him a narrow-eyed look due to his last statement. He sighs, noticing this,

“I know-“ he starts but you interrupt him,

“It’s very sweet that you went out and got stuff for me, but you know I don’t like if when you go out by yourself.” You say, tracing your fingers over his anchor tattoo as you continue, “But, you are an independent young man, who can do whatever he wants, so just text me before you go out and do that stuff ok? Don’t want anything bad happening to you,” you say softly, looking up at him with a worried look. He lets out a small “aww” as he grabs your hand, bringing it up to his lips, peppering small kisses on your knuckles before he looks at you with loving eyes.

“I know, you’re right, but you don’t have to worry about me love,” he says, wrapping his hand lightly around your neck, pulling your head closer so he could give you a small kiss on the forehead. You rest your head on his chest, facing towards the tv. You pick up the remote off the coffee table, turning on the TV to start scrolling though Netflix.

“I’m always gonna worry about you, I love you too much not to,” you say somewhat absentmindedly, since this was something you say to Harry all the time. He constantly begged you not to worry about him, and you always say there is no possible way you could not worry about him. Not just because he’s your celebrity boyfriend, but because obviously you will always worry about the people you love. People may see that as a bad thing, but it just means that you always want the best for the people you care about, and that you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them.

You feel Harry’s ring-less hand, (he must’ve taken them off when he went out so he wouldn’t face any more risk of recognition; people are way too observant for their own good) find it’s way into your hair, lightly sifting through it.

‘Harry’s hands are surprisingly soft for someone who plays instruments as often as he does,’ you thought.

Ever since he found out about your mom playing with your hair, and other types of physical affection whenever you got upset, which he found adorable by the way, he had started to do the same, except at any given moment, not just when you got upset. You didn’t comment on it, but you secretly revel in it. He always was touchy-feely, but this was much more personal and intimate, and the way he pays extra attention to you makes you feel like nothing in the world could hurt you.

“You still shouldn’t worry about me so much,” he says, knowing full well that he will never be able to stop you. He knows that you worry about him for the obvious reasons, and that you would honestly be a bad girlfriend if you didn’t. He is one of the most famous people in the world, at least according to famousbirthdays.com.

After a few minutes of silence you hear Harry speak again,

“You know you’re the best girlfriend in the world right?” Harry says cutely, curling a strand of your hair around his fingers.

You let out a small laugh. He asked you this all the time, as if he never asked you the question before. You always brush off this comment, and this time is no different.

“No I am not,” you scoff, selecting play on the screen, the Netflix logo filling the screen. You feel Harry tug on your hair enough so he could make you look at him. This action makes your face heat up like the surface of the sun, making you try to look away from him.

“Look at me, love,” he whispers and you reluctantly comply. You see him with a tight lipped smile that rested below the apples in his cheeks. His eyes were slightly closed from how much he was smiling.

“I mean it, I know I tell you all the time, but you really are the best girlfriend in the world, you’re always so worried about me, making sure I’m ok,” he firmly states, scooping your stray baby hairs out of your face, “you’re like my bodyguard,” he chuckles. You raise a teasing eyebrow and he begins to laugh a little harder at your expression.

“Hey! You are like, the cutest bodyguard I’ve ever had,” you let out a small giggle at this, making Harry smile even wider.

“Damn right, I’ll kick everybody’s ass just for you babe,” you chuckle, air-punching the air aimlessly. Harry laughs loudly at this, giving you a peck on the head.

“I know you will, lovie,”

Later on in the evening, Harry had finished making dinner, and you were sprawled out on the couch. You usually would be in the kitchen with him, but for some reason you just didn’t want to move. Harry didn’t pay any mind, knowing that the vaccine you got was a single shot, meaning it was going to be a more potent dose. This also meant that you would probably be experiencing more severe symptoms than he did when he had gotten his two shot vaccine. He wanted you to get the same one as him, but he knew that the place you were setting up your appointment only had the single shot doses, and that you didn’t want to have to go through two rounds of needles.

He was only away for 25 minutes, so when he rounded the corner to enter the living room, to say that he was concerned was an understatement. He saw you, sprawled on the couch, your face scrunched together in pain as you tried to get comfortable. Your chest was heaving up and down at a not so steady pace. He set the plates in his hands on the coffee table before crouching down to make his face level with yours.

“You ok lovie? Dinner’s ready,” he said in a hushed tone, placing his hand on your forehead to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. However, when his hand reached your forehead, he noticed that the hair was glued to it, your forehead slightly slick with sweat. You let out a small groan of pain as your response. He immediately placed the back of his palm against your skin, not caring about your sweat. Not a fever, but not too far from one.

“Baby why didn’t you change into something a bit lighter?”

“I was going to but then I just didn’t want to get up. Or...move.” You whined. Harry’s face softened when he saw your cute little pout that you do whenever you get lazy or tired. Or both.

“Okay well do you wanna have dinner then get changed, or get changed and then have dinner?” He says.

“I wanna move as little as possible, so let’s eat dinner and then I’ll change.”

“Ok lovie...now eat before it gets cold.”

You were barely able to keep yourself up by the time you finished eating, and Harry immediately sprung into action. He quickly cleaned up the kitchen and put everything somewhat away before he rushed back to you. He had to catch you slightly since you were trying to make it to the bedroom before he came back.

He gingerly helped you out of your clothes and tucked you into your bed. Quickly shedding his clothes, and slowly getting into bed, trying not to dip the bed drastically. You immediately curled into his arms after he turn out the lights, and you let out small groans every once and a while.

“It’s alright angel, you probably won’t sleep super well tonight but I’ll be right next to you if you need anything. Okay lovie?” He murmurs, bringing his left arm around your waist to slowly trace circles at the bottom of your spine, soothing you greatly. You let out a small hum of understanding before nuzzling into his chest more, letting out a small sigh.

“You know you’re the best boyfriend in the world right?”

#harry #harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #Harry styles x reader fluff #fluff #one direction #styles

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awanderingdeal · 3 years ago

Text

An unfair race

I finally finished this! This fic is kind of a follow on to Endless Nights. Note: That fic is rated M and contains some sexual content, but you do not need to read it for this to make sense. I wanted to combine Finn talking with Heather, and an aspect of the discussion after that fic, where we talked about athletes in particular using exercise as a coping mechanism, and how this can sometimes turn unhealthy.

Some content warnings for this one: over exercise (if you'd like to skip the explicit description of this, skip to after the first stars, although there are a couple of mentions throughout), food mentions, self-depreciation and mentions of coming out/being outed.

Rating: T

If you feel I missed any content warnings or need to change the rating, please drop me a message!

The characters in this fic are from the sweater weather universe and belong to @lumosinlove

Finn’s entire body ached as his feet pounded against the path once more. His form was sloppy now, shoulders too hunched over and his strides falling without any real control. He forced himself onwards, breaths coming in fast pants, the straining muscles of his quads screaming desperately for more oxygen. And yet, his brain still whirred, obnoxiously loud thoughts pushing their way back to the forefront each time Finn managed to grasp a few blissful quiet seconds. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d passed the statue of the girl and her ducks, the smile on her face that he normally found so comforting becoming more and more irritating with each meeting. As he came to the gates of the park, Finn contemplated going home, but even just the reduced speed had brought the taunting thoughts back with a vengeance. One more go.

***

"H, has her jacket on. Has everybody got their game faces ready, boys?" It had been at least 30 minutes since James had made the joke as they all tumbled from the locker room, yet the sound of bright laughter still rang in Finn's ears.

He watched as Heather tugged her suit jacket more tightly around her, their eyes meeting for the third time in short succession. Fuck. Finn pushed his tongue against his mouthguard, sinking his teeth into the hard plastic. Later, self-inflicted as the need would be, he would complain about the new one he’d have moulded, each guard always feeling slightly different. For now, the rhythmic clench of his jaw was soothing.

Finn forced a breath through his nose, trying not to react too visibly as Heather dipped her head once more to add another scribbled note to the small, black book she carried everywhere. He forced himself to look away, knowing his constant glances were giving away his unease. Whilst Heather didn’t come to every training session, not even most, it wasn’t that uncommon to see her hovering around the edges of the ice, and ordinarily, only the very newest of the team paid any attention to her beyond an initial greeting.

“Earth to O’Hara!”

Finn held up his hand in apology, shaking himself back to the training session. Kasey’s eyes bored into him. It wasn't his usual intense stare, but something more concerned and Finn waited for the inevitable question. After a long few seconds, Kasey's eyes dropped to the puck, passing it back to Finn to take another shot.

The numbers on the clock inched forwards, slow and heavy like the sweet sticky molasses Leo was so fond of. Still, when Coach finally dismissed them for the day, Finn found himself wanting to take another lap. If he could get his thighs to burn enough then his head would race a little less, and it wouldn’t be too suspicious; Finn’s record of being last on the ice was surpassed only by Sirius. Before Finn could really consider it, Leo was next to him, knocking their shoulders together.

“Hey,” Leo cocked his head slightly, hair ruffled from the mask he’d recently pulled off and his pale skin glistening with sweat. He looked as beautiful as ever. Illogical as it was, it somehow made the dull ache in Finn's chest worse. "Everything good?"

"Yeah," Finn tried for a smile. "Busy brain today, that's all." There was no point brushing the question off completely; Leo was scarily observant. He and Logan often joked that he had eyes in the back of his head. Finn had no doubt he had caught the many pucks he had missed over the last hour.

"That sucks," Leo said, scepticism leaking into his voice. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Finn followed his glance behind them to where Logan was tussling with Jackson, loud rumblings of French intertwined with their laughter. "Or Lo, perhaps?"

"I like it when he looks like that,” Finn sighed.

"Mmm, me too” Leo hummed, his features softening. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that change of subject though, Sir. You don’t have to talk to me about it, but please don’t bottle it all."

Finn slumped into his stall, smiling as Leo lifted his hand to press a kiss to the knuckles. “I’m dealing with it.”

“Baby,” Leo started, his next word morphing into a stunted exhalation of air. His eyes closed briefly, his shoulders squaring before he relaxed them. He opened his mouth again, the sentence uttered clearly not what he’d originally planned on saying. "I'm going to take my padding off and head to see Lars. I think Loops is sticking around so I can get a ride with him if you two want to go home?"

Finn thought back to the quiet look of concern on Logan's face after he'd got home from his run the previous evening, and to the creased lines of worry at the corners of Leo's eyes earlier. "I think I might go and see Heather," he shrugged.

"Thank God," Logan appeared, wrapping his arms around Finn's waist. "Your runs were getting ridiculous."

"You didn't say anything?" Finn turned in Logan's arms, to rest his chin on top of his head.

"We were going to give you one more day. Leo wanted to speak to you this evening, only I had faith.”

"Oh, fuck off," Leo laughed. "You were just avoiding the conversation."

“I’m offended that you would even suggest that,” Logan burrowed into Finn’s chest. The sweat soaked gear they wore didn’t smell great, but neither of them seemed to care.

Moody huffed as he veered around them, his arms filled with tape. “No canoodling in the locker room.”

***

“As lovely as this chat has been Finn, if you really did just come in to catch up then I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I’ve got a couple of sessions this afternoon, and a mound of paperwork to complete,” Heather shifted in the forest green bucket chair. They were new since Finn had last been in here, replacing an ugly leather thing that Heather had always complained was too stereotypical. She’d removed her jacket now that she was back in her heated office, the item hung on the back of the door where it rightfully belonged.

Finn, freshly showered and changed, sat cross legged in the chair opposite. He reached forward to grab more pretzel sticks from the bowl on the table between them, puckering his lips as his tongue protested another injection of salt. “You know there is something I could do with your opinion on.”

Despite the reaction being minute, Finn saw the tiny upwards quirk of Heather’s lips. “Go on,” she encouraged.

“It’s dumb,” Finn muttered, drumming his fingers against the arm of the chair.

“Thoughts don’t have moral value Finn, it’s what we do with that’s important.” Heather pulled a handful of tissues from a box on the table, holding them out. “Tap away, but please spare the upholstery.”

“Sorry,” Finn grimaced, cleaning his hands of the salty residue.

“No need to apologise, I’m just still a bit precious about the new furniture.” Heather smiled. “Why do you think your issue is dumb?”

“It’s -” Finn tugged at his sleeve. “I can just never be happy with what I’ve got can I? I spent 8 years saying that if Logan could just love me back then I’d never complain again. And now I’ve got Logan and Leo and I’m still not happy.”

“What’s making you unhappy?

Finn breathed in deeply, scrunching his eyes shut. He’d spent weeks stuffing the pain into the tiniest box he could in his brain, and now here Heather was asking him to just - talk about it?

“Finn, look at me?” Finn did as he was asked, lifting his head to find Heather’s kind eyes. “I’m going to reiterate something I’ve said before. You can say anything you want here. It doesn’t matter if it’s selfish or unkind or if you think it’s stupid. Unless I think you’re a danger to yourself or anybody else, then nobody is going to hear about it.”

Finn bit his lip, wiggling his toes beneath his legs. “I get jealous,” he rushed out. “I get jealous of Cap and Loops and Potts and Lily and all those other couples who just get to hug and kiss and tell the cameras how stupidly in love they are.” He paused, the panic of having told somebody matching the relief, but now the words had started tumbling out he couldn’t stop. “I get so angry about it. Sometimes, for the tiniest second, I hate them. All of them.” he whispered, barely able to admit it. “And then I just feel worse. Because I love them too and it’s not their fault. Cap and Loops didn’t even get a choice in the matter. How messed up is it to be jealous of somebody that got outed?”

“Emotions are complex. It is possible for you to have sympathy for Sirius and Remus, whilst still feeling jealous that they now can be more open about their relationship.”

'I don't like it," Finn huffed. The sentence had come out mimicking a toddler having a tantrum. Finn wanted to act like one too, to throw himself on the floor and scream.

“Have you spoken to Leo or Logan about it?”

“No,” Finn frowned. “It would just make them sad and I don’t want them to pressure them. I don’t want them to know I think such horrible things.”

“Okay,” Heather nodded. “Imagine one of them came to you and told you everything you’d just told me. What would you say to them?”

“Wait.” A distressed noise fell from Finn’s lips. “Do they talk to you about this too? Both of them make a comment here or there, but we talked about it not long ago and we agreed that we weren’t ready.”

“Finn, you know I can’t tell you about what I discuss with Leo or Logan.”

“It was worth a shot,” Finn shrugged.

“So, what would you say?”

“I’d say they are entitled to be jealous. I'd say it’s not fair we don’t get to do everything the others do just because the world is homophobic and close minded and can’t imagine the three of us could love each other exactly the same as every other more traditional couple. I’d say that I know they don’t hate Cap or Loops or Potts or Lily, they hate the situation and that’s completely understandable. It fucking sucks and they can be angry about it." Finn drew in a hulking breath, Heather's outline a little blurred through his wet eyes. Each word had sent an aching pain through his body, similar to when he ran, only now he felt like was chasing something cathartic rather than running away.

"Earlier you said what you had to tell me was dumb," Heather said. "Can you explain why you think that it's dumb for you to feel that way, horrible even, but if it were Leo or Logan their feelings are valid."

"Maybe it's not dumb," Finn looked down at his hands, tracing over the freckles there. "But that doesn't change the fact I don't like having those thoughts. Especially when I don't want to act on them. I’m okay with waiting to tell people about us, if we ever do. They're not ready. I'm not ready."

"That’s something we can work on. Helping you to reframe those thoughts, I mean.” Heather slipped her notebook from where it had been tucked beside her and made a note. Finn leaned his elbow on his leg, tucking his chin onto his fist, trying to make his attempts to see the page surreptitious. Capping her pen, she gave a small chuckle, “I’m just leaving myself a reminder of what we’ve discussed. You can always ask what I’m writing, I’m not trying to keep secrets from you.”

