#the heck is up w/ this tree?!

[unproduciblesmackdown]

skinamarble hornets, i was like i hope my favorite skinamascene has been uplomarinked on youtube....reminds me of that season one marble hornets entry that's the First House Visit and how i saw it described somewhere as like "absolutely nothing happens, & it's terrifying" & it reminds me of the torment of watching as the series was released & Every Time something came out, no matter what happened in like setting, atmosphere, plot, scares, there'd be someone going "ugh another Nothing entry" over the most crucial &/or enjoyable shit so long as it didn't feature [& he's cookin hot dogs on the stove???] & didn't feature it like every other minute for good measure. as though a format that is predictable, like the promise of the same kind of scene in the same intervals of timing, would actually be scary or at all interesting. shoutout to these the entries, or even intervals of time within entries, where "absolutely nothing happens" and it's called suspense in knowing it Could, tension in an unsafe, uneasy, unsettling situation in the meantime, & then also potential followup recontextualization that only creates more tension for later similar material. ("absolutely nothing" happens (of course, actually, things happen, but) in the skinamarink scene save for the literal last few seconds when the "jumpscare" is a very brief change in audio & visuals which is neither actually that loud nor like showing anything scary(tm) (technically a la marble hornets i think people say you can like see an arm extend for a nanosecond but i never catch it if so lol) but rather hits at all because of 8 minutes of suspense & tension & Nothing Happening But It Could) (also bravely standing up like "it's fine that skinamarink has some jumpscares, including the obvious few even jumpier than this" like who cares if it's "easy" necessarily & also that Knowing such startlement can happen ramps up the tension even when it didn't, but it could've. like so)

[decarabiandivorce]

Day 5: Flowers / Summer Breeze

Summer was horrible no matter how many years passed by. Despite wearing a rather breezy outfit, Venti felt like he was going to die.

So there he was, laying on the ground underneath Vennessa’s symbol’s branches. The newly planted tree provided a bunch of shade, the delicious smell of home laid within its leaves. Sweeter than honey and warmer than nectar, but the dastardly heat destroyed any hint of serenity. Curse whatever god thought this was a good idea.

The anemo god summoned a breeze, but even the winds around Mondstadt did not want to move. Understandable, but the archon was suffering here! The squire- now Lord Ragnvindr was busy today, his kin were busy harvesting and he had banned the wind wisp from bothering them today!

Venti wanted to sob. He was alone! Alone and Suffering! It’s toooooo hot!!!

He can’t even summon the strength to strum his strings! Nor words could form in his mind! Nothing but emotions rising like the heat.

Yet salvation smiled upon the bard, as he felt the breeze of wings flapping down near him.

“Dvalin!” Venti smiled at his friend.

“Barbatos.” Dvalin said back.

“Dvvaaaaaallllllllliiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!”

Venti complained, “It's so hot! Why are summers so hot! Why can’t it be spring or fall! Heck! I think even winter would do me well!”

Dvalin snorted, his tail wrapping around the giant tree. Venti moved from the grass to the stones near his friend’s snout. “I don’t see why you can’t fly to somewhere colder.”

Venti put his arms around him, “Tired… I’m going to die here… I’m going to melt into a little Venti puddle. Woe! W-Ahahaaa!” Dvalin flapped his wings, sending a nice cool breeze towards the archon’s face. Falling down from the strength of his winds, Venti looked up at the aqua dragon with nothing but familiar love.

“Get on my back.”

“Eh?”

Dvalin rolled his eyes, and lowered his body ever so slightly. Eyes full of sparkles, Venti hopped on top of the dragon, barely having enough time to grip the azural feathers before the dragon leaped. Venti laughed and screamed at the sudden acenseion, the winds of Mondstadt saying goodbye as the duo zoomed.

Before long Dvalin’s pace slowed, allowing Venti some grace to lay on his back.

The clouds looked peaceful. The sky looked lovely. The heat may be killing him at the moment, but with every second he flew side by side with his east wind, it was pure bliss.

With the falcon of the west having ascended, he should make plans for the three of them to fly like this.

Looking down and holding Dvalin’s body by his legs, the endless ocean beyond Mondstadt looked refreshing.

“Inazuma is over there.” Venti muttered.

“I know!”

“…?” Where was he taking him.

More water greeted him.

Creatures of all sorts lived in these depths- far away from any boat. What was in this area that Dvalin was so eager to show him?

Then he saw it.

The peaks of land- no. An Archipelago.

“Woah!” Venti called out. There was no map in the nations he visited of such a place! A brand-new section of land only known to Dvalin? That’s so cool!

Then he felt it.

Something… was…

…?

“Those trees are only grown in Mondstadt.” Venti muttered as Dvalin approached the islands.

“It smells like home here.” Said Dvalin. “Also, the sea mist grants such a nice coolness to the area.” Venti hopped down from his friend’s back, the beaches of this place was much cooler than Mondstadt’s- while being warm enough to make him want to lie down like a cat. Practically on cue, Dvalin rested on a large section of rock as Venti explored the area.

Flapping his wings and closing his eyes, he called out to any winds living in this area. Nothing. No… only faint traces of wind- like messages carved on wood.

The summer breeze was friendly, greeting him like an old friend. “Don’t you remember, newborn god?”

He kneels down to the edge of one of the islands, the rock too smooth for natural erosion. Windcut. Windcarved. Windswept.

A being with anemo made these islands...

A being with anemo used Mondstadt’s geography to make-

Wait.

Venti’s face turns redder and redder, wishing to sink into the dirt as a memory of his youth pops into his brain. The sea breeze laughs in his head as the anemo archon collapses. These were no ordinary islands! These were mountains! His mountains!

“Ugh….” He is never going tell Morax this.

Wait no.. he probably should. Get them called neutral land or something. It’s not like anyone in Mondstadt is going to use them with them being so far far far away. Perhaps he could name them something like “Haar Islands” and be done with it.

As the anemo archon recovered from the heat in his face and from the sun, he looked towards his close friend enjoying this sanctuary. Perhaps this heat wasn’t so bad after all.

[laismoura-art]

Presenting my very own take on the Goddesses!

🌺Cetrion and Delia!☀️

The Goddess of Life, Light and Virtue and the Goddess of Sun and Bearer of the Eternal Flame!

For their dynamics:

They are good friends!

Though Delia ascended to Godhood and Cetrion was born a Goddess, Delia was still a Goddess longer than Cetrion (as Outworld is waaaaaaaay older than Earthrealm) so for a while, Delia played the role of mentor for Cetrion!

Cetrion was trying to become a better Goddess for Earthrealm than she was in her past life (she doesn't quite remember why she was bad, but she knows she was and is trying to atone), so any help and advice was welcomed!

And as the younger Goddess likes Delia, she naturally DESPISES Argus! The Sun God and the Light Goddess have a TERRIBLE relationship, often bickering and insulting each other!

Cetrion tries to be on her best behaviour for Delia, but it really doesn't help that Argus won't put on the same effort!

Cetrion used to like Amara, Delia's favourite mortal and good friend. But their relationship took a critical hit once the Sorceress had an affair with Argus. They barely talk nowadays, and things will only get worse now that Amara's son, Zeffeero, flooded the whole Kingdom of Seido💀

Now, allow me to ramble a whole lot about their designs! 👀 💚 ❤️

Starting with Cetrion:

Yes, I did redesign her head to toe😅

I REALLY love the idea of her being Mother Nature herself and I wanted her new design to show that she's fully embraced the tittle and is dedicated of making caring for all life in Earthrealm her true purpose!

So the main idea here is that she's a walking ecosystem, every part of her, from body to robes are an environment that carries actual fauna within them!

Her hair was inspired by my favourite brazilian tree, the pink Ipê! She can change her hair at will, to make it resemble all types of different trees, and you can always find birds, bees and butterflies flying around her!

Her robes are an actual ocean, and if you look closer, you may find a variety of fishes swimming in there! You can even attempt to fish one for yourself, but be careful not to fall in to the water!

Speaking of careful, her magma body is usually safe to touch, though she can make herself unbearably hot, to the point a simple touch can melt your skin!

Her freckles are stars she crafted but were not used in any galaxy design, but as she's very attached to her creations and didn't want to see these go to an waste, she decided to wear them herself!

The flowers on her belt and arm are... well, Cetrion flowers, they grow on her only and have medical properties. They are trusted to the her warriors only, more specifically, to her head healer, who is also the Grandmistress of the Order of Cetrion! (Harumi got to use them once she graduated as Umgadi warrior and proved herself worthy of the tittle of head healer)

Now for Delia:

I'll start by saying I wasn't feeling at all confident while working on her🫣

I genuinely don't like her canon design-- really, she probably has my least favourite design ever! She's hypersexualized to an extreme. Her skirt and veil are so vastly different that they just DON'T match at all, and her top is just offensive!

Like--

What in the ever loving heck am I looking at?? (ಠ_ಠ)

MK couldn't just screw her over by giving her a shitty husband, an evil son and death. They also had to give her an awful design!

*Sigh* anyways... despite my strong opinions on this design, I believed a couple alterations could make me like it better.

So for her I started my giving her whole attire ONE main colour, which is the dark red.

I get that her skirt was trying to emulate a flame with that gradient, except they also messed that one up cause guess what? In a flame, the lighter yellow/orange part -> 🔥 is on the bottom!

And let's be real, her whole design would've improved 110% if they had made the gradient go from red to orange, the skirt would match the top, it would properly emulate a flame and for once, the colours wouldn't look all over the place on her!

Now as Delia is a Goddess here I really wanted her attire to stand out and look alive and magical (much like Cetrion's) so instead of a common gradient, I gave her a whole living flame! It glows and moves inside her dress!

I also wanted a special thing for her jewelleries and details on the veil, so I made them the sun's surface :D they were fun!

And who would've guessed the sun would make such perfect jewellery, huh? Lol!

For reference, Suchin's Blessed Swords look like Delia's jewellery (but she doesn't use them yet, only when she grows up and take over the position as the family's vigilante)!

And Jade has a protection amulet like this too. She has had it with her since forever, but she just can't for the life of her, remember who gave it to her! Learning it might belong to Delia is what encouraged her to go seek answers among the Umgadi.

And for the final touch, the symbol on her veil is of the Umgadi!

Oh, hi! You made it to the end! :D

Before I wrap this all up, a huge thanks to @rasta-bot and her amazingly inspiring work on Delia and Edenia!!💕💕

And as always, my beautiful girlies, hope you enjoy the reading! @mikka-minns @thedragonholder @orbitinytheworld @madamealtruist @moody-bloos 💕💕

[thelampisaflashlight]

Escape The Hunt

[Another adventure poll involving the ghouls. Sadly, there may not be a chance of making friends this time.]

You and your friends decided to go camping in the woods just outside of town despite numerous people telling you it was a bad idea, but you didn't exactly heed their warnings about monsters, fairy tale creatures out for blood, an endless maze of trees... Oh, and a satanic cult apparently.

So you all packed up your gear, drove a ways out, and set up your tents in a nice hidden field in the middle of the woods.

Everything was going just fine!

That is, until everything went quiet.

Birds, bugs, heck, even the wind went still.

And then there was a noise.

That awful, horrible noise.

A guttural howl that couldn't have come from any known animal.

"A w-wolf?" one of your friends had babbled, frightened already.

But you would all soon learn that the beast hunting you was...

A beast like nothing you had ever seen before.

A pack of them.

All twisted and strange, hard to comprehend, and too fast to get a good look at before fleeing for your life.

But you're not out of the woods yet.

A series of paths unfold before you, and you must choose quickly.

[alitheakorogane]

"Who's your favorite Genshin Impact character?"

Your friend had asked you when they found out that you play Genshin Impact. To be honest, you think that you were just a humble f2p casual player, but you really love the game and its characters so much, to the point of reading the current lore and learning how the game works. You even spew some Genshin theories and make some fanworks in your free time, even though you can't afford some official merch to show your love for the game.

You then stared at your phone where a picture of your favorite Genshin character was shown as wallpaper. You flashed a grin as you waved your phone in your friend's face as you proudly told your friend about your favorite character.

"Well, my favorite Genshin Impact character is..."

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

You were running for your life...

Literally.

You did not sign up for this, you were just an ordinary human being who just lived a normal life. Yes, you may or may not have mental issues, but that's not the point in this situation. In fact, your pursuers may not even care about your sanity right now, they wanted your blood in their hands.

You just arrived in this strange world, holding nothing but your sanity. You were wearing your usual t-shirt and pants ensemble, with your now dirty tennis shoes. A while ago, after reaching the nearest city, you were just approaching some people to ask for directions, but they suddenly attacked you when they saw your face and suddenly branded you as an imposter of their Divine Creator.

Who the heck is that Divine Creator anyway?! And do they really have the same face as you, to the point people are chasing you to the ends of the earth once they see you?!

As you were trying to dash from your pursuers who wanted your head on a pike and now wanting to breathe in relief as you approached the nearest nation border, you were suddenly picked up in the air by a heavy gust of wind, and a smell of spring and malice wafted in the air. Leaves of the trees are blowing harshly in the wind, and the clouds are forming like there's an oncoming storm brewing and blowing you out of the forest and into the sky.

If you are not terrified out of your wits, you will be amazed at how some glowing flower petals and feathers laced around the icy wind.

"Well, well, well...Who knew that the rat can be so feisty and so weak at the same time?

Out of all the nations, we are blessed with luck from the Divine.

They had to pay for committing this world's biggest crime...

And the cretin was in my domain all along and it's our time to shine!"

Fear creeped out in your veins as you saw the speaker speaks in rhyme and approach you with a malicious look on his young-looking face. His dainty hands holding onto his fancy-looking bow and a glowing teal arrow pointing at you, ready to strike you once and for all. His usual friendly emerald eyes darkened into something sinister, glowing like small lamp grasses, but he is like a predator looking out at his prey. You noticed that his irises were also laced with reddish hues, like a drop of red dye on water.

This time, he really is a predator prowling in his domain and you were his prey that was just as lost and pathetic as ever.

Then you feel like the air was sucked out of your lungs as you were hanging in the air like a puppet. You then choked and gasped for air as you were clutching at your throat as if you were trying to take back the air taken from you.

The being in front of you now grinned like a crazy person, with his once-beautiful eyes looking at you with such loathing. The storm now approaching its peak as he summons his winds to push you back to him, the glowing arrow now pointing at your heart.

"After all, you have the guts to copy our Divine Creator's face right at the bat, and I hated you for that."

You wanted to cry and snark back at the same time when you heard those scathing words coming from him.

Who knew that your favorite Genshin Impact character was declaring some hate on your face just because the face you were born with is similar to this world's Creator...when he had done the same with his dead friend?

Such a hypocrite.

[pyromegalomaniac]

OI YOU

I HAVE AN IDEA

Puppet (or maybe actual) cryptid reader x Wally

I have so many ideas how to turn scary to spoopy

MOTHMAN - Fluffy little fellow that is extremely socially awkward

SIREN HEAD - little rockstar with another mouth on their neck. Horrible eyesight, and probably has a spare speaker everywhere hidden

SKINWALKER - just a silly shapeshifter who steals food and plays silly pranks

LOCHNESS MONSTER - professional mer-person, carry’s around spray bottle to sprits people who curse scales and SMOOOOTH. Skin

BIG FOOT - hiker, and buff as heck, socially anxious but always whispers out a ‘Language’ adnormally tall

EL CHUPACABRA - actually has a pet goat named baby. Fluffy!!

them is just off the top of my head. Their just silly little guys with silly inhuman features

Hey again, 112!! Glad to see you like my stuff enough to come back!! This sure is a lot of ideas!! I don't think I'll be able to quite capture your vision... but I can try!! I'll do my best!! I don't know a bunch about all these cryptids, but I know a crap ton about mothman, funny enough, since I listened to a podcast episode about him. Enjoy!!

(♡˙︶˙♡)

Wally x puppet cryptid!reader Headcanons🍎👻

Mothman-

Burying your face in your neck fluff

Your fluffy little antennas perk up or droop depending on your mood

Seeing Wally always makes them perk up

Wally loves petting your fur

You have really bad luck, accidents always seem to happen around you

That's okay Wally loves you

You give people nightmares when you're in a bad mood, so you try to stay near Wally since he makes you happy

Siren Head-

Generally loud as balls

Bumping into crap since you can barely see

Sometimes you pick up frequencies from radios

Wally loves to sing and dance with you

You're used a lot in Sally's plays for music and sounds

Lochness Monster-

Scottish Accent maybe

Lifeguard at the local pool

"Don't forget to bring a towel!"

(I'm sorry I couldn't help myself-)

Moves really smoothly

Wally likes watching you swim

He will NOT get in though

He doesn't know why you'd wanna get wet

Bigfoot-

Doesn't like pictures

Getting your portrait painted is fine though

Picnicking in the woods w/Wally

Healthy snacks like granola bars and stuff

So tall you can pick the tallest apples off trees

Strong and tall enough you can pick him up so he can pick the high apples too

Chupacabra-

You eat so much

Everyone likes your pet goat Baby

Wally has basically adopted it as his child

You are a very happy family

You will literally steal pies off windowsills

That one friend who always has food in their bag

Not to share necessarily

But you will sit down with Wally and eat a bunch of food

Wowsers, that's a lot!! Hope you liked these, 112!! Thanks for requesting them!! I had fun writing them, and I look forward to doing more in the future!! Much love!!

ヽ(>∀<☆)ノ

[toreii]

Lost in the Book with Stitch part 3

Disclaimer: This is a fan translation. I apologize for any mistakes. I’m by no means fluent in Japanese, but I try my best. Please, support the official translation when it comes out.

…The sound of waves?

What happened?

Uninhabited Island - Beach

Grim: “Funaa…..”

Grim: “Ngh……what happened…?”

Everyone: “Uugh…”

Azul: “Where…are we…?”

Jack: “It smells unfamiliar…”

Ace: “Ow…what happened?”

Riddle: “Grim’s weird book…ugh, I can’t remember.”

Floyd: “It sounds really familiar to me…”

Lilia: “What the, it’s so bright…”

Everyone: “…………”

Everyone: “WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!?”

Yuu:

“What happened to your clothes!?”

“That outfit suits you!”

Ace: “You’re one to talk! You’re in high spirits!”

Ace: “…Wait, I’m also dressed differently!?”

Riddle: “Jack, what’s with that flashy look? Sloppy. Fasten that shirt properly!”

Jack: “Riddle-senpai also looks risky! You even have flowers around your neck.”

Floyd: “Ahahahaha! Azul, those sunglasses are super suspicious! They really suit you.”

Azul: “I do not want to be told that by you. People avoid you when you look suspicious walking down the street.”* (T/N: I’m not sure about this second line.)

Lilia: “Wha, what happened…?”

Lilia: “Yuu! What’s going on with me right now? Am I at least cute!?”

Yuu:

“It’s rather cool.”

Lilia: “W-What the heck…this is a big deal. Will the course alter from here on out…?”

“It’s really cute.”

Lilia: “Well then! I’m relieved.”

Grim: “Why is everyone dressed like they’re having fun!?”

Grim: “Ace is more chatty than usual. You’re so cheeky!”

Ace: “Haa!? I’m not usually chatty!”

Ace: “I don’t want to be told that by some guy wearing a bright red, patterned shirt!”

Ace: “Look closely, Yuu and Grim. We stand out when we line up together.”

Jack: “Hey…we were all wearing uniforms up until a moment ago. When did we change clothes?”

Riddle: “Perhaps by someone’s magic. However, I don’t remember anyone casting magic.”

Floyd: “Aside from the clothes, where is this place?”

Floyd: “We were all in the library…”

Floyd: “…No matter how I see it, the sea is right in front of us, right?”

Azul: “That’s right…the scent and sound of the waves is unmistakable. It’s really the sea.”

Lilia: “This isn’t the shore of Sage’s Island, either.”

Lilia: “Look at the flora around you. The trees and grass are tropical.”

Ace: “That means…this isn’t even Sage’s Island let alone the library!?”

Jack: “How did our clothes and the place turn out like this? I’m lost.”

Floyd: “Uh-huh. The last thing I remember was Baby Seal-chan opening up the book with the mirror.”

Floyd: “The book suddenly flashed and was enveloped in light.”

Grim: “Yeah. It was really bright!”

Lilia: “It’s hard to believe, but…it seems that this whole situation is because of that mysterious book.”

Floyd: “So then, that means the book brought us to this place?”

Lilia: “I can’t think of anything else. It’s reasonable to think so.”