Finn sat back, the book no longer quite so interesting now that it wasn’t forbidden. “So? That’s it?”

Heather hummed. “For today. I think you’ve got a lot to think about already. I’ll schedule some more sessions with you over the next few days, okay? It’ll give me a chance to get some new pretzels.”

"Thanks," Finn laughed, then gestured at the empty bowl. "For the pretzels. And the talk."

“That’s what I’m here for,” Heather said. “I’m just going to ask one thing of you before I see you next. Please try to keep your evening runs to a reason-”

“Who snitched?”

“There was no snitching, as you call it. We’ve just known each other for a while now, Finn. And as an employee of the Lions whose job it is to make sure you’re at top playing ability, I don’t want you to injure yourself. As your psychologist, I want you to have healthy coping mechanisms and exercising to that extent is not healthy.”

“I know,” Finn unfolded his legs, stretching them out. They’d gone stiff after being sat on for so long, the sensation coming back with an uncomfortable tingle. “I’ll try to keep the runs in check, promise.” His gaze fell on the closed door, steeling himself to leave. He stood, sending Heather one last smile. It was safe in here, but his boys were out there.

“See you soon, Finn.”

Stepping out of the office, Finn closed his eyes, giving himself a second to compose himself. A rustle of movement to his left caught his attention, startling a little at the sight of Leo and Logan. They sat on the floor, Leo’s hand resting on Logan’s knee where they were hunched to his chest.

“Sorry,” Leo scrambled to his feet, his arm outstretched to let Logan pull himself upright too. “We didn’t want to wait too far away. In case, well, I don’t know, you needed us.”

Finn joined them, immediately finding Logan attached to his side, his familiar warmth exactly what he wanted right now. “I’m okay,” he assured. “I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it with you guys just yet. I need a bit of time to process, but just you being here makes things better. I’m going to see Heather a bit more too.”

“Proud of you.” Leo flanked him on the other side, taking his hand. Finn didn’t get to be in the middle often, Logan usually claiming the spot, and he felt like he had a kind of shield. “We just want you to be happy. And safe.”

“Can we go home, please?”

“Ouais, home,” Logan agreed.

#finn o'hara #logan tremblay #leo knut #heather #sweater weather #coast to coast #lumosinlove #rating: t #cw: overexercising #cw: food #cw: self-depreciation #cw: coming out #cw:outing

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katrinawritesthings · 2 years ago

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Jonghyun/Taemin ; an actual vampau can you believe it; PG

Anonymous asked: vampires in a fancy castle 🧛👑🌙🍷 "This," he gestures around the room again, "this is like. Ooh, I'm a spooky vampire, I want to suck your blood, bluhh.” He draws the collar of his jacket up and speaks in the dracula accent, wiggling his fingers and baring his fangs, then rolls his eyes. "I'm just saying, it's a little tryhard.” vamp au : )

“This is where they live?”

“Huh? Yeah.” Jonghyun barely looks up from his phone when Taemin asks him the question. It's cool that Taemin is seeing the grand manor for the first time with its high towers and gnarled trees and gothic windows and everything, but Jonghyun has seen it a hundred times before and he has sportsball to pretend to be interested in if he wants to fuck that cute human at the gym anytime soon. It's been a while since he's wanted to sleep with a jock and he's sure the rules have to have changed since the last time.

He grabs the wrought-iron gate and yanks it open, beckoning Taemin to follow him with an impatient hand. Above them, the moonlight gives them enough light to not trip over the cobbled stone pathway up to the front doors. On the porch, Taemin rings the doorbell and Jonghyun impatiently taps his knuckles on the black wood until they're let in.

"Oh, it's you.” Jonghyun doesn't even need to look to know that the dickhead receptionist has scrunched their nose at him as usual.

"Sure is," he says, brushing past them and into the entrance hall. Twenty-something years has not sweetened his opinion of them one bit.

"Is this your new little project?” they sneer as Taemin follows behind him.

Twenty-something years hasn't made them any better at being petty, either. It's not even fun to be enemies with them. "Mind your own business,” Jonghyun says, and he pulls Taemin into the waiting parlor without a glance back. "They know we're here," he tells Taemin, taking a seat on one of the expensive leather couches. "Vampire stuff. You know how it is. Just hang out for a little bit.” And he gets right back to his phone.

He should probably be offering Taemin some advice; it's not every day a baby vampire gets to meet the elders to celebrate reaching their first decade. But as Taemin's mentor these past ten years, Jonghyun has learned how he works. He picks up on Jonghyun's tense moods, taking Jonghyun's worry as justification for letting his own anxiety swallow him up. So if Jonghyun doesn't make a big deal out of this, neither will Taemin.

Since when has college sportsball been important? Is he supposed to care about two entire separate leagues? What the fuck. Maybe he doesn't want to sleep with the cute gym guy as much as he thought he did. Not if it requires this much effort to seduce him. Then again, he does smelly really fucking good.

"This is all so tacky.”

“Wuh?” Jonghyun tears his eyes away from his phone. Taemin is standing in the middle of the room, hands on his hips, frowning underneath his wavy black bangs. He looks at Jonghyun and gestures around at the walls.

"All of this,” he says. "The decor. The black and red. The fancy lace. Crystal chandelier.” He points up at the ceiling. "This literally looks like, like, the goth mansion from the sims. You told me they only moved here a century ago. They had to make this place look like this on purpose. Did they become vampires and decide to become stereotypes too?” Walking to one of the recliners, he feels up the cover on the back of it and apparently decides that it's too fancy and pretentious because he lets go of it with a scoff. "Am I supposed to be impressed by these old rich assholes?" he asks.

Jonghyun frowns right back at him. Rude. "You're supposed to be respectful, at least," he says. The elders are the ones that gave Taemin a sentient afterlife, and the ones that keep vampires safe from hunters, and the ones that use all of their wealth to do on the ground charity work and public services for humans that the government refuses to do. So what if they want to live in a cliche. "Also," Jonghyun says, not bothering with reminding Taemin of everything the elders are good for. They can do that if they care enough to. He crosses his legs and his arms, raising his eyebrows at his baby mentee. "You're one to talk. What have you done since you became a vampire, mister fly all the way to Paris to film a slutty dance video of yourself in front of the original Gates of Hell?"

"Okay," Taemin says loudly. He crosses his arms and sets his jaw, the image of the defiant, grumpy, confrontational vampire he was during his first year. As he's learned more and grown more used to his new life, he's calmed down a little, but he does pull this mood out when he's feeling particularly defensive. Jonghyun wonders if Taemin knows that it doesn't work on him anymore and now he just thinks it's cute. "That's different," Taemin says. "That was – first of all, you're the one that wanted to go to Europe. Second of all, I liked dancing before. And third of all, I'm literally weird queer deconverted catholic. It wasn't stereotypical, it was defiant. It was empowering. It was reclaim. Reclaimary? Atory? Recl–re–”

"Reclamation.”

"It was a reclamation.” Taemin continues without missing a beat. "This," he gestures around the room again, "this is like. Ooh, I'm a spooky vampire, I want to suck your blood, bluhh.” He draws the collar of his jacket up and speaks in the dracula accent, wiggling his fingers and baring his fangs, then rolls his eyes. "I'm just saying, it's a little tryhard.”

"Maybe we just like the way it looks.”

"Jesus –” Taemin jumps a mile when Jinki speaks behind him. Jonghyun, who watched Jinki walk into the room, smiles broadly at his mentor.

"Hi Jinki,” he says. He's looking way too handsome as always with his square glasses and pushed back hair and rumpled suit. Even more so now that he’s smiling so amused at Taemin. Smugness always did look good on him. Jonghyun has to take a moment and catch his own breath.

"Hi honey,” Jinki says to him, so much warmth in his voice that Jonghyun has to take another couple of moments.

“Christ,” Taemin mumbles into his hands. He hasn't blushed in 10 years, but Jonghyun still knows that if he could he would be neon red right now. "You can't do that to me, Jinx," he groans.

Chuckling, Jinki gets an arm around Taemin's waist. “Come on, birthday boy," he says. "Let's go tell the others what you think about their home decor.”

He guides Taemin out of the room, mumbling and whining into his hands the entire time. Jonghyun watches them go, shaking his head. So much for Taemin not being nervous. He's still pretty sure that Taemin will make a good impression, or at least not embarrass himself any more, but he calls, "be nice to him!” At JinkIis back anyway.

Taemin might be a gremlin and annoying and way too much of a handful to deal with, but all the same. He’s Jonghyun's gremlin. Jonghyun is the only one that gets to snap at him. Anyone else will get a full show of his fangs no matter who it is. Even if it's one of the elders. He doesn't care.

Alone now, he lays out on the couch and pulls up his phone again. He has a couple of decades of sportsball to catch up with before Taemin will return needing praise and validation.

#jongtae #jonghyun #taemin #jinki #Also is there #Mostly to be hot #vampau #pg13 #comedy #ydw #Aaron. Aaron look.#I didn't actually mean to make this vampau but here we are LMAO #Taemin Goes in and introduces himself and talks about some neat stuff that he's been doing since he got turned #And then Jonghyun goes in and talks about what a good little noodle he is and how much he's learning #And all the new spooky friends he's made #And then they get. I don't know. Congratulations on not accidentally stepping outside and getting vaporized by the sun for 10 years awards.#And then go home and get chicken nuggies : )

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plush-rabbit · 4 years ago

Text

Sugar and Spice

Word Count: 2K

A/N: This is set after he passes the gym to Marnie:P I hope that you enjoyed it!! Im sorry for it being so late!! Also, since sunday was a lot,, pokemon related things will go on ao3 like tomorrow!!

Piers is a rather intimidating person. He’s tall and wears dark clothing, a certain look of disdain on his features to anyone who looks upon him. He won’t necessarily be rude to people but he has a rather flippant personality that makes it hard for people to approach him first.

You on the other hand, you try to meet him. You may not enjoy his type of music, but you do try to approach him, wanting to attend his concerts or even just listening to some of his earlier music that is different from the way he sings now. It’s softer, harsh lyrics that are whispered into your ear accompanied by static due to the low quality of the mic but you enjoy it.

Truth be told, he inspired you to start your own musical journey. Different from his genre obviously, but still. It was easy to write the music, to let the flow seep into you and sing with a lonely voice and cute look. If he could keep his dark, gloomy aesthetic, then you could keep your pastel, cheery one.

Yet, despite the hopeful encounter that you wish you could have had with him, ended horribly. He hadn’t exactly called you anything mean and while you were aware of the tone he held, it certainly didn’t prepare you to be on the receiving end of it. It was a heavy feeling that it left, an unmistakable uneasiness that made you squirm and want to leave.

And yet, you still hold a strong admiration to him. You still want to meet him and go against him in a battle even if it isn’t his strongest suit just for the fact that you believe like everyone else that a battle is what people go against, what they put all their might into and see how they can prevail at the end of it. You wanted to see the light in his eyes up close and see how he would fight.

You’re everything opposite to Piers. Where he dresses in dark clothing and has a rather cold demeanor, you dress in soft colors and try to appear friendly to others, often accompanied by your team of fairy and mostly pink colored pokémon. You spent a good portion of your youth hating pink, wanting to go against gender norms but as you grew older, you fell in love with the color and the frills, wanting to be dressed in a cute way that while others may have seen as overbearing, you just liked it and it made you happy. Where as he sang metal and rock, you stuck with pop, you wore your dresses and had even jokingly called the type of music you sang “bubblegum pop”, no real reason behind it- agains, it just made you happy to call it. Despite the differences, you greatly admired the ex- gym leader. He had been able to hold his own in a town that was failing- no fault on his of course- and had been a caring brother from what you have seen. He was an admirable person and while the music he made wasn’t exactly your taste, you could learn to enjoy it.

However, due to your rising fame and the type advantage against him, people around the region- who knew of both of you- had begun to jokingly call the two of you rivals, wanting to see you both battle it out and see who would reign above the other. And while you would have happily accepted the chance to meet Piers, a trainer you strongly admired, he had only sneered at the idea of you and him having a battle. To say it hurt would be an understatement. He’s a personal inspiration and to have him act that way to the mere mention of you left you deflated.

It’s a mere accident that you both are in the same area. Mentions of him of you are sprinkled into your notifications, buildings that match in the background and while you aren’t proud of it, you take to following the buildings and the threads. You walk around, your white tennis skirt paired with a soft, baby blue pullover and pair or white tennis shoes, an obvious giveaway to who you are, a yellow star shaped bag that crosses over your chest, and a bow with trailing ribbons falling and curving around your shoulders, tickling at your neck with every step until you finally seem to be in a surrounding area that he was last seen at. While it left you with an odd taste, you wanted to run into him and express your admiration for him- just for a quick second, to tell him how much you liked the music he put out and how he stuck with the aesthetic- you could understand how expensive it could be to stick with something as money-consuming as clothing.

You find him by accident. It’s a completely stereotypical moment when you do. You both stand at the opposite ends of the fountain decorated with carvings of various water types from the region, the sun shines and you can see in front of you with his sister and the rising champions. You hold onto the straps of your bag, your lips pulling into a flustered line, heat that rises from excitement or general shyness- you aren’t sure yet, and you stare at him with wide eyes. In the pockets of your skirt, you can feel your phone buzz and in the corner of your eyes, you can see people hurriedly take out their phones. And just like that, the serene, very stereotypical moment is over when he turns around and your eyes meet. Where you widen and flush under his gaze, he hardens his stare and grows an annoyed look, brows furrowing and lips pulled into a thin line.

Your resolve is broken. You gasp, and look around, seeing people stare and a small circle forming, whether for the both of you or the rising stars of the region, you don’t know and you don’t find out, choosing to leave the area. You jump a bit, standing on the tips of your shoes and you turn to leave.

You don’t want to stick around and see what he might have to say, the thought of the smallest bit of rejection far too much on your mind. You manage to make your way into a bookstore, the scent of coffee lingering in the air and you greet the employees with a tight smile, wandering deeper into the store, hoping to distract yourself and walk between the aisles and find something to buy.

You stand at the end of the store, against a corner as you trail your finger against the spines of the books. In your peripheral, you can spot a figure, standing tall and you pay no mind. There is no real reason for you to worry- you may not look the part, but you can certainly fight dirty and the store isn’t abandoned so you could always call for help. You hum under your breath, pulling out a book and pursing your lips as you read the synopsis. The figure at the end comes closer and you turn, a soft squeak sounds past your lips. You feel yourself stand straighter, your shoulders squaring and the book held close to your chest, fingers gripping onto it tightly, enough to pale your knuckles.

“You ran away,” Piers muses, his fingers trailing along the spines, his steps quiet against the carpet. “You must be really scared of me,” he says, looking away from you, chuckling lightly. He stands in front of you, his brows raising as he looks down at you.

His dual colored hair is pulled into a loose ponytail, a thick part of it obscuring half of his face and you can only do so much to not cower under his gaze, eventually breaking from his eye contact and looking at the top of your shoes that differ from his.

“‘S not that,” you mutter, biting at your bottom lip. “I just… panicked,” you end, licking at your lips. “I- I didn’t mean to offend you.”

You were kidding yourself if you thought you could talk to him. Much less have a battle against him. Once he showed up, your resolve fell, further than it did before when he looked at you. You take a small step back, your shoes shuffling and messing at the carpet underneath, and your eyes still locked on his boots. Just a second ago, you wanted to proclaim your admiration to him, enough to go and see him and find him and yet, here he is standing in front of you without any distractions or prying eyes and you can’t bring yourself to talk to him with faltering.

“You’re a lot jumpier than I expected, ya know?” His reply to you is done with a simple roll of his eyes. “I mean, fuck, I guess it’s expected for a type user like you.” You stay quiet and you can almost hear his smug grin. “Lots of people comment how you’re a pushover because of your, er, type and all.”