To be continued…

[deadghosy]

MEETING NARUTO

Age: 7

(Kushina!enby reader)

*you are kinda like kushina and you are not related to naruto!*

You usually don't go out on sunny days since it was always too hot for you to go. Plus you didn't like being sweaty all day and walking around. Trying to find someone to play with you. People were always scared of you because you remind them of someone.

But you didn't expect a sunny day to make you meet someone that will always be on your side

As you were walking towards the playground to make another Sandcastle, you see a couple of big kids picking on a boy that had dirty blonde hair, mostly yellow. Kicking him and punching him. You can even tell that boy is trying to fight back, but can't.

So, what did you do? You fucked them up.

"OI, OI OI OIIII!" You yelled at the kids they were mostly likely boys that were picking on a smaller boy. They turn around and they start laughing at how you look so small and weak.

(oh, and did I forget that you don't have a specific gender? Well you can change the pronouns if you want.)

"THE HECK YOU LAUGHIN AT YOU BIG BETTLE LOOKIN BUG." You insulted

Immediately they stopped laughing at you and got mad, forgetting about the boy with the yellow hair

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BRAT?!"

"YOU HEARD ME YA BIG DOUNUT! I SAID-"

you got cut off by the leader of the bullies picking you by your hair.

"Watch who you talking to girl"

"EEEHHH, 'GIRL'?! WHO IN THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKIN TO YOU BIG DOPE?!" Immediately you gave the leader a nice hard high-kick to the chin making him drop you as your hair floated in anger.

"SO YOU WANNA ASSUME MY GENDER JUST CAUSE OF MY BODY TYPE, EHHHH!"

Immediately the bullies were scared straight to hell as every step you took, the ground broke.

"I'LL SHOW YOU A 'GIRL'! "

Naruto hid behind a tree as you started pummeling the bullies by punching them in the stomach and punching them in the head. Even grab the bigger bully and started swinging like he was a ragdoll, as if he weighs nothing to you.

Naruto was afraid if you saw him you would hurt him to, so that's why he hid behind a tree. But as he watched you beat them up, he slowly came out of his hiding spot, and he started mimicking your attacks.

"Hiya! Woosh, punch punch, KICK!" As he watched with stars in his eyes at how cool you looked.

Naruto jumped as he heard a big thump by the tree, he looked and was shocked at what he saw.

IT WAS THE BIG BULLY STUCK IN THE TREE-

Naruto then turned to look at you to see your hair floating in a beautiful way.

"DONT FUCK WITH ME, YA HEAR?!"

One bully was stuck in the sandpit. One was tied up by the swing on the swings set.

༻꫞꯭ TIME SKIP ꫞꯭༺

Naruto ran towards you and started questioning how strong you were, as you hair had flattened back to it original look

“HEY HEY HEY! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?? THAT WAS SO FREAKIN COOL. CAN YOU TRAIN ME?! AND HOW DID YOUR HAIR FLOAT LIKE THAT?! AND HOW DID YOU-"

each question he asked he got closer to your face and he was really freaking you out as you started getting flustered at the closeness.

"H-Hey, CALM DOWN BUD." You said as you gently pushed his face away. Naruto had to realize how small you were, and that even peaked his  interest at how strong you were.

"AWAHH YOU ARE SO CUTE!" He yelled hugging you and rubbing one of his face sides on the top of your head. "HEY LET GO OF ME YOU IDIOT!"you said in surprise as you waved your arms around

Naruto lets go of you cause of how people insulted him. "Oh....sorry.." "it's okay, but are you OK?." You said, as you were checking for wounds or bruises on his body. It was like if you were a mother checking her kid that fell on the floor.

Naruto was flustered that you were checking for wounds, and that you were caring for him, since no one would even get close to him because they all saw him as a different kind of human. But as naruto looked at you more closely, he saw you as an angel, and his savior

"W...what's your name!?" Naruto asked. You look up at him and smiled brightly as you made a superhero pose while having your thumb pointed at you.

"IM [L/N] [Y/N]! AND IM GOIN TO BE THE GREATEST SHINOBI EVER BORN, YA HEAR!?" Naruto had a boost of confidence to talk to you after your introduction.

"IM NARUTO UZUMAKI! AND IM GOING TO BE THE HOKAGE ONE DAY, DATTEBAYO!"

"SWEET SAUCE!" You yelled in excitement "I BET THAT YOU'RE GOIN TO BE THE BEST HOKAGE EVER, YA HEAR?!"

"Hey....wanna be friends?" Naruto asked as in his eyes you were the greatest person he ever saw and meet.

"HECK YA, AND I WOULD LOVE TO BE BY YA SIDE NARUTO!"

'Love...love?...LOVE!?' Naruto blushed at how you said that you will be by his side.

"Eh, naru you okay?" You questioned as you walked closer to him and stood on your tippy toes to get a closer look. Naruto felt like he was in heaven as you gave him a nickname. "YE-YEAH IM OKAY [Y/N]-CHAN!"

Suddenly Naruto had an idea. "HEY [N/N]-CHAN, LET GET RAMEN!"  Naruto suggested as he want to set a good first impression of having a friend, a first best friend.

"SURE NARU!"

You and Naruto both were holding each other shoulders talking about each other and laughing while walking into the town.

༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄

★[A/N] : hopefully you like this chapter of meeting naruto! CAUSE NEXT IS SAKURA HARUNO!★

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Chapter 21 of Chained: To Wield The Blade We Have Forged

A/N: This chapter is stephcass focused enough that I think people might enjoy this as a standalone thing, so I'll be posting the chapter both on AO3 as usual, and right here in this post! This also connects to the reblog I wrote up the other night gushing about Batgirl (2000) #19 and the potential in a Cass vs Jason confrontation!

For this chapter only, NOT the whole fic: Rated T for Teen Ships are Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain and vaguely hinted at Jason Todd/Tim Drake There's gonna be a LOT of plot points that don't seem to go anywhere, cause they're parts of much bigger arcs, but there's some really sweet talk about deep stuff towards the end and the start is Steph handling a deescalation scenario Hope you enjoy ^w^ !

Dear War Diary,

You know, some days I don't even think Ivy should be in Arkham. Logging, pollution, hair spray tearing a hole in the ozone layer, pesticides - if I could feel plants' pain as they were broken apart, I'd want to feed people to ambulatory venus fly traps too. Heck, back in high school I was sure tempted to let her have at some of my more obnoxious classmates.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

We knew something was weird this time around when the docs at Arkham called warning us that she woke up screaming and her powers went out of control. Usually when this sort of thing happens she goes towards a clear goal. Like, there'll be a construction site or a factory or something damaging the land and drawing her out.

Thing is though, the more we chased her, the clearer it became that she wasn't running towards anything.

She was fleeing, and seemingly had no clear place to bolt to. First she fled to the meat packing district. Then she ran down to the water, and like, we expected her to follow the coast? But she just swam right in! Left huge algal blooms in her wake too; like the lacy train of a queen's dress. She even left Gotham altogether for a hot minute only to turn back again for no reason. She was very obviously out of her mind frightened of something, but we had no idea what it was, and frankly, we still don't.

Tonight had real big 'predator running from the wildfire' energy, is what I'm saying.

It took several days, but eventually she gave up on running and bunkered down in one of the parks. The concrete storage shed she picked as her new home was so overgrown by the time we got to it that it was impossible to see a single square inch of the structure. The hardwood and thorn vines covering it had to have been at least a meter thick.

And that little backstory finally brings us to tonight's patrol.

I tapped my earpiece, "We getting anything on the seismic, O?"

"Nope. If she's digging she's doing it slow enough we're not gonna get any warning. Good news though, I finally got an answer back from Waller. Harley Quinn can be on the line within ten minutes notice."

"Awesome. Speedy, you good to cover me?"

"Yup! Got a whole quiver full of tranquilizers and frog crotch arrows ready for her."

I snort-laughed, "God, what a name!"

"I know right?! But yeah, you're good to go. I'll be aiming from the East, so gimmie a sign if you think you'll need me at a different angle."

"Got it. Alright O, give that ten minute notice and I'll start the approach."

Step one: Get the cops to back up the perimeter by at least ten feet all around. Frankly they were gonna be useless in a fight if it came to that, and the whole goal here was to get this done without bloodshed.

This part was pretty damn easy. I knew one of the cops there by name and she was more than happy to back her fellow officers out of the negotiation zone.

Step two: Establish a desire for peaceful communication.

I spoke through a megaphone into the general direction of the tree-bunker, "Doctor Isley? Would you be willing to come out and talk?"

The woods creaked and groaned, shifting minutely. My heart pounded in my chest, waiting, watching, every leaf bud an acid spitting behemoth in the making.

Nothing came out.

I called out to her again, "Okay. Doctor Isley, you seem really upset, and we don't understand why, but you haven't hurt anyone yet so we're not going to hurt you."

I glanced around surreptitiously at the cops. Lucky for me they all seem to be on their best behavior tonight. No one was grumbling about wanting to hurt her loud enough for me to hear, and I just had to trust that meant the grass couldn't hear them either.

"If you don't want to talk to me, that's okay. We want to get you some help, so we're going to try and get Harley on the phone so you can talk to her."

Against my ear, the phone crackled to life.

Time for step three: Get negotiation partner on board.

"Which bat-brat do I have the displeasure of speakin to today!?"

"It's Batgirl; we need your help getting through to Ivy."

"HAH! Well fat fuckin chance, asshole! I ain't talkin her inta anythin she don't wanna do!"

"And we're not asking you to! She hasn't even hurt anybody, and she's not making any threats, but she is clearly terrified. We think there's something or someone after her, and it's not us."

I gave her a moment to think it over. She's got to know we wouldn't let Ivy die, but there's always the chance we're just lying.

"Fine. Alright, what's the plan here?"

"Thank you! I'm gonna hold the speaker up to the megaphone, and you let her know you want to talk, then I'll slowly approach and once in speaking range I'll take the megaphone off of the phone to give the two of you some privacy."

"An you'll still be listinen the whole damn time of course."

"Yeah, sorry about that, but at least the cops won't be."

Harley sighs, "Turn the lights down in the house and start the music then. Lets get this show rollin an' over with."

Step four: Negotiate and deescalate.

Through the phone megaphone combo she said, "Hey Sweetpea, mind lettin me hear yer pretty voice again?"

The protective wall started growing again, getting thicker. I chance a few slow steps forwards anyway, since nothing offensive starts growing either. Or at least I hoped there wasn't something offensive in there.

"I've missed ya. Not the same kickin ass with these bozos in here, ya'know?"

As I got closer, the smell of ozone got stronger, breathing started to feel weird, and every drop of sweat evaporated off of me, leaving me parched. Her hypergrowth vegetation was stripping the carbon dioxide and water out of the air so fast that the atmosphere around it was going haywire.

Just as I thought she was waiting for me to get close enough for her tree's roots to just use me as a nutrient bag, an opening formed over the doorway to the storage unit, and she shakily poked her head out, calling for Harleen.

She was messed up. She clearly hadn't been able to take care of herself and

I'm not writing the next part down verbatim. Just seems too... invasive. They said a lot of sweet an

I don't feel great about this, but just in case I need it, I am going to record what I remember of how Harley talked her down.

Harley said, "Pumpkin, I'm so sorr

Okay. Third time's the charm?

This was not a criminal wrecking havok for profit. This was not a terrorist making demands. This was someone having a breakdown due to forces outside her control and her girlfriend comforting her as best she could. I shouldn't even have been hearing it, really, so yeah I think I'd feel too skeezy to keep dinner down if I wrote it all out 'just in case'.

Informationally speaking, hopefully the only part of their conversation I'll ever need to know again is that Ivy said "The green is dying" and "She's made the world barren; the flowers will never bloom again" and basically made it really clear that the damage was already done and no one was after her.

If you're reading this Future Me and you desperately need to know exactly what happened, sorry not sorry, get a time machine or something.

Anyways, after it became clear that there was nothing we could do for her other than get her back to mental help, I gave Speedy the signal to take the shot. The tranqs hit her before she realized anything was up, and there were only a few seconds of scuffle, then she was down for the count.

I picked up the phone again to cut the line and Harley said, "So that's it, huh? I talk her into openin' the treeline, you drug her up, and that's curtains?"

"There clearly wasn't anything else we could do for-"

"Fuck off you insufferable, controlling, shitty, furry knock off cops! I shoulda told her ta mulch ya!"

There were the muffled sounds of the phone being taken out of her hand, and then a voice I didn't recognize, "Well, I hope that clown to plant heart to heart was worth the favor."

"Zero injuries, zero deaths, zero horrifying poison scares: I'd say it was."

She, whoever she was (I assume it was Waller) chuckled, "Well you aren't the one picking up the tab. Tell Oracle it was a pleasure doing business again."

The line went dead.

"You get that O?"

"Loud and clear. And hey, don't let what Quinn said get to you. You did great."

"Thanks," I kinda didn't feel it, but the sentiment was nice.

The rest of patrol was a long and boring ride on the top of a police van, making sure that no one ambushed her on her way back to Arkham, and then a short conversation about what they're going to do to keep her there this time.

They've had a couple different ways to cut her off from whatever The Green is for a while now. Every method has nasty side effects, and half her breakout attempts were in direct opposition to using them. At this point their policy is to just help her manage being connected. Considering what I saw that connection putting her through tonight? The docs rubber stamped cutting her off from The Green again, at least temporarily, and I'm pretty okay that.

So yeah. We won. Yippee. And all it took was arm twisting a woman held prisoner by a shadowy government agency in order to trick the love of her life into making herself vulnerable to us...

God this job sucks sometimes.

And the suck was not over yet, not by a long shot! And the suck was not only reserved for me either. Uh, okay obviously since Harley and Ivy, but also!

Oracle called to tell me this: "I need to give you a heads up before you return to base, and Speedy needs some time to handle a private phone call so I'm telling you this now. Black Bat got into a fight that upset her pretty bad. She's been on the training sims and dummies for over three hours, and I'm kinda worried she's not gonna sleep unless someone helps her untangle her head."

"I thought everything went smooth on her end, what the heck happened?"

"Easier if I just show you," Oracle said and fed a video taken by one of the Bat-House's internal cameras into my HUD.

It showed Ca (gah trying not to write anyone's names is a mess) Black Bat in civilian clothes, standing in a doorway. She's staring at the Red Hood from across the room with an expression of frustrated determination.

He ignores her for a while, continuing to read, curled up on the couch in a posture so terrible I have to wonder if he's trying to give himself back problems.

She just... kept staring. And staring.

Finally he asked, sounding very snarky and annoyed, "Can I help you?"

"Why did you pull the trigger again? You were better. You did better for so long. Why?"

"I don't owe you that shit," He narrowed his eyes at her, "And you don't get to decide I was better just cause you liked it more when I was docile."

She marches over to him, "I know how it hurts. I see it hurt you! I want to help. I want to know why."

"No," He said, standing up to loom over her, as though she couldn't kick his ass five ways from Sunday with a hand tied behind her back, "You want me to get on my knees and sob and beg for forgiveness. As though any of you shitheads ever even deserved my forgiveness!"

"No! I want to see you get better! I wanted another little brother!"

"Well congratu-fucking-lations, you got one! Don't worry, Dickie hates it just as much. I'm sure he can give you some pointers on how to go fuck yourself about it."

My jaw started hurting from how tight I had my teeth clenched as I watched her face twist in open rage-hurt-sorrow, "Why won't you stop burning our house down!? You're in it!"

"I. Don't. Owe. You. That."

She glared up at him defiantly, "You owe someone."

"No. I don't."

"Sheezus!" Black Canary said as she entered the room, "I leave you alone for five minutes and you're already picking a fight with her? Seriously?"

Black Bat's anger simmered below the boiling point again, "Not a fight."

"That sure looked like-"

"Not a fight." She declared bitterly, storming out of the room.

BC raised an eyebrow at Hood.

He smiled all teeth and irritation, "Not a fight!"

She rolled her eyes and took her post back up as the video ended.

I sighed, "Well. That'd do it. Thanks for the warning, I'll see if I can talk to her, take her mind off it."

"Appreciated. I tried but... I dunno. You'll probably have more luck."

"We'll see I guess! So, am I good to check in with Speedy, or is she still on her phone call?"

"You're good."

When I grappled up to the roof she was on, Speedy looked pretty damn unhappy. So, like, clearly tonight was sucking complete ass for everyone. Mercury in retrograde or some shit, idk.

"You got news I take it?" I asked.

"Mhm, great news! By which I mean totally shit news. Apparently the lab I get my bloodwork done at broke, as in everything is giving false negatives. So yeah, all my bloodwork for the past who knows how long might have been wrong!"

"Oh shit. You want us to test you in the Batcave? Guarantee the lab down there could handle whatever you need!"

"I appreciate the offer, but I'll need to fast for twelve hours beforehand no matter what, so it wouldn't really be any quicker. Also my civilian GP would be pretty leery of a Bat-Diagnostic, especially since they already got me an appointment with the closest available people."

O cut in over comms, "That is suspiciously fast..."

Speedy shrugged, "I've got a feeling Green Arrow might have pushed me up the list somehow. He might not be (secret identity stuff I can't write down here :P ) anymore, but he's still got some pull."

"Hmm, well, both of you get back to base and we can figure out the logistics once you're here."

"Roger."

"Aye Aye Captain."

Once she cut off I offered, "Grapple line tag on the way there to take your mind off it?"

"You know what? I could use something to stretch my legs out after all that sniper crouching. Fuck it, let's do this."

Swingy swingy swingy over the buildings, across the bridge, to grandmother's imposing, minefield-surrounded cave we went!

We got into the cave, changed out of our gear, and sure enough, Black Bat was still in the training section, running herself ragged. Speedy went up to get some sleep since she couldn't eat dinner now anyways (do NOT envy that). So I went straight into an attempt to pry Black Bat off the training mats.

"Heads up!" I called out and tossed a bottle of water at her head.

She caught it without even looking, swapping to kicks and using her other hand to demolish her sandbag opponents, "Been drinking enough just fine."

"Sure. What'll it take to convince you to take a break and drink it with me anyways?"

She paused, leg still raised to kick, perfectly poised like gravity wasn't even a factor. It always makes my legs hurt looking her like that. Makes the rest of me swoon too.

"Would um..." She frowned, like she expected me to think less of her for making the request, "You bring dinner down here? For us both?"

I gave her a smile, "Yeah, of course. Mind saying how come?"

"Because Hood's up there and I want to fight him more. If I fight him, have to look at him. Have to watch him feeling and thinking and..." She finally put her leg down, and fidgeted with the cap of her water, "And I just don't want to."

"Didn't realize you hated him that bad."

"Not sure I do? Messy."

"Yeah, messy for me too."

Translation: I still don't know how to feel about him taking grisly revenge against Black Mask 'in my honor'. Still also super don't know how to feel about his welcome home gifts of a gun and an offer to come murder criminals with him.

Then I add, "But I'll have you know I'm a first class mess messer with-er! So if you want to talk about it, I'd be happy to."

She very briefly smiled, then her face feel again and somber moment passed before she said quietly, "Yeah, okay. Bring food down and... we can talk."

"On it."

"Um, wait!"

"Huh?"

She caught my arm and reeled me in for a kiss on the cheek, "There."

I laughed and gave her a proper kiss, "There! Love you."

Diary, have I ever told you about how she looks when she blushes? Because I seriously think I'll need to pull out the old poetry textbooks in order to do it justice.

Upstairs took me passed the dining room, where Red Hood and Red Robin were talking.

"The fuck is that?" Hood asked, leaning over his shoulder.

"Blueprints. I'm having a section of my house renovated while I'm stuck here."

"Wwwwhy?"

"I am swiftly being driven mad by boredom and saw a really neat indoor garden set-up on pinterest."

"An indoor garden? In Gotham? Do you fuckin want to get strangled to death in your sleep by vines?"

RR does the little 'tch' thing he picked up from Robin, "Whatever, it'll be fine, these are tiny little arboreals and I'll have reinforced airlocks leading in and out."

"That does fucking nothing for attacks in your sleep."

"Which is why I'll have the whole lockdown system automated. I was already going to do automation for the plant care stuff anyways, cause lets be honest here, there was no way I was ever going to keep them alive on my own."

"...The speed and ease with which you oscillate between self depreciating paranoia and megalomaniacal hubris is fascinating."

And even as pissed off as I am with both of them, that still almost made me friggin lose it laughing, RR seemed so offended too, it was great!

And speaking of pissed off? Yeah, seeing RR acting so chummy with Hood was kinda making my blood boil! Like, maybe he didn't even know they fought. But he's supposed to be her friend too, and it's still sticking in my craw, and I'm busy with the whole damn city needing patroled, and so bottom line: I didn't talk to him tonight, and I'm probably not gonna talk to him tomorrow night either!!