You look up at him, your brows furrowed and frown against your lips. You lean towards him, the book still held in your hands. “It’s- So what? I like pink and fairy types! They happen to be cute and they’re strong!” Your voice starts to raise, slowly raising into a higher pitch, shoulders raiing a fraction to meet the ends of your lobes. “Plus, there are a few fairy that have a dark counterpart and Mimikyu is one that I’m going to add to my team!” Your eyes narrow and you pull away from him, crossing your arms in front of you, a scowl on your lips, face growing hot under anger. “I just happen to be,” you make a small noise of discomfort and bite the inside of your cheeks, “quieter.”

He looks taken aback, eyes wide as he blinks owlishly at you. His down turned lips start to twitch, forming into a wicked smile. He snorts and shakes his head, a pleasant sound ringing through the small corner, and you soften, your arms slowly lowering from their harsh grip.

“You got some fire in you, huh?” He asks, tilting his head “Damn, didn’t think you had it in you to actually stand up for yourself like that.” You meet his eyes and he flashes a quick grin that reveals his teeth. “Nothing bad about it, I swear.” he holds his hands up and brushes a hand through his hair. “Anyways-” he waves a hand and you watch it with careful eyes- “you oughta be more careful about who you yell it at, as all I’m gonna say,” he muses.

“Piers?” He hums in response and you swallow nervously. “Wh- Why did you come here?” You don’t want to accuse him of following you here, for all you know it could be a happy, little accident. “And why did you talk to me?”

His milky complexion turns into a bright pink that fills in his cheeks, a flustered look on his face where his eyes narrow. “Oh, hah, I- Marnie needed a book and I-” his hand swings around at a much faster pace, circling around in front of him with an open palm and you react instinctively.

You make a pained gasping noise, the book dropping onto the floor with a thud as your hands come up to block your face, back hunched as you try to cower under the minimal protection that you offer yourself. You whimper and take a stumbling step back that leads you against the wall, your eyes pinched shut and it’s a second too late that you realize you messed up. You gasp and straighten up, an uncomfortable heat running down your back as you meet his eyes.

He stands frozen, his hand still in midair and his eyes are wide, darting down to the book and back to where your hands still hold a semi-protective barrier against him. His eyes turn from shocked into pitiful and you break away from his gaze, mumbling an apology under your breath.

“Shit,” he hisses out, bringing his hands close to his body. “I didn’t mean to trigger you or-”

“It’s not that,” you respond quickly. “I- Can we not talk about it?” You turn to look at him, your bottom lip trembling ever so slightly, your eyes glancing back to the fallen book. “Please?” He nods slowly and you return it in response. You crouch down to grab the book and pull it close to you only to look back at it with disdain. You turn and place the book back into the shelf, your hands coming down to play with the hem of your skirt.

It’s silent. The soft music that plays from the music is not enough to drown the silence between the both of you and you want to chastise yourself for ruining a moment with your fears. Your teeth bite into the soft part of your cheeks, painful and enough to make tears spring into your eyes. In your pocket, your phone buzzes and you fail to pick it up, too frozen to care about the outside world.

“Do you want to get a coffee?” You look up at him and he gives you a hesitant smile. He jerks his chin to the other side, his hands inside his coat pockets. “I was thinking of getting a cup while I was here,” he clears his throat, “I could get you one if you want. We can drink it here too,” he adds quickly.

You give him a tentative smile, slowly pulling yourself away from the wall and taking a step closer to him. “Do you want to look for Marnie’s book first? I don’t- I don’t mind.”

“Right,” he says slowly, “her book. The uh- you know, let me message her to see what the title was, yeah?” He nods his head and moves to the side, jerking his head to allow you to walk in front of him first. “Let’s just get a drink first, all right?” He gives you a nervous smile, laughing quietly with eyes that come to a close. You come to stand next to him, nodding softly, your hands flexing at your sides in an attempt to calm down. “Neat,” he says. “Let’s get a cup

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6480n · 3 years ago

Text

Looking for fellow creatives for a fantasy project!!

Hi all! I’m looking for other people who might be interested in collaborating on a hobby world-building project. !!Please help me find people by reblogging this post!!

[ID: Sketch of someone waving cheerfully at the viewer. end ID]

This world is designed to be the basis for a magic-based, multiplayer platformer fantasy game similar in ways to Maplestory and Fantasy Life, where the player character travels throughout various cool and magical realms. If you want to learn more about the world, please check out the information under the “read more” (I didn’t want the post to get too long).

Some stuff about me: I’m a Thai-American genetics student/researcher with heavy interests in evolutionary biology and Southeast Asian culture. I like to draw/design in my free time. I’m looking for people who are interested in contributing (to any degree), especially those who have an interest in biology, ecology, or sociology/anthropology. I would love to be able to work with other people from cultures that are underrepresented in the fantasy genre (though ofc not a requirement). No skills necessary!!! I'm able to handle all the art and visual design load on my own, I'm just looking for anyone imaginative!

I tend to be very realism-focused, so I’m hoping that input from others will help this world blossom into a more fantastical, wondrous setting. You don’t have to commit to anything--if you want, you can just hang around a bit and see if it interests you, or just provide input once in a while.

This is currently just a fun side-project that I work on in my spare time. I want to make it clear that even though I’m designing it with a videogame in mind, there really is no guarantee that it would ever get to that point, and I don’t want anyone to join with the hope that it would eventually pay off monetarily. I’ll make sure that anyone who contributes heavily will get a say in where the project eventually goes, if it turns out to last long.

Please contact me on Tumblr or Twitter to get involved! I plan on making a Discord server to keep all our collaboration in one place, invites given by PM.

[All images described in alt-text]

The premise of the world is that flora and fauna are not separate beings, but instead that all animals start their lives as plants, turn into animals, and then at death they create seeds which sprout into new plants. People also go through this life cycle--when they start out life they’re the huge, slow-growing plants that provide the structure for complex ecosystems (pine trees, kelp, huge cactuses), and then when they become people, their community cares for the ecosystem in question.

--MAIN GOALS-- - To build a work in the fantasy genre that rejects the overwhelmingly common eurocentric and often colonialist setting, as well as incredibly popular westernized systems of fantasy morality (light v. dark, demons v. angels, etc) - To portray fictional cultures in a way that highlights the incredible diversity of IRL cultures without stereotypes or homogeneity - To show the interconnectedness of everything, including showing different groups of humans as being connected with each other and showing humans as part of the environment; actively rejecting contemporary notions of “mastery over nature”

!!Everything below here is subject to change!!

Since I’m heavily interested in evolutionary bio, I built the biology of this world on the premise that life evolved much like it did on our world, starting from a single organism and blossoming out into different branches. Humans, or rather “people”, evolved multiple different times whenever a complex, dense ecosystem arose. Here are the groups of people I’ve come up with. The player chooses which species they want to start out as, and the dominant weapons or magic style of that culture determines the combat style they first learn to use. (Each group of people has multiple different subcultures, but there would be one “main” subculture that players start out in.)

Merfolk/seafolk:

Perhaps some of the earliest peoples, seafolk start their lives as kelp and inhabit the thick kelp forests that surround many coastlines. They have a love for exploration and discovery, but generally avoid encroaching on land. Their magic generally has to do with water, and the weapons they use are mechanical crossbows and heavy blunt weapons (blunt weapons integrated with controlling/redirecting the flow of water to lend force to blows). I haven’t figured out which real-world cultures to draw on for inspiration for seafolk societies, since nobody IRL lived underwater, of course. This is probably the most open-ended group of people. They’re visually based on fish and salamanders.

Frostfolk:

These people start their lives as conifers and thus inhabit the taiga and tundra. Their magic mostly has to do with ice, cold, or wind, and their main weapon of choice is spears. In this group of people, I want to have different societies: a nomadic hunting/fishing society, a nomadic pastoral society, and a more sedentary river/forest-based society. They’re based visually on dinosaurs, specifically theropods, with perhaps more bird-like features.

(No name yet):

Related to frostfolk but now geographically isolated from them, these people start their lives as cycads and live in the tropics, especially on chains of islands. Some subcultures would be highly seafaring, while some would be more sedentary and involved with metal-working and smithing. For the sedentary cultures, their magic would revolve around utilizing fire, and weaponry would be small blades made from obsidian. They are also based on theropods, but would have more vibrantly colored feathers like tropical birds.

Dustfolk:

Based on carnivorous mammals, mainly cats, foxes, and coyotes, these peoples start their lives as succulent plants like giant cacti. They inhabit the deserts and canyons of the world and live a largely nomadic life. Their magic has to do with wind/sandstorms, and their main combat styles are focused on hand-to-hand combat, utilizing claw or knuckle weaponry.

Plainsfolk/brushfolk(?):

These people start their lives as deciduous trees, generally as part of savannas, or sparse forests on mountainsides. They are based visually on ungulates, mainly deer/antelope, goats, and pigs/boars. I plan to have a semi-nomadic subculture in the dry savanna, a more sedentary agricultural society in the tropical savanna, and a mountainous society. Their weaponry would use a combination of sword and shield, and they would utilize light magic by way of reflective metal or glass.

(No name here either... they’re humans):

Finally, there would be a species of primate-based people that start their lives as broadleaf evergreen trees and inhabit the tropical jungles of the world. Many of their societies would be agricultural, with some fishing river-based cultures. Their magic would be related to monsoons and thunderstorms, especially lightning magic, and they would use long, thin blades for fighting.

---

In addition to the "main" cultures of the world, there would be many cultural centers where multiple peoples meet and trade food, goods, and technology. People will not be divided by nation borders or "species".

Currently, my idea is that combat is used to battle metaphorical representations of disease, malaise, generally bad and imbalanced things. I haven't developed this part of the storyline too much yet, I just know some thematic goals I might have.

In addition to combat (either physical or magical-based depending on the player's preference), players would be able to pursue a few different skills, like farming/breeding using a robust genetics system, tailoring/clothes-making, furniture/crafts-making, smithing, healing, cooking; as well as more "meta" hobbies like making maps and puzzles for other players to use.

Again, if you're interested in getting involved or have any questions, you can reach out to me here on Tumblr or on Twitter. If people do end up being interested, I'd like to make a small community on Discord to chat with! Edit: We do have a discord server now, you just have to ask to join!

#artists on tumblr #world building #fantasy #character building #speculative biology #brainstorming #game design #fantasy world #can't think of any other tags #ive never tried putting out a post like this before so i wonder how much of a long shot it is #spec bio #speculative evolution #ecology

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theglitterypages · 4 years ago

Text

Title: Sweetheart Part 2

Pairings: Armin x fem! reader

Part One

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2000+

••••••

“Fix your postures!” you commanded, your hands are on your back as you walk in front of the Cadets. Levi stood behind you with a smirk on his face, he's been a little gentle with the Cadets these days but now that you're back to kick ass with him this would be so fun.

“Kirstein! Straighten up your back!”

Jean immediately obeyed while Connie was staring at you with wide eyes, this was not how they remembered you few days ago, you were soft spoken then, all sweet and all smiles but now they are seeing the tigress that Levi was talking about.

Levi was even more gentle in handling them because Levi rarely shouts yet his words carries heavy emotions but you, you can do both.

“She's the sister of the commander that's why she has the guts but I bet she's all cry and whine if she faced a Titan.”

You have a good sense of hearing and you heard what the Cadet has said about you, it wasn't the first time that someone underestimated you because of your gender and because you're Erwin's sister, it's one of the stereotypes, you don't actually mind but what you heard next took every single strand of patience inside you.

“Bet she's a good screamer in bed.”

Levi balled his hand into a fist, he may call you brat and have endless argumentd with you but he treats you like a sister and hearing the Cadets say those filthy words to you makes his blood boil but then when he saw how you tilted your head in both sides and how your eyes went blank he already knew that you can handle it yourself, you're not a simple girl after all so he let you do what you want.

Your eyes wandered around the Cadets, you were hurt by those comments, you hated being looked down just because they think you had it easy because of your brother when in fact you almost die a lot of times in the past and those wounds from Titan attacks heals in time but those words that serves as daggers stabbing your heart won't.

After a minute of searching you found the pair that you heard, the two men were standing beside Armin Arlert, it would've been a great view if the assholes weren't standing beside him, Armin Arlert's face screams peace, those blue eyes are calming.

“I bet she's been sleeping with the Captain.”

That was the last straw, Armin immediately threw hard punches towards the two guys who are both taller, and probably a couple of years older than him, he had enough of their dirty mouths, he knew that he's not suppose to do that but he couldn't stand them talking shits about you like that, his knuckles got red because of the impact and when he looked down at the two fellow Cadets, both their nose were broken as they lay flat on the ground.

Levi was shocked to see Armin straight up punch his fellow Cadets but he secretly smiled, he knew that the kid is promising. Everybody just need a little push to unleash their demons, seems like Armin Arlert has been unleashed just now.

Eren and Mikasa immediately went beside Armin to put a hand on his shoulders trying to calm him down silently, the blonde teen was heavily breathing, “I was taught by my grandfather to treat women right, you don't talk dirty shits about them like that, respect a woman the way you respect your Mother.” Armin growled through gritted teeth, he's surprised of the damage that he had done to the two men, those broken and bleeding nose gives him some sort of satisfaction but as he tore his blue eyes away from the two, he met your eyes.

You were frozen on your position, you were planning to do punch them first but Armin's action made you stop, you see the blonde guy as a soft one, the type of person who wouldn't even dare hurt a fly but here he is proving that he knows how to throw a good punch, when your gaze met, the anger on his eyes vanished, his face softened as his cheeks turned bright red including both of his ears.

With a small smile you made your way towards them, Connie, Jean and Sasha were standing behind Armin now too, checking up on him, you've deduced that he's like the baby in the group, suits him, he does look like a baby.

You looked down at the Cadets lying on the floor and grabbed their collars so you could lift them off the ground.

Everybody gasped at your action but no one dared to interfere. “I would love to have you two on our squad next expedition but we're the one leading the whole team which means...we're the first one to encounter titans and if we're unfortunate we'll be the first ones to get eaten too. I'll show you how I cry in front of the Titans then.” you let go both of their collars and let them land butt first on the ground.

You turned to Armin and smiled at him genuinely, “I appreciate your efforts for breaking their nose for me, Cadet. Thank you.” you smiled as you pat his head, Armin looked up at you with a smile, his cheeks flaming red, “It's natural human decency, M-Ma'am. No need to thank me.” you smiled at him and pursed your lips before walking away so you could go back to the center of the scouts.

“Captain Levi would take over now.”

Levi stood beside you and the Scouts saluted at him, “Take care of some written reports for me, brat.” he ordered and you nodded as a response as you walked away from the training grounds but before you could even went further, you heard grunts and gasps behind you.

You saw how the sole of Levi's boots collided with the face of the Cadets, you winced and bit your lower lip as you see how Levi kicked them hard.

“I'll make sure you two would learn how to respect your superiors now and women in general.”

You started to feel bad because you're damn sure their jaws would be dislocated because of Levi's signature kick but you remembered that they're assholes and they deserved it so you proceeded to go on and take care of the written reports instead of watching their ass get beaten.

°°°°

It was already dark when you've decided to take a walk to try and breathe some fresh air, you looked up at the dark sky, the moon was shining brightly.

Your eyes settled on the mysterious moon, you've always been fascinated of the moon, when you were a kid you often cry to tell Erwin that the moon is a creep because it keeps on following you, your brother would always hold back his laughter and would assure you that he'll protect you from the moon.

A part of you wishes that you two should've stayed as kids then, your brother has been seeking to find out the truth and as he gets closer to that truth, you're slowly losing him. You immediately wiped a tear away, you should just be happy for your brother and make sure he'll be safe, that would be enough.