Agent A had several plates set to the side already when I got into the kitchen. I think he assumed at least a few of us were gonna go off in our separate corners after the argument. Made it nice and easy to snag two and bring it down.

She had clearly been pacing, waiting for me, back down in the cave.

We sat together and she held my hand while we ate - pretty awkward, but super worth it. We stayed quiet, me cause I wanted to give her the space to start talking, and her probably because she wasn't sure where to start.

Once all the peas and mash were gone and she was pushing her drumstick around the plate she asked, "Ready?"

"Go for it. All ears."

"It's a guilt thing I think? Least a little?"

"Kinda always figured you were uh, how to put it, I guess invested in him, cause of that sort of parallel between you two?"

She nodded, "Not all of it's that, though. Different guilt," She gives me a rueful smile, "I'm layered in it, huh?"

"Like a lasagna of angst," I told her solemnly.

She huffed a quiet laugh, fidgeting with my hand, "Am I um. A tasty lasagna?"

"Oh yeah, you're delicious," I said with a cheesy wink.

"Terrible," She laughed a bit more, running her thumb over the back of my hand, and the nervous sad crept right back in, "You know about um... One day, I rescued a man? Murderer. From the gas chamber?"

"Yeah. Not well, you've never said much, but I've read a bit about it. Was kind of a big news thing."

"On the way out I met the mother of his victim. She demanded justice. She demanded his death. I didn't know how to- to reconcile her grief. Still don't. But back then... I put him back in the gas chamber. I look at Hood. Wonder if he's the murderer or the mother or the executioner. Wonder what the mother was. Wonder what I was. Wonder if the distinction matters at all."

"Hood's trying to cut all the bad people out, trying to bleed the world better. You're trying to keep it all alive, trying to keep everyone growing. Maybe the other distinctions don't matter, but I think this one has to."

She squeezed my hand tight and kissed every one of my knuckles delicately, "I hope so. Trying to believe so."

"I kinda think you already do. You may be an angst lasagna, but you don't do what you do just out of guilt, yeah?"

"Guess so... I wanted so bad to find out that they'd been replaced by aliens or something. Find out that wasn't him. Not now and um. Not on TV all those months ago. At the very least I was hoping to find regret."

"I really wish I had something better to say than, you know, his determination to be an asshole isn't something we can fix. Just gotta keep growing our garden and hope he decides to join us for real sometime."

"Yeah..." Another round of knuckle kisses, "Yeah, you're right," She wrinkles her nose, "Sucks you're right."

"Yup."

She pressed her forehead against our intertwined hands for a while.

Then she asked, "Tell me about one of your shows?"

"Sure."

So I chattered about some light stuff she nodded along to until we were both ready for bed. It was honestly really nice, and I think I needed it too, a lot more than I realized.

So yeah, here's hoping tomorrow is less of a complete shit show from start to finish.

- Batgirl IV

[rom-e-o]

Going along with the dreams:

After meeting Wolf, Bess coming to Connie's bed in the middle of the night to wake her up, wide-eyed, practically vibrating.

Bess: "I had the dream again. I haven't had it in months, but I just had it again. And everything was clear. Crystal clear! The kids, the man. It was him, Connie. It's him! It's Ebenezar! He's the man, and the kids look perfectly like a mix of him and me!

"This hasn't happened before. Not with Oliver, not with Dimitri, or any random guy I crushed on."

Tears are trickling down her cheeks at the end.

Connie snapping awake and instantly sitting up, recognizing Bess' voice even in the dark and just reaching for her. "Bess? Bess! You're shaking, honey, are you okay? W-What are you..."

Then the words hit, and it starts to sink in.

"Wait...the man at the picnic, under the tree, with you and your children...it's him?"

She squeaks out the word, because quickly, she's hugging her.

She's unsure if Bess is shocked, elated, terrified, or a blend of all three. Heck, she wouldn't blame her. She finally saw the face of the man she started dreaming of before she even met Ebenezar, and now he's flesh and blood. And in her life.

Connie gets her some water and urges her to sit.

"B-Bess...he's real," she tells her, grinning. "That man is real. So, your love, marriage, your children...your pregnancy..."

The TIGHEST hug ever comes next. She's still got her eye on him, but...come on, Bess wouldn't just impose another man's face in the dream. If SHE dreamed it, then damn, it's serious.

I imagine Wolf has a similar reaction when he wakes from his realization too, startled and shocked...then just BEYOND hopeful.

"Gods, I found her. I finally found her."

[the-himawari]

A3! Sumeragi Tenma - Translation [SSR] MANKAI Feature (3/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Izumi: Wow, Rio’s costume certainly suits you to a tee!

Tenma: Of course it does. Name a costume that I don’t look good in.

Izumi: Fufu, you got me there. I’m looking forward to a Rio who’s cool as always… But also a bit cute!

Tenma: Yeah. Leave it to me.

-pause-

Rio [Tenma]: “*Sigh*, I’m bored~. Is Jack going to come home yet…” “…Ah, that’s right. I have a new toy ball he bought me.” “Here we go…!”

-pause-

Jack: “I’m home.”

Rio [Tenma]: “!”

Jack: “!? W-what the heck…! The room’s a mess!”

Rio [Tenma]: “C-crap! I got lost in playing, so I just…!”

Jack: “Don’t tell me a thief broke in…!? No, wait. Hold on.” “The cotton is popping out from this cushion and this newspaper’s in tatters… Rio, are you the one who did this?”

Rio [Tenma]: “I-I’m sorry, Jack… but I was just…”

Jack: “Why did you do this… You’ve always been a good boy who could watch the home, weren’t you!?” “Bad boy, Rio!”

Rio [Tenma]: “…! *Whimper*….!”

*runs away*

Jack: “Ah, wait, Rio…!”

Izumi: (Rio got scolded by Jack. He couldn’t handle it, so he ran out the house…)

-pause-

Rio [Tenma]: “There’s no need to get so mad… I was just a little rowdy with my playing.” “Except, I think I did tear Jack’s favourite cushion…” “And I might have threw around his freshly washed socks…” “But, in my defense! I’m always a good boy, so he didn’t have to get that mad…”

Izumi: (As he trudged forward slowly, dejectedly reflecting on his actions—.)

Koro [Yuki]: “…Oh, Rio?”

Rio [Tenma]: “Koro…”

Koro [Yuki]: “What’s going on? You’re not with Jack?”

Rio [Tenma]: “…I don’t know Jack.”

Koro [Yuki]: “What’s up? Did something happen?”

Rio [Tenma]: “…I had a fight with him.”

Koro [Yuki]: “Huh? You and Jack?”

Man: “*Sigh*, what a pickle. Where in the world did it fall? I thought I dropped it around here, but…”

Koro [Yuki]: “Huh, that person… I guess he lost something? He looks troubled.”

Rio [Tenma]: “Oh no! Ah…” “…”

Izumi: (Rio hesitates when he’s about to help someone in need.)

Policeman: “What seems to be the matter?”

Man: “Ahh, so you see, I lost something…!”

Policeman: “Mhm. What sort of item is it? When did you realize you dropped it?”

Koro [Yuki]: “That’s good. A policeman came to the rescue.” “That’s strange though. Normally, Rio would be the first to jump in to save the day.”

Rio [Tenma]: “…It’s true that Jack’s a police officer and I’m his dog. And so I try my best to keep my head up high. But right now…” “…I’m not going to be a good boy today. I’ll do what I want.”

Koro [Yuki]: “Hmm…”

Little girl: “*Cries*… *cries*…”

Rio [Tenma]: “? The sound of crying…?”

Koro [Yuki]: “It’s that little girl over there!”

Rio [Tenma]: “…No, this has nothing to do with me. That little girl doesn’t bother me or anything…”

Little girl: “Someone… *sob*… please…”

Rio [Tenma]: “…! …Urgh…” “Nope, I can’t do this! I can’t just ignore her!”

*runs off*

Koro [Yuki]: “Ah. Hold on, Rio!”

-pause-

Rio [Tenma]: “Woof! What’s wrong!”

Little girl: “*Sob*… a doggie… My balloon flew away and got caught in a tree…”

Rio [Tenma]: “In a tree? Ah, that one? Uh oh. It looks like it’s going to get blown away by the wind any minute now.”

Koro [Yuki]: “But it’s so high up. It’s impossible for dogs like us…!”

Little girl: “Wahhh… my balloon…”

Rio [Tenma]: “Don’t worry. I’ll retrieve it for you.”

Koro [Yuki]: “Are you serious?”

Rio [Tenma]: “I’ll manage somehow if I try my best! Here goes nothing… woof!”

*jumps*

Izumi: (And so, Rio did a big jump and climbed the tree using his willpower.)

Rio [Tenma]: “Guh, just a little higher…” “Okay, I grabbed it!”

*jumps down*

Rio [Tenma]: “Phew…! Here’s your balloon.”

Little girl: “Wow, that’s amazing! Thank you! What a cool doggie!”

Rio [Tenma]: “Don’t mention it. Don’t let it go again if it’s important to you, alright?”

Koro [Yuki]: “Heh~, good job.”

Mother: “Amy! Good heavens, there you are!”

Jack: “Rio!”

Rio [Tenma]: “Ah, Jack…!”

Amy: “Mama! This doggie got my balloon that got stuck in a tree!”

Mother: “Oh my. Thank you…! What a kind and brave dog you are.”

Jack: “…That’s my dog who I’m proud of.”

Rio [Tenma]: “…!”

Amy: “Thank you so much, doggies! Bye bye!”

Mother: “Thank you very much.”

Rio [Tenma]: “No problem. See you.”

Koro [Yuki]: “Bye.”

Jack: “…I’m sorry, Rio.” “Even you have times where you want to be naughty, or act rowdy and play with all your might.” “I’m the one who caused you to feel bored, so I shouldn’t have gotten angry.”

Rio [Tenma]: “Jack…”

Jack: “Even if you’re naughty and mess up the room sometimes, you’re my beloved, adorable and cool dog who I’m proud of.”

Rio [Tenma]: “…!” “Jack… m-me too…”

Koro [Yuki]: “It looks like you’re trying to hide your embarrassment, but your tail is wagging like crazy. Caught in 4K.”

Rio [Tenma]: “Quiet, you…!”