You lifted your arms towards the sky as if reaching the moon, it is beautiful yet awfully frightening but the stars cast out those fears, as the stars shine brightly in the night sky you felt at ease and you smiled to yourself before putting your hands back to your pocket. It's getting colder now.

The cold wind embraced your whole and you shivered strands of your hair escaped from your messy hair bun. When the cold was too much for you to handle, wearing thin clothes is not a wise decision so you've decided to go back inside just to hear a hissing nearby, if you're right the hissing comes from the tree nearby.

Out of curiosity you slowly made your way towards the tree, you just silently prayed that it's not Cadets that are making out outside because you've witness a pair making out behind trees before and you wouldn't want it to happen again.

But as you got closer to the tree you confirmed that it wasn't a couple doing something nasty outside, it is an angel silently sitting down.

“Aren't you suppose to be sleeping by this time now?”

Armin's eyes widened as his head snapped on your direction, his mouth gaped open as while his brows raised in surprise. "I c-can't sleep Ma'am.” he stammered and looked away from you, not that he doesn't want to see you, it's just that the thin material that you're wearing is revealing your cleavage. He had to gulp and remind himself that it's not appropriate to look at women like that.

“Mind if I sit down beside you? I couldn't sleep either.”

“I-I don't really mind.”

When your arms accidentally brushed, Armin wanted to flinch but he didn't because he wouldn't want to offend you and when you looked at him you can still see how red his cheeks were even if it's dark. “Thank you for what you did, earlier. I don't really mind such comments anymore, it wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be my last either.” you chuckled bitterly, you've worked hard to be a skilled fighter so you could prove to everyone that you're not a woman living as your brother's shadows.

But sometimes life is fucked up, actually most of the time it is fucked up.

“You should inform Commander Erwin about it. I mean they're crossing the line, they're talking as if they know you.”

“How about you, do you know me?”

“It feels like...I do.” he silently whispered as he looked down on his hands, you followed his gaze and your mout gaped open when you saw that there's a bandage covering his knuckles. “By the walls, Armin...w-what happened? You shouldn't have done it, I could've taken care of them myself.” you grabbed his hand and examined it, not that you can see through those bandages but you just feel like doing so.

Armin could've taken away his hands from you but he didn't, feeling your soft skin against his is comforting, he's forgotten that he shed a tear when Mikasa put those bandages around his knuckles, he didn't break any bone but it's red and sore, he's not really cut out for scenarios like that but it was worth it because he was able to defend you at some way, in the little way that he could.

“It's just sore. I'm not really good at punching, you know. I used to get beaten up as a kid, they'll steal my food and Eren and Mikasa would come to rescue me but now, I finally...I finally get to do something for someone.”

“Why didn't you fight back before?”

“Because I can't and I'm not as brave. You know, when I came face to face with a Titan, I—I was frozen. Eren got eaten and it was fortunate that he's alive.”

You didn't notice that you stared caressing his knuckles as you listened but it seems ljke he doesn't notice too so you let it be, “But look at you now, I've heard from Erwin that you're a smart one. You've figured out who is the female titan right?” Armin looked at you and his blue eyes widened in shock as he saw how close you two were.

He knew that in one wrong move he can finally know how would it feel to have your lips press against his, if he'll move his head forward maybe he can feel how soft those lips are.

But he stayed back, he respects you. He's attracted to you but he knows his boundaries, his grandfather told him to grow up as a gentleman and all that and he thinks of Mikasa, if Mikasa would be treated so inappropriate by a man he wouldn't like that, he wouldn't like that to happen to his sister.

That's why he would behave himself around you and he'll choose to be contented of just staring at you, it's more than enough.

“W-Well it was a gamble and I was already late...it was—”

You kissed his cheek to shut him up. The poor guy looked at you as his whole face reddened, both his ears flaming up.

“W-Why d-did you do that?” he whispered as he looked away.

“I just want to. Can you promise me one thing?” you asked as you leaned away, Armin looked at you with curiosity before he opened his mouth to respond, “It depends, make me promise something that I can fulfill.” he told you. When he promised someone, he'll always make sure that he can fulfill because he hates it when promises are broken and he wouldn't want to break any promise to anyone, especially to you.

“Each one of us has our own expertise, I want you to focus on yours and if you find yourself in a fucked up situation, don't hesitate to go to me, call out my name or somethin', I have your back now, Armin.”

“Then call out my name too if you need me.” Armin told you bravely, he doesn't have any idea why he felt this way but the moment he saw you after bumping into you, he already know that he's attracted, he told Eren about it, Eren teased him and he's not amused, not that he hates it but he's afraid that you'll hear.

He often watch you from afar, most of the times you are found with the Captain, probably why some thinks the two of you are in a relationship but as you sat beside him under the moonlight, his heart was filled of hope.

“Good night then, sweetheart.” you whispered as you gently press your lips on his cheeks again, as usual, he was frozen and you stood up to walk away so you could go back inside already.

Armin followed you with his gaze as a sweet smile made its way across his lips, his eyes sparking with glee.

“Good night, sweetheart.” he whispered.

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honghunni · 4 years ago

Text

San Daddy top Oneshot (MLM)

requested

Contains:

Choking Daddy kink Scratching Restraint Public teasing after care suggested but not shown unsafe sex.

You met San a while back and had been talking kinda casually and hooking up whenever you could. You hadn’t really done anything super exciting, just normal vanilla sex when ever you got the opportunity as there usually wasn’t time to prepare for or do anything else. San lives with his members and you have a roommate and are both pretty busy so it didn’t happen often. It’s a bit stressful as everything has to be a bit secretive, you know what people can be like with their favourite idol. Luckily San knows a lot of exclusive places that people can’t exactly crowd around or get into unless they know someone, so he’s able to take you out occasionally. You like those places a lot since they are expensive.

Tonight San asked you to meet him at a restaurant at 5:00pm. It is currently 5:20pm;

He is late.

Usually you would be inside before he arrived and vice versa, but after a recent sasaeng incident they weren’t letting you in without San.

After some time you felt someone practically fall on your back.

“I’m sorry!” They said sounding almost like they were dying from being out of breath.

Obviously it was San.

“It’s like 10 degrees I’ve been waiting outside for like 20 minutes they wouldn’t let me in because you weren’t here.” You ranted at him

You were going to continue berating him until you saw the way he was looking at you.

“How am I supposed to be upset with you when you look at me like a sad lost puppy?”

You both walked in, San tripping a little bit at the enterance.

You went to this place a lot but you were always dazzled by the interior, it really didn’t look like much on the outside as it is intentionally inconspicuous.

“I won’t give you a limit this time you can get anything you want I feel bad for being so late.” He said spinning the menu on his finger

“It’s ok really, but since you said that I want this!” You pointed to the most expensive thing on the menu and you could see San’s soul leave his body through his eyes while reading the price.

“O-okay..” he said with a very dejected sigh.

You felt a little bit bad but the excitement of getting to eat a huge expensive meal overrided that very quickly.

“How has everything been going? I heard you were planning comeback.”

“Yeah we are but the usual publisher doesn’t want to do this one so we have to find another and the dance is a lot more complicated than the others so we’re constantly arguing right now and-“

As soon as you asked that a huge stream of words just poured out of him, he must not have had anyone to talk to about this.

After a few minutes of venting San simply put his head in his hands and sighed.

“Is this why you were late?”

San looked up. “What do you mean?”

“Did you forget you asked to have dinner with me because of all this? So you realised last minute and rushed here?”

San starts playing with the salt shaker on the table

“I debated not coming because I want you to always see happy San and not sad San but I also really wanted to see you but I forgot to message you and I couldn’t cancel because when I realised it was too late and-“

You placed your hands on his face

“Just forget everything that’s bothering you right now, ok? You’re here now and I require attention and you can’t give me attention if you’re stewing.”

The food came out and it looked even better than it did on the menu which literally never happens so you were very excited. San started tapping his feet while he was eating, it’s a sign he’s content but it is a little bit annoying so you put your feet on his to make him stop. He slid his feet out from yours and put his on top instead, smiling at you. It quickly became a game, one that you were clearly going to lose if you played by his rules. When he went to do it again you swiftly but gently put your foot right between his legs, he flinched so hard he hit the table with his knees and choked on his food. He leaned in and whispered. “You can’t just do that to me with no warning, what are you trying to gain?”

“What do you think I’m trying to gain?” You hissed.

San reclined back into his chair

“You know I actually already rented a motel, the members are all taking a break from eachother and they don’t expect me back for 3 days.” You knew exactly what he was suggesting because of how he was eyeing you. He suddenly started taking food off of your plate and put it on his. “You’re going to want to eat less, also I’m not letting this go to waste it cost me too much.” San spooned a huge amount of food into his mouth. You wanted to eat all of it, but honestly the meal you chose was too big for you anyway and now you have ‘extra plans’ so it’s probably best. He wrote an address down on a piece of paper and handed it to you like he often does, he stood up and leaned over the table close to your face. “Leave 10 minutes after me.” He quickly checked to see if anyone was obviously looking and kissed you on the forehead before leaving.

When you walked out there was already a taxi waiting to take you. It didn’t take too long for you to arrive. As soon as you walked into the door San hugged you tightly. “You take longer than I do, go wash up first there’s spare toothbrushes and stuff.” You went into the bathroom and San sat on his phone; after some time you walked out and he quickly got up for his turn and left his phone unlocked. You thought it would be harmless just to quickly look at what he was looking at, just a quick glance since you don’t really think it will be anything interesting. You read aloud to yourself what was on San’s phone screen. “San x Seonghwa daddy kink.” You quickly realised what you just read out loud and grabbed the phone to read the rest of the page. You felt a bit jealous, you were right here yet he was reading stuff about fucking someone else. You blinked and suddenly the phone wasn’t in your hand anymore, San had snatched it from you, he ran out so fast his hair wasn’t even dry it still wet. You won’t lie he did look kinda hot like that. He looked at his phone seeing what you were reading. “Why are you reading about you and Seonghwa? I’m right here! Are you bored of me or something?” San looked dismayed. “N-No I don’t read them for that reason.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “I read them to see which members the fans want to see me interacting with and just to see what they are writing about.” “Is that really all? Are you into anything written in that fic?” You barked.

“Actually…I do like some of it,”

His answer both did and didn’t surprise you.

“And I also read them for ideas of things to try.” He took your hand and guided you to sit on his lap. You asked “What do you want to try?”

“I don’t know how much you read but I’m curious about pretty much everything that was on that page.” He held you close to him.

Since you had nothing to lose you decided to try.

You whispered in his ear “Daddy.” You felt his entire body tense. You looked at him and giggled a bit. “Do you like being called daddy?” He didn’t say anything he just started kissing you; a lot more amorously than you were typically used to. It was as if you suddenly triggered something in him you had never seen before. He pulled away. “Are you ok with pain?” He asked abruptly, you were already slightly out of breath. “I think I am but I’ll tell you if I really don’t like something.” He instructed you to take off your clothes and of course you agreed, he took off his shirt also. He grabbed the tie laying on the bedside table, he tied your hands together tightly with the tie. “Is that okay?” He asked. “Yes daddy.” You replied, as soon as you said that you felt the tie pull a bit tighter suddenly around your wrists. He tenses every time you call him that. He he ran his fingers through your hair lightly tugging occasionally and checking to see if you were receptive to it. He grasped your hair hard with one hand making you kneel in front of him and with the other hand taking out his dick. You couldn’t really react to what happened because he’d already forced himself into your mouth slowly fucking your throat. Despite the typical stereotypes of tops/doms being somewhat silent, San is very vocal, in part because he is sensitive, you were used to it but he was much louder than usual; clearly really enjoying being aggressive with you. After some time he finally let you breathe, loosening his grip on your hair.

“Are you okay?” He was checking on you again. “I didn’t say stop.” you responded. San shoved you onto the bed and hastily fixed the tail of the tie to the bed. He grabbed the bottle of lube that was provided in a complimentary basket by the motel and put it on his fingers. He gently inserted two of his fingers up to the second knuckle into you carefully sliding in and out. He was going almost painfully slowly, enough pressure for you to feel it but not enough for you to really get off on it. You were desperate for him to do more. "Please" you said, looking at him so he knew what you were asking. "Please who?" San snickered.

"Please Daddy." It was definitely more embarrassing to say this time, but you kind of liked that. He went faster and deeper. At some point he added a third finger, you're not really sure when he did that but you definitely noticed it after a while. He stopped after maybe 10 minutes, he looked at you and the condoms that were in the box with the lube and then back at you. "What if we didn't use one this time?" You had never really done it raw with San before, or anyone, but you thought about it for a bit. You definitely liked the idea of him cumming in you.

After you told him it was ok he grabbed your thighs and pulled you towards him positioning himself between your legs and placed his hands beside your head. He leaned down putting his weight on you and kissed you while gently stroking your hair.

He moved down and softly licked and kissed your neck and then abruptly bit down hard and pulled your hair. He started biting up your shoulder and neck making sure he was leaving marks. Still biting down on your neck he eased himself into you. He sat up, held you down by your neck and fucked you slowly. "Can I do it harder?" San was already sweating a bit.

"Uh, of course you can you don't even have to ask."

San smiled a bit at your answer and tightly squeezed his hand around your neck fucking you much harder than before, his other hand, slightly shaking, gripping the headboard for stability.

He released his hand from your neck and gripped your thighs so hard you could feel his nails digging into your skin. He was going even deeper and his eyes keep fluttering closed and his moaning keeps getting lower pitched. You like how his voice almost sounds like a growl when he starts getting close.

He leaned over you again holding you to his body his lips up against your ear. "Beg for me to cum inside you." San dragged his nails down your side leaving welts.

"P-Please." You meekly pleaded.

He dug his nails into you harder, breaking the skin. "Do it properly." He said in a voice you don't think you ever heard come from him before.

"Please Daddy."

He grabbed onto your shoulders and fucked you harder than you think he ever has. It almost felt as if you were being punched in the stomach. You could hear his moans becoming more high pitched and his breath started becoming really shaky. You could feel him practically collapsing and he suddenly wrapped his hands around you tightly, biting your neck again. After a little while you felt him relax and he let go of your neck, San was panting heavily. He sat up after recovering for a few seconds and pulled out of you. He giggled a bit. "Wow, I came a lot, it's leaking out of you. You did too, I felt it when I was holding you." You saw he had cum on his stomach and chest from you and you did as well. He sat next you you and cuddled you gently. "Let's shower together." He said.

"But we both showered earlier," You said "It's a waste of water."

"We aren't paying for the hot water" San smiled.

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez san #ateez san x reader #ateez san fanfic #ateez x male reader #san x male reader #kpop male reader

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omegas-spaghettios · 3 years ago

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Ranking MCU Captain America figures

Before I begin, I want to clarify this is about my enjoyment of these characters and NOT who i think are the best morality or power wise. I specify because I think my first two entries will upset some people and I want to say, this list is NOT in order of how much I agree with these characters' values. I have a heavy favoritism towards theme and character interaction and that is where a lot of my enjoyment from media comes from. So, let's begin.

6. Captain America: CW, IW, and Endgame

I'm separating Steve into two because around CW he starts making decisions that really frustrate me.

Now I do think there is a lot to like still! His conviction to his morals during the Accords and continuing arc about government distrust is great, his stand against Thanos in IW is amazing, he is a lot of fun to watch during the New York part of the time heist, and lifting Mjolnir was legit my best theater moment ever and i will NEVER forget it.

However, in CW he starts making some awful decisions. In CW, he kisses Sharon like, days after Peggy's funeral. While on it's own it's already kinda creepy, Endgame retroactively makes this even worse. It goes on to also have grave consequence because he and Sam asked Sharon to break the law for them and never followed through to help her, which was pretty awful of them. At least Sam tries to make it right in TFATWS, but since Steve left that wrong on Sharon never gets reconciled from him.