-pause-

TV: “Come on, let’s go!” “Arf!” “This is delicious and hydrating after moving around so much!”

Kumon: You look sooo cool! I love how refreshing this commercial is!

Kazunari: I’m with ya! It’s totes blowing up ♪

Muku: Albert looks really cute too, doesn’t he?

Yuki: Yeah, he does. Both of them have a great look on their faces.

Misumi: Both Tenma and Albert look like they’re smiling and having fun~.

Tenma: Hmph, naturally. The shoot was fun. Thankfully, this commercial looks like it’s pretty popular like Kazunari said.

Izumi: Fufu, that’s great. The Rio spin-off is as well. It’s a big hit. We received lots of comments saying Rio isn’t just cool, but also cute when he messes up and pouts.

Tenma: I was like that as a kid, as well as Albert… so I thought Rio was probably the same way. Perfection isn’t everything. Isn’t that right?

Izumi: (…It’s because Tenma-kun is the way he is now that he can say that.) Yeah, that’s right.

---

previous |

[riitah]

[“mine”] - yandere!childe x fem!reader

MODERN AU

TRIGGER WARNINGS: cursing, and mentions of blood, gore, and death

SYNOPSIS: childe had been growing increasing jealous of the attention you were giving a female peer, so he decided to deal with it himself. even if that meant killing you in the process.

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: i didn’t really like the og one i wrote of this so here’s an edited version!

It was quite late at night; probably a little past 11:45PM.

Many parts of the town still bustled with activity at this time, but this one was not one of them. Aside from a few rats scurrying about the food that the restaurants dumped outside their buildings, there were barely any signs of life in this area.

But if one were to stop and listen carefully, underneath the clattering of porcelain from the staff cleaning up the last of their plates and the tree branches swaying in the wind, they would be able to hear the voice of a girl, high-pitched and terrified.

“W-who are you? Why are you doing this?”

Words came tumbling out of her mouth, shaky and near incoherent -- a messy collection of letters sloppily assembled to buy time and nothing else. She slid down to the floor with her back pressed against the cold wall of the tight alleyway, blood trickling down the side of her head and staining her navy-blue dress. Her head hurt like hell when she tried lifting it to get a better view of who was standing in front of her. Her throat was dry and it was difficult getting air down to her lungs, but nevertheless, she still opened her mouth to scream for help.

“Somebody, help me, please!”

These words merely rang through the small space, bouncing off the concrete but never reaching any other ears. It was the same with the hearty laughter that followed, which was so warm and full of enthusiasm that it’d fool anyone who was listening into thinking that this was just an emotional reunion between two friends.

“It’s no use, (F/N).” The same person who had laughed spoke up. “No one lives around this area. Most people who work here or pass by this place on their nightly strolls are home by now.” A smirk was growing on his face, hidden by the mask he wore. The girl in front of him sounded so desperate, so unlike herself. Did her confidence from earlier dwindle now that she knew she had nowhere to run or hide? “Don’t you get it? You’re alone with me. No one is going to hear you. And (Y/N) won’t be able to play your knight in shining armor like she always does.”

He spat out the last part with a hint of hatred that spilled from the bottle he kept screwed up and sealed tight.

“How do you—?”

The question was interrupted when he crouched down in front of her. With one gloved hand, he pulled down his hood. It was pitch dark, but the moonlight was more than enough for (F/N) to recognize him and his unique features.

Tousled red hair, light freckles, and piercing blue eyes that were void of light.

“Childe—?”

“Ajax,” ‘Childe’ said with a glare, cutting her off. “I might’ve told everyone to call me that, but I want it out of your filthy mouth.

Several minutes passed by in silence as he scanned her up and down. (F/N) didn’t know what was going through his mind, but she was sure it had nothing to do with letting her go.

“I…Chil—” she tried, but instead of any change in behavior like she had hoped, she got a hard slap across the face before she could even finish. Her cheek stung, a dull pain that somehow also made its way to the inside of her mouth.

“It’s Ajax.” Childe scowled. “Are you deaf or something?”

She whimpered and lowered her head. There were about a million thoughts racing through her head, but none of them gave her an idea of why Childe would want to hurt her. She had always stayed out of his way, and heck, they didn’t even talk unless their professor made them partners for a project.

So, why? And what did any of this have to do with (Y/N)?

It was only when she heard the sound of metal clinking against each other did she look back up.

Childe was looking through a pouch, his eyebrows pinched together in concentration. “Where is it…” he mumbled, getting slightly exasperated at how long this ordeal was taking. Then after a few moments, he raised an object in the air triumphantly, as if he was showing off some first-place trophy. “Aha!”

Through her tears, (F/N) couldn’t see it very well, but the way it almost shone in the natural light made her blood run cold.

Surgical scissors.

“Chi—Ajax, you’re not possibly—?” (F/N) said, her voice rising in terror.

“You know the assignment the professor told us to turn in next week? The one that we were supposed to do together?” The corners of Childe’s eyes crinkled up as he smiled. “I was wondering, why don’t we do the dissection on you instead of the frog we had planned on? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that the report and analysis are so perfect, he’ll probably even give us extra credit.”

“What did I even do? Whatever I did, tell me and I’ll fix it!”

"If you don’t even understand what you did wrong, then there’s even less reason for me to hold back.”

He stabbed her in the abdomen, though he had planned his first cut somewhere else. The motion was so sudden that (F/N) didn’t even have time to react to protect herself.

She screamed.

Childe’s eyes widened to mimic a maniacal expression at the sound, and his heart pounded feverishly at the thought of how much more pain he could put her through. The horror she’d be feeling as he continued to work on her with the very same surgical knives they had used in the lab just yesterday was enough to send him into a frenzy. But the best part is, the last thing on her mind won’t be (Y/N), but this murderer before her.

He should be the only one who was thinking about (Y/N).

“Delightful, absolutely delightful!” He chuckled as he pulled out the scissors. “Do you feel it now, (F/N)? The pain?! Come on, describe it to me in detail!”

“Ajax, stop, please! It hurts--!” (F/N) choked out, covering her fresh wound with one hand. The blood still trickled down between her fingers, staining them red. A metallic scent filled the air, making her gag, prompting her to swallow down the fresh blood that threatened to spill out from her throat.

Stab.

She could see her bruised and wet face reflected in his dark eyes.

Stab.

She attempted to stand up, but instead slipped and fell because of the hot pain shooting up from her legs.

Stab.

She couldn’t even process the pain anymore, and her vision was getting blurrier and blurrier as more and more black spots appeared.

“Don’t ignore me now! Talk to me!”

Childe’s voice sounded miles away.

Her throat felt red and raw from screaming, and her voice was getting weaker and weaker. The energy she originally possessed seemed to have left her, and she gave up fighting.

Not that Childe had noticed.

It was only after a few minutes, after he saw the way her arms laid limply at her sides, that he stopped. His bloody knife raised in midair, and him, breathless. He stared at the dead body in front of him, finally coming back to his senses.

With a sigh, he stood up and stretched. “Hahh…I got carried away again… She didn’t last that long. But either way, job finished. (Y/N)’s all mine. And anyone who gets in the way…”

“Childe?”

A familiar voice interrupted his monologue, and he turned around in surprise. A warm feeling blossomed in his chest as he met the newcomer’s eyes, and he pulled down his mask excitedly.

“(Y/N)! What brings you here?”

“Childe, is that…blood on you…?”

He opened his arms as (Y/N) started walking in his direction.

“Yes! (Y/N), I—!”

But she completely ignored him, not even sparing him a second glance, and approached the body behind him.

Standing in front of it, not moving a muscle.

Childe followed.

“Is this…(F/N)?” she said softly. “Is she...dead?”

Childe’s disappointment at her lack of attention quickly dissipated as he jumped to explain, grinning. “Yes, and yes! She was getting a bit too close to you, so I figured—”

“So you figured that killing her would be the best thing to do?” Her voice trembled. “Is that it?”

Childe blinked. Wasn’t she happy that he killed someone for her? Wasn’t she proud?

“Answer me!” She turned to look at him, her hands balled into fists, her tears wetting her cheeks. “Was that what you thought?!”

“Oh, (Y/N).” He cupped her face in his hands, his tone patient and almost condescending. “You don’t understand--”

“Don’t touch me!” She slapped them away and stepped back. “Don’t…don’t come near me.”

As if even the heavens were grieving with her, it started to pour. The blood washed away from Childe’s face, making him look more like a misunderstood man who had just arrived on the scene than anything else.

“It was for you! Aren’t you happy?” he shouted in an effort to let himself be heard over the rain.

“Happy? Don’t make me laugh!” (Y/N) shouted back, her reason for doing so differing from his. “I don’t care whether you killed someone because of me or not; what you did was absolutely wrong! In fact, I feel even worse because it was ‘for me’!”

Childe clenched his fists. “It was just one person! Why are you stressing so much over it?”

“‘Just one person’? Are you crazy?! You killed someone, Ajax!”

At that, Childe froze. (Y/N) had never called him by his given name since they had become friends.

“I overlooked the fact that you were part of that delinquent group at school because you didn’t seem to be like the other members.” Even through all the rain, he could hear the sadness penetrating through her angry front. “But you come and do—do this?”

Why was she so upset? He couldn’t understand why she cared so much about the girl. She should have that much care for him, not her.

And then, a sudden realization dawned on him. A realization that made him wish he hadn’t killed (F/N) so fast.

…does she…?

“Do you like her back?” he said. “Do you enjoy her company more than mine?”

“Is this what it’s about?! About some stupid romantic feelings?! She and I were just friends!”

She didn’t answer the question.

“So you did like her. That’s why you’re making such a big deal.”

“Excuse me? Me? Making a big deal? You just murdered someone, for god’s sake!”

He took a step toward her, and she took a step back.

“I don’t get it. What’s so good about her? What does she have that I don’t?”

Betrayal. Sadness. Confusion. Why her and not him?

“Tell me, (Y/N) -- what draws you in about her? She’s boring. She’s spoiled. She’s constantly seeking attention. What makes you love her? Talk to me!”

He took another step. And another. And another. (Y/N) tripped over (F/N)’s body, falling backwards into her pool of blood. Childe dropped down onto his knees in front of her, and dropped his knife to hold her shoulders with both hands. She flinched and tried to shake him off, but he just tightened his grip, his fingernails digging into her skin through her clothes.

“Why don’t you love me? I gave you so much, I tried showing my love to you so many times, but you always laugh it off! Why isn’t it the same with her?!”

“Let go!” (Y/N) said, pushing against his chest. She was pretty sure that her shoulders were bleeding at this point, and the distance between them was uncomfortably small.

“Just give me a chance! I’ll make you the happiest person in the world, I swear! I’ll even stop killing people—”

“People?” (Y/N) stopped, staring at him in disbelief. “You mean this wasn’t the only person you’ve killed?”

“Why does that matter to you? You didn’t even know half of them!”

“You’re—you’re out of your fucking mind! I can’t believe I was friends with a psycho like you! Let go of me!”

She gave a final push and Childe let go of her out of shock. Standing up, she fumbled for her phone.

Childe picked up his knife as she tried to dial 911 with shaky, wet fingers.

“Stupid water,” she cursed under her breath as the droplets kept on making the screen register her taps as her pressing on the number 5.

After a few more tries, the “call” button was clicked.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

(Y/N) glanced up and almost dropped her phone when she saw what Childe was holding. Nothing of use came out of her mouth when she tried to speak. She was petrified, rooted in her spot, scared of this man who had been so nice to her before all of this.

“Ajax, don’t,” was all she could whisper out.

“Hello? Ma’am? Who are you talking to?” the operator said.

She couldn’t hear her anymore, especially not over her accelerating heartbeat that was pounding in her ears. All she was focused on was the person who was getting closer and closer to her as each second ticked by. Her legs refused to move no matter how much she pleaded, and instead, gave out right as Childe arrived in front of her.

He had the advantage now.

He got down on one knee, grabbing her chin roughly. His piercing blue eyes that once sparkled with joy upon seeing her, now looked into hers with newfound clarity.

The answer had been right under his nose all along.

“If I can’t have you, then no one can.”

[roseytoesy]

Ask Prompt:

-{ “Did you really think you could evade becoming my meal, now?”

Have fun~

Hecking… hhhhhhhhhhhh. This is going to be good. Thank you tero.

A Hunting Game

Rosey panted as she nearly tripped over the twigs on the forest floor. The rustling of something large moving arose the floor keeping her running. She couldn’t risk flying, he would see and hear her. And he was already close on her tail!

She continued her mad sprint into a thick area where the trees were a bit dense hoping that the smaller area would give her a small moment to breathe. She curled up one of the roots over a small drop, perfectly hiding behind a small bunch of ivy leaves, catching her breath.

Her heart was pounding as she listened to the shifting of the foilage around his form come closer and closer. She even slightly held her breath as she could sense that he was in front of her hiding spot in the trees. time ticked on for a big and she heard him shift again a bit back.

"Ssssssunshine~" he cooed out into the small area, Rosey felt her cheeks warm and the hairs on her neck stand up at the deeper voice he was using. “Come out. Come out~ your sweet scent and rapid little heart can’t hide forever~”

Rosey lightly bit down on her tongue and put a hand over her mouth to muffle the small flustered sound that wanted to escape at his words.

“You know you want thissss” he hissed out slithering closer. His voice dripped with an overly sweet tone, and like a siren's call, a part of Rosey knew he was right. She did want this but another part was too hyped on adrenaline and playful pride just give up yet. She could hear him lean against the thicket of trees that was her hiding spot, chuckling deeply.

It was silent for a few seconds before he hummed. “Mmmmm~ I can taste your sweetness already.” He cooed. She could very vividly imagine him licking his lips after that. “So very sweet and small, ssssooon to be all mine.” He growled that last part.

Rosey couldn’t help the squeak that came out of her mouth. She heard him chuckle at that and she bolted as his hand crashed down right behind her, making her let out another squeak in her adrenaline-fueled rush.

“So now it’s a game of tag? Alright then. I’m it.” He growled now lunging over the tree cluster and slithering quickly after the fleeing fairy. She let out a childish scream as she saw him chasing after her. Her wings fluttered in a weak attempt to push her forward faster than her pursuer. She stumbled into a clearing and knew that it was done. There weren’t any good hiding spots out here and he was hot on her tail. She scrambled slightly under a rock in a half burrow and tried her best to catch her breath again. She could hear him slithering through the tall grass.

“As fun as this has been my sweet, I have to say I’m ravenous after a good chase. You can come out and do this the easy way. Or…we could do this the fun way. For me at least~.” He said slithering in front of her hiding spot and past. His long tail slowly passed by behind him. A few seconds passed again before he tapped a few times on the rock just above her head. His face now just in front of the opening.

“Hello sssssunshine~” he hissed smirking at how Rosey shriked at his sudden appearance and looked around helplessly. She was cornered. A perfect little spot he could grab her out of. He pretended to think for a moment watching her every move.

“Well, Rosey? my offer still stands~” he smirks as she watches him with wide eyes, not full of fear but with flustered giddiness. “You can make this nice and easy, crawl into my mouth and surrender to me~.” He said licking his lips at the thought. “Or you can stay in there and I’ll get you out myself. Make you squirm in my coils and squeeze some of the energy out of you.” He smirked again before laying on his front his face the only thing she could see at this point.

“Tick tock sunshine~ Arlo is missing you oh so dearly.” He said as a small growl emitted from his middle in a way that sounded like it was agreeing with his words. Roseys face was aflame as her mind scrambled for any way to get out of this not in the nagas gut. But just as he said before, she did want this… she sighed before moving forward a bit Tero’s smirk softened as she moved toward him. “Mmmmm that’s it~ come closer~.” Just as he started to open his mouth she hit the tip of his nose causing him to jerk back at the small shock of pain from the surprisingly strong. She ran past him but the strong tail was fast to entrap and halt her little escape attempt.

“Did you really think you could evade becoming my meal, now?” Tero hissed behind her she didn’t even get time to turn to look at him before her head was engulfed. His tongue slicked up her face and her hair his coils easily supporting and pushing her deeper as he moaned around her. Her sweet taste ignited a part of his brain to hold her close, hold her deep, and have her all to himself. Away from anything that could possibly hurt her. So with some greedy swallows and groans she disappeared into his mouth nothing more than a wiggling bulge traveling down his throat and into his murmuring belly.

“Mmmmph. Delicious as always my sweet~” he murmured as she started to shift around. The small bulge on his middle wasn't even noticeable unless you were looking for it. Small little divots showing up at Rosey pressed out at him and got comfortable. Sinking into the folds around herself.

Roseys face was very warm at the situation and her exhaustion and Tero's sweet words and the way Arlo was gurgling happily around her. “Hhhhhhh yea. G-good game Tero. That was fun.” She said a bit breathlessly. “Hope I tasted even better than usual since you had to earn your little snack.”

Tero happily licked his lips at her overwhelmingly sweet yet refreshing flavor. Something he could never get tired of and would happily enjoy time and time again as they share this wonderful experience. He felt another small shift in his core. Pressing into one of his hands that was currently resting over where she was hidden away. He started to rub at her and hummed happily as she fully relaxed into the cradling hold of his stomach. “It was a fun little game I will admit sunshine. Though that little trick you did at the end was a bit rude.” She giggled at his feigned hurt. “How could you treat your own boyfriend like this?” He bemoaned dramatically even putting a hand to his forehead before they both erupted into a large fit of laughter.

Eventually, they calmed down and he could feel Rosey still, and her conversations grew quiet. “Getting sleepy?” Tero asked struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Mhm,” she hummed out snuggling into the front wall a bit as his hands came to rest on his belly, to cup and hold the small bulge she made in his middle a little closer still.

“Mmmm. Me too. How about we both get some well earned rest, Rosey. You know I’ll keep you safe.” Tero murmured adjusting himself to be lying on one of his coils like a comfortable pillow. Rosey didn’t respond. Already fast asleep from her exciting little chase. Tero smiled fondly before relaxing to drift off. Happy and full of love. Holding one he loved so close and so safely.

[pixelmator5]

Laudna’s Lack of Control

You know what, why the heck not, part 1 of 6 of a may or may not be finished group of posts about CR3 EP63 and its effects on the 6 PCs (yes including the one that died.)

Laudna’s been through a lot, and that’s putting it lightly. All her life, she has experienced a lack of control. When she was young, no one viewed her like an actual person, no one around her at least. We see and hear about how a boy her age when she was young attempted to lure her into a sense of security before throwing dirt in her face. He was likely not the only one who did this. When she was young, she had no control over the social life, or the way the rest of the townspeople of Whitestone viewed her.

Then the Briarwoods came. Whether the townspeople knew how they did it or not, they took the place of the previous leaders of the once peaceful city. Once again, Laudna, at that time Matilda, was forced to watch as her home gradually declined under the Briarwoods rule, unable to do a thing to stop it. She had natural magical capabilities, but even they wouldn’t help in this situation.

Eventually Whitestone was in such disrepair that nothing could be done. Matilda begged her parents to leave the city, but without to funds or anywhere to stay once they left, the group of three were left to rot in the dying town. Once again she had a total lack of control. Until a letter came. The Briarwoods had invited her family to dinner. Finally, a way for her to take control of something. She had hoped that they would take an interest in her innate magical abilities, teach her how to use them, make her stronger! She’d finally have control over something in her life!

That was 30 years ago.

She died that day, at that dinner. She was skeptical about going in the first place, but her parents had talked her into it. Practically forced her. Once again, she suffered from her lack of control.

When she awoke hanging from the tree she thought it was the gods giving her a second chance, a way for her finish the life the Briarwoods had cut short. But her body was changed. Her skin was cold to the touch, her eyes constantly seemed to be bulging from her head. Her bones dislocated easier, her hair fell out in clumps, it was as if she was still dead. Then the voices started. Well, voice, Delilah Briarwood was in her head, but Matilda, if that was even still her name at this point didn’t want that. Control. The thing she still lacked.

Eventually, she met Imogen, she helped, she understood what it was like, being ostracized, not having control of what people think of you or the control over your own power, and eventually, they met Bell’s Hells, a ragtag group of nobodies banded together with little to no common ground between them. But she liked them, and together with Imogen they decided to stay.

Delilah’s has been living in the woman now named Laudna’s head for 30 years now. Advising her, empowering her, controlling her. Laudna knew she had to get rid of her. She didn’t want her there. But this came to a front when something happened. Delilah took complete control, took something, shattered something, she caused Laudna to betray Imogen. Laudna’s tether, Laudna’s friend, the one who wasn’t afraid of her. She took Laudna’s feeling of safety, to control she had in this small part of the world.