I also think that his decision to keep Bucky and Howard's history a secret from Tony was really, really stupid. While I side with him during the fight, the fact that Steve "doesn't like when his teammates withhold information" Rogers didn't tell Tony this then walked into a Winter Soldier facility with Bucky and Tony during the most strained time of their relationship was just begging for that conflict.

He is barely in IW and while his stand against Thanos is a great moment, his decision to not let Vision kill himself is very frustrating. "We don't trade lives" then he goes to Wakanda to let thousands of soldiers die while they try and get the stone out, really dude?

I don't think going back in time in Endgame was inherently a bad ending but things he does to make it happen really frustrates me. He shows no signs of mourning Bucky or Sam at all. And then for the sake of surprise for the audience, he never tells Sam what he's doing and that is so awful. Sam dedicates 4 years of his life helping Steve with a good portion of it being on the run. Sam was with Steve more during the present than ANYONE else. Then Steve just leaves without telling him and shows back up to drop a ton of responsibility on Sam that he didn't ask for. Now Sam is an amazing Cap but it's frustrating to see that a lot of TFATWS is fallout of Steve's bad decisions in these three movies.

5. Captain America: John Walker

Now hold on, I hate this man. I think he does some awful things, so why is he above anyone else? Just because he isn't frustrating to me, he fits thematically and has good interactions with others in TFATWS.

His character really adds to the themes and discussions of white privilege, Supremacy, as well as how the US military treats their soldiers like shit, and I think he is an interesting character to watch as he starts out edging the line of evil and by the end of episode 4 crosses it. While I think Bucky was overall a bit too chummy with him in 6, I think it was all mostly in character for them. Sam and Bucky were up against 6 super soldiers and Batroc in a highly crowded city with lots of important people, it makes sense to me that they take his help in this scenario. They also never leave him alone which indicates distrust.

I also really like the moment where he drops the shield to help the truck. He is a shitty person but he is shown as a person who at least wants to do good, even though any challenge to that he goes off the rails. It is such a black and white scenario, help the truck of innocents, and I like that he does it. It also adds to the hatred of him as a person because it shows he clearly knows better but chooses to ignore it, which makes him even more despicable.

I think it is very important that a man like him bore the title of Captain America because it reminds us all that yes, it is very easy that a man like him represents America as it is and that we need to do better than him.

I like watching him and that's why he's above CW on Steve because he isn't making aggravatingly out of character decisions all of the time and he works very well within the themes of the show.

With me loving him in the context of TFATWS, in later appearances he does have a lot of potential to drop to last pretty easily, but as of now when he just is in that show, I appreciate his character a lot.

4. Red Guardian

I kinda like this character and idk how to feel about it

He doesn't fit Black Widow very much so he is kinda low but I mean, he's just kinda fun. His story about Captain America and the USSR is pretty non-related to the others and rather undeveloped which is frustrating, and he does very little plot significant things. He leads Nat and Yelena to Melina and that's about it. He distracts Taskmaster for a while but he kinda is just getting tossed around until Melina shows up. He isn't very important.

But I do like what I see and do hope we see more of him. They never pretend he's a great person and I do appreciate that he gets called on it constantly. His knuckles having Karl Marx on them kills me and overall he's pretty humorous and fun to watch. He also has a few great moments thematically that I love. When he comforts Yelena after the dinner scene and sings her favorite song as a kid? So heartwarming. When he took Taskmaster's shield when fleeing the Red Room I laughed at his ridiculousness but it lead to a pretty great moment, when he throws the shield through the windshield without hesitation to save Melina. It's a great moment to show how he's letting go of his past and obsessions to be there for his family.

I hope we see more of him, his overall lack of importance and stereotypical behavior kinda holds him back but I see so much potential in him.

3. Agent Carter

As of today she has been in exactly one 30 minute episode, but what I see I really like. Her laughter of surprise when she takes the tesseract is really endearing, her sword and muscles and height make my wlw heart patter, and I do like the difference in her relationship with Steve in this universe, where they both are of incredible capabilities but neither are given any respect for how they were born. We get that in TFA too but I really like that it is a constant theme in this iteration while in TFA it gets dropped a bit after Steve receives the serum.

There is very little of her so I can't really put her higher yet, but given more time she very well may rise up on this list but she had an excellent first showing.

2. Pre-CW Captain America: Steve Rogers

This man is a joy.

He is such an endearing scrappy little guy in the beginning of TFA and I love his commitment to doing the right thing. He still very much acts like a guy who just gained 120 pounds of muscle during that movie and it's endearing. The way he grows into his own skin in TWS is amazing as we see him really step in to what he can accomplish physically as well as his authority and leadership.

His Whedonisms in the first two Avengers films kinda bug me, they treat him like an old man when he isn't. Biologically he's like, early 30's at most here. He grew up as a fighter in Brooklyn then served in the military, he wouldn't care if his teammates swear, but overall it's tolerable.

I LOVE this man's commitment to transparency. He struggles when allies are not transparent and he shows nothing but transparency and I love that that is a constant for him (which is why I separate him from CW on)

Everyone loves this guy and over 90% of criticisms I see for him come after AoU, and that's for good reason, this guy is so loveable.

1. Captain America: Sam Wilson

He's so good, guys

I want to talk about Sam before the suit because he is amazing before it. He runs counseling for veterans, a profession very becoming of a superhero and it speaks to his incredible empathy and compassion that is on full display. I also think the fact that he dedicated 2 years to finding Bucky is not appreciated enough. Sure he was following Steve but he still spent 2 years trying to find Bucky, a person who tried to murder him. Yet he understands it isn't Bucky's fault and tries to help him anyway. I also really like that he is the first to speak out against the Accords. He doesn't wait for Steve or anyone else, he sees red flags and he is out and I really, really love that about him.

Then I love how long it takes for him to choose to become Cap and how much he contemplates it. He has to contemplate the legacy of Steve, if he wants to wear the symbol of this country, the pressures of being a black man as Cap, the legacy that John added to it, the pressures from Bucky and the pressures from Isaiah, and also his own legacy he carved for himself as the Falcon. It's a huge decision with a lot of weight and so many people pressuring him but he takes his time and chooses what is right for him, and I really love that about him. These other characters are all Caps from near the start but he transitions into one after years of knowing him as the Falcon and I love that he doesn't take this decision lightly.

Also as Cap he's just really cool. His decisions to not take the serum as well as try like hell to get Karli to step down speak to his humility and compassion. And while many describe his speech as bland it's still uniquely him. Yes the speech doesn't solve any problems but that isn't what he's doing, he's asking America and the world to get to actually solving them and that is an aspect of him we don't see much since Steve's propaganda days, his direct relation to the public.

Also his suit and wings are just awesome, I argue his action is the most fun to watch out of any of these characters.

Anyway yeah that's the list, I know people won't agree with me so let's try and keep discussion civil, alright?

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cyndecreativity · 3 years ago

Text

FFVI - Deceit

Possible spoilers for FFVI - Set after The End.

---

Sabin shivered as the pub’s door shut out the cold behind him. A warm fire beckoned him from the left, but the bartender called from his right. He came for a purpose. He nodded to the barman as he shucked off his jacket and made his way across the room. Only a few customers littered the tables, too early in the day for drinking. As Sabin passed, he winced at the scent of one particularly miserable looking man. The bartender pulled a face for a short moment, though Sabin could not be sure if the target were him or the drunk.

“Afternoon, good sir.” Sabin climbed into a barstool and rested his jacket over the stool beside him.

“What can I get for ya?” Despite the stereotype, the man simply waited with his hands on the counter behind the bar.

Sabin glanced at the wall of liquor behind him. He’d never been one to indulge too much, especially not in alcohol. But he had a purpose. What would his brother do in this situation?

The bartender tilted his head, impatient. “Ah, do you have any wines?”

The man chuckled and shook his head. “Only sell those to my VIP clients. Unless you’re looking to spend?”

Sabin barely contained his frustration. He sighed sharply and tilted his head. “How much?”

Thick, greying eyebrows lowered as the man assessed Sabin. He leaned over the bar, glanced at the jacket, and straightened up. “Got a few options for ya. What’re you lookin’ for?”

Sabin closed his eyes. Goddess grant me strength. “Actually, I was looking for one particular gi-… bottle? Goes by- It’s called Nova?”

The bartender laughed openly, a sardonic guffaw, if it were possible. “That’s not available until tonight, young’n.”

Sabin rubbed his eyes, a heavy frustrated sigh escaping him. “How much to make it available now?”

A hand disappeared into the man’s salt and pepper beard. The curly hairs shifted and moved as he pondered. Sabin arched an angry brow. “40,000 Gil.”

“Fourty-!” Sabin hissed his surprise. He came here for a purpose. “Fine.” He fished out his wallet and began to rummage for the largest Gil bills.

The bartender raised his eyebrows. He apparently expected to deter the beefy man. Excitement took over as he waited for Sabin to find all the money to slap on the bar. “Upstairs, last door on the left.”

Sabin nodded with a disingenuous smile. How his brother had afforded this… service boggled him.

---

She groaned at her reflection. The makeup she needed to cover up her scars had gotten rarer as the world disintegrated outside. She might have to return to her old life if this kept up. Most clients didn’t care for her rugged look. A pain tugged at her chest, but she picked up the eyeliner pencil. He’s gone.

A knock startled her. Gemma knew her schedule. She shouldn’t have a knock this early. “Good morning! You might have the wrong room. Lenore is across the hall.”

She heard a few steps at the door, the man turning in place, and then he knocked again. “Sorry to bother you so early?” She rolled her eyes. “This is Miss Nova, correct?”

She sighed from her position in the closet attached to the room. “Yes, it is.”

The door to the room opened. She dropped her head with a heavy sigh.

The boots sounded much heavier than she expected. “Good. I’ve actually come to see you, miss.”

A memory stirred and her heart fluttered. He’s gone. She swallowed, her breath tremulous, and pushed the closet door, the weight of her clothes keeping it open just a crack. “Well, I’m not even indecent, so perhaps you could wait in there?”

A heavy sigh brought the sound of boots to the closet door. “Miss, please, I’m in a bit of a hurry-“

He pushed the door to the closet open. She pressed her lips together for a moment, her true frustration before she slapped on her salacious smirk.

The man squealed, his arms flung upward, his jacket obscuring her view. “I’m sorry!” He yanked the closet door closed, his large jacket swept into the closet with her.

She looked down to herself. She hadn’t yet been able to get her makeup on, but any normal man might find her enticing in her simple bra and panty. Her eyes closed. A virgin?

In her room, she heard the heavy boots pacing for a moment, then the rhythmic taps of running in place, or maybe martial arts? He grunted a few times. Perhaps to calm himself. If he had gotten this far, he had to have paid. Her eyes fell to his large jacket.

“That’s quite all right.” She scooped up the jacket and turned it around. A patch on one arm looked familiar, though she couldn’t quite place it. “Seeing as you’re in such a hurry.” She pulled the large man’s jacket around herself. “I suppose we should get started.”

She opened the closet door, the jacket draped around herself to reveal the slip of her flesh between the buttons. She raised her arm along the edge of the door, her head tilted to reveal her neck around the collar. Broad shoulders met her, a purplish tank tucked into white pants, tucked into a pair of boots. Ashy blonde hair stirred another memory, more pain in her chest, but she smirked in an effort to hide it. He turned arouned.

“I’ll be whate-“ All attempts to maintain her composure failed.

A familiar face, the same but somehow different, turned around to her. Blue eyes roamed over her atop crimson cheeks. Her arm dropped, her brow furrowed, as he rubbed a hand over his cropped hair to his ponytail, a slight little rat tail sticking out of the back of his head. He sighed and turned away, the big, meaty arm blocking her view of his facial features.

“I’m sorry, Miss Nova, there seems to be a misunderstanding here. I’m not… here for… the wine?” His eyes darted to her a few times as he spoke around his arm.

She pulled his jacket tight around her mostly naked body. Did he not remember her? Did he have amnesia again? “Then what are you here for?”

He cleared his throat, an attempt to calm himself. “I, uh…” His arm dropped. She studied his jawline. The same, but different. “I heard that you have a ticket to South Figaro. Is that right?”

The question threw her. She furrowed her brow. She had acquired that ticket as a gift from Gemma for her birthday. She never understood why he exchanged her birthday pay for that ticket, she’d never expressed an interest in it before, but she held onto it. She assumed he meant it as a thank you for her service, as a ticket to freedom, should she desire it.

“Who told you that?”

He waved a dismissive hand and wandered over to sit on the edge of the bed. “That’s… not really important. But you do have one, correct?”

Her body covered and a topic at hand, he seemed to have gained some level of control over himself. “I might. Why are you asking? Did you want to buy it?”

His brow furrowed. “Buy it?”

She nodded and stepped into the room. “What’s it worth to you?”

“It’s worth a great deal to me.” Her chest tightened. He’s gone.

She sighed and dropped into a chair at the table in the room. “Well, I suppose I could sell it. But I won’t go under what the going rate is.”

He looked genuinely confused. “You’d sell it?” Not excited.

She frowned. “That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?”

He shook his head. “No! No. I was actually hoping to convince you to use it.”

Her brow lifted almost to her hairline. “Use it?” Her brow furrowed. “You want me to run away with you?”

He laughed and shook his head again. Her heart ached. “N-… Maybe? It’s a bit complicated.”

She set her jaw. “Or maybe you’re hoping to save me?”

His lips mushed, his eyes searching for a proper response. “No. Not that.”

He sighed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. She looked to his hands; a fighter’s hand, rough and red on the knuckles, meaty calloused fingers.

“There’s…” He looked to the window. His brow furrowed. “An opportunity.” He looked back to her, his brow set in conviction. “I’m opening a bar in South Figaro and I need girls.”

She scoffed. “Not a very good liar.”

He sighed, found out. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told the truth.” He rubbed his forehead. “Fine. I want you to go to Figaro and I can’t tell you why. How do I make this happen?"

Her breath hitched as fear gripped her throat. She glanced to his bulging arms, the tan lines for knuckles across his fingers, and focused on his face. She struggled to keep herself calm, controlled. “You want a companion for the end of the world and I’m the one you chose?”

Confusion twisted up his face for a moment. He leaned back, hand at the back of his neck again. She waited, tense.

He drew a slow, calming breath. “Yeah, sure. What’ll it take?”

She narrowed her eyes at his stubbled jawline. “I suppose you’ll have to make it worth Gemma’s while. I work for him.”

He took a deep breath and she felt the tension in his sigh, watched his muscles work under the skin, watched his shoulders roll. “If I do, you’ll get on that boat tomorrow?”

She stiffened. “Tomorrow? You expect me to drop-“ If he convinced Gemma, he’d be her new boss. She weighed her words, calmed herself; there was no way. “You know what, sure.”

He nodded and stood. “Good. Gemma is the bartender?”

“Owner.” She confirmed.

His face twisted in disgust and he stepped for the door. He looked down at his arm, then back to her. The flush rose on his cheeks again, the color spreading to his ears. “You can… hold onto the jacket.”

She chuckled a bit as he scurried out the door.

---

The sea air tasted different after the End of the World. The wind whipped her hair around, stronger than before. She remembered it all, a distant nostalgia of something she knew would never return. Maybe someday, far into the future, the grass might grow green again, the water a bright and clear blue, but not today.

A grunt and thunk behind her pulled her attention. The blonde man from yesterday dropped her two trunks onto the dock. Part of her admired the way his muscles flexed, impressed that he had the strength to carry both, but she swallowed her work and looked to his face. He’s gone.

“That’s all you have?” He rubbed his hands together.