When Laudna died she became a prisoner to Delilah in her own personal hell. Fitting that the one who originally took her life tormented her in her afterlife, reminding her of all the things that had happened prior to her original death. When the Hells came to rescue her, Laudna was happy, she knew she would be safe. When Imogen told her to fight back, Laudna said she couldn’t. That it was up to Imogen and the hells. She relinquished control, she left it all up to the others, knowing they would help her. This was the only time where she was fine without the control being held in her hands.

When Laudna awoke next she was in Whitestone, seemingly Delilah free. At least that’s what the gnomish woman told her. Releasing control finally did something good, at least this time. So she continued travelling with the group. They uncovered secrets, revealed a conspiracy... they were separated. She thought she was doing something good, ignoring the speech and continuing to try and damage the Malleus Key, but it didn’t work, and control was stripped from her once again as she was teleported halfway across the world with no way to get back, once again separated from Imogen.

When the party met Bor’Dor after the split she thought it was great, another person like her and Imogen with seemingly no control over their magic or what has happened in their life. But eventually, things started to seep through the cracks. It started with the guards at the temple, it almost seemed like he knew what he was doing. But surely that was just Laudna’s imagination, he was on their side afterall, he had no reason to lie, right? She offered to help teach him how to use his magic, help him control it, like she had learned to do... but it was all a lie. Well, maybe not all of it, but enough of it... and he tried to kill them.

Laudna was distraught, she was sure he was telling the truth, but he betrayed her, he took what little control she had around her and he took it himself, manipulating it to his own will and she just could not handle being manipluated again. Manipulated by someone she trusted just like she was manipulated by Delilah, and losing her sense of control all over again...

And there it was, there was her chance. Deni$e had restrained him, he was so easy to get to, she could take her control back from him... and she did. With the same low heartbeat that was there when she took the gnarlrock from Imogen and broke it in her grasp... she had her control if only for that brief moment where she and she alone got to decide if he lived or died... but what will be the cost?

Laudna until this point had never been able to control anything in her life. How others perceived her, the trauma she’s had to go through. Her death, and rebirth. Delilah forcing her way into Laudna’s mind. Nothing, until she had complete and total control over someone who until recently had his own form of control over the others, and she takes it 

[hummingbird-of-light]

Fifth story for @badthingshappenbingo ~

Title: The Hunter And The Hunted

Fandom: Star Trek (AOS)

Character(s): Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Khan Noonien Singh | John Harrison

Relationship(s): /

Rating: M

Words: 1,128

Prompt: Twisted Ankle

Warnings: Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Animal Attack, AU - Modern Setting

(You can also find this story on AO3)

~ The Hunter And The Hunted ~

When he opened his eyes, Montgomery Scott was utterly confused. He looked at his surroundings. Where the heck was he?

It appeared to be... an old cabin. The Scotsman furrowed his brows and shook his head. A mistake. Almost instantly he was rewarded by a feeling of dizziness.

And suddenly he remembered something.

A blow to the head. Someone had knocked him out!

He had been out in the national park, taking a long walk after an exhausting week where he had worked non-stop. The nature and tall green trees, just a short drive away from San Francisco, always reminded him of his home. He really missed Scotland from time to time, but he was also happy about his new life at San Francisco. The opportunity of a good job had just been too tempting. And after the death of his grandfather he had really needed a new start.

Still, whenever he missed his bonnie home, he drove out to the national park to go for a hike.

This time however, it wasn't too relaxing.

Scotty took another look around. There was a window close by. It was dirty, but he caught a glance of the trees. A single door led outside; it looked quite shabby.

There wasn't much furniture. Just a bed, a closet, a table and a chair.

A chair the Scotsman was sitting on, wrists and ankles tied to it. He tried to pull at his restraints. The rope wasn't too tight. Maybe he could actually manage to break free.

For he sure as hell didn't want to meet the one who had knocked him out and had taken him to this place.

As soon as the engineer noticed that moving his wrists itself wasn't enough, he tried his best to move his upper body forward. He was lucky enough to catch the end of the knot with his teeth and, as if by miracle, he actually managed to loosen it.

When his wrists were eventually free, the Scotsman took care of untying his ankles too and slowly, as not to cause the dizziness again, he got to his feet.

He searched his pockets, but of course his phone and purse had been taken.

For a moment he considered to cry out for help, but then again he feared that whoever had taken him, wasn't too far away. He didn't want to draw attention.

Quietly, Scotty made his way over to the door and he let out a relieved sigh when he was able to open it and step out of the cabin.

He carefully looked to the left and to the right, but there was no one to be seen. So the engineer got moving. At first he walked really slow, then he got faster and faster. He needed to get away from this place. As quick as possible!

His feet carried him through the park and he tried to catch a glimpse of the sky through the dense tree tops. The sun was going down. He needed to find a pathway before it got too dark.

Scotty was just about to take a break and catch his breath when suddenly he heard a strange sound behind him.

He turned around and saw two huge dogs. For a moment hope spread through him, knowing that if there were dogs the owner couldn't be too far away, but when he heard the sound of growling, he knew that these lads weren't too kind.

"H-hey there, calm down, w-will ye?"

The Scotsman raised his hands in a soothing manner, but when the dogs suddenly lunged at him, he started to run again.

His lungs were burning and he gasped for air while he tried his best to block out the dizziness at the same time.

He saw the root on the ground too late and seconds later his body hit the floor roughly.

Scotty yelped in pain as he felt his ankle twist in an unnatural way. He swore under his breath, trying to get back up again.

The sound of the dogs closing in could be heard behind him and he knew that he needed to get to his feet and run on if he wanted to live.

A groan escaped his mouth when he fell flat onto his nose again. His ankle hurt way too much for him to stand on it.

And suddenly they were there.

The dogs.

They jumped at him and Scotty tried his best to protect his head and face, begging for them to stop.

However, the dogs didn't even get the chance to scratch or bite him, for suddenly someone whistled in a short distance.

The dogs instantly left Scotty alone and hurried to get to who had to be their master.

Slowly, the engineer managed to roll onto his back and he saw a tall dark-haired man stepping closer.

He closed his eyes, sighing in relief. A human! Someone who could help him!

"Oh, thank goodness. I think yer dogs mistook me for prey."

The man came to a halt in front of Scotty and he tilted his head from one side to the other. Slowly, a smile formed on his lips.

"Oh no, Mr. Scott, they haven't mistaken you. They knew exactly who to hunt."

Scotty's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened when he saw the man pull out a familar purse from his jacket's pocket. It... was his own!

He shook his head in disbelief. No... no, no, no. This was the man who had taken him!

Hectically, the Scotsman rolled back onto his stomach and tried to pull himself forward. He knew that it was hopeless, that he didn't stand a chance, yet still he had to try. He couldn't give up just like that.

"Help! Help me! I need help! Hel-"

The dark-haired man was sitting on his back in an instant and only moments later, the engineer's mouth was gagged by some piece of cloth.

"It was way too easy to catch you, but... you'll still make a great hunting trophy."

Scotty cried into his gag when he heard the deep voice next to his ear. He squirmed and lashed out wildly, but it was of no use.

His kidnapper just got to his feet, grabbed the Scotsman's injured ankle and pulled him along, dragging him across the floor.

Then he whistled for his dogs again.

"Let's get back, boys. You deserve an extra treat. Perhaps a nice piece of juicy meat."

The traces of fingernails could still be seen in the earthy soil a few days later, but there was no trace of the engineer Montgomery Scott. He had disappeared, as had the mysterious dark-haired man and his dogs. After all, there were many more hunting grounds in the country.

[upper-moon-4askblog]

FUCK YOU SEKIDO FOR INSULTING UROGI I TAKE BACK ALL OF MY COMPLIMENTS FROM BEFORE. 🤬🤬🤬🤬

*turns Sekido into a small ass mountain goat*

— 1am anonnie >:(

Sekido looked absolutely flabbergasted as he was suddenly transformed into a mountain goat. — "W-what the..?! What the heck is this..?!" He screamed, his voice high pitched from being transformed into a goat. He looked around wildly, trying to figure out what was going on. — "Damn you! Why is this happening..?!" His anger was evident on his face as he tried to make himself heard with his new hoarse, goat-like voice.

Aizetsu and Urogi burst out in laughter at Sekido turning into a goat, their voices muffled by the laughter as they watched him run around wildly. — "Oh my god, he looks adorable!" Urogi says through laughter, covering his mouth as he calms himself down. — "Haha.. A-he looks so stubby as a goat..!" Aizetsu adds, sounding utterly entertained by the situation.

Sekido glares at you two through steely, goat eyes as he tries to charge at you, but gets caught in a bush. — "Oh, come on! This isn't funny! This is ridiculous! I look stupid..!" He says angrily, his goat legs kicking up dust as he looks around wildly for someone to blame. — "This.. is so annoying..!" His face is still extremely pissed off, as if he could do anything to get back at you for turning him into a goat.

Aizetsu and Urogi look over and notice Karaku recording the event, causing them to burst out in laughter even harder. — "A-ah.. haha.. look at him, he looks so cute!" Urogi says in between hysterical fits of laughter, trying to keep himself from falling over. — "You're right! He is adorable!" Aizetsu says, still laughing as he looks at Sekido struggling to get out of the bush.

Sekido struggles with all of his might to get out of the bush, causing even MORE dust to be kicked up. He is clearly getting very annoyed as he tries to get you to help him out. — "HEY! Can't one of you help me!? I can't do anything in this form! It's frustrating!" He shouts through his goat lips, his high-pitched bleating echoing through the trees. Sekido can barely contain his temper, it looks like he might just explode at any second.

Urogi snickers softly, glancing at Aizetsu as he grins. — "Eh, it's too much fun seeing him struggle~!" Urogi continues to watch Sekido with a lighthearted expression on his face, seeming utterly entertained by the situation. — "It's so funny..!" Aizetsu says, shaking his head with laughter. — "I can't believe this, it's so funny!!!" Urogi exclaims excitedly, laughing still.

Karaku laughs at the sight of Sekido struggling to escape from the bush. As he records with his phone, he doesn't stop chuckling to himself. — "Oh my god, I'm gonna keep this video forever!" He says, shaking his head with laughter and looking up at Sekido. — "How do I send this to a bunch of my contacts? I want everyone to see this~!" He says with a sly smirk, his goat eyes peering back up at Sekido.