She nodded and held out his knapsack. “Are you offering to buy me more?”

He laughed and accepted the bag with a grateful nod. “Just making sure you don’t forget anything.”

A strained smile found her face. “Not things I’ll be missing.”

He looked confused for a moment. A slight shrug found his broad shoulders and he ambled his way toward the dockworkers, presumably to ensure her items were loaded onto the boat. She looked back to Nikeah, over the dirty houses with incomplete roofs, to the bar that had come to be her home for years. From the door spilled a group of people that she couldn’t quite make out, but the vibrant colors of their clothing meant one thing. She grinned and hurried back up the dock toward town.

“Nova!” One of the girls waved feverishly as Nova jogged back up the dock.

The man turned to watch the proceedings for a moment, then turned back to the worker. “Not too long now, Miss Nova!”

The girls all tittered and waved at him. He flushed a crimson they could see from their distance and hurried up the plank onto the ship.

Lenore, a redhead, one of the younger girls, slapped Nova on the shoulder. “Lucky~! You found yourself a patron. And he’s so handsome!”

Nova laughed once. “And he still hasn’t told me his name.” The girls all looked to her. “Thank you for coming to see me off, ladies.”

“We’ll miss you, you know.” A brunette shouted from behind the pack.

Lenore nodded. “I just hope that Gemma can find someone half as good to replace you.”

Nova smiled. She didn’t mean it. She nodded. “You girls remember what I taught you, hm? And make sure Gemma hires a better bodyguard.”

Lenore reached out to grab her hand. “You won’t forget us, will you?”

Nova looked to her hand. “Of course not.”

“And if he has a brother or something-“

Nova scoffed and ripped her hand from Lenore’s. “Take care of yourselves, girls.”

She tromped back toward the boat. She really expected more. They all competed for men in the bar, but she expected a sisterhood during the light of day. Lenore had come recently, still held the competition above all else. She earned more than the other girls and liked to flaunt it. Perhaps it was for the best that Nova had a patron. She hated it. She preferred monster hunting.

“Nova!” The brunette rushed after her.

Nova stopped and turned around. “Nimsy…”

Nimsy panted slightly and held out a medium roll of canvas. Nova took it carefully. “What’s this?”

Nimsy looked back to the girls, all waving as Lenore stepped back toward the pub, waving to a few men on the streets. The men glanced between each other and started to argue.

Nova took the canvas and started to unroll it. Nimsy wrung her hands. “It’s… it’s just a little something I had. Thought it might… help you remember us. Remember your time here. And, ah…” She trailed off, nervous.

Nova unfurled the roll to a half-finished collection of portraits stitched to the larger canvas, each face in various states of artistry. The complete ones, the oldest girls at the bar since Nimsy’s arrival. Lenore barely had lines painted for her features. Nova smiled, her eyes crinkled up with the rise of her cheeks.

“Nimsy, I didn’t know you had the talent.” Nova’s eyes continued to scan the faces.

Nimsy shrugged. “Not much use now, world being what it is.”

Nova looked up to her a moment, then back to the faces. “Well, I suppose this means I’ll have to bring my patron back again.”

Nimsy straightened. “What? Why?”

Nova rolled the canvas up as carefully as she could. “Well, for starters, your face isn’t here.” Nimsy gasped. “But mostly because not all of them are finished.”

Nimsy giggled and nodded. “I look forward to it.”

Nova hugged the roll to herself.

---

The sway of the ship, however slight, upset his balance. He had trained on solid ground, in a mountain, for years. The slight rocking of a large vessel should be nothing to him. And yet the kicks never landed where they should.

“Oi! That mast isn’t your bloody dummy!” The helmsman held on hand on the large spoked wheel behind him.

Sabin chuckled and bowed slightly. “Sorry!”

A girlish chuckle found him from the door to the cabins. He looked to the woman, Nova, and frowned. “What?”

She shrugged. He much appreciated her fully clothed, though he questioned her choice of a dress for their travel. She had insisted, still under the assumption that he was to be her “Patron”, whatever that meant. He assumed it meant something like the man that paid for Relm’s paintings, but she didn’t paint. A heat rose on his cheeks and he rolled his eyes – he was far too old to be getting flustered.

“What are you chuckling about?” He moved away from her onto the larger area of the deck.

She followed after him. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought your enthusiasm was charming. I didn’t mean any offense.”

He growled and took up a stance in the middle of the empty deck. She stopped by the edge of the area. He waited for a moment, for her to say anything, for mockery or flirtations. When none came, he started through a training regimen.

He forgot her presence after a few punches. But he certainly did not have a clear mind. He attempted the kicks as best he could, but the rocking of the boat made it difficult. His master, Duncan, might’ve provided him with some manner of wisdom. He should visit him after this mess is concluded. Embarrassing, though, that he had managed to fight on airships and floating chunks of rock and high up in the clouds with a nihilistic God-creature, and the rock of a ship set him off balance.

“You’re very good.”

Her voice startled him. He looked back to her. “Thank you.”

She offered him a perky smile, meant to disarm him. It worked. He looked away quickly. “If I may.” She crossed the deck to him.

He stiffened at her approach. “You mean to teach me something?”

Her head pulled back, offended for a moment. She chuckled lightly and shook her head. “No, sir.” He clicked his teeth. “I don’t know how to address you.”

His brow lifted. His mouth dropped open and he pondered the events of the last day. Mirth bubbled up in his belly and he released a guffaw. “By the Gods, you’re right. I’m terribly sorry. I am Sabin R-“ He froze. Would she recognize the name?

She smiled, his laughter contagious, and waited. “Sabin?”

A slight noise escaped his throat. He nodded. “Yeah. Just Sabin.”

She placed a hand on his upper arm. He looked down to her, his eyes graced over her cleavage, and he felt the heat rise in his cheeks again. “It’s a pleasure, Sabin.”

He cleared his throat and backed away from her. “S-so how long have you had that ticket to Figaro, anyway?”

She furrowed her brow, confused, but retracted her hand. “Almost a year now, I suppose. Why do you ask?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. He had simply grasped at a different topic but answering her question might tip her off to his true purpose. He furrowed his brow. How to salvage. He drifted to the edge of the boat and gazed out at the dull, grey waters.

“Is that why you chose me? Out of all the other girls?” She moved to stand beside him.

He looked to her. “What do you mean?”

She set her jaw and looked to the ocean. “I’ve never been very popular, even before working at that brothel. Was I just the cheapest option?”

He looked at her. Her shoulders squared, her jaw set, her gaze steel. A fighter at heart. He overheard what she told the girls, “remember what I taught you”. A smile tugged at his lips. “Ah, no… To be honest, you weren’t cheap.” He looked back to the sea and crossed his arms. “Though, in my defense, I’m not entirely sure what’s expensive or not anymore.”

A chuckle exploded from her tight jaw. “Economy went to shambles since the… everything.”

He hummed agreement.

“How did you manage to make your money, then?” She glanced to him, relaxed for the moment.

He tensed up again. “Ah… inherited it.” Not untrue, not really.

She hummed. “I’m surprised there was anything left for you to inherit.” She stiffened. “Though I am grateful.” She turned and smiled to him, all brightness and charm.

A mask.

Sabin had seen the same mask on his brother ever since they met up again. The End of the World had taken something from all of them, but Edgar, despite all his reassurances, felt them stronger than most. The Returners had found each other, each finding closure or purpose in the World of Ruin, in defeating Kefka again. Edgar did his best to become a monarch that the world could rely upon, and Sabin did his best to assist, but he could feel the sadness on him.

Sabiin uncrossed his arms. “Do you have a dream?”

The mask fell away, replaced with confusion. “I’m sorry?”

A noise escaped his throat. “Sorry, I got lost in thought.” He cleared his throat. “Now that you’re… here, you can ask for anything you want.” He smiled. “So? What do you want?”

Her brow furrowed and she looked down, finger to her lips. “You know, I’ve never given it much thought. I just assumed I’d be serving you.” Her eyes roamed his torso. “What is that you want, Sabin?”

His eyes unfocused at her seductive tone. He took a deep breath and turned away. “You’re not going to be… serving me. Not… like that.” A sound escaped her and he gestured nervously. “Not that you aren’t a… lovely… woman. Just that… I’m- I’m- It’s not why-“

Her hand found his arm again and he found her giggling. “That’s all right! We can take it slow.”

Frustration and embarrassment clawed at his mind. “No, you don’t- There’s been a misunderstanding. I-“

Rain hit his arm. He jerked back as rain dropped on her. Sabin checked the skies. Not a terrible storm, but rainclouds all the same. He gestured toward the lower decks and Nova rushed away. He thanked the Gods for the interruption.

---

She found him on the deck again, practicing the martial arts with a mastery she could only pray for. Despite his constant protestations over their short time knowing each other, she wondered when he would give in to take what he paid for. Despite her best efforts, she found him attractive, though the pain in her heart reminded her constantly as to why. He’s Gone.

“Oh! Nova.” He stood from his landing out of some flip. His wide grin spread to tug at her lips.

She waved to him. “Sabin. You’re looking better today.”

His brow lifted, but the grin spread wider. “Thank you! I feel better.”

She chuckled. “Mental health is just as important and physical health, eh?”

Teeth spread through the grin and he nodded. “Yes, thank you for the talk last night!” He walked toward her and gestured to the strip of fabric on the barrels beside her. “Did it help you sleep as well?” He grabbed the water skin under the towel and drank thirstily.

He practically dwarfed her in size, not just from his massive bulk, but his height. She blushed and her chest tightened. She wanted to answer him that No, memories still haunted her, but she smiled. “Of course. Though I might’ve slept better with you beside me.”

He spilled water from the skin on himself. He coughed a bit and wiped his face.

She sighed. “Why did you hire me if not for that?”

He cleared his throat. His eyes searched around the ship, over the water, the sky. Searching for some kind of lie, she had learned. “I need… a partner.”

One brow lifted. “Why hire a prostitute?”

His cheeks flushed at the word. “I heard… you used to… be a monster hunter. Before the… everything.” He chugged more water from the skin.

Her eyes narrowed. “Then how about you teach me a few of those moves, so that I might serve you properly.”

He lowered the waterskin, cheeks full, ponderous. He swallowed the water and nodded. “You know what? Sure. I’m no Duncan, but I am a Ki-“ He froze. “Keeeeee-ind man.” He jammed the stopper into the waterskin a little too hard. “You should probably put on some trousers or something, though.”

She laughed, incredulous. “Truly?” He nodded. “Well… I’ll see if I can find any.”

---

He heaved a relieved sigh as he stepped foot on the dock. He had barely gotten used to the rocking of the ship, if ever, and longed for the steadiness of ground. Behind him, Nova smiled, a bit more genuinely than she had at the beginning of the adventure. He turned around and offered her a hand to help her down. She took it graciously.

He smiled as she released his hand. “Okay, you stay here while I go hire some Chocobos.”

She started. “Chocobos? Where are we going?”

He tilted his head as he walked backward. “On an adventure!”

She looked uneasy but settled for his answer as he drifted further away.

Thankfully the Chocobo Rental had a cart. He checked in town if there were any deliveries for the castle and loaded them up as well. Nova, for her part, attempted to take their new load in stride, but she appeared confused and uneasy.

“Are you all right?” Sabin tossed a sack of X-Potions into the cart, his attention focused on Nova on the bench at the front.

She inhaled slowly. “I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but… I assumed you lived here. Or that… we would stay here for a while, at least.”

He grinned and dropped a box of tents into the cart, the last of the items. “No, I don’t live here. Did you want to stay? I suppose we could postpone the trip a bit.”

Her forehead scrunched up, at odds with whatever duties she thought she had and her comfort. Sabin frowned. Her face pulled tighter. He sighed. “Or are you afraid of what’s out there?”

She spun on him, surprised. The first time he had unsettled her since their meeting. Her eyes roamed the ground as she searched for an answer. He hopped up onto the driving bench. “Hey, Nova, it’s okay. I’ll protect you.”

Her hands closed tightly, that melancholy back behind her eyes. He reminded her of something, someone.

“You became my patron to be a partner, right? I should be beside you if battle comes.” A deflection?

He chuckled. “Well, do you want to stop by the arsenal? Get you some weapons and armor? I never did ask what your preferred method of combat was.”

She tilted her head at him. She looked down to her dress, chosen for their arrival and assumed tourism or home visit he gathered, and nodded. “Armor might do me good.”

A new wardrobe purchased, Sabin flicked the reins on the Chocobos. They whistled and proceeded on their way, ambling along the path that Sabin directed them toward. Beside him, Nova pressed on various spots of her new armor, a new leather piece not yet broken in, and frowned. He chuckled.

It took several minutes of her adjusting the armor before she groaned and started to fiddle with her chakram. She had migrated to them in the store, then refused to purchase them, instead focused on the lances at the front. When pressed, she eventually admitted that combat actually terrified her. She preferred ranged weaponry, to keep her distance from the monster. And her throw had atrophied over the years. He had slapped her on the back, causing her to stumble, and reassured her that she was perfectly fine and normal. It might take time, but she could regain her strength if she wanted, maybe even surpass her old limits. She thanked him, still uneasy, until he dropped a Bard’s Hat on her. A chuckle escaped her and he thanked her for being open with him.

Their passage through the desert took longer than he had wanted, but he found her prowess in combat much higher than she led him to believe. Either she had been purposely clumsy during their training sessions on the ship or she remembered more than she thought. He greatly appreciated her backup, always ready with a Potion of some kind, and her skill with the Chakram took out many enemies that attempted to attack him over the corpse of their pack mate.

They made camp about another day’s travel from the castle. He set up the chocobos with food and water and settled in by the bundle of sticks that Nova had managed to find along the way. She gazed at them, her eyes lost to the melancholy again. Sabin moved to sit beside her. She jolted at his presence and tossed a few more on the bundle. He stretched a hand to cast Fire, but caught himself. Thankfully, Nova seemed lost in thought.

“Penny for your thoughts?” He moved to gather the flint and tinder.

She shook her head. “I don’t think even you have enough money for my thoughts.”

He paused before striking the materials together and looked to her. “That many, huh?”

The fire blazed to life in the reflection in her eyes. She blinked. “Missing someone, I guess.”

He tensed as he stored the rocks back in their pouch. His eyes roamed as he desperately thought of something to say.

“Oh! He’s… He’s gone. You have nothing to worry about.” She attempted a fake smile at him.

He settled back into the sand beside her. He knew. But he couldn’t let her know that. It had to be a surprise. For the both of them. He took a deep breath. “Wanna tell me about him anyway?”

Her brow furrowed. Her eyes closed. Her knees lifted toward her chin and she hugged her legs. “No. It wouldn’t be fair to you. I tell you about the men I’ve been with before and you get jealous and it poisons our relationship.” She looked to him, her eyes roaming his features again.

He felt the heat threaten his cheeks despite the warm desert air. He cleared his throat, startling one of the chocobos for a moment before being calmed by the other. He planted his feet on the sand and draped his arms over his knees. “You really should rein that in. I’ve told you already that I’m not interested in that with you.”

She looked away again. Silence filled the camp for several moments and she rested her forehead on her knees. He looked to her and rolled his eyes.

“I just… I don’t understand why you paid for me.” Her voice escaped quietly, meekly, through her tangle of limbs.

He reached over to slap a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll become clear tomorrow, I promise.”

---

Everything packed up, they made their way further into the desert. Her new employer, her not-patron, kept her in the dark. He had warned her, before they started this journey together, that he couldn’t tell her why he needed her to use that ticket to Figaro, but she didn’t realize what that truly meant.

The journey forced her to confront old memories, memories that she had attempted to lock away. The way he laughed, or smiled, or the way he looked with his hair down the few times she caught him after a bath. He looked and sounded so much like him. He’s Gone! She had to remind herself constantly. But it became harder and harder for her to accept that when his ghost fought beside her.

At least he never used magic. One thing about him had been his use of magic. He lit the fire under the bathing tub, lit the fire in the pub, used wind or ice to snuff them out. He’d even cast a healing magic or two before, when one of the girls got hurt by a client. She tried not to remember the times he had used magic to punish those clients that got out of line. But Sabin, at least, only ever used his fists. Nothing like him.

“There it is.” Sabin flicked the reins.

Nova lifted her eyes and in the distance, through the haze of heat distortion, she made out a castle, wiggling high over the desert. Her heart jumped. She stood on the wagon, hand on Sabin’s shoulder, and blocked the sun with the other. Sure enough, the castle remained, clearer the closer they got. Sabin laughed and the chocobos whistled.

“We’re heading there!?” She wheeled on him.

“Yup!” He beamed with the distinct look of a man happy to be heading home.

Couldn’t be. She shook her head. “Figaro Castle?”

He nodded. “The one and only. You know it?”

Her chest tightened. Uneven sand jostled the wagon, upsetting her balance. She fell to the bench beside Sabin. “I knew someone that did.”

Several minutes passed in silence as the castle loomed directly before them. Too many thoughts ravaged her mind to process any single one. Finally, she settled on one. “Why are we going there?”

His eyes roamed, his tell. He eventually gestured to the cargo. “Making a delivery.” He left it at that, a simple not-lie.

She sneered. “You’re still not a good liar.”

He chuckled nervously. “What! You think all these crates and barrels of stuff are for us?”

She leaned forward, chin on hand, elbow on knee. “No.”

Before her mind could process another question out, they made it to the castle.

“Ah! Sir, you’re back!” The guards jogged from the entrance to meet the chocobo and her not-patron respectively.

Sabin nodded and handed the reins to the guard. “Got some supplies from South Figaro that need unloading. Rented the ‘bos and the cart, so they’ll need to be returned. Any idea where Wellager is?”

The men moved to follow Sabin’s orders. “He should be in his office, sir. But you can never tell these days.”

Sabin jumped down from the cart and offered a hand to Nova. The guards paid her little mind. She took his hand and hopped down beside him. “Wellager?”

Sabin nodded and gestured for her to follow him. “Yeah, he’ll want to check in with me.”

Overloaded with confusion, she followed Sabin absently into the castle. She scanned her surroundings, not entirely taking what she saw, and dodged around random servants, guards, and technicians. Machines whirred in every exposed bit of wall, filling the building with a hum. Sabin travelled the halls with familiarity.

“Ah! There you are, Wellager!” Sabin waved at a man in the hall.

The man looked up from a stack of papers, large rolls of canvas tucked until one arm, a bucket of tools from the other. “Hm?”

Sabin jogged forward. “Ah, this is the surprise I sent you a letter about.” He tilted his head in what could only be described as an intimidating gesture.

Wellager, not intimidated, understood the meaning behind his words and nodded. “O-of course, sir.” He looked directly to Nova. “His- He’s down below right now, though, working on the machinery.”

Sabin nodded. “Did you make up a room for her?”

The man nodded and tilted his head. “Well, let’s have a look at her, hm?”

He thrust his items into Sabin’s large arms and stepped toward her. She took in his appearance, now free of his load. A blue and yellow turban with a gold circlet adorned his head and a bit of fabric to protect his neck from the sun, fancy pauldrons of blue and yellow with gold accents held up a cape that covered a set of armor. She swallowed hard and bowed to the man, unsure of the protocol and why Sabin had such a close relationship with the man. But then again, he did have money; perhaps a merchant adventurer then?

“Well, at least she has manners. Come, stand.” The man started to circle her, clearly assessing her.

Nova watched the man circle until he moved out of sight. She looked back to Sabin. “Are you… selling me to him?”

The man pulled up beside her and looked to Sabin. “Pardon?”

Sabin laughed, dropping all the items that Wellager had handed him, and moved to grab her arm rather forcefully. “Nothing, Chancellor. Don’t listen to her. I think it’s about time we found my brother, don’t you think?”

Her brow furrowed as Sabin pushed her down the hall away from the Chancellor. Her eyes widened. “Chancellor!?”

Sabin shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

The Chancellor called after them and scooped up all the scattered items on the floor.

Having wended their way through the castle to meet with the Chancellor, Nova had no idea where Sabin directed her to at high speed. She merely moved at his prodding. “You’re hurting me.” He yanked his hand back with apologies and continued to direct her through a door and down a set of stairs.

The sound of machinery grew ever louder as they descended into the pits of the castle. Figaro Castle had been famous long before the End for its ability to disappear into the sand, but to see it up close awed her. And nearly deafened her. She tried to turn back to Sabin to ask something, anything, and he shook his head. Behind them, she made out the green and red cape of the Chancellor following close behind.

They emerged through a door to a room with a huge metal piston, unmoving, as a group of men worked on the surrounding machinery, huge metal masks covering their faces.

“Ah, here we are!” Sabin shouted, though the noise level in the room had diminished greatly.

Each man lifted their head to reveal a set of large gloves protecting them from a rod that created sparks. A few of the men looked between each other and back to the pair. One man in particular dropped his rod and stood. The others looked to him and to each other again. He frantically removed the gloves to reveal blue tunic sleeves. The same urgency led his hands to pull at the back of the mask even as he lifted the front and together he worked the large metal mask off his face.

His face.

Nova felt her heart clench, her throat go dry, as he stepped over his equipment even as he dropped it. He surged forward, hair a sweaty mess against his face, eyes wide and just as beautiful, jaw cleanly shaven, an apron over his front. Even through her teary eyes, she recognized this man.

“Gerad!” She barely forced the word out, her body quivering, unable to process what she saw.

He panted as he moved to stand before her. His hands lifted toward her, hovered over her features, as if unable to believe she existed either. Sabin moved away to stand by the wall, arms crossed. She could almost make out his smug smile.

“There you are!” The Chancellor burst through the door behind her.

That broke whatever spell paralyzed the two. Gerad straightened up and his features affixed into a mask she did not recognize. He smiled, bowed his head every so slightly, his posture completely stiff and formal. He flashed her a smile, one he intended to be charming. “My lady, the engine room is no place for one such as you-“

She slapped him. Though she struggled to contain them, tears crept down her cheeks. He’s not gone! He had used her, cared for her, betrayed her, left her. She assumed he had died in this castle when the Crimson Robbers returned with their loot. She never received another letter. She had mourned him. And here he stood, alive and well, performing maintenance on the castle!

Gerad stumbled back from the blow, his face turned away, shocked. She saw a new scar on his neck. The other workers stiffened as he stood there. Sabin merely chuckled. The Chancellor gasped and hurried into the room to drop his items, ready to perform whatever duty required on her.

She watched Gerad’s eyes dim, harden. He kept his face away, allowing his cheek to redden. “I suppose I deserved that.” His eyes turned to her. “Unless you have more?”

She set her jaw. “I have plenty more, you bastard.”

The Chancellor advanced on her. “That is quite enough of that, young lady!”

Gerad reacted quickly to grab the man’s pauldron. “No, Wellager.”

The Chancellor spun on him. “But, Your Majesty-“

“What!?” Nova felt her mind break. She focused on Gerad. “WHAT?”

He inhaled slowly. “I see we have much to discuss.” He gestured back toward where he had been working. “Wellager, if you please.”

The Chancellor sighed heavily, obviously displeased with this turn of events, and moved to fiddle with the equipment Gerad had been working with. For his part, Gerad removed the oiled leather apron and hung it on a hook by Sabin. He glared daggers at the man that shared his face. Nova furrowed her brow. He had called him brother.

“Wait.” She pointed to Sabin. “You’re his brother?”

Gerad looked back to her, then to Sabin. “What did you do?”

Sabin raised his hands defensively. “I only did what I thought best.”

Gerad’s expression hardened, all angles, and he frowned. “I’ll deal with you later.”

Sabin growled as Gerad turned away to her. He softened almost immediately, but she felt the his melancholy. Her chest tightened as she fought her desire to comfort him, her feelings for him, with her anger and frustration at his betrayal.

He extended a hand toward her, one around his back. Formal. Royal. “If you will accompany me, my lady.” He gestured his hand toward the door.

She waited on the other side of the door and watched as he turned back to the room of workers in their strange equipment. “Gentlemen, if you would continue without me.” They all jolted, flustered, and returned to their sparks.

Gerad closed the door and nodded to her. “Thank you for waiting. Follow me, if you please.”

He did not wait for a response as he continued up the stairs. She glared at his back, the unkempt sweaty hair, familiar in an entirely different way to Sabin’s. The color had changed from when she knew him, but she knew the style, the way it frayed. She recognized his broad shoulders, knew what they looked like under the indigo fabric. Part of her begged to touch him, to return to that time, to that bed. She set her jaw and followed him.

He nodded absently to a few people as they made their way through the castle. He did not stop for any of them, apologizing briefly as he made his way by. They all glanced to her in confusion, but promised to address him later. He kept a hand at the small of his back as he walked, his posture upright, stiff. Formal. Royal.

Eventually he led her through what she assumed to be the throne room. Large, empty, a red carpet through the center with two ostentatious stairs in the back. He strode across without hesitation and through the back. Presumably into the King’s Chambers.

#fanfic #my writing #long post #edgar figaro #edgar roni figaro #edgar #ffvi #ff6 #final fantasy #final fantasy 6 #final fantasy vi #fanfiction #oc #original character #edgar/oc #please enjoy

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lennydaisy · 4 years ago

Text

SWAN SONG || The Walking Dead || CHAPTER TWO.

‘You have to trust that every friendship has no end, that a communion of saints exists among all those, living and dead, who have truly loved God and one another.

You know from experience how real this is. Those you have loved deeply and who have died live on in you, not just as memories but as real presences.’

HENRI NOUWEN

The Walking Dead.

Season 1-?

FEM OC! and ?

Hope you like it :)) and here is the link to CHAPTER ONE!

My home is nothing but radiant. It's a place that is constantly filled with smiles and laughter and sometimes the occasional tear, but no matter what we get through it because we are a family. It's filled with so many memories; like when Corey and I tried to make mom a cake for her birthday and ended up spending her birthday at the hospital because Corey somehow got a teaspoon stuck up her left nostril, or when I came home from school claiming to have a new pet. My mom thought it would have been a snail or a worm, like something normal, but no I was a bit of a weird kid and brought home a skunk. I don't know how I found it or how I managed to get it to rest peacefully in my school backpack all day, but what I do know is that we all had to spend a week at a motel whitest our house got deep cleaned.

I had my first heartbreak in this house, my room filling up with tears like that one scene from Alice in Wonderland, only difference was I was 6 years old and claimed I had already met the love of my life.

This house has blessed me with so many things. One of those things being a chance. A chance at a normal upbringing in a comfortable home. It also blessed me with 2 sisters at the age of 4 and the most amazing mother I could have ever asked for. At the end of the day, my home, 76 Baden Way, Mormont, is the one consistent happiness in my life.

That's why I'm confused.

The drive up the all too familiar street was oddly unsettling. It didn't feel right. To be fair I didn't grow up in a white picket community with neighbours that give you cookies every fortnight or invite you to their weekly barbecues in their freshly mowed lawns, but it wasn't a bad place.

Was I gone for too long, it's only been a couple of days.

The houses that once stood tall, the house that once signified homeliness, now appear to be on there last leg. The once standing, chipped fences are now nonexistent, flattened into the ground. The once curtained windows, with the occasional flower pot on the window sill, are now completely bored up, no light being shown into the what I assume darkened houses.

Normally finding parking in my street is a nightmare, it's always something for somebody. Whether it be a birthday or a family get together, there is never any space for me to park my car relatively close to my own house. Of course, I complain, it's annoying, but for some reason being able to just drive straight into my own driveway is sickening to me. Where's mom's car?

My car whistles to a stop as I cut the engine. Neither I or Cora dare to move as we look upon what we once called home. The once fully in season apple tree is now snapped basically in half, rotten apples scattered around the dying grass. As for the house itself, it's not doing so hot either, the garage door is now covered with large indents in the shapes of fists, the odd splatter of blood causing bile to gather in my mouth. The usually crystal clear windows are now dust-ridden and black with ash, unable to see what's within the once homely home.

"What it like this when you left for school this morning?" I question Cora, the unsettling feeling that our home is giving me makes my voice lose all strength.

Shaking her head timidly, "No," she replies, "Everything was normal."

'Now is as good a time as any', I thought as I reach over into the passages seat pocket, grabbing my Cloy Python. Looking my scared sister in the eye I said, "You can stay in the car if you want. I'll scoop the place out, make sure it's safe."

Shaking her head vigorously at my suggesting, gripping onto my arm, prohibiting me from leaving the car alone, "I'd feel a lot safer with you." If it wasn't for the situation I would have poked fun at her for needing her big sister but honestly, I'd feel safer with her too.

Nodding my head, I exit the car and make my way around the front of our house. With shaky legs, Cora stands as tall as she could beside me. Not knowing what we're about to walk into, I detach my baton from my belt and hand it to my timid sister. With trembling but understanding hands she clutched it tightly, white-knuckled.

Mom normal locks the door, no matter what, it's always locked. That's the first sign that somethings wrong. The front down just swung open. I keep my gun raised as I slowly step into my house, the sound of glass crunching under my combat boots, the side window had been smashed. Would explain why the doors unlocked.

"Someone else could be here, be careful, stay alert," I whisper to my sister how had barely moved an inch into our house, my baton still stuck to her right hand.

The dark wood cabinet, where all our favourite captured memories were framed, is now broken, laying on its fronts, surrounded by glass and water from the Fine China flower vase.

Bending down to flip over one of the pictures scattered on the floor, only to be met with the smiling faces of my family. We went to the Grand Canyon a few years ago, we were all so excited but we didn't check the weather. Who knew the Grand Canyon, y'know that big dry place, had flash floods, beats me, but that didn't stop out Mom from forcing us to still have a picnic on the waterlogged grass. 'It's all part of the experience' she said. If the experience was having a cold for weeks after the trip then we nailed it. I couldn't help but smile it the silly but fond memory, but I guess with the way the world is headed moments of endearment and reminiscing don't last very long.

A subtly whistle from my sister causes me to raise to my feet slowly, turning to see her pointing quietly into the family room. Standing still for a minute or so, the loud silence is broken by the soft sound of pattering feet. Signalling for my sister to stay behind me, I stalk my way into the room. Expecting to see one of those things in our living room, I flip the safety of my revolver, taking aim. As though glued to the spot, my legs for some reason forgetting how to work as my eyes settle on a figure standing, back towards us, facing the bookshelf. Not moving like any of those things from before, or making any similar noises, I come to the conclusion that's there is a person in our house. A person I don't know.

"Stay where you are and don't move," my once shaky voice now filled nothing but authority as I order the person before us to halt. Getting the picture, the person raised their hands slowly not daring to move another inch, "Who are you and why are you in my house?" I question, my aim on the back of their head never flatters.

"Ain't no need for that now little missy" their thick Geogiran accent breaking through the tense air in the room, "what happened to a little common southern hospitality?" He asks laughing clearly not taking any of this seriously.

"You broke into my house and you expect what, a welcome party. Oh wait and I'll fetch the balloons," the sarcasm rolls of my tongue like venom. The nerve of this guy.

"Correction I didn't break-in, I was pleasantly granted access," he corrects cocking his head to the side. Even though I can't see his face I already know that's there's a shit-eating grin.

"Granted access by who?" Perks up Cora, her voice not as protruding towards the figure but her point still stands.

Seeing the man nodding his head in acknowledgement, clicking his tongue in the roof of his mouth, "ah you're the sisters. The cop and the college chick," he laughed, his hands no longer held up but instead on his knees as he leans over slightly in laughter. Not understanding what's so funny, I cock my gun causing him to shot back up to attention, any signs of joking no completely evaporated into thin air.

Turning his head slightly despite my order to not move, his stubbly side profile coming into view, half a smirk lazily dancing along his face, "I take it you're the bad cop," he attempts to joke again, but it falls short, in a situation like this, one that has my moms safety on the line, is not the time to be Mr Comedian.

"Where's my mom" I rolled my eyes at the man, asking the serious question at hand. If he as much laid a single finger on her, I swear, if he thinks I'm the bad cop now, he's got another thing coming.

"Well if that's what you wanted this whole time you should have just asked little missy," he exclaims turning round to fully face us. He's a shaggy looking man, looking to be in his early 40s. His short blond hair sitting a mess on the top of his head. He has a few scars here and there and eyes that sent an uneasy shiver down my spine. His attire, clad in an old button-down shirt and a dirty wife-beater that looks to be stained with sweat from the Atlanta heat.

I already knew he was armed, spotting the gun that was tucked tightly into the back pocket of his cargo pants. Based on looks alone I already know what type of man I'm dealing with here. A stereotypical, boorish, southern redneck. Most of these men are ticking time bombs and the fact that one has found there way into my home, the place where my mother is, doesn't sit right with me.

"Come on out now Charlotte," He called out of the broken-down door, leading to the stairs, "I think it was a bird," he mutters, kicking this right leg quickly. Looking down at the ground, aside from the broken glass and wood chips, there are also feathers. Must have been the bird he was talking about.

The sound of light feet pattering down the stairs causes my ear to twitch, almost cat-like, but I don't flatter my aim on the man, "are you sure, I thought I heard-" the voice of my mother echos through the room from behind me. Mom. As subtly as possible I attempted to flip the safety back on my gun, not want to catch the attention of the man before me, but the silence fails me yet again, the soft clicking of my gun makes the man look at me, a knowing grin on his face. Cocky bastard.

"Cora, Macy," relieves mom, as she rushes over the glittering glass, skidding with friction, pulling both of us into a bone-crushing hug, "you're okay?" She asks as she separated from us, holding us at an arms distance, looking us over for signs of injury.

"Mom, Mom! We're fine," Cora reassures our panicking mother, holding her ageing face between her hands, looking her seriously in the eye, "we're okay."

Yeah, we might be but what about her.

My mom is a colourful woman. She always said 'the world is simply in black and white, but that doesn't mean we can't add our own colours'. Whether it is a bold pair of earrings or an eyesore of a scarf, she is always surrounded by colour, but not today. She clad in a shirt that appears to big for her petite frame, baggy jeans and hiking boots. No colour, just black and white, not like our mother at all. Her hair resembling that of a birds nest and her glasses sitting at a slant. She doesn't look put together.

"This is Merle," my mom waves her hand in the direction of the man whose eyes have not left mine, not so subtly looking me up and down with a look that makes me feel sick to my stomach, "He and his brother saved me from those people, brought me back here safely."

"That we did Charlotte," this Merle character near enough shouts in reply. 'What is this man so damn loud for?', "Just a bit of Southern hospitality. Something your daughter here could learn about," he says clearly not liking the fact that I still have my gun pointed in his direction.

"Macy put the gun down," the stern voice of my mother caused me to holster my gun against my thigh, but I refuse to let my guard down. I don't trust this Merle, whether he saved my mom or not, something just doesn't sit right with me.

"That's more like it girly," he says sounding assertive as if he has just won. It pretty clear that the man has some military experience. I can feel it in the air. The way he thinks he can control the room and the people in it, "My baby brother should be back soon, but I say we meet him halfway."

Is this some kind of joke?

"Look thanks for help our mom," I eventually cave into thanking the man, "But no way in hell are we going anywhere with you."

"Now I think your mommy over there would disagree with that?"

I turn to look at my mother who has a reluctant look in her eye, but not at the sketchy man in our living room, but at me. Is she really thinking about leaving with this man? Everything about him screams red flags and that's not just because I'm a cop but from just general observation. This is the type of man you would not want to meet alone at night.

"He and his brother have plans to head for Fort Benning," My mom starts slowly, clearly trying to find the right words, "I thought we could go with them."

I'm already shaking my head as my mom is speaking and I can hear her breath getting quicker and quicker, panicking, "Please," she begs, her voice cracking as I notice the tears building up in her eyes, "Please Macy, I want us to be safe."

Safe.

With the way things are going, I don't know how much longer we can be safe. I’ve always seen my home as the safest place on earth. It's where I live. It's where I grew up. My whole life started here in this very house, surrounded by people that I love. I always swore to protect my family. I didn't know what I would have to protect them from but seems as though the time has come to prove this more than ever.

"Ah, now Macy, baby," Merle begins to taunt, starting to walk closer but stops when he sees my hand rest on my gun again, "What kind of daughter would you be to deny your mom of safety."

"Why don't you just stay the fuck out of this?" I snapped at the man how held his hands up in defence and walked over to our couch bending down to pick up the rifle that I failed to notice resting on the table.

"Macy," I hear Cora whisper from behind me and when I turn to look at her the look in her eye tells it all. She's scared.

She's scared.

Mom's scared.

I'm scared.

"Where's this brother of yours?" I sigh turning to face Merle who is looking out of the window, his eyes darting from left to right.

"Away hunting," he shrugs, "should be back in an hour or two, but we're losing light. I say we meet him halfway."

For some reason, my mom just agrees with this and turns to Cora, telling her to pack a bag for her and me. My mom wonders off to wait outside, but I stay put. I don't trust this man, and I sure as hell don't trust him wandering around my house where both my mom and sister are. I stand my ground and clear my throat causing merle to turn in my direction, "Try anything, and I won't hesitate to put one between your eyes."

"I'd like to see you try," he lets out a burly laugh before pushing his way past me and out of the front door.

'What have I gotten myself into?' I thought as the sound of a car door slamming shut snaps me from my own world.

Call it wishful thinking, I already knew the answers to the question that was spinning around in my head. She wasn't back, and she was never going to come back. But there was no harm in checking. Right?

Bare. Empty. Any trance of anybody living in this room had been completely erased. It's hard to believe two people I held so dearly to my heart lived here. The once painted black walls which were covered with the typical posters of any rebellious teenager are now newly painted white, hiding all the scratches or chips that were previously there. I kind of glad about the change of walls, in my opinion, once you reach the age of 30 it's maybe time to let go of your rebellion.

All that is left is a set of drawers, a double mattress on the floor with no covers and a small single mattress on the other side of the room. Moving over to the dust-ridden drawers, I pulled open the first one and to no avail, it's completely empty. What was I expecting? She's been gone for years and she was never coming back. Especially not now.

It might sound dumb but every night after she left, I would leave her bedroom light on hoping that it would encourage her to come back home. But she never did. Mom eventually got annoyed about finding me asleep outside of Ally's bedroom door every night and had to have a word with me. Sure I stopped leaving a light on for her, but that didn't mean that I missed her any less.

Without Ally being around I had to step up and fill in the gap that she had left in our family. Ally was always the hardass. The tough one. If you were in a fight you'd want Ally in your corner. Despite anything that she says, she did love her family at one point. She was always on our side. In our corner.

Then one moment that all changed. We had a new addition to the family.

Little DeeDee.

DeeDee, my sweet little niece. Such a sweet kid, not a bad bone in her body. It's almost hard to believe that she's my sister's daughter. What they lacked in a shared personality they make up for in identical looks, they look the spits of each other, a true carbon copy.

When my sister found out she was pregnant she ran away. Telling not a soul why. Except for me.

I found out on my own, we have always told her to clean up after her self or something might happen. Well hi, I'm that something. She never kept me updated through the duration of her pregnancy, not like I expected her too, she just up and left. Until DeeDee turned 3. It's only been a year since she came home and she's was more disconnected than ever, especially with mom.

The rattle of an all too familiar engine interrupts my conversation with mom. Giving each other a knowing look with flickers of uncertainty as though maybe we heard wrong.

We didn't hear wrong.

The pounding of her heavy-duty boots slapping against the hardwood floor, echoing through the entire house. The house was so silent you could probably hear a pin drop.

Mom went to 'greet' her first, myself in tail, just in case this all goes south which it most likely will. We haven't seen or even heard from her for well over 3 years now, it got to the point where we all just assumed that she was never coming back. It explains the shock towards her arrival. Well, half of her arrival.

"Ally... your home," mom squeaks out unable to hide the overwhelming shock in her voice. It's awkward, so awkward that it makes me want to itch. The passing eye contact between one another speaks more than their unspoken words.

The reunion of a mother and her absent daughter.

The shock must have gotten to mom's head because she failed to notice the new soul in the room with us. A person we have never had the pleasure to meet. Standing behind her mother, not tall enough to reach her hip yet, is a little girl. All wrapped in a cosy jacket despite the Atlanta heat is the reason why I haven't seen my sister in 3 years.

Moving forward to where Ally can fully see me, making brief eye contact before kneeling down before the little girl. Hands tugging tightly on her mother's leg as she hides her face from mine. It's understandable, I'm an unknown face, so I decided to introduce myself, "Hello," I said gentle, just looking at the innocent girl softly not wanting to overstep my boundaries, "I'm Macy."

I'm oblivious to my surroundings, so much so that I didn't hear the stampede of feet rocketing down the stairs. The only thing I'm focusing on is this little girl. She just looks at me in what I'm assuming is confusion because she's never seen me before and I her. It's new for all of us.

"What's your name?"

I honestly didn't expect an answer, she looked like such a delicate flower, but a genuine smile covered my face when she said "Lydia" in the quietest voice I've ever heard.

"Nice to meet you, Lydia," I say as I reached my hand forward for her to take in her own, and she did. Slowly but surely her hand was in mine, her tiny hand. Smiling softly at Lydia hoping to have her mirror my actions, she does, but it's short-lived as I'm sucked back into the reality that is the rest of my family.

"So you run off, get knocked up and have the audacity to come back here 3 years later begging for a place to stay," laughed Cora at the mentality of her older sister. I can't help but shake my head as I let go of Lydia's hand, her smile falling behind my back, "Cora, she had a kid," I said to my sister hoping to get her to understand, but it seems as though I don't understand either.

"Oh no the kid can stay, but her," she laughed at the thought, "no chance, not again," shaking her head at the idea of us welcoming Ally back into our home, into our family again. Cora is strong-minded, no doubt about it, but when it comes to her family, if anyone stands in between them and happiness, even if it's our family themselves, they best hope they don't cross Cora.

Cora and Ally have never gotten along. I've always blamed it on the fact that they are too much alike. Cora may be extremely vocal about everything, but Ally is too, just minus the vocal part. You can tell a lot about Ally and how she's feeling just by looking at her. And right now she looks vulnerable. She has a child and I don't know where she has been staying for the last few years but right now she's homeless and what type of family would we be if we shunned out our own.

A terrible one that's what.

"Corrina, if she wants to stay she can stay. If she wants to go she can go. This is just as much her home as it is yours," mom ushered out all in one breath, still baffled that her daughter and newly found granddaughter are standing before her.

I really feel for our mother, ever since Ally vanished she hasn't been the same. It was a drastic change, not enough for the people she sees on her daily shop, but us, her family have noticed that a little light behind our mother's eyes has been duller than usual. Looking at her right now, the light is still flickering but instead with hope. Hope at a new beginning with her daughter and her granddaughter.

"If you ever leave my mother like that again, after everything she has done for us, especially you, it'll be the last thing you do," threatens Cora, never breaking her eyes from Ally who is doing the same.

Coming back to her senses, Ally snaps out of the trance that is Cora's eyes, clicking her fingers like a royal pain in the ass, "Lydia, come," she orders the little girl as she readies herself for the March up the stairs.

Noticing that her mother is no longer standing in front of her, hiding her from the picture that is her family, she rushes to her mother not before looking at me though and I can't help but feel bad, "Lydia if you want you can stay down here, I can make you something to eat," I said trying my best to convince the little girl that she doesn't have to do everything her mother says, but little Lydia shakes her head in rejection.

Maybe it's because she genuinely just wants to stay with her mom in a foreign place or it could be that her mom is staring at her, as though waiting for Lydia to make the wrong choice. P.S I'm the wrong choice in this situation, according to her.

Stomping her away up the stairs like an angry teenager, she leaves her daughter behind assuming that she will just follow her like a helpless puppy. Unable to hide my pity for the little girl, I attempt to cheer her up a bit, "see you soon DeeDee," I promised as a subtle smile appeared on the 3-year-olds face before running after her mother's tail.

The hallway is left in silence, not an awkward silence but just a thoughtful one. The same thoughts and feelings are running through all our minds; Ally's back, with a child. She was bad enough on her own, but now with a daughter, I fear not only for us but for that little girl.

Rubbing my eyes, as the only thought that is running through my mind behind 'this is not my fault', 'there was nothing I could have done to make her stay', no matter what, if she left for a reason or not, I just hope she keeps DeeDee safe because God knows she never done that when she was here anyway.

Just as I had enough of the energy to leave he room, a pile of papers tucked under Ally's mattress caught my attention. Behind down to pull them out, I'm shocked at what she had hidden. It as a collection of loose picture. My curiosity getting the better of me, I start to flick through them, she not here to tell me otherwise.

There are ones from her senior year of high school and her only 2 friends, who I've only had the pleasure of meeting once. On was called Barrett from what I remember, I don't remember the other name, all I know is that the unknown friend mysteriously disappeared a few years after they left high school.

The rest of the picture where weird but oddly boring, snaps of her smoking and drinking, kicking a few gravestones, y'know typical Ally behaviour. It's the last picture that struck me, made my blood run cold but in a comforting way. It's a picture of Ally and I for that time I shaved my head. I briefly remember mom taking it after me begging for hours, trying to convince her and Ally that this was a moment the was worth capturing.

There I stood, tall and proud, both hands on my head with a cheeky grin plastering on my beetroot face, my eyes holding a sheen of water from laughing. It's a contrasting picture. Ally slouched beside me, well a wingspan away from me, because I'm was an embarrassment to her. Her eyes deadly staring into the camera, making no effort to show any emotion.

I remember being disappointed with her lack of effort in the picture, but looking at it now it's perfect. It really shows how we were and are. I always wondered where this picture went. Mom got it reluctantly developed for me and even framed it for my bedside table. I only had it for a few days before it went missing. At first, I blamed mom, believe she wanted to erase the memory from her brain, but all this time Ally had it, and that oddly warms my heart. Sure it was hidden under her bed, but she still had it and kept it. Now I'm deciding to take it back because if the world continues the way it going, I don't know when the next time I'll see my sister will be.

"Do you think we'll ever see her again?" the sudden voice breaking through the air causing me to jump, and I spin around to find Cora leaning on the door frame, looking around the room in wonder just as I had moments before.

"If you asked me a week ago I would have said yes," I replied looking down at the picture in my hand before folding it and putting it into my back pocket, "Now I don't know."

The thought of Ally coming home was always a distant one. I wanted to believe that the day would come where she would be back and our family would be whole again. That was when the world was normal and even then she still showed no signs of ever coming back.

It seems to me as though the world as we know it is changing, coming to an end if you will. The though of Ally coming home was a longshot before but now more than ever.

A redneck just apparently saved my mom life for crying out loud and now I'm having to drive with said redneck to find his brother.

The worlds went mad.

It's changed and I don't know if I like it.

But it seems like I have no choice.

And thats chapter two done. Its going to be an interesting ride thats for sure.

You got to learn some more about Ally and we also met the lovely man that it Merle Dixon.

If you want to be tagged when I post for this AU just ask and I will for sure do that.

But anyways, yeah, I hope you liked it.

DAISY.

